Star Instructor, Master Baek

TL: FoodieMonster007

“Damn it…” Cheoldu cursed, clenching his teeth as he smeared a thick ointment over the wounds that marred his body.

It wasn’t the sting of the cuts that made him swear. Pain had been his companion since childhood, and scars were just another part of his existence. No, the reason why Cheoldu’s face warped into something monstrous was something else altogether.

“…Captain.”

“Shut up and keep breathing,” Cheoldu whispered gruffly, his expression stern as he replaced his subordinate Jangsam’s blood-soaked bandages.

Lying on the ground with a haggard expression, Jangsam smiled weakly. “Not that it matters. I’m going to die soon anyway. Might as well tease the Captain one last time before I go.”

“You damned bastard…”

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Under any other circumstances, Cheoldu would have beaten Jangsam for daring to mouth off to him, the captain, but when he saw Jangsam’s pale, cracked lips, he found himself unable to lift a hand.

Lately, the Scarlet Tiger Gang had attacked them relentlessly, pushing harder and harder to take over the slums. For the Ironhead Sect, every day had become a battle for survival, every moment a fight to stay alive. Today, Cheoldu had made it through, but his friends… not all of them were so lucky.

“Fufu, getting nursed by Captain…This Jangsam’s finally made it big.”

“You filthy dog. Once you’re better, you’ll be cleaning the latrines for three years straight.”

“Oof. That’s just one more reason for me to die.”

Even on the brink of death, Jangsam cracked jokes. Cheoldu almost struck him for real this time, but he clenched his fist and held back.

“Shit…”

Captain and subordinate, that’s what they called each other, but the truth was, they were more like brothers, friends who’d grown up together under the thumb of that old beggar king.

Jangsam’s dimming eyes lingered on Cheoldu. “Captain, remember when you killed that motherfucker of a Beggar King? I was so frickin’ happy that day. I thought we’d finally escaped this hell. I thought, damn, we can finally live like real humans, and strut around like we own the place. And for a few years, we did, didn’t we? Fufu.”

“……” Cheoldu said nothing, just stared silently at his friend, his face twisting with a pain that went beyond the physical.

Suddenly, Jangsam’s eyes cleared up and his voice steadied as he said, “But… as time went on, I started feeling sorry for you, Captain. Every time someone died by your hand, every time we strutted around, breaking, killing, stomping on people, a certain question would creep into my head.”

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It was then that Cheoldu knew. Jangsam had reached the state that the murim commonly referred to as terminal lucidity—the last moments of clarity just before death.

Lifting his head to meet Cheoldu’s gaze, Jangsam asked, “How are we any different from that Beggar King bastard?”

“…Fuck, now you’re starting to sound like a stuffy scholar,” Cheoldu scoffed, but the words hit home. After all, he’d been asking himself the same question for ages. “…Stop overthinking things. We’re uneducated, bottom-of-the-barrel trash. This is just the shitty hand we’ve been dealt in life.”

Jangsam nodded, but a bitter smile tugged at his lips. “All we wanted to live like humans. If we’d had the chance… maybe even we could… No, that’s just an excuse. I mean, just look at Cheong Cheon hyung-nim…”

“At least that hyung-nim had a mother.”

“Fufu. True, true,” Jangsam chuckled weakly, but his eyes were starting to cloud over again. His voice, laced with regret, grew fainter.

“Cheoldu… Maybe it’s not too late. Maybe you can still live like a human. From now on… don’t commit any more sins…”

Jangsam’s voice trailed off as his head slumped to the side, the words he wanted to say left unfinished forever.

“…Rest in peace. I don’t want to hear you spewing nonsense anymore,” Cheoldu whispered, gently closing Jangsam’s eyes and covering his face with a cloth.

After that, he stood up and left the clinic, feeling no sadness, only a simmering rage at the damn situation.

Outside, he surveyed the Ironhead Sect’s old manor, their base of operations.

“…Shit.”

His subordinates were scattered around, their faces weary and bodies wrapped in bandages. The air was thick with the smell of cheap ointments, as expensive medicine used by real murim martial artists was beyond their reach.

“Captain.”

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“…Captain.”

“Captain…”

The faces that turned to him were exhausted, some as pale as death itself, blood seeping through their myriad bandages. Many familiar faces were already missing.

Seven in four days. No, now that Jangsam’s dead, it’s eight.

The Ironhead Sect had barely thirty members to begin with, and now nearly a third of them were gone.

Just then, Asam, the Head Administrator of the Ironhead Sect, approached. “Captain. We got a message from the Great Bear Gang.”

Cheoldu glanced briefly at Asam’s empty left sleeve. “What did they say?”

“The same as always. That they’ll help us if we join them. They’re telling us to give up and kneel.”

“Bullshit.”

The Great Bear Gang was no different from the Scarlet Tiger Gang. If anything, the old freelancers in the Great Bear Gang were even more arrogant. Bowing to them meant becoming their slaves at best, only to be discarded later.

“They’re just as desperate as us, since the Scarlet Tiger Gang’s started going after them too.”

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Despite their formidable power, the Scarlet Tiger Gang had, until now, refrained from waging an all-out war. Instead, they were methodically eliminating their rivals one by one, using guerrilla tactics to slowly weaken them, all with the aim of forcing the Great Bear Gang and Ironhead Sect to surrender voluntarily.

Nevertheless, surrender was not an option for Cheoldu.

At this rate, we’re all dead. I need to find a way out.

Cheoldu thought hard, using his brain for something other than charging into battle for once.

In the end, his conclusion was simple.

Scratching his close-cropped hair, he commanded, “Gather everyone.”

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“Tonight. I will kill the leader of the Scarlet Tiger Gang,” Cheoldu announced to all the remaining members of the Ironhead Sect.

“What?”

“Have you lost it, Captain?”

The boss of the Scarlet Tiger Gang was rumored to be a master of incredible skill. Few had seen him, but stories circulated that he’d killed the previous leader in just three exchanges.

Cheoldu snorted. “So what if he’s skilled? Is his belly made of steel?”

No matter how skilled the Scarlet Tiger Boss was, he was still human. A blade to the stomach would kill him just like anyone else. It was this belief that had carried Cheoldu through his life so far, and he wasn’t about to change it now… Not that he knew any other way.

Cheoldu went to his room, gathered his hatchet, dagger, and a few hidden weapons, then stepped back outside.

“Here, take this,” he said, tossing a key to Asam.

It was the key to the Ironhead Sect’s treasury, containing their meager wealth.

“If I’m not back by morning, split it up. Don’t keep anything for yourself. Share it equally. After that, the Ironhead Sect is done.”

“…Cheoldu, if you go, you’ll die.”

“Shut up. Who said I’m going to die? I’ll be back by morning. If I come back and you’ve all run off, I’ll hunt each of you down, so be ready,” Cheoldu said, smirking, then quickly turned away, ignoring the voices calling out to him from all sides.

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CREEEAK…

The old gate hinges groaned as he pushed the sect gates open. Stepping outside, Cheoldu soon melted into the cold night streets of the slums.

“Damn, it’s cold.”

Shouts, curses, and the sounds of fighting echoed from all directions, but for this neighborhood, it was a relatively quiet night. Cheoldu turned into a dark alley.

“Mind if we talk for a bit?” a voice suddenly said.

Shocked, Cheoldu spun around and hurled his hatchet in the direction of the voice. His movements were as swift as lightning, but the stranger caught his hatchet effortlessly.

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Cheoldu gulped. This person wasn’t just skilled, he was extremely skilled. “Who are you?” he asked.

Upon closer inspection, the man standing before him was strikingly handsome, so much so that he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. Dressed in a long blue robe, bathed in moonlight, and wearing a mysterious smile, the man reminded him of a mythical figure from an ancient legend.

“Me? I’m here to join the Ironhead Sect,” Baek Suryong said casually as he sauntered closer to Cheoldu.

Nervous, Cheoldu immediately pulled out another two hatchets and waved them around threateningly. “I’ve never seen your face around here before. Did the Great Bear Gang send you? Or is it the Scarlet Tiger Gang?”

“Neither,” Baek Suryong replied. His eyebrows furrowed in thought, he muttered distantly, “If I had to say… Perhaps the Azure Dragon Sect? Or does the White Dragon Sect sound better?”

Cheoldu’s fury flared at the man’s nonchalant tone, but he held himself back, searching for an opening. “If it’s neither, then what do you want with me?”

“I told you, I’m here to join the Ironhead Sect. And to do that, I need to challenge and beat the leader. That’s your rule, isn’t it?”

“You’re crazy.” Cheoldu spat thickly on the ground and tightened his grip on the hatchets.

“Anyway…” Baek Suryong’s trailed off as he moved closer, carefully gauging the distance between them. “It looks like you were heading toward the Scarlet Tiger Gang. Were you planning on attacking them alone?”

“Well, actually…”

“Actually?” Baek Suryong echoed, feigning interest.

Cheoldu seized the moment, lunging forward with both hatchets swinging in a deadly arc.

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“Ask the King of Hell, you bastard!” he roared, putting every ounce of his strength, every drop of his pitiful inner energy, into the strike.

A confident grin spread across his face. This was a killing move he had crafted himself, a nameless technique.

No one has ever survived this move at this distance!

The hatchets crossed through the air, shattering Baek Suryong’s body into pieces…

…Shattering?

“Well, that was something,” Baek Suryong’s playful voice came from Cheoldu’s left, where he suddenly reappeared.

An afterimage! Cheoldu realized, his heart sinking.

“Your form is poor, probably because you’ve never had proper training,” Baek Suryong remarked, sounding almost amused as he casually grabbed Cheoldu’s arm.

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Cheoldu didn’t resist the pull. Instead, he made a snap decision, ducking low and charging forward with his head, aiming to slam into Baek Suryong’s chest. “Die!” he bellowed.

“Nice improvisation,” Baek Suryong chuckled, releasing Cheoldu’s arm and sidestepping effortlessly.

Cheoldu’s head smashed into a nearby wall with a thunderous crash, cracks spider-webbing through the thick stone. Staggering, his head ringing, Cheoldu tried to regain his bearings.

Baek Suryong raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Woah… Is your head really made of iron?”

“Fufu…” Cheoldu chuckled darkly, blood streaming down his face. His eyes, now bloodshot, burned with a wild, unyielding killing intent.

Seeing this, Baek Suryong’s expression grew serious. This guy… he’s got the natural instincts of a killer. Though it’s not to the extent of the infamous Killer Star, it’s not bad.

Cheoldu wiped the blood from his forehead with the back of his hand and charged again, swinging his hatchets wildly, stabbing with a hidden dagger, and throwing every concealed weapon he had. He even scattered the poison he always carried.

Yet, no matter how ferocious his attacks, not a single strike came close to touching Baek Suryong.

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“Raaagh!” Cheoldu growled, throwing himself at Baek Suryong in a blind frenzy.

Baek Suryong calmly evaded every blow. He could have subdued Cheoldu from the start, but chose not to.

There are some things you can only learn by fighting someone directly.

He was studying Cheoldu’s fighting style: his habits in battle, how his joints and muscles had developed, and how he utilized his strength. This would help him decide what kind of martial arts to teach Cheoldu.

After a while, Baek Suryong’s eyes lit up. “…That one should be perfect.”

Among the many martial arts techniques stored in his mind, one came to the forefront. A slight smile played on his lips as he said, “Okay, that’s enough.”

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“DIEEEEEE!!” Cheoldu roared, but Baek Suryong was done toying with him.

“First, you need to calm down,” Baek Suryong said firmly as he reached out, grabbed the enraged Cheoldu by the collar, and slammed him into the ground all in one fluid motion.

Cheoldu’s world spun for a moment, and then his back hit the ground with bone-crushing force.

CRACK!

Agony shot through his body, as if his spine had snapped. Eyes wide, he choked, “Cough! Cough! Fuck…”

Baek Suryong stood over him, looking down with a calm expression. “Don’t get up. Just listen to me for a bit.”

His eyes bloodshot, Cheoldu scrambled away from Baek Suryong. “I’ll… kill…”

“I overheard your conversation earlier. Was your friend’s name Jangsam?”

“Shut… up…” Cheoldu gritted his teeth, forcing himself to his feet. He had fought for survival his whole life. No matter how strong the opponent or how close death seemed, he couldn’t give up.

Baek Suryong looked at him sadly, his tone measured. “…I wanted to save him if I could, but in his state, even the Divine Physician couldn’t have done anything. So, I quietly listened to your conversation instead.”

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“I said… shut up…!” Cheoldu fumbled on the ground until he found the hatchet he’d dropped earlier. He pushed himself to his feet, knees shaking, gasping for breath.

As he finally stood upright, Baek Suryong watched him with a faintly sorrowful expression. “I’m giving you all a chance. A change to live like humans.”

“Shut… up… what?”

Did I mishear him? No. Cheoldu’s head swam. The man he thought had come to kill him was offering a hand of salvation, something he never expected.

“Of course, it won’t be easy to achieve that immediately. However, once the businesses in the slums take root, I’ll give you all legitimate jobs. You’ll be able to live without killing, without stealing, without committing crimes.”

“What kind of crazy talk…” Cheoldu muttered in disbelief.

Baek Suryong smiled and extended his hand. “Join me.”

“……” In that moment, Cheoldu remembered Jangsam’s final words.

“Cheoldu… Maybe it’s not too late. Maybe you can still live like a human. From now on… don’t commit any more sins…”

As his friend’s dying words echoed in his mind, tears suddenly welled up in Cheoldu’s eyes and began to fall.

“What…? Why…?”

Confused and embarrassed, Cheoldu roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

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