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Where My Sword Points (4)

I was overwhelming Jeong-yeo with sheer force.

He didn’t recognize me. Even if he had seen me once before, it would have been impossible for him to connect the current intensity in my eyes and aura with the notorious scoundrel of the Byeokri Sword Clan.

“Did you enter the martial world just to serve people like this?”

I could see the turmoil in his eyes.

I leapt down effortlessly.

Jeong-yeo was startled by my nimble movements. There are ways to move that go beyond mere internal energy.

I deliberately showcased the essence of my footwork, and Jeong-yeo had the skill to recognize it.

His gaze shifted to the entrance of the courtyard. The guards who had been stationed there were slumped against the wall, unconscious.

“Are they dead?”

I shook my head. I had merely subdued them by pressing their acupoints.

“Wait here. This is the moment your life changes.”

Without waiting for his response, I opened the door and stepped inside. He would have a lot on his mind, but ultimately, he would wait. If not, he would have already drawn his sword.

As I entered, Yang Gi-cheol and Hyeol-gyeon were taken aback.

“You?”

Yang Gi-cheol recognized me. No matter how much my aura had changed, he couldn’t fail to recognize the person who had beaten his son to a pulp just the other day.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Me? What kind of insolent way of speaking is that?”

Yang Gi-cheol scowled at me coldly, but my next words were even colder.

“You, who ordered the massacre of the family of someone you once called brother, dare to speak of manners? What kind of person are you?”

Yang Gi-cheol was struck speechless. Instead, he exuded a fierce aura, as if he might attack at any moment.

But he was cautious. He couldn’t understand how I had gotten here or why I was so confident.

He spoke to Hyeol-gyeon as if giving an order.

“Get rid of him.”

Once again, he proved to be someone who always looked out for himself first. He was wary of me.

So, could I kill Yang Gi-cheol?

With only five years of internal energy and the unrefined body of Byeokri-dan?

My answer was ‘yes.’

If I had concluded that it was difficult or that there were too many variables, I wouldn’t be here.

But I was confident I could kill them.

If it came to a battle of endurance or a prolonged fight, I would certainly be at a disadvantage.

But I had no intention of letting it come to that.

The decisive advantage was that they didn’t know my true capabilities.

When I visited the Byeok Clan before, I noticed Yang Gi-cheol standing with his hands behind his back, acting superior.

He was rusty.

If he were the most skilled martial artist in Shandong, he might be difficult to deal with.

But he was merely the leader of the largest organization in Shandong.

The adjective ‘greatest’ might be the same, but there’s a significant difference between the two.

When was the last time Yang Gi-cheol experienced real combat? A year ago? Two years ago? Perhaps not for over a decade. The larger the organization, the further its leader is from actual combat.

In fact, Hyeol-gyeon might be the more dangerous one.

Just like Yang Gi-cheol, Hyeol-gyeon showed his true colors.

“Five thousand nyang extra.”

“Crazy! This guy is one of those we have to kill anyway!”

“Not here.”

“Five thousand nyang is too much to kill a mere brat.”

“Then do it yourself. To the leader, a brat like this should be nothing.”

Hyeol-gyeon crossed his arms and took a step back.

“Damn it!”

Yang Gi-cheol glared at me again. He couldn’t discern anything from me. I should be nothing to him, yet he hesitated to act. He must be wondering why. Despite his lack of combat experience, his instincts for sensing danger were still sharp.

“Fine. Five thousand nyang it is.”

Only then did Hyeol-gyeon smile slyly and step forward.

“Thank you, kid.”

Despite his words, Hyeol-gyeon wasn’t letting his guard down. Having lived as a ronin, he sensed the danger I exuded faster than Yang Gi-cheol. He just judged that the danger wasn’t enough to harm him.

I wasn’t letting my guard down either.

This was the moment I was about to engage in my first real fight since reincarnating.

His weapon was an iron rod as long as an adult’s forearm.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He swung the rod twice, short and fast, then launched a deadly attack.

Bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang! Bang!

The rod struck the air with terrifying force. If it hit, it would shatter bones with its tremendous power.

The rod barely grazed my shoulder.

The body of Byeokri-dan was indeed slow. If I hadn’t predicted his attack through his movements, it would have ended with that single strike.

In this fight, it wasn’t the body of Byeokri-dan that was fighting, but my experience.

The continuous assault of the rod brought a tension where a single mistake could lead to death.

Then, from deep within my chest, an emotion surged like molten lava.

It was fighting spirit.

Whoosh!

This time, my head almost got smashed.

Even in this perilous situation, I was relishing the joy of battle for the first time in a long while.

I realized anew.

I truly loved fighting. It was because of this that I had risen to the position of the greatest under heaven. The latter years of my life, devoid of battles, had been unbearably dull.

Crash! Crack!

The objects in the room shattered.

Yang Gi-cheol’s lips curled into a smile. Seeing me being pushed back, he probably thought Hyeol-gyeon would win. He might be regretting the five thousand nyang, thinking he should have handled it himself.

Hyeol-gyeon paused his attack.

“You’re a slippery rat! Dodging so well!”

He spoke with the confidence of victory.

But while it was leisure for him, it was an opening for me.

What was a fleeting moment for him was an eternity for me.

My sword flashed in the air.

Shing!

Two distinct sounds of air being sliced.

Hyeol-gyeon’s movements halted.

Swish.

His clothes were cut diagonally, revealing a red line beneath.

Swish.

This time, the opposite side of his clothes was cut, another red line appearing.

A crimson X was etched across his chest.

I stepped aside slightly.

In the next moment.

Slash!

The red lines split open, and blood gushed out in the shape of the wound.

The first form of the Demonic Sword Technique, “Momentary Slash,” had been unleashed.

Normally, his body would have been torn to pieces.

But with only three years of internal energy, this was the extent of its power.

After spewing a tremendous amount of blood, Hyeol-gyeon collapsed.

Thud.

He was already dead before he hit the ground.

I turned my gaze to where the remaining two years of internal energy had been used.

Yang Gi-cheol was staring in shock at Hyeol-gyeon’s death.

But soon, he felt a burning sensation in his chest and looked down.

Blood was spreading from his chest, staining his white clothes red. Behind the torn fabric was a swirling wound. It was the mark left by the second form, “True Name Slash.”

I had divided my five years of internal energy, using three years for the “Momentary Slash” on Hyeol-gyeon and two years for the “True Name Slash” on Yang Gi-cheol.

So now, I had not a shred of internal energy left. Until I replenished it through meditation, I was defenseless, but Yang Gi-cheol was in no position to take advantage of it.

Yang Gi-cheol coughed up dark red blood.

He never imagined that I, who had been pushed back by Hyeol-gyeon, would attack him. Even if he had been on guard, it wouldn’t have been easy to avoid. If he hadn’t instinctively twisted his body at the last moment, he would have died instantly.

Blood was pouring from his mouth and chest, soaking the floor. He had probably never seen so much blood come from his own body.

”…Spare me, please.”

I retrieved my sword and picked up the iron rod from the floor.

Yang Gi-cheol, despite his fatal injuries, still had his wits about him.

”…You’re going to make it look like you and Hyeol-gyeon took each other out!”

“It’s not quite that. It’ll be that he killed you and fled.”

Despair filled Yang Gi-cheol’s eyes.

“If you spare me… I’ll do anything you want.”

Ignoring his plea, I approached him as he staggered toward a wall.

“Wait… Please! Just wait!”

In desperation, he triggered several mechanisms, revealing a safe as the wall rotated.

“If you spare me, I’ll give you everything inside!”

“Still making deals. You must be feeling confident.”

I strode over and raised the iron rod toward his head.

When you push someone without giving them time to think, the safe opens even more easily.

Yang Gi-cheol’s hands moved frantically. His self-serving nature had paralyzed all his reasoning in this life-threatening situation. All he could think about was surviving.

Indeed, in the brief moment I waited, the safe door opened without him even managing to make a proper deal. Not that it would have worked anyway.

Inside the safe were stacks of promissory notes and gold.

Leaning heavily against the wall, he spoke desperately.

“If you sell it all, it’s worth over thirty thousand nyang. So please….”

I looked at him. His eyes were filled with a desperate desire to live.

In contrast, the coldness in my gaze was enough to extinguish that heat.

“You said earlier, didn’t you? In this world, there are only the strong and the weak. The strong survive, and the weak die.”

Those were the words he had spoken to Jeong-yeo earlier.

“Looks like you’re the weak one today.”

Thwack!

I swung the club mercilessly, smashing his head with a sound like a watermelon bursting.

I’m not the kind of person who would spare someone who tried to annihilate my family.

Thud!

I struck his chest again with the iron rod, shattering his ribs and erasing the mark I had left on him.

This time, I aimed for the heart of the bloodhound, ensuring there would be no trace left. Once I get involved, I make sure to finish the job.

As I had anticipated, Jeong-yeo remained outside until the fight was over.

“Come in.”

He entered cautiously. Though startled by the scene inside, he wasn’t entirely surprised, as if he had braced himself for it.

I swept everything from the pouch lying on the edge of the safe and slung it over my shoulder.

“The bloodhound killed your leader and son, then fled with the money.”

Jeong-yeo swallowed hard, looking down at the bloodhound’s corpse.

I was certain.

Jeong-yeo would dispose of the body and inform the others accordingly. Not out of fear for his life.

But because of what I was about to say. Words that would change his fate entirely. The very words he had been hoping to hear while waiting outside.

“From now on, you are the new leader of Yangso-bang.”