Uncompromising Wrath
In the past, King Xuan of Qi ordered Chunyu Kun to gather talented individuals.
Chunyu Kun traveled the regions and brought back seven men of talent, which the King found strange.
How could a single person bring back as many as seven precious talents?
At that moment, Chunyu Kun's confident reply became a four-character idiom that went down in history.
"That is the origin of the phrase birds of a feather flock together."
"...Uh-huh. But why are you telling me this now?"
"I mean, how did it turn out like this..."
"W-Wait? Put down that c-club first, Haeyeon."
"I'm asking why everyone gathered around you is the exact same kind of idiot!!"
"Aaaah! The Blood Empress has gone mad! Run away!!"
It was a memory that somehow made my right eye socket ache whenever I recalled it.
Regardless, the idiom she spoke of was not wrong.
Just as I had my eye gouged out by Jegal Wi-yeon and crawled up from the absolute bottom, my subordinates had also drifted through the lowest depths of life for one reason or another.
Enduring harsh trials, living lives like drifting duckweed.
Whenever my subordinates and I gathered, we would occasionally debate who had lived the most miserable life, but those conversations always ended in laughter.
Listening to each other's stories and sharing our lives only served to chew on the pain, so we chose to wash it away with a hearty laugh.
That was why my subordinates were my everything.
To be precise, everyone was everything to each other.
From the moment I first met them until the very end.
We crossed the boundary of life and death back-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder, owing each other our lives, and finally united the Unorthodox faction.
Once we swept away the Demonic Cult, which multiplied like mold even if left alone.
We promised that we would loosen our belts and drink ourselves to oblivion.
But after the rise of the Demonic Cult.
The number of those who remembered that promise dwindled one by one.
In the end, I was the only one left.
Thus, immediately after my regression, I made a vow.
Although this regression meant I was now a stranger to them.
Those who were my people.
Those who had lived for me.
I would never let them be harmed.
No matter who it was.
If anyone dared to touch my people.
I would crush them completely.
Before my regression, just as Jeok-un had lost an eye to Jegal Wi-yeon.
When I first met Haeyeon, she had already lost one of her eyes to someone.
But until the moment they died, neither Jeok-un nor the other brothers knew the reason.
Because Haeyeon never revealed it.
Her hands would tremble just thinking about it.
She acted tough on the outside, but no one can be strong all the time.
It was a habit of Haeyeon's that surfaced when she felt fear deep down.
It must have been a horrific memory she never wanted to speak of.
Though they were born of different wombs, they were like blood siblings.
Jeok-un and his brothers did not want to pry into her pain.
So they had buried it in their hearts.
She lost her eye to a piece of trash like this?
An uncontrollable fire of wrath flared up from his dantian.
The embers of anger instantly surged through his meridians.
Fwoosh!
Clashing with the Heaven-Dominating Divine Qi, the flames swelled even larger.
"Die!!"
In a slowed-down world, he clearly saw the insect thrusting a blade toward the Blood Empress's face.
His intention was to slash her eye and blind her.
Jeok-un kicked off the ground, closing the distance.
The internal energy exploding from his Yongcheon acupoint surged all the way to his toes.
In the blink of an eye, he was beside U-dun.
Without a shred of hesitation or any attempt to hold back, Jeok-un threw a straight punch with all his might.
Crack!
Squeal!
A single punch.
With just one blow, U-dun was sent rolling across the ground.
"..."
Following the impact, silence fell over the area.
The members of the Black Ghost Squad surrounding the training ground, along with a few members of the Blood Night Squad, looked utterly bewildered.
They could not comprehend what had just happened.
The same went for U-dun.
"Ugh... argh."
Having taken a direct hit to the jaw, his brain was rattled, making it difficult to think straight.
Jeok-un cast a cold glance at the fallen man before walking over to the Blood Empress.
If her injuries were severe, treating her took priority over killing that bastard.
"Are you alright?"
Her body was in a terrible state.
Jeok-un bit his lip, suppressing his Heaven-Dominating Divine Qi.
The Heaven-Dominating Divine Qi was an energy that defied heaven.
Injecting this into Haeyeon's body would only cause adverse effects rather than healing her.
Thus, he chose the Great Heavenly Star Divine Art.
Hummm.
The energy of the Great Heavenly Star Divine Art gently soothed Haeyeon's body.
Barely regaining consciousness from the warm energy spreading through her meridians, Haeyeon looked at Jeok-un with confused eyes.
...Who are you?
"Rest. You must be tired."
Jeok-un guided the energy as he spoke, and Haeyeon instinctively accepted it.
So sleepy...
She slowly let her body relax.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of security amidst her fading consciousness, she drifted off.
During the brief moment Haeyeon fell asleep, U-dun's subordinates finally grasped the situation and scrambled into action.
"V-Vice Leader, are you alright?"
"Who the hell are you?!"
Some tended to U-dun, while others pointed their swords at Jeok-un.
However, Jeok-un paid them no mind.
His focus was entirely on Haeyeon.
"W-Wait!"
"...Hold on, haven't I seen that face before?!"
Just as panicked murmurs began to rise from the crowd,
Go Bok-gil stepped forward and shouted.
"Show some respect! This is Lord Jeok-un, the Leader of the Blood Night Squad!"
"!"
While the members of the Black Ghost Squad were frozen in shock,
U-dun, the Vice Leader of the Black Ghost Squad who had lost consciousness, suddenly bolted upright and flew into a rage.
"Aaaargh! Which son of a bitch did that?!"
Forgetting his pain, U-dun scanned his surroundings with murderous eyes.
Naturally, his gaze landed on Jeok-un, who was still tending to Haeyeon. Anyone could tell he was the culprit.
"You bastard!"
The audacity of this guy, striking first and then not even looking at him, acting completely unbothered.
U-dun lost his mind and was about to charge, but...
...What?
The subordinates beside him hurriedly held U-dun back.
The Leader?
The outcast of the Jegal Clan?
U-dun hesitated.
If it was him, he was the newly appointed Leader of the Blood Night Squad.
Which meant, technically, he was his superior.
But that hesitation was brief.
Murderous intent began to gleam in U-dun's eyes once more.
That worthless piece of trash! He's just the Leader of the Blood Night Squad! I am the Vice Leader of the Black Ghost Squad!!
Because U-dun had been dispatched before Jang Bo-heum, the Leader of the Ghost Dream Squad, met the Night Lord, he did not know that the Night Lord had ordered them to win Jeok-un over.
Of course, according to the laws of Sadocheon, Jeok-un's rank was higher than his.
But the world did not always run strictly by the law.
Among the Outer Squads, rather than the Ten Heavenly Squads, it was common practice for a Vice Leader of a higher-ranked squad to be treated with more respect than a Leader of a lower-ranked one.
To U-dun, Jeok-un looked like nothing more than a wet-behind-the-ears brat.
Besides, he had the backing of the Night Lord.
"What do you think you're doing?! Explain yourself, or I won't let this slide!"
U-dun growled as he stepped onto the training stage.
His killing intent was so thick that it wouldn't have been surprising if he lunged forward right then and there.
Yet Jeok-un ignored U-dun completely, turning his head to speak to a white-haired member of the Blood Night Squad.
"Did you say your name was Elder Hwang?"
"Yes, Leader."
"Take her to the Leader of the Black Medicine Hall. Mention my name, and he will treat her immediately."
"..."
The Leader of the Black Medicine Hall was none other than Hwa Mu-il, the top physician of Sadocheon, known as 'First Fist Then Needle'.
Elder Hwang nodded, hoisted Haeyeon onto his back, and quickly departed.
Faced with a situation that unfolded before he could even intervene, U-dun ground his teeth.
This bastard!
"How dare you ignore me?!" U-dun roared.
"I thought a spy from the Black Hegemony Castle was attacking a martial artist of Sadocheon. I'm glad it was just a misunderstanding."
"What?"
"Think about it. What kind of lunatic would try to gouge out the eye of a fellow Sadocheon martial artist during a spar?"
"..."
U-dun hesitated for a moment at Jeok-un's pointed remark, but only for a moment.
He quickly shouted back shamelessly, as if he had done nothing wrong.
"It's common for hands to get rough during a spar! Intervening in someone else's duel and launching a surprise attack is the real problem here!"
"Why am I someone else?"
"...What?"
"Vice Leader of the Black Ghost Squad, U-dun."
"!"
The casual demeanor Jeok-un had maintained until now vanished in an instant.
An aura as cold and sharp as autumn frost erupted from him.
The moment U-dun flinched under eyes that looked at him as if he were an inanimate object, Jeok-un took a step forward.
"I am not someone else."
Step.
"I am your superior."
Step.
"And I am the master of this squad."
By the time Jeok-un stood directly in front of U-dun, the Vice Leader was completely overwhelmed by his presence.
W-What is with those eyes!
Just as U-dun's confidence deflated like a punctured pig's bladder...
Whoosh!
The air suddenly tore apart with a sharp wind.
Crunch!
Crack!
"And now, as your superior, I will hand down a fitting punishment to the bastard who dared to harm my subordinate."
The sounds of shattering bones echoed first.
At a speed invisible to the naked eye, Jeok-un's fist slammed into U-dun's abdomen.
It was the sound of ribs splintering into pieces.
While the members of the Blood Night Squad gasped at the horrific sound,
"Argh...!"
U-dun stumbled backward, clutching his shattered ribs.
He tried to straighten his back, but his body refused to listen. He could only double over, gasping and groaning in pain.
It was a bizarre sight.
For a martial artist, injuries were a common occurrence, and broken ribs were not immediately fatal. The proper response would have been to endure the pain and counterattack immediately.
My... my energy...? Why...?!
However, the internal energy that had never failed him since he reached the Peak Realm refused to budge, betraying U-dun's will.
It was as if Jeok-un's fist carried a force that completely disrupted the flow of his qi.
"Stop exaggerating."
As if expecting this, Jeok-un reached for U-dun's head with indifferent eyes.
Grabbing him by the hair and lifting him like a gourd, Jeok-un...
Smash!
Drove his knee straight into U-dun's face.
"Gah!"
U-dun's head snapped back as a fountain of blood sprayed from his face.
His nose bridge collapsed, and his teeth rained down onto the ground.
An excruciating pain, unlike anything he had ever felt before, assaulted him.
Sensing a mortal threat for the first time in his life, U-dun screamed at the top of his lungs.
"The... the Leader of the Black Ghost Squad! The Night Lord! They won't let you get away with this!"
Unfortunately for him, threats of powerful backers had absolutely no effect on Jeok-un.
Jeok-un whispered softly.
"Right, don't worry. I'll kill both of them too."
"...?!"
Whoosh!
Jeok-un thrust both hands out like lightning, grabbing U-dun's arms.
Crack!
"Aaaaaaargh!"
He twisted both arms in directions they were never meant to bend.
The bones and muscles of both arms were ruined beyond any hope of recovery.
Since U-dun was a swordsman, his life as a warrior was effectively over.
"S-Spare...! Spare me!!"
"Since I've finished with your arms, I should match your legs, shouldn't I?"
U-dun squeezed his lungs to beg for his life.
But Jeok-un's kick was faster.
Of course, even if U-dun's words had been faster, it wouldn't have changed a thing.
Crunch!
"Squeeeal!"
Along with the sickening sound, U-dun's ankles were crushed.
Since the bones inside were shattered beyond repair, he would never walk normally again.
Thud!
U-dun collapsed onto the ground.
"Ugh... ah..."
With all strength gone from his limbs, the man crawled like an insect, trying to escape the training stage.
Filth leaked down his pants.
But Jeok-un had no intention of letting him go.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"S-Squeak!"
Grab.
Jeok-un seized U-dun's flailing head.
This was the bastard who had inflicted the pain that plagued the Blood Empress for the rest of her life before the regression.
"...Didn't you say this would be the last sky she ever saw?"
"H-Hieeeek!"
Only then did U-dun realize why this man was torturing him.
But even if he knew the reason, there was nothing he could do.
Jeok-un had already placed his thumb and index finger over U-dun's eyes.
Squelch!
Splat!
"Aaaaaaargh!"
He could see nothing.
As if an eternal night had fallen.
Complete darkness shrouded U-dun's vision.
"S-Spare... spare me..."
Even though he knew that surviving meant living the rest of his life as a miserable cripple, U-dun still begged desperately for his life.
"Spare you?"
Of course.
"No."
Jeok-un had absolutely no intention of granting his request.
He raised his foot high, like an axe preparing to split firewood.
Crunch.
He brought his foot down hard on the man's head.
U-dun's skull shattered, spreading brain matter and blood across the ground.
A heavy silence fell over the area at the horrific sight.
There was one good thing about crossing over from the Orthodox to the Unorthodox faction.
Even without some pathetic justification.
Those who deserve to die must die.
He could ruthlessly and easily slaughter the trash that needed to be killed.