Chapter 174

Chapter 174
# Chapter 174: The Tang Elder’s Live Experiments

Tang Clan elder Tang Yang was a name Yang-hui knew well. He had never crossed paths with the man personally, but in his past life, when he had been close to Tang Gun, he had heard the name come up time and again.

What did they call him again? The Tang Clan’s most eccentric genius and a walking source of constant headaches? And yet his abilities were undeniably genuine, leaving few within the clan capable of reining him in.

“Elder, what exactly is it you wish to do?”

“Conduct live experiments!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Live experiments!”

“We have never met before, you know.”

“Precisely! That is why I shall be as gentle as I possibly can and ensure you feel no pain at all! Please, grant me your permission!”

Yang-hui glanced skyward for a moment. Typical of the Tang Clan, he thought. Perhaps it had been a mistake to let the world come to view the entire clan as nothing more than poison specialists after all.

Live experiments? On the young master of another house?

“I was aware the Tang Clan pursued advancement in martial arts with singular devotion, given the heavenly punishment laid upon your line, but…”

Every martial art practiced by the Tang Clan traced its origins back to the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans. Naturally, those powerful factions had never intended for a family that specialized in poisons and concealed weaponry to rise and threaten their own standing. And so they had passed down techniques that were inherently limited—arts that, to speak plainly, could never attain the Super Peak realm.

The methods were fundamentally flawed; without being completely rewritten and replaced with something entirely new, that highest state was truly unreachable. This was why the Tang Clan had cherished the goal of reaching Super Peak—or as they termed it, the Intent realm—for generations. It was tradition for the most gifted martial artist of each generation to assume leadership of the clan and then withdraw into seclusion indefinitely; such was the depth of their longing to succeed.

“Even so, live experiments…” Yang-hui mused silently. “Well, it certainly explains why your own people call you an eccentric.”

“So let me be absolutely clear,” Yang-hui said aloud. “An elder of the Tang Clan is proposing to perform live experiments upon me—a complete stranger and the young master of our allied Baek Clan. Is that correct?”

Even when Yang-hui stated it so plainly, Tang Yang showed no trace of shame.

“Your intentions are perfectly obvious,” Tang Yang replied. “Why cloak them in fancy words? Straightforwardness serves us far better!”

Technically speaking, he was not wrong. Just as that thought crossed Yang-hui’s mind, a sharp, resounding *thwack* cut through the air.

*Thwack!*

It was not a blow struck at another; it was Tang Gun striking his own forehead with the palm of his hand.

“Uncle! How many times must I tell you to show proper respect when speaking with outsiders?”

“I am showing respect!”

“Not just your tone—your words as well, please…”

Tang Gun’s reaction made it abundantly clear exactly how Tang Yang was regarded within his own family. He was essentially an older counterpart to Chui-dal: unashamed, slippery, disinclined to listen, and a constant source of exasperation to everyone around him.

*‘Bro—why does your gaze fall on this younger brother with such sudden disrespect?’*

*‘You rascal—should “disrespect” even be the word to use on your own elder?’*

*‘I could think of nothing more fitting.’*

There it was. Tang Yang was essentially Chui-dal grown older. The resemblance was undeniable.

“Brother Tang,” Yang-hui said.

“I offer my sincere apologies on his behalf, Brother Hui.”

“It is quite all right. But tell me—does the Tang Clan truly perform live experiments?”

Tang Gun looked utterly horrified.

“What dreadful, demonic notion is this? We do not conduct experiments upon others! And even were we to do so, never without full consent!”

“…And you secure that consent through intimidation, perhaps?”

Tang Gun leaped backward, waving both hands frantically in protest.

“No! Never! Not in the slightest! Uncle Tang, look what you have done—you have planted these wild ideas in Hui’s head!”

“A true gentleman needs only to keep faith with his own conscience!”

“Un-cle!”

Setting aside Tang Gun’s protests, Tang Yang fixed Yang-hui with an intense, burning stare.

“I have heard it said, Young Master, that at your age you have already cultivated nearly four complete circuits of inner energy? Even with the most extraordinary stroke of fortune, this is a miracle that should not be possible without heaven’s own favor! Nothing like it has been seen since the days of the Great Sea Dragon King!”

The Great Sea Dragon King, Peng Ban, was one of the Heavenly Martial Ten Venerables. Legend held that his inner energy was so vast it could split the very heavens themselves.

“Four circuits at your age and level? I must examine your body! Please!”

*‘Clearly my abilities are impressive enough to draw such a reaction from him,’* Yang-hui thought to himself.

A martial artist’s capacity for inner energy was inextricably linked to the perfection of their physical vessel. If one could simply swallow spirit pills and amass inner energy without limit, the wealthiest person in the world would also be its greatest master—an obvious absurdity.

Possessing four distinct circuits within a body not yet thirty years old was a result of tempering his frame through the experiences of his past life, alongside actively drawing upon and refining the power of his immortal qi.

*‘Tch. For now he assumes this stems from some secret technique of an outer sect. Is it not somewhat casual to ask me to reveal such things outright—especially when proposing live experiments as the method?’*

“It seems my natural gifts have aroused your curiosity, Elder,” Yang-hui said. “I understand your interest.”

“Precisely! I knew you would see reason!”

“However, I cannot consent to live experiments. I intend to develop these methods into a guarded secret of the Baek Clan in time.”

“…But we are allies, are we not? Surely there can be no harm between allies?” Tang Yang’s enthusiasm faded in an instant. “In the old stories, allies swore blood oaths and lived as brothers…”

Thankfully he still possessed a measure of restraint and did not simply press forward heedlessly. Were he otherwise, Tang Gun and Tang Yeon would not have regarded him with such fond, weary affection.

“Even so, live experiments are taking things too far.”

“Then I shall conduct them upon myself first! Would that satisfy you? Or perhaps we might experiment upon one another?”

“No—just… no.”

He was truly overwhelming, Yang-hui reflected. As that thought took shape, his gaze fell upon Tang Yeon.

Now that he considered it, unlike Tang Gun, she had made no real effort to intervene.

*‘Wait—was it not she who suggested we be given time to recover from our journey upon arrival? She has not stopped him at all.’*

“Sister Tang?”

“Ah—yes?”

“You are not striving to stop him as fiercely as Brother Tang.”

“…Hehe.”

“Surely you do not also wish to—”

It dawned on him then. Tang Yeon had been schooled in the most advanced medical and poison arts the Tang Clan possessed.

“Sister… from whom did you receive your instruction in martial arts, if I may ask?”

“What do you mean?” Tang Yeon glanced silently toward Tang Yang.

Of course.

“It is only natural to be curious, is it not?” Tang Yang interjected. “To display such extraordinary talent at your age! As a physician, how could I hold back?”

*‘As a physician indeed,’* Yang-hui thought skeptically. If given permission, she would likely administer all manner of poisons and observe his reactions with keen interest.

*Thwack!*

Once more, it was not a blow struck at another; Tang Gun struck his own forehead again.

Meanwhile, Tang Yang moved directly to negotiation.

“Very well! What say we come to an arrangement? I do not ask without offering anything in return—let us bargain together.”

Bargain over what? No martial artist in the world negotiated terms for experimentation upon their own body. Yet a sudden idea occurred to Yang-hui.

*‘Hmm… might I turn this to my advantage to gain access to the Tang Clan’s closely guarded knowledge?’*

They spoke of live experiments, but no one intended to cut him open; he could moderate the process as needed. He might pretend to share certain Baek Clan insights, receive their techniques in exchange, and propose improvements to their methods. What had seemed a difficult situation was now presenting unexpected opportunity. The approach was unorthodox, but for the sake of Brother Tang’s clan, the risk was worthwhile.

“To be honest,” Yang-hui said, “I have long been curious about my own constitution and physical makeup from a medical perspective as well.”

Tang Yang leaped into the air with unbridled delight—an altogether different kind of bound from Tang Gun’s earlier startled jumps.

“I knew it! I knew you would understand! I have also heard it said that Young Master Baek is not truly of Baek blood and so could not have inherited the clan’s distinctive constitutional traits… Oh—forgive me. That was ill-spoken.”

He had effectively stated, directly to Yang-hui’s face, that he was not his father’s true son, then drawn back cautiously to gauge the reaction. At the very least, he was not entirely without boundaries—a small mercy.

“My body has undergone considerable change through many fortunate encounters,” Yang-hui continued. “The Tang Clan—renowned across the world for unsurpassed medical expertise—may well discover truths about my own condition of which I remain unaware.”

It was flattery, certainly, but not entirely without foundation. He had learned much about his immortal qi through trial and error, yet the trained eye of a master physician might well perceive things he had missed. Viewed in that light, the arrangement was not entirely to his disadvantage.

“However, I have conditions. My body is, after all, the property and secret of the Baek Clan. Do you accept?”

Tang Yang nodded vigorously, his face alight with elation. “Most assuredly! Your very body is a treasure beyond price!”

“Then in exchange for allowing you to examine me, I ask to learn of the Tang Clan’s martial arts as well.”

“Agreed!” Tang Yang accepted instantly. Tang Gun and Tang Yeon stood beside him, utterly stunned.

“Uncle!”

“Elder!”

“You cannot simply agree to such terms without consulting anyone!”

“What possible harm can there be? Our clan’s arts are already recorded in the annals of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans for all to study anyway.”

“Even so!”

“Should you not seek the clan head’s permission at the very least?”

“Ah… very well.” Tang Yang looked back at Yang-hui with a hint of apology. “That being the case, how would you feel about gaining access to my own personal research instead?”

Yang-hui had never expected immediate access to the Tang Clan’s most closely guarded core techniques in any case. He nodded calmly.

“That would suit me perfectly. It is all part of the exchange between allies—satisfying our mutual curiosity and striving toward ever greater mastery.”

“Ha-ha-ha! Young Master, truly your heart is as vast as the heavens themselves!”

And so the group made their way toward Tang Yang’s quarters—or rather, his laboratory.

Inside, the silence hung heavy. Tang Gun was the first to break under the strain.

“Un-cle!”

Yang-hui realized this was the first time he had seen Brother Tang so visibly agitated, his words drawn out in evident exasperation. Always so easygoing and quick to laugh—who would have guessed he possessed such intensity?

“What in the world is all this? What are they doing right here within the clan grounds?”

The laboratory stretched out before them, vast in scale. Enormous jars—large enough to be called vats—each held a single person. They were filled to the brim with what was unmistakably poison, and beneath each vessel, low fires burned steadily.

“Beon-ah! Yak-ah! Hu-ya! What are you all doing inside those things?”

*‘Thank goodness—all are members of the Tang Clan. No outsiders are being abducted for experiments,’* Yang-hui reassured himself as he watched Tang Gun’s shock.

Tang Yang replied casually.

“Training.”

“Training in what manner?”

“Heh. Young Clan Leader, have you not heard the saying that ten thousand paths all lead to the same destination? There are endless roads by which one may reach the pinnacle.”

That seemed a generous way to describe what they were witnessing.

“They are training to achieve Invulnerability to Hundred Poisons. By absorbing specially formulated poison liquid through every pore of their skin, their bodies are gradually remade into Poison Humans.”

At that moment, one of the young men submerged in the jars began coughing violently.

“Cough!”

Tang Yang hurried to his side, wiping the young man’s mouth with his sleeve, then glanced nervously toward Yang-hui.

“Ventilation is poor in here—the air quality suffers, you see! Ha… ha!”

No—Yang-hui recognized it clearly. The traces on the sleeve were unmistakably blood.

“Elder… your sleeve is stained red.”

“Ah—my stomach has been troubling me… Cough! Cough!”

“This is no time for pretense!” Yang-hui stepped forward. “Beon-ah! Hold fast! Beon-ah!”

The young man who had coughed up blood, Tang Beon, was turning a dreadful, ashen blue. He was clearly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of poison energy surging through his system.

Yang-hui rushed forward as well.

“Brother Tang, I shall tend to him first! Summon the master physicians and poison experts at once!”

“Understood!”

Immortal qi guided all things back toward their proper state; it should do the same for a body invaded by poison.

*‘Strange… his response is swifter than I anticipated. He is drawing in the immortal qi as a magnet draws iron.’*

Placing his hand upon Tang Beon’s back, Yang-hui channeled a steady stream of Harmonious Heaven qi into him—drawn from the Harmonious Heaven Principle Origin Art, which harmonized every energy under the heavens. Together with the immortal qi, it guided all things along their natural, intended course.

“Impossible… the poison qi—it is receding!”

The dark, murky liquid filling the jar was slowly clearing. Tang Beon’s body was also undergoing visible change.

“Young Master Baek, please step aside for a moment!”

Tang Yang dropped to the front of the vat, checking Tang Beon’s pulse at multiple points, administering additional doses of carefully selected poisons from his own vials.

“Ugh… Elder… what… has happened…” Tang Beon murmured as consciousness returned.

Tang Yang’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

“Invulnerability… to Hundred Poisons! It has been achieved!”

Yang-hui stepped back, scratching his head slightly in mild embarrassment. *‘Oh dear. It seems I have inadvertently caused quite a stir.’*