The Beast Faction leader, Gu Yasu, watched as his subordinates counted the money. It was silver collected as tribute from the marketplace.

“Three hundred nyang.”

A subordinate brought over a heavy money pouch.

“This damn idiot is going to ruin the whole operation. Where is Gongpae right now?”

Then Yang, the right-hand man standing beside him, replied.

“He was released from the Murim Alliance branch and is probably somewhere drinking.”

“Tell him to come to me immediately when he gets back.”

“Yes.”

The three hundred nyang was a bribe for the Murim Alliance branch leader. Normally, if they had received money every month, they would have overlooked it, but this time they demanded three hundred nyang in exchange for releasing Gongpae.

Still, Gongpae couldn’t just be locked up in the prison. He was essential to the Beast Faction. Having such a bastard made merchants scared enough to pay without protest.

“What about that bitch who reported them? Did she run away?”

“She can’t run off—her mother is sick.”

“She said she had a decent face, right? Well, no wonder Gongpae got horny. Once things settle, sell her off to a faraway brothel. At least recover half the money lost because of that bitch.”

“Understood.”

“Make sure no one touches that idiot Gongpae.”

“Yes. Also, the Jangdo Faction invaded our territory again.”

“Those bastards!”

Jangdo Faction was a neighboring black market gang competing with the Beast Faction. They always clashed over territory disputes.

“There are rumors they recruited a powerful fighter.”

“What kind of fighter?”

“I don’t know. They say it’s an unknown master, but maybe they’re relying on that person to act recklessly.”

At that moment, Gu Yasu sneered. Then a subordinate rushed in from outside with urgent news.

“There’s an intruder.”

Hearing the word intruder, Gu Yasu immediately called for one person.

“Bring Cheon Murin.”

The reason Gu Yasu could laugh off Jangdo Faction recruiting a new fighter was because of Cheon, a master known only to him. Cheon was formerly from the demonic cult.

A demonic cult master, Cheon!

Because of him, the Beast Faction had grown this strong.

When Gu Yasu and Yang stepped outside, the intruders were crossing ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the training ground.

Gu Yasu flinched in surprise upon seeing the two approaching from afar.

“What the hell?”

The intruders were two men: a huge muscular man and a slender young man. Their casual walk seemed more like a visit than an intrusion. Of course, they were Geom Mugeuk and Kwon Ma.

Yang quickly said,

“They seem to be from the Jangdo Faction.”

“The master they recruited this time?”

“Yes. If not them, then who else?”

Gu Yasu nodded. Only Jangdo Faction dared attack them in this area.

“What about Cheon Murin?”

“He’ll be out soon.”

About twenty Beast Faction members suddenly appeared, drawing weapons and surrounding the two.

“Who are you people?”

To Gu Yasu’s question, Geom Mugeuk glanced around and said,

“The outside is hell, but you’re living well here.”

The Beast Faction’s base was a newly built manor. Especially the building Gu Yasu lived in was luxuriously built with expensive materials.

“I asked who you are.”

Kill or make them kneel. Normally, such an order would have come out immediately, but it didn’t.

It was because of the muscular man beside the young one. Gu Yasu, who had seen all kinds of bad characters from the black market, had never seen someone so terrifying.

Geom Mugeuk said to Gu Yasu,

“Do you know why you keep asking who we are instead of why we came? It’s because you’re used to deciding first if someone is worth killing or not.”

After saying that, Geom Mugeuk strode toward Gu Yasu.

Startled, Gu Yasu shouted to his subordinates,

“Kill them!”

The Beast Faction rushed at Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk dodged the incoming attacks and began throwing punches.

To Gu Yasu, the blows didn’t seem powerful at all. Just light hits. Light thuds.

He dodged skillfully, lightly evading attacks from all directions while landing a hit here and there. One hit to the face. Another to the stomach.

Though fast, the attacks felt powerless, so Gu Yasu felt inwardly relieved.

“It’s nothing!”

That’s exactly what he thought. Instead, the problem seemed to be the muscular man standing aside without fighting.

“Get up! Get up and attack together! Stab him in the back!”

But the subordinates who were hit one by one didn’t get up.

“Stop whining and get up, you idiots!”

He understood why. They probably pretended to be unconscious because if they had to fight the muscular man, even they would rather fake being out.

“Ugh. I trusted those kinds of fools.”

Meanwhile, all twenty who had stepped up were knocked out.

Yang kicked a fallen subordinate nearby to wake him. Geom Mugeuk just let him do as he pleased.

“If you don’t want to die, get up now!”

Being lightly tapped and losing consciousness? Anyone would tell it was fake.

Even when kicked, the subordinate didn’t move. Yang’s suspicion grew and he carefully examined the fallen man.

Yang flinched in shock. The subordinate was dead. Checking another nearby fallen man, he was dead too. Yang realized all his men had been killed.

Yang slowly looked up at Geom Mugeuk.

At that moment, their eyes met. The cold and chilling gaze was expressionless.

“A real master!”

Yang realized that if he said a wrong word, he’d die right there.

Geom Mugeuk showed no mercy. This was to ensure no one survived to take revenge and harm the Seok family.

At that moment, Cheon appeared. His hair was disheveled, probably from drinking a lot the day before, and the unshaven beard made him look exhausted. His belly was more protruding than when he first joined the Beast Faction. Still, Gu Yasu felt reassured. Cheon had never failed to finish off an enemy.

“Kill those two.”

Cheon strode forward, ignoring the fallen Beast Faction members. The brawlers’ skills were obvious to him.

Cheon was ironically from the Iron Fist School of Dongkwonmun. He had reached Blue Fist but couldn’t endure the harsh training and fled to the demonic cult.

Since then, he had been hiding in the Beast Faction. Many had tried to kill Gu Yasu, but all died by Cheon’s hand. In return, Cheon received enough money to indulge in pleasures. In this third-rate black market world, mastery of Blue Fist was enough to be a master fighter.

Swish.

Cheon’s fist aimed to smash Geom Mugeuk’s head but stopped midair.

It wasn’t that Geom Mugeuk dodged lightly that was the problem. It was what he said next.

“This is Blue Fist kung fu, isn’t it?”

Cheon was stunned. Geom Mugeuk was the first person to recognize his martial art.

At that moment, a large man who had been looking at the sky with his back turned finally turned his head toward them.

The moment Gu Yasu saw that face—

“Aaaargh!”

Cheon screamed. He was so shocked he thought his heart would burst. The hangover that had plagued him all day vanished instantly.

Gu Yasu didn’t see Cheon’s distorted face, but Yang did.

It looked like deep despair and terror had settled in a human face.

Kwon Ma muttered to himself,

“You used my kung fu to play the role of a black market thug?”

His voice had no emotion. As soon as he finished speaking,

Cheon struck his Heavenly Spirit Dog (Cheonryeonggae) on himself and committed suicide. He knew he couldn’t run or be forgiven. Dying by Kwon Ma would be far more painful.

Gu Yasu was stunned. Such a strange event left him blank.

Geom Mugeuk passed Yang and walked on.

“Follow me.”

“Yes!”

Yang obediently followed as if Geom Mugeuk were their leader.

When Geom Mugeuk approached, Gu Yasu regained his senses. Now, there was only one thing he could believe.

“Do you know who’s behind us? If you mess with us, there will be consequences.”

“Who’s behind you?”

“The Murim Alliance.”

“Is the Murim Alliance all yours?”

“The branch leader here is watching my back. If you touch me, he won’t stay still.”

Geom Mugeuk said to Yang,

“Can you bring the branch leader here?”

Yang hesitated as if it was no easy task.

“If you just bring him here, you’ll be the Beast Faction leader.”

“I’ll bring him by any means necessary.”

Gu Yasu glared at Yang as if wanting to kill him.

“Damn bastard.”

He didn’t expect such easy betrayal. Still, Yang was the right-hand man.

As Yang ran off without hesitation, Geom Mugeuk said,

“No need to get angry. The promise to make you leader was a lie anyway.”

Just as Gu Yasu’s expression softened slightly,

“You’ve lived the black market life for more than a day or two, you know everyone dies.”

Gu Yasu’s face stiffened again. He realized Geom Mugeuk included himself in that statement.

“Please spare me.”

Geom Mugeuk said to him,

“If you provide evidence of bribing the branch leader—”

Gu Yasu’s eyes darted.

“If not, just die.”

As Geom Mugeuk clenched his fist, Gu Yasu shouted,

“I have it! It’s in the safe.”

Geom Mugeuk led him to the safe. Gu Yasu’s hands trembled as he opened it. Suddenly fear overwhelmed him. The fact that Cheon had committed suicide weighed heavily on him.

“Here it is.”

He handed over a ledger. It contained records of bribes given to the Murim Alliance branch leader and various corrupt acts by him.

“Go and hide where no one will see your corpse.”

Gu Yasu walked toward the bodies.

He tried to escape but suddenly his internal energy was suppressed and unusable.

Unable to help himself, Gu Yasu moved the corpses. Sweating heavily, he carried about twenty bodies without internal energy. He had never lifted a finger his whole life, and this was pure torment.

After finally clearing the bodies, Gu Yasu approached Geom Mugeuk.

“Done clearing.”

“Tiring, isn’t it? Feeling helpless?”

“…Yes.”

“The feelings those people you’ve wronged felt are a hundred or a thousand times worse. Alone, you’re pathetic, but together like a pack of dogs, you scare people, steal, beat, and kill.”

“I will mend my ways.”

“A black market thug repenting? Keep doing bad things. Just do it where I introduce you. You’ll have many partners, so it’ll be fine.”

“Where’s that?”

“Here.”

Geom Mugeuk’s fist flew at him.

It was the Jaei Fist, Lightning Water Style.

Like lightning, dozens of punches landed before he could even scream, and he was beaten to death.

Geom Mugeuk threw his corpse into the warehouse with the others. He assigned no meaning to the death.

Shortly after, Murim Alliance branch leader Baek Chul (伯出) arrived.

“Why does it smell like blood here? Hey bastards, didn’t I tell you to stop killing people?”

Baek Chul scolded Yang as he entered. He came and went so often he treated the place like home.

“What important business made you call me all the way here?”

Seeing Geom Mugeuk and Kwon Ma, Baek Chul flinched.

“Who are they?”

“They’re newly recruited martial artists.”

Yang’s nonchalant answer surprised Baek Chul.

“Where did you get such big guys? Just standing there they’re worth the money. But where’s your master?”

Yang answered smoothly,

“He’s stepped out for a moment.”

Then Geom Mugeuk said to Baek Chul,

“How can you just release a man who assaulted and raped a girl?”

Baek Chul glanced at Yang with a ‘What is this?’ look. They were newcomers; hadn’t been properly trained?

But Yang said nothing, just watched the situation. Baek Chul sensed something was wrong from Yang’s unusual reaction.

Baek Chul calmly replied,

“Oh, that case? We released him due to lack of evidence.”

“The girl was bruised all over, and Gongpae bragged about it to the black market guys. What lack of evidence? You didn’t even investigate?”

Baek Chul inwardly got angry but couldn’t argue given the atmosphere.

“If it were your family, would you have let him go?”

Mentioning family made Baek Chul’s face harden.

“You keep bringing up family.”

“Does talking about family upset you? That family means so much to you, but for others, is it a worthless family they deserve to be victimized?”

At that moment, Baek Chul hesitated to draw his sword but held back.

Avoiding trouble was priority. Baek Chul smiled and spoke gently.

“Understand. Even the Alliance has laws.”

“For whom are the laws? You? Beast Faction? Who?”

Geom Mugeuk’s cold aura made Baek Chul step back.

“I don’t care who you are. I’m the Murim Alliance branch leader. Touch me, and it’ll be a Murim offense!”

“That won’t happen. Someone I know in the Alliance will inform the higher-ups of your crimes and this place’s situation in a letter.”

“To whom?”

“To someone high up. A person who once tried to make me their son-in-law.”

Baek Chul thought this was nonsense but kept silent for now.

“My crimes? Evidence?”

Geom Mugeuk took out the ledger from the Beast Faction.

“You took a lot of bribes from the Beast Faction. You even had them kill people for interests.”

“What are you talking about? I never did that.”

“Deny all you want. They kept detailed records.”

Baek Chul’s face hardened.

“He’s framing me!”

“That’s unlikely. There was no reason to lie.”

Baek Chul decided he must get that ledger first. Killing the men came later.

“How much do you want? How much for that ledger...?”

Baek Chul disappeared before their eyes.

He flew against the far wall, his body shattered and instantly dead.

Only Yang remained, watching cautiously.

“Then from now on, I’ll be the Beast Faction leader...”

Yang vanished before their eyes.

He also fell, beaten to a pulp, rolling on the ground.

The one who sent them flying was Kwon Ma. One punch sent them to the afterlife.

“Let’s go.”

Kwon Ma’s eyes asked why he was wasting time talking with these fools.

“I was going to ask for about a million nyang for the ledger.”

“Cut the nonsense.”

“Wait.”

Geom Mugeuk buried the ledger in a corner of the yard.

If word got out that it was buried there, the Alliance leader’s investigator would handle it properly. He also intended to remind them to take good care of the Seok family in the letter.

Watching Geom Mugeuk, Kwon Ma said,

“You’re meticulous.”

“When helping people, you have to be. If you don’t finish properly because you’re lazy, the one who ends up suffering is the one helped. I pay the cost; they take the blame. That’s no good.”

Unexpectedly, Kwon Ma said,

“You probably won’t become a Cheonma.”

“Why do you say that?”

“How many people does a Cheonma have to deal with? Can you endure it with this attitude? If you take care of everything like this, you’ll go crazy first.”

“I see. Then instead of Cheonma, I’ll just be your disciple, Kwonma.”

Kwon Ma looked at me quietly and smiled faintly.

“That’s the best answer I’ve heard so far.”

“Almost fooled you. Too bad.”

Geom Mugeuk and Kwon Ma walked side by side out of the manor. Like when entering, Kwon Ma’s back filled the entrance.

Fortunately, Kwon Ma did not say to go back to the school. Geom Mugeuk smiled at the look in his eyes.

“This time, it’s a place Kwon Ma will enjoy more than me.”