I looked out at Won Gaseong, the underlings he brought from the Heavenly Alliance, and the riffraff of the outer sect.

Killing them in a rage wouldn’t be difficult.

But I was annoyed that the quiet, ordinary atmosphere of the inn was about to turn into a war zone—all over money.

I leapt from my seat and landed lightly on the roof of Cheolli Inn.

“……”

Everyone—those who had us surrounded, the Four Great Villains, the Third Young Master, and Sambok—all looked up at me.

They were probably thinking, What kind of lunatic chicken just flew up onto the roof?

I sat cross-legged with a solemn face and addressed the crowd gathered below.

“Listen, you wretches.”

“……”

“Never before has the line between life and death been so close. The man you’re trying to take is the third son of the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. Do you think you can predict the Cult Leader’s thoughts and desires, and that’s why you’re doing this? You think the Heavenly Alliance and outer sect scum can handle the wrath of the Cult Leader? You can’t.”

“……”

“Whether it’s on the orders of the First Lord or the Second Lord, the fact remains that the man eating meat with his hands down there is the third son of the Cult Leader. If you can handle the consequences, then go ahead and attack right now. Some of you may not know who I am, but I am Yi Zaha, Pavilion Lord of Haomun, the one who attacked Alliance Leader Lim Sobaek and annihilated the Namgak Gang. If something happens to Lim, I show up. If someone bullies me, he shows up. You think we’re just neighborhood drinking buddies? We are not.”

“……”

“That surly bastard sitting under the roof over there is the second son of the Wind-and-Cloud Mong Family. That family produced a Great General—half of their household are martial artists, the other half are practically private soldiers. No matter how much of a disgrace he is as a second son, the Mong family won’t just sit back and laugh if he dies to some outer sect trash.”

At this, Won Gaseong of the Heavenly Alliance let out a mocking snort, visibly skeptical.

I went on to introduce our third, Master Yukhap.

“And that terrifying-looking man is Master Yukhap. He trained in the sword to avenge his destroyed sect, then single-handedly massacred several black path clans. Some of you may not know the name Master Yukhap. But those who do know it, know he’s a man consumed by vengeance.”

With the crowd now silent, I continued calmly.

“You fools. These are the men you’re trying to kill. And as for Haomun, which I created—only I know what kinds of masters reside within it and how strong our forces really are. I’ll admit, the Heavenly Alliance is among the strongest black path organizations. But unless you’re prepared to face the wrath of the Cult Leader, the Mong family, Haomun, and the last survivor of the Yukhap Clan—go ahead and attack us now.”

“……”

I stared down at them solemnly.

“Let me be clear. You will all be annihilated.”

Still seated cross-legged, I formed a hand sign I’d once seen on a shabby Buddha statue in a ruined temple—Amitabha’s hand gesture.

I brought the thumb and index finger of my right hand together, summoning a brilliant white flame of White Radiance.

Then I lowered my left hand to my lower abdomen, forming the same gesture, now engulfed in a crimson flame of Red Flame.

Now I had become the madman who mutters nonsense and has grasped the true meaning of Amitabha.

The final gesture of Amitabha for those who ignore teachings and warnings: unleash the Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance and obliterate them all.

If I put my palms together now, the resulting blast would kill everyone present.

Come to think of it, Amitabha must’ve been quite a merciful elder of Jianghu.

I muttered as if chanting a scripture.

“…Elder, I inherit your will. Amitabha.”

From below, the Lecher let out a long sigh.

“When will this lunatic ever tone it down?”

He rose to his feet with his hands on his hips and spoke to the Heavenly Alliance troops.

“Hey. If he puts his hands together, everyone here dies. Haomun’s Pavilion Lord is the craziest bastard I’ve seen in Jianghu. He hasn’t even met a worthy opponent yet. I’ll be real with you, Won Gaseong. Go back and report failure. This isn’t something a branch master of the Heavenly Alliance can handle.”

He pointed up at me.

“Third. Calm down. Don’t do it. I’m warning you—I’ll get mad. Stop it.”

Just then, the Drunk jumped into the air and landed at the edge of the roof, drawing his sword.

Shiiiing…

The Lecher turned, startled.

“What the hell are you doing?”

The Drunk replied,

“He might get hit by a concealed weapon. I’ll block it. Or maybe we should just kill them all.”

I nodded calmly.

“A-mi-ta-bha.”

“Shit.”

The Lecher cursed, then soared up into the air and joined us on the roof.

Facing the Heavenly Alliance’s troops, I merged the flames of sun and moon into a single radiant light of Amitabha. The roar from my hands was enough to rupture eardrums.

CRACKLE—BOOOOM!

Cheolli Inn trembled like it was about to collapse.

Upon seeing the light gathering in my hands, the outer sect lackeys turned and bolted, abandoning Won Gaseong behind. It started with one or two, but soon fear spread like a plague, and they all joined the retreat, their screams growing louder.

Even Won Gaseong, the supposed leader, took a few steps back in disbelief.

“No way…”

I swiftly reabsorbed the light of Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance with a curtain of light and issued a command to the Four Villains and the Third Young Master.

“Catch that bastard.”

Instantly, the Lecher, the Drunk, the Third Young Master, and I launched into the air. We hunted down the fleeing Won Gaseong with palm strikes, footwork, rock throwing—driving him like prey into a trap before surrounding him completely.

According to the Lecher, this guy’s a branch master—no weakling. But it was hard to gauge his strength now—he was under full-on assault by four of us.

Was everyone following my lead properly?

Didn’t matter.

The Drunk landed the first hit, smashing into Won Gaseong’s shoulder.

“Grrh!”

The Lecher followed with a palm strike to the chest.

“Ugh.”

The Third Young Master kicked him square in °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the jaw.

Thwack!

I took the chance to punch his head as he staggered.

Thwack!

Then I kicked him in the shin, dropping him to the ground, and stomped on him as he flailed defensively.

“Coming in here with numbers, trying to, trying to, trying to—”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“—Trying to posture like some big shot, you little shit!”

Losing my temper, I stomped harder. The Drunk and the Lecher joined in, and even Sambok pushed through and joined the beatdown.

“Because of you I had to carry him, carry him, carry him! You bastard!”

Once Won Gaseong was a bloody mess, we stopped.

We’re merciful men, after all.

I gave the next order.

“Drag him back.”

“Yes, Pavilion Lord.”

Sambok grabbed the trembling, beaten body of Won Gaseong by the ankle and dragged him back like a sack of trash.

We strutted back to Cheolli Inn like village idiots, keeping an eye on our surroundings.

Sambok tossed him aside.

Won Gaseong rolled across the ground and came to a twitching stop, trembling from shock or pain.

Having inhaled a lot of dust, we wordlessly rinsed our mouths with wine.

I spat it out, then walked over to Won Gaseong and grabbed him by the hair. Looking at his half-conscious face, I spoke.

“Branch Master Won.”

“……”

“What a merciful sight this is. Branch Master Won, Branch Master Won, Won…”

I slapped his cheek.

Smack!

A tooth flew from his mouth and skittered across the floor.

I called him again.

“Branch Master Won.”

He panted heavily and glared up at me. I leaned in and looked into his eyes.

“Your eyes are still sharp. This bastard’s still alive. A true black path man. Not bad.”

I slapped him again.

Crack!

This time, too hard—his head snapped sideways, and he collapsed, unconscious.

The Lecher asked dryly,

“Is he dead?”

I checked his pulse.

“Still alive. Sambok, hand me some wine.”

“Yes.”

I poured strong liquor over Won Gaseong’s face. As it entered his nose and mouth, he gasped and woke up.

I addressed him in a flat tone.

“I could do this all night. Know why? I’ve got nothing else to do and I’m bored. Let me try again. Branch Master Won.”

He gurgled some of the wine before answering.

“…Yes.”

I pointed at him and looked at the others.

“Look at that—he answers now. If he’d done that earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten hit. Is answering so hard? Funny guy. Hahaha.”

Leaving him alone for now, I got up and poured myself a drink.

We brought out chairs, set them up around Won Gaseong, and sat down to drink. We occasionally poked at some cold meat with chopsticks and ate in silence.

Burp.

The Lecher, the Drunk, the Third Young Master, and Sambok seemed used to my antics now, joining in without much awkwardness.

If you wanted a drink, you drank.

If you wanted meat, you grilled some.

We talked casually, admired the scenery, and soon restored the peaceful atmosphere of a proper inn.

Sambok asked,

“…Pavilion Lord, should I grill some more meat?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Didn’t you buy any noodles?”

“I forgot.”

“Shame.”

Sambok chuckled.

“I’ll grab some later and make you each a bowl.”

I clapped for him.

“This guy. Solid. I’ve never seen a more capable bodyguard in my Jianghu life. Sambok.”

“Thank you.”

The Lecher and Drunk joined in the praise.

“Multi-talented.”

“You’re working hard.”

Sambok grinned and turned to the Third Young Master.

“Is there anything you’d like to eat, Young Master?”

He replied stiffly.

“No.”

“Understood.”

But Sambok delivered the finishing blow.

“If anything comes to mind, let me know.”

“……”

Finally, I looked at the trembling branch master of the Heavenly Alliance.

“What was this monkey bastard’s name again?”

The Lecher answered,

“Won Gaseong?”

“Ah, right.”

I knew a bit about the Heavenly Alliance, so I asked the Lecher,

“They’ve got the most branch masters, right?”

“Yeah. Any outside group that joins usually gets a branch master title. So the skill level and roles vary wildly. It’s called the Heavenly Alliance, but it’s basically a black path federation. The Alliance Leader is legit, though. Everyone gathered under him.”

Many minor sects who couldn’t survive under the Murim Alliance’s rules ended up joining the Heavenly Alliance.

Under normal circumstances, Won Gaseong should be threatening us with the Alliance Leader’s name by now. But maybe we were just too damn insane.

He didn’t even open his mouth. Probably knew one wrong word would get him beat again.

I picked up a nearly cooked piece of meat with my chopsticks and walked over to him.

“Branch Master Won. Open up. Ahh…”

He glared at me, clearly exhausted.

I spoke coldly.

“Open your mouth. Last warning. Unless you want to die.”

He opened his mouth, and I shoved the meat into my own mouth.

As I chewed, I stared at him with the most serious expression in the world.

“Branch Master Won.”

“Yes.”

“I told you. You’re not someone who can tell me what to do. Did my words seem funny to you? If I kill you now, the Alliance Leader will come after me. If I don’t kill you, he still might. So how do you see this situation? Let’s hear it.”

I threw the chopsticks aside, placed my hand on his head, and stroked his hair.

“Choose your answer wisely.”

I fully intended to crush his skull depending on his reply.

Won Gaseong looked into my eyes…

His gaze trembled like the waves of the East Sea.

“Pavilion Lord… please spare me.”

I tightened my right hand with inner energy and replied,

“Why should I spare you? Why do people only beg for mercy at moments like this? You bully the weak, and beg the strong for kindness? That’s not how a man lives. Bastards like you never change.”

I flicked him on the forehead.

Thunk!

He collapsed like a sack of bricks. Could’ve been dead. Could’ve still been breathing. I didn’t bother checking.

While I dealt with him…

I wondered if the rest of these bastards understood the meaning behind my actions and words.

I turned and looked at the faces of the Lecher, the Drunk, the Third Young Master, and Sambok.

“Second son. Master Yukhap. Third son. Bodyguard. Don’t live like this kind of scum. A man like that isn’t a man.”

I wasn’t expecting an answer, so they all just stared back in silence.