RDK 4

Chapter 4

“Is that all it took?”

At the nonchalant question, Oh Jiyeon couldn’t respond immediately.

It was odd enough that Cheon Mujin naturally carried out the order to encircle the area, but that wasn’t the real issue.

‘How…?’

Even she couldn’t kill a class-Ho beast in a single strike.

That kind of feat was only possible for someone at the Daejoo (Grandmaster) level.

And in the Shingo Sect, Daejoo usually meant someone at or above the Peak level.

Was Cheon Mu-jin really that powerful?

Impossible.

Those who had assessed his martial skills weren’t ordinary thugs—they were elite masters of the Shingo Sect.

It was unthinkable for him to fool their eyes and conceal his level.

Then how…?

Krrrk!

Amid the strange silence, the collapsed beast twitched.

Just as others started to move upon realizing it was still alive—

“You’re tougher than I thought.”

With a slicing sound, Cheon Mujin’s dagger pierced the beast’s neck.

No, it didn’t just pierce—it slashed all the way through, cleanly ending its life.

Squeak…

Cheonghwa, who had been wrapped around the beast’s neck, whimpered.

It was the cry of someone feeling helpless, unable to do anything. Cheon Mujin let out a chuckle and gently scratched Cheonghwa’s chin.

Staying by his side instead of running away was enough.

Such a greedy little one.

“Confirm the beast is dead and prepare to withdraw.”

By then, Oh Jiyeon had regained her composure and issued the order.

There had been confusion during the kill, but that was something to be resolved internally.

It wasn’t something to discuss in front of outsiders.

The Taoist priests from the Kunlun Sect understood her intent.

Let’s not make things worse—time to part ways.

Houmun, leading the Kunlun disciples, moved quickly.

“Now that the beast is dead, we’ll take our leave. Thank you for your assistance.”

“If you leave quietly, we’ll consider the matter closed.”

“Of course. Then we’ll be going. Jinbaek! Follow me now!”

But the moment Houmun turned his back—

Jinbaek bolted in the opposite direction.

More precisely, toward Cheon Mujin, who was still standing near the beast.

In an instant, he reached Mujin and threw out a long right kick.

A deep, committed attack.

It was obvious what would follow.

A powerful strike aimed to end it in one blow.

“How dare you!”

Oh Jiyeon’s furious voice accompanied a sharp sword aura aimed at Jinbaek.

Jinbaek, radiating killing intent, wasn’t slow to react.

If he continued attacking Cheon Mujin, he’d be cut down.

And yet, Jinbaek didn’t stop.

No—

He didn’t need to stop.

Houmun had already intervened, blocking Oh Ji-yeon’s sword aura.

Now the only thing left was for Jinbaek’s punch to strike Cheon Mu-jin.

There was no way someone at the early second-rate level like Cheon Mujin could block a blow from Jinbaek, who had already half-stepped into the Peak of first-rate.

And it was a sneak attack, no less.

It wasn’t even clear if Mujin realized he was under attack.

Assuming the Kunlun sect, as a righteous faction, would respect a certain line had been a careless mistake.

Oh Jiyeon cursed herself for being too lax.

But then—

“You haven’t changed. Or maybe it’s the opposite.”

With just a half-step.

Cheon Mujin reacted in time, letting Jinbaek’s attack flow past him with a slight shift of his foot and a simple twist of his torso.

Jinbaek’s follow-through, designed to end things in one blow, was too committed to adapt in time.

Crack!

A clean hit to the jaw.

Someone flinched, recognizing the all-too-familiar scene.

“In the word ‘gong-gyeong’ (respect), the character ‘gyeong’ (敬) means to govern a person with a whip (攵) until they lower their head (茍).”

Even before the sentence ended, Cheon Mujin’s elbow struck Jinbaek in the ribs.

A chilling crack sounded as bones dislocated.

“You seem in need of a lesson on the basics of respect between people.”

The storm began.

Cheon Mujin moved.

He gently kicked Jinbaek’s half-planted foot.

Then shoved Jinbaek’s shoulder, throwing him off balance.

Jinbaek’s body twisted, his posture completely shattered.

His eyes widened.

This was just like—

“—Fighting with the Grandmaster of Jongin Clan…”

A suffocating gap in skill, as if his hands and feet were bound.

It couldn’t be.

Mujin’s aura felt only second-rate. Then how?

Before Jinbaek could even figure it out, Mujin’s fist gathered strength.

Now that balance was lost—

Wham!!

Mujin’s punch crashed into Jinbaek’s face.

He had no intention of breaking bones.

Just—

“Think of this as a lesson.”

He only hoped this fool, blinded by vengeance, who abandoned the path of the dragon to remain a mere serpent, would come to his senses.

Not yet, but in a few years, the entire martial world would know of the new dragon of Kunlun—

The strongest Cloud Dragon in history.

The most bizarre Monster Dragon in history.

Jinbaek, the Cloud Monster Dragon.

Cheon Mujin laughed as he pummeled the monster.

Well—

“Just remember, it’s nothing personal.”

—
—
—

“Damn devil, why are you so hard to kill?”

“Hah, that’s because I’m not just any devil, you fool.”

This was back when Cheon Mujin had yet to ascend as Heavenly Demon.

When he was out on missions just to survive.

A random encounter led to a brutal fight with Kunlun’s monster dragon.

To be precise, the monster’s martial arts were brutal.

Kunlun martial arts were said to carry strong killing intent even among Daoist styles…

“You’re the first devil I failed to beat to death.”

“You bastard, don’t even know who I am?”

“What difference does it make? A guy reeking of demonic energy wandering around alone?”

“You lunatic…”

Picking a fight just because someone reeks of demonic energy in the Demon Cult’s own territory?

He really was worthy of the nickname Monster Dragon.

Bruised all over, Mujin gripped his sword and forced a smile.

“Bring it, you lunatic. I’ll at least chop off an arm.”

—
—
—

Baek-woo clenched his fists instinctively from the chilling sensation.

Even his own eyes could follow the movements.

It wasn’t unbelievably fast.

Then—

Why?

‘How is this possible?’

Elbow to the ribs after slipping inside following a jaw hit.

What followed was repeated violence with minimal movement.

Leg, shoulder, face, chest, shoulder, arm, thigh, abdomen, and again chest, shoulder…

How did it not stop?

It wasn’t bone-breaking power.

Nor was it blinding speed.

There were no feints to deceive the eye.

Nothing.

Just pure strikes and blows.

How could such simplicity cause this devastation?

The question barely surfaced when—

“Let’s stop now—”

“That’s not your call to make.”

As Mujin showed no sign of stopping, Houmun tried to intervene—only to be blocked by Oh Ji-yeon.

Now the roles were reversed.

The situation wasn’t looking good.

“We admit our wrongdoing. You can lodge a formal protest. For now—”

“No. That won’t happen. This meeting, this incident—all ends here. There’ll be no gossip, nothing left behind.”

“…Are you saying you’ll erase us completely?”

“How grim, for a Taoist.”

Erasing everyone? Ridiculous.

“No one died here. Nothing happened. Everything went exactly as planned.”

“And we’re just supposed to let it go even though our disciple is about to be beaten to death?”

“He’s not going to die. You know that, don’t you?”

“…Tch.”

At her words, Houmun fell silent.

Of course he knew.

Cheon Mujin, even as he ruthlessly beat Jinbaek, emitted no killing intent whatsoever.

Like a master disciplining a wayward student, his aura was calm and without malice.

“It’ll be over soon. All you have to do is take your unconscious disciple and leave. Then nothing happened, and there’ll be no consequences. So—”

A chilling glint appeared on Oh Jiyeon’s smirking lips.

“Shut up and wait quietly.”

“If his life seems at risk, I will step in.”

“Be my guest.”

Their gazes locked in mid-air.

Tension mounted as their subordinates mirrored their hostility.

Just then—

“Enough! We’re surrounded by beasts, and we’re fighting each other?!”

A strangely cheerful voice broke the tension like a knife.

Completely out of sync with reality.

Cheon Mujin’s fists stopped.

‘I really did get beaten like a dog until Yu Escort arrived.’

He barely held on, but he had been one punch away from death.

Yeah.

“Let’s leave it at this.”

That’s enough.

“Kuhuk.”

Jinbaek, half-conscious, staggered and coughed up blood.

Nothing too serious.

Just split lips and pooled blood.

“You might want to teach him restraint—and how to tell people apart. He seems to have a personal grudge against demons.”

Cheon Mujin tossed Jinbaek at Houmun’s feet, stretching out his stiff body with a smile.

“The Heavenly Demon Cult is full of people too. How could there be only evil, and no good? He may hold a grudge against one, but there could also be victims like him.”

All of it—the karma of Ma (demonic path).

“…I’ll remember that. I’ll make sure he learns your lesson.”

“You’re quite reasonable for a Taoist. Good. Then, as per the deputy leader’s request—please take your leave.”

Polite but firm.

That calm aura was far too composed for someone supposedly early second-rate.

Which meant—

‘…A master capable of concealing their level?’

Could that even be?

He looked no older than 15—same age as Jinbaek.

To deceive someone like him would require a fully matured Peak-level master.

Impossible.

Then—

‘…Is it some kind of demonic art?’

Houmun shut down all doubts, settling on the most rational explanation within reach.

If it’s a unique demonic art, then it’s pointless to speculate further.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir.”

While Houmun hesitated, his senior carried Jinbaek like a sack.

“We’ll be off now.”

“Take care. Hopefully next time we meet, it’ll be with smiles.”

“…I’ll hope for that too.”

A farewell like “see you next time” was never used on the frontlines.

Startled, Houmun gave a delayed nod and disappeared.

“Well done.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve got a lot of questions, but…”

After checking that Mujin wasn’t hurt, Oh Jiyeon dusted off her hands.

“Let’s clean up and head back. I’ll keep watch. Dae-un, teach them how to butcher the beast. We’re only taking the arms and the magic core.”

“Yes, Deputy Leader.”

Leaving rookie training to Dae-un, Oh Jiyeon scanned the surroundings and fell into thought.

‘…Bloodline of the Heavenly Demon. I’d heard the stories, but now I can only laugh.’

Even the so-called worst failure, the third son of the Heavenly Demon, was this skilled.

What of the younger brother, known as one of the five most talented in the cult’s history?

‘He’s definitely second-rate. But the way he moves his body… it’s chillingly precise.’

It made no sense for a second-rate martial artist to move with such mastery.

After some thought, Oh Jiyeon brushed it off.

“There’s work to be done. Once cleanup is finished, resume patrol!”

No point dwelling on useless thoughts. What matters is what must be done now.