Chapter 842: Ilcheonkyo.

Kkeueueueueo—!!!

The fallen man on the floor lets out a monstrous roar.

Clutching his shattered jaw, the sight of him crawling on the floor was truly pathetic.

Blood and saliva dripped endlessly from his crushed jaw. His bloodshot eyes revealed just how much pain he was in.

And then.

“What the fuck is this bastard saying?”

Kwak-!

“Keoheok…!”

I snarled savagely, stomping on the man’s head.

“There’s a limit, seriously.”

“Kkeueueue….”

“You should just keep your mouth shut, not spout bullshit like that. Right?”

I could feel him trembling violently.

Is he trying to somehow get up?

It wasn’t even funny.

Kwadeuk-!

“Kkwaaaaaaaa—!!!”

I kicked his calf, and the angle of his leg bent unnaturally. For someone who’s a deputy leader, it seemed he’d coated himself with energy just before the hit.

If not, his leg would probably have been torn off. He’s got some sense, after all.

‘What a shame.’

I hadn’t intended to stop at just breaking it.

Should I just rip it off now that it’s like this?

The thought crossed my mind, but I held back.

“Kkeu…heuheu….”

The guy just groaning.

I glanced at him, then looked up.

And spoke.

“Stop.”

—!!

At my words, the guys who were getting ready to charge froze. Before I knew it, the surroundings were surrounded by members of the Cheongryong Corps.

Judging by their stance, they looked ready to pounce any second….

“Don’t move another inch from there. Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation?”

“Kkeueu….”

I grabbed the nameless guy by the neck and lifted him.

His blood-soaked appearance was utterly wretched.

“If you move, I’ll kill you. This guy too. Anyone who moves.”

I laced my voice with killing intent.

Even I thought it was a bit excessive.

But, whether it hit home or not, the hesitant bodies of the men stiffened completely.

Meanwhile, the ones with some fight left glanced around, looking for an opening.

“If you think this is just talk, try me. See what happens.”

Seeing them watch and glare, I could see them falter under the pressure.

The killing intent I exuded didn’t stop, and the subtly released pressure increased the tension.

Just then.

“D-Director-nim….”

Someone called out to me.

It was Song Ho-jeong, who, along with Tang Soyeol, served as the deputy leader of the current Seongryong Corps.

He approached with a look of great difficulty, so I raised my hand to stop him.

“Stay out of this. I need to talk to this guy right now.”

“But….”

“I’ll listen to you properly later, so shut your mouth and stay out of it. I said later, didn’t I? Is my order difficult to understand?”

“…N-No…. I will wait.”

Song Ho-jeong stepped back.

His intimidated expression was quite irritating.

That’s why my grip kept tightening.

“Hey, you fucking bastard.”

“Kkeueu…euk!”

“Keep saying what you were saying earlier. What?”

At my voice, the body of the guy in my hand trembled.

“What did you say? I told you to speak?”

I kept asking, but no words came.

It was only natural. His jaw was smashed to pulp, so there was no way he could speak properly.

I knew that too, but that didn’t matter.

“You must think you can just ignore people and treat my words like a joke now. Hey. Do you think the Director’s words are meaningless?”

“Kkeu…ah…eua….”

“What are you saying? Speak properly.”

Kwang-!

I slammed his head straight into the ground.

With a cracking sound, blood splattered slightly.

“Hee…heek!”

“D-Deputy Leader-nim…!”

The dizzying sound made the onlookers flinch. I wiped the blood splatter from my cheek and spoke to them.

“He’s not dead, so don’t make a fuss. I wouldn’t kill someone from the same Murim Alliance, would I?”

I said it with a smile, but for some reason, the atmosphere only worsened.

Ah.

This is a bit disappointing.

“I just want to have a conversation, but you guys have such cute eyes. Don’t you like it? Then feel free to do whatever you want.”

I stood up as I spoke.

The guy I was holding seemed to have lost consciousness from what just happened. He was bleeding excessively, but….

He probably won’t die.

‘Maybe for about half an hour.’

Not long, just about that.

He should be able to hold on for that long. Still, he was a master, after all.

Besides.

‘That’s just about right.’

Half an hour would be the perfect amount of time to sort things out.

Ttu-beok.

I took a step forward.

At that moment, the Cheongryong Corps members became wary.

Their stance was perfect, as if they were about to draw their swords any second.

In other words, it was the attitude they showed towards an enemy.

“Hmm. We’re supposed to be on the same side. Shouldn’t you be acting differently?”

I brushed my hand as I walked. A light flick, and droplets of blood fell.

It wasn’t my blood, of course, but the fallen guy’s.

Seeing this, their vigilance intensified even further.

Are they baffled that I’d make someone look like that and still call us allies? I understand. But I had something to explain about this part.

“No, he was talking like a dog, so I thought he wanted to be beaten. As the old saying goes, a mad dog needs a beating.”

What did he say again?

Did he call us stray mongrels? Or useless worm bastards?

Something like that, I think.

Moreover, didn’t he say there was a difference in class even among fellow deputy leaders?

‘It’s not like he was wrong.’

I won’t deny that part. There definitely was a difference in class.

The Seongryong Corps was a unit founded less than a year ago. The Cheongryong Corps had a long history.

Furthermore, Song Ho-jeong and that idiot were on different levels of cultivation.

Song Ho-jeong was at the peak of the highest level, while that guy seemed to have far surpassed the perfected peak.

If you consider all these factors and say there’s a difference in class, I wouldn’t deny it.

‘But saying it out loud is another matter entirely.’

This means he was either looking to start a full-blown war…. Or he didn’t consider us human.

“Right?”

“…”

“…”

I asked, but again, there was no response. They are truly taciturn people.

Or rather, maybe it’s like the righteous sects, keeping their mouths shut when things get tough?

“I don’t get it.”

I couldn’t understand their behavior.

“Why do they keep making trouble? It’s not like I asked for anything grand.”

Seureung-!

As I approached, the sound of a sword being drawn finally echoed. Various colors swirled in the night.

“You don’t have to get along. Just shut up and let’s do our own thing. Is that so difficult?”

What was the problem?

I don’t know.

“…Director of Seongryong Corps. If you come any closer…!”

No, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know.

Hasn’t it always been like this?

“And if I come closer? You want to have a sword fight? Sounds good.”

Regardless of the reason, if I don’t like something, I break it.

I always wanted to cause trouble, but the reason I didn’t was simple.

‘Because I was weak.’

I was weak, and if I caused trouble thoughtlessly, I wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the consequences.

So, what about now?

Unfortunately, it was still the same. That thought hadn’t changed.

I am still weak in the heart of the Central Plains.

Even though there are now more people weaker than me than stronger ones, variables exist endlessly, and within those gaps, I inevitably become weak.

It can’t be helped.

There’s too much I need to protect and too many things I have to do, so I naturally had to hold myself back.

However.

‘No matter what, you know.’

No matter how much I endure.

I couldn’t possibly not handle this one thing.

Kung-!

I unleashed my aura.

“Hiiik-!”

“Kkeueu-geuk!?”

The energy radiating from my body spread in all directions. Instantly, wind pressure surged.

The wind swirled around the entire area, forming a barrier as if creating a domain.

“This is unbelievable….”

“How can you do this with just energy…!”

What kind of power is needed to achieve this? Since they are all martial artists, they would know how reckless and absurd my actions were.

Just as people do when they witness something astonishing, fear appeared in the eyes of those watching the barrier.

All of them, who had shown hostility until moments ago, were the same.

Watching them, I asked without wiping the smile off my face.

“Why? Do as you were doing. You were about to charge, weren’t you.”

Wudeuk.

I cracked my neck.

As I continued to approach, they actually backed away this time.

Seeing them retreat hesitantly, I asked with a sigh.

“Where are you going?”

At my low voice, the guy at the front hurried to speak to me.

“…Director of Seongryong Corps. Please calm down.”

“What?”

That was ridiculous.

Calm down?

“If I wanted to calm down, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place.”

“I understand you are angry, but it seems there might be a misunderstanding… let’s talk first….”

“Talk my ass.”

I stomped the ground and lunged forward.

My vision changed rapidly. My hands were already moving from that point on.

Kwaak-!

“Keok!”

I grabbed the guy who was talking by the neck and lifted him up.

“Kkeueu-geuk…!”

The guy struggled and thrashed, but ultimately went up powerlessly.

“If you were going to do it, you should have done it earlier. It’s too late now.”

“…P-Please…hear us….”

“Yeah, you probably have your reasons too. There must have been some issue that led to this situation. That’s only natural. You must feel wronged and frustrated.”

“But I’ll hear about that from my kid later. Right now, this is more important.”

Honestly, I wasn’t interested at all.

My priority now was venting my emotions.

Kkuuk-!

I clenched my fist. Power flowed into it, and energy seeped in.

It was simple fist energy. It wasn’t covered in flames, but this was enough.

I twisted my waist and put strength into my shoulder.

I intended to swing my fist like this.

If that happened… the guy I was holding now…

‘Would die.’

His internal organs would probably rupture, leading to death. And I also intended to do the same to the others around him.

I would kill them all.

Every single one of them, right here, right now.

Just as I was about to swing my fist with that thought.

“…Hm?”

Before my outstretched fist could reach his stomach, my movement froze.

Paaaaa—!! The energy gathered in my fist dispersed, releasing a shockwave.

At the same time, I released the grip on my hand.

“Keok…!”

The guy whose neck was held collapsed to the floor, breathing raggedly.

I looked down at him and my hand.

‘What the…?’

What was I trying to do just now?

Sensing a strange feeling, my eyes widened.

‘Was I trying to kill them all?’

I definitely was.

I had intended to kill the guy I was holding and everyone else around.

As proof, if I hadn’t released my fist just before, this guy would have died. And afterward, I would have really killed the others around him too.

That was the feeling.

The sensation that I had to kill them somehow.

Feeling it sent shivers down my spine.

“Ah, this is bullshit.”

I ran a hand down my face.

It was hard to regain my composure.

That I tried to kill them all. That wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t impossible, after all. I was actually angry.

However, the problem here was that the thoughts and feelings driving me to kill others weren’t my own.

I could understand beating someone up to vent anger, but I wouldn’t have killed them. Killing a fellow member here would put me in a difficult position too.

Knowing that clearly, I intended to cause trouble only within manageable limits.

‘Why did I try to kill them…?’

Why did I do that just now?

I frowned, still feeling the lingering effects of the emotion.

The killing intent I felt was real.

I truly intended to kill them all.

It was just the thought that I had to remove something disgusting, like crushing a bug, right before my eyes.

‘What is this.’

These weren’t my emotions.

Nor was it my killing intent.

Something that burst forth from within had momentarily possessed my thoughts.

‘What on earth.’

What could this possibly be?

As the question arose.

For some reason, a scene I saw before flashed in my mind.

-Why are you alive?

That time I encountered my past self.

“Could this possibly be…?”

The moment I took a deep breath, sensing I might understand something.

Shwoooosh-!!

The surrounding barrier shook from the impact.

It didn’t just shake; it tore slightly, opening a gap.

Shwoooosh—!!!

From that gap, a sword tip pierced towards me, accompanied by a light cyan flash.

I immediately twisted my body, creating distance.

The unleashed flash struck exactly where I had been.

It exploded with a rough blast sound, releasing its impact.

Dust obscured my vision.

“…What the hell are you doing?”

A voice barely suppressing its anger.

The voice heard from within the dust was exactly like that.

Shweek-!

With a short sound, the wind was cut.

The sword wind swept away all the dust.

My vision cleared completely.

Finally, the obstruction disappeared, revealing the opponent’s face.

The culprit who broke the barrier and the owner of the voice was, naturally, Ilcheong Sword.

He looked around as if assessing the situation, then spoke to me with a deeply creased expression.

“Have you truly… gone mad?”

His expression seemed to ask why I would commit such acts in his territory.

Seeing that, I had to give my face a dry wipe once more.

“Ah….”

This was not good.

Especially after realizing my condition.

I couldn’t afford to fight with Ilcheong Sword right now.

Because.

‘I might actually kill him.’

If we fought now, I felt like I really wouldn’t hold back and would end up killing Ilcheong Sword.