Chapter 16: Special-Class Chef
Seo Yu-gyeom, the special-class assassin of Deathshroud.
Though he was young, because of the nature of the organization he belonged to, he had already experienced nearly everything.
Thanks to that, he was rarely flustered by most situations, yet the scene unfolding before his eyes now made even Seo Yu-gyeom repeatedly tilt his head in puzzlement.
"Jin Seong-un?"
Why had that guy come here?
And how had he gotten hold of the Vice Leader’s blade?
He’d heard that Jin Seong-un had learned a little martial arts, but this was far beyond that level.
One question after another filled his mind.
Deathshroud was the largest assassin organization in the Central Plains.
Its Vice Leader was an expert that anyone would acknowledge.
From what Seo Yu-gyeom knew, the Vice Leader’s level was close to the peak of transcendent mastery—perhaps he had already stepped into that realm.
Yet Jin Seong-un had blocked a strike from such a man, and not even with a sword—he had done it with a hand imbued with red qi.
As Seo Yu-gyeom frowned and kept tilting his head—
"You brought along something unnecessary."
The Vice Leader, speaking in a cold, mocking tone, yanked his straight sword forcefully. His voice was different from when speaking to Seo Yu-gyeom—an instinctive trait of an assassin hiding his identity.
Without the slightest hesitation, the Vice Leader thrust his straight sword directly toward Jin Seong-un.
It was best to swiftly kill anything that interfered with Deathshroud’s mission.
Kang—!
But the straight sword was blocked by another blade. Seo Yu-gyeom’s dagger had narrowly stopped the Vice Leader’s strike.
"Vice Leader. Let’s settle this between us. If you ever considered me your disciple, even for a moment, then let’s do so."
Seo Yu-gyeom had no idea how Jin Seong-un had found them or how much martial arts he had mastered.
But he didn’t want to put someone who had shown him kindness in such a situation.
Knowing Deathshroud’s ways all too well, Seo Yu-gyeom swung his dagger before the Vice Leader could refuse.
As expected of Deathshroud’s special-class assassin, all of Seo Yu-gyeom’s attacks were swift and silent.
Clouds drifted, casting a brief darkness over the three men’s heads, and by the time the moonlight shone again, dozens—hundreds—of deadly exchanges had already passed between them.
‘Damn!’
In that instant, Seo Yu-gyeom lost sight of the Vice Leader and let out a silent curse. The Vice Leader, as if it were only natural, was already charging toward Jin Seong-un.
Seo Yu-gyeom’s head whipped around in alarm.
The distance between Jin Seong-un and the Vice Leader was but a single breath. No matter how fast Seo Yu-gyeom moved, he couldn’t catch up.
"Move!"
Seo Yu-gyeom shouted.
But Jin Seong-un didn’t so much as twitch.
Seo Yu-gyeom assumed Jin Seong-un couldn’t even react to the Vice Leader’s speed.
At that moment—
Whoosh—!
The Vice Leader’s straight sword sliced through the air.
Jin Seong-un had simply tilted his head slightly back, easily avoiding it.
"Huh."
Seo Yu-gyeom blinked.
The Vice Leader was just as surprised, but there was no way he could withdraw his blade now.
"I felt it earlier too—you’re far more skilled in martial arts than your age would suggest."
Perhaps to cover his embarrassment, the Vice Leader spoke idly before once again unleashing a flurry of attacks toward Jin Seong-un.
Jin Seong-un drew the Black High Sword in response. He generally avoided using the Blood Demon’s martial arts in front of others if he could help it.
Chachachachang—!
The jet-black straight sword and the Black High Sword clashed several times.
Blocking each strike, Jin Seong-un suddenly sensed something odd and raised the Black High Sword into a high guard.
At the same moment, a chill, razor-thin blade qi from the Vice Leader surged toward him.
Kwoooom—!
An uncharacteristically heavy strike for an assassin.
Jin Seong-un slid back several steps, but it wasn’t enough to inflict any real injury.
‘So assassins use attacks like this too.’
As that thought crossed his mind, Jin Seong-un caught a fleeting glint in the air—a momentary flash that vanished almost instantly.
Seo Yu-gyeom, seeing it from a distance, was shocked.
That was the Vice Leader’s specialty—hidden weapons. He was more famous for his skill with hidden weapons than with swords.
Rumors even said he hailed from the Tang Clan of Sichuan.
Even top-tier experts often failed to block his hidden weapons, getting their foreheads pierced before they could react.
Seo Yu-gyeom dashed forward like lightning. He couldn’t be faster than a hidden weapon, but if he could add his speed to his blade qi before it landed—
Tak.
Before Seo Yu-gyeom could even finish the thought, Jin Seong-un caught the hidden weapon in his hand.
A brief silence fell.
All three men stood frozen, staring at each other in bewilderment.
"…How did you catch that?"
Seo Yu-gyeom asked, his tone genuinely curious.
Jin Seong-un, unsure himself and staring at the hidden weapon in his hand with a baffled look, replied—
"It just… came flying at me, so I grabbed it."
"That's not what I meant..."
Jin Seong-un was simply bewildered, but the Vice Leader and Seo Yu-gyeom were utterly shocked.
He had purposely timed the throw of the already fast hidden weapon for the exact moment when clouds covered the moon—when human eyes had yet to adapt to the darkness.
To catch that with one’s bare hand meant his senses were on par with those of an outstanding peak expert.
The Vice Leader stared at Jin Seong-un for a moment.
Had he underestimated him too much?
No, that was impossible. He was the Vice Leader of Deathshroud, after all.
‘What a joke.’
Deathshroud was the organization most adept at killing in the Central Plains. Yet here he was—the Vice Leader—failing time and again to kill two men barely past their twenties.
The Vice Leader’s aura calmed.
The gaze he fixed upon Jin Seong-un grew colder than before.
He had risen to the position of Vice Leader by killing experts stronger than himself time and time again.
How strong an opponent’s martial arts were wasn’t the deciding factor.
It was only whether they could be killed or not.
For an assassin of Deathshroud, this wasn’t a matter to be judged by martial skill alone.
Swaeek—!
The Vice Leader charged at Jin Seong-un.
His movement was similar to before.
But midway, his figure melted into the darkness and vanished.
Jin Seong-un, still standing in place, swung the Black High Sword to his left.
Kang—!
Sparks burst, briefly lighting up the surroundings.
When darkness returned, the Vice Leader once again hid himself and targeted Jin Seong-un.
He never once thought he would lose. Though he wasn’t born with the Heaven-Slaying Star like Seo Yu-gyeom, decades of killing had ingrained the skill deep into his body.
‘Get used to me.’
He repeated the process of appearing and vanishing, thinking that human senses were dull.
Expose someone to the same smell long enough, and they eventually can’t notice it. Dazzle the eyes for a moment, and they soon adapt.
The same was true for sensory perception. For now, Jin Seong-un might be blocking him by relying on his naturally sharp senses, but once he adapted—
A single moment of carelessness would lead straight to death.
It was similar to how a pack of wolves hunted a larger wolf—endlessly applying just enough threat to wear it down and dull its responses.
The Vice Leader estimated it would take about a quarter of an hour.
He had once trained Seo Yu-gyeom, who was born with the Heaven-Slaying Star, so he had his own standards for judging geniuses beyond common sense.
And so a quarter of an hour passed.
‘He’s holding out better than I thought.’
Half an hour went by.
It was the Vice Leader who was now tired.
Jin Seong-un, whatever his name was, hadn’t moved a single step from where he had first stood.
At this point, the Vice Leader realized something.
Stopping his barrage, he revealed himself a short distance away.
"Why is that?"
His voice was filled with both anger and shame.
Jin Seong-un tilted his head.
"What is?"
"You. You’re deliberately not ending this fight. Why are you holding back your hand and toying with me?"
Moreover, his qi showed no sign of running out. Unless he possessed infinite qi, it made no sense for someone that young.
Realizing the Vice Leader’s intent, Jin Seong-un answered lightly, as though it was nothing.
"If I kill my master, I might end up resented."
Saying so, he looked toward Seo Yu-gyeom.
The Vice Leader let out a hollow laugh at that.
What an absurd reason.
It was enough to make him feel not just shame, but emptiness.
"An assassin who betrays the organization must die. That’s the simplest of truths. By that rule alone, that brat will die. What right do you have to interfere in the internal affairs of our organization?"
"That’s only your organization’s rule while he was still in it."
Jin Seong-un lightly rubbed his right wrist, the one holding the Black High Sword.
It wasn’t that he was truly hurt or tired—it was laying a kind of trap for when the fight resumed.
It wasn’t something he had learned from the Martial Gods, but rather something he did instinctively—likely because of the Heavenly Martial Body.
"Deathshroud’s affairs are none of my concern. Right now, I’m just protecting my special-class chef of Seong-un Inn."
"Heaven-Slaying Ghost. You’ve gone and tied yourself to a madman."
The Vice Leader clicked his tongue at Seo Yu-gyeom.
So this was why he dared to go against Deathshroud?
That thought crossed his mind for a moment, but recalling Seo Yu-gyeom’s reaction when Jin Seong-un first appeared, it didn’t seem that way.
Regardless, Jin Seong-un spoke.
"He’s not the Heaven-Slaying Ghost—he’s Seo Yu-gyeom. And frankly, I don’t know which is more insane: peacefully cooking in an inn or taking money to go around killing people."
The Vice Leader was momentarily at a loss for words.
He wanted to cut out that tongue of his, but by now he already knew it wouldn’t be easy.
So, he chose a different method.
"Do you even know what kind of constitution that brat was born with? If you did, you wouldn’t be able to live a single day in peace for fear of it."
"Heaven-Slaying Star?"
"Heh, and knowing that, you still intend to keep him by your side? You really must be out of your mind. Do you think the killing intent of someone born with the Heaven-Slaying Star can be controlled? This man was born to kill. He’s happy only when he kills, and if he doesn’t see blood, he’ll be consumed by misery and turn into a Blood Demon."
That was exactly how the Heaven-Slaying Star was known in the murim.
And there had been countless cases just like it.
Jin Seong-un fell silent for a moment, gazing at Seo Yu-gyeom.
Seeing this, the Vice Leader became more arrogant, while Seo Yu-gyeom slightly lowered his head.
Such was the Heaven-Slaying Star—so feared that no one wished to keep one nearby.
Believing that his chosen approach was correct, the Vice Leader continued.
"Right now, he’s forcing himself to endure. But one night, he won’t be able to overcome the surge of killing intent. He’ll come to you while you sleep and shred your whole body with that dagger. Even after you’re dead, he’ll keep stabbing endlessly."
Jin Seong-un remained quiet for a while, his expression even looking rather serious.
Seo Yu-gyeom, watching him, was once again reminded of his own situation.
The Heaven-Slaying Star was a curse.
A curse so feared that even someone as strong and composed as Jin Seong-un would hesitate to keep such a person close.
Sleeping beside someone born with the Heaven-Slaying Star was like sleeping under a ceiling with a blade dangling above.
Seo Yu-gyeom let out a quiet sigh.
Yes, it was resignation.
Defying one’s fate was this difficult. Before the Vice Leader could spit out any more knife-like words, he would have to end it.
As he tightened his grip on his dagger with that thought—
Jin Seong-un, who had been lost in thought all along, spoke.
"With your skills, I don’t think you could shred me to pieces."
The Vice Leader and Seo Yu-gyeom both froze with dumbfounded expressions.
What had he just said?
That was exactly the look on their faces.
Regardless, Jin Seong-un was being perfectly serious. No matter how he imagined it after hearing the man’s words, he simply couldn’t picture a scenario where he lost to Seo Yu-gyeom.
It wasn’t arrogance. Unless he willingly tied his own hands and feet and fought with the intent to die, he couldn’t lose.
Soon, Jin Seong-un spoke again.
"Seo Yu-gyeom."
"Huh? But I’m older than you."
"Never mind that. Answer me clearly right now—Seo Yu-gyeom, where do you belong?"
Seo Yu-gyeom glanced between the Vice Leader and Jin Seong-un. After a short pause, he answered.
"Seong-un Inn."
"And your position?"
"Special-class chef."
"Good enough, then."
Jin Seong-un nodded, then gripped the Black High Sword and turned his gaze back to the Vice Leader.
His aura was completely different from before.
Unlike earlier, when he calmly blocked the man’s blade, now he radiated fighting spirit.
The Vice Leader’s pupils trembled faintly.
He had thought from the start that if he fought like a wolf against another wolf, he could win.
But he had been completely wrong. His opponent was no mere wolf.
Suddenly, a fire dragon was contained within Jin Seong-un’s sword.
The Sword Immortal’s martial art—Fire Dragon Escape Sword.
With a composed stance carrying the sword art of ages past, he charged toward the Vice Leader.
The Vice Leader instinctively swung his straight sword in response, but it was torn apart in an instant by the fire dragon.