Gajugwi (갑주귀 甲胄鬼).

Each individual Gajugwi varies in strength, but they are typically as powerful as top-tier to peak martial artists. However, their notorious reputation isn’t due to their sheer power.

The black armor that encases their entire body—no one knows what it's made of—has the ability to deflect even sword energy.

But does that mean people can wear the armor after killing one?

No, that's not the case.

Once the Gajugwi is killed, the armor loses its defensive properties. The martial family of Jegal theorizes that this is due to the Gajugwi’s unique internal energy flow, leading people to believe that its armor functions similarly to a defensive technique (Hoshingi).

And naturally, when the user dies, the defense disappears.

In simpler terms, Gajugwi are tough to kill, and even after defeating one, there’s nothing to gain. They’re a waste of effort.

"Hey! Be careful!" "Got it."

Chun-bong watched Seo-jun leap off the roof with a curious glint in her eye.

‘The Gajugwi’s tough, but somehow… I have faith in that guy.’

She felt an inexplicable confidence in Seo-jun. She couldn’t imagine him losing, especially when he could use his internal energy to its full potential.

Seo-jun landed right in front of the Gajugwi.

"Krrr..."

A thick glob of saliva dripped from its protruding snout.

“Not the brightest creature, are you?”

Seo-jun clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Could the monster understand the meaning behind his words?

“Kyaaaah…!!”

Enraged, the Gajugwi stomped the ground and charged at Seo-jun.

"Let’s see."

Seo-jun also sprinted toward the monster, drawing his sword.

Sssring—

The blade flashed as the Gajugwi swung its arm at him.

Whoosh—

Seo-jun ducked, pivoted on his foot, and spun to avoid the attack.

He aimed his sword, wrapped in a dull golden aura, at the monster’s leg.

Kaang—

The sword left a small scratch before bouncing off the armor. Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.

‘It really is tough.’

It seemed that anything less than his full strength wouldn’t make a difference.

So, what should he do? Logically, a few options came to mind.

No matter how much of its body was covered in armor, the joints would be comparatively weaker. He could focus on targeting those vulnerable areas.

Another option was to use techniques like Naegajungsup, which ignore the outer armor and attack the inside directly.

Of the options he considered, Seo-jun decided on a third approach.

“Alright, buddy. Ready to get beat down?”

If he kept hitting it until it died, that would work too. A free punching bag for testing martial arts! A deal that’s impossible to pass up.

“Krrrrr…!”

The Gajugwi, growing more furious from being hit, charged wildly at Seo-jun.

Seo-jun smirked, stomping the ground with his right foot.

Boom—

The ground froze over as the cold energy from his attack spread, rooting the Gajugwi’s feet to the ground.

“Kyaaah!”

The creature wasn’t helpless, though. It tore its feet free with brute strength and lunged forward, ready to slam into Seo-jun with its shoulder.

If it connected, a fractured bone was the best he could hope for.

Of course, it’s not a problem if you don’t get hit.

Grinning, Seo-jun snapped his thumb against his middle finger.

Pew—

A qi blast shot forward like an arrow, and the Gajugwi raised its arm to block it. But its arm froze in place, and its movements slowed significantly.

“Take this!”

Using Honwon Ilwolji, a technique that harnessed pure yang energy, Seo-jun sent another blast toward the creature.

“Krrk?!”

Perhaps sensing danger, the Gajugwi threw itself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Oh? So you can dodge?”

Not fulfilling its role as a punching bag, eh?

Frustrated, Seo-jun walked toward it, swinging his sword.

Crack—

The Gajugwi raised its arm to block, but the icy energy in Seo-jun's sword aura froze the arm solid.

“Kyaaaah…!”

“Alright, stay still this time, okay?”

Seo-jun raised his sword, and a brilliant golden aura of pure yang energy formed along the blade.

“You idiot! If that thing blows up, you’ll die too!”

“Oh, right.”

Seo-jun snapped back to reality at Chun-bong’s shout and backed away from the Gajugwi.

“You better catch this!”

Pew—

A yang-infused projectile shot toward the creature.

“Kyaaaa…!!”

Desperately, the Gajugwi leapt out of the way again.

“This bastard!”

Seo-jun gritted his teeth.

Alright, so it’s going to dodge, huh? Let’s see if it can dodge when its entire body is frozen.

A dark blue aura of yin energy swirled around his sword.

“That guy is brutal!”

“Even if it’s a monster, is that really okay?”

“What do you mean, 'okay'? There’s no need to hold back when killing a monster!”

“You’re right! Go ahead, finish it off!”

The crowd in the red-light district was abuzz with chatter.

And the reason was none other than the Gajugwi.

Or more accurately, the fact that the Gajugwi was getting the beating of its life.

No one in their right mind would miss a show like this. Not only the courtesans from the district but also people who had heard the rumors gathered, filling the streets.

Crack—

The Gajugwi, frozen solid, let out a pitiful wail.

“Kyaaaah…!”

“Yeah, yeah. Dodge it again if you want. I’ll just keep firing until I hit.”

Seo-jun, now standing a good distance away from the Gajugwi, was sending blast after blast of qi at the creature.

Pew—

“Kyaaah…!!”

The Gajugwi continued to dodge with all its might, to the point where onlookers began to feel sympathy for it.

“He dodged again! Guess I win the bet, huh?”

“Damn it, here’s your ten coins.”

Even gamblers had started to place bets.

"Maewol, is that the guy you mentioned before?" one courtesan asked.

"That’s right. Pay close attention. Information about rising stars is always valuable."

Maewol observed Seo-jun’s every move, her eyes gleaming with insight.

The boy who had suddenly appeared one day and wiped out the Black Tiger Sect had piqued Maewol’s interest ever since.

'Toying with a Gajugwi like that… He must be at least at the peak level of a martial artist.'

Her gaze narrowed. Just then, she felt a cold sensation at her throat—a blade.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re that little girl who’s been following the young master, aren’t you?”

“Shut it, fox.”

“Heh, ‘fox,’ am I? The young master doesn’t even glance at someone like me.”

“Good, then.”

“I envy you. To be so cherished by a man like that.”

Cherished? Chun-bong, her lips curling, withdrew her sword.

“Hmph, just make sure you do your job as a member of the Hao Sect.”

“Did he tell you that? I thought I hid it well.”

“Stop testing me.”

“I didn’t mean to."

Chun-bong scoffed at Maewol’s words. Yet her eyes remained fixed on Seo-jun as he continued fighting the Gajugwi.

Maewol chuckled softly.

"You really do care for him, don’t you?"

"Shut up."

Chun-bong, clicking her tongue, silently watched Seo-jun. For some reason, she could almost hear his voice in her ear.

'No way, Geum Chun-bong is a total queen of household management!'

Annoying.

Chun-bong snorted. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, feigning indifference.

At least, that’s what she thought.

Maewol, however, looked on, amused by Chun-bong's flustered expression.

“Man, what a troublesome creature.”

Seo-jun clicked his tongue as he stared at the Gajugwi.

“Kyaaaah….”

The Gajugwi, its entire body frozen, looked more like an ice statue than a living being. Its black eyes met Seo-jun’s, making him scratch his cheek awkwardly.

“Why does it look so pitiful?”

But that didn’t mean he could spare it. Sure, it looked pathetic after being beaten up, but just glancing around, he could see the bodies of several people who had crossed paths with the Gajugwi before he arrived.

“Rest in peace.”

Seo-jun snapped his thumb against his middle finger.

Pew—

A qi blast shot into the Gajugwi’s chest.

BOOOOOM!

Yin and yang energy collided, resulting in a massive explosion.

Seo-jun watched the spectacle, lost in thought.

‘I’ve still got a lot to improve on.’

First off, hitting the same spot twice in a row wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

And another thing—the balance of yin and yang was more important than he’d thought.

While experimenting on the Gajugwi, there were several times when he hit a spot with yang energy only for it to get absorbed by the overwhelming amount of yin energy already stored in the creature's body.

This time, he’d succeeded by increasing the concentration of yang energy to roughly match the yin.

“Well… it wasn’t bad, I guess.”

Seo-jun grinned as he looked at the scene before him.

That so-called armor, which could deflect even sword energy? Now, all that was left were the shattered remains of the Gajugwi.

And a massive crater as a bonus.

This technique… it’s basically an insta-kill for humans, right? If anyone survives something like this, you can’t really call them human anymore.

Against humans, it’s a guaranteed kill. As for monsters…

‘I’m not sure.’

There could be other creatures, but it’s hard to say for now.

But one thing was certain—he’d learned something from the flow of the Gajugwi’s defensive technique.

He didn’t know how it would work on humans versus monsters, but it was definitely worth testing later on.

“Whew, my body’s aching.”

Stretching his sore muscles, Seo-jun spotted Chun-bong approaching and flashed her a grin.

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah.”

“Wasn’t that awesome?”

“It was pretty cool.”

“Wh-what…!?”

Seo-jun’s jaw dropped as he quickly covered his mouth.

“Who are you? You’re not Geum Chun-bong, are you?!”

“Shut up.”

“I can’t believe this is happening!”

Watching Seo-jun overreact, Chun-bong sighed.

“Why is he like this…”

She was starting to worry—seriously. While it's true that qi deviation can happen suddenly, it can also creep in slowly, like a poison.

She always assumed Seo-jun was just an idiot, but sometimes, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was losing his mind. At times like this, she began to seriously question whether he was suffering from qi deviation.

“Ma, Geum Chun-bong.”

“What?”

“Shall we head off?”

Seo-jun leapt onto the roof. Chun-bong followed behind him.

“Are you really planning to head straight to Cheongha Sect at this hour? That seems rude.”

Seo-jun nodded at Chun-bong’s words.

“You’re right. We’ll just let them sleep at my place for tonight and go tomorrow.”

“…At our place?”

“Yeah. Don’t like it? We’ve got plenty of spare rooms.”

“It’s fine.”

Chun-bong didn’t seem too thrilled about it, but there wasn’t a better place to house the courtesans.

Seo-jun smacked his lips and returned to the roof where the courtesans were waiting. They seemed to have gotten used to being up there and were sitting quietly.

Churyeong was still fast asleep.

‘This pressure point technique is really something.’

Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction.

“Well, let’s head to my place for now….”

“Please, take us too!”

Several courtesans who hadn’t dispersed yet shouted up at him.

There were still plenty of people on the street, after all. Some stared enviously, others clapped, while others sifted through the shattered remains of the Gajugwi.

“Sorry, but the offer’s closed. Better luck next time!”

“There’s no such thing as ‘next time’!”

Smash!

A tile shattered at the feet of the shouting courtesan.

Chun-bong stood crookedly, staring down at them.

“What did you say?”

“Uh, no, I didn’t mean….”

Her gaze was fierce.

To Seo-jun, it just looked like a squirrel trying to act tough, but the courtesans saw something different.

Their faces turned pale, and they quickly fled.

“My Chun-bong is really angry, huh.”

Seo-jun poked her cheek, and Chun-bong’s eyebrows furrowed into a sharp "V."

“Those girls were being annoying.”

“Aww, you’re so cute.”

“Do you want me to hit you?”

“In our field, that’s considered a reward.”

Seo-jun offered his back, and Chun-bong flinched and stepped back.

“…That’s a bit much.”

What a shame.

Back at home, Seo-jun provided rooms for the courtesans and sat in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky.

Everything was more or less wrapped up. Now, it was almost time to move on.

After dropping the courtesans off at the Cheongha Sect and keeping an eye on them for a few days, it would be time to leave.

Where should he go next?

The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art, the Limitless Sky Sword Technique, the Taeguk-Hye Sword, the Four Seasons Sword Technique, and the Five Tiger Door Saber…

Seo-jun’s heart began to race at the thought of encountering martial arts he’d only read about in novels.

‘Come to think of it….’

The Merged Origin Thunderbolt Technique.

One of the famous saber techniques of the Hebuk Paeng Family, alongside the Five Tiger Door Saber.

And the Merged Origin Thunderbolt Divine Art, a renowned internal energy technique of the Paeng Family.

He wasn’t sure if the same martial arts existed here, but if they did, it would certainly be troublesome.

“The Merged Origin Thunderbolt Divine Art? It’s famous. Only direct descendants of the Paeng Family are allowed to learn it,” Chun-bong said from beside him, also gazing up at the stars.

“Damn it….”

“What’s with the sudden swearing?”

“That would mean the Merged Origin Divine Art is just a knockoff.”

“Now that you mention it…”

Seo-jun frowned deeply, considering the situation.

“If I wipe out the Paeng Family, doesn’t that make me the original?”

“You crazy bastard!”

“Hehe, just kidding.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Of course. What do you think?”

“I was starting to wonder.”

How could she doubt her oppa like that? Disappointing, Geum Chun-bong.

“…Forgive me, oppa.”

“Sure!”

All is forgiven.