Volcanic Age

"Poison…?" Tang Hui's brow furrowed in confusion, the perplexed expression lingering on her face.

The Icefrost Poison was not a common poison, it couldn't be easily bought with money. However, it wasn't something that she couldn't give him easily. Being a family of experts in poisons and hidden weapons, the Tang Family had multiple poisons on that level.

Of course, it wasn't something they could give out wantonly, but as someone of the main family line, she had the rights to do so.

"I never expected to hear a member of Mount Hua ask for poison. If your plan was to surprise me, then I must say you were successful."

The Orthodox Faction tended to look down on poison and hidden weapons for being underhanded. Most of them hated it, and many of them viewed using such things in contempt.

The reason the Tang Family could remain one of the five great ancient families was out of necessity. Unlike the Orthodox Faction, their enemies from the Evil Faction often resorted to poison and hidden weapons, posing a great threat. To combat this, they also had to possess the knowledge of poison and hidden weapons.

Researching antidotes for poison required knowledge in poison, and the Tang Family was the only expert in them in the Orthodox Faction, which was also the reason why they were one of the great ancient families.

So it wasn't surprising that Tang Hui was shocked when a disciple of Mount Hua was asking for poison, when they were known to be dedicted in refining their sword arts.

"If you're curious about my intentions, why not ask after you defeat me?"

"Nice taunt, but I advise against provoking me further," Tang Hui growled, placing her hand on the table. "I can stuff your head into the river and press it down with my foot until you become a ghost!"

Pssh!

Her hand caused a dent on the table, and when she removed her hand, the wooden table below revealed a rotten dip.

What a frightening woman.

Zhou Xuchuan clicked his tongue. This woman's personality was truly vicious. Maybe she should be called the Poison Wasp instead of Poison Phoenix[1], since she was less of a bird and more like a bee.

"I accept your challenge." Tang Hui stood up and grinned coldly.

Phew!

Thankfully, things went according to plan. Her refusal would have screwed up his future plans. Zhou Xuchuan inwardly sighed, but he did not reveal any of it on the outside.

He asked, "Then please decide on a date and pla—"

He had lowered his guard a bit. The moment she saw an opening, Tang Hui darted toward him.

Tap, tap tap!

She spun on the spot, her arms becoming a blur as hidden weapons shot out from between her fingers, whirling through the air with deadly precision.

"Hup!"

Caught off guard, Zhou Xuchuan momentarily forgot to breathe. Although he was surprised by the sudden attack, he reacted swiftly, instinctively tilting his head to the side to dodge the weapons hurtling toward him.

Whoosh!

As the next set of weapons came hurtling toward him, his heightened focus allowed him to make out the weapons this time.

Poison butterflies?

The butterfly-shaped hidden weapons the size of a finger were unique to the Tang Family. Zhou Xuchuan recalled the information he had about the poison butterflies of the Tang Family.

"Oh no!" He quickly threw himself to the side.

When he did, poison butterflies landed on the spot he was just moments earlier. There wasn't one, but two—the first one was the one he dodged by tilting his head to the side.

Clang!

The poison butterflies collided, making a metallic clashing sound and sending sparks flying.

"I commend you for dodging the Soulstalker Butterflies."

It was a hidden weapons technique that was known to be one of the Tang Family's peerless arts. Avoiding the poison butterflies wasn't enough, as it would return and chase the enemy down relentlessly.

And as the name "poison butterflies" implied, there was a considerable amount of poison smeared on the weapon, which required even more vigilance.

"Your ambush failed, so now what?" Zhou Xuchuan chuckled.

The Tang Family specialized in poison and hidden weapons, which was accompanied with an element of surprise. It was frowned upon by the Orthodox Faction, and they were receiving a lot of scrutiny as a result of their expertise in poison and hidden weapons. They had no reason to fear any more.

"Really now?" Tang Hui grinned, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Your arrogance will be the very poison that threatens your life!"

Tang Hui stomped on the ground with her internal qi.

Rumble!

With a thunderous boom, the floor shattered beneath Tang Hui's foot, sending hundreds of wooden shards flying into the air, creating a spectacular scene.

Zhou Xuchuan responded calmly without panicking. He spun Frostedge around with sword qi.

"It's over." A grin appeared on Tang Hui's face. It was clearly a sneer.

Whoosh!

Something fell on top of Zhou Xuchuan's head. It was the poison butterfly that disappeared after colliding with another.

Tang Hui did not doubt her victory after seeing that.

"What the—!" Zhou Xuchuan shouted, startled.

It wasn't that he was surprised by Tang Hui's methods, it was just that, all of these attacks could be fatal.

Whoom!

As Zhou Xuchuan spun his sword three times, a powerful gust of wind erupted from its blade, imbued with an overwhelming amount of qi.

The wooden shards that looked like they could engulf a human were reduced to dust against the sword pressure.

Without bothering to check the result, he effortlessly swung his sword above his head, cleanly cutting the butterfly-shaped hidden weapon in half.

The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy. Instead of a heavy silence, though, it was Zhou Xuchuan's shocked voice that filled the room.

"You lunatic! Were you trying to kill me?!"

He would've died if he had gotten hit by that attack.

"Wh-what's happening?"

"It's the guest room!"

A commotion could be heard outside. It wasn't surprising after all the ruckus they caused here.

"Milady!"

Bang!

The door was forcefully smashed open, followed by a flood of cultivators from the Tang Family surrounding Tang Hui in a protective formation.

"You! Where do you think you a—"

"What was your name again?" Tang Hui asked, interrupting a cultivator.

"Zhou Xuchuan."

"Zhou Xuchuan…" Tang Hui mumbled the words in her mouth, her voice tinged with humiliation and fury.

Who was she? She was the Poison Phoenix of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes! Not to mention her martial arts peers, she could be considered one of the most powerful cultivators in their twenties, and yet, she had lost.

Even if her opponent was someone from the ten major organizations, it was shocking that she lost to someone so close to her own age.

"Do not touch him before I return," Tang Hui said to the rest before leaving.

She's not planning to ambush me again, is she?

The Tang Family fought like assassins. They avoided frontal battles and aimed for times when the enemies were least expecting it. This wasn't surprising considering their disadvantage in a frontal battle.

If they managed to launch a sneak attack successfully, they would be very powerful. They could even kill their opponents effortlessly if things went well.

However, the consequences of failure were significant. This was because even amateur cultivators could easily deal with hidden weapons and poison if they knew about it beforehand.

With this in mind, Tang Hui launched a sneak attack at the very beginning while pretending to leave. She even overturned the floor at the last moment to obscure Zhou Xuchuan's vision and launched an attack using the Soulstalker Butterflies.

The Poison Phoenix was at the Peak Realm, just about to reach the Absolute Realm. Considering her age, her cultivation was incredibly fast. With the sneak attack she launched, she could have easily defeated a genuine expert of the Absolute Realm.

However, she just ran into a terrible opponent.

"Here's the promised item."

It hadn't been that long since Zhou Xuchuan fell into deep thought, but Tang Hui had already returned with a palm-sized metal box.

"Okay."

It was puzzling why the elders of the family weren't here yet, but Zhou Xuchuan decided not to dwell on it. He was better off leaving this place as soon as possible.

"It was nasty meeting you and I hope we never meet again."

He liked beauties, but not crazies. He didn't want to get involved with her any longer. If anything, he wished that their relationship could end here.

"Do you know the scariest part of the Tang Family?"

"I don't particularly want to know."

"It's that we're the most vicious family in the martial world." Tang Hui wore a chilling smile. "A woman's resentment doesn't just cause it to snow in the summer. You see, I always have to pay back what I've received. I guarantee that poison will be snowing over you."

"I've heard that the Tang Family is the most generous in the world, young lady. I have finished my business here, so allow me to take my leave. Let us act as if we're meeting for the first time if we are to meet in the future. Haha."

Zhou Xuchuan laughed and walked past Tang Hui. The cultivators of the Tang Family tried to stop him, but Tang Hui raised her hand to stop them before they could.

Then, she glared at him until he vanished from sight, as if imprinting his image into her memory.

*

A rumor started circulating in Sichuan.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"Heard what? I won't know if you don't tell me."

"My man, you're late to the news."

"What are you so fussy about? Tell me about it."

"Not too long ago, a young man met the Poison Phoenix and challenged her to a duel."

"Isn't that quite common?"

A duel with Tang Hui was somewhat a famous event in Sichuan. After all, the Poison Phoenix's beauty was knowen to be unmatched within the province.

Dozens of men visited the Tang Family every day to get a closer look at her. Among them were some who were brave enough to challenge her to a duel while demanding marriage.

As long as those challengers met certain criteria, it wasn't that hard to challenge her to a duel, given the fact that Tang Hui hated losing.

The results were obvious. Forget winning, most cultivators couldn't last a single round before being defeated.

The Poison Phoenix wasn't a title she obtained through her appearance alone. Only the strongest women in their twenties could obtain a title like that.

Tang Hui would be considered exceptional even if she was put shoulder-to-shoulder with cultivators in their thirties, which meant that those that could defeat her would mostly be in their forties. Someone at that age aiming to marry her? Insults would not be the end of what he would receive. It could even involve the Tang Family's head rushing over.

"Don't be surprised."

"Geez, get on with it already!"

"That youth surprisingly won against the Poison Phoenix!"

"He what?"

People could not hide their surprise. Winning against the Poison Phoenix meant that the challenger was on the same level as the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.

This rumor quickly spread throughout the entire martial world.

"Tell me more!"

According to the rumors, a young man challenged her to a duel with some stakes. However, the duel couldn't be considered an all-out one.

"From what I hear, the duel stated that the young challenger would win if he could survive a few moves from the Poison Phoenix."

"What? You mean he could get married to the Poison Phoenix based on that alone?"

"Hm, it seems it's not about marriage. I'm not entirely sure, but apparently, the young man asked for a spiritual pill or wealth."

"Aha. I see now. There's no way the Poison Phoenix of all people would get married so easily, is there? So it was just to kill time. Hahaha!"

Men sighed in relief. If the greatest beauty of Sichuan was taken, they would be unable to sleep for weeks because of envy.

"Still, it's quite impressive someone managed to withstand a few rounds against one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes. I'm curious about who this individual is… do you know?"

"I do."

"Who is it?"

"It's Zhou Xuchuan!"

1. Wasp and Phoenix have the same pronunciation in Korean. ☜