The Next Morning — Thousand Venoms Sect
The Thousand Venoms Empress, Cheondok Hwang, stood in her private garden, humming softly as she watered her plants. Her expression was calm, serene — yet her mind lingered on yesterday.
Beak…
The memory of his presence made her frown. His Qi alone had been so suffocating, so absolute, it sent a rare shiver down her spine.
Just how strong has that bastard become? she wondered.
She had expected arrogance. What she encountered was indifference — the kind that only monsters born from war carried in their bones.
But what stayed with her more than Beak's strength… was Mae-Bi.
The investigation she'd sent returned with nothing special. A boy born from the breeding facility. Raised in the Nine Hells Pit. Once lazy, ignored, and deemed talentless.
And now?
He has become stronger all of a sudden was he hiding his talent ?
She sighed, stepping into her pagoda and pouring tea — no sugar, just a few drops of venom from a flask beside her. She took a long sip.
"…Tsk. Still nothing." She scowled. "Even poison bores me now."
The thrill she once felt — the rush of danger, of near-death — was fading. The only one who ever stirred her blood in recent years had been the First Pillar.
But yesterday, Mae-Bi… he had entertained her. For a moment, he made her feel alive again.
She stood at the edge of her garden, watching with vague amusement as her carnivorous plants feasted on corpses — freshly poisoned inner disciples who had failed a recent test.
She smirked. "Mae-Bi… maybe I'll come see you soon."
BOOM.
The air split.
Suddenly, thunderous footsteps echoed across her sect grounds. A hundred red-clad guards formed a circle formation around her. Leading them was her First Royal Guard — Kwon Han-Seok — his blade already drawn.
"Thousand Empress Cheondok Hwang — this is bad!" he shouted.
Her brow lifted. "First Commander Han-Seok… explain yourself."
He dropped to one knee. "My apologies, but we are under attack. We must move you to safety immediately!"
Her pupils narrowed. "What?"
A surge of venomous aura erupted from her body, warping the garden air.
"Who dares attack the Second Pillar of the Demonic Cult?!"
Kwon Han‑Seok, the First Royal Guard, shook his head gravely. "It appears… it's the Blood Blade Cult. The First Pillar has come to attack you, my Empress."
"What?!" Cheondok Hwang's fist clenched, her aura flaring. Killing intent erupted around her—swift, silent, unstoppable.
Kwon flinched as her power rolled outward. "Master…"
A dangerous smile curved her lips. "This is fun! I've wanted to kill that bitch since the first time I saw him!" she screamed, stamping toward the central courtyard.
BOOM.
A shockwave rattled the courtyard. Guards and disciples braced themselves, some staggering under the force. The Empress's lips curled into a fierce smile as she strode forward, guards flanking her, with Kwon Han‑Seok steadfast at her side.
Before them lay chaos: Blood Blade soldiers cutting through her disciples. Scarlet-stained smoke wafted as poisoned blood pooled, felling even the attackers.
Why did this happen to me? Why did you forsake me, brother?! she cried, voice cracking with hidden pain.
Then, almost tenderly, she sighed."Maybe I'll remind him who raised him!."
"Thousand Empress!" cried the First Royal Guard, kneeling at her side.
She pivoted immediately to her other protectors: General Hak Seongjin and Female Doctor Bae Haru.
"Activate the Sect Mechanism!" she commanded. "Do it now, let every one of them fall."
"But—" stammered General Hak.
"Think carefully, Master!" interjected Kwon Han‑Seok, voice steady but urgent. He sensed the danger but dared not challenge her.
The Empress's glare silenced them all. With a wave of her hand, they fell silent.
She turned, finger raised—then froze as her eyes locked on the battlefield's center.There, amidst the carnage, stood Hyeolgeom Gunju: Blood Blade's First Pillar, calmly surveying the chaos with something like… satisfaction.
"HYEOLGEOM GUNJUUUUU!" she screamed, her voice amplified by her Qi, shattering the tumult.
He turned toward her, expression dark and measured.
"Oh, she's here," he murmured, a slow, chilling smile spreading across his face.
"What are you doing to my sect?!" the Thousand Venoms Empress screamed, her voice sharp with fury."Do you even know what will happen if you kill me—if you destroy my sect?! The Heavenly Demon will not be pleased!"
Hyeolgeom Gunju simply smirked.
"The Heavenly Demon?" he said, chuckling.
"Who said I feared him? Death doesn't scare me. If punishment comes from him or the elders… so be it."
She clenched her fists, her voice trembling with confusion and anger."Damn it… What did I even do to you, brother?! Don't tell me—" she paused, narrowing her eyes,"—is this about that filthy bastard, Mae Bi? Is he your son?"
Gunju's eyes widened—then he burst into laughter.
"Hah… hahahaha! You never fail to amuse me, Thousand Empress."His grin twisted. "My son? Why would I do all this for him? And who said I care enough to have a son?"
She frowned, trying to make sense of it.
"Then why?"
He sighed and rolled his shoulders."You really don't remember, do you? The poison you fed me as a child. Every day. Like a game."His gaze darkened.
"I thought I'd forgotten. I truly did. But when I saw Mae Bi's body—saturated in toxin—it dragged the memory out of me… in a dream I couldn't escape. And now?"He shrugged. "Now, I'm simply in a bad mood. So die."
SWOOOOSH.
A surge of Qi burst from his body like a tsunami. The earth cracked, the entire courtyard shuddered. Disciples—friend and foe—were sent sprawling across the stone like leaves in a storm.
"What… what is this pressure?!"
Kwon Han‑Seok gritted his teeth, gripping a spear as he shielded General Hak and Doctor Haru.
"This is bad!" Haru cried, nearly blown back.
"That Qi—it's monstrous! Just what did the Empress do to enrage the First Pillar?" Hak gasped, clinging to the pole for balance.
Even Blood Blade soldiers were collapsing under the pressure, their knees buckling. The Venom Sect was in complete disarray.
The Thousand Empress cursed, her hands bleeding as she braced herself.
"Enough! I won't be humiliated—!"
She roared as a colossal serpent of violet Qi burst from her body, coiling around her sect like a shield. The pressure pushed back, holding the wave of death at bay.
Gunju paused, then grinned.
"Now that's more like it. I expected nothing less from the Second Pillar."