Mutual Destruction
The entire Gangseo Province was in upheaval.
Clashes between members of the black path were breaking out everywhere across the region.
The main forces driving this conflict were the Black King Sect and the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate. When two organizations of such caliber collided, the smaller black path factions were inevitably swept up in the war.
O Ja-gae and Yeo Mong.
O Ja-gae, the leader of the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate, had invited Yeo Mong to a private negotiation. She never showed up.
Her complete absence was the same as openly declaring war.
O Ja-gae was furious. He immediately bared his fangs and lunged at the Black King Sect.
In Nanchang, the capital of Gangseo Province and the headquarters of the Black King Sect, Yeo Mong and her chief administrator, Gae Pyeong—who was regarded as the gang’s brain—sat with grim expressions.
They scanned the numerous reports spread across the table, their faces twisting with displeasure.
“This is tough,” Yeo Mong sighed.
Over the past month, she had carried out every single order Ju Woo-jin had given her without fail.
First, she had completely shut down all the businesses the Black King Sect had previously operated—gambling dens, loan sharking, fighting pits, and more.
Every available man and every scrap of capital had been poured into intelligence gathering.
Thanks to that, Geungnakru was on the verge of becoming not just the greatest gisaeng house in Gangseo, but the greatest in all of Gangnam.
Of course, problems had arisen as well.
In the process of gathering information, they had clashed repeatedly with the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate.
The unspoken rules of Gangseo Province’s underworld had been shattered.
“Just today, four more of our people died. Boss, I’m starting to worry those butchers are really coming for us with everything they’ve got.”
Gae Pyeong grumbled as he set down the report in his hands.
Four intelligence agents had been killed in a single incident. Considering the cost of training even one agent, the loss was far from trivial.
“Young Master Ju told us to push forward. What choice do we have?”
Even as she said it, Yeo Mong’s expression remained stiff.
The Gold Heaven Assassination Gate is truly dangerous.
The three major black path powers that divided Gangseo Province’s underworld were the Black King Sect, the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate, and the Sea Blade Gang.
Among them, the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate was the most perilous.
They were ruthless bastards who cared nothing for human lives if it meant profit.
What made them truly terrifying was that no one knew where their main base was located.
That was why, before entering seclusion, Ju Woo-jin had ordered the Black King Sect to devote all its intelligence resources to locating the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate’s headquarters.
Yet the results had been meager.
“Haa… At this rate, all our boys are going to die. My body feels like it needs to be split into ten pieces just to keep up, but I still can’t find any decent new talent. This is driving me crazy…”
Gae Pyeong’s grumbling grew worse.
It wasn’t an exaggeration—dark shadows hung heavily beneath his eyes. For several days now, he had barely slept, forced to sort through the endless flood of incoming information.
There was another problem.
“Boss, we’re about to run out of money. Forget next year—at this rate, we’ll be bankrupt within a month. Can we really handle this?”
“How much do we have left?”
“Around five thousand taels.”
Five thousand taels.
For the old Black King Sect, that would have been a considerable sum—enough to live comfortably for three or four months without working.
But things were different now.
This damned intelligence business devoured money at an insane rate.
Yeo Mong recalled Ju Woo-jin’s words.
Funds will run dry. Even the money I gave you will disappear in the blink of an eye.
It was as if he had foreseen this exact situation.
A mere fifteen-year-old boy had said those words.
From that point on, you must not only buy information but also sell it. Of course, you should demand at least triple the purchase price.
An information broker.
Buy information, sell it at a profit, and use that profit to buy even more information.
It was a complete transition into the information trade.
The only catch was that they would have to prepare for a life-or-death blood feud with the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate.
“From now on, strengthen the security around Geungnakru to the highest level.”
From this moment forward, it was total war. Their very fates were on the line.
Another month passed. Two months had now gone by, and the weather was beginning to turn chilly.
During that time, the Ju family had perfectly stabilized the Zhushan Archipelago. Everything had returned to normal.
The vacant position of White Dragon Unit leader remained empty. The family head had declared that no replacement would be chosen until Ju Woo-jin returned.
And in that opening, a new power began to rise.
The Black King Sect, which had started in the back alleys of Gangseo, used Geungnakru as its foothold. One by one, the smaller black path organizations began to crumble.
Securing information first.
Fierce battles.
The Gold Heaven Assassination Gate desperately tore into the Black King Sect.
Naturally, the Black King Sect did not simply take the beating.
With ironclad defenses, they repeatedly repelled the assassination attempts and slowly carved out their own territory.
Yet while these two fought, there was one group reaping enormous benefits.
The Sea Blade Gang.
“Kwa ha ha!”
The leader of the Sea Blade Gang, Geo San, let out a hearty laugh as he swept his hand across the mountain of treasure before him.
Gold, silver, and jewels were piled so high they could fill dozens of warehouses and still leave plenty over.
Thanks to those idiot Black King Sect and Gold Heaven Assassination Gate members killing each other, the Sea Blade Gang had dramatically expanded its operations.
They had taken over the gambling dens, fighting pits, auction houses, and loan sharking businesses that the Black King Sect had abandoned.
In fact, every single illegal enterprise in Gangseo Province had been absorbed by the Sea Blade Gang.
“Keep fighting. Go ahead and destroy each other. Heh heh heh.”
Geo San’s laughter showed no signs of stopping, just like the endless pile of riches before him.
He believed this happiness would last forever.
At least, until that moment.
“Huk… huk…”
Yeo Mong gasped for breath.
Her entire body was in tatters.
She was being hunted by assassins from the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate.
And now, she had been driven into a corner.
“How pitiful. Truly pitiful.”
A familiar voice rang out.
It was O Ja-gae, the leader of the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate.
They had been fighting for over half a year.
He had sent wave after wave of assassins after Yeo Mong and Gae Pyeong.
But it hadn’t been easy.
Yeo Mong had hidden herself completely, and Gae Pyeong never showed his face in public.
The misplaced anger had been taken out on Geungnakru, but the more they attacked, the stronger and more fortified its defenses became.
But that was over now.
O Ja-gae approached her.
He looked at the long scar carved across her thigh and finally smiled.
“You arrogant bitch. If you were going to end up like this, why did you bite off more than you could chew?”
“……”
Yeo Mong remained silent.
She only rolled her eyes, scanning her surroundings.
O Ja-gae immediately understood what she was doing.
“There’s no one coming to save you. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day.”
Srrrng!
With those words, O Ja-gae drew his sword.
It was slightly longer than a short sword but shorter than a standard blade—the kind favored by assassins.
If he swung it now, the exhausted Yeo Mong would die in a single strike.
But O Ja-gae wanted something else.
“Hand it over. Everything you possess.”
In the long war against the Black King Sect, O Ja-gae had lost a great deal.
The invisible war of information within Gangseo Province had destroyed over seventy percent of his established intelligence network and communication system.
He knew all too well that stealing the Black King Sect’s network would be far more profitable than trying to rebuild his own.
“……You won’t be able to handle it.”
Yeo Mong sneered at him.
Swish!
In that instant, she hurled a smoke bomb into O Ja-gae’s face and quickly retreated.
“Tsk.”
O Ja-gae instantly dispersed the smoke and chased after her.
This was the final battle. Their lives were on the line.
If he let Yeo Mong escape now, the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate would be finished.
Our finances are depleted… and our influence has shrunk.
O Ja-gae bit his lip hard.
Though he pretended to be relaxed, the Gold Heaven Assassination Gate was already walking the path to destruction.
Since their main business was contract assassination, a powerful intelligence network was essential. The Black King Sect had been stealing it all away.
This fight carried everything he had.
“Kill everyone from the Black King Sect! Men, women, children, elders—wipe them all out!”
“Understood!”
At O Ja-gae’s command, the assassins scattered like mist.
O Ja-gae himself leaped toward the direction Yeo Mong had fled.
Inside the Ju family’s seclusion cave.
The hot summer had passed. The rice had ripened in autumn. Snow had fallen and then melted.
Long past the promised time.
Thud!
He calmly infused his foot with internal energy and stomped down.
A shockwave of qi erupted from the point of impact, sweeping across the entire area. The remaining power surged into the air and vanished.
Broad, powerful shoulders. A noticeably taller frame.
The solid, sharply defined muscles of his legs and forearms were incredibly satisfying to behold.
“Congratulations, Young Master.”
Muyoung approached with a genuine smile, clearly overjoyed.
Yes. In the span of half a year, I had broken through the wall that had blocked me.
The profound enlightenment I had gained regarding martial arts that had already reached the transcendent realm, combined with the uninterrupted training possible in this seclusion cave, had propelled my cultivation straight into the realm of ascension.
“Huu…”
I breathed lightly, calming the boiling internal energy within me.
It worked.
I had barely succeeded.
Originally, I should have finished my seclusion four months ago.
But that had been impossible.
After all, true training could never be completed on a fixed schedule.
For over half a year, I had focused on physical conditioning and completely opening my middle dantian.
And now, I had finally succeeded in opening it.
The vast internal energy circulating vigorously throughout my body began to accumulate steadily in my middle dantian.
While the explosive nature of the demonic energy remained the same, the amount of internal energy consumed had decreased exponentially.
Unlike before, when I had to pour out all my power in a single strike, I could now control my energy with considerable precision.
Thump…! Thump…!
Listening to the loud beating of my heart, I slowly relaxed my tense posture.
Power overflowed throughout my body.
The moment I opened my middle dantian, my realm had surpassed the Peak and now stood at the doorstep of Transcendent Peak.
A realm no one had ever reached at the age of sixteen.
But it was still too early to be satisfied.
Even if I diligently regained my former level, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the Heavenly Demon.
“You’ve improved a lot as well.”
“Haha, does it look that way?”
Muyoung scratched his head awkwardly and gave a small laugh.
For the past month, Muyoung had trained himself mercilessly by my side.
He had immersed himself in something, fallen deep into thought, and then expressed it through his sword again and again.
In doing so, he had slowly unraveled the sword principle he had been harboring.
His sword had become sharper. And heavier.
He had erased useless distractions and doubts, transforming into a true guardian sword that existed solely for his lord.
“We can’t be satisfied with this. Let’s work even harder from now on.”
“Of course. Hehe.”
Muyoung’s eyes burned with strong fighting spirit at my words.
The goal I had set before entering seclusion—opening the middle dantian—had already been achieved.
My realm had crossed the Peak and reached the early stage of Transcendent Peak, but this was not the end.
This was only the beginning.
“I can do this.”
I clenched my fist tightly and renewed my resolve.
The new year had arrived. Only four years remained.
Within that time, the Ju family would undergo a complete transformation and display its overwhelming might across the entire martial world.
The time I had prepared for had finally come.
“Let’s go, Muyoung.”
“Yes! Young Master.”
With Muyoung’s energetic reply, I placed my hand on the stone door of the seclusion cave.
After more than half a year—nearly eight months since I had entered seclusion—I finally emerged in the season when fresh green buds sprouted, returning to the embrace of my family.
Rumble…!
The massive stone door opened with a heavy groan.
A thick wave of qi burst out like a storm, sweeping away all the dust in front of the cave.
From within that pale cloud of dust, someone walked out.
The frail-looking boy from before was gone.
A sharp jawline, broad shoulders.
And above all, the arrogant gaze that looked down upon the world.
“It’s a nice day.”
Ju Woo-jin had returned.