Chapter 1121

〈 Chapter 1121 〉 1121. Extreme Ki

“After a few seconds, my mana returned to normal. You’ve been a hunter for such a short time, yet you use peculiar skills?”

I drew the twin swords from my waist and charged at the woman. As agreed with Ha Seung-hee, I don’t intend to kill her. However, to secure a decisive advantage, I’ll need to sever a limb or two.

‘She doesn’t radiate an overwhelming aura like Jin Se-yeong. Against an opponent of this caliber… I can win.’

My first target is her right arm.

Yeongcheon Style (Shadow Heaven Style): Thunder Light.

In the dim space, a red flash darted toward her arm. The woman hastily bent forward, her body sinking into the floor and vanishing.

“You kids these days are terrifying. No respect for your seniors whatsoever. Back in my day, we’d bow politely whenever we met one…”

Voices echoed from all directions. I spread my perception again but couldn’t pinpoint her exact location.

‘Should I use Mountain-Thunder Technique? Even though I’ve mastered Yeongcheon Style, using extreme ki consecutively puts too much strain on my body. Better try something else.’

[Opening Heavenly Eye.]

My senses sharpened, and the mana floating in the void became visible to the naked eye. I scanned around, spotting the woman moving silently through the walls like flowing liquid.

‘If I approach directly, she’ll react. She doesn’t know I’ve already located her position.’

As if throwing a tantrum, I swung my sword wildly through the air. After several repetitions, a smirk appeared on her face.

“I’m not over there, kid.”

“If you’re gonna pretend to be a senior, at least show yourself properly.”

“Nope. To be honest, I don’t think I can beat you in a straight-up fight. So I’ll handle you my way.”

“Ugly broad.”

“…Why is that? I’ve heard worse insults, but for some reason, that simple one pisses me off.”

“It’s because you *are* ugly. Ugly broad.”

Sssshhhiiikkk.

A dagger flew in from the side. I deflected it with my blade. The dagger spun upward before disappearing into the ceiling.

“…Geez. Fell for a cheap provocation and countered a useless attack.”

“That dagger. It wasn’t real, was it? Just something you temporarily created using your ability? Like those arms that tried to strangle me.”

“Caught on? Faster than I expected… You’ve got good instincts.”

The voice came from the right. But the real her was behind me. A pathetic trick.

‘Guess I should play along to get the perfect timing.’

I swung my sword. Lightning-infused energy shot to the right, leaving a scar on the wall.

“Good reflexes. But not the right spot.”

Her voice rang out from above. I thrust my sword toward the ceiling. Nothing happened.

“You’re annoying. You can’t hide forever, you know. Might as well reveal yourself already.”

“Big talk. Can’t see me, can’t feel me… getting anxious?”

“…”

“How about this: Ha Seung-hee’s research data—got it on you, right? Hand it over. Of course, I won’t just take it. Here’s the deal: 3 billion. That should cover your trouble, no?”

“For who—a dog’s nose?”

“Too bad. I was trying to make it easy… oh well.”

By now, the woman had closed in close range. She…


It reaches out to me with its hands. Dozens of tendrils split off, attempting to seize my body.

“Perfect timing.”

I tightly grip the hilt and swing it sideways.

Zzzt.

A bolt of lightning courses through the blade.

Yeongcheon-ryu (Shadow Heaven Style) Extreme Technique: Sealing Thunder.

The woman’s arms that touched the blade vanish like bursting water balloons. That’s the effect of sealing mana upon contact. While Scattered Thunder is an area-of-effect skill, Sealing Thunder is designed for direct combat – its mana-sealing ability surpasses even Scattered Thunder.

The shocked woman tries to step back, but the Sealing Thunder extending from my blade pierces her shoulder.

“AAAAAAAAH!”

Her presence is completely exposed, leaving her defenseless.

Swoosh.

The blade of my Hwaryeon Bidoh slices cleanly through her right arm. Instead of screaming in pain, she quickly retreats.

‘A moment.’

Using instantaneous acceleration, I instantly grab her retreating ponytail. Her face contorts in anger.

“Contact Ha Joon-soo. Tell him the matter’s ended with your defeat. Or should I make the call myself?”

“End? What are you talking about? Surely you didn’t think there was only me under the boss?”

With a roar, the wall explodes. Two men in suits appear – one massive like a bear, the other rail-thin but radiating a razor-sharp aura.

The two men glance at me while muttering. The bear-like man wears black gloves, while the thin man draws a sword over two meters long from its sheath.

“Isn’t this brat just B-rank?”

“Looking at him directly, he seems A-rank. The talk about him being Korea’s top prospect isn’t false.”

“When I was his age, I barely reached C-rank… His talent is enviable.”

“Enough chatter… Let’s get to work.”

I toss the captured woman aside as both men charge at me simultaneously.

‘Acceleration, Moment.’

[Acceleration activated. Duration: 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 5]

[Moment activated. Remaining stacks: 4]

‘Two A-rank hunters. I’ll need to go Full Strength from the start to take them down.’

I approach the thin man with his sword drawn.

Yeongcheon-ryu Lightning Flash.

I unleash my fastest sword strike. The blade, swift as lightning, aims for the thin man’s leg. His eyes flash, and his body swiftly moves sideways to evade my attack.

I immediately realize what he did.

‘Instantaneous acceleration! Another speed user?’

[Moment activated. Remaining stacks: 3]

Recovering my stance, I activate Moment again. With two opponents, giving up the initiative would be disadvantageous. In the worst case, I might not even land a counterattack before being defeated. Better to push my limits and attack.

Suddenly, the bear-like man appears before me, fist raised.

‘Spatial teleportation?!’

He possesses an even more troublesome ability than the thin man.

[Moment activated. Remaining stacks: 2]

I use Moment to evade his punch, already planning my counterattack in my mind. But the bear-man’s fist suddenly appears before me. There’s no way to avoid it.

‘…He already knows how to counter instantaneous acceleration. Damn it.’

His punch connects with my face, sending me flying into the wall. Spitting out broken teeth, I quickly rise to my feet. I narrowly dodge the blade aiming for my arm while generating electricity.

The thin man steps back using agile footwork, evading the lightning as he retreats. The one-armed ugly woman who lost her arm has already disappeared.

“You’ve got guts.”

“I can sense experience in your movements. You’ve seen plenty of real combat.”

While exchanging words, they subtly maneuver to secure optimal positions.

I change my plan. Originally, I intended to fight both simultaneously…

‘But that bear-man’s spatial teleportation is too much trouble.’

The moment I saw his space manipulation ability, any chance of victory vanished. Even with full use of Complete Recovery, Stormbreaker, Heavenly Heart, and other means, winning would be uncertain. And I have no intention of revealing my full capabilities here.

‘I’m outta here.’

I mustn’t mistake the victory conditions.

Defeating all enemies isn’t the goal.


No way. I’m the lab’s security guard. My top priority is protecting the USB in my possession, which contains Ha Seung-hui’s research data.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

I indiscriminately unleash bolts of lightning. A piercing blue current races across the ground and walls. The two men scream in terror and scramble to put distance between themselves and me.

“Considering what happened to her, this isn’t ordinary electricity.”

“There’s no dumber move than willingly taking a hit.”

I use the technique from the Yeongcheon Style that suits me best.

Yeongcheon Style (Shadow-Heaven Style), Ultimate Skill: Exploding Shockwave Thunder.

The lightning spread around me erupts into a series of explosions.

I take advantage of the chaos as the lab crumbles to obscure their vision and make my escape. My clothes are torn, my skin scorched, and chunks of broken concrete cling to my hair. Even I wasn’t completely safe from the explosion’s effects.

‘There goes one lab. Well, I’m sure Ha Seung-hui will handle the cleanup.’

After emerging behind the lab building, instead of fleeing immediately, I tightly grip my sword.

‘If it’s a space manipulator…’

Poof!

Just as expected, a hulking man appears in front of me. And without hesitation, I scatter electric currents around us.

Yeongcheon Style (Shadow-Heaven Style), Ultimate Skill: Scattered Thunder.

I raise my sword hilt. The bear-like man tries to dodge using his ability, but soon confusion spreads across his face.

“My mana…!”

His mana refuses to obey him. Before he can recover from his shock, I smash the end of the hilt into his face. His nose caves in, teeth and blood splatter the floor. His knees buckle, leaving him in perfect position for an uppercut.

So I deliver one.

His body soars up before collapsing onto the ground.

“I’m the type who returns favors.”

I blow my nose with one nostril plugged, only for blood to drip out instead. I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth and see fragments of broken teeth mixed in, making me inexplicably angry. I kick his abdomen.

“Gurghhh!”

He lets out a scream. Then his body vanishes and reappears above my head, his massive fist aimed at my face.

‘I knew it was coming.’

Through the Heavenly Eye, I could already see where he’d reappear. The distortion in the void’s mana flow was far too obvious to miss.

“Thunder Fist.”

Crackle-crackle-crackle.

Before his punch connects, I counter with a punch of my own. Electrocuted, he immediately loses consciousness and collapses.

‘Thanks to the Heavenly Eye, this was much easier than anticipated. All that’s left…’

From the wreckage of the exploded lab, a thin man wielding a sword charges toward me.

‘One-on-one might be worth trying. I’ve got two more uses of Instantaneous Movement… It’s not every day you get to sword-fight with an A-Rank Hunter without worrying about survival.’

But I deliberately suppress the rising fighting spirit.

There’s no guarantee this is all of Ha Joon-soo’s preparation. Based on my estimate, there could be many more—enough to hire dozens of A-Rank Hunters.

‘It doesn’t matter if I lose… But if they take the data, Ha Seung-hui will be in trouble.’

I can’t ignore her request just because of my personal desires. With a fierce look, I turn away from the charging man and sprint toward the nearby village.

Yeongcheon Style (Shadow-Heaven Style), Thunderclap Step.

The fastest stepping technique of the Yeongcheon Style. Its only flaw is the loud thunderclap sound that echoes each time my foot strikes the ground.

“He’s running!”

“Stop him!!”

“Don’t let him reach the village!!”

Black-suited figures pop out everywhere. They’re all at least B-Rank or higher.

‘Skillfully hidden. Did they use magic or some kind of ability?’

Their numbers exceed twenty. I flip them off as I pour everything I have into running.

Once I reach near the village, the pursuers chasing me suddenly vanish.

This is, after all, merely internal competition within the Sejin Group. They wouldn’t want external parties getting wind of internal information, so avoiding public disturbances is natural. The rule against killing opponents probably stems from the overly intense sibling rivalry.

‘At any rate, the data is safe.’

Victory in the sibling rivalry goes to Ha Seung-hui.