The wind was sharp that night.
Even the leaves seemed to hold their breath.
Since the incident at the West Quarry, the name "Twelfth Young Master" was no longer a joke whispered behind closed doors. It had become a shadow over the outer sect an omen.
Tang Clan – Outer Pavilion Library
Inside the neglected library chamber, Tang Yun sat alone among cracked shelves and moth-eaten manuals. He wasn't there to read today he was calculating.
Not flashy. Not sudden.
But deep. Stable.
Unlike the fools who pushed forward with brute force, Tang Yun cultivated in layers. Like poison seeping into bone, not blood.
Around him sat three followers each one bearing the results of his teaching.
Tang Xiaomei – (Late Qi Awakening Realm – 기각성경 후기)
Her qi was now tinted with violet edges, a sign that her body had begun accepting toxin circulation. She no longer coughed blood from Widow's Blanket.
Han Deok – (Early Meridian Opening Realm – 경맥개방경 초급)
Bulky and quiet, he could now reinforce his blows with a layer of venomous mist. When he punched, skin blistered.
Lei Feng – (Mid Qi Awakening Realm – 기각성경 중기)
His movements had grown ghostlike. He no longer spoke aloud, only nodded. A master of the Dustless Step, he could approach a guard dog without waking it.
Tang Yun folded a scroll.
"Three days," he said. "That's how long before she comes."
"Who?" Lei asked.
Tang Yun looked up, eyes half-lidded.
"His sister."
Inner Sect Training Field
They called her the Silent Blade.
A sword sheathed in fog.
Tang Liuyue – (Late Inner Core Realm – 내핵경 후기)
Sister of the disgraced Tang Liansu. But unlike him, she had earned her place.
One elder said she learned the Crescent Blade Form in two nights.
Another said she never lost a single duel.
Tonight, her blade remained sheathed. But her presence alone cut through whispers.
"She's looking for Tang Yun," murmured a senior disciple.
"She won't kill him. He's still family."
"But she will test him," another added grimly.
Tang Clan – South Training Grove
That night, beneath a sliver of moon, Tang Yun walked to the grove alone.
He carried no weapons.
Only a pouch of Breathless Powder, and two poison-sealed darts.
She was already there standing beneath a plum tree, arms crossed, a simple training robe wrapped around her like a blade's scabbard.
"You came," she said.
"You summoned me," Tang Yun replied calmly.
"No guards. No audience. Just a question and a duel."
He nodded.
The Duel
"I'll limit myself to the Mid Qi Awakening Realm, like you," she said.
His heart skipped.
That was the true difference. She could compress her qi and match his level but her experience was leagues ahead.
"If I win, you answer my question truthfully. If you win... you get this."
She tossed him a scroll.
Whispering Leaf Step – a movement technique used only by core descendants.
Tang Yun's eyes narrowed.
"Agreed."
No counting. No bowing. No warning.
She moved faster than his eyes, but not his instincts.
He leapt back, flicked a pinch of Breathless Powder in a crescent arc.
She avoided it with a single graceful step, smiling faintly.
Tang Yun wasn't aiming to win.
He was aiming to make her stop.
With a subtle motion, he triggered a buried poison needle trap from beneath a stone. She caught it mid-air.
"You knew I'd dodge left," she muttered.
"You always favor your blind side in open space."
She raised a brow. "You studied me."
"No," Tang Yun replied coolly. "I study everyone."
They clashed again, faint qi ringing in the air like silk brushing stone.
Tang Yun's palm brushed her wrist.
Her fingers halted just inches from his throat.
Both froze.
She stepped back first.
"You win," she said. "Technically."
He didn't smile.
She handed over the scroll and asked her question:
"Why do you build strength outside the inner sect?"
Tang Yun answered without pause.
"Because the rot begins inside."
She smiled this time, with something like approval.
Then she was gone.
Aftermath
Later that night, Tang Yun returned to the library. Alone.
He opened the Whispering Leaf Step scroll and began memorizing it by candlelight.
Soon, even his movement would become poisonous.
New Character Cultivation
Character Cultivation Realm Stage
Tang Yun Qi Awakening Mid
Tang Xiaomei Qi Awakening Late
Han Deok Meridian Opening Early
Lei Feng Qi Awakening Mid
Tang Liuyue Inner Core Late
[End of Chapter 33]
[Tags]: Reincarnation, Martial Arts, Poison, Scheming Protagonist, Cultivation, Weak to Strong, Anti-Hero, Cold Protagonist, Clan Wars, Hidden Identity, Revenge