The Former Supreme Master [Novel] Chapter 16

Chapter 16: I Need to Control My Anger (2)

“Those bastards! I’m going to grind them to powder and drink them!”

Upon returning home, Wang Gon burned with a vengeful rage.

Every time the physician touched his face to treat him, the pain was so agonizing he felt like dying. While he was locked away, anger had dulled the pain, but now that proper treatment had begun, it hurt excruciatingly.

His face was swollen beyond recognition, and a throbbing headache washed over him whenever he spoke. To make matters worse, his teeth were shattered so badly that the reflection in the bronze mirror looked like a downright hideous monster.

Yet it wasn’t physical pain that truly tormented him.

It was the anxiety over how the main branch of the Myth Sect would react once they have news of this affair.

reached his position by strictly evaluating people based on competence alone. Personality, character, human warmth, personal ties… none of that existed to him. He cared solely for results, and the moment he deemed someone incompetent, he replaced them without hesitation. There were countless people lined up waiting to become a Hall Master in the Myth Sect. If this was judged as his failure, he would be cast aside without mercy.

When the Sect Master asked…or rather, when the envoy sent by the Sect Master questioned him, since someone of his stature wouldn’t meet him personally over such a matter, he needed an answer that wouldn’t make them frown.

“I will go and wipe them all out.”

First off, Heuksu’s outburst was not the right answer.

On a sect level, they would never want to escalate the problem and clash directly with the Murim Alliance.

Heuksu, incapable of considering such circumstances, was faithful only to his own emotions.

‘This bastard… I am definitely going to kill him.’

Heuksu was furious to his very core.

His nose was broken, and bandages were wrapped tightly around his face, but what had suffered the greatest blow was his pride.

He couldn’t believe he had been beaten by a mere Squad Leader who had been kicked out of the Iron Sword Unit. And in a single stroke, no less. Because it was over in just one move, he couldn’t accept it. He was confident that if they fought properly, he could kill not just an Iron Sword Squad Leader, but even a Unit Commander.

“I was caught off-guard, that’s all!”

“Of course you were.”

Wang Gon was irritated with Heuksu.

‘Useless fool! Unable to handle a single guy like that… The money I pay you is a total waste.’

However, he couldn’t reveal his true feelings. No matter what, Heuksu was still the top expert among his subordinates.

“This time, I won’t make any mistakes. I’ll handle him for good.”

In truth, Wang Gon wanted nothing more than to send Heuksu to slaughter them all right away.

But he couldn’t.

If he and Heuksu hadn’t been arrested, they could have pinned the blame on the culprit who massacred Yang Chu’s family. But now that a clear feud had been established, he couldn’t just recklessly kill them.

“Hold back for now.”

If things went wrong, it really would be the end of him this time. He wasn’t the Sect Master of the Myth Sect; he was merely a Hall Master overseeing the southern region of Zhejiang Province. If he caused an accident now, even the Sect Master wouldn’t be able to cover for him.

“Even if you were caught off-guard, that fellow is no ordinary opponent.”

There had been an overwhelming aura that the man displayed that day. It wasn’t simply a strong person pressuring a weak one; it was a profound sense of dominance.

“We need to figure out who he really is first. Do not make a move until then. Understood?”

When Wang Gon spoke sternly, Heuksu gave a reluctant reply:

“Understood.”

From that moment on, a battle began within Heuksu’s mind, a war between his loyalty and his anger management disorder.

—

Lim Chung visited Physician Hwang, who had performed the autopsy on Yang Chu.

The autopsy had been completed earlier, but due to the consecutive incidents involving the Taejeong Faction and Wang Gon, Lim Chung was only able to visit now.

“The culprit seems to be a single person. Look here.”

Physician Hwang pointed to the cause of death on Yang Chu’s body as he explained.

“He was taken down in a single blow. It wasn’t a slash, but a precise thrust to the heart. I’ve seen many corpses in my life, but I’ve never seen such clean technique.”

“Then the culprit must have been a martial artist superior to Hero Yang, correct?”

“Indeed.”

“Or perhaps it was done by someone he was acquainted with.”

The possibilities were varied. He could have been caught off-guard and ambushed.

“Either way, the killer is someone remarkably skilled with a sword.”

“Were the other family members killed using the same method?”

“Yes, all in a single stroke. Killed without a moment’s hesitation.”

Killing a warrior in battle and killing defenseless people may share the act of ‘killing’, but they are as different as night and day.

“He is someone who slaughters without hesitation. Are there any other traces? Was the weapon special, or was poison used?”

“None. Very ordinary.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

As Lim Chung turned to leave, Physician Hwang added a earnest request:

“Make sure to catch him. Don’t let a lunatic like that roam free in this world.”

Had Lim Chung heard these words before recent events unfolded, he would have brushed them off, answering half-jokingly and half-resignedly:

…Of course, we’ll catch the lunatics, catch the villains, catch them all.

That was how Lim Chung, Branch Master of the Munseong Branch, would have acted until recently.

But now it is different. Whether he could catch the killer or not, he answered with absolute sincerity:

“I will do my utmost.”

—

Leaving the physician, Lim Chung did not return to the branch despite the late hour; instead, he headed to Yang Chu’s residence.

He wanted to check if any clues remained.

Stepping inside, Lim Chung gasped in surprise. Someone was standing in the courtyard.

“Who goes there!”

Lim Chung shouted, drawing his sword.

The person who turned around in surprise was Beon Saeng.

“Whoa! It’s me, Branch Master!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came by to see if any clues might have been left behind.”

“It seems you and I think alike.”

Seeing Beon Saeng here brought a sudden sense of relief.

“Weren’t you scared coming here alone?”

“I thought I would be, but once I got here, I wasn’t scared at all.”

Rather, he felt pity for the people who had died here and felt sorry that he hadn’t caught the culprit for them yet.

“Two children died here as well, right?”

“They did.”

“What kind of human being could even kill children?”

Beon Saeng reflected sincerely. On the first day of the incident, he hadn’t even offered such mourning. Back then, delivering the news of the appointment with Hall Master Wang of the Myth Sect to Lim Chung had been his top priority.

‘I’m truly sorry.’

It was an apology offered to the departed souls.

“Let’s make sure to catch the killer.”

Lim Chung nodded silently and asked:

“Did you find anything here?”

“I searched around, but there wasn’t much. You should head back first, Branch Master. I’ll take one more look before coming back.”

“Let’s search together.”

“Go on back. Your wife must be worrying about you.”

“Martial Artist Baek is protecting them, isn’t he?”

“You really trust Brother Baek now, don’t you?”

Lim Chung couldn’t quite read his own heart. Did he really trust him? Or did he choose to because he had no other option?

“Even if another master were present, I probably still would have entrusted my family to Brother Baek.”

Lim Chung thought that might very well be true.

Ending their conversation there, the two thoroughly searched the interior and exterior of the house. Yet no matter how meticulously they looked with fresh eyes, nothing that could serve as a clue emerged.

Whoever the killer was, their clean-up was just as flawless as their ruthless killing skill.

“Let’s head back now.”

The two left the premises. Though they achieved no tangible results, they felt it had been the right decision to return to the scene.

—

A masked man quietly scaled the wall of the Munseong Branch.

Moving nimbly, he arrived outside the quarters where Lim Chung’s wife, Lady Ju, and his son were staying.

Just as the masked man prepared to slip inside quietly, a voice called out from behind him:

“There’s no one in there.”

Stopping in his tracks, the masked man turned around.

Standing behind him was Baek Socheon.

“Can’t have maggots crawling into a house where a child lives, can we?”

The masked man let out a cold laugh and removed his mask. With a caved-in nose making for a hideous appearance, it was none other than Heuksu.

“You expected me to come.”

“Looking into you, I realized you were exactly this kind of guy.”

Just as Baek Socheon had predicted, in the battle between loyalty and anger management disorder, his anger management disorder had won an easy victory.

No matter how hard he tried, Heuksu could not stomach it. Every time a wave of pain surged from his broken nose, he found it unbearable.

He had tried to endure it somehow, but then he overheard a conversation at a tavern he went to for a drink. The drunkards at another table were talking about him.

By the way, did you hear Heuksu lost to some new martial artist at the branch?
I heard he got completely wrecked.
ust how strong is this new guy for Heuksu to lose like that?
Guess the hype around Heuksu finally burst.

He had almost slashed those bastards down on the spot.

But he held back. He had to crush Baek Socheon first and make them admit they were wrong. If he was going to kill them, it would be after that.

Leaving the tavern, he had headed straight over the branch’s wall. That was why his breath reeked of alcohol.

“After I kill you, when Lim Chung returns, I’m going to violate his wife right in front of his eyes and skin his kid alive.”

Heuksu’s killing intent was raw, crude, and absolute.

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

“I’m asking why you’re acting like such a complete lunatic.”

“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

“Because you got beaten up by me? Then you should take your revenge out on me. Why drag the Branch Master’s family into it?”

“That’s not enough. My pride has already been completely shattered.”

“Ah, so your precious little pride took a hit, and doing something this crazy is the only way you can feel satisfied? I’ve run into plenty of guys like you… but I can never get used to it no matter how many times I see it.”

“What the hell are you babbling about, you crazy bastard! I’m going to make sure you die the most painful death imaginable.”

Baek Socheon raised a hand, checking Heuksu as he stepped forward brimming with murderous intent.

“Hold on! Let me ask just one last thing. Was it your group that killed Yang Chu’s family?”

Heuksu said nothing, but the faint curl of his lips formed a smirk that answered, ‘Yes.’ He was not someone accustomed to hiding his emotions, which was precisely why he was standing here right now.

“Did you handle it yourself?”

“Do you take me for a dirty blade like that? Today’s fight is strictly to reclaim my honor.”

Heuksu drew his sword.

Though his rage was fiercely heightened by alcohol, he drew upon his previous defeat and refrained from rushing in blindly. Taking full advantage of the fact that his opponent was empty-handed, he maintained his distance as he attacked.

Swish! Swish!

Baek Socheon dodged the incoming sword strikes in rapid succession. Regardless of his vile nature, Heuksu was indeed a formidable expert.

While not quite strong enough to kill an Iron Sword Unit Commander as he arrogantly claimed, he was easily on par with a highly skilled Squad Leader of the Iron Sword Unit. That alone represented considerable martial prowess.

Rather than counterattacking swiftly, Baek Socheon engaged in the fight with the mindset of sparring for practice.

Whish!

As he narrowly avoided a sword thrust aimed at his heart, the incoming blade pivoted diagonally, sweeping toward his neck.

Flick!

The edge brushed past the front of Baek Socheon’s face.

Heuksu dropped low rapidly, swinging his sword toward Baek Socheon’s thigh.

‘Got him!’

He was certain of it, yet the blade missed by a hair’s breadth.

Thrusting, slashing, cleaving down, whipping up. Heuksu was unleashing every ounce of his skill.

Yet it felt as though the opponent was inside his very head. With every strike, every single attack missed by the thinnest of margins.

‘Ah!’
‘Damn it!’
‘So close!’

Such exclamations popped into his mind involuntarily.

However, Heuksu only felt the frustration; he failed to perceive the precise distance of that frustration.

Astonishingly, Baek Socheon was dodging Heuksu’s attacks while maintaining an exact, predetermined margin. A gap just wide enough for a single finger to fit between the blade and his body, that was the exact, razor-thin margin by which he was dodging.

Accomplishing this with a body devoid of internal energy was by no means an easy feat.

As the fight reached its peak, Heuksu suddenly froze in shock.

‘…!’

He realized he had been fighting in a state near self-absorption. He had never experienced such a state before.

It was unimaginable to him that he hadn’t entered it on his own, but rather that his opponent had drawn him into it.

The moment he snapped out of that state, his usefulness to Baek Socheon came to an end.

Baek Socheon, who had been doing nothing but dodging, darted inward. It was a timing so unexpected that one would think, *’He’s attacking now?!’*

*Thwack!*

Baek Socheon’s elbow slammed mercilessly into Heuksu’s nose. The already broken nose was shattered completely this time.

“AAAAAAAAGH!”

Having his broken nose smashed a second time, Heuksu screamed out like a madman.

Thwack!

A rapid follow-up kick from Baek Socheon struck his jaw without mercy.

Yet, being a seasoned martial artist, Heuksu managed to swing his sword even as he tumbled backward.

However, a sword that failed to cut its target even when his concentration was focused could hardly display proper power in such a state.

Baek Socheon, following him like a shadow, grabbed his wrist and twisted.

Crack.

As his arm was being twisted, Heuksu held out using his internal energy. When the wrist would turn no further, Baek Socheon’s palm strike slammed into his neck.

Bam!

The moment the blow to his neck disrupted his internal energy:

Cr-c-c-crack!

His wrist holding the sword was completely twisted around by Baek Socheon’s sheer physical strength.

“AAAAAAARGH!”

His wrist pulverized, Heuksu let out a harrowing shriek. Baek Socheon knew with absolute precision how internal energy operated, when performing a specific motion, through which meridians the energy flowed, and where to strike to sever that flow most effectively.

Thwack!

This time, Baek Socheon’s fist slammed hard into his flank.

Unable to endure any further, Heuksu collapsed flat on his back.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”

Amidst the agonizing pain, Heuksu felt a different kind of terror. The indifferent gaze of Baek Socheon looking down at him was truly terrifying.

“Violating the wife, killing the kid, and showing it to the father?”

Baek Socheon leapt into the air and brought his fist down squarely onto Heuksu’s chest.

Thwack!

Ribs shattered, driving sharp bone fragments into his internal organs.

‘AAAAAAAGH!’

The pain was so intense that the scream was trapped inside his throat.

Thwack.

Once more, his fist hammered down onto the broken ribs.

“Gasp!”

Heuksu’s eyes bulged wide. This was not a level of pain a human could endure. He desperately wished to die, but whether by design or by stroke of ill luck, the shattered ribs had missed his heart.

‘Please… stop!’

Heuksu tasted true hell.

Baek Socheon, on the other hand, seemed almost to be enjoying the moment.

“This really has a satisfying hit to it, doesn’t it? I spent my whole life using only swords; I had no idea fists could feel this thrilling.”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Every time Baek Socheon’s fists struck his torso, an indescribable agony overwhelmed Heuksu.

“Ugh… ugh… ple…ase… spare… me…”

Baek Socheon brought his fist down once more.

Crunch!

“KAAAH!”

Heuksu spewed blood like a fountain.

Just as his body pushed past its limits and his eyes rolled back, Baek Socheon delivered the final strike. Leaping into the air, he brought the sole of his foot stomping directly down onto Heuksu’s chest.

BOOM! Cr-c-c-crack!

Heuksu’s ribs were completely pulverized, killing him instantly on the spot.

Somewhere out there, the soft moonlight was shining down on whispering lovers; tonight, it settled upon Heuksu’s corpse as coldly as the look in Baek Socheon’s eyes.

“You shameless bastard. If you’re going to step out to murder innocent people, you should leave your pleas for mercy at home.”