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Chapter: 08
Once, Song Un-chan had been the leader of a local Black Path gang.
After the Black Tiger Gang swept through Uichang and absorbed all the existing underworld factions, he had been reduced to little more than the overseer of Cherry Blossom Village.
But looking at it another way, that meant the Gang Leader had considered him skilled enough to spare his life and take him in.
Which was exactly why he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
‘What? He says he won’t kill me?’
Jin Cheong-un shut the front gate, cracked his neck from side to side, and sauntered over lazily.
He looked no different from a back-alley thug. In fact, his mannerisms were more like a true underworld criminal than the actual Black Path members standing before him.
‘Some nobody with barely any presence. What a joke.’
Spirit and bearing—together they were called one’s presence.
A martial artist who cultivated internal energy naturally radiated that presence.
So what about Jin Cheong-un?
There was something.
About as much as a fly’s eyelash.
Song Un-chan let out a snort.
He had seen plenty like this before.
Guys who learned some third-rate martial arts from street vendors and suddenly believed they were masters.
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But let’s see if you’re still this cocky after getting beaten senseless in front of that girl you keep calling your disciple or your niece.”
The words seemed to strike a nerve.
Jin Cheong-un narrowed his eyes.
“On second thought…”
He casually clenched his fist.
“Let’s start with you getting punched.”
Whoosh!
Song Un-chan sucked in a sharp breath.
A moment ago Jin Cheong-un had been strolling forward lazily.
The next instant, he exploded into a charge.
“S-Slash him!”
Song Un-chan and the two Black Tiger Gang members hurriedly swung their swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The quiet courtyard of the Jeong Estate shattered beneath a storm of flashing steel, the colors of the evening sunset splintering across the blue blades.
Then Jin Cheong-un burst through that storm of crimson light.
A single punch.
It threaded perfectly through the trajectories of every sword with flawless timing.
Song Un-chan’s eyes widened as the fist stopped inches from his face.
BAM!
His jaw twisted violently to the side.
Everything went black for a moment before light returned.
As he barely regained his senses, he heard a shrill tearing sound near the pit of his stomach.
BOOOOM!
Pain like being pierced by an arrow tore through him.
His mouth fell open.
Sliding backward, Song Un-chan collapsed to his knees before smashing forehead-first into the ground.
Thud!
“Ghk!”
His airway felt as though it were being crushed.
Tears leaked from his eyes.
Even while writhing in agony, he couldn’t understand what had just happened.
The swords had been flying at him.
And yet the man had simply walked straight through them.
Without using internal energy.
How was that even possible?
Something…
Something about this made no sense!
“H-Hyung!”
“You bastard!”
The two Black Tiger Gang members finally recovered and rushed at Jin Cheong-un from behind.
“Gasp! U-Uncle! Look out!”
Jeong So-so screamed.
But—
Swish!
The sword slashing from the left barely grazed the edge of Jin Cheong-un’s sleeve.
Pak!
The thrust from the right pierced nothing but empty air.
“H-Huh?”
The gang member turned with the expression of someone possessed by a ghost.
At that exact moment, Jin Cheong-un’s fist filled his vision.
BOOOOOOM!
Jeong So-so had never heard such a satisfying impact in her life.
Blood burst from the man’s nose like a fountain as he flew away.
The remaining thug recoiled in horror.
“Y-You lunatic!”
Nearly convulsing in panic, he brought his sword crashing down toward Jin Cheong-un’s back.
Thunk!
It stopped halfway.
Jin Cheong-un’s left hand had seized his wrist.
At the same time, his right hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the man by the collar.
“Huh?”
Whoosh!
The thug’s body lifted clean off the ground.
His vision tilted violently.
The world spun.
Before he could even resist, he was hurled away like a sack of grain.
CRAAASH!
He flew more than ten meters before smashing into the ground.
Dust exploded everywhere.
“W-What in the…”
Song Un-chan staggered to his feet, trembling.
‘What the hell is happening?!’
He was definitely using martial arts.
But he wasn’t using internal energy.
That was impossible.
Without internal energy supporting it, martial arts were only half complete.
It was like watching someone run…
With broken legs.
How could someone run with broken legs?
Exactly.
It made no sense.
And somehow…
He was running better than Song Un-chan himself.
‘No matter how skilled he is… Wait… skilled?’
Something suddenly clicked.
Song Un-chan’s eyes flew open.
“H-Hyung…”
“Cough… A-At this rate…”
By then, his subordinates had staggered back to him.
He whispered quietly.
“Get a grip. I’ve figured out his weakness.”
“What?”
“His presence isn’t completely absent, but he isn’t using internal energy. And he even looks a little exhausted. What do you think that means?”
The gang members’ eyes widened.
Looking carefully…
It was true.
His shoulders were rising slightly.
His sideburns were damp with sweat.
Controlling one’s breathing was the most basic principle of martial arts.
The man clearly knew martial arts.
But he wasn’t in normal condition.
“I’ll create an opening. Then all of you attack together. Just land one hit.”
“One hit is enough.”
After whispering the plan, Song Un-chan looked calmly at Jin Cheong-un again.
“So… you really have learned martial arts…”
A crooked smile spread across his lips.
“But judging from that pathetic presence, you’ve either suffered internal injuries or lost your internal energy. Heh heh…”
Jin Cheong-un simply nodded.
“As expected of someone from the Black Path. Sharp observation.”
The straightforward admission caught Song Un-chan completely off guard.
“…You’re not even trying to hide it?”
“I never hid it.”
Watching from afar, Jeong So-so wanted to scream.
‘Hide it! At least pretend! Why would you admit that now?!’
After recovering from his surprise, Song Un-chan glared fiercely.
“Whatever the case, someone like you wouldn’t enter our Black Tiger Gang’s territory without a reason.”
“…?”
“I’ll drag you before the Gang Leader myself and earn a great reward! Haaaah!”
Closing his eyes in concentration, Song Un-chan released a strange battle cry.
Hissss—
Dust swirled around him as a chilling aura spread outward.
Jin Cheong-un’s eyes widened slightly.
“Huff… Huff… I didn’t want to use this… but this is the ultimate technique our Gang Leader taught me. I’ll finish you with it.”
Jin Cheong-un couldn’t help but admire it.
A hidden power-up.
How wonderfully classic.
‘So he’s going to settle this with overwhelming force in one blow.’
The Black Tiger Gang Leader truly wasn’t someone to underestimate.
Temporarily boosting one’s power like that was a technique usually found only in orthodox demonic martial arts.
Yet he had taught it to an ordinary subordinate.
“I’ll send you to your grave!”
Boom!
Song Un-chan kicked off the ground, producing a sound completely different from before.
Step.
Jin Cheong-un calmly placed his left foot forward.
Then he drew his fist far behind him.
Instead of dodging, he looked as though he intended to meet the attack head-on.
‘You idiot!’
Song Un-chan smiled triumphantly.
At that instant…
Jin Cheong-un’s punch shot forward like lightning.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out like a blacksmith’s forge.
Song Un-chan’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
‘Huh?’
Something was breaking.
Not the fist.
His sword.
Flesh had collided with steel.
Yet the flesh crushed the steel as it continued forward.
BAAAAM!
Song Un-chan’s body flew into the air like a pebble kicked down the road.
The gang members charging behind him froze in place.
After spinning through the air several times, Song Un-chan crashed heavily to the ground.
“Ghh… Ugh…”
Only after struggling for quite some time did he manage to push himself upright.
Looking up at Jin Cheong-un with stunned eyes, he coughed blood.
“Cough… Y-You clearly… lost your internal energy…”
“I did suffer internal injuries.”
“But I never said I had no internal energy.”
“…?”
“I just don’t know how to use it.”
You have legs but don’t know how to run?
Then how are you running?!
Confusion completely filled Song Un-chan’s eyes.
‘I can’t blame him for being confused.’
Even Jin Cheong-un barely understood it himself.
He wasn’t lying.
After receiving the Heavenly Slaughter Divine Demon’s devastating strike, he had suffered catastrophic injuries and lost a great portion of his internal energy.
Every physician in the Alliance had declared that merely surviving was a miracle.
Martial arts were out of the question.
He would spend the rest of his life crippled.
But…
Jin Cheong-un recovered.
In a way no one had expected.
Not even himself.
His cracked dantian.
His torn and severed meridians.
His battered body.
Every damaged part had been restored as a mysterious new true qi settled within them.
A miracle.
The only problem…
‘I’ve never learned how to use something like this.’
Ssshh!
The mysterious true qi gathered in his palm vanished instantly.
Even when he forced it out, it couldn’t last longer than a fleeting moment.
‘No… maybe it isn’t mysterious after all.’
It was the martial art that had endured the final strike of the Cult Leader.
The very martial art he had once learned here…
At Cheong-un Martial Hall.
“…P-Please spare us.”
Thud!
Song Un-chan dropped to his knees, blood streaming from his nose.
“What are you all waiting for?! Kneel!”
“G-Got it!”
“P-Please spare us!”
Song Un-chan shouted desperately.
“I… I misjudged you. We were only following orders. If you kill us, the Black Tiger Gang won’t stay quiet. You don’t want that, do you? Please… just spare our lives!”
Jin Cheong-un looked puzzled.
“I never said I was going to kill you.”
“…?”
“I made a promise to someone I know. Unless I absolutely have to, I don’t kill people anymore. So don’t worry.”
Song Un-chan’s face lit up.
He had only said it on a whim…
But when he looked up—
Jin Cheong-un was slowly cracking his knuckles.
“…?”
“I’ll say it again.”
“I won’t kill you.”
“I won’t.”
Song Un-chan jumped to his feet in terror.
‘I-I picked a fight with the wrong person. He’s actually insane.’
The moment he turned to run—
Jin Cheong-un’s eyes flashed.
Whoosh!
BAM!
Ever since he was little, Jeong So-ryong’s senses had been unusually sharp.
Even without seeing them, he could distinguish people from far away.
He could hear even the faintest sounds.
Which was why he could clearly hear the chaos shaking the Jeong Estate.
Crash! Smash!
“Kyaaa!”
Something exploding.
Something breaking.
His sister screaming.
‘Did Uncle lose? Is my sister being hurt now?’
Already pale, Jeong So-ryong’s face turned even whiter.
He knew he wouldn’t be much help.
But he couldn’t just stay inside.
He hurried outside.
Whoooosh!
Something flew through the air.
‘Huh?’
What was that?
Dark…
Thick…
A person?
The flying figure crashed straight into the garden.
BOOOOM! CRACK!
A pine tree snapped in half and collapsed.
Crash!
Jeong So-ryong turned his head again.
His mouth dropped open.
Someone was embedded in the wall like a giant nail.
The legs sticking out over the other side twitched briefly before going limp.
“…?”
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Only one person remained standing.
Song Un-chan.
The strongest martial artist among them.
And for the first time in his life…
He regretted ever learning martial arts.
“I-I’m sorry! Haven’t I apologized already?!”
“No.”
“You’re still not sorry enough.”
“P-Please spare me! W-Who exactly are you, Senior?! From the Janggeum Sect? The Young Heroes Association?”
Looking utterly broken, Song Un-chan asked desperately.
“I already told you.”
“I’m the master of a martial arts school.”
Song Un-chan finally exploded.
“Stop lying! Someone like you teaching students?! Who are you trying to ruin?!”
Jin Cheong-un’s face darkened.
First the man destroyed the wall of the estate he had painstakingly bought with his savings.
Now he was insulting his dream?
‘Unforgivable.’
Jin Cheong-un’s eyes gleamed.
“W-Wait… why all of a sudden…”
Whoosh!
The sound of the air splitting was terrifying.
Blocking it wasn’t even an option.
How could you block something you couldn’t even see?
BAAAM!
One punch.
Song Un-chan’s vision went black.
He quietly sighed in relief.
‘At least if I pass out now, I won’t suffer anymore like the others…’
Grab!
“…Huh?”
His falling body suddenly stopped.
Opening one eye slightly…
He saw the lunatic holding him upright with an expressionless face, patting his shoulder as if telling him to stay conscious.
“You okay?”
“Stay awake.”
“…?”
“Who gave you permission to pass out?”
“I haven’t finished getting even for my broken wall yet.”
Then, as though remembering something else, he casually added,
“…And for what you did to my disciple.”
This bastard is insane.
Terrified, Song Un-chan tried to flee.
But he couldn’t escape the hand gripping his collar.
“S-Spare… Gah!”
Thud!
“I-I was wrong… Guh!”
Bam! Crack!
“I-I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please spare meee!”
Smash!
The horrifying sounds continued.
Only after he had literally been beaten into a pulp was Song Un-chan finally released.
Jin Cheong-un dusted off his hands with a refreshed expression.
Ah…
Jeong So-ryong stared blankly.
His body trembled.
Cold sweat covered his palms.
For a young boy, it was an unimaginably brutal and shocking sight.
‘He’s amazing.’
He couldn’t take his eyes off Jin Cheong-un.
‘I want to become that strong someday…’
Jeong So-ryong’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
