There are ten names listed under the Top Ten Venom Beasts in the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures.
Jimjo.
Hoja.
Golden-Crowned Serpent King.
Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Scorpion.
Sky-Flying Centipede.
Bloodflower Illusion Butterfly.
Gold-Faced Spider.
Azure Fire Magma Toad.
Silver Silkworm Moth.
And the final one was none other than the World-Ending Golden Frog.
It was recorded in the very last chapter of the Top Ten Venoms section, described as a creature whose poison could supposedly erase the world—a truly monstrous thing.
It was a name I remembered.
With a delighted expression, I cried out joyfully at the familiar name.
“Oh! When the Five Venoms Sect Leader shouted ‘Myeolse,’ that must’ve been it, right?”
Of course I was overjoyed.
I had already acquired eight of the Ten Venom Beasts. As for Jimjo, I either knew its habitat or had a solid lead on its migratory route, assuming it was a migratory bird.
Only one creature’s whereabouts had remained elusive.
Until now, I hadn’t found a single trace of it—but if this “Myeolse” really referred to the poison of the World-Ending Golden Frog, then it meant we’d finally uncovered a clue to track it down.
Even Hwa-eun’s voice, coming from nearby, echoed with excitement as she responded to my question.
“That’s right, So-ryong. The Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures clearly stated that the World-Ending Golden Frog possessed a poison capable of destroying the world.”
“I remember now! With that level of poison, it could indeed obliterate the world and then some!”
Thinking back on the power of the poison used by the Five Venoms Sect scum when we were chasing them, the odds were high that the “Myeolse” shouted by the sect leader referred to that very same poison.
The potency of that poison had been truly terrifying.
The one who used it disintegrated on the spot, as if dissolving, and a full twenty-meter radius was just cleanly erased.
If they had enough of it, I could fully believe it could erase the world.
I had seen the poison of Jimjo before, and even compared to that, this wasn’t any weaker.
In fact, it might have been even stronger.
There was one thing I couldn’t quite understand, though.
The Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures seemed to list the venom beasts in order of strength—so why was something capable of erasing the world placed at the very end of the Top Ten?
As I pondered this, I recalled a conversation I’d had with Hwa-eun when we were reading the section about the World-Ending Golden Frog.
“World-Ending Golden Frog. That name is incredibly grand.”
“Well, it’s a venomous creature that holds a poison capable of ending the world.”
“But Hwa-eun, don’t you think the Top Ten Venoms section in the Compendium is organized by strength? Why would something this powerful be listed last?”
“Hmm? Well... The Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures was written by Elder Tang Hwaseong. I’m sure he had his reasons for arranging it that way.”
“Is that so?”
While I was recalling that exchange with Hwa-eun, I suddenly heard Grandpa Yakseon’s voice.
He sounded completely shocked.
“World-Ending Golden Frog!? You... you kids know of that thing!?”
Well, it made sense. It was a name that screamed catastrophe.
“Yes, Grandpa Yakseon. The World-Ending Golden Frog is listed in a Tang Clan book called the Secret Compendium of Venomous Creatures as one of the Ten Venom Beasts of the Central Plains. It says right there that its poison can erase the world.”
“World-Ending Golden Frog... What a terrifying name. And yes, the name certainly matches. But you don’t have it among your creatures, do you?”
“No, Grandpa.”
“Then... could it be that the Five Venoms Sect got their hands on it?”
Since Grandpa seemed curious whether those bastards had managed to capture it, I figured I’d try asking.
Because I knew someone—or rather, something—who might know.
“I’ll ask.”
“Ask?”
“Yes, give me a moment.”
Cheong-yu Sojeo was now part of our family. I’d once asked her a question.
Whether there were any other spirit beasts imprisoned by the Five Venoms Sect besides Hoja Mama.
It was to check if there were any other poor creatures I still needed to rescue.
Back then, Cheong-yu Sojeo had said no, not that she knew of.
Apparently, if the spirit beasts they captured weren’t Top Ten Venom level, they just harvested them right away and made them into medicine.
Disgusting bastards.
Even though she was under brainwashing and believed herself to be the sect leader’s daughter, she still had privileged access to secrets, which meant her words likely held weight.
If that’s the case, and the Five Venoms did manage to get the World-Ending Golden Frog, then it had to be after Cheong-yu Sojeo became one of us.
In that case, Hoja Mama would likely know.
And even if not, they may have captured some other spirit beast in the meantime, so I urgently called out to Mama in my heart.
‘Mama! Mama!’
A reply came immediately.
[What is it, my child? What’s so urgent that you had to call Mama like this?]
‘No, Mama, please stop calling me “child.” I’ve told you—call me So-ryong...’
[But if I stop calling you that, I’ll be unhappy, and I can’t have that. Calling you “child” makes me happy, so I can’t possibly concede on this.]
The reason I couldn’t use the group chat and had to talk one-on-one like this...
Was because after Hoja declared that we were truly parent and child, she kept calling me “child.”
Whenever I asked her to just use my name, she’d insist she couldn’t because it would make her unhappy.
These days she’d practically been using “happiness” and “unhappiness” as threats, so I sighed and got to the point.
‘I want to ask something. Did those Five Venoms bastards capture any new spirit beasts after Cheong-yu Sojeo disappeared? Something like, say, a Golden Frog?’
There was a brief pause before she responded.
[Hmm... From what I recall, there wasn’t any Golden Frog. I do remember them catching a low-grade snake-type spirit beast, though. I think they said they’d use it to infuse liquor. Why do you ask about something like this?]
‘Damn bastards! Ugh, calm down. The thing is—remember when I chased the Five Venoms during your rescue?’
[Ah yes, you went after them, didn’t you?]
‘Right. Back then, I threw down poison with Cho, and once the human martial artists started pursuing them, the sect leader of the Five Venoms shouted “Myeolse.”
Then one of the black-clad bastards smashed his own ceramic bottle—and the power that erupted from it was insane. It wiped out the surrounding area like it had been erased by poison. That’s why I’m asking.
I started wondering if they had captured some spirit beast and extracted poison from it—’
[Hmm...]
Mama fell quiet, clearly thinking it over.
And then, as if she remembered something, she spoke again.
[Ah... that bottle—was it black-colored ceramic?]
‘Yes. A dull, black-glazed ceramic. Do you remember something?’
She seemed like she had some information.
And sure enough, she replied that she had seen it.
[I remember now. I saw someone in a black mask offering that very item to the Five Venoms Sect Leader. Normally, no one dares to speak casually to him, but in that moment, I recall the masked man repeatedly urging him to handle it with care.]
‘A black mask?’
[Yes.]
A black mask?
That probably referred to the Five Venoms Sect’s assassination squad that had attacked me.
Which meant this fell under Cheong-yu Sojeo’s area of expertise.
Instead of Mama, I decided to ask Cheong-yu Sojeo.
‘Thank you, Mama.’
I was about to thank her and switch over to Cheong-yu Sojeo when Mama's final question came in.
About when I was going to eat the meatballs.
[Alright, I understand. But tell me, child, when are you going to eat those meatballs? You’ve been looking thinner lately.]
‘I-I’m full today, so, uh... soon?’
[Don’t make Mama unhappy.]
‘Ah... yes, understood.’
[Hehe. That’s my child.]
I promised I’d be a good son, but clearly that wasn’t going to be easy. After I gave a vague answer, Mama chuckled lightly.
At that sound, I couldn’t help but think—
Lately, it felt like she was teasing me on purpose.
Still, if that made her happy, then this So-ryong would gladly be her punching bag.
With that in mind, I called Cheong-yu Sojeo.
‘Cheong-yu Sojeo?’
‘—Shiaa. 「Yes, So-ryong. What is it?」’
Even though it was already evening, she answered right away.
I immediately asked about the identities of the black-masked men.
I had heard about them once before but had forgotten.
‘The guys who attacked me in Cheonghae. Those black-masked ones—what were they called again?’
‘—Shiaaa. Ah, you mean the Shadow Unit? They’re the Five Venoms Sect Leader’s personal combat force. Why do you ask?’
As expected, she answered right away.
I explained the reason behind my question.
‘Well, it’s just that... one of them was the one who used that monstrous poison. Grandpa Yakseon just identified the poison—it might be from the World-Ending Golden Frog.
But Mama said she doesn’t recall them capturing a Golden Frog... So I was wondering if maybe they {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} had some other way of managing spirit beasts?’
‘—Shiaa. 「Hmm... if the Shadow Unit is involved, then even I wouldn’t know for sure. They take orders only from the Sect Leader, so no one else knows what they do.」’
The answer that came back was that even she wasn’t sure.
The Shadow Unit was a secretive group directly under the Sect Leader, and even Cheong-yu Sojeo didn’t know what they were doing.
‘I see.’
‘—Shiaa. 「Sorry. I wish I could’ve helped more, So-ryong.」’
‘No, that’s more than enough.’
After finishing the conversation, I turned to Elder Yakseon and Grandpa Uiseon, who were watching me closely, and explained.
“I just asked Hoja and the Golden-Crowned Serpent King—both of whom I can communicate with through Beast Heart Resonance—whether the Five Venoms might be keeping the World-Ending Golden Frog. Neither of them knew.
But Hoja did say she saw a member of the Five Venoms’ Shadow Unit offering a poison called ‘Myeolse’ to the Sect Leader. Normally, they wouldn’t dare speak so casually to him, but this one was handled with extreme caution.
The Shadow Unit is a direct subordinate force under the Five Venoms Sect Leader. Only he can issue them orders, so no one else knows what they’re doing. But if Hoja saw them handing over the poison, then it’s not unreasonable to assume they may have captured the World-Ending Golden Frog.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
At my reply, Grandpa Yakseon fell into deep thought.
After a while, he turned to Hwa-eun and asked,
“Hwa-eun.”
“Yes, Grandpa Yakseon?”
“If such a poison-spewing creature existed, do you think the Tang Clan could capture it?”
But Hwa-eun immediately shook her head.
“No. Even I have a hard time enduring that kind of poison aura, and the clan’s warriors or elders would dissolve almost instantly. This isn’t the kind of poison a person can withstand.
Even Cho’s poison, which is also from a Top Ten Venom, only melts skin when it makes contact—but this stuff melts everything within range the moment it’s released... Even Wung-hwang vanished in an instant...
If this creature is as fast as the other spirit beasts, it would wipe everyone out in seconds.”
To capture a venomous beast, you at least needed to be able to endure its poison. But this one was simply too deadly—declared entirely uncatchable.
Right now, the Tang Clan’s strongest warrior was Hwa-eun, who had reached the Flower Realm.
If even she said so, then it had to be true.
Grandpa Yakseon nodded slowly and said,
“Then the Five Venoms likely don’t have the World-Ending Golden Frog.”
“Because even the Tang Clan couldn’t catch it?”
“No, So-ryong. Think about what it would take to catch such a creature yourself.”
“That’d be super exciting.”
“No, you rascal. I mean, imagine trying to capture it alive—not kill it. How would you even contain it? What kind of tool could possibly hold it?”
He was absolutely right.
To catch it, you’d need to trap or confine it somewhere—but how, and with what?
Even approaching it would cause you to dissolve.
But there was one thing Grandpa was wrong about.
The Tang Clan might not be able to catch it, and neither might the Five Venoms Sect...
But I wasn’t like them.
This spicy Fabre had a way to capture even a creature with such devastating venom.
A very easy way, at that.
“I understand what you mean, Grandpa. But the thing is, I do have a method to catch it...”
At my words, Grandpa Yakseon and Hwa-eun both gasped, their eyes going as wide as lanterns.
“You do!?”
“You have a way to catch the World-Ending Golden Frog, So-ryong!?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I? It’s actually really easy.”
There really was a very simple method.
