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Chapter 3
He got chewed out.
After absorbing the Oh Yeonghonghwa, Cheon Mujin descended the mountain and returned to the encampment.
It had taken him roughly six hours.
Since he had left his post without permission, it was, of course, desertion.
However, he wasn’t punished severely upon his return.
The reason was simple.
He was of Cheon family blood.3
That was probably all there was to it.
‘That guy is going to have a rough time.’
The one who had been assigned as team lead for the patrol this time was bound to be disciplined.
Though they would probably try to sweep it under the rug, so it wouldn’t be too severe.
“What’s with the fox?”
“I’m going to raise it.”
“In the barracks?”
“It’s a clever one. Don’t you think it could work?”
“Sigh…”
The beautiful woman letting out a deep sigh was Oh Jiyeon, the deputy commander of Mupungdae.
She was also the one who had scolded Cheon Mujin.
“For someone who’s been holed up all this time, you suddenly volunteer for duty and then desert your post? And now you bring back some random animal…”
Cheon Mujin remained silent as Oh Jiyeon glared at him like she was about to explode.
At times like this, silence is golden.
Besides, no amount of words would be more effective than Cheonghwa rubbing her head against Oh Jiyeon’s leg in a display of affection.
“…Fine. You can keep it. But you’ll be responsible for it yourself.”
See? Direct hit.
“Of course.”
“And… no, never mind. Fine. I’ll excuse you from duty for now. When you no longer feel like deserting, we can talk again.”
Knowing that further talk would only lead to more nagging, Oh Jiyeon kept it brief and left the barracks.
Being excused from duty basically meant he was under house arrest.
Not a bad punishment.
He needed some time to himself anyway.
Seated cross-legged, Cheon Mujin began breathing slowly.
The internal energy cultivation method he was currently training was a basic one called Honwon-gong.
Cheonma Divine Art was only to be learned once he was recognized as a successor, so he couldn’t study it yet.
‘Maybe this time I can learn it properly.’
But that time wouldn’t come soon.
He needed a way to build strength until then.
And Cheon Mujin had that way.
He had his own unique internal technique.
Ten Thousand Demons Divine Art (Manma Shingong).
A power that encompasses all demonic energy.
An art that could produce purer demonic energy than the Cheonma Divine Art itself.
But it came with a drawback.
The amount of internal energy he could accumulate using breath alone was drastically lower than with Cheonma Divine Art.
Only about… 10%?
Not 10% less efficient—but only 10% as efficient.
One might wonder how something like this could even be called a divine art…
But its other advantages made it comparable to—or even greater than—Cheonma Divine Art.
“Hoo.”
Having stabilized the foundation of Manma Shingong, Cheon Mujin exhaled and rose from his seat.
“Well then, let’s begin.”
Just because he was in the barracks didn’t mean there was nothing to do.
Most martial artists would spend this time cultivating energy, but unfortunately, that wasn’t efficient for him.
Instead, while the medicinal effects were still being absorbed into his body, it was better to push his body to its limits so the power could soak into his muscles through recovery.
He dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups—repeating compact exercises that didn’t require much space.
Even when he collapsed from fatigue, he would rest briefly and push himself again for just one more rep.
An amount of training that would normally break someone’s body and do more harm than good.
But—
“Huff! Huff!”
Cheon Mujin’s unique physique and the medicinal energy permeating his body turned even that punishment into nourishment for growth.
One day, two days, three…
Gradually, his body lost excess fat, and muscle definition began to show.
—
Two Weeks Later
“Hoo.”
Breathing out, Cheon Mujin loosened his sore body with stretches.
His physique had definitely improved.
Though he had no innate talent for martial arts, his physical abilities were exceptional—“monstrous” wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration.
Most people avoid flexibility training because of the risk of injury, but Cheon Mujin had no such limitation.
Even if he pushed past his limits and his body screamed, it would recover quickly.
And with each recovery, it would grow a little stronger.
“Finally usable now.”
“Kyuu?”
“There’s such a thing, you know.”
Patting the tilting head of Cheonghwa, he grabbed a towel and stepped outside.
He’d heard that his house arrest would end after about two weeks, and today marked the end.
For a soldier stationed on the front lines, the end of house arrest meant it was time to return to duty.
He had already been briefed on the schedule, so he had to prepare in advance.
‘Weapons… I probably won’t need one for a while.’
While his body healed quickly, unfortunately, he wasn’t very skilled in wielding weapons.
If he picked one up, he likely wouldn’t be able to fight as he intended.
For now, it would be better to rely on his body, which at least moved the way he wanted.
Moreover, fighting with just his body had other advantages.
‘I’ve accumulated quite a lot.’
Despite its inefficiency, the pure demonic energy created by Manma Shingong was continuously circulating through his body—soaking into his muscles as they healed and tired.
Fighting physically accelerated this process even further, making it well worth it.
After washing off the sweat and quickly prepping himself, Cheon Mujin stepped outside.
“Kyuu!”
“Hm. Well, there’s no reason you can’t come.”
Letting Cheonghwa wrap herself around his shoulders and neck, Cheon Mujin headed to the duty post.
Arriving a bit early, he was greeted by an unexpected person.
“…You.”
“Oh, are you on duty with me this time? Let’s work well together.”
“Click.”
With a click of his tongue and a turned head, Baekwoo ignored him. Cheon Mujin chuckled.
From the fact that his own punishment had only lasted two weeks, it was likely Baekwoo hadn’t reported getting beaten up by him.
“This is our first time working together. Let’s do our best.”
“Screw off.”
“Hey now, loving your comrades is loving your country.”
“…Who the hell gave you that nickname?”
“Nickname? What nickname?”
“Get lost.”
“Sure, sure. But we’re on duty together now—how can I leave? Come on, don’t bottle it up. Talk to me.”
“You son of a—”
“Enough.”
Just before Baekwoo could curse, Oh Jiyeon arrived with another senior soldier.
A little earlier than the scheduled time.
She glanced at the two of them and, seeing nothing amiss, nodded.
“We begin patrol. Follow me.”
Unlike when it was just the two of them, she now fully displayed her authority as a superior officer as she led the patrol.
Normally, a deputy commander wouldn’t personally go on such routine patrols…
‘Is it because of me? Sorry about that.’
Cheon Mujin’s desertion history had made the abnormal necessary.
The patrol naturally turned into a lecture from Oh Jiyeon.
It was essentially a crash course for Cheon Mujin, who had skipped three months of patrol duty.
After going over the basics and delving deep into the forest—
“Next, the protocol when encountering another faction. The general rule is dialogue over combat. First—”
“Ma’am.”
A soldier abruptly cut off Oh Jiyeon’s explanation, but she didn’t scold him.
If a soldier in charge of lookout interrupted her, there had to be a good reason.
And the reason soon made itself clear.
“Prepare for combat.”
“Isn’t the rule dialogue over combat?”
“In this place, gripping your sword is the first step to dialogue.”
Coldly answering Cheon Mujin’s question, Oh Jiyeon half-drew her sword and watched as figures emerged from the bushes.
“Any closer, and we will assume hostile intent. This is clearly Shin-gyo territory.”
“We know. We just ask for your understanding.”
“…Understanding?”
“One of our people got lost and wandered into this area. We have no intention of causing trouble. Once we find them, we’ll leave immediately.”
“You know how utterly absurd that sounds, don’t you?”
Oh Jiyeon’s sharp question went unanswered.
Because they knew how unreasonable their claim was.
Entering another faction’s territory under the pretense of “just looking for someone”?
They were lucky swords hadn’t already been drawn.
“We’ll search. Describe them. If we find them, we’ll let you know.”
After hesitating a moment, the man shook his head.
“…That won’t do.”
“Then it’s forbidden. If you insist on entering, be prepared for war.”
“…Are you certain? We’ll leave immediately once we find our man.”
“Absolutely not—”
Boom!!
A deep tremor.
Birds flapped into the sky as everyone turned toward the source of the impact.
“Move!”
The four members of the Demonic Cult immediately dashed toward the epicenter.
“Brother.”
“…We’re going too.”
“Brother! If we go further, it really might start a war!”
“If he clashes with them and blood is spilled, that’s when the real war starts.”
“…Understood.”
Just as the Kunlun sect warriors steeled themselves and followed after Oh Jiyeon’s group—
Cheon Mujin was lost in thought as he ran.
‘…A troublesome warrior from Kunlun at this point in time?’
There was one.
No, it was impossible not to know.
Even drunk and holed up, some information still made its way to him.
A monster born of Kunlun.
“Tiger-class demonic beast sighted! It’s in combat with someone who appears to be from Kunlun!”
“We’re joining the fight! You two stay back!”
“Should I call for reinforcements?”
“No, don’t. We have enough strength.”
At Oh Jiyeon’s command, the soldier nodded.
And soon after, the Kunlun warriors arrived and bowed slightly.
“Thank you for the courtesy.”
“If you slay that monster, take your problem child and leave immediately.”
“Of course. We’ll move without delay.”
Nodding, the Kunlun warrior approached the tiger-class beast.
Though “tiger-class,” it wasn’t actually a tiger.
It was a bizarre creature found nowhere in nature—wolf’s head, monkey’s body, tiger’s front paws. Still, its uniform coloration made the disjointed appearance seem almost natural.
The real unease came not from its shape, but its size.
Easily twice the size of an average adult male—utterly surreal.
The strategy for fighting such a beast was simple.
“Charyun Formation!”
Weaken it through individual attacks, then have a strong fighter finish it.
Agreeing silently with Kunlun’s plan, Oh Jiyeon spread out to form a perimeter.
Just a tiger-class beast—it shouldn’t be a problem—
GRRRROOOAAARRR!!
“H-Huh?!”
With a startled shout and a crashing sound, the beast burst forth.
It was charging directly at them—as if to break through the encirclement.
But—
“Cheon!”
With a panicked cry, Oh Jiyeon saw the beast lunge straight for Cheon Mujin.
Its tiger-like front paw, filled with terrifying force, descended.
A moment of near-certain death.
With a muttered voice tinged with anger—
“A filthy beast like you…”
Cheon Mujin reached out.
The paw that could crush everything swept just past his head—
As if sliding off some invisible surface, the beast’s attack harmlessly veered off-course.
Cheon Mujin’s body slipped naturally into the monster’s space.
Oh Jiyeon, rushing over too late, froze mid-step with a chill running down her spine.
And then—
Crack!
Thud!
By the time everyone registered what had happened, a sickening crunch echoed, and the monster collapsed on the spot.
“Hmph.”
Everyone turned to Cheon Mujin standing next to the fallen beast.
What just happened? How?
As stunned gazes fell on him, Cheon Mujin dusted off his hands and smiled.
“Does that settle it?”
