Chapter 23. Dream Awakening (23)

Poison Traveler was a Peak martial artist who used a kind of deadly poison known as the Devil Cloud. He was a wanted criminal in the

murim

, a public enemy of the Sichuan Tang Family and the Mount Hua Sect. As soon as his nickname came out of the Chaotic Titan's mouth, all the

murim

people around him were terrified, and fear spread at a terrifying speed.

"No! We have to run away!"

"Look, it's the Venomous Devil! It's the Venomous Devil!"

Panicked, people around the Venomous Devil tried to take some distance, but a black mist soon surrounded and paralyzed those within its area of effect.

"I-I can't move!" the Chaotic Titan shouted as he struggled to fight the paralysis. He had been standing the closest to the Venomous Devil, so he had made contact with the poison before he could escape.

"It's...the Devil Cloud! I don't want to die!" he sobbed in horror.

"I've tried to lead a quiet life ever since I escaped from all the people who were chasing me, but because of garbage like you, I can't do that anymore," the Venomous Devil spoke in a sharp, cracking voice.

After the Venomous Devil was expelled from the Poison Valley for making a mistake, he seduced a woman from the Tang Family, learned the Tang Family's poison arts, and created the Devil Cloud, a deadly poison with no known antidote.

The Chaotic Titan's muscular physique suddenly started melting into a black liquid, like ice meeting powerful sunlight.

"Arrrrrrrrrgh!" He let out a terrible scream that seemed to echo straight from the depths of Hell as he melted into a puddle of tar and vanished from this world.

"Hahahaha!" The Venomous Devil burst out in laughter. He enjoyed these moments the most—when he could watch his poison kill people. He had fully intended to quietly observe the Absolute Masters' duel and just try to gain some enlightenment, but that piece of trash just

had

to provoke him.

All that was left was to run away while his Devil Cloud swept away those around him, creating chaos. After all, there were too many martial arts masters in this place for a wanted criminal to stay.

Everyone within a nine-meter radius melted into a puddle, and the Devil Cloud's kill count increased by about forty in mere moments.

'It's still not enough. Die!'

Watching the poison cloud move with the wind, the Venomous Devil waited for the chaos to reach its peak.

Gradually increasing in size and devouring the bystanders one by one, the creeping poison claimed the lives of nearly a hundred people. Things only got worse when a strong wind blew, making the poison cloud move even faster.

"Argh! Run away!"

But it was already too late. The poison cloud spread rapidly and was threatening to devour even more victims. Gyeong Hong's son and Woo-Moon, who was now well and truly enraged, were among them.

'Why is he killing innocent bystanders? How can he use poison to kill people so randomly?'

However, he could only release his anger if he survived this ordeal. Before he knew it, the poison cloud had already approached him, and he could catch a whiff of the poison's fishy scent.

‘What should I do? At this rate, everyone will die!'

As he had witnessed the terror on the faces of those engulfed by the poison cloud, Woo-Moon's helplessness and frustration made him even angrier. At that moment, however, he remembered something that he had just realized while watching the battle.

'The Raging Wind Palm! If I use the Raging Wind Palm...!'

Watching Baek Sang-Woon use palm techniques, Woo-Moon had already understood many things.

Ignoring the poison cloud already in front of him, he quickly recalled Baek Sang-Woon's technique. With his brain functions quickening, his concentration was pushed to its absolute limits, allowing him to fall into a state of exceptional focus that made him feel as if he was the only one left in the world.

Meanwhile, the Venomous Devil kept looking for a chance to escape.

'What the hell, this is like catching fish from a barrel!'

The Venomous Devil didn't care about how many lives the Devil Cloud claimed. All that mattered was his survival. He still had many pleasures left to enjoy in the world. Thus, he turned around and looked for an opportunity to flee.

At that moment, Woo-Moon struck the air in front of him with his palms. He had finally completed the Raging Wind Palm!

The gentle wind blowing across the fields suddenly turned into a mighty gale.

‘To think that my palm strike can produce such a wind...'

The gale grew stronger as it devoured everything in front of it. The Devil Cloud was swept away by the storm, which carried the Venomous Devil's poison right back to him.

Having cleared a fifteen-meter area around him, which was now only occupied by dead bodies, the Venomous Devil was about to use his lightness skill when he heard a crackling sound behind his back.

He looked behind, feeling that something was wrong, and what he saw filled him with astonishment.

"Oh, no!"

The wind rose from Woo-Moon's palm, pushing the Devil Cloud right to where the Venomous Devil was

"Haaa...Huuu....

cough!

"

After hitting the Venomous Devil, the fierce wind drew the Devil Cloud high up into the air.

Although he had the Devil Cloud's antidote, there was only so much that an antidote could do facing such a massive amount of poison.

Just like his victims, the Venomous Devil met his end in the shape of a black puddle.

"Uh, what happened?"

"Suddenly, the wind blew, and the Devil Cloud hit the Venomous Devil."

People started to murmur among themselves in confusion. As everyone had turned around and ran away, Woo-Moon had ended up facing the Devil Cloud alone, so few people had seen him use his palm technique. There were a few eyewitnesses, but it never even crossed their mind that Woo-Moon, an unknown young man, could have used a palm technique and cleared the Devil Cloud away. They had only seen Woo-Moon move his hands randomly like a fly trying to push over a tortoise, and then a mighty wind had somehow started blowing.

"This is heavenly punishment! Because he was a wicked man who killed countless people, the Jade Emperor was angered and smote him down!" cried out one of the Daoists in the crowd.

"Amitabha!" a Buddhist monk replied.

Woo-Moon heard them, but he stayed quiet. He didn't care to brag about what he had just done.

Gyeong Hong and Baek Sang-Woon, who had been fully concentrated on the duel, belatedly noticed the Devil Cloud attacking Woo-Moon and Gyeong Hong's son. By that time, they were so far away that they couldn't do anything about it. Fortunately, they saw Woo-Moon use a palm technique and save Gyeong Hong's son from the Devil Cloud.

Naturally, Gyeong Hong stopped attacking and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm bored. Do you wanna continue?"

At Baek Sang-Woon's words, Gyeong Hong shook his head. "I don't think today is a good day. Let's put it off until next time. Next time..."

"...just between the two of us!"

Gyeong Hong and Baek Sang-Woon both said it at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

Gyeong Hong took apart his spear and hung the pieces on his back, then used his lightness skill, immediately going to his son's side and picking him up on his back. As always, he covered his son with the Heavenly Silk Robe to protect him.

He then threw something at Woo-Moon, who was standing next to him. "Take it."

Woo-Moon wasn't exactly paying attention, as he was immersed in thought after having successfully used the Raging Wind Palm for the first time, so he was startled when a small purple pouch landed in his hand.

"This is for saving my son."

'Son?'

Now that he thought about it, Woo-Moon remembered that Gyeong Hong's son had been standing behind him when he used the Raging Wind Palm.

"What is this?"

"Just a little something."

"Last time, you saved my life. I had a debt to pay, so I don't need anything in return."

"My son's life is far more precious to me than yours. Not the same thing."

With this brief answer, Gyeong Hong stomped the ground, using his lightness skill, and disappeared instantly.

Woo-Moon put the pouch in his bosom. It was small, however, and he was rather distracted, so he immediately forgot about it.

After Gyeong Hong disappeared, the people who had recovered their wits started looking for the Absolute Masters.

"Huh? Baek Sang-Woon is gone!"

"Gyeong Hong also went somewhere earlier."

"Did it just end like this? Shit, it's because of that Venomous Devil bastard!"

While the people felt it was a shame, Woo-Moon just ignored them and returned to the guild.

It was the last night for the Leebi Merchant Guild to stay in Go-Ryang Pyeong. Si-Hyeon continued to visit various guilds to try and strike a deal, but unfortunately, the results were not on par with her efforts.

On a cool, windy autumn night, Woo-Moon was standing alone in the sparsely populated area, holding his sword in his hand.

‘First, release your qi into the sword. Then, make sure you control the sword qi so that it doesn't escape.'

The sword qi would cover the sword in a thick, clear layer. It would then change into countless threads and wrap around the sword.

'These are the sword threads. Now, I have to condense these into sword aura.'

In order for the countless sword threads to merge and condense into sword aura, Woo-Moon had to focus on three aspects—injecting energy into the sword, wrapping the sword threads tightly, and protecting the blade.

Crack!

The sword qi shattered! The energy gathered in the sword was released in an instant and scattered in all directions.

"Ah..." Woo-Moon couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.

After taking a few moments to rest, he tried again, and then one more time. He kept trying and failing to summon that illusive sword aura until he ran out of qi and he had to stop and meditate for a while in order to restore it.

Even after failing countless times, Woo-Moon didn't give up.

"I will succeed this time."

Woo-Moon infused energy into the sword.

Golden sword qi formed and developed into sword threads. Tens of thousands of these threads tightly wound around the sword, squeezing into each other. Eventually, the sword threads seemed to melt into each other, reforming into another layer of qi.

This layer was different from before, however. It was dense and shone with brilliant light, signaling that Woo-Moon had succeeded—he had actually managed to produce sword aura in a single night! If the

murim

found out about this, they would certainly be shocked out of their wits.

"Done!" exclaimed Woo-Moon with joy.

Buzzzz~

He had succeeded in creating sword aura on his own! The sword hummed in a deep tone, as if it, too, was pleased with Woo-Moon's success.

Clap clap clap clap!

"Oh, young hero, what outstanding swordsmanship!"

It was a familiar voice.

"No-name!" Woo-Moon greeted him with a bright smile.

"Woah, young hero. I can't believe you actually managed to produce sword aura in such a short time. You truly teach me what steady progress means."

"Haha. It is all thanks to your teachings, No-name."

It was more convenient to call him "No-name" rather than "Palm Martial Emperor" or "Baek Sang-Woon."

Baek Sang-Woon smiled and said in a soft tone, "Okay, what are you going to do now? Are you going home?"

"Yes. The guild is going back today, so I have to return with them."

"That's good. Then I will follow you."

"Yes? Why...?"

The Palm Martial Arts Emperor laughed bitterly.

"I have to go see my daughter."

"Your...daughter?"

For a moment, Woo-Moon tilted his head in confusion. Although he had little knowledge of the

gangho

, he had picked up many stories along the way since the Eight Emperors of the Heavenly Martial Arts were so famous.

‘I heard that the Palm Martial Emperor has no children. His only daughter died a long time ago...'

Interrupting Woo-Moon's thoughts, the Palm Martial Arts Emperor said, "So I will go with you and your younger brother."

Suddenly, the Palm Martial Arts Emperor's tone changed.

"With me and my younger brother?"

"Yes. If I go with my grandchildren, I'll be able to meet my brother."

"Your grandchildren? Who are your grandchildren?"

"What do you mean, who? One of them is right here."

"Here?" Woo-Moon's eyes widened as he looked around.

It was then that he realized. Until that moment, he hadn't thought anything about the fact that his mother, Baek Jin-Jin, had the same last name as Baek Sang-Woon. It was because his mother hadn't revealed her past to the family.

The Palm Martial Arts Emperor said with a smile. "Yes, you are my grandson, Woo-Moon."

Woo-Moon's jaw dropped.