CFZ

BANG—! THUD, THUD—!
The lodging prepared for the Azure Dragon Division at the branch headquarters—inside, the training hall rang with violent echoes.
Whoosh—!

At the sound, I turned my head. The tip of a sword grazed my cheek.
I took a step forward, lowering my upper body. Another sword sliced through the spot I had just occupied.
I threw a punch into empty air. As if it had been lying in wait, a blade aura came flying toward me, only to shatter as it met my fist.

Despite the short exchange, relentless attacks kept pouring in, and my body moved ceaselessly in response.
Rolling my eyes, I lightly expanded my senses. Murderous intent flared from all directions.
Twisting my waist slightly, I wrapped my arm in Qi.

‘One first.’
I shifted my gaze—not to the closest one, but to the farthest.
Pushing off with my foot, I picked up speed.

“…!”
I reached my target in an instant.
He looked momentarily startled—

“Tsk!”
—but quickly adjusted his grip, shifting his stance from offense to defense.
I smirked.

Smart.
Rather than struggling in vain, he was trying to minimize the damage.
But—
‘For a defensive stance, his form’s lacking.’

He’d focused too much on offense during training. His posture was crude—no, calling it crude wasn’t quite right.
‘At least, not by ordinary standards.’
‘But to me, it is.’

As an opponent? That’s how it looked.
THUD—!
“Ugh!?”

My fist struck his solar plexus in an instant.
Landing the blow wasn’t difficult. Like I said—his stance was full of holes for someone at his level.
The Qi surrounding my fist crushed his protective aura and pierced straight through.

“Cough…!”
The man who took my punch—one of the Ten Battle Swords—collapsed, gagging on the floor.
His pale face briefly caught my eye, but now wasn’t the time for sympathy.

I immediately turned away.
An attack had already arrived behind me.
This time, it was a punch—a massive one.

The compressed Qi surrounding it was thick. Blocking it carelessly would hurt.
Should I dodge? Or counter?
The thought barely lingered.

CRASH—!
My smaller fist collided with the larger one.
The clash of Qi sent a massive shockwave rippling outward.

But—
Only the other guy flinched.
The man who had charged in while radiating Qi reeled back, clutching his arm, while I remained perfectly fine.

I looked at him and said—
“You focused too much on one area. You should’ve expected a counter.”
His Qi was stronger, but the outcome wasn’t surprising.

He’d concentrated too much energy at the surface of his fist, weakening the structure.
An attack like that? It was just asking to snap his wrist.
“Damn it—!”

The man, hit by my counter, flinched momentarily but quickly prepared to leap back and widen the distance.
Not a bad call.
The problem was—

STOMP—!
“…!”
I had already stepped on his foot.

With his lower body pinned, his movements froze.
I felt his panic as he tried to pull free, gathering Qi to force it loose.
But I was already swinging my other leg.

My shin, boosted by speed, slammed into his ribs.
At the same time, I released his foot.
“ARGH—!”

THUD—!!
Before his scream even ended, he smashed into the wall.
“Two.”

I muttered under my breath as killing intent flared from both sides.
Two streaks of light shot toward me.
They exploited my focus and targeted my blind spots. Smart.

Their positioning was solid.
It was an attack I couldn’t dodge upward or downward.
The coordination was tight, almost practiced.

Starting out, they’d been sloppy, but a few beatings had shaped them up.
So—
‘What should I do?’

Should I let them hit? Or handle this differently?
Letting them land a few strikes wouldn’t be terrible.
They’d earned at least that much respect.

But—
FWOOSH—!
“Shit!”

“What the—?!”
That wasn’t my style.
Flames erupted across my body in an instant.

The approaching men flinched, their movements faltering.
Already mid-charge, they couldn’t stop themselves.
Instead, they braced themselves with reinforced Qi to endure the flames.

I gave them credit for guts.
FWOOOM—!
The flames surged.

The men gritted their teeth and pushed forward, ignoring the burns.
But then—
“What?”

“What the hell—?”
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
They’d prepared themselves to endure the heat and pain, but—

The flames weren’t hot.
Of course they weren’t.
They were never meant to burn.

It was a trick.
If I wanted, I could have turned them into real flames and burned them alive.
But I didn’t need to.

All I wanted was hesitation—and I got it.
Flinch.
Even the smallest hesitation created an opening.

I didn’t miss it.
CLANG—!
“Ugh!?”

I dealt with the closer one first, aiming to knock his sword away—
‘Oh?’
The blade dipped but didn’t fall.

Not bad.
Even though I hadn’t held back, he’d managed to endure it.
I liked that.

‘What was his name?’
Seong Hyuk-jin?
He’d done well in sparring matches and fought alongside me during the Crimson-Rank Beast incident.

“Kuh!”
Breaking my focus, I drove my knee into his jaw.
The hit landed clean, and he staggered before collapsing.

‘Three.’
Counting under my breath, I snapped my fingers.
Snap—!

Sparks flared, growing quickly into a thicker, heavier flame.
Not too strong—but just enough.
‘Enough to block a sword.’

SCREECH—!
“Shit!”
The man who tried to cut through the fire grimaced.

Though it burned, it resisted being cleaved, slowing the strike.
He had to force more strength into it.
“What kind of flame—?!”

Too focused on the fire, he didn’t notice—
“Too slow.”
“Hup—!”

I grabbed him by the collar and flung him backward—
“Argh!?”
Straight into another man, knocking them both down.

And just like that—
“Ugh…”
“Cough… cough…”

The sparring session had ended.
The men who had been fighting their hearts out were now sprawled on the ground, exhausted. I stood in the center, looking down at them.
“Hmm.”

Groans of pain echoed around me. Watching their pitiful state, I gave a slight nod.
‘They pass.’
Not bad. Actually—pretty good.

They had shown better teamwork than expected.
With a little more pushing, they’d shape up fine.
The problem was—

“Haaah…”
“Damn it… How could the difference be this huge?”
Their expressions were grim.

I thought I’d held back enough, but maybe it was too overwhelming.
I had been careful to control myself, yet their confidence was completely shattered.
That was a shame.

‘Hmm.’
Should I give them some praise to lift their spirits?
But judging by their current state, that wouldn’t help much.

Maybe insults would be better—call them out for acting like weaklings after just a little sparring.
‘Yeah, that’s probably better.’
Praise? What a joke. If anything, chewing them out was the right call.

Just as I opened my mouth—
“Young Master—! That was amazing!”
“…!”

A sickeningly sweet voice cut through the air.
The men, still collapsed on the ground, immediately turned to look.
At the entrance of the training hall stood a captivating beauty—Yeon Hong—beaming as she cheered.

“...”
My face immediately twisted in disgust.
“L-Lady….”

“She was watching us…!”
“You were so impressive! And you all worked so hard—good job!”
“…Hah…”

“Ahem.”
With just a few words of encouragement and a smile, the men’s faces lit up.
Just from that?

‘…What the fuck.’
I was speechless.
Especially since I knew exactly what Yeon Hong was hiding under that disguise.

‘How the hell does he pull this off?’
This was Amwang—the Shadow King.
The same man who wouldn’t flinch even if his arm was torn off.

And yet, dressed like a woman, he had transformed completely.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was baffling.
The voice? Fine. But the way he talked and acted—it was impossible to get used to.

“You worked so hard…!”
“N-No, it was just part of training.”
“Exactly. As martial artists, we must focus on training and never lose heart from failure.”

“Lord Commander, thank you for your hard work! Now, let’s move on to the next session. You’re not tired, are you?”
“Of course not!”
“...”

The men practically ran off, eager to show off even more in front of Yeon Hong.
I was left staring at them, my face twisted like I’d bitten into shit.
‘What a fucking joke.’

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.
As ridiculous as it was, the results spoke for themselves.
‘So this is what he meant by easier to manage.’

I recalled what Amwang had said before.
If this was what he’d meant—had he really predicted even this?
If so, he was even scarier than I’d thought.

And honestly—
‘No wonder his identity stayed hidden.’
With a disguise this flawless, how could anyone suspect him?

Not just the appearance—he’d completely erased any trace of masculinity or danger.
I happened to meet Yeon Hong’s gaze.
The moment our eyes locked, she flashed a dazzling smile.

I flinched before quickly looking away.
Glancing at the men gawking at her like idiots, I barked—
“Next.”

Some of them visibly flinched.
They hesitated, clearly reluctant to step forward.
I narrowed my eyes.

“Not coming? Hurry up. I don’t have all day—”
Just as I started to push them, a voice echoed in my ear.
—Commander. A guest has arrived.

It was Tang So-yeol’s voice, sent through sound transmission.
Damn it.
‘They’re early.’

I’d expected them closer to noon—not this early in the morning.
—Should I tell them you’re in training and to wait?
—No. I’ll head there now. Wait for me in the room.

—Understood.
Ending the transmission, I clicked my tongue.
There were still more guys I needed to beat into shape, but this threw a wrench in my plans.

“Something’s come up. Train on your own for now.”
“…!”
Their faces brightened immediately, thinking the session was over.

“We’ll continue right after, so be ready.”
“...”
At my firm tone, their smiles shattered instantly.

Smirking, I turned and walked off.
‘I’ll remember those faces.’
I’d make sure to give them hell later—especially the ones who’d dared to relax too soon.

   *******************
   
I headed straight for the VIP room in the branch headquarters.
Without hesitation, I opened the door.

Creak.
The door swung open roughly, and the old man waiting inside frowned at my entrance.
Seeing his reaction, I smiled.

“Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“...”
“What’s with the look? Can’t you at least try to greet me properly? Don’t make it so awkward.”

Ignoring his unpleasant expression, I pulled out a chair and sat down.
“You don’t need tea, do you? Not that I prepared any. I can get you some water if you want.”
“Hah…”

The old man scoffed, as if my words were absurd.
“You really are out of your mind.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I’m just trying to be considerate.”

“Not just your mind—your actions too. You’ve completely lost it.”
“Why?”
The old man scowled.

It was the Lord of the Celestial Stream Sect.
He looked at me and asked,
“You think calling me here proves you’re sane?”

The Celestial Stream Sect Lord, treated as part of the unorthodox factions.
Especially given the current situation, summoning him openly to a branch under the Martial Alliance was absurd.
“Haha. You’re kidding me.”

I let out a laugh.
“And what about you? Coming here after being summoned—how sane does that make you? Besides—”
Whoosh—!

I scattered my Qi, creating a barrier around us.
“The branch master here is probably one of your people anyway, right? So what’s the big deal?”
“…!!”

His eyes widened the moment I mentioned Mok Ri-seon.
“How… do you know that?”
He didn’t deny it.

No excuses, either.
Maybe it was because I spoke like I was completely sure.
His reaction actually made things easier for me.

“Like I said before, how I know doesn’t matter. And I have no intention of telling you.”
“Even knowing that, you’re still staying here?”
“Where else would someone from the Martial Alliance go? They give me food and a roof over my head. It’s comfortable.”

“...”
“Don’t worry about trivial things. If you’re curious, figure it out yourself. What matters isn’t how I knew—it’s the fact that you came here. Isn’t that right?”
“You little—”

“How’s Ilcheon Sword?”
“...”
I cut straight to the point.

“Did he listen to you?”
“Hah.”
The Sect Lord let out another dry laugh.

“You never even considered the possibility that I didn’t go meet him?”
“Come on, don’t mess with me.”
“What are you implying?”

“Don’t bother playing mind games. You went to see him and got a reaction. That’s why you’re here. So just answer the question. I don’t like overthinking things.”
The Sect Lord narrowed his eyes.
His gaze held a strange doubt.

“Are you really with the righteous sects?”
“What do you think?”
“...”

His eyes said it all—not a chance.
I didn’t bother denying it.
I’d never considered myself part of the righteous sects anyway—and I didn’t want to be.

I kept staring back until he finally furrowed his brow and spoke.
“…Ilcheon Sword was exactly as you described.”
So he was getting straight to the point now.

“Oh?”
“I relayed your words exactly. And his reaction was just as you predicted.”
“Good. That’s nice.”

“Nice? It felt like the two of you planned this just to mess with me.”
“Hahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”

We both laughed, though his was mixed with suspicion.
I tilted my head and said,
“If you really doubted me, you wouldn’t have come here.”

“I had something to confirm for myself.”
“Did you confirm it?”
“Not yet.”

“And if you don’t?”
“Do you want to find out?”
Clatter—!

The longer we spoke, the more the objects around us began to tremble.
I looked at him and asked,
“You sure it’s a good idea to act this bold in enemy territory? What if you end up dead?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? The branch master is on my side. You think I came here without a plan?”
“Hmm…”
So he’d prepared something before coming here.

I considered it for a moment.
Should I just kill him?
The thought crossed my mind—quick and sharp.

‘No. Not yet.’
I forced it down.
There was still too much to gain from him.

Killing him now would be a waste.
At the very least—
“…Fine. I get it. You’re prepared. But I’ve got a question for you.”

“I’m not letting this go that easily—”
“Ilcheon Cult.”
I cut him off.

“...”
The Sect Lord froze.
“Old man, what do you know about the Ilcheon Cult?”

CRASH—!
Swords rained down from the ceiling.