Wolf And Cat (1)

That night.

Jin-hyeon’s brow twitched as he circulated qi.

‘Not yet?’

The Body-Refining Art still lingered around nine-tenths attainment.

He knew the path to ten-tenths, but that had been possible only in the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader’s body. The same method could not be applied here.

Yet through knowledge and insight, Jin-hyeon found his own way. His Body-Refining Qi stood on the brink of ten-tenths.

‘I’ll overcome it soon. Any art’s ten-tenths consummation is hard.’

Still, it was rapid progress. The Body-Refining Art at nine-tenths drove the body to improve constantly, awake or asleep.

Now Jin-hyeon’s body was changing into a frame suited to mastering the Heavenly Wolf Art. Once consummated, the body would be complete.

And then?

‘I can finally begin.’

The Heavenly Wolf True Art is the work of the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader, combining the Body-Refining Art and the Soul-Refining Art and many divine methods of the Central Plains to extract only their strengths. It is a path of domination that boasts ultimate destructive force, pursuing extreme power while excluding finesse and delicacy.

Any external martial art that grants overwhelming force places great strain on the body. That is why one must complete the Body-Refining Art to begin practicing it.

‘Wind Beckoning is out of reach, but I could manage up to Heavenly Evasion.’

That alone would help greatly.

‘I need to claim the rest soon.’

Jin-hyeon opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.

A pretty crescent moon hung above. Starlight peered through scattered clouds and watched the land.

It was a night thick with yin energy.

‘I want to grow strong.’

His desire was clear.

‘I want to grow strong and gain my home. I want to live laughing with my people.’

Was it because he had lived the life of the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader?

No. That could not explain it alone. Gyeong Se-hwi’s betrayals and the longing he had harbored since childhood were far too great.

He needed a home.

He needed a place that would protect his body. A solid dwelling to return to that would calm his heart.

His first home had been the Divine Iron Merchant Clan.

He entered as an adopted son out of necessity, but there he felt comfort and joy he had never known. He learned human relationships and thus learned what delight felt like.

But he was betrayed by his elder brother, and by a twist of fate he was reborn into the White Sword Seol Clan.

The Seol Clan was a fine family.

Seol Hong-baek’s character was noble and the clan’s customs were impressive. The family’s warriors never strayed from righteousness, the workers were diligent, and the attendants were kind.

‘Though there is a problem with her manners.’

Jin-hyeon let out a small laugh without meaning to.

Even without the life debt, he would have poked around and built ties if fate had touched him. The Seol Clan was that appealing.

But.

‘It is not my home.’

Those who master martial arts build families.

Whether by choice or not, it would become a martial house. Yet he did not intend to limit the family he built to a martial house.

No matter how the world saw it, he would form a clan in his own way. He would build a fortress of his own that no one would dare touch.

A small world without betrayal or outside pressure.

‘To do that, I must become stronger faster than anyone.’

Because he was not strong, upstarts like the White Tiger Hall dared to interfere.

Thinking of the White Tiger Hall, no, the Black Tiger Fist Sect, the anger that had settled quietly began to stir.

Jin-hyeon calmed himself with a deep breath.

As his mind steadied, the night breeze felt cool. Jin-hyeon smiled.

‘If I had mastered Heavenly Wolf, I could have made the situation more interesting.’

The Heavenly Wolf True Art amplifies internal energy itself and boasts powerful output, and especially on nights thick with yin energy, the body can release some of the burden placed on it.

In other words, one can become explosively stronger for a time. There are side effects, but against a formidable foe it becomes like bringing an extra life into battle.

‘Today’s fight will be the first for my land.’

Then.

“Hey.”

Jin-hyeon glanced to the side.

There sat a woman in a tense posture.

She looked younger than Seol So-ha. She was likely about Do-min’s age. Her bones were larger than Do-min’s, and though pretty, her thick dark brows gave her a fierce look.

She was Wi Gyo-hwa, the Fist Sect Master’s youngest daughter.

“It would be best if you let me go right now.”

Wi Gyo-hwa sat with a pressure point pressed. Except for that, she showed no injuries. Unlike her brother.

To Jin-hyeon, who gave no answer, Wi Gyo-hwa spoke again.

“I repeat. Release me. I will speak to my father and plead for leniency on your behalf.”

“You’re being noisy.”

“What are you trying to do? Aren’t you afraid of the Black Tiger Fist Sect?”

“Should I be afraid?”

“…”

“Just enjoy the night breeze quietly. It’s pleasantly cool.”

Wi Gyo-hwa thought this white-haired man was half mad.

The white hair was interesting, but from face and voice he seemed only four or five years older than her.

In other words, he was younger than her eldest brother. She could not fathom what he’d base his audacity on.

‘But his martial art is strong. How on earth…?’

She had learned the Black Tiger’s traditional martial arts. She had been told her talent rivaled her elder brother’s. At seventeen she was confident she could subdue most wandering fighters within ten strikes.

Yet she lasted less than two exchanges against this madman. Not exactly ambushed, she was suddenly hit on her paralysis point and taken.

‘He is certainly not from the Sichuan Eight Martial Houses.’

The Sichuan Eight Martial Houses denote the eight sects representing Sichuan Murim.

Of course the Black Tiger Fist Sect belonged to the Eight. The Divine Spear House, Red Sword Sect, and Zi-Star Blade Sect tied to the Mighty Tiger corruption were also among them. The White Sword Seol Clan was also listed, if at the lower end.

‘If not an Eight House, then from where? Another region? Surely not tied to the Heavenly Will Alliance…’

For a moment Wi Gyo-hwa’s eyes wavered.

She recalled a young man tied to the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild affair.

A man in his early to mid twenties who had been the architect of Mighty Tiger’s downfall alongside the Five Tigers Merchant Guild network.

Not known to the world, he had also earned great credit in arresting bribed Sichuan Branch officials. He had ties to the Seol Clan and oddly half his hair was white.

His was not half but all white, and yet appearing in his early twenties.

Wi Gyo-hwa spoke cautiously.

“Are you perhaps…?”

Then.

“As expected.”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes darkened.

Wi Gyo-hwa felt her heart drop at that gaze. It overwhelmed her. Cold sweat rose along her spine.

“Quite crafty, are you?”

What could that mean?

Even curious, she could not ask. She only glanced nervously.

Sseureuk.

The gate, which had not closed because the bar was broken, opened smoothly.

A stocky man in his fifties entered, prompting Wi Gyo-hwa to cry out without thinking.

“Father!”

It was the arrival of Wi Chang-gun, head of the Black Tiger Fist Sect.

Even in dark silk his solid shoulders stood out. A slightly hunched back testified to his overdeveloped posterior muscles. Despite his heavy frame, his steps were catlike.

‘His posture is as solid as rock.’

Dam Jun’s remark proved true.

One would need to fight to be sure, but from revealed bearing he seemed stronger than Seol Hong-baek.

“Is it you?”

Unexpectedly, Wi Chang-gun’s voice was plain.

A pleasant low tone. Though it carried the rasp of age, it was gentle.

“So you must be Jin-hyeon.”

“Yes, I am Jin-hyeon.”

Wi Chang-gun’s eyes twitched.

But he did not show anger. At least on the surface.

“Would a young man be so lacking in manners?”

“Did you come alone?”

Perhaps the casual speech of such a younger man irritated him.

Wi Chang-gun studied Jin-hyeon and nodded.

“I have heard much about you. A guest of the Seol Clan and a youth with ties to the Five Tigers Merchant Guild?”

“I am also the man who saw the bribery list that damned Mighty Tiger kept, from the Sichuan Branch to the local sects.”

“…”

“You nearly smeared sect names with filth and smoothed it over so they bowed and covered it with dirt. Their pride must have been hurt.”

Wi Chang-gun pressed his lips closed.

His expression did not change. He had great restraint.

Yet Jin-hyeon saw a blue vein stealthily bulge on Wi Chang-gun’s temple.

“There’s no need for long words. My children…”

“Still, it seems you have some sense.”

“Look here.”

“I planned to gather forces and take your brats straight to the Sichuan Branch.”

“!”

Wi Chang-gun’s cheek trembled slightly.

“I heard you are easily provoked. Yet you came alone because you do not know me. What if I had ties to the Sichuan Branch? What if I had set a trap? Would that not be troublesome?”

Wi Chang-gun could not reply. It was true.

‘This fellow, does he really have no backing?’

He recalled the rude, almost murderous letter Jin-hyeon had sent.

‘You threaten your brother-in-law and tell your children to beat him? That is not the act of a human bastard, so I kept your children similarly. Come alone or with an entourage, let me see your face. Ah, arrive past midnight and your second son becomes a corpse.’

It was beyond provocation, it was a threat.

As a parent it would make one furious, but Wi Chang-gun had to remain calm.

According to Branch sources, it was clear that this young man out of nowhere had spearheaded the affair. It was unbelievable, yet true.

Wi Chang-gun pondered.

Logically, a twenty-something with no ties could not pull this off. He must have powerful backing.

If he was not tied to a high Branch figure?

Then worse imaginings followed. To act and yet remain at ease could mean ties to someone above the Sichuan Branch head.

Thus he kept his eyes on the Five Tigers Merchant Guild. The ability to dismantle Mighty Tiger with Jin-hyeon’s help was no small feat to display.

But as time passed opinions leaned toward Jin-hyeon having no backing. He felt somewhat relieved, but prudence meant he watched for an opening.

And then this incident occurred.

“I will ask.”

Wi Chang-gun’s voice dropped further.

“What is it you want…”

“By the way, aren’t you greedy? You took a wife younger than your second son at that age. Aren’t you ashamed of that?”

“…”

“Ah, you are ashamed?”

“Hey, you bastard!!”

Wi Chang-gun finally exploded.

“How dare you speak casually to an elder! Mind your tongue! A wretch to be torn limb from limb and fed to dogs! How dare a spawn of a dog think to mouth off before anyone…!”

Jin-hyeon stepped on Wi Seong-woo’s chest. Even unconscious, Wi Seong-woo uttered a choking groan.

Wi Chang-gun’s mouth shut on its own.

“Do more. If a person only restrains himself, he dies of frustration.”

“…you.”

Wi Chang-gun’s face reddened.

Jin-hyeon grinned.

Once someone bursts, afterwards even a trivial word or expression will set them off. They become emotionally unstable.

In a situation whose course is unknown, an enemy losing composure is a major advantage.

‘This person’s profile is clear now.’

A man extremely sensitive to age-based rank. He values courtesy and will treat even an enemy with proper respect until killing them, but if crossed he is a cold-blooded man who would flay a person.

Wi Chang-gun spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

“Let the kids go. I do not know what you want, but let the two of us resolve it. If you are a man, step forward with dignity…”

“Bullshit.”

“This bastard!”

“You’re such a proud man, yet you use your wife to extort your brother-in-law’s property? Stop talking as if you’d be obeyed, you scum.”

A lethal gleam gathered in Wi Chang-gun’s eyes.

Enduring such an insult before his youngest daughter made his head swim.

Yet he could not act rashly. The children’s lives mattered, and he had to endure for the Black Tiger Fist Sect’s future.

Wi Chang-gun drew a deep breath and spoke.

“What do you want?”

That was sufficient provocation.

‘He may have come alone, but he cannot truly be alone. He likely placed subordinates at a distance. Not many, but a trusted elite few.’

If they did not show in the Soul-Refining Art’s Mind’s Eye, they must be hiding at some distance.

Jin-hyeon lightly rested his hand on Wi Gyo-hwa’s head. It looked like a convenient armrest.

“What do I want?”

“Is Jang Pyeong’s land what you want? Fine. I’ll no longer…”

“Land or whatever, weren’t you sharpening blades to kill me anyway?”

“!”

“If they had backing, you would first investigate who they were entangled with and whether you could handle it before fully moving. Right?”

Wi Chang-gun’s face, twisted with anger, chilled.

The mocking look on Jin-hyeon’s face likewise turned expressionless. A spasm passed over Wi Chang-gun’s now cool face.

On that expressionless pale face, moonlit pallid eyes exuded a terrible dignity.

“There is only my shadow behind me. There’s no need to go poking around.”