Ga Deoksang stole a glance at Yeon Hojeong.

Yeon Hojeong was calmly sipping tea.

“Third.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ve said it so many times my mouth’s going to wear out, but... you really are something.”

“Now you’re saying it again.”

“Heh.”

Ga Deoksang smacked his lips as he looked down at the center of the tavern’s first floor.

More than ten Blood Sparrow Gate fighters in blood-red martial robes were sprawled there. Every one of them had a dagger pinned into an acupoint, and it looked like if they didn’t see a Therapist immediately, they’d end up crippled.

And in front of them—

Tang Sang-a was standing there.

Je Gal Ahyeon swallowed hard.

“She’s incredible.”

“Hm?”

“When we got here, everything was chaos, so I didn’t really register it... but that hidden-weapon technique is insane.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“She’s short on experience, but martial sister has mastered hidden weapons to the point she can hit her target cleanly, anytime, anywhere. Hidden weapons can threaten even masters on the same level, so those punks aren’t even in the same world as her.”

“Sure, but... she’s insanely fast.”

Je Gal Ahyeon looked at Yeon Hojeong as she said it.

“It’s almost arrow-speed.”

When Je Gal Ahyeon said “arrow,” she didn’t mean just any arrow.

She meant an arrow fired by Mookbi.

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Not as fast as an arrow.”

“Really? To my eyes, it’s basically the same.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen a serious shot. Of course, it’s not a huge gap—but it’s still a gap.”

“Oooh.”

Je Gal Ahyeon gaped as she stared at Tang Sang-a. Honestly, whether it was Mookbi or Tang Sang-a, both were so absurdly gifted with projectile weapons that trying to rank them felt pointless.

They were just... amazing.

A kind of martial talent Je Gal Ahyeon didn’t have—blazing so brightly it was impossible to ignore.

There really were geniuses everywhere.

Ga Deoksang asked Yeon Hojeong, “So... do we wait longer?”

Yeon Hojeong didn’t answer. He only looked down at the Blood Sparrow Gate fighters.

Ga Deoksang’s gaze slowly shifted to Pae Yul.

“...Uh, martial uncle?”

Pae Yul looked at him like he was insane.

“You’re asking me right now?”

“Of course. You’re the elder here.”

He’s the elder, sure—but he isn’t the boss.

Pae Yul sent Yeon Hojeong a message with Inner Qi.

[What are you going to do?]

[We wait one more time. We let one of them go clean, so the real one will show up in less than half a day.]

Pae Yul spoke aloud.

“We wait half a day.”

“Ah—yes.”

Yeon Hojeong’s prediction hit again, like a ghost’s curse.

KWAANG!

The opening was exactly the same as Blood Sparrow Gate.

The doors were thrown wide as a group stormed in—

Yama Hall’s masters.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

Not bad.

They were solid.

They held different weapons, but more than half of them had first-rate martial arts.

There were twenty of them—no small number—and the way they moved was controlled despite the Killing Intent pouring out of their eyes.

That’s enough to barely hang onto the edge of the Thirty-Six Dark Gates.

Yeon Hojeong’s read was accurate.

“Yama Hall.”

Ga Deoksang’s eyes flashed.

“They haven’t been part of the Thirty-Six Dark Gates for long. After Gloom-Death Hall lost strength, they took that empty seat.”

Yeon Hojeong let out a short, amused breath.

Gloom-Death Hall...

The first real fight the Evil-Smiting Corps soldiers ever saw had been against Gloom-Death Hall.

Once again, it drove home how weak the Dark Path really was.

Sects with real history were rare enough to count on one hand, and hundreds of sects rose and vanished every single day.

Yangcheon really does understand it.

If you want to unify this kind of shoddy Dark Path, what matters most?

Law and history.

You set strict discipline and clear rules—then punish anyone who breaks them, no matter the reason.

It was cruel and extreme, but in the short term it worked.

And once people grew used to living inside that system, that’s when the long history began to accumulate.

It was how Yeon Hojeong had been able to build the Black Emperor’s Citadel—

And how Yangcheon had done it even before the Black Emperor’s Citadel had fully taken shape.

I just don’t know whether he came up with that himself... or if someone helped him.

Yeon Hojeong stood.

Ga Deoksang looked puzzled.

“Third, you’re going?”

“I can’t dump it on the youngest, and I can’t just let martial sister suffer alone.”

Ga Deoksang looked down at the Yama Hall men with pity.

They were enemies, but somehow, he felt sorry for them anyway.

Pae Yul tossed out a line.

“If you can help it, don’t splash blood everywhere.”

“I understand.”

PAK!

Yeon Hojeong dropped from the second floor to the first in a single breath and stopped in front of Tang Sang-a.

Tang Sang-a had already drawn a dagger, and confusion flickered across her face.

“Martial junior brother?”

“I’ll handle them. You’ve worked enough. Go upstairs and rest.”

“Ah... sure.”

Tang Sang-a glanced at Yeon Hojeong for some reason—then went up to the second floor.

Ho Geuk, the leader of the Yama Hall group, lit his eyes.

“It’s you?”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“It’s us.”

“...Your arrogance is through the roof. Do you even know who we are?”

“Do I need to?”

“What?”

“Quit the pointless posturing and talk. Why were you tailing us?”

Ho Geuk flinched.

“Tailing? Who’s tailing who?”

“Do you need your ears cleaned? The moment we crossed into Hunan, you Dark Path bastards were tailing us. I got sick of it and killed them, so these blood-clots came running in here, didn’t they?”

Surprise flashed across Ho Geuk’s face.

“You killed them?”

“Should I have let them live?”

The voice dripped with contempt.

It was provocation, straight up—but Ho Geuk couldn’t even seize on it.

They tailed them? Who? Blood Sparrow Gate wouldn’t have dared...

Then it clicked.

It’s from him—the Manor.

That was it.

The base of the martial god who had unified nearly half the Dark Path in a short time and formed a monstrous power.

The side that openly called itself the Dark Path—yet stood in an entirely different realm from every other Dark Path master.

Those had to be the informants.

Ho Geuk went pale.

Yeon Hojeong, meanwhile, frowned.

“What? You scared all of a sudden?”

“Y-you killed them all?!”

“Yeah.”

Ho Geuk whipped around and shouted behind him.

“You! The one from Blood Sparrow Gate! Get out here!”

A man in blood-red martial robes hurried forward.

Ho Geuk’s eyes turned tiger-fierce.

“You bastards—were you secretly making contact with the Manor behind our backs?!”

“W-what?!”

“Answer me properly!”

“I-I’m sorry! I don’t—”

Of course he wouldn’t know. He wasn’t even leadership.

But that didn’t matter.

Ho Geuk was already convinced Blood Sparrow Gate had been running a separate line to the Manor without telling Yama Hall.

“You filthy dog bastards!”

THWACK!

Yeon Hojeong’s gaze sank.

Ho Geuk brought the wolf-tooth club down, and the Blood Sparrow Gate man’s skull exploded into pieces.

A brutality that didn’t even hesitate.

Ho Geuk snarled, spitting fury.

“I treat you soft and you think you can ignore the main hall and move on your own?!”

“Hey.”

Ho Geuk turned back to Yeon Hojeong.

“What’s the Manor?”

“...?!”

“You mean the place where the Fighting King is the master?”

“...You.”

FLASH!

Killing Intent poured out of the Yama Hall fighters’ eyes.

Yeon Hojeong was genuinely surprised.

The surging Killing Intent [N O V E L I G H T] was sharp as a treasured sword.

Up on the second floor, Ga Deoksang’s eyes grew heavy.

Impressive.

He didn’t mean the Killing Intent itself.

What was truly impressive was Yangcheon’s presence—strong enough that merely saying his epithet made these men spill such vicious Killing Intent.

That Killing Intent isn’t fear. Their loyalty to Yangcheon is real.

And it wasn’t just that.

Ga Deoksang hadn’t said it out loud, but the fact that informants had latched onto them so soon after they entered Hunan was already insane.

Hunan is basically Yangcheon’s empire already. He’s scattered Dark Path informants everywhere, and he’s investigating every single suspicious outsider, one by one.

Ga Deoksang’s cheek twitched.

This is a lot more dangerous than I thought.

The size of Hunan, and the number of Dark Path informants stationed across it—

The money required was astronomical.

And Yangcheon had poured out that mountain of wealth and manpower without hesitation.

Ga Deoksang still didn’t know what Yangcheon was ultimately aiming for.

But one thing was certain—

Yangcheon was far more terrifying than Ga Deoksang had assumed.

Damn it... can we really punch straight into the center?

Ga Deoksang’s eyes moved to Yeon Hojeong.

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Either way, judging by how things are shaking out, you’re connected to the Fighting King, too.”

“...Hah!”

“Good. I wanted to meet him anyway.”

Yeon Hojeong lifted his chin, arrogant to the bone.

“Take me to him. I’ll see with my own eyes exactly what kind of man he is.”

Ho Geuk’s patience snapped.

“Quit flapping your mouth and die, you little shit!”

WHOOOOONG!

The wolf-tooth club slammed down with a crushing pressure that ripped the air apart.

It carried enough force to split not just a man’s skull, but even stone in a single blow.

Yeon Hojeong drew in a short breath.

KOOONG!

Horror swept across Ho Geuk’s face, which had been soaked in Killing Intent.

“Not bad strength.”

Yeon Hojeong had stopped the wolf-tooth club with a single left hand.

Not only that—he’d grabbed the club’s jagged protrusions barehanded, yet there wasn’t even a scratch.

“You bastard!”

Ho Geuk tried to wrench the club free with a roar that sounded half like shock.

And froze again.

SHIVER.

The club trembled faintly in his two-handed grip.

He pulled with everything he had, yet it wouldn’t come loose from Yeon Hojeong’s hand.

A monstrous grip.

“You look like the one in charge of this pathetic bunch, so I won’t smash you to pieces.”

Yeon Hojeong’s foot moved like lightning.

THUD!

“Guh—!”

His toes drove precisely into the center of Ho Geuk’s abdomen.

Ho Geuk staggered, then dropped to his knees on the spot.

The pain was so violent he couldn’t even pass out.

The Yama Hall fighters stared at Yeon Hojeong, stunned.

Yeon Hojeong crooked a finger.

“You’re not going to back off politely, right? Come on. Let’s clean this up fast.”

TSSSS—TSSSS—TSSSS!

Yama Hall’s men unleashed Killing Intent again.

Ho Geuk’s lips trembled.

He wanted to shout at them not to rush in—tell them to fall back, now—

“...!!”

But no sound came out.

Even breathing was a struggle.

“Kill him!”

“Tear off all four limbs!”

Yama Hall’s fighters charged Yeon Hojeong all at once.

Ho Geuk’s face twisted.

No—!

THUD! CRACK! KRRRK! BANG!

They fell in a heap, one after another, under a series of brutal impacts.

KRRRUNCH! RIIIP!

Joints shattered. Cartilage tore. Skin split. Hip sockets twisted out of place.

There wasn’t a trace of mercy.

One strike would’ve been enough—but Yeon Hojeong deliberately layered three, four extra hits, smashing every bone in the body to ruin.

Ho Geuk went white.

M-monster...

In the Dark Path, it was hard to find anyone who wasn’t cruel—

But this crossed the line entirely.

He only broke the parts that would leave permanent disability even if they somehow recovered.

That kind of viciousness wasn’t unheard of among infamous killers—

The real problem was Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

As Yeon Hojeong dropped them, smiling brightly, he looked like a ghost wearing a man’s face.

His expression was like that—

Yet his gaze was cold enough to freeze the blood.

Those weren’t the eyes of a madman drunk on destruction.

That contradiction—paired with the effortless, practiced way he dismantled bodies—filled anyone watching with a vicious kind of fear.

“Cough—! Guh—! S-stop, you lunatic!”

THWACK!

Yeon Hojeong crushed the last fighter’s sternum and sent him flying out through the doorway. Then he drew in a deep breath.

Ho Geuk’s hand shook uncontrollably.

Yeon Hojeong looked up at the ceiling with a satisfied smile.

There was something almost refreshing about him.

“Yeah. This is it.”

This feeling—like coming home.

A world soaked in pure violence—

Rolling in mud as you fight, grinding someone down so completely they’ll never resist again.

“Been a long time.”

The Dark Path grandmaster descending upon the Dark Path martial world.

Not the eldest son of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain—

But the dazzling return of Yeon Hojeong, the Dark Emperor.