The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 24

Chapter 24.

Living as a Man of the Martial World (1)

Baekgyeong Group's Chairman Choi Tae-seong clearly had the makings of a true chaebol patriarch.

Instead of going ho the day he was discharged from the hospital.

He went straight to the company.

[Baekgyeong Group's Chairman Choi Tae-seong has returned to work. Chairman Choi declared that he would swiftly normalize the group, which had been deteriorating—]

His return was covered in the news.

"Hehehe. How many days has it been on an upswing!"

I, having bought a massive amount of Baekgyeong Group stock, writhed with joy at the growth of my fortune.

It had surged so hard that a 'VI'—a trading halt—was triggered!

"If I'd known it would rise this much, I should've put in all 2 billion!"

I regretted my past self for only buying in 1 billion.

Tring.

A call ca in from Choi Jae-jun.

"Senior! You'll have to wait a little longer for the ten-story building deed I promised."

Huh? What's this all of a sudden.

"I was going to hand over the deed, but my father got so angry……."

Chairman Choi did?

This man, ungrateful—!

"He said a re ten-story building wouldn't do, and told to transfer the luxury apartnt we were planning to sell as well."

A luxury apartnt?

That one in Cheongdam…… What was it called again?

"The listing price is around 15 billion. Move-in is this spring, so please wait."

……Really?

Wait, setting that aside.

What about my dream of owning a ten-story building?

"Looking at the building, it needs so repairs. If we hand it over to you like that, getting the permits and going through the procedures for repairs would be complicated, so we'll take care of everything ourselves and hand it over once it's all done. Fully occupied, of course."

Ah…….

I'm sorry for ever doubting you.

I was dumbfounded.

, having suddenly beco far too wealthy.

Right then, another call ca in.

Tring.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Kim Tae-yang? This is the Murim Tower Climber Managent Division of the Gukmubon. Your eligibility screening date has been assigned. Are you available next Tuesday?"

A Murim Tower eligibility screening?

Ah, I'd forgotten.

, having needed a certification to climb the Murim Tower and earn money.

But not anymore.

I have plenty of money, and an exclusive entrance only I can use.

There's the Black Market, so I have a place to unload the items I get from climbing the tower too.

The Gukmubon civil servant kept rattling on.

"It's next Tuesday. Even if you're not available, you absolutely must make ti. Ever since the Golden Tower, the waitlist has grown even longer, and getting a screening slot is like catching a—"

I held the receiver to my mouth and spoke.

"Can I push that back?"

"……What?"

"Not next week. The week after next, after next."

"What are you saying right now? Do you understand what kind of opportunity this is……."

"When would the next available date be if I postpone?"

"You'd have to wait at least two more months. It could even be three……."

"Then let's do that."

"What? Kim Tae-yang."

"Contact in two months. Thank you."

Click—.

The Gukmubon, who had been cold to on the day I went to the Murim Tower.

Sohow, it felt like I'd gotten one back.

***

Rattle. Rattle.

I pulled the Bungeoppang cart with my mother and headed to the front of Sanwang Technical High School.

I have plenty of money now, but.

I need to earn sothing more important than money.

Happiness Points, that is.

[The convenience store owner at the Bulamddong intersection marvels at the taste of the Bungeoppang. 5 Happiness]

[A young woman who took the early morning train to eat a handso Bungeoppang is delighted. 5 Happiness]

Small, but steadily accumulating points.

"Oppa! We're here."

Hyeon Min-jeong, forrly in short skirts, and her friends ca and bought Bungeoppang.

"Why are you coming to the school gates during vacation?"

"To eat Bungeoppang."

"Huh?"

"And to see Oppa."

Good grief.

My mother, who had been baking Bungeoppang beside , spoke.

"These kids kept coming even while you were gone."

I asked Min-jeong.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Have one more. On the house."

"Sp-special treatnt?"

[Min-jeong is delighted. 20 Happiness]

Business wrapped up in under three hours.

The chill had eased off a little now.

"The cherry blossoms will bloom soon."

My mother tidied up the cart and gazed at the trees in front of Sanwang Technical High School.

"Proper spring is still a ways off."

"Spring cos to the heart first, my dear."

Ah, well said.

I'll keep that in mind.

My mother seed to be watching the news—sound was coming from her phone.

[The Golden Tower remains unchanged again today. Two months in a row of changes, and now the Golden Tower has gone quiet—what could have happened? We'll be hearing from Chief Han of the Gukmubon.]

Chief Han?

Ah, the woman with the scar on her cheek.

I rembered her shouting at .

On my mother's phone screen, Chief Han spoke with a stiff expression.

Roughly: 'We are currently assessing the situation, and the Gukmubon will do its utmost to resolve public anxiety.'

Everyone's in a frenzy.

Because I've been putting off the climb.

There's a reason for it.

Having earned Happiness Points myself,

I've found that the larger the anticipation, the greater the Happiness Points that flood in when it's overco.

The deeper the valley, the higher the mountain, as they say.

So I'm waiting for the right mont—when people's expectations for floors seven through nine of the Golden Tower are at their peak, and their impatience has built up.

That's exactly when I plan to go in.

And besides.

Honestly…… I'm uneasy.

Facing a wrongful past is a painful thing.

The Murim Tower seems determined to provoke , continually dredging up my past.

If it would just send back one single day before things went wrong, I could heal my mistakes…….

For instance, the day before I was kidnapped by the Nallyu Gang, or the day before the Dark Moon Pavilion killed my dog.

But the Murim Tower wouldn't do that.

It only ever sent to the mont right after things had already fallen apart, so every ti I cleared a floor, I was left in a foul mood.

"There'll be sothing like that on floor seven too, no doubt."

The news cut to another screen.

[As anxiety grows, citizens are gathering in front of the Murim Tower. The citizens are chanting 'Golden Tower' in unison, hoping the Murim Tower's countdown will begin again.]

……Hmm.

That should be enough by now.

It felt like tonight would be a fine ti to go in.

***

Whooom—.

[Entering floor 7 of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).]

[This is a first entry.]

[Mission (7th floor): Slay 20 mbers of the Blue Dragon Gate.]

—Ti Limit: 3 days

—Success: 10,000 Happiness Points awarded

[A bonus mission is given for first entry.]

[Bonus Mission: Slay the Gate Master of the Blue Dragon Gate, Blue Dragon Breaker of Seas, Yong Mun-cheong.]

—Ti Limit: 10 minutes

—Success:

① Mission (7th floor) deed complete (GOLD)

② Happiness Points tripled (×3)

③ Treasure 'Dark Tortoise Armor' Fragnt 1/3

—Failure: All rewards for this floor's Blue Dragon Breaker of Seas and the bonus mission are permanently forfeited.

"The Blue Dragon Gate, huh."

An Orthodox sect in Sichuan Province.

A mid-sized sect in Sichuan Province.

The Blue Dragon Gate was originally a large-scale sect called the Four Divine Gate, but it split into four.

The Blue Dragon Gate, the White Tiger Gate, the Vermillion Bird Sect, and the Dark Tortoise Pavilion.

In the way that those who were once one lineage fight tooth and nail after a split, these four had long been at odds in Sichuan Province, each claiming their own legitimacy.

Around the ti Father beca the head of the Sacheondang Family.

The White Tiger Gate had absorbed the Vermillion Bird Sect, leaving the Blue Dragon Gate and the Dark Tortoise Pavilion.

"So the Blue Dragon Gate has ties to my past……."

After the Nallyu Gang and Dark Moon Pavilion incidents, the Blue Dragon Gate recklessly expanded its forces to resist the White Tiger Gate.

Father, wanting to maintain balance in Sichuan Province, stepped in to diate.

The result?

Failure.

At the gathering Father arranged, the Blue Dragon Gate, the Dark Tortoise Pavilion, and the White Tiger Gate clashed violently.

Father was wounded because of it, and several of Sacheondang Family's warriors were killed.

Father despaired, saying he had tarnished the Sacheondang Family's honor once more.

The Martial World mocked our Sacheondang Family.

But sothing felt off.

"I wasn't at that gathering."

Being a matter of politics, young was not present at the diation talks.

I had only heard that the talks had ended in failure.

In that case…….

"The tower has sothing it wants to show ."

On top of that, the reward portion of the notification ssage nagged at .

[Treasure 'Dark Tortoise Armor' Fragnt 1/3]

The Dark Tortoise Armor is, naturally, an armor that symbolizes the Dark Tortoise Pavilion.

But why would it be the reward for floor seven, which deals with the Blue Dragon Gate?

Questions mounted, but I didn't dwell too long on them.

Let's just charge in and see.

7th floor was the Blue Dragon Gate's manor.

The mont I appeared, the Blue Dragon Gate's warriors imdiately ca at .

Without even asking what was going on, they just charged recklessly.

If anything, it was refreshing.

The thod was the sa as before.

I subdued the Gate Master of the Blue Dragon Gate, Blue Dragon Breaker of Seas, Yong Mun-cheong, in the shortest ti possible.

He thrust the Blue Dragon Spear at repeatedly, but I had already entered the Transcendent Peak.

I dodged lightly and brought a chop down, snapping the spear.

Crack!

"Th-that's—!"

When his prized Blue Dragon Spear broke with a single strike, Yong Mun-cheong's eyes shook violently.

A man who doesn't deserve an epithet about breaking the sea.

With this level of skill, Father would never have been wounded in the past.

He must have been hurt because he hadn't used lethal techniques while trying to diate.

I cleared the area and asked Yong Mun-cheong.

"What are you people doing right now?"

The answer was as I'd expected.

The point in ti was right after the diation talks Father had hosted fell apart.

They had been deliberating on the aftermath.

I questioned Yong Mun-cheong again.

"The Blue Dragon Gate…… Have you been in league with the Dark Tortoise Pavilion?"

Yong Mun-cheong's eyes wavered.

But he didn't answer.

"……."

No choice then.

Crunch crunch crunch!

The interrogation began.

I spent the remaining ti breaking Yong Mun-cheong, but.

He never opened his mouth.

Instead.

Crunch!

He bit off his own tongue and took his own life.

[Bonus Mission Complete!]

[Slay the Gate Master of the Blue Dragon Gate, Blue Dragon Breaker of Seas, Yong Mun-cheong.]

—Mission (7th floor) deed complete!

—Happiness Points 30,000!

—Treasure 'Dark Tortoise Armor' Fragnt 1/3 awarded!

[Ti taken to complete mission: 8 minutes 11 seconds]

[Overwhelming completion (GOLD)!]

[7th floor of the Murim Tower turns golden.]

[The entire world turns its eyes to the Republic of Korea's tower.]

"Infuriating bastard……."

True to an Orthodox Gate Master's high pride.

I should have used poison first and then interrogated him more.

I regretted showing rcy in my techniques.

I decided to investigate the Blue Dragon Gate.

I searched the body of the dead Yong Mun-cheong and interrogated the warriors still alive, but.

There was nothing to be gained.

I entered the Gate Master's chamber of the Blue Dragon Gate.

Rifling through the docunts, it was as expected.

"Here it is."

A letter stamped with the Pavilion Master of the Dark Tortoise Pavilion's seal.

[Delivered directly to the Gate Master of the Blue Dragon Gate

I trust you rember the promise the Alliance Master made last month.

The Alliance Master will attempt to diate at this talks, but it must be overturned.

Our Dark Tortoise Pavilion will refrain from attacking the Blue Dragon Gate as much as possible. Instead, we will strike the Sacheondang Family under the guise of a mistake.

Let us kill that despicable White Tiger Gate Master, and rebuild the Four Divine Gate!

I swear to this, and as proof, I send the Dark Tortoise Armor.]

"Haaa……."

The Blue Dragon Gate had joined hands with the Dark Tortoise Pavilion and the Murim Alliance Master to swallow the White Tiger Gate.

And the sacrificial offering made to the Alliance Master was our very own Sacheondang Family.

"That Alliance Master bastard……."

Just why are you so desperate to devour our Sacheondang Family?

Father's failure made sense now.

Talks that were rigged to collapse from the very start.

How could anyone have won against that?

"And the Dark Tortoise Armor?"

I looked around, but it was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't a concern since it would be given as a reward.

I searched a bit more, but there was no treasure to be found.

I gathered an armful of the Blue Dragon Gate warriors' spears and headed up to 8th floor.

[Entering 8th floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).]

[This is a first entry.]

[Mission (8th floor): Slay 100 mbers of the Blue Dragon Gate.]

Sa ssage, sa place.

My rcy, gone.

Crack! Thud! Crash.

I broke the Blue Dragon Gate warriors and Yong Mun-cheong.

I asked the captured Yong Mun-cheong.

"I know you colluded with the Dark Tortoise Pavilion. That you received instructions from the Murim Alliance Master to strike the White Tiger Gate."

"H-how do you know that—!"

I held the Dark Tortoise Pavilion Master's letter up to his face.

This was what I wanted to ask.

"What exactly did the Murim Alliance Master et with you people and discuss?"

"……."

Yong Mun-cheong didn't answer, and my brutal interrogation began.

This ti, I yanked out his teeth one by one so he couldn't bite his tongue, and drove my thumb into a pressure point.

In under five minutes, the man opened his mouth.

His words ca out a little garbled, but the content was understandable.

"I don't know the details. The Alliance Master just said that if we overturned the talks, he would give us the revival of the Four Divine Gate and governance rights over Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan!"

"Is that all?"

"That's the truth. He said just that and left!"

I interrogated him further, but that was everything.

The ten-minute ti limit was approaching, and I spoke to Yong Mun-cheong.

"Did you believe the Alliance Master's words?"

"I, I had no choice but to believe!"

"Shall I tell you your future?"

Yong Mun-cheong lifted his one remaining eye and looked up at .

"Your Blue Dragon Gate will be annihilated in a year. Because the Dark Tortoise Pavilion Master will ultimately betray you."

"That can't be so!"

"Why? Is it fine for you to betray us, but the Dark Tortoise Pavilion Master isn't allowed to betray you?"

"That—!"

"Don't worry."

I grabbed him by the throat.

"The Dark Tortoise Pavilion Master gets devoured by the White Tiger Gate as well."

Crack!

I snapped Yong Mun-cheong's neck.

Entering 9th floor.

[Entering 9th floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).]

The ti it took to capture Yong Mun-cheong grew shorter and shorter.

I'd be able to interrogate him for much longer this ti.

I even told him that the Dark Tortoise Pavilion Master would eventually betray them.

The sa eyes.

Eyes that said he couldn't believe it.

"How could you possibly know that……?"

Because I ca from the future.

Not that this man would believe .

But more than that.

"What did our Sacheondang Family ever do wrong to you people? You're Orthodox sects, aren't you."

Yong Mun-cheong bit his lip and answered.

"The Sacheondang Family has long lorded over Sichuan Province as its overlord. Couldn't our Four Divine Gate have taken that place instead?"

In the end, it ca down to power?

Yong Mun-cheong cried out with his last remaining strength.

"The Martial World is ruled by strength! The victor takes all—that is the Martial World!"

I looked down at him and spoke.

"You're right. The Martial World, where the strong devour the weak."

"……."

"So don't resent it."

Snap!

"Dying at the hands of the strong."

Plunge!

I drove his own Blue Dragon Spear through Yong Mun-cheong's heart.

[Bonus Mission Complete!]

[Slay the Gate Master of the Blue Dragon Gate, Blue Dragon Breaker of Seas, Yong Mun-cheong.]

Clang.

The Dark Tortoise Armor fell before my eyes.

I picked it up, and a weighty energy transferred through my fingertips.

[Treasure Dark Tortoise Armor lv1: Light yet solid, it will not shatter even under a blow from a boulder.]

I was about to examine it, but.

Whooom—.

A door opened imdiately.

"Unusual."

It was different from when I cleared 1st through 3rd and 4th through 6th floors.

There was only one door.

[This is the door leading to 10th floor.]

"Telling to co in, are you?"

Pfft.

I laughed and gathered an armful of two Blue Dragon Spears and the other spears, and gripped the Dark Tortoise Armor in my hand.

That's right.

Murim Tower.

I've seen well what you wanted to show .

"I'll climb all the way to the top."

[Entering 10th floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).]