Under the cover of night, Seo-jun quietly surveyed his surroundings as he stepped onto the street.

As he moved further from home, the dim red glow of lanterns began to light the street in a sticky, suffocating hue. The red lanterns of the pleasure district cast their glow over everything. From within the buildings and alleys, faint sounds of women's laughter mixed with lewd, repulsive noises. A cheap courtesan, her gaze vacant, looked up at the moon from a window.

Seo-jun didn’t like it.

After briefly staring at the courtesan, he resumed his walk.

It didn’t take long before he spotted a large, well-kept building that stood out, even in this back alley. The Black Tiger Sect’s headquarters. Seo-jun clicked his tongue as he gazed up at the tall walls.

Time to take out the trash, get some medicine for his sister, and fill his pockets while he’s at it.

Three birds with one stone—it was worth a shot.

“Whew…”

Seo-jun clenched and then released his trembling hands, calming the shaking. Fortunately, tonight was dark, with the moon barely visible. Even the heavens seemed to be on his side.

Using the “Yellow Dragon Crossing the Dusk” technique, Seo-jun leaped onto the wall and looked around.

The place wasn’t heavily guarded. Now, where should he head?

His eyes lit up when he noticed an especially extravagant building.

Like a yellow dragon crossing the twilight, he moved gracefully. Sticking close to the wall, he avoided the guards carrying torches as he approached the building.

There was no obvious way in, no weak spot in their defenses. It looked like a direct approach was the only option.

Thwip!

The qi blast flew straight into the foreheads of the guards at the front gate. They collapsed without a sound. He hadn’t been noticed yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Seo-jun quickly pushed open the door and stepped inside, finding himself in a long hallway.

“Who’s there at this hour—who are you?!”

Guess this was the end of stealth. Seo-jun drew his sword.

“Hm? Chun-bong’s brother.”

With a swift motion, the man’s head fell to the floor as footsteps began to echo from all directions.

The night was still young.

The Black Tiger Sect’s leader was like a king in the back alleys. The title of a first-rate martial artist came with that kind of power. It was the starting point where people began to call you a master.

Of course, to the true martial arts masters, he would be nothing, but to ordinary people, he seemed like an invincible force. And since true masters didn’t waste their time lounging around in these back alley hideouts, the leader of the Black Tiger Sect practically owned this world.

“Oh, come on, don’t be so shy.”

“Hehe, come over here, then.”

“Nah, why don’t you try this instead?”

“Haha, I’d rather have you than any food.”

“Kyaa!”

Crash!

The leader, who was drinking with a woman on each arm, frowned at the sudden commotion.

“What are those idiots up to now?”

“Come on, boss, just ignore them. A bit of noise can spice things up.”

“Well, maybe you’re right…”

Bang!

The door burst open, and a guard rushed in. The leader frowned at the guard’s rudeness, but the guard ignored it and shouted.

“L-Leader! We’re in trouble!”

“What trouble? Did the leader of the Martial Alliance attack us?”

The leader chuckled, but the guard’s face was as white as a sheet as he yelled.

“It’s the Demon! The Demon has attacked—! Ugh!”

A sword tip pierced through the guard’s throat.

“Kyaa!”

The women screamed and scrambled to hide in the corners. The leader let out a hollow laugh.

“This fool… Does he know where he is, barging in here alone?”

As the guard’s body fell, the demon’s figure became visible. A boy, his body drenched in blood. He only had a few scratches on him; the rest of the blood wasn’t his.

He’s young, the leader thought. He had heard the demon was young, but this was unexpected. The leader clicked his tongue. Seo-jun tilted his head.

“Old man, got any medicine?”

“Medicine? Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

“Hm.”

Seo-jun extended his hand. The leader ignored him. The only thing he might need to watch out for was a hidden dagger, and he was confident he could react in time.

But when Seo-jun flicked his finger and sent a beam of qi shooting through the air, the leader couldn’t help but be shocked.

“He’s a pinnacle master?!”

He tried to dodge, but it was too late. His left arm was pierced and hung limply by his side.

Sweating from the pain, the leader glared at Seo-jun.

“What grudge does a pinnacle master have against the Black Tiger Sect?!”

Seo-jun didn’t respond. He just stared at the leader in silence.

The leader slowly began to move, eyeing his beloved weapon nearby as he spoke.

“No matter how strong you are, you can’t possibly take on me and all my men. Leave now, and I might—damn it!”

Seo-jun’s hand moved again. The leader quickly grabbed one of the women by the neck and threw her toward Seo-jun.

“Kyaaa!”

Seo-jun fired the qi blast anyway.

Thwack!

The flying woman was hit, spun in the air, and crumpled to the floor. Her body twitched.

“You monster! How could you kill an innocent woman so easily?!”

But he hadn’t killed her—she was just unconscious. And hadn’t the leader thrown her himself?

Seo-jun snorted and dashed forward using the “Yellow Dragon Crossing the Dusk” technique. The leader quickly grabbed his prized blade and swung it.

Slash!

A dull blue light traced through the air. Seo-jun’s eyes gleamed. Was that sword aura?

“I won’t go down that easily!”

The leader kicked off the ground, aiming for the door behind Seo-jun.

Seo-jun scowled and fired off a series of qi blasts.

Ting!

The leader deflected them with his blade as he reached the hallway. Bodies were strewn everywhere, and the sight made the leader grit his teeth.

“He really is a demon…”

As he blocked more of Seo-jun’s qi blasts and headed toward where his men were stationed, the leader suddenly felt something was off.

Why was he only using qi blasts? No matter how strong this demon was, if he joined forces with his men, they could pose a real threat.

Even the strength of his qi blasts was unusual. It was too easy to block them. A high-level master’s qi blasts shouldn’t be this simple to deflect.

“Is he toying with me?”

Swallowing his anger, the leader regrouped with his men, baring his teeth in a snarl.

“Now what are you going to do?”

Around a dozen men, ranging from third-rate to second-rate, surrounded Seo-jun, with the leader himself still in the fight. He felt confident they wouldn’t go down easily.

“This is a bit tricky.”

Seo-jun looked at them and rolled the qi around in his hand. The leader had mistaken him for a pinnacle master for a simple reason: only those at that level could wield qi so easily.

But if that’s what defines a pinnacle master, Seo-jun might soon reach that level too.

Squelch.

As he stepped into a blood-soaked footprint, Seo-jun raised his sword.

His impatience subsided, replaced by a thrill. Ever since he’d ended up in the martial world, he’d always felt this way. Fighting was exhilarating.

He wanted to see the end of this qi thing. Just because it was fun. He was dying to know what lay at the end of this path.

“Whew…”

He exhaled, calming the excitement. His hand naturally gripped the sword.

“No, that’s not it.”

He hadn’t come here to enjoy a fight. He came to save Chun-bong. Just remembering that cooled his mood.

Tap.

The “Yellow Dragon Crossing the Dusk” technique, which he had honed for a year, naturally unfolded, and Seo-jun’s form shot forward like a dragon cutting through the sky, weaving through the Black Tiger Sect members.

Whoosh!

Weapons came at him from all sides. Seo-jun’s eyes caught faint glimmers of light. He moved his body into the gaps he saw, swinging his sword wide.

Slash!

Blood sprayed through the air. The familiar Three Elements Sword Technique flowed from him like breathing, craving more blood. In this kind of frantic situation, the Three Elements Sword Technique was still more comfortable than the Divine Cloud Sword Technique.

“You bastard!”

The enraged leader charged at Seo-jun, his sword glinting with a faint light as he pursued.

But Seo-jun kept dodging, targeting only the other men. The leader, chasing after him like a game of tag, finally realized something.

“You… you’re not at the pinnacle level, are you?!”

Not at the pinnacle level? Seo-jun questioned himself as he pointed his sword forward.

He had seen enough of the leader’s sword aura. It was the result of his internal energy flowing through his sword.

Curious, Seo-jun focused his internal energy into his hand instead of his sword. The sensation wasn’t much different from using his qi blasts. The only difference was that instead of firing the energy, he concentrated it in his hand.

“Ah…”

A faint golden haze formed in his palm. Seo-jun realized how foolish he’d been.

“I couldn’t use sword aura because I lacked understanding of the sword.”

Weapons weren’t part of one’s body. To channel internal energy into them, you needed a level of understanding where you felt the weapon was part of you.

This was what they called “sword and body as one.”

But your hand was different. It was naturally part of your body. Just by thinking about it, internal energy could easily flow into it.

Normally, this technique was harder than forming sword aura because the high density of energy required to manifest externally could damage your hand.

But Seo-jun’s talent with qi bypassed this difficulty. Just by handling the energy briefly, he understood its essence, and a self-deprecating smile spread across his face.

“So it wasn’t that hard after all.”

His realization flowed naturally into the sword. A lack of understanding of the sword? He replaced it with understanding of qi.

He repeated to himself: My talent is with qi. With it, there’s nothing I can’t do.

As the sword’s blade glowed with a brilliant golden light, a smile curled on Seo-jun’s lips.

“I’ve reached it. First-rate.”

Martial arts, huh? Not that big of a deal.