In any martial arts novel worth its salt, the Sichuan Tang Clan is a constant presence.
As one of the five great families of the martial world, they're technically part of the righteous faction, but their use of poisons and hidden weapons often casts them as villains or fodder for the protagonist to crush.
I'd wondered if I needed to ingest poison to unlock the Sichuan Tang Clan trait, but to think it actually required eating poison—how absurd!
Who the hell came up with this setting?
Unlocking the Tang Clan trait was great, but a bigger issue loomed.
I'd just ingested poison.
I didn't know what kind, but I could drop dead in seconds. This was serious.
Frozen, spoon in mouth, I stopped moving entirely.
"Young master?"
Arin called out, but I didn't respond or budge.
"Young master! Are you alright?"
I counted a minute in my head, but my body showed no changes—no pain, no blindness, nothing.
I glanced at Arin, her usually blank face now tinged with concern.
[Name: Arin]
[Traits: Swift Blade Lv2, Clear Mind Lv1, Aura Adaptation Lv1]
[Affection: 20 (Deep Interest)]
Over the past month, Arin's affection had steadily risen. She definitely wasn't the one who poisoned me.
I couldn't pinpoint who did it. Honestly, too many people had reason to poison me.
"Young master!"
"Sorry!"
"What were you doing?"
"Just… thinking."
There was still no sign of poisoning. I considered four possibilities:
The poison is so weak it barely affects me. It's a cumulative poison that builds up to cause illness. The Sichuan Tang Clan trait neutralized the poison's effects. It's a gu poison that activates after a delay or through a trigger.
All four were plausible, making it hard to judge.
Yuren Rocks, the character I'd possessed, was fated to die by the protagonist's hand later. But poison? That wasn't in the script. Something I did must have altered Yuren's story.
All I'd done was exercise and train.
Could my training have harmed someone?
Spoon still in mouth, my mind raced.
What was supposed to happen in the Rocks family around this time?
As I thought about the story, a vivid image of the plot flashed in my mind.
First, the second son, Colin, was to be named heir. Then, Illia would visit, be disappointed in Yuren again, and break off the engagement. Finally, the hesitant Marquis would officially declare Colin as heir.
With the story clear, the list of suspects narrowed significantly.
It was about the succession. By now, Colin should've been named heir, but my actions changed that. My training made the Marquis delay the decision.
"Young master, what's wrong?"
"Sorry."
I had a rough idea of who did it. Now, I needed to identify the poison, but that was tricky.
Frustrated, I squinted at the soup.
[Creator's Eye Lv1 activated.]
[Chirein Soup]
Despite the creator's crude naming sense, this nutrient-rich stamina food slowly restores stamina and mana while accelerating muscle fiber recovery. Its effects improve with intense training.
This was the same as before, but new information appeared below.
+[Hanyang Herb] (Attribute: Paralysis)
Hanyang Herb is primarily medicinal, but when aged, it develops a mild toxicity. While barely affecting adults, accumulated doses can cause progressive paralysis and death.
"Whoa!"
The Creator's Eye was unreal, revealing the poison in the soup and its effects.
"Young master, if you're not eating, shall I get something else?"
"No, I'll eat."
Since one bowl wouldn't harm me much, I decided to finish it.
"Hm…"
After downing the soup, another message appeared.
[Weak Paralysis Poison conditions met.]
The weak paralysis poison was unlocked. I needed to send Arin out and check my traits.
"Rest well, then."
"Yeah, goodnight."
As soon as Arin left, I stood before the mirror and activated Creator's Eye.
[Creator's Eye Lv1 activated.]
[Name: Yuren Rocks]
[Traits: Creator's Eye, Sichuan Tang Clan+]
[Condition: Overweight, Mild Poisoning, Weak Muscle Soreness]
[Sync Rate: 97.7%]
"How do I use the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
Focusing on the trait, I noticed a plus sign next to it. Clicking it, like opening a folder, revealed several categories.
"What's this?"
[Sichuan Tang Clan]-
[Sichuan Tang Clan - Poison]+
[Sichuan Tang Clan - Hidden Weapons]+
[Sichuan Tang Clan - Martial Arts]+
[Locked]
[Locked]
The plus sign turned into a minus, and the unlocked categories had plus signs like the Tang Clan.
"So, clicking these opens them too? Pretty smart."
The earlier message mentioned a weak paralysis poison, so I clicked Poison. The plus sign turned to a minus, revealing a list of poisons.
Since it was unlocked, Weak Paralysis Poison was at the top, followed by many others.
The further down the list, the more complex and deadly the poison names became. I checked the bottom.
[Tang Clan's Ten Poisons - Formless Poison] - Requires unlocking lower-tier poisons.
Formless Poison is shapeless, colorless, tasteless, and odorless, yet one of the Tang Clan's deadliest poisons.
"So, I can use this eventually?"
The note about unlocking lower-tier poisons meant I needed to master the ones above it.
"The Sichuan Tang Clan's unlock condition was ingesting poison, and the Weak Paralysis Poison's was consuming Hanyang Herb."
Focusing on an item brought up descriptions like hovering a mouse cursor. The Weak Paralysis Poison was unlocked but unusable.
[Weak Paralysis Poison] - (Unusable) Requires Inner Energy Technique.
Inner energy technique—obvious, in hindsight. The Tang Clan's poison use relies on inner energy.
I clicked the plus sign next to [Sichuan Tang Clan - Martial Arts]+. A message appeared.
[Select Basic Inner Energy Technique]
[Indigo Poison Technique]
[Thunderstrike Technique]
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit]
Any martial arts novel fan would know the choice instantly. The third option, Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit, was the obvious pick—because it had "Spirit" in the name.
[Would you like to learn Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit? You can only choose one inner energy technique.]
After reading all three descriptions, I made my choice. Indigo Poison Technique focused on poisons, Thunderstrike Technique on hidden weapons. Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit took the longest to master but offered mastery of both poisons and hidden weapons. No contest.
[You have learned Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit.]
As the message appeared, the technique's knowledge engraved itself in my mind.
It felt as natural as something I'd known since birth. I immediately began practicing it. Without my conscious control, a tingling sensation coursed through my body in a set path and order.
A strange, exhilarating feeling washed over me as small, solid beads—likely inner energy—passed through my body's meridians, each movement sparking intense pleasure.
These beads were probably inner energy, accumulating as they cycled through my meridians.
At first, my mind wandered, but soon I focused solely on the flow of inner energy.
Chirp! Chirp!
The morning birds snapped me out of it. I'd been cycling the technique all night without sleep.
"In martial arts novels, they say you can practice inner energy without sleeping. It's real—and I'm not even tired."
Far from tired, I felt invigorated, likely due to the warm inner energy in my dantian, a few centimeters below my navel.
"Something's… different."
The world felt different from yesterday. Not just confidence from gaining inner energy, but a heightened sense of the air's flow, the world's rhythm.
I could tell how many birds were chirping outside and who was at the door.
Click.
Thinking I was still asleep, someone entered without knocking.
"You're awake?"
It was Arin, carrying steaming water. She placed it on the table and glanced around.
"You didn't sleep."
Seeing the pristine bed, she was certain I hadn't slept.
"It just happened."
"That's not good. You should skip training today."
Normally, Arin would fetch breakfast after setting down the water, but now she kept watching me, visibly concerned.
"No, I'm going. I feel great."
Oddly, despite my new inner energy, Arin didn't react. With her aura training and Aura Adaptation trait, she should've sensed something. Strange.
"I'll prepare your meal."
"Thanks."
After Arin left, I thought of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and its categories appeared without needing a mirror.
"As expected."
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit] 1st Star 10%
Ten percent in one night was incredible progress.
[Weak Paralysis Poison] - Temporarily paralyzes the target.
Unlike yesterday, the Weak Paralysis Poison was activated with a description. I could use it now.
"Who should I test it on? I need a practice target…"
There was also a "Detoxification" option below it, so I could undo the poison immediately.
"Hm…"
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Arin returned with Chirein Soup.
"Eat first."
"Thanks."
Whether from overthinking or staying up all night, I was starving and dug in.
"Hm…"
[You have ingested poison (Hanyang Herb).]
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit absorbs the poison (Hanyang Herb).]
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit's mastery has increased.]
[Weak Paralysis Poison's proficiency has increased.]
Messages kept popping up as I ate the poisoned food.
Now I understood what the system was saying.
And I'd decided who'd be the first test subject for my paralysis poison.
"Just wait."