Between Beasts and Tigers

The arrival of Yeom Baek, Leader of the Iron Soul Unit, made the alley's air turn heavy as molten lead.

With an inscrutable smile, Do Gyeol lightly tapped his feather fan against his lips, while Yoo Seol-ah immediately bowed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head in salute.

Yeom Baek strode forward, his heavy footfalls echoing until he came to a halt directly before Dokgo Jin.

With a massive iron spear strapped across his broad back, he radiated an overwhelming pressure—less like a mortal man and more like an iron rampart on the march. An ordinary martial artist would have shrunk back instinctively and lowered their head before that suffocating weight, but it fell far short of rattling Dokgo Jin.

When Dokgo Jin calmly met his gaze without flinching, a faint smirk touched Yeom Baek's lips, as if the young warrior had already earned his favor.

"Come to think of it, we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I am Yeom Baek, Leader of the Iron Soul Unit in the Northern Heaven Alliance."

At those words, a spark of interest flickered in Dokgo Jin's eyes.

The Iron Soul Unit Leader. A bigger fish than I anticipated.

He was one of the prominent masters of the Northern Heaven Alliance whom Wi Geum-seong had detailed in his intelligence dossiers. Meeting Yeom Baek's inquiring gaze, Dokgo Jin parted his lips indifferently.

"Dokgo Jin."

Even meeting for the first time before a renowned unit leader of the Northern Heaven Alliance, he showed not a shred of intimidation. Any ordinary wanderer would have started in surprise and doubled over in reverence.

Fearless. Confidence in his own martial skill, is it?

Yeom Baek liked even that about him. Still, a single thought inevitably surfaced in his mind.

Dokgo.

The name naturally brought to mind the Dokgo Clan, once revered as the World's Greatest Clan. Yet Yeom Baek did not for a moment suspect that Dokgo Jin was an heir of that fallen lineage. After all, the Dokgo Clan, branded as traitors who colluded with the Demonic Cult, had been wiped out to the last man. That was what he believed, and what nearly every martial artist under heaven accepted as undeniable truth.

"Very well, Dokgo Jin. For a master of your caliber to be an unknown, you must be a newcomer who has only just set foot into the jianghu."

"Something like that."

"Any man who has mastered the martial arts naturally harbors the ambition to make his name echo across the world."

"..."

"Before long, our alliance will subdue the Four Hegemons of the Central Plains and bring the entire martial realm beneath our new order. If you desire it..."

A piercing gleam flashed in Yeom Baek's eyes.

"You may take part in that glorious march."

Do Gyeol could not resist butting in, his voice lilting playfully.

"My, Unit Leader Yeom... may I take that grand declaration as an official declaration of war?"

"Take it however you like. When have we ever been on good terms?"

Do Gyeol beamed, waving his feather fan.

"As expected of the Iron Soul Unit Leader. Such bold audacity."

Yeom Baek's gaze turned chillingly sharp.

"Open that mouth to interrupt once more, and I'll smash that repulsive face of yours to pulp."

"Oh my, how terrifying."

Though feigning composure, Do Gyeol held his tongue. Even for an eccentric like him, Yeom Baek's martial might was too burdensome to provoke recklessly.

Yeom Baek turned his attention back to Dokgo Jin.

"Join our alliance. Stand with me and restore order to the realm."

It was an offer grand enough to stir the blood of any passionate young warrior. Yet before the weight of that proposal could fully settle, a freezing sneer cut through the darkness.

"Chasing clouds as always, I see, Yeom Baek."

Skrrrrt!

With the bone-chilling scrape of iron against stone, a figure dropped down from the wall opposite them. A gaunt, bloodless face and sinister, predatory eyes—Woo Gwang had finally revealed himself.

"The Northern Heaven Alliance intends to subdue the other three hegemons? If so, why are you still cowering in Taiyuan like dogs in their pen?"

"...The time has simply not yet arrived."

"Hah! The reality of your precious alliance is that you can't even guarantee victory against our gang. Know when to rein in your bluster."

"What did you say?"

Woo Gwang's assessment was not wrong. The current state of the world was held in delicate equilibrium by the Four Hegemons of the Central Plains. Though the four factions bared their fangs and sneered at one another, that mutual deadlock was the very reason an all-out war had not yet erupted.

"Barring some cataclysmic upheaval, the balance between the Four Hegemons will endure. It will remain the same ten years from now. In a world like that, making a name for yourself is a fool's errand."

Woo Gwang stepped closer, his voice dripping with venom.

"Our Red Blood Gang will never tie you down. All you need to do is carry out the orders handed to you now and then. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Go to the Northern Heaven Alliance and you'll be nothing more than an obedient little pawn. But come to us, and wealth and pleasure will be yours to feast upon. Which of the two sounds more realistic to you?"

"Your thoughts are as vile and rotten as ever."

A tempestuous aura erupted from Yeom Baek's frame.

"It is precisely because of your filthy greed that the martial world is festering."

"The strong trampling the weak to climb to the top—isn't that simply how the world works? We merely have the honesty to admit it, unlike you hypocrites putting on righteous airs."

Woo Gwang refused to yield an inch, releasing a bloodcurdling murderous intent of his own.

Rumble!

The battle spirit radiating from Yeom Baek's iron spear clashed head-on with the killing intent bristling from Woo Gwang's sharp iron claws within the narrow confines of the alley. While the two masters glared at each other like rabid beasts, Dokgo Jin stood with his arms folded, as if none of it concerned him in the least.

Though the atmosphere crackled on the verge of explosion, Dokgo Jin knew the truth.

Men like them won't come to blows over something so trivial.

Instead, a different contemplation occupied his thoughts.

So this is the aura of masters representing the Four Hegemons.

They were far more formidable than he had estimated. Using them as a benchmark, he could extrapolate the approximate military strength of the four continental powers. He had already understood it intellectually through Wi Geum-seong's intelligence dossiers, but experiencing it firsthand with his own senses was an entirely different matter.

Though Dokgo Jin watched on with detached indifference, his destination had already been decided.

Turning toward Woo Gwang, who was still exuding deadly bloodlust, Dokgo Jin spoke.

"Wealth and pleasure, you say?"

Just as the corners of Woo Gwang's lips twitched upward in anticipation, Dokgo Jin's tone turned frigid.

"My apologies. But I have an absolute distaste for beasts driven solely by their base desires."

"...!"

Woo Gwang's expression hardened to stone. It was nothing short of calling the entire Red Blood Gang a pack of wild animals straight to his face.

Paying no heed to Woo Gwang's reaction, Dokgo Jin turned his gaze toward Yeom Baek.

"Don't get ahead of yourself either. That doesn't mean I'm fond of your lot."

Yeom Baek furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. I will accompany you for now, but should anything displease me, I will walk away without looking back. If you are fine with that condition, I will go."

Paradoxically, maintaining an attitude that he could leave at any moment would only elevate his value. On the surface, it was arrogance bordering on insolence, yet Yeom Baek favored that unyielding pride all the more.

"Very well. For now, I am satisfied that you turned down the Red Blood Gang. But mark my words—once you reach our alliance, you will change your mind."

"I shall look forward to it."

Dokgo Jin had a clear, deliberate reason for choosing the Northern Heaven Alliance.

The Red Blood Gang leaned heavily toward the unorthodox factions, and its relations with the other three hegemons were venomous. In contrast, the Northern Heaven Alliance walked the line between orthodox and unorthodox; though limited, it maintained a degree of interaction with the remaining hegemons.

That single factor was decisive.

Even if the Northern Heaven Alliance had played no part in the eradication of the Dokgo Clan, it did not matter. Once he climbed to the upper echelons of the alliance, he would naturally come into contact with the other powers.

Cast aside, a viscous, suffocating murderous intent billowed from every pore of Woo Gwang's body.

Creeeak!

The iron claws sheathing Woo Gwang's fingertips dug deep into the masonry of the brick wall.

"A grave mistake, whelp."

Woo Gwang's pupils narrowed into serpentine slits as he glared Dokgo Jin up and down.

"Did you truly believe you could weigh the Red Blood Gang in your scales and walk away unscathed? Let us see just how long you survive within the Northern Heaven Alliance's pen."

Beside him, Do Gyeol covered his mouth with his feather fan and snickered. Though his eyes seemed curved in amusement, a chilling bloodlust festered deep within his pupils.

"What a shame... truly such a shame. For my pretty little plaything to make such a foolish choice. Well, no matter."

Do Gyeol ran his tongue along his lips and purred softly.

"We'll be seeing each other again soon enough anyway. When that time comes, I'll be the first to tear you apart. Take good care of that pretty skin until then."

Swish! Swi-swish!

Having said their piece, Woo Gwang and Do Gyeol bounded away, vanishing into the darkness without a backward glance. Yet the heavy murderous intent they left behind lingered like venomous vipers, coiled and glaring at Dokgo Jin's back.

Watching their retreating forms, Dokgo Jin smiled cold and silent within.

Yes, keep grinding your teeth like that.

For the Red Blood Gang to nurse a bitter grudge—that was precisely what he desired.

Even if it's solely to eliminate me, the Red Blood Gang will reach out.

Though he had chosen the Northern Heaven Alliance, he had naturally forged a point of contact with the Red Blood Gang as well. His life would be under threat, but he paid that no mind.

Everything was unfolding according to plan.

The following day.

Dokgo Jin departed Sichuan Province alongside Yeom Baek and Yoo Seol-ah.

"Are we leaving Sword Selling Street just like this? It doesn't seem there are any other martial artists from the Northern Heaven Alliance around."

"That's..."

Just as Yoo Seol-ah was about to answer, Yeom Baek spoke first.

"It has already been three months since we arrived at Sword Selling Street. How many recruits do you think we secured during that time?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Not a single one. We couldn't find a solitary soul worthy of becoming a warrior of our alliance. Not until you appeared."

"..."

"Remaining any longer would be nothing more than a waste of time. Does that answer your question?"

When Dokgo Jin gave a slight nod, Yeom Baek quickened their pace once more.

"It is a long trek to Shanxi Province, where our alliance headquarters stands. I presume you've mastered lightness skill?"

"Of course."

"Then we shall pick up speed. Don't fall behind."

Whoosh!

The moment the words left his lips, Yeom Baek shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. At that, Dokgo Jin and Yoo Seol-ah accelerated in kind.

Dokgo Jin's lightness skill was remarkably peculiar. Like other movement techniques, he pushed off the ground from the tips of his toes, yet the height he rose upon each leap was unnaturally shallow. At a glance, it almost appeared as though he were gliding effortlessly over the earth.

Moreover, the cadence of his feet was not particularly rapid. Instead, the distance he traversed with a single stride was astonishingly vast. Look closely enough, and one would glimpse a dark, inky gleam flickering at his toes before vanishing into nothingness.

"..."

Glancing back at Dokgo Jin over his shoulder, Yeom Baek's expression turned subtly complicated.

A peculiar movement art. Does such a lightness technique even exist in the martial world?

He knew well that not even the Ghost-Faced Wolf had drawn out Dokgo Jin's true strength. That was why he had deliberately surged ahead at a speed that would leave most accomplished masters gasping for breath. He had intended to gauge the depth of the young man's internal energy by observing his movement art, yet even that proved impossible to fathom.

Right then, Yoo Seol-ah's voice echoed directly into his mind via sound transmission.

[Squad Leader, why are you being so accommodating?]

[Hm? What do you mean?]

[You answered every single question he asked without skipping a beat. In great detail, no less. Is there any reason you have to go that far for him?]

[Of course there is. Isn't he the lad who boldly declared he would walk away the moment he's displeased?]

[Still, you are the Commander of the Iron Soul Unit! Taking such a low posture before a mere newcomer feels a bit much, doesn't it?]

[What does it matter? Once we secure him as one of our own in the alliance, there will be more than enough time to establish authority.]

[Tsk. Isn't this a little too different from how you treated me when you recruited me?]

Yeom Baek wore a look of baffled bemusement.

[What nonsense are you spouting? Didn't you walk in on your own two feet?]

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

[Whatever! You're so unlike your usual self that I'm practically turning green with envy.]

[Consider it proof of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just how badly I want him in my ranks. And besides... once we arrive at the alliance headquarters, that lad will have no choice but to lower his head.]

At Yeom Baek's reassurance, Yoo Seol-ah's expression brightened slightly.

[Ah! Now I see what you're planning.]

She stole a glance at Dokgo Jin from the corner of her eye.

Right. Until you're through our gates, we'll cater to your whims as much as you like.

The corners of Yoo Seol-ah's lips curved upward in a subtle smirk.

Because once your feet cross into our alliance, there will be no turning back.