Chessboard of Shadows
The dawn was pale and cold, casting silvery light through the veil of poison mists surrounding the Tang Clan's ancestral courtyard. Yet within the mist, a shadow moved with clarity, purpose, and calculation.
Tang Yun had not slept.
The encounter with Bai Yuchun, the outer disciple from the Wind Wolf Mercenary Band, had stirred more than danger. It had sparked something long dormant from his past life: the art of maneuvering the battlefield not with strength, but with wit.
He stared at the vine seedling he had nurtured in secret. A strange pulse emanated from it now. It had absorbed the lingering traces of the Hundred Poison Body awakening. A convergence of venom lines had begun to take shape in his meridians. The roots of the poison were not just in his dantian anymore they were in his thoughts.
And so, the game began.
The Twelve Scales of the Tang Clan
Among the children of the Tang Clan, cultivation had become the silent measure of worth. With a clan in decline, their resources were limited and thus divided with cruelty. Only those strong or cunning enough gained more.
Tang Jinhai (Age 20): Late Inner Core Realm (Naehak-gyeong) - Crimson Fang of Hundred Nights
Tang Feiyan (Age 19): Mid Inner Core Realm - Velvet Orchid of Death
Tang Wuhen (Age 18): Late Meridian Opening Realm (Gyeongmaek Gaebang-gyeong) - Silent Serpent
Tang Rouxi (Age 17): Peak Qi Awakening Realm (Gi Gakseong-gyeong) - Ghostneedle Princess
Tang Huian (Age 16): Mid Qi Awakening Realm - Thousand Venom Scholar
Tang Mingzhe (Age 16): Mid Qi Awakening Realm - Duskgloom Talon
Tang Ruolin, Bao, Lixue, Shenli, Jiayi (Ages 15-13): Early Qi Awakening to Mid Qi Awakening Realm
Tang Yun (Age 12): Mid Qi Awakening Realm
But none of them knew.
His breakthrough had been quiet.
Intentional.
The Pawn with a Broken Blade
Tang Yun stood outside the southern barracks of the Tang Clan's outer courtyard. A scrawny youth was kneeling before a pile of shattered wooden training weapons. His name was Li Shun, a servant's bastard who had been elevated to outer disciple last year, only to be ostracized for being talentless.
"You broke the spear again?" a guard sneered, stepping on the fragments.
Li Shun flinched. He said nothing. His right arm was bandaged he had strained it trying to mimic a Meridian Flow Technique.
"Leave him," Tang Yun said, stepping into view.
The guards halted. While they didn't fear Tang Yun as a martial force, his status as a legitimate son prevented them from showing open disdain.
Tang Yun crouched before Li Shun.
"You fight to win or to survive?"
The boy blinked. "T-To survive, young master."
"Good answer."
He tossed a small jade vial toward the boy. Inside it was a mix of pain-numbing venom and minor muscle stimulant harmless on its own, but empowering in combat.
"I need eyes in the outer court. You want strength? Obey me."
Li Shun bowed.
One pawn.
The Silent Ripple
By noon, Tang Yun had recruited five more outer disciples.
None of them exceptional.
None of them noticed.
But he gave each of them a small token: a thread-wrapped talisman laced with faint poison qi not harmful, but traceable.
He called them the Moss Blades.
Each night, they would report rumors, observations, and movements among the outer courts and the disciples from the side branches.
And they did.
Because each of them had been fed a minor addiction.
To a harmless blend of venom-laced tea that increased energy and reduced fatigue.
Only Tang Yun held the antidote.
The Threat Behind the Smile
It was the evening of the Spring Harmonization Banquet, a formality where disciples presented offerings to the elders and demonstrated minor techniques.
Tang Yun wore plain robes, no embellishments. Yet he had already drawn the attention of three elders.
Elder Tang Ren observed him as one might observe a beetle curiously, and with distaste.
Elder Tang Mo smiled, but his gaze lingered on the boy too long.
Elder Tang Liansu frowned.
Tang Yun stepped forward when it was his turn.
He did not summon qi.
Instead, he opened his palm.
A small, obsidian-colored vine coiled into a spiral shape, emitting a dark fragrance.
Elder Tang Liansu stood up. "That scent... That's not from the Tang herb archives."
Tang Yun smiled. "A hybrid venomous vine grown from discarded seeds. I fed it with waste pills and animal blood. It now contains a trace of ten poisons."
Whispers filled the courtyard.
He bowed and stepped back.
It wasn't power he showed.
It was potential.
And fear of potential was stronger than fear of strength.
A Poisonous Invitation
Later that night, a letter arrived.
No seal.
No sender.
Just a line:
"A withered root still feeds the tree. Come to the Hollow Altar."
Tang Yun read it thrice, then burned it.
He packed five vials, two scrolls, and a dagger carved from Black Bone Coral.
He arrived at the Hollow Altar just past midnight. The place was old, half-collapsed, used only during rare ancestral rites.
Within the fog stood a figure.
Tang Rouxi.
Her needles glimmered faintly in the moonlight.
"You displayed yourself today."
"No. I planted a seed."
She narrowed her eyes. "I know what you're doing. Creating a web. A hive of insects."
He said nothing.
"You think you'll rise that way? Without true cultivation?"
Tang Yun stepped forward.
"You underestimate the sting of insects. When they act together, they bring down tigers."
She laughed, high and sharp.
"Let's see how your insects sting."
She vanished.
The first needle came from the left.
He ducked.
A second from above.
He spun and shattered a vial a yellow smoke filled the air.
Rouxi leapt back, coughing. "What–?"
"Sneeze pollen. Harmless. But irritating."
She growled.
But Tang Yun had vanished into the mist.
The First Gambit
Back in his chamber, Tang Yun sat before a small board.
Each piece was a carved stone, marked with initials.
He moved one: LS (Li Shun) toward BR (Barracks).
Another: XM (Xue Mo, another pawn) toward HG (Herb Garden).
He was mapping movements. Rumors. Shifts.
Suddenly, one piece moved out of sequence.
SL (Shenli) moved toward OP (Outer Pavilion).
Tang Yun frowned.
Someone was acting outside the rules.
Someone had noticed his web.
He took out a black stone.
"First retaliation," he muttered.
[Tags]: Reincarnation, Martial Arts, Poison, Scheming Protagonist, Cultivation, Weak to Strong, Anti-Hero, Cold Protagonist, Clan Wars, Hidden Identity, Revenge