Chapter 32 : The Senior is Now

Chapter 32: The Senior is Now

Swae-aek-!

A coarse stream of Sword Qi ripped through the air. At the end of its trajectory stood Baek Seol.

Crushed by the overwhelming killing intent and momentum, she wore only a shocked expression, unable even to think of dodging.

Though she had her share of experience in the Jianghu, the sword rushing before her eyes was on an entirely different level.

Baek Seol realized in that instant.

‘I’m going to die.’

She could think nothing else.

Just as the Sword Qi reached right in front of her nose—

Seogeok-!

A short dagger split the Sword Qi in half. Before she knew it, Seo Yu-gyeom was standing in front of her.

The divided Sword Qi veered off to either side, tearing apart the inn.

Shaking his stinging wrist, Seo Yu-gyeom muttered.

“This damned inn never has a peaceful day.”

Everyone looked on in shock.

Neither a Peak Master like the Food Butcher suddenly unleashing a torrent of Sword Qi, nor someone blocking it with ease, existed within their common sense.

The Food Butcher burst out laughing. The more he saw of this man, the more of a waste it felt.

Despite having cooking skills that even someone from the Imperial Kitchen could acknowledge, he also possessed martial prowess of this level. He had strength, and his eyes were steady.

“It would be nice to have a disciple like you.”

At the sudden words, everyone’s gaze shifted to Seo Yu-gyeom. He scratched his cheek with the Heaven-Slaying Dagger and replied.

“Then will you spare us all?”

“Except for that wench.”

The Food Butcher pointed his chicken cleaver at Baek Seol.

Seo Yu-gyeom let out a sigh.

“That would be a bit difficult for me too.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the one who made this young lady cook. She cooked because of me, so wouldn’t it be too pitiful if she had to die for that reason?”

“Then you’ll have to die together.”

The Food Butcher roared with laughter.

Everyone quietly watched him. No one dared to attack him first.

Then suddenly, his expression hardened.

The smiling face vanished, replaced with something entirely different.

Madness flickered in his eyes, and his killing intent densely filled the inn. For the first time, everyone truly felt that he was indeed a public enemy of the Murim.

“Choose.”

Seo Yu-gyeom hesitated for a moment.

He could abandon the inn and the prodigies and flee. With his background as an assassin, he was confident in his Movement Arts.

But if he chose to fight alongside them, death was almost certain.

‘Why should I?’

That thought crossed his mind.

It wasn’t as though he was close to them. He had met them only because of Seomun Ak’s vile deeds.

Besides, the Food Butcher didn’t even want to kill him. On the contrary, the man praised his cooking.

Everyone stared at Seo Yu-gyeom.

They all knew. If Seo Yu-gyeom abandoned them here, they would die without being able to even resist properly.

Seo Yu-gyeom lowered the hand holding the dagger.

Everyone except Baek Seol was struck with despair. She, at least, could not blame him. After all, he had already saved her life once.

Seo Yu-gyeom prepared to leave.

But strangely, his legs would not move.

Was it pity for these prodigies?

Absolutely not. Seo Yu-gyeom was not someone with such warmth, much less a so-called hero.

Only one thing held him back.

When his first true friend, Jin Seong-un, returned and learned that the inn was destroyed, the prodigies slain, and he had fled alone—Seo Yu-gyeom was a little afraid of his reaction.

His birth parents had died before he ever saw their faces.

The foster father who raised him only did so because he mistook him for possessing the Heavenly Martial Body, while he himself had killed his true parents.

Deathshroud had only taken him in because he was born as the Heaven-Slaying Star.

The first person who had formed a relationship with him without any conditions was Jin Seong-un. That was why. That was why Seo Yu-gyeom couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“Most of all, this is my house.”

For the first time in his life, he had chosen this house himself.

Why should he run from his own home?

That thought rooted him in place.

Seo Yu-gyeom let out a long sigh.

His aura shifted entirely.

Saaaah—!

The killing intent radiating from his body rapidly swelled, filling the inn. It was even thicker and darker than the Food Butcher’s own.

The prodigies felt their breath stop.

That was what it meant to be the Heaven-Slaying Star. A man born with killing intent so overwhelming that even Deathshroud, the world’s greatest assassin organization, desired him—Seo Yu-gyeom.

“If you don’t fight with all your strength, you’ll all die.”

Seo Yu-gyeom’s low voice cut through the air, directed at the frozen newcomers of the Jianghu.

His cold words sank deep into their minds. It was like being doused with ice water, snapping them awake.

‘Of course, even if you fight with all your strength, you’ll still die.’

Seo Yu-gyeom didn’t bother to say that part aloud.

Just then—

The frozen Seok Tae-shin suddenly opened his mouth.

“Yo-you demonic bastard, in this area there’s Baek—…”

At the same time, Seo Yu-gyeom stopped him with a telepathic message. He must have intended to intimidate the enemy by invoking the name of the White Cloud Sword.

‘No need to agitate him unnecessarily.’

That would only backfire. The enemies they had faced so far had cowered when faced with the names of great clans and sects. But the Food Butcher was different.

If anything, knowing someone like the White Cloud Sword might come would only make him fight harder and faster to kill them all.

Realizing this, Seok Tae-shin shut his mouth. But fools were never in short supply.

“The White Cloud Sword Elder will be here soon!”

It was Seomun Ak.

Seo Yu-gyeom smacked him across the back of the head. Seomun Ak noticed his hand moving, but by the time he realized, the sting was already there.

Such was the difference between them.

Seomun Ak grabbed the back of his head. Seo Yu-gyeom smacked him again and again with a sigh.

‘Should’ve just run away.’

But regrets came too late.

And Seo Yu-gyeom was not the type of man to dwell in regret. He kept smacking Seomun Ak’s head. Even the onlookers began wondering, ‘Does he really need to hit him that hard?’

Swae-aek-!

Seo Yu-gyeom’s body stretched like taffy as he instantly reached the Food Butcher.

The foundation of an assassin was the ambush.

Except for the Food Butcher himself, no one could follow his movements.

A blade aura as dark as the night sky burst forth from the Heaven-Slaying Dagger. The Food Butcher swung his chicken cleaver to meet it.

Kaang-!

A deafening shockwave exploded.

Seo Yu-gyeom shouted again.

“Move!”

The first to respond was Tang So-yeon.

In a flash, she closed in on the Food Butcher and swung her dagger. Then Baek Sang, Baek Seol, and Seok Tae-shin followed in order. It was a display of their respective levels.

Tang So-yeon’s deep green dagger carried poison as it aimed for the Food Butcher’s throat.

He tilted his head back, dodging. In that instant, the Heaven-Slaying Dagger thrust at his chest.

Chaaeng-!

He parried it without even looking.

Unarmed, Baek Sang and Baek Seol used Wudang’s fist and palm techniques. The Wudang Sect did not have only sword arts.

The siblings’ hands traced the Taiji continuously.

‘Not good.’

Seo Yu-gyeom clicked his tongue quietly.

He used a dagger. Tang So-yeon, a dagger. The Wudang siblings, fist and palm techniques. All of them were short-range arts.

Against an opponent wielding a short chicken cleaver, they should have at least had the advantage of range, but even that was impossible.

There was Seok Tae-shin with his sword, but his level was far too low to be of much help.

‘If gaining distance was impossible, then aiming for one heavy strike was better.’

Seo Yu-gyeom turned his gaze toward Seomun Ak. His fists had a certain weight despite his shallow martial prowess. That was the nature of the Seomun Clan’s martial arts.

Of course, the Food Butcher could easily block it, but if the others disrupted his defense and Seomun Ak’s punch landed on a vital point like the eyes or groin, things could change.

Yet, Seomun Ak was still clutching the back of his head.

‘That idiot…’

Seo Yu-gyeom knew. Seomun Ak wasn’t really hurt—he was just scared. He hadn’t even hit him that hard in the first place.

-Will you only come to your senses after all your friends die?

Seo Yu-gyeom’s telepathy made Seomun Ak flinch.

At that same moment, the Food Butcher’s cleaver grazed Baek Seol’s shoulder.

The blood scattered in the air fell at the feet of Seomun Ak, who still hung his head.

He slowly raised his face. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t muster the courage to charge at the Food Butcher.

Seo Yu-gyeom’s voice slipped into his mind again.

-You swung your fists without hesitation against a mere inn cook, but now you cower before a real master? Worthless fool.

Seo Yu-gyeom openly cursed at him.

Then he took his eyes off Seomun Ak. Better to focus on the fight than waste time persuading such a pitiful man.

Naturally, the situation was grim.

Only Tang So-yeon’s poison arts were preventing things from turning into utter disaster. Poison was less bound by martial levels.

“You’re irritating me!”

Perhaps because the poison was most troublesome, the Food Butcher suddenly unleashed palm force at Tang So-yeon.

Startled, she crossed her arms to block, but she was flung back endlessly before vomiting dark blood.

Even such a light strike had shaken her Qi to its core. The difference between the Food Butcher and the prodigies was truly that of an adult against children.

-Save your poison!

Seo Yu-gyeom sent her another telepathic message.

Poison worked best when used sparingly but decisively. Like a viper, it needed to be delivered with one precise strike after lulling the opponent.

Tang So-yeon glared at Seo Yu-gyeom. As the Young Mistress of the Tang Clan, being lectured about poison stung her pride.

‘This damned…’

Seo Yu-gyeom briefly considered running away.

It was a complete mess.

He tried to circle behind the Food Butcher using his footwork, but each time, the man twisted his steps to block him.

The Food Butcher grinned.

“So, you’re an assassin.”

Those words weighed heavily on Seo Yu-gyeom. Assassins weren’t meant to fight head-on—they struck from the shadows.

Now that his identity was exposed, the Food Butcher would only counter him more effectively.

‘There’s no chance of victory.’

Seo Yu-gyeom realized he couldn’t fight alongside these fools.

So he sent a telepathic message to Baek Seol.

-I’ll make one chance for you. Run.

Her eyes widened in shock. His message continued.

-Not for you—for us. Run until your legs give out. Bring back the White Cloud Sword.

The White Cloud Sword and Jin Seong-un should still be in Jingzhou’s inn, drinking happily.

If Baek Seol ran as if her life depended on it and brought them back…

‘The odds are slim, but at least one or two might survive.’

It was the only way.

The reason he chose Baek Seol was simple.

If Tang So-yeon or Baek Sang left, their fighting power would drop too much. Seok Tae-shin was too slow.

And Seomun Ak—he would simply run away, never to return.

Seo Yu-gyeom unleashed a wave of Blade Qi straight at the Food Butcher, to block his sight.

In that brief window, he explained the plan via telepathy to Tang So-yeon and Baek Sang. Both flinched. The idea of losing a companion in such a desperate fight weighed heavily.

Luckily, thanks to the Blade Qi, the Food Butcher hadn’t noticed.

-Stubbornly refuse, and you’ll all just die.

That was all Seo Yu-gyeom said further. He could only hope the two weren’t complete fools.

“Senior. Can’t we take a short break?”

Seo Yu-gyeom muttered as he created some distance.

The Food Butcher smirked. He thought it a shame to kill such talent outright.

“You can just become my disciple.”

“That won’t work.”

“I’m serious.”

But Seo Yu-gyeom dismissed it without interest. The Food Butcher’s figure slid forward like a shadow, rushing at him.

Seo Yu-gyeom kicked up a table as he retreated. A thin vertical line appeared down the middle, and it split in half.

“The innkeeper’s going to cry his eyes out!”

Seo Yu-gyeom deliberately kept talking, trying to distract him.

At the same time, he signaled to Baek Sang, Baek Seol, and Tang So-yeon.

As he exchanged blows with the Food Butcher, Seok Tae-shin and Baek Sang joined the fray.

Seok Tae-shin’s sword strike was easily blocked and knocked aside by the cleaver. Just as despair washed over him, Baek Sang suddenly snatched his sword.

Seok Tae-shin’s eyes bulged. But it had been Seo Yu-gyeom’s prior instruction.

-That Seok brat is useless, so take his sword!

Baek Sang hesitated briefly, wondering if it was right to steal a comrade’s blade, but with the cleaver bearing down, he had no choice.

In an instant, the sword in Baek Sang’s hand was infused with Taiji.

Hwaaak—!

A blurry stream of black-and-white Sword Qi poured onto the Food Butcher.

It was so sudden and unorthodox that even he faltered for the first time.

He stepped back.

Immediately, Seo Yu-gyeom and Baek Sang pressed forward. They would not waste this chance.

At the same time, Tang So-yeon struck from behind. Seo Yu-gyeom swore.

“You crazy—!”

She had unleashed Poison Palm. Being behind the Food Butcher, the attack also covered Seo Yu-gyeom and Baek Sang.

The Food Butcher smirked openly.

“So even the Tang Clan’s scorpion girl is no different!”

The Tang Clan’s Young Mistress had let fear push her into a mistake.

He instantly used his footwork to appear behind her.

Normally, Seo Yu-gyeom and Baek Sang would have closed in quickly, but the poison kept them away.

Thus, in an instant, Tang So-yeon was alone before him. The poison she had used to survive now backfired, sealing her fate.

“Foolish wench.”

He grinned wide and swung his cleaver down at her, intending to behead her like a chicken.

But something was off.

Her expression wasn’t one of fear.

A chill ran through him.

He instinctively pulled his arm back.

And in that moment, a shadow dropped between him and Tang So-yeon.

Seogeok—!

A bloodline was drawn across his wrist.

Had he been a moment slower, his arm would have been severed at the elbow.

Seo Yu-gyeom frowned.

‘You should’ve kept up the act to the end.’

Tang So-yeon’s last expression had triggered the Food Butcher’s caution. It was a rookie mistake from her lack of experience.

Their final chance to turn the tide had slipped away.

Seo Yu-gyeom clicked his tongue.

But it wasn’t a total failure.

Baek Seol had already reached the door. Before leaving, she looked back at Seo Yu-gyeom and her brother.

Seo Yu-gyeom nodded.

Baek Sang too urged her on with his eyes.

‘How many will survive?’

Seo Yu-gyeom let out a small sigh.

If they fought with their lives, maybe one or two could live. But only on the condition that he died—or was gravely wounded.

Seo Yu-gyeom lowered his stance and gripped the Heaven-Slaying Dagger tightly.

A dark and chilling energy spread low beneath his feet.

Heaven-Slaying Shadowless.

It was a secret technique he had learned directly from the Vice Leader.

Seo Yu-gyeom always thought it was a distasteful technique. What kind of martial art demanded staking one’s life on a single strike?

But for an assassin, there was no art more fitting. Even he could not deny that.

‘The ankle.’

Just cutting his arm was not enough. He had to at least sever an ankle so that the remaining fools would have a chance to struggle and survive.

Just as Seo Yu-gyeom raised his toes with resolve—

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the door.

Baek Seol, who had run out earlier, had returned quickly.

“What the…?”

Baek Seol stepped aside.

From beyond the open door, a shadowy figure walked out of the darkness.

The Food Butcher also tensed, watching closely. After all, the name of the White Cloud Sword had been mentioned earlier.

As the figure drew nearer to the inn, the firelight revealed his face.

It was Jin Seong-un.

The prodigies despaired. In a moment where they needed the White Cloud Sword or Shin Mok, it was only the inn waiter who had arrived.

But Seo Yu-gyeom’s voice was cheerful.

“Why did you come back so soon?”

“On the way, I felt uneasy and returned.”

He simply hadn’t felt comfortable leaving the inn to only Seo Yu-gyeom, Seomun Ak, and the Baek siblings.

Not because he looked down on them, but because none of them had been working long.

So, he apologized to the elders and turned back midway. What he found instead was this wrecked scene.

Jin Seong-un looked slowly around the utterly ruined inn interior before speaking.

“…What in the world happened here?”

Seo Yu-gyeom pointed at the Food Butcher.

“Problem customer.”

Jin Seong-un let out a small sigh.

At this, the Food Butcher burst into laughter in disbelief. Since it wasn’t the White Cloud Sword but some young man who had appeared, his tension eased and his spirit slackened.

He asked Seo Yu-gyeom.

“Is that brat a cook too?”

“No. He’s the inn waiter.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Food Butcher laughed loudly.

He had waited for the White Cloud Sword, and instead, an inn waiter had appeared. Even he found the situation ridiculous.

Then Seo Yu-gyeom continued.

“And he’s also the owner of the inn you just smashed. He hasn’t been running the business long, yet it’s already been wrecked three or four times. Do you know what that means?”

The Food Butcher stared at him intently.

Seo Yu-gyeom grinned and finished.

“It means you’re fucked now.”