Chapter 48
The impact slammed across his cheek, whipping his head to the side.
Before he could even turn it back, something stabbed into his left ribs, twisting his torso.
What was truly shocking wasn’t that he was being beaten so relentlessly that he couldn’t even tell when the blows landed—
but that the pain of each strike came through vividly, mercilessly clear.
It was the first time in his life.
To be subjected to such raw, primal violence with his whole body.
He had swung fists before, but never been caught in the storm himself.
Even amidst the pain raining down across his body, he desperately forced himself into a stance.
“Graaaahhh!”
With a beastly roar, Wi Ji-Ho-Young wildly swung his sword.
Rotten fish still stinks.
As a top master, even half-broken, he managed to recompose himself and launch a counterattack.
But…
“Oh?”
That counterattack failed far too easily—and that was the worst news for him.
Cheon Mu-Jin, dodging Wi Ji-Ho-Young’s sword, drove his foot into the gaping opening in his guard.
Unlike his earlier lighter attacks that avoided overcommitting power, this strike was heavy, anchored at the tip of his toes.
Crunch!
The chilling sound of ribs breaking rang out, and Wi Ji-Ho-Young’s arms shook violently.
Even then, he somehow clung to his sword—commendable, perhaps.
“A martial artist should, of course.”
But Cheon Mu-Jin wasn’t close enough to praise such a thing.
With broken ribs slowing him by half a beat, Wi Ji-Ho-Young was dragged into an even fiercer storm.
Cheon Mu-Jin’s strikes now carried weight. Each blow slammed down with a bone-cracking sound, unlike the earlier attacks that only left bruising pain.
He struck, and struck again.
By the time Cheon Mu-Jin noticed his own breathing grow slightly heavy—
“Hoo.”
—he lowered his fist.
“Wh… why…?”
“Oh? Still conscious enough to talk? Impressive. A peak master is still a peak master, I suppose.”
With a smirk, Cheon Mu-Jin lightly kicked the staggering Wi Ji-Ho-Young, toppling him.
Not to beat him more easily, but because it was about time to stop.
Any more, and his organs might rupture—death could follow.
“Well, you’re probably wondering why this happened, when you should’ve been the stronger one.”
Looking at the eyes staring up at him, filled with disbelief and fear, Cheon Mu-Jin chuckled.
“If you heard the rumors, you should’ve believed them. Why couldn’t you read the situation properly?”
Placing a hand on Wi Ji-Ho-Young’s head, Cheon Mu-Jin shook it casually until the man lost consciousness, then rose to his feet.
“Now then. Everyone here’s seen enough. Time to decide.”
He swept his gaze across the frozen Ho-Chal squad members.
“Anyone who wants to resist—stand now and pick up your weapon. But remember this: I don’t kill those who stand against me.”
Not kill them?
Something about that sounded far worse…
Smiling faintly, Cheon Mu-Jin continued:
“Your sins are too heavy for a clean death.”
Shudder.
The Ho-Chal members, feeling a chill at his words, lowered their heads.
They couldn’t even look up.
It was as if some formless presence behind Cheon Mu-Jin forbade them to lift their gaze.
“At least you’re reasonable. Yu, subdue them.”
“Yes!”
At his order, Yu Hyeon-Hwa quickly moved, sealing the meridians of the Ho-Chal squad.
And then—
Bang!
“Ghhhk!”
“Urghh!”
The ones who had tormented the temporary execution unit member were personally struck by Cheon Mu-Jin, their dantians shattered.
“A job must always be done thoroughly. Don’t you agree, Young Master Wi Ji-Heon?”
“…Yes. Of course.”
“So when you go back, make sure you tell it straight: I didn’t act out of personal grudges. You understand, yes?”
“Yes… of course, sir.”
Not out of personal grudge, my ass.
Wi Ji-Heon nodded and smiled outwardly, but inside he cursed endlessly.
The man was insane.
Maybe not mad enough to kill his brother outright, but this entire scene was practically a declaration of war against the Wi family.
The problem was…
The justification lies with the Cheon family.
The Execution Unit was a direct branch of the Heavenly Demon Cult itself.
Of course they had authority.
Even if Cheon Mu-Jin had no formal title, his background gave him perfect justification to intervene.
They had been torturing an execution unit member—he came to save him.
An unassailable reason.
The men who had their dantians shattered?
Well, too bad. The justification was already on his side.
Their martial lives were finished.
The problem wasn’t the collapse of Ho-Chal.
…He’s a monster.
Cheon Mu-Jin.
Far more monstrous than anyone had imagined.
No matter how much he only looked like a first-class master, once combat began, he moved like something beyond.
His younger brother had likely set this up thinking he could defeat Cheon Mu-Jin—only to be utterly crushed.
“Son!”
By then, Baek-Woo entered, bringing in the father of the temporary execution unit member.
The man wept, clutching his son, who had been given emergency treatment. Yu Hyeon-Hwa gently supported his shoulder.
“We’ll bring your son safely to a physician. Let’s head back.”
“I… I’ll take him myself.”
“No, you’ll hurt him more if you carry him. He’s resting well. You don’t want to wake him, right?”
Her reassuring tone finally calmed the man’s heart.
“…Thank you.”
“No need. This is only natural.”
Yu Hyeon-Hwa led him out. Baek-Woo quickly fetched a stretcher, unsealed one man’s meridians to free the unit member, and carried him out.
Only Ho-Chal, Cheon Mu-Jin, and Wi Ji-Heon remained.
Then—
“Ah, they’ll be here soon.”
“Who?”
“The ones who escaped are spreading word everywhere. The swift-footed should be arriving shortly.”
The first to arrive would naturally be members of the Wi family.
Which meant…
“Let’s finish up.”
“…Excuse me?”
What else was there to do?
Cheon Mu-Jin strode toward the unconscious Jong Yu-Gon.
His hand sliced down—
A thin blade of sword-qi severed his tendons in all four limbs.
“Wouldn’t want him waking up and coming after revenge later, would we?”
“W-wait, don’t tell me—”
“I’m not the type to leave loose ends.”
Smiling, Cheon Mu-Jin turned toward the others whose dantians had been destroyed, and severed all their tendons as well.
The sight made the Ho-Chal members wet themselves in terror, but Cheon Mu-Jin was indifferent.
“Good. Now there’ll be no one grabbing a sword later, thinking to take revenge.”
He glanced around at the others still unmaimed.
“Hm. But you know, I’m a bit cowardly. I keep feeling like all of you will come after me later too. What should I do?”
“N-no, never!”
“Please, spare us!”
“Ha, who said I’d kill you? Why speak as though I’m so scary? Right, Young Master Wi?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
Not knowing how else to respond, Wi Ji-Heon simply nodded, trying to hide the cold sweat pouring down his palms.
“Well, fine. I’ll stop here. Just teasing you a little.”
Cheon Mu-Jin chuckled, scanning the room.
They still didn’t grasp the situation. Pitiful.
After all—
“Though whether the heads of the Execution Unit see it the same way… that I cannot say.”
The Execution Unit was directly under the Heavenly Demon’s command.
Their captains were chosen personally.
And their temperament, of course, was…
“Well, good luck surviving. At least they might not shatter your dantians… only your tendons.”
* * *
“Chaos, isn’t it?”
“Chaos? That’s exaggerating.”
“The Wi family’s third son came home battered to a pulp. How could it not be chaos?”
The Wi family of the South.
When the Heavenly Demon Cult’s vast territory was divided into four, they were the greatest family in the south.
They thrived on fertile land even in barren Xinjiang, and controlled lucrative trade routes with the Western Regions.
In terms of wealth, they were unrivaled among the Four Great Families.
So when a direct son returned beaten half to death—it would have been strange if the cult stayed quiet.
All the more since the one who did it was none other than the famed Third Martial Son of the Cheon family.
“But… will it be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“That man. From the look of him, he’ll definitely want revenge. Not against us—but against that squad member.”
Inside the infirmary where Mu-Pung Squad was staying, Yu Hyeon-Hwa glanced worriedly at Kang Gu-Gyeom, the temporary execution unit member lying in bed.
“Ah, that? Don’t worry.”
“Eh?”
“He’s already dead.”
“What?! Dead? Did you poison him or something? Like… something that kills him in a week?”
“You read too many martial novels, don’t you?”
Cheon Mu-Jin chuckled, waving it off.
“There are two kinds of death in the martial world. One is literal death—the end of life.”
“And the other… oh!”
“Yes. The death of a martial artist.”
Yu Hyeon-Hwa clapped in realization, then tilted her head.
“But… you didn’t destroy his dantian, did you?”
“You don’t have to shatter a dantian to end someone’s martial life. Anyway, it’s handled. Don’t worry.”
“Well… if you say so, Young Master.”
Nodding, she looked back at Kang Gu-Gyeom, then suddenly turned.
“By the way, where were you this morning? You’ve been in seclusion for days, saying it’s too noisy outside.”
“Oh, this morning? Father called me. I went to see him.”
“I see… Wait—WHAT? The Heavenly Demon called you? What did he say?”
“Nothing much. Just told me to get serious.”
“Serious…?”
“Yeah. Mu-Pung Squad has been given a new mission.”
“A… mission?”
Wi Ji-Ho-Young had tried to entrap Cheon Mu-Jin, but dragging in an execution unit member had been the worst possible move.
“Most people don’t know, but Father actually values the Execution Unit a great deal.”
When Cheon Mu-Jin had met him that morning, his father’s anger had been obvious.
So much so that even Mu-Jin had refrained from joking.
“From this moment, Mu-Pung Squad has been granted investigative authority over the southern region of the cult. Oh, and in cases of flagrante delicto—summary execution rights.”
“…What?”
“Our target: illegal drugs that corrupt and destroy people…”
Cheon Mu-Jin’s lips twisted into a grin.
“…and corruption.”
* * *
“Heh. Mu-Pung Squad is stirring up the South?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then they’ve finally lost their minds.”
There was a reason the Four Great Families were grouped apart.
The Wi family’s martial strength was said to lag behind the others, but their wealth more than made up for it.
Not even the Heavenly Demon could ignore their presence.
And yet, to unleash Cheon Mu-Jin against them so brazenly—
It was a baffling decision.
Unless…
“They must have great faith in their eldest son.”
“That seems likely. Considering how thoroughly he crushed Wi Ji-Ho-Young, he must be hiding something.”
“Of course. He’s learned the Absorbing Star Great Law. How could he not be special?”
The Absorbing Star Great Law.
A martial art spoken of in legend.
Perhaps a step below the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but still one of the world’s peerless, forbidden techniques.
Especially considering its trait of trading life force for power…
“It’s time to begin approaching Cheon Mu-Jin directly. And perhaps it’s also time for the Wi family’s strength to be cut down a little.”
