Tang Sect

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Tang Sect
Original Name	唐门
Entity Type	Sect and assassin organization
Occupation / Role	Conducts contract assassinations; trains practitioners in poison arts, hidden weapons, lightness skills, and killing techniques 38 55
Base of Operations	Mountain gate in the Central Plains; Outer Sect strongholds and outposts throughout the Liang Kingdom. The Jiannan Prefecture stronghold was concealed within Black Cloud Mountain. 38 55 114
Status	Destroyed by Su Que, who killed its remaining assassins, seized its Divine Intent Diagram and hidden-weapon blueprints, and burned its other manuals 246
First Appearance	Chapter 38

Background / History

The Tang Sect presents itself as both a family and a sect, but is regarded in practice as an assassin organization. Its disciples specialize in poisons, concealed weapons, stealth, and assassination, while its Central Plains mountain gate oversees strongholds spread across the Liang Kingdom. 38

Its Inner Sect is based in the Central Plains and is primarily composed of the Tang bloodline. Exceptional outsiders may be adopted by Inner Sect elders, granted the Tang surname, and admitted as Inner Sect disciples; Outer Sect assassins may also earn that status through accumulated mission merit. 55

The Jiannan Prefecture branch operated from Black Cloud Mountain. After Su Que and the Sky Breaking Army destroyed the branch, the Sky Breaking Army repaired the stronghold and used it as an intelligence liaison point, with soldiers disguised as Tang Sect assassins to intercept investigators from the Central Plains. 114 116 141

Organization

Division	Details
Inner Sect	Located in the Central Plains; holds the complete martial inheritances, including the complete Myriad Poisons Heart Sutra and the Poison Scripture. Most members are direct blood relatives. 55 116
Outer Sect	A network of outposts across the Liang Kingdom. Outer disciples take assassination assignments, earn merit, and receive limited access to manuals, hidden-weapon arts, and lightness skills. 55
Jiannan Prefecture stronghold	Before its fall, it contained thirteen B-class assassins, five separate contact persons, and three A-class Meridian Opening Realm experts: the leader, deputy, and Scripture Pavilion keeper. 73
Contacts	Contacts use intermediaries and coded meeting procedures to protect the network. Assassins generally recognize each other by waist tokens rather than their real identities. 55 68

Ranks and advancement

Outer Sect disciples begin as D-class disciples and advance by completing assassination missions and accumulating merit. Higher rank grants access to further volumes of the Myriad Poisons Heart Sutra and additional techniques. 55

A later account identifies six Outer Sect grades—Heaven, Earth, Armament, Superior, Middle, and Inferior—with Heaven-grade disciples eligible for Inner Sect recognition after sufficient merit. 115

Jiannan Prefecture leadership

• “Mirage Tower” Zhou Yinsheng — Head of the Jiannan Prefecture stronghold; an Earth-grade Outer Sect disciple and a Meridian Opening Realm assassin. He subdued twelve-meridian expert Ou Hao Quan through Tang Sect movement techniques and hidden weapons. 73 98 115
• “Chaotic Shadow” — Zhou Yinsheng’s deputy; one of the three A-class experts at the Jiannan stronghold. 73
• Rakshasa / “Shadowless” — Heaven-grade Outer Sect assassin and leader of the Tianjiang Prefecture stronghold. He was nearing Inner Sect admission through a Miaojiang poison-herb mission. 115
• Tang Tian'ao — Tang Sect Master who led the later expedition into the Southern Region. He wielded the Buddha’s Fury Tang Lotus and was one of the sect’s two Divine Intent Realm experts. 244 245
• Tang Tianwen — Tang Tian'ao’s elder brother and the other Divine Intent Realm expert accompanying the Southern Region expedition. 244 246

Abilities & Skills

Assassination network

The Tang Sect issues assassination contracts through concealed meeting points and multiple layers of contacts. Missions provide silver rewards and merit, while the organization minimizes exposure by separating the identities of contacts, assassins, and stronghold personnel. 55 68

• Assassins identify themselves through tokens bearing codenames such as Greedy Wolf rather than by face or real name. 55
• Contacts can arrange for an assassin’s sight and hearing to be obscured before leading them to restricted locations such as the library. 55 68
• Zhou Yinsheng covertly had non-core assassins followed after contact meetings as a precaution against betrayal. 99
• Unauthorized sale or disclosure of Tang Sect hidden weapons and manuals is punishable by pursuit and execution. 86

Poison arts

The sect’s signature internal art is the Myriad Poisons Heart Sutra, which produces highly toxic Myriad Poison True Qi. Its cultivation requires absorbing poisons, and the complete inheritance is restricted to the Inner Sect. 55 116

• The Poison Scripture explains the properties, generation, restraint, enhancement, and neutralization of poisons; mastery allows a practitioner to select toxins for future advancement without Outer Sect guidance. 116
• Poison cultivation visibly harms many practitioners: skin, hair, pupils, and fingernails may discolor, while severe practitioners can develop deteriorated constitutions. 141 155
• Exceptional poison-resistant disciples can cultivate without obvious physical changes and are regarded as Tang Sect geniuses; successive sect masters are said to have possessed this trait. 155

Hidden weapons and mechanisms

Tang Sect hidden weapons range from poisoned darts to complex mechanical devices. Their forging methods are preserved in manuals such as Hundred Solutions for Hidden Weapons, and their blueprints are valued enough to alter the military strength of other factions. 56 83 118

• Tang Sect Crossbow — A refined crossbow capable of piercing a redwood pillar and a wall. 83
• Shoulder-Mounted Crossbow — A heavier crossbow refined by the Tang Sect; one sold for 8,500 taels at the Qingfeng Town Ghost Market. 86
• Sleeve Arrows and sleeve darts — Smaller concealed weapons suited to poisoned ambushes. 86
• Mechanical iron arm — A body-mounted mechanism capable of firing darts and other hidden weapons; Heavy Scorpion replaced his left hand with one. 86 103
• Grappling-hook mechanisms — Devices mounted on Heavy Scorpion’s back that could be combined with lightness skills for rapid movement. 86
• Sky Piercing Cones — Cold-iron projectiles fired from arm-mounted boxes; extremely powerful but costly in true qi and best used at close range. 151
• Buddha’s Fury Tang Lotus — A talisman-enhanced explosive hidden weapon forged from Thunderfire Hall techniques and five-element fire metal. A direct hit could kill even a peak Divine Intent Realm martial artist. 244
• King of Hell’s Post — A toxin-infused explosive hidden weapon whose poisoned fragments can kill peak Divine Intent Realm martial artists. 244

Lightness and stealth arts

Tang Sect assassins rely on speed, concealment, and distance control to deliver hidden weapons effectively. 53 72

• Known arts include Ghostly Hidden Misty Steps, Ghost Shadow Smoke Step, Ghostly Shadow Tracing Steps, and Spirit Dragon Shadow Chasing Art. 56 72 116 238
• Assassins use buildings, rooftops, and terrain to break pursuit and conceal their movements. 97
• Their tactics favor maintaining a twelve-to-fifteen-step range, where barrages of poisoned hidden weapons are most effective. 53

Strongholds and Defenses

The Jiannan Prefecture stronghold was built inside Black Cloud Mountain and had three entrances. Access required passing through a mountain tunnel filled with lethal miasma; qualified Tang Sect personnel cultivated the Myriad Poisons Heart Sutra to withstand it. 114

• The main stronghold was a five-story tower with a central winding staircase. Intruders ascending the stairs could be targeted by assassins on every floor. 115
• The third floor connected to the library, while the top floor housed the stronghold leader. 115
• The separate five-floor Scripture Pavilion stored incomplete cultivation manuals, poison-making methods, and hidden-weapon forging blueprints. 116
• The stronghold’s defenses failed when Su Que used his knowledge of Tang Sect methods to bypass its conventional fighting routes during the Sky Breaking Army assault. 115

Relationships

• Su Que — Infiltrated the Outer Sect using Zhang Bengen’s “Greedy Wolf” token, captured and interrogated several assassins, raided the Jiannan stronghold, and ultimately annihilated the entire Tang Sect. 55 72 114 245 246
• Li Xuanji and the Sky Breaking Army — Allied with Su Que to seize the Jiannan stronghold’s manuals and blueprints; later repurposed Black Cloud Mountain as an intelligence site while posing as Tang Sect members. 114 116 141
• Ou Hao Quan and the Ou Family — The Ou Family used false assassination requests to lure Tang Sect contacts into ambushes, while Zhou Yinsheng retaliated by capturing Ou Hao Quan and negotiating for the Heavenly Crippling Foot method. 98 99
• Sun-Plucking Cult — Coveted Tang Sect crossbows and blueprints for mass production; its interest in weapons sold at the Ghost Market helped spread the sect’s military reputation. 83 86
• Zhan Qing Tian — Considered hiring a Tang Sect assassin to kill White Lotus Sect leader Bai Wuji and create an opportunity to evacuate his family from Jade Water City. 38

Story Role / Major Arcs

Outer Sect infiltration

After capturing Outer Sect assassin Zhang Bengen, Su Que learned of the Tang Sect’s token-based identity system and adopted the alias Greedy Wolf. He later contacted the Jiannan network, captured B-class contact Xuan Hu, and extracted the location and structure of the Black Cloud Mountain stronghold. 55 68 72 73

Hidden-weapon leak

Su Que sold Tang Sect crossbows, Shoulder-Mounted Crossbows, and other hidden weapons at Qingfeng Town’s Ghost Market. The sale earned over 26,000 taels but alerted the sect, which dispatched Dark Rat, Stab Skull, and Heavy Scorpion to identify and kill the seller. 86 88

Fall of the Jiannan stronghold

Su Que persuaded Li Xuanji to attack the Black Cloud Mountain stronghold in exchange for its manuals and forging blueprints. The Sky Breaking Army overwhelmed the stronghold, while Su Que defeated Rakshasa, Zhou Yinsheng, and the branch’s other Meridian Opening Realm experts. 114 115 116

Central Plains investigations

The Inner Sect responded to the loss of its Southern outposts by sending Ji Yuanhen, Yi Xingyun, and later Inner Sect disciple Tang Huantian. The Sky Breaking Army’s impostors could mimic Tang Sect attire but not its martial arts, exposing the deception; Su Que defeated and interrogated the investigators. 141 142 151 152

Final destruction

After Tang Sect Inner Sect disciples attacked Jiannan Prefecture City, Su Que killed them in a single strike. The sect then sent Tang Tian'ao, Tang Tianwen, and elite assassins south in retaliation. Su Que survived their barrage of Buddha’s Fury Tang Lotuses and the King of Hell’s Post, killed the expedition, stormed the Central Plains mountain gate, and eradicated the Tang Sect. 238 244 245 246

Trivia

• Tang Sect crossbows were so valuable that the Thunderclap Army forcibly conscripted blacksmiths across Jiannan Prefecture to copy them; the replicas could achieve only about sixty percent of the originals’ power. 101
• The Sky Breaking Army later used captured Tang Sect blueprints and poison-making techniques to establish specialized crossbow and poison-water units. 118
• The Tang Sect’s Divine Intent Diagram depicts a hellish sea of black fire, reflecting the sect’s assassin nature. 246