In the end, Cheon Su-rin stepped into the commotion.
Leaving the frozen Ha Mok-ryeong behind, he helped the man who had collapsed on the ground to his feet.
“Wh-why are you helping me?”
The man could not bring himself to look Cheon Su-rin in the face.
Yesterday he had spat out such harsh words and had not offered a single word of apology.
If he had any shame, he should not have dared to hope for help.
“Because I want to.”
There was no complicated reason. Cheon Su-rin simply moved where his heart led him.
That was his own dark path.
From the moment he had awakened the Heavenly Slaughter Star and accepted his past life, Cheon Su-rin had sworn to walk this path.
“Could it be that my meddling is a nuisance again?”
If the man answered yes, he intended to withdraw without regret.
In that instant, a fat teardrop fell from the man's eye.
“......Please help me. I know I have no right to ask, but could you please teach that vicious bastard a lesson?”
A faint smile spread across Cheon Su-rin's lips.
He nodded lightly.
“Gladly.”
Cheon Su-rin called for Hwang Byeong-su.
At the call, Hwang Byeong-su came running over in a hurry.
“Please look after this man.”
“Leave it to me!”
Hwang Byeong-su, too, had been shaking with outrage at Ha Mok-ryeong's atrocities.
Though he lacked the ability to fight like Cheon Su-rin, he wanted to be of help, even if only in this way.
“You again!”
Meanwhile, Ha Mok-ryeong, who had pulled himself together, staggered to his feet and shouted.
He seemed to have taken the hit square in the face, for one of his eyes was bloodshot red.
“Looks like you remember me.”
“Why the hell do you father and son keep giving me shit?!”
“Because you keep doing things that catch my eye.”
“What?”
“How was the radish? Ah, you ate it with your eye instead of your mouth, so maybe you can't tell.”
Ha Mok-ryeong's face flushed redder than his eye.
When he shouted, his subordinates, who had been scattered nearby, gathered like a swarm of ants.
“There are more of you than last time.”
He had thought the men inside the shop were all of them, but there seemed to be more nearby.
At a glance, there were easily more than thirty.
The Azure River Society, supposedly a weak little sect, had now swollen to a size comparable to the Black Tiger Gang.
“I have united all the dark path sects. Now the Azure River Society is the one and only, the foremost dark path sect in Clear Mirror Town!”
He seemed to have heard him say something earlier about having swallowed Clear Mirror Town, and it apparently was not nonsense.
‘It's strange, though.’
The Azure River Society should not have had that kind of power.
Ha Mok-ryeong himself certainly did not look like a man with that kind of ability.
“How did a bastard like you manage to unite them?”
“Last night, the heads of Clear Mirror Town gathered in one place. It was a meeting to discuss our shares...... but a thought suddenly struck me. Why should I share with these bastards? I can just kill them all and have it all to myself!”
“So you killed them all?”
“That's right! I'm the only one who survived that carnage!”
Ha Mok-ryeong grinned vilely.
Because of his bruised eye there was no sense of intimidation, but madness lurked in his gaze.
Whether by skill or by heaven's luck, it seemed certain that he had emerged the victor of a bloody, kin-against-kin struggle.
“Now do you understand how frightening I am?”
He seemed to want Cheon Su-rin to cower in terror, but Cheon Su-rin burst into a scoffing laugh instead.
“......Why are you laughing?”
“Because I think it's a good thing.”
“What?”
“Because it's much easier to clean up trash when it's all gathered in one place.”
Now, if he brought down just the Azure River Society, the dark clouds over Clear Mirror Town would clear.
Peace would come, at least for a while.
“This bastard......! Kill that insolent bastard!”
At Ha Mok-ryeong's screech, his subordinates drew their weapons all at once and swarmed forward.
‘How should I deal with them?’
There were many of them, but most were a rabble.
The Heavenly Slaughter Phantom Blood Sword that had butchered the Black Tiger Gang could finish them in an instant, but there were far too many eyes here.
Revealing the Heavenly Slaughter Calamity's martial arts on the street in broad daylight would cost more than it gained.
‘Decided. I'll deal with them using the Thousand Spirits Sword Art.’
Its power was relatively lower, but it was enough to deal with these men.
Just as Cheon Su-rin was about to grip the hilt of his sword, someone landed lightly from midair.
“Father?”
The one who had suddenly appeared was Cheon Hyeong-do.
He stood facing Cheon Su-rin directly.
How was his father, who should have been at the Heavenly Way Martial Arts Academy, here?
Before he had time to ask, the tip of an enemy's sword was aimed at Cheon Hyeong-do.
“And who the hell are you?!”
The enemies thrust their swords as if they did not care who he was.
Cheon Hyeong-do still had his back to them, and Cheon Su-rin was about to shout an urgent warning.
Shing—.
It was faster than the warning.
Cheon Hyeong-do's hand blurred, and it slashed across the chest of the man at the front.
The body technique that followed was astonishing.
At every point along the path he passed, a bluish afterimage lingered and blocked the next enemy's view.
His opponents were third-rate dolts.
They had no means to block Cheon Hyeong-do's fast sword, which struck like lightning.
By the time he stopped his sword, ten enemies were already rolling on the ground, spraying blood.
“......!”
Everyone was stunned. Cheon Su-rin was no exception.
‘Was Father's skill really this great?’
Of course, he had known his father was quite strong.
The Thousand Spirits Sword Art alone was by no means something that should be taught at an academy like theirs.
But the movements Cheon Hyeong-do had just shown were clearly far beyond the level of a mere academy.
Only now, with his discernment opened after awakening the Heavenly Slaughter Star, could he see it.
His father was a master of at least the peak realm, perhaps even one eyeing what lay beyond it.
An unfamiliar aura, different from usual, enveloped him.
“Ch-Cheon Hyeong-do!”
“I'm sure I warned you. Don't tell me you're going to use the excuse that you didn't know he was my son this time too?”
“Ugh...... What are you doing?! Kill that bastard first!”
Ha Mok-ryeong struggled desperately.
It was because of his pride as the Chairman of the foremost sect in Clear Mirror Town, and the baseless confidence given by the ‘backer’ who must be watching him from somewhere.
“You still haven't come to your senses.”
Cheon Hyeong-do held his sword vertically and took his stance.
The dark path thugs, having tightened their encirclement, drove their weapons into him all at once.
SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH!
They had definitely stabbed him.
Joy spread across the faces of the enemies who sensed victory, but it soon turned to shock.
Not a single drop of blood came from Cheon Hyeong-do's body where their blades had sunk in.
His form wavered like a heat haze, then scattered and vanished like smoke.
“Wh-what?!”
Before they could even realize they had stabbed an illusion, a scream and a spray of blood came from behind them.
At some point, Cheon Hyeong-do had moved to the enemies' rear and was swinging his sword.
The enemies screamed and charged again.
But the result was the same.
Each time Cheon Hyeong-do took the stance of raising his sword, only a hollow afterimage remained where the enemies stabbed.
By the time they realized it, the real one had already slipped into their blind spot.
“Where did he go?!”
“O-over there!”
A terror like that of facing a ghost consumed the Azure River Society.
Their numbers, which had exceeded thirty, had dwindled to fewer than ten before they knew it.
“H-he's strong......!”
It was the despairing groan of men facing a wall they could never overcome.
‘He was this strong?’
Ha Mok-ryeong's face turned pale.
He had never dreamed that even this many men could not handle Cheon Hyeong-do alone.
“It's your turn, Chairman! It's too much for us!”
Expectation filled his subordinates' eyes.
They believed Ha Mok-ryeong, who had butchered the other bosses and seized supremacy, would stop this monster.
“I, I.......”
Ha Mok-ryeong was at a loss.
The one who had actually killed them was not him.
He was nothing more than Jo Jeong-tak's scarecrow.
‘Where are you?!’
Ha Mok-ryeong searched desperately for Jo Jeong-tak.
He was surely watching from somewhere nearby.
But no matter how much he looked around, the man was nowhere to be seen.
“Are you going to step up yourself?”
At Cheon Hyeong-do's question, Ha Mok-ryeong's shoulders flinched.
“This time, it won't end with just a beating.”
He saw the eerie sword in the man's hand.
Ha Mok-ryeong backed away without realizing it, then fled the scene in a rush.
“Ch-Chairman!”
When their leader ran, the remaining underlings scattered over one another to flee as well.
Cheon Hyeong-do did not pursue them and silently watched their retreating backs.
Just then, Cheon Su-rin kicked off the ground and shot forward.
Fwip!
Cheon Hyeong-do immediately unleashed his body technique and blocked Cheon Su-rin's path.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“I'm going after them.”
“And what will you do once you catch them?”
“You're asking the obvious. I'll kill them.”
Cheon Hyeong-do's eyes sank sharply.
“They've already fled. There's no need to go as far as killing them.”
“No. When you can, you have to pull out the root for good.”
“Why do you harbor such a killing heart?”
“Because of my complacency...... Du-chil's parents died.”
It was the same this time.
If he did not kill them for certain, who knew what kind of victims might appear next?
He had already experienced that once, so he did not want to leave behind the root of trouble.
“I won't allow it.”
“Why are you stopping me?”
“Ask yourself. Are you truly trying to kill them for the sake of others?”
“What do you.......”
“Right now, you don't feel like my son.”
Cheon Su-rin's pupils quivered.
It felt as if the fact that he was the Heavenly Slaughter Star had been seen through.
‘That can't be. How could Father.......’
Dismissing it as overthinking on his part, Cheon Su-rin spoke calmly.
“I am Cheon Su-rin. Your son, Father.”
“.......”
“The reason I took up the sword is to protect the people precious to me.”
Cheon Su-rin slowly stepped forward.
The distance between the two closed until they were face to face.
“I'll be going.”
Cheon Hyeong-do said nothing.
Taking that as permission, Cheon Su-rin kicked off the ground and ran past Cheon Hyeong-do.
“......Is it time to make a choice?”
Left alone, Cheon Hyeong-do murmured something unfathomable to himself.
***
Ha Mok-ryeong ran without looking back.
His breath came up to his chin as though a cutting wind were blowing deep into his lungs, but his legs did not know how to stop.
Only when he reached a desolate mountain area devoid of people did he crawl across the ground as if collapsing.
“I, I can't...... go any further.”
His heart felt as if it would burst.
He kept retching, and phlegm-laced groans leaked from between his lips.
With every breath he let out, a pain like an awl stabbing his chest swept over his whole body.
Ha Mok-ryeong leaned against an old tree and barely managed to turn his head.
Fortunately, he sensed no sign of a pursuer.
He was just about to let out a sigh of relief at that.
“You are faster on your feet than I thought.”
At the voice from right beside him, Ha Mok-ryeong's heart sank.
When he turned his head with a scream, a familiar figure came into view.
“H-Head Trader!”
He was saved. It was not an enemy.
Jo Jeong-tak, Head Trader of the Golden Might Trading Company, whom he had searched for so desperately, was looking down at him with indifferent eyes.
“Where on earth were you? Do you know how much I looked for you......!”
“I was watching from nearby.”
His guess had been right. The man had been watching everything from the start.
Behind his relief, Ha Mok-ryeong trembled at a crushing sense of betrayal.
“Why didn't you help me?! You knew perfectly well I nearly died!”
“Then did you want me to jump into that mess myself and do a sword dance?”
“Isn't that why you were nearby?!”
“You are badly mistaken.”
“......?”
“I was only checking how the game was playing out. The whole reason I put forward someone like you was so that I would not show myself to the outside. How can you say something so backward?”
On the surface, the Golden Might Trading Company was a massive trading company that upheld the merchant's way under heaven.
Valuing honor and practical gain, they could not openly commit murder and plunder.
That was why they had used the likes of the Black Tiger Gang and Ha Mok-ryeong as game pieces to handle their dirty work.
“By the way, you raised your voice at me. Playing boss seems to have made you rather bold.”
At Jo Jeong-tak's chilling voice, Ha Mok-ryeong finally realized his position and prostrated himself flat.
“I-I'm sorry! It was absolutely not intentional!”
“I forgive you. You did faithfully carry out my orders, after all.”
Ha Mok-ryeong found those words puzzling.
He had followed the order to cause a commotion in the market, but in the end, had he not been blocked by Cheon Su-rin and Cheon Hyeong-do and fled disgracefully?
It was by no means a situation worthy of praise.
“I-if you give me just one more chance, I'll handle it perfectly next time!”
“You do not understand what I am saying. You have already played your part well enough.”
“......Really?”
Jo Jeong-tak nodded.
Seeing the gentle smile on his lips, Ha Mok-ryeong finally let go of his taut nerves and breathed a sigh of relief.
WHAP!
In that instant, Jo Jeong-tak's figure vanished like a mirage.
Before Ha Mok-ryeong could even blink, Jo Jeong-tak was already standing right in front of him.
His thick right hand roughly seized Ha Mok-ryeong by the throat.
“H-Head Trader......?”
“You have carried out the order perfectly, so you are of no further use, are you?”
“Why...... You said you'd take me into the Golden Might Trading Company.......”
The benevolent light in Jo Jeong-tak's eyes instantly turned into cold killing intent.
“Did you truly believe trash like you could cross the threshold of the Golden Might?”
“......!”
“You should know your place.”
CRACK—!
With a grotesque sound of breaking bone, Ha Mok-ryeong's neck snapped.
Without even being able to scream, Ha Mok-ryeong went limp and crashed to the ground.
Jo Jeong-tak lightly brushed off his hands as if he had touched filth, then slowly turned his head.
“Oh dear...... I have made a mistake.”
“.......”
“Child, have you perhaps lost your way?”
At the end of Jo Jeong-tak's gaze as he asked with a kindly smile.
There, Cheon Su-rin, who had pursued them before anyone knew it, stood with cold eyes.