The Former Absolute Supreme Chapter 16

Chapter 16: He Had to Control His Anger (2)

“Those bastards! I’ll grind them up and drink them!”

After returning home, Wang Gon burned with thoughts of revenge.

Every time the physician touched his face during treatment, it hurt so much he felt like he was going to die. While he had been imprisoned, he had been too consumed with humiliation to notice the pain, but now that proper treatment had begun, it was unbearable.

His face was swollen beyond recognition, and every time he spoke, a pounding headache shook his skull. On top of that, his teeth had been shattered, and the reflection staring back at him in the bronze mirror looked like nothing less than a hideous monster.

In truth, it wasn’t the physical pain tormenting him.

It was the worry over how the Divine Transformation Gang would react once they learned what had happened.

The Gang Leader of the Divine Transformation Gang judged people solely by ability. Personality, character, humanity, friendship… those things had never existed to him in the first place. He looked only at competence, and the moment he decided someone was incapable, he replaced them without hesitation. Countless people were lined up hoping to become Division Leaders in the Divine Transformation Gang. If this was deemed a failure, he himself would be discarded without mercy.

If the Gang Leader questioned him, or rather, someone sent by him, since an incident like this wasn’t even worth the Gang Leader’s personal attention, the answer had to be one that wouldn’t make him frown.

“I’ll go and wipe them all out myself.”

For starters, Black Hand’s answer was absolutely the wrong one.

The gang would never want to escalate matters into a direct conflict with the Martial Alliance.

Oblivious to such considerations, Black Hand remained faithful only to his own emotions.

‘That bastard… I’ll kill him no matter what.’

He was furious beyond measure.

His broken nose was wrapped tightly in bandages, but the place that had suffered the greatest injury wasn’t his face.

It was his pride.

He couldn’t believe he had been defeated by nothing more than a Squad Leader who had been expelled from the Iron Sword Corps. And in a single move, no less. Precisely because it had been only one move, he refused to accept it. If they had fought properly, he was confident he could have killed not just an Iron Sword Corps Squad Leader, but even one of its leaders.

“I was caught off guard!”

“Of course you were.”

Wang Gon was already angry with Black Hand.

‘You idiot! You couldn’t even deal with a nobody like him. What a waste of the money I spend on you.’

But he couldn’t reveal what he truly thought. No matter what, Black Hand was still the strongest of his subordinates.

“This time, I won’t make the same mistake. I’ll deal with them for good.”

If he had acted according to his feelings, he would have sent Black Hand to slaughter every last one of them.

But he couldn’t.

Had he and Black Hand not been arrested, they could have pinned the massacre of Liang Qiu’s family on the real murderer. But now that they had become connected to the case, they couldn’t simply kill them all without consequences.

“For now, endure it.”

If things went wrong, this time it could truly be the end. He wasn’t the Gang Leader of the Divine Transformation Gang. He was merely a Division Leader in charge of the southern region of Zhejiang Province. If he caused another incident now, even the Gang Leader would have difficulty cleaning up after him.

“Even if you were caught off guard, that man wasn’t ordinary.”

He still remembered the overwhelming pressure that man had radiated that day. It wasn’t simply the intimidation of a stronger person over a weaker one. It had been something far more absolute.

“We need to find out who he is first. Until then, you are absolutely not to make a move. Understood?”

When Wang Gon spoke firmly, Black Hand reluctantly answered,

“Understood.”

From that moment onward, a battle began inside Black Hand.

It was a battle between loyalty and anger management issues.

Lim Chung visited Physician Hwang, who had performed Liang Qiu’s autopsy.

The examination had already been completed, but the Taejeong Sect incident and the Wang Gon affair had happened one after another, so he had only just found the time to visit.

“I think there was only one killer. Look here.”

Physician Hwang pointed at the fatal wound on Liang Qiu’s body as he explained.

“He was taken down in a single move. He wasn’t slashed, his heart was pierced with absolute precision. I’ve seen countless corpses in my lifetime, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a clean killing.”

“Then the killer must have been stronger than Hero Liang.”

“That’s right.”

“Or it could have been someone he knew personally.”

There were many possibilities. He could have been caught off guard and ambushed.

“In any case, the killer was someone highly skilled with a sword.”

“Did the rest of the family die the same way?”

“Yes. Every one of them in a single move. They were all killed without the slightest hesitation.”

Killing a martial artist in combat and killing people who couldn’t even resist were both acts of killing, but beyond that one similarity, they were as different as heaven and earth.

“So the killer had no hesitation in taking lives. Were there any other traces? Was the murder weapon unusual? Was poison used?”

“No. Everything was perfectly ordinary.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

As Lim Chung turned to leave, Physician Hwang called after him.

“Catch him. Don’t let a lunatic like that keep walking this world.”

Had he heard those words before all these incidents, he would have simply brushed them aside. He probably would have answered like this.

, Of course. We’ll catch the lunatic, catch the villains, catch them all.

Half joking, half resigned.

That had been Branch Leader Lim Chung of the Wencheng Branch until recently.

But now things were different. He didn’t know whether he could catch the culprit or not, but he answered with complete sincerity.

“I’ll do my utmost.”

After leaving the clinic, Lim Chung didn’t return to the branch office despite the late hour. Instead, he headed for Liang Qiu’s residence.

He wondered if perhaps some clue had been left behind.

As he stepped inside, he stopped in surprise.

Someone was standing in the courtyard.

“Who’s there!”

Drawing his sword, Lim Chung shouted.

The startled figure turned around.

It was Beon Saeng.

“Oh! It’s me, Branch Leader!”

“What brings you here?”

“I thought there might still be some clue left behind.”

“So we had exactly the same idea.”

Seeing Beon Saeng there gave him an inexplicable sense of relief.

“Weren’t you afraid coming here alone?”

“I thought I would be, but once I got here… I wasn’t.”

Instead, all he felt was pity for those who had died here and guilt that they hadn’t been able to catch the murderer for them.

“Two children died too, didn’t they?”

“They did.”

“What kind of person could kill children?”

Beon Saeng sincerely reflected on himself. On the first day of the case, he hadn’t even spared the victims such sympathy. Back then, delivering Wang Gon’s message from the Divine Transformation Gang to Lim Chung had seemed more important.

‘I’m truly sorry.’

It was an apology offered to the souls of the dead.

“We’re going to catch the murderer.”

Lim Chung silently nodded before asking,

“Have you found anything?”

“I looked around, but nothing stood out. You should head back first, Branch Leader. I’ll search a little longer before I leave.”

“Let’s search together.”

“You should go. Sister-in-law must be worried.”

“Isn’t Baek Muin protecting them?”

“So you trust Brother Baek now?”

Lim Chung didn’t know the answer himself. Did he truly trust him? Or had he simply had no other choice?

“Even if there had been another expert, I think I still would’ve entrusted my family to Brother Baek.”

Lim Chung thought that might indeed have been true.

That ended their conversation, and the two thoroughly searched every corner of the estate.

But no matter how carefully they looked with fresh eyes, they found nothing that could serve as a clue.

Whoever the killer was, not only had he murdered without hesitation, but he had also erased every trace with perfect precision.

“Let’s head back.”

The two of them left the estate. Though they had found nothing, Lim Chung still felt it had been worthwhile to return.

A masked figure silently vaulted over the wall of the Wencheng Branch.

Moving swiftly, he arrived at the residence where Lim Chung’s wife, Ju, and their son were staying.

Just as he quietly approached, someone spoke from behind him.

“No one’s there.”

The masked man halted and turned around.

Standing behind him was Baek Socheon.

“I couldn’t exactly let maggots into a house where children are living, could I?”

The masked man gave a cold smile and removed his mask.

His nose had collapsed into a grotesque shape.

It was Black Hand.

“So you knew I’d come.”

“I looked into you. You’re exactly this kind of person.”

Just as Baek Socheon had predicted, the battle between loyalty and anger management issues had ended with anger management issues winning effortlessly.

No matter how much Black Hand thought about it, he simply couldn’t endure it.

Especially whenever pain surged from his broken nose.

He had tried to restrain himself somehow.

But while drinking, he overheard something.

The drunken men at another table were talking about him.

, So Black Hand lost to some martial artist who just arrived at the branch?

, I heard he got completely crushed.

, Just how strong was that guy for Black Hand to lose?

, Looks like all the hype around Black Hand finally died down.

He had nearly cut those bastards down on the spot.

But he hadn’t.

He would crush Baek Socheon first, then make them admit they had been wrong. If he killed them, it would be afterward.

After leaving the tavern, he had come straight here by scaling the branch wall.

That was why the smell of alcohol still lingered on his breath.

“I’ll kill you. Then when Lim Chung comes back, I’ll rape his wife right in front of him and skin his brat alive.”

Black Hand’s killing intent was crude.

Vulgar.

And completely genuine.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“I mean, why are you acting like a complete lunatic?”

“You’re asking because you really don’t know?”

“Because I beat you up? Then get revenge on me. Why drag the Branch Leader’s family into this?”

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

“So your pathetic little pride got hurt? And this is the kind of insanity you need to make yourself feel better? I’ve met a lot of people like you… and yet somehow, every time, I still can’t get used to it.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard! I’ll make sure you die the most painful death imaginable!”

As Black Hand approached with murderous intent, Baek Socheon raised a hand to stop him.

“Wait. One last question. Was it you people who killed Liang Qiu’s family?”

Black Hand gave no answer.

But the slight curl of his lips clearly said, ‘That’s right.’

He had never been good at hiding his emotions.

Which was exactly why he was standing here now.

“Did you do it yourself?”

“Do you take me for some filthy executioner’s blade? Today’s fight is about restoring my honour.”

Black Hand drew his sword.

Fueled by alcohol, his emotions boiled over, but remembering his previous defeat, he didn’t recklessly charge in.

Taking full advantage of the fact that his opponent was unarmed, he maintained his distance while attacking.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Baek Socheon dodged one sword strike after another.

Regardless of his personality, Black Hand was undeniably a skilled martial artist.

As confident as he was, he wasn’t quite strong enough to kill a leader of the Iron Sword Corps.

But he was certainly at the level of one of its more capable Squad Leaders.

That alone was impressive.

Rather than counterattacking immediately, Baek Socheon treated the fight as training.

Whoosh.

The sword aimed at his heart narrowly missed.

The next instant, it changed direction diagonally, slashing toward his neck.

Swish!

The blade skimmed right past Baek Socheon’s face.

Dropping low in one swift motion, Black Hand slashed toward Baek Socheon’s thigh.

‘Got him!’

He had been certain.

Yet the blade narrowly missed again.

Thrusting, slashing, chopping down, sweeping upward.

Black Hand unleashed every technique at his disposal.

Yet it felt as though his opponent had crawled inside his head.

Every single attack missed by the narrowest of margins.

‘Ah!’

‘Damn it!’

‘So close!’

The exclamations escaped him naturally.

Yet Black Hand only felt frustration.

He never realized just how precise that frustration truly was.

Astonishingly, Baek Socheon was avoiding every attack at an exact predetermined distance.

Just enough room for a single finger to fit between the sword and his body.

Not a hair more.

Not a hair less.

Accomplishing such precision without any Internal Energy was by no means an easy feat.

The fight intensified.

Then, at one moment,

‘…!’

Black Hand suddenly realized he had entered a state of complete selflessness.

Never once in his life had he experienced such a thing.

The thought that his opponent had drawn him into that state rather than himself entering it naturally never even crossed his mind.

The instant he awakened from that state,

Baek Socheon had no more use for him.

The man who had done nothing but evade until now suddenly closed the distance.

It was exactly the moment that made one think,

‘Now? He’s attacking now?’

Thud!

Baek Socheon’s elbow smashed brutally into Black Hand’s nose.

The nose that had already been broken before was now utterly destroyed.

“AAAAAAAGH!”

Having his broken nose shattered all over again, Black Hand screamed like a madman.

Thud!

Baek Socheon’s kick immediately followed, smashing viciously into his jaw.

Even so, as befitted an expert, Black Hand still swung his sword while falling backward.

But a sword that hadn’t managed to strike its target even when he had been fully focused had no chance of succeeding now.

Like a shadow, Baek Socheon followed him.

He seized Black Hand’s wrist and twisted.

Crack.

As his arm twisted, Black Hand endured by reinforcing it with Internal Energy.

When the wrist refused to turn any farther, Baek Socheon’s knife hand struck his neck.

Smack!

The moment the blow disrupted the flow of his Internal Energy,

Craaack!

The wrist holding the sword twisted completely under Baek Socheon’s raw strength.

“AAAAAAAGH!”

His wrist crushed, Black Hand let out a horrific scream.

Baek Socheon understood exactly how Internal Energy flowed.

During every movement, he knew which acupoints the energy travelled through and exactly where to strike to sever that flow with maximum efficiency.

Bang!

This time Baek Socheon’s fist crashed into his ribs.

Unable to endure any longer, Black Hand collapsed flat onto the ground.

“Ugh…”

Amid the agony, Black Hand felt another kind of fear.

The emotionless gaze with which Baek Socheon looked down at him was terrifying.

“You said you’d rape the wife, kill the child, and make the father watch?”

Baek Socheon leapt into the air and drove his fist into Black Hand’s chest.

Bang!

His ribs shattered and pierced his internal organs.

‘AAAAAAAGH!’

It hurt so much that even his scream remained trapped inside him.

Bang.

Baek Socheon slammed his fist down onto the broken ribs again.

“Ghk!”

Black Hand’s eyes bulged wide.

No human being should have been able to endure such pain.

He desperately wished for death.

But whether by intention or sheer bad luck, none of the shattered ribs pierced his heart.

‘Please… stop!’

Black Hand experienced true hell.

Meanwhile, Baek Socheon almost seemed to be enjoying himself.

“Not bad. This has a satisfying feel to it. I’ve spent my whole life using a sword, so I never knew beating someone with my fists could feel this refreshing.”

Thud! Bang! Thud!

Every punch that landed on Black Hand’s torso brought him indescribable agony.

“P-please… s-save… me…”

Baek Socheon threw another punch.

Crunch!

“KRAAAAGH!”

Black Hand vomited blood like a fountain.

The moment his body exceeded its limits and his eyes rolled back,

Baek Socheon delivered the finishing blow.

He leapt high into the air and brought the sole of his foot crashing down onto Black Hand’s chest.

Boom! Craaash!

Black Hand’s ribcage was completely crushed.