Chapter 133

Soon, a sparkle returned to Qing’s eyes.

As the Great Imperial Monk recited scriptures in harmony with the cleansing ritual, a sinister star, which had been stuck with a straw in the half-open upper Dantian, quietly slipped away and pretended it never existed.

The reason for its retreat remained a mystery.

How could a person understand a star’s intent?

Qing, now seemingly unscathed, or strictly speaking, the essence of Heaven’s Kill had vacated, looked down at the collapsed Cho Gak, who appeared emotional and dazed, lost in a flurry of chaotic thoughts, not particularly righteous either.

His eyes rolled back, convulsing, while he slobbered innocent foam from his mouth.

Wow. He’s still not dead.

Or maybe he’s not dead enough?

All that happened was his Dantian got messed up, and the lower part of his pelvis shattered into thousands of tiny fragments.

It wasn’t a life-threatening injury, after all.

Qing crouched down, grabbing Cho Gak’s right wrist and elbow, bending it forcefully in the wrong direction.

It was Qing’s sheer strength that could easily bend steel.

And yet, Cho Gak’s hand trembled helplessly, just barely holding onto his fully extended arm.

What on Earth was wrong with this body?

As Qing struggled, there was a pop, a crack, and a tear.

With a delightfully sweet sensation, the tips of his bones were gradually being yanked apart, finally—

“Ah, got it.”

Qing grinned broadly, repeatedly bending and straightening Cho Gak’s forearm like a playful child.

Only then did the spectators realize Qing’s intentions.

Since he was gripping the wrist and shaking it, they thought he was taking his pulse, but that was not it.

He was literally ripping apart a human arm!

Door-sa shouted in shock.

“What, what are you doing!”

“Uh… Searching for trophies?”

“Can’t you stop? How dare you disrespect a member of the Imperial Family!”

“Traitor!!! Who even counts as a member of the Imperial Family? Didn’t you hear him insult the princess? Wow, that was too much. How could anyone say that to a woman? It made me feel ashamed just hearing it.”

As he deftly twisted the torn forearm, he continued his rant.

“Ah!! So!! Are you, Door-sa, in cahoots with this traitor? Are you trying to protect him?”

“No, no, no! Not at all! No way!”

Door-sa vehemently denied it.

With the Tang Family relationship at stake, he knew he could risk the annihilation of his entire clan!

It was a petty and underhanded trick.

Perhaps there was indeed poison at play, inducing hallucinations.

Princess Haryeon was the renowned beauty publicly declared by the Emperor, so it made sense that Cho Gak would have lewd dreams of her phantom.

Among the elite Golden Guards residing in the palace, none had escaped the pangs of unrequited love for the princess.

However, Haryeon was the Emperor’s most cherished daughter.

Especially a select few high-ranking officials, like Door-sa, knew best how profoundly the Emperor loved his daughter.

Even as a grown woman, he cared for her with the devotion a parent shows a child, even worrying that she might be uncomfortable while sleeping beside him.

It was a closely guarded secret known only to the top officials of the Imperial Palace.

Having insulted such a princess meant the destruction of one’s clan was certain; he didn’t need to beg for mercy for any remaining family members.

In the midst of this chaos, Qing finally achieved results.

The previously stretched and torn right elbow, which had been crumpled and oozing blood, was now—squish!

Qing had successfully severed Cho Gak’s forearm from the body and stood up, satisfied.

—-

Although there was an unpleasant process involved—

Strictly speaking, the scenario was riddled with issues, none of which could be labeled as pleasant.

Yet, even without the horrifying torture techniques and dubious assumptions about the poisonous snake, the truth remained unchanged.

The third strongest in the realm of Transformation had, in truth, been toyed with by a mere child at peak condition.

Door-sa had no choice but to withdraw with the armless deputy commander.

Staying there would yield no further result.

Moreover, the morale of his men was crashing down, penetrating the very depths below the surface.

Qing, satisfied with his foray, offered the detached forearm as a gift to Old Man Poison.

“Grandfather, this seems strange. Could you take a look? It feels like a person’s arm, but not quite as strong as steel, or perhaps even stronger.”

There was no reason for him to bring back a human arm unless it was for roasting or soup.

It was odd, so he wanted it examined.

Of course, it was limited to mere examination.

If Qing hadn’t been satisfied with how the arm was made, he could have just tossed it aside for fun.

“What is this nonsense?”

Grand Elder took it reflexively and asked what on Earth was this bizarre talk.

“Hey!! What’s this mess?! I’m seriously upset!”

Tang Nan-ah yelled and suddenly took Qing by the hand, dragging him away.

In truth, none of Qing’s injuries had any serious life-threatening issues.

Mostly, fractures or muscle tears would render one unable to utilize Heaven’s Kill effectively.

If he’d cut deeply into an area with severe bleeding, he would’ve lost consciousness long ago.

It was merely superficial cuts.

However, the wound on his chest was rather deep.

As Qing was pulled by Tang Nan-ah into the physician’s pavilion, he finally took a look at his chest injury.

“Wow. My chest looks like it’s been split into two halves. Ugh, gross.”

A perfectly accurate description, 1 and (1/2) × 2.

There wasn’t any part entirely missing, but the left side had been diagonally slashed, revealing something incredibly grotesque.

“Now’s not the time for such talk!”

Tang Nan-ah smacked Qing on the shoulder, panting heavily.

“If it had been any deeper, all your ribs would have been sliced clean off! Why weren’t you more careful?!”

“No, to be fair, considering the opponent in the realm of Transformation, I did alright. Uh, I’m sorry…”

Seeing Tang Nan-ah’s face crumpled with concern made Qing quickly tuck his tail between his legs.

He was not cruel enough to turn over the worries of a distressed person, being the soft-hearted person he was.

Instead, Qing attempted to change the subject slyly.

“Uh, do you think I’ll have a scar?”

“Is that what you’re worried about right now?!”

“No, it’s just that… Wouldn’t a scar be kind of cool? Like, originally.”

“Hey!!!”

Smack. Qing received another hit.

Fortunately, it was just a slap thanks to Tang Nan-ah’s restraint; had Seomun Sulin heard this, she would’ve given him a fierce reprimand he wouldn’t forget.

“I’ll make sure no scars remain, so don’t say any silly things.”

Qing felt a little unfair.

The wound was diagonally split, and then horizontally sliced about two finger widths wide.

If they combined, it would make a stylish cross shape.

Surely, a master of blades should have at least one such scar, shouldn’t they?

“No, I swear. It wouldn’t matter if a scar remained, so don’t get worked up.”

But Qing’s sincerity fell flat.

Not only did it not convey, but it also only led to further misunderstandings.

Even if a woman wouldn’t openly flaunt such a scar, who wouldn’t regard it with care?

Whether small, large, or just right, every woman worries within herself, contemplating her appearance and wondering about the opinions of others later.

Even if she might feel remorse for accidentally having a prestigious scar, Qing’s casual remark only deepened the offense.

Truthfully, Qing had said something that easily could be misunderstood.

What purpose would a striking scar on a woman’s bosom serve?

Wouldn’t she just showcase it to passersby, saying “Hey, look at this! Woah, a knife mark! You know what a cross looks like!”?

“You really… truly… sigh.”

Tang Nan-ah finally broke down in sobs.

And thus, the price for trifling with a woman’s innocence was to be dearly paid.

“Ah! It hurts! Be gentle! Help! Argh! Help! Help! The physician is killing me!”

“Why complain when you’ve been loaded with enough anesthetic? This level of pain would even register with an elephant!”

“Could I get a bit of anesthetic, please?”

“Do you have the faintest idea how harmful it is?!”

“Huff, wheeze. Hiccup, sniffle. Argh!”

For the first time since the ordeal, Qing cursed the surgical writings.

Isn’t it common sense to administer anesthesia?

Why is it that poison is administered but not anesthesia?

The truth was that pain was essential for the preservation of the physical body.

Thus, anesthesia was detrimental.

Poison merely dulls the pain rather than alleviating it.

One could even analyze this using modern hormonal explanations, but Qing had no idea about that.

So all he could do was curse his ill-fated condition and the one who recommended that choice.

—-

Old Man Poison arrived that very night.

Qing warmly welcomed the generous Poison Elder.

“Wow. That poison works wonders, doesn’t it?”

Of course, it works extremely well.

Within the Tang Family, there exist seven extreme poisons known as the Seven Deadly Poisons, which were regarded as almost a fluke in the family’s history.

These included the Eight-Color Poison, the Dog Tofu, the Immortal Lung Poison, the White Gold Illusion Mountain, the Seven Treasures Body Confusion Pill, the Five Poison Heartless Potion, and the Annihilation Pill.

These were the seven types of deadly poison.

The materials personally handled by Grand Elder were indeed the finest poisons of the Tang Family.

Besides, the Grand Elder was by all means the world’s top poison expert.

The most notorious poison in existence had been modified by the supreme craftsman.

Even if one were a martial artist from beyond the realm of Transformation, should they fail to rid themselves of the poison quickly, they would meet a grievous end.

Moreover, Cho Gak lost his rationality and had failed to detect the poisonous aura because the uses of his supreme hand-to-hand combat had heavily damaged his blood flow.

“Do you have any more? I’ve completely used up the last batch…”

“Ah, it was just a small amount I brought out, so that’s all I had. I was hoping to ask for a little if you happened to have leftover…”

Grand Elder, too, looked a little disappointed.

No one within the family cared to use the materials, as they were merely a hobby.

However, upon witnessing the incredible effects of the modified White Gold Illusion Mountain, he thought he ought to set it right and add it to the family’s poison catalog but found he had already used it all.

“Ah. But how did you acquire this poisonous snake? Have you learned any special snake charm arts?”

“Oh, that.”

As Qing extended his hand, Choi Riyong stared blankly.

Until Qing pursed his lips and whistled, he finally understood and reached for the Magic Flute.

With the Magic Flute in hand, Qing made a show of stuffing the poison pill into the flute’s hole and shook it with flair.

If there was something inside, it ought to have shot out with centrifugal force.

The Magic Flute withstood the Qi, produced sound, and could launch poison pills—a true versatile tool!

“Wow! This child’s ingenuity is truly remarkable!”

The Grand Elder couldn’t hold back his admiration.

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