Tang Sect

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Tang Sect (唐门)
Alias(es)	Tang Sect; Tang Sect of Shuzhong
Affiliation	Tang Sect disciples, branch schools, and martial arts school
Occupation/Role	Assassination sect; custodian of poison arts, hidden weapons, and assassination techniques
Status	Active; operates legitimate businesses and a martial arts school while maintaining a hidden, insular presence 59 224
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Background / History

The Tang Sect is an old assassination sect whose inherited trade is killing. Its martial heritage combines internal cultivation, poisons, defensive arts, hidden weapons, observation, stealth, and lethal techniques. Its teachings stress that powerful methods are meaningless without improved internal cultivation and life force. 3 59

Qi Poison became central to the sect because it was more convenient than ordinary poison, but early practitioners suffered from its harmful effects. Generations of sect members researched ways to survive its refinement; their sacrifices produced the Five Treasures Body Protection Method, which reduced Qi Poison’s potency but made its use substantially safer. Desperate survival techniques such as Earth-Wood Flow were also developed during this process. 26

Across different dynasties, people in power feared the Tang Sect’s assassins while still making use of them. The sect therefore endured recurring restrictions rather than being destroyed outright. 59

In the present era, the Tang Sect possesses legitimate businesses and runs a martial arts school, but remains constrained by its origins and by the suspicion directed toward assassins. Its secluded nature makes outside contact difficult, and ordinary people may mistake references to it for fictional martial-arts material. 59 215 224

Organization

Position / Group	Known Members	Notes
Sect Leader	Tang Miaoxing	Current leader; described as mature, steady, and responsible, though burdened by concerns over changing sect rules and fulfilling his duty. 59
Senior assistants	Zhang Wang; Tang Qiushan	Assist Tang Miaoxing in managing the sect. 59
Historical Grand Elder	Tang Jiaren	Identified as a former top assassin and later recognized as the Tang Sect’s Grand Elder. 2 224
Historical Sect Leader	Tang Bingwen	Identified by Lü Ci as a Tang Sect leader from the past. 224
Branch schools	Unnamed	One branch school provides the route through which Tang Jiaren’s group reaches the main sect. 225
Martial arts school	Unnamed	Part of the sect’s legitimate modern operations. 59

Techniques and Practices

Five Treasures Body Protection Method

A foundational cultivation and protective method developed to counter the self-harm caused by Qi Poison refinement.

• Builds a stable foundation before more dangerous techniques are practiced. 3
• Improves the safety of Qi Poison cultivation at the cost of reducing poison potency. 26
• Includes survival-oriented applications such as Earth-Wood Flow. 26 49

Qi Poison

A sect initiation practice that turns cultivated poison miasma into a combat resource.

• Used to coat weapons and the body, forming sharp toxic spikes. 6
• Can manifest techniques such as Bamboo Green Snake and Datura Snake. 6 28
• Is dangerous to its user without sufficient physical and cultivation foundations. 3 26

Hidden Weapons

The Tang Sect crafts and employs concealed weapons as reliable assassination tools.

• The Hand Spike is a classic hidden weapon noted for extreme durability and excellent Qi conduction. 47
• Hidden weapons are crafted from prepared materials rather than treated as ordinary accessories. 47

Assassination Arts

Tang Sect combat doctrine prioritizes creating mistakes, exploiting transitions, concealment, vigilance, and survival.

• Instant Strike relies on exploiting the crucial transitions between an opponent’s stages or actions. 37
• Observation Method develops perception, precision, and instinctive awareness. 15 47
• Illusion Barrier conceals the body and requires control of emotional fluctuations. 49
• The sect’s practitioners view survival and preserving one’s life as central principles of assassination. 49

Leadership and Internal Tensions

Tang Shiying feared that the Inner Sect’s older generation might cling too tightly to old rules and resist necessary adaptation. He believed Tang Miaoxing’s sense of responsibility could make him hesitant to alter the sect’s inherited systems. 59

Tang Shiying himself rejected blind adherence to ancestral methods. Although he refused to focus on the traditional Tang Sect Assassination Technique in his youth and instead pursued blade arts, he considered innovation part of an inheritor’s duty: each generation should leave something new behind. 139

Tang Miaoxing takes threats to the sect’s ancestral honor seriously. When reports surfaced that people resembling long-dead Tang Sect elders had appeared, he initially considered eliminating the supposed imposters to protect the sect’s name and ancestors. 225

Story Role / Major Arcs

Qin Qi’s Tang Sect Inheritance

Through the Study Space, Qin Qi learns Tang Sect arts from Tang Jiaren, a deceased ancestor and former top assassin. Tang Jiaren teaches him the Five Treasures Body Protection Method, Qi Poison applications, poison barriers, observation, instant-kill techniques, hidden weapons, escape arts, and stealth methods. 2 3 6 15 37 47 49

Tang Shiying later joins Qin Qi’s tutors, expanding his training through saber techniques and exposing him to the sect’s debates over tradition, adaptation, and its constrained modern position. 59 60

Return to Shuzhong

Tang Jiaren, Tang Shiying, Tang Bingwen, and their group eventually travel through the modern world seeking the Tang Sect in Shuzhong. Time and urban change leave them unable to recognize its location, forcing them to seek help from people connected to the cultivation world. 215 217 224

Their appearance causes alarm among outside factions. The Old Heavenly Master and Lu Jin conclude that the Tang Sect must be informed, while Lü Ci recognizes the old men in photographs as Tang Sect figures from the past. 224

Confrontation at the Sect

After Tang Jiaren’s group locates a branch school and approaches the main sect, Tang Miaoxing, Zhang Wang, Tang Qiushan, and Lu Jin prepare to receive them. Although Lu Jin initially regards them as audacious imposters, Tang Miaoxing warns that anyone bold enough to come directly to the sect may possess genuine confidence and capability. 225

Relationships

• Tang Jiaren — Former top assassin and historical Grand Elder; preserves and teaches the sect’s poison, defensive, hidden-weapon, and assassination arts. 2 47 224
• Tang Shiying — Historical master of saber techniques; advocates adaptation and the creation of new paths within Tang Sect inheritance. 59 139
• Tang Bingwen — Historical sect leader who returns with Tang Jiaren’s group. 224 225
• Tang Miaoxing — Current Sect Leader; protects the sect’s honor while facing pressure over institutional change. 59 225
• Zhang Wang — Senior assistant to Tang Miaoxing. 59
• Tang Qiushan — Senior assistant to Tang Miaoxing; accompanies the leadership to meet Tang Jiaren’s group. 59 225
• Qin Qi — Receives Tang Sect instruction from Tang Jiaren and Tang Shiying, developing its methods into his own combat foundation. 2 60
• Lu Jin — Travels to the Tang Sect to investigate the apparent return of deceased sect figures. 224 225
• Lü Ci — Recognizes Tang Bingwen, Tang Jiaren, and Tang Shiying from circulated photographs and chooses to notify the sect. 224