The village under the protection of Forest-Treading Squad Leader Xiahou Wei-jin appeared peaceful on the surface.
A place where the clamorous sounds of bellows and hammering repeatedly echoed across the blue sky in all directions. It was closer to a town of craftsmen clans living together than a mystical lair of a rain dragon.
And it was also a paradise for the small Tang siblings.
The twin siblings dressed in green silk robes, with sleeve hems that fluttered excessively long for their small stature, darted here and there with their already large eyes opened even wider.
"Mister, can I touch this? It's a mineral I've never seen before."
"Look at this. It should be light enough to attach. If we make flying daggers, iron lotus flowers, and life-scattering needles and layer them together, one disc could create an incredible Myriad Heavens Flower Rain…"
"That one, that one! The fire is white!"
The craftsmanship of the Tang family people who create all sorts of extraordinary hidden weapons is widely known throughout the world.
The village craftsmen didn't show the typical insularity of a blacksmith village toward the siblings.
When the two stood before a stall or shop, they were shown various weapons or minerals with smiles, as if providing good entertainment.
It was a wonderland.
The true silver ore passed down orally from the Tang family's ancestors, the casting method that makes light ripple on the blade surface, forges of unseen shapes, and the abundant natural qi surrounding them.
There was no time to feel boredom.
They were as mystical blacksmiths as they were martial talents acquired through cultivation. They had many opinions to share about the new things they encountered.
The siblings were two yet one.
"Let's make a sword and a disc."
Poison Dragon said, standing in a quiet street. Poison Phoenix, facing him, nodded as if she had expected this.
"Good."
"Finally a chance to strike a blow against that bird-headed monster. Didn't they say the Shadow King's Myriad Heavens Flower Rain lacked time?"
"Yes. Time would be meaningless if there were three of us."
"The Shadow King isn't like us. He's grown enormously, clearly through bone transformation. I don't know how he structured the process, but his body seemed like some divine weapon…"
"I get the general idea."
Their speech and conduct naturally lowered the Golden Wing Sect Leader and elevated Jeong Yeon-shin.
The Flower Shadow King who had given the Tang family the technique of the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain and inflicted massive damage on the nearby Ten Perfections Sect and Pure Demon Alliance, ultimately giving the Tang family breathing room.
The Golden Wing Sect Leader who had put their father, the Tang Clan Leader, at death's door.
Even while looking around here and there, the conversation always returned to Jeong Yeon-shin. Everything was a process of waiting for him.
And when the sun had tilted somewhat westward, casting long shadows beneath the village houses.
The siblings were greatly disheartened when they heard from the former village chief that Jeong Yeon-shin had already left.
"Is he avoiding us?"
"We did meet again in a terrible state… Who would think we're the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons when they see us as prisoners of the Golden Wing Sect?"
"That didn't seem to be the case."
The former village chief, an iron clan elder who was said to have long-standing ties with the Tang family, said while stroking his beard.
The Tang siblings had self-esteem as high as their innate talents. They immediately recovered their composure and spoke of various things.
"So Ghost Cry Hegemon King is marrying the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader? If she's the former Peng family head, she's a woman, right? Among the Two Kings, isn't the male one the former patriarch of the Hwangbo family? Divine Hand Hegemon King Hwangbo Gon."
Poison Phoenix asked. It was a statement demonstrating that she had quickly grasped the martial world situation in the area.
The old man laughed.
"Peng Yu-lan's title is Hegemon King. It means there's nothing she can't do in the world. Whether it's men or women. Since the Eight Great Clans are essentially groups bound by surnames rather than teachings, every generation in any family would produce at least one incarnation of pleasure."
Poison Dragon's brow furrowed.
"If she still has such energy, her martial arts must be strong too?"
"Monstrously powerful."
"How much?"
"Both of the Two Kings are supreme masters who have achieved Half-Step Return to Origin and Rejuvenation. They're called kings because they wield absolute power through their martial arts. Even though they're former-generation masters."
After hearing the old man's answer, the siblings exchanged glances, recalling the sword hanging from Jeong Yeon-shin's waist belt.
Poison Phoenix spoke first.
"I feel uneasy."
"You too?"
"The Shadow King has much to protect. From what I can see, he seems to have come for that reason this time as well."
They were craftsmen of a clan born with mystical bloodlines, and at the same time direct descendants of Sichuan's foremost noble family, the Tang family.
Inevitably proficient in both the Poison King's study of the human body and the craft of hidden weapons.
The siblings don't just examine swords with their eyes. They sense them with energy waves.
Just as Shadow King Jeong Yeon-shin skillfully manipulated minute energy strands to toy with the Golden Wing Sect's Dragon-Slaying protective energy techniques, the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons could work such harmonies on metal.
"That thing hanging at the Shadow King's waist, it was a famous sword from Liaodong, right? We heard from the elder masters. It has the constellation of the Seven Stars engraved on its handle."
Poison Dragon Tang Li-hua said as he approached a nearby anvil.
As the iron clan craftsmen, including the former village chief, made way for them, Poison Phoenix Tang Li-li roughly tied her hair up with a thin string and followed her brother.
A faint green mist seeped from her small body.
The Tang family secret technique, Reverse Original Three Yang Power. It was a versatile internal energy technique used in both metallurgy and forging.
"It was quite intricate, showing through clearly. Some unknown person had worn down the sword edge thoroughly, though."
Tang Li-li said. The corner of Tang Li-hua's mouth rose slightly.
"It couldn't have been the Shadow King's work. It must have been that ridiculous person called the Desolate Divine Hero or whatever."
"It's the Flowing Star Sword from Liaodong, right?"
When his sister asked for confirmation, her brother nodded calmly.
"Without a doubt."
"Right? But how did the Murong family head's beloved sword come to him…? They said the Shadow King beheaded the Zhuge Clan Leader."
"He must have beheaded both."
"Is that possible?"
"I don't know either."
Poison Dragon Tang Li-hua answered indifferently.
His demeanor was different. Standing before the forge and bellows, picking up a hammer and surveying the surroundings, he was closer to a craftsman. His sister Tang Li-li standing beside him was the same.
"If Ghost Cry Hegemon King is the opponent, it wouldn't be strange if it broke in an instant. The Murong family head seems to have used it quite roughly."
"Let's make a new one for him."
That was their purpose as they took their places before the forge.
The Northern Light Sword that the Tang family had previously given to Jeong Yeon-shin was a weapon tailored to him at that time… The handle, tang, and blade that received internal energy were designed to accommodate "Blue-rank Lightning Genius."
Now that even the length of his limbs had changed, it inevitably couldn't bring out its full utility.
"Even if we maximize the sword's spirituality and sharpness now, he should be able to handle it."
"He originally used a swift sword. The Labor Palace acupoint in his palm must be extremely elastic. We need to redesign from there."
"His grip technique was about relaxing strength in the sword fingers, right? That's how it looked."
"I saw it the same way."
"Now his thenar muscles have become prominent too."
"Right. I think he could handle it if we moved the center of gravity slightly forward."
"We should move it just a dust mote's worth."
"I know."
The siblings fell into a trance as if they were the only ones in the world.
As they began to conceptualize the weapon, a bluish light continuously flickered in their eyes, and with their acquired talents, they designed a divine sword by comprehensively incorporating Jeong Yeon-shin's physical condition, grip technique, balance, and the true energy they had felt at the time.
The siblings who most resembled Jeong Yeon-shin.
Only these two.
They were the ones who could make the sword most suited to the current Radiant Demon Wing Leader.
Therein lay the chivalry of Sichuan's Tang family.
Repay kindness twofold, and return grudges tenfold.
Just for having reunited with Jeong Yeon-shin, they held a hammer in one hand while sketching the shape of the sword that came to mind on the anvil with the other.
A completely entranced appearance. Different from usual.
The talents of the upper dantian Baihui acupoint that had split off from Jeong Yeon-shin. Their talent grew sharper with the passage of time.
The siblings' talents were shining more brilliantly than ever, like flames just before going out.
"Use this."
Added to this was the support of villagers who wanted to escape the oppression of the Two Kings.
Thud—
The former village chief dropped a large silver mineral chunk before the siblings.
True silver ore.
It was a strange material. It looked very light for its size, and sunlight rippled like waves on its surface. Occasionally, a glimpse of brilliantly white radiance could be seen.
"They say a true sword master can face a thousand opponents with just a reed leaf."
The old man, having seen the siblings' bluish eye light, stepped back with an air of detachment.
"What would happen if one who boasts such prowess with a single reed leaf were to wield a divine sword fitted to their body?"
The old man concluded.
The siblings didn't answer. The forge was open on all sides.
By now, dozens of village craftsmen had surrounded them, and smoke rose with a whoosh from beneath the siblings' feet, accompanied by the rough sound of bellows.
***
***
Full armament.
It was a phrase that suddenly came to Jeong Yeon-shin's mind.
The external energy waves touching his skin felt like arrowheads.
He felt as if he should wrap his entire body tightly in protective energy and grip a reliable beloved weapon, like the masters of military sects.
Thud.
By the time twilight had faintly settled on the grass leaves brushing against his legs, the lantern lights spreading from a distant mansion in view made the sunset even deeper.
Finding the location of Ghost Cry Hegemon King's wedding ceremony wasn't difficult.
The sounds of laughter and conversation coming boisterously.
The wide, yellow clay uphill path leading to that commotion.
It was just as Forest-Treading Squad Leader Xiahou Wei-jin had transmitted through sound before seeing him off from the village chief's seat. He just needed to follow the large mountain path.
Saaaa—
The Secret Realm Peng Family, said to have been established by the former Peng family head. How many iron clan people had she exploited so far? As he approached the top of the hill, the roof of a magnificent building complex like a fortress became increasingly prominent.
Along with the formless energy waves flowing from that building complex like clouds, clumping together.
'They said it was a sect of old masters.'
The layered energy waves were incredibly dense. High-ranking former-generation masters, an environment with more natural qi than anywhere else.
Regardless of their actual martial prowess, the energy accumulation of the sect members could only be enormous.
It was evidence that Jeong Yeon-shin had come to the right place.
He had finally arrived. Among the three seniors he needed to bring back, he had found Xiahou Wei-jin, and Cheon So-so was right before him.
But Jeong Yeon-shin was not at ease. His heart had fallen endlessly into an abyss. He had seen something he didn't want to face from people he hadn't expected.
'Tang family, former patriarch…'
The old monster who was now dead.
That old man had taken poison and died for the crime of colluding with the Blood Flame Cult Leader. In none other than his own family.
The one obsessed with the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain had obtained something through his dealings with the Blood Flame Cult Leader. It was the talent to recreate secret divine skills.
The former patriarch who had received Desolate Fortress Lightning Genius's human body diagram had implemented some great technique to embody that drawing in his grandchildren's bodies.
Thanks to the upper dantian ability that had flashed along with the Lowly Revelation Technique, Jeong Yeon-shin had glimpsed the Tang siblings' perspective at that time.
A large stone chamber, the Tang family's former patriarch in thin clothes with a golden silk robe, a dagger in the old man's hand, the eerie spell formations characteristic of Blood Flame Cult spread around…
Should he have told the Dragon Phoenix Twin Poisons?
That they had less than half a month of lifespan left.
It was the price for injecting his talent into bodies that weren't Jeong Yeon-shin's.
What the Tang family's former patriarch had cast was not a great technique. It was a poison technique that would slowly lead to death.
The Ming Cult's Young Sect Leader, Poison Phoenix Tang Li-li, Poison Dragon Tang Li-hua. Figures that made Jeong Yeon-shin think of a cracked mirror in his mind. It was as if the mischievous heaven was showing him in advance the end that would someday befall him.
He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
Suddenly, his maternal uncle Ma Jin's alias flashed through his mind. Harbinger of Death.
"An unfamiliar face."
"Could it be someone who has performed Half-Path Reversal?"
Two old men blocked Jeong Yeon-shin at the front gate of the mansion.
They were figures that could be described as pure and clear. Their appearance in light green long robes was clean and elegant. Even the formless energy waves they had wrapped around their entire bodies like a gentle breeze.
They seemed to have refined Taoist martial arts to a high level, and they could likely act as attendants, guardians, or elders in any sect they joined.
They were clearly not the kind of old men who would serve as mere gatekeepers. They were individuals who attested to Ghost Cry Hegemon King's position.
"You seem to have exerted effort in refining your appearance. What is your alias?"
"Bride."
"What?"
"Tell the bride to come out."
Either one of them. Jeong Yeon-shin spoke curtly.
Crack—
Simultaneously, the ground beneath his feet began to be roughly ground in a spiral… The trajectory of the Luminous Wheel Technique rotating in his heart was engraved directly on the ground along with thick dust, and in that instant, the circular energy completed in both his hands let out a thunder-like cry.