The World’s Greatest is Dead

Four more days had passed since we had been at the Tang family. It had been six days since our arrival, and during that time, we had spent peaceful and uneventful days.

We ate when given food, trained when it was time to train, and slept when it was time to sleep.

“Wow.”

A sigh of amazement escaped me. How could one spend time so indulgently?

I had never felt so at ease with such laziness.

Yeah, this is life.

‘I’ve been living too busily until now.’

It had only been six days.

I had enjoyed the leisure for just six days, yet I felt so happy.

Tears almost welled up in my eyes.

“Young master Bang, are you alright?”

Chun Uijin, who was beside me, asked.

Chun Uijin was drenched in sweat. He had just finished his training.

“… Ah, yes. Of course. I’m fine.”

It was not just fine; it was sheer bliss.

I dusted off the sword I was holding and slipped it back into my belt.

At the same time, I removed the sandbags tied to my hands and feet.

“Hoo…”

Like Chun Uijin, I was also drenched in sweat.

My limbs felt sore and tingled.

The throbbing sensation was intense.

‘This is tough.’

The added weight was no joke. It had been a recent addition.

The old man had watched my training and then advised me to add it.

It was quite a primitive method, but I did as I was told.

Seeing me doing it, Chun Uijin started doing it too.

Now, both of us trained with these weights until we were utterly spent.

Chun Uijin had once asked, thoroughly exhausted, whether this method was necessary since warriors controlled their bodies through inner qi at their dantian.

Yu Chun-gil had responded gruffly.

‘How can water flow properly when the pathways are not straight?’

It seemed the body was the pathway, and the qi was the water.

When I relayed this to Chun Uijin, he seemed to realize something significant, his eyes widening with understanding.

What was it? Why were only you understanding?

I was baffled.

‘Anyway.’

The training was grueling due to the added weight, but I didn’t think it was bad.

‘I prefer simplicity over complexity.’

Rather than having many thoughts, I liked just doing what I was told.

I found that easier.

‘I’ve been living quite diligently lately.’

I had been living beyond my means, mostly due to external pressures, and it had been exhausting.

Thanks to the brief respite I had taken, I felt more at ease.

I washed off my sweat-soaked body and stepped outside.

The day seemed exceptionally clear, and there was nothing to irritate me.

Even the old man who had always noisily nagged had been out frequently these days, making it a perfect time to enjoy some quiet.

‘It’s almost mealtime.’

Just the thought brightened my mood.

I hadn’t realized that the food given by the Tang family was much more delicious than I had expected.

I had been worried that Sichuan food wouldn’t suit my palate, but fortunately, it wasn’t the case.

Especially since the Tang family was known for using poisons, the thought had initially made me tense, but…

‘…They’ve been cautious about that too.’

The Tang family seemed aware of this concern and showed through their attendants that there were no poisons in the food.

Had I demanded this, it might have seemed rude, but they handled it proactively, showcasing their reputation.

However, amidst this comfort, one thing somewhat bothered me.

Someone frequently seen around my quarters became a matter of concern.

“… She’s here again.”

I sighed, looking at the person visible near the perimeter wall.

‘Why is she like this?’

She hadn’t been there from the first day, but she had started appearing roughly three days ago.

She concealed herself reasonably well, but she was conspicuously visible.

It was Lady Bi, the mistress of the Tang family.

Honestly, she had hidden well at first.

If Yu Chun-gil hadn’t pointed out her presence, I wouldn’t have noticed, but once aware, I could see her clearly.

‘… What could it be?’

Why was she seeking me out this way?

I wondered if I should acknowledge her but concluded,

‘I’ll ignore her.’

My instinct warned me that acknowledging her would be a bad idea.

Moreover, she wasn’t particularly disturbing me. She simply watched me from a distance without doing anything.

So, I chose to ignore her.

‘… Until when?’

I wasn’t sure how long I should keep ignoring her.

I would ask eventually.

‘But not today.’

Not on a day as pleasant as today.

Thinking so, I turned to go back into my quarters.

“May I come in?”

A voice came from the entrance of the quarters.

Hearing that, I turned my head.

Was it mealtime already?

It was about that time.

I moved with anticipation, but…

“…”

Seeing who was at the entrance, I had to stop.

It wasn’t the attendant who usually brought my meals.

Standing there wasn’t someone like that.

“It’s the Young Leader of the Tang family…”

It was Poison Tiger, the current Young Leader of the Tang family.

I frowned at the sight of him.

“How have you been?”

Poison Tiger smiled at me. As always, the members of the Tang family had unusually fierce appearances. If Tang Yelan was somewhat gentle, Poison Dragon looked intimidating, and Poison Tiger was a sharply handsome man.

“……Ah, yes.”

“Sorry for the sudden visit. The thing is…….”

I couldn’t hide my reluctance as I looked at Poison Tiger.

One might wonder why I had such an attitude towards the Young leader.

But I knew.

‘……The fact that he came to see me personally.’

It meant that something urgent was up.

In other words, “The family head has instructed me to escort you as the preparations are complete.”

It signified the end of my hard-earned lazy peace.

* * *

I followed the Young leader’s lead, moving forward.

Although I couldn’t have my meal in the end, I had already lost my appetite a long time ago.

I continued walking, trying to remain calm. The destination was not the residence of the family head but the internal Iron Workshop.

‘……Hmm.’

As soon as I entered, the heat, just like last time, engulfed me.

The temperature was suffocating, but perhaps due to my prior experience, I could endure it somewhat.

Kang! Kang! Kangkang-!

Enduring the ear-piercing sound, I pushed through the heat and moved forward.

After walking for a short while, I saw the iron door I had seen previously.

As soon as we arrived, Poison Tiger reached out and opened the door.

Creak—!!

The heavy iron door forcefully opened, producing a rough sound.

As soon as the gap widened, a chilling cold opposite to the heat emanated from within.

It was the same cold I had felt before.

After fully opening the door, Poison Tiger held on to the handle and spoke to me.

“Please take care.”

Poison Tiger bowed his head. The fact that even the Young leader was acting like this was quite burdensome.

Forcing an awkward smile, I stepped inside the iron door.

Inside, Poison King, Tang Gyung-Ak, and the Head of the Iron Workshop, Tang Jichul, whom I had met before, were already present.

Hiss-!

With a boiling sound, Tang Jichul was pulling something out.

He was slowly drawing out something long from nearly frozen ice.

Watching that, my eyes widened.

‘That…….’

I wondered what it was, but upon closer inspection, I recognized it.

It wasn’t originally supposed to be in such a shape.

So, it took me a moment to recognize it.

But, ‘……Full Moon.’

What Tang Jichul was pulling out was undeniably Full Moon.

It wasn’t the rusty, half-broken saber but a neat and sharp sword.

It was a shape that showed it was originally supposed to look like that.

Just looking at it made my fingertips tremble somehow.

Even in Tang Jichul’s hands, it was like that.

The muscles of the old man, who must have been over seventy, roared in fury.

His muscles visibly swelled just from holding the sword, proving that Full Moon’s weight was no joke.

“Fuuuu……”

Tang Jichul let out a low breath as he inspected the sword.

Then, Tang Gyung-Ak, who was calmly watching from the wall, spoke.

“It’s done.”

As Tang Jichul whispered softly, Tang Gyung-Ak finally broke his silence.

“……You’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing.”

Tang Jichul chuckled.

He then placed the Full Moon on the table.

For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off the Full Moon.

Why was that? It was just a sword, yet my heart pounded.

‘……What is this?’

What was I feeling? I cautiously rubbed my chest.

My heartbeat felt unusually intense.

My body was excited.

To go further, it wasn’t my body but my soul.

Or perhaps my dantian itself was excited.

It was hard to explain. But I clearly felt something from the Full Moon.

At that moment.

“You’ll stare a hole through it.”

Tang Jichul’s words brought me back to my senses.

“Is it fascinating since it’s your master’s sword?”

“……Yes, a bit.”

I said as I averted my gaze.

“So that’s what it originally looked like…….”

What a clean blade it had.

I stared at it in astonishment and asked, “……Is the repair finished?”

Did the repair end already? I thought it would take at least ten days.

Tang Jichul answered my question.

“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

“It’s not?”

“Yes, this is just a temporary measure.”

“What do you mean……?”

A temporary measure? What did that mean?

“Real repair is not yet done. This is merely restoring its appearance.”

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t actually repair it, just restored its appearance? Did they not use proper iron for the repair?

Why?

Understanding eluded me, so I looked at Poison King, who explained,

“It was necessary for opening the Vault.”

He referred to Poison Sovereign’s Vault.

“……Full Moon, you say?”

“Yes. Hence, the primary condition being met, this is why we called on Young master Bang.”

They had only restored the primary shape of the Full Moon, not its full functionality.

“Is that why you called me here?”

In other words.

“Are you giving me an answer to the previous discussion?”

“……”

The Poison King remained silent for a moment. The “previous discussion” referred to the conditions we had talked about.

In exchange for my help in opening the Vault, I wanted to obtain a few things.

We had debated these terms.

In the end, the Poison King had said he would give a definite answer the next time we met, and it seemed today was that day.

What answer would he give?

As I watched expectantly, “…… I will accept your conditions.”

The Poison King sighed slightly as he spoke.

“I appreciate your consideration, lord.”

I responded to the Poison King with a sigh of relief.

With this, “I can now expect to receive help, correct?”

“I don’t know what I should help you with… But as long as the conditions are met, I will do my best.”

Surely, it wouldn’t be a matter of life and death.

And since I had set conditions to avoid such situations, it would probably be fine.

“……”

The Poison King looked at me intently, then nodded as he did earlier.

“…… Understood. I summoned you today to inform you about the state of the Full Moon and this message. As for the Vault, it will be…”

The Poison King held up two fingers.

“It will proceed in two days.”

I nodded cautiously in response to his words.

It seemed there wasn’t much time left.

* * *

Finished with my conversation with the Poison King, I stepped out through the iron door.

Both of them said they had more to discuss and wouldn’t be coming out.

Poison Tiger wasn’t in sight either.

Since I didn’t particularly need guidance, it wasn’t a big deal.

The coldness had vanished, and the heat had returned.

The suffocating feeling still lingered around my throat, but I ignored it and started walking towards the outside.

Currently, what filled my head was more stifling than the heat.

‘The Poison Sovereign’s Secret Vault…’

I had agreed to help under certain conditions, but what exactly was I supposed to do?

Although I had made my own preparations, I still felt uneasy.

‘The old man said it wasn’t a big deal and just to go for it.’

Half the old man’s words were nonsense, so I couldn’t trust them entirely.

“Sss.”

Wouldn’t this end up causing trouble?

As I pondered how to handle this, a sound suddenly reached my ear.

“……”

It was a familiar sound I often heard when I came to the workshop.

However,

CLANK—!

“…… Hmm?”

Though it was the same sound, something was different.

CLANK—!

Every time I heard it, my shoulders flinched.

At the same time, something inside me reacted.

“This feeling…”

It was a sensation I had definitely felt somewhere before.

It was not coming from the body but rather the spirit.

And I was certain I had felt it quite recently.

“…… It feels similar to when I saw the Full Moon?”

The moment I laid eyes on the simply restored Full Moon.

It had felt similar to this.

It was not my body that reacted but my spirit.

The sensation was exactly that.

“What is this?”

Why was my spirit reacting to that sound on its own?

CLANK—! CLANK! CLANK—!

The rhythmic striking sound was the smallest among the noisy clangs. Yet my spirit reacted to it.

“……..”

My feet turned. They moved in the direction of the sound on their own.

My pace quickened. The heat was nearly unbearable, but I ignored it too.

CLANK—!

Only the sound.

CLANK!

I focused solely on the increasingly louder noise as I approached.

And so,

CLANK—!

I arrived at a door from where the sound emanated.

It was smaller and somewhat rustier than the iron door where Tang Jichul was.

CLANK!

The sound was coming from here.

As if bewitched, I reached out my hand.

SCREECH.

I grabbed the doorknob and pulled.

CREEAAAAK.

I applied force to the obstructed door, pulling it open.

I peeked through the half-open door.

The heat wrapped around my face.

It was even hotter than outside.

Why is it so hot? Just standing here made me feel like I would get cooked.

The temperature was so high that no one could possibly be inside.

Yet, inside,

CLANK—! CLANK—! CLANK!

Tang Yelan, with her hair tightly tied back and dripping with sweat, was striking something with a hammer as large as her face.

And behind her stood, “…… The Poison Sovereign?”

A ghost, presumed to be the Poison Sovereign, was silently observing Tang Yelan with a very burdensome and pitiful gaze.