Whisper of Tournament

Three days had passed since the blood oath banquet, and though the banquet had ended with no open violence, the aftermath had cracked the clan's brittle unity even further.

Tang Yun stood alone on a cliff behind the Eastern Courtyard, where dead windflowers grew in patches between jagged stone. Below him, the clan's outer training grounds buzzed with morning drills. Shouts and strikes echoed faintly.

He could sense it.

Surveillance.

Killing intent.

Paranoia.

The banquet had painted a target on his back and he welcomed it.

Xiaomei stepped carefully behind him, clutching a stack of folded silk talismans soaked in green and purple poison.

"They're reacting again," she whispered. "Two more outer disciples collapsed during midnight patrol. Their blood smelled… off."

Tang Yun didn't answer immediately. His gaze was fixed beyond the mountain horizon.

"They weren't my doing," he said finally. "But someone wants to pin it on me."

He took the talismans and passed her a jade ring.

"Start planting these around the northern well and near the Shadow Pavilion. If we're going to be blamed, let's control the narrative."

Xiaomei bowed and vanished down the slope like a leaf on the wind.

Tang Clan: Internal Disciplinary Hall

Inside the main structure of the Disciplinary Hall, Elder Tang Jianxu leaned forward, voice low and sharp.

"We cannot allow Tang Yun to grow unchecked. The Third Elder's nephew lies crippled. Elder Liansu hasn't shown his face since."

Opposite him stood Tang Mo calm, unreadable, but no longer silent.

"Then stop him yourself," Tang Mo said softly.

Jianxu's brows twitched. "You protect him because of his mother."

Tang Mo's eyes flickered dangerously.

"Careful, Jianxu. My tolerance is thin today."

Before further words could be exchanged, the doors slid open.

Tang Yao entered.

Late Meridian Opening Realm. Cultivation tightly suppressed, but powerful.

"I'll handle Tang Yun," Yao said, voice firm. "No assassins. No tricks. Just a proper fight."

Jianxu's face lit up. "The Patriarch would support that."

Tang Mo's gaze fell on Yao. "And what if you lose?"

Yao smiled. "Then he deserves to rise."

Back at Tang Yun's Courtyard

That evening, as clouds passed across the half-moon, Tang Yun knelt in his courtyard refining a small jade pill.

The poison qi around him spiraled tightly threadlike green motes moving like fish through air.

Ding. A soft ring. He opened his eyes.

From the shadows stepped Tang Yuyan, one of the few neutral inner sect members. A quiet girl known for silence and observation, not loyalty.

Early Inner Core Realm.

Tall, pale, robed in gray. She bowed.

"The Patriarch has requested your presence."

Tang Yun tilted his head.

"About?"

"A matter of honor. And challenge."

She hesitated, then added, "Your name will soon be placed on the Tournament Stone."

He paused.

"Tournament?"

Tang Yuyan nodded.

"Every five years, the Tang Clan hosts a private internal tournament to evaluate all disciples under thirty-five. Winners are offered clan resources, martial arts scrolls, and if deserving inheritance rights."

Tang Yun tapped the pill between his fingers. "And the losers?"

"Forgetfulness. Or burial."

He smirked. "So, the blood oath didn't work. Now they want blood spilled in front of everyone."

"It will be announced in five days," Yuyan said. "You should prepare."

As she turned to leave, she added quietly: "I believe you'll shake the stone, Twelfth Young Master."

Later That Night – Poison Pool

Beneath his courtyard, in the hidden Poison Pool chamber, Tang Yun sat cross-legged before the black water. His shirt was off, revealing a slim but scarred torso. Dozens of green acupuncture needles jutted from his flesh.

His skin pulsed faintly.

Pain throbbed.

But his poison qi still at Mid Qi Awakening Realm swirled faster, thicker.

"I must break through to Late Qi Awakening before the tournament," he murmured. "Or every advantage I've created will crack under brute strength."

He dropped a drop of concentrated Blood Widow Venom into his mouth.

His body shook.

Veins turned black momentarily then receded.

He took a breath, clenched his teeth, and reached for the jade manual before him:

"Thousand Venoms Veil – Phase One: Serpent Thread Refinement."

The forbidden art that cost his master's life in his past life.

He would perfect it now. Even if it killed him again.

Meanwhile – Gu Clan Territory

In a forest cloaked in red seals, Gu Shuyin sat within a nine-layered formation circle, a map of the Tang territories before her. Her long black hair flowed like ink across her shoulders, and her eyes glowed with purple light.

"Poison rising. Tides shifting," she whispered.

A masked woman approached behind her. "Will you intervene?"

Shuyin shook her head. "Not yet. Let's see how well the Tang serpent coils. I want to see him win without help."

Cultivation Levels – Update

Character Cultivation Realm

Tang Yun Mid Qi Awakening Realm

Xiaomei Early Qi Awakening Realm

Tang Yao Late Meridian Opening Realm

Tang Mo Martial Master Realm (implied)

Tang Jianxu Martial Warrior Realm

Tang Yuyan Early Inner Core Realm

Gu Shuyin Unknown (Formation Expert)

[End of Chapter 36]

[Tags]: Reincarnation, Martial Arts, Poison, Scheming Protagonist, Cultivation, Weak to Strong, Anti-Hero, Cold Protagonist, Clan Wars, Hidden Identity, Revenge