Boom!
The sound exploded through the forest as a body flew backward.
It was Seojin.
Dust and bark scattered as Seojin's body flew like a broken sack, slamming into a massive tree several meters away. The trunk cracked under the impact. Leaves rained down as blood sprayed from his mouth. His body slid down the tree and collapsed onto the ground.
For a moment...the whole area remained Silent.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only the forest made a sound of wind and trees.
Baek Seojin tried to push himself up. His hands trembled violently. His face twisted in disbelief. He turned pale as blood trickled from his lips.
"Ugh…!"
He coughed again, another mouthful of blood spilling out.
Pain exploded through his chest. His ribs screamed. His internal organs felt like they had shifted out of place.
"What…?"
His mind went blank.
One punch.
That was all it took.
In front of him, Kerus stood calmly, his arm still extended from the strike. His posture was relaxed, as if he had done nothing more than swat away an insect.
The four disciples beside Seojin stared in shock. From the posture, it was clear what had happened, but they refused to believe it.
Their eyes widened, mouths hung open, and their breathing became erratic. "A… single punch…?"
"That was Baek Seojin…!"
"He has five stars…!"
Their thoughts crashed into each other.
"Impossible."
"Absolutely impossible."
"Even if Rick somehow formed stars… even if he had reached five stars like Baek Seojin…
This should not have happened."
"Five stars against five stars meant a fierce exchange. Dozens of blows. Techniques clashing. Victory would be decided by luck or experience."
"Not this. Not a one-sided blow. Not a punch that sent someone flying like trash."
Behind Kerus, Mei Ling and the others stared blankly.
Their minds had yet to catch up. If they had sensed his stars, they would have realized…he was no longer the same as before.
Lee Kang's tremble stopped, Mo Yerin forgot to breathe, Ryu Minseok's eyes fixed on the scene that just happened before him, and for a moment, Mei Ling could hear her heart pounding.
"That punch…That wasn't the Rick she knew," she thought.
But they felt at ease knowing someone was there to help them.
Beneath the tree, Seojin finally lifted his head, his vision swimming.
"You… you…!"
His voice was hoarse, filled with rage and disbelief.
Kerus lowered his arm and looked at him.
His eyes were cold and emotionless, indifferent… as if he were looking at a corpse. "You wasted your three breaths," Kerus said calmly.
Those words hit harder than the punch.
Seojin's pupils shrank in disbelief. What he heard just now was something that he had never expected to happen.
With him, some others were also shocked. "Is… is that really Rick? The same Rick who used to look like a walking corpse?" Minseok muttered.
The four lackeys finally snapped out of their shock. In fear and disbelief, one of them shouted, "Attack him!"
"Together!"
"Don't let him move again!"
Fear spread through them like poison.
They rushed forward at once.
One drew a blade, another formed a fist technique, and the other two gathered qi to strengthen their bodies.
But panic was clear on their faces.
Kerus did not retreat.
He stepped forward.
The first disciple swung his sword.
Kerus tilted his head slightly.
The blade passed by his cheek, missing by less than a finger's width.
Kerus's elbow rose.
Crack!
It smashed into the disciple's throat.
The sound was dull and heavy.
The disciple's eyes rolled back as he collapsed, clutching his neck, gasping like a dying fish.
The second attacker reached Kerus's side and threw a punch filled with qi.
Kerus caught it.
Bare-handed.
The disciple froze.
Kerus tightened his grip.
Bones snapped.
"Aaaargh!"
Before the scream finished, Kerus twisted his body and drove his knee upward.
Boom!
The disciple's abdomen caved in as he flew backward and crashed into the ground, unmoving.
The third disciple hesitated.
That moment cost him everything.
Kerus appeared in a blur in front of him. His palm struck the lackey's chest… soft and precise. Pain flared once, then vanished as he collapsed.
He fell backward, eyes empty.
The last one tried to flee, but fear consumed him completely.
"I...I surrender!"
"Too late." Kerus stepped on the ground.
The earth cracked.
In the next instant, Kerus appeared behind him.
With a single precise chop to the back of the neck, the disciple crumpled, face-first, to the mud.
Silence returned.
Five disciples.
All defeated. Lying in the ground, some unconscious, some barely breathing.
From a distance, Seojin watched in horror.
His hands dug into the soil, "Impossible! How… how could he surpass them? Their strength… it should not be!"
He tried to circulate qi, but pain tore through his body like knives.
His ribs were broken.
His internal organs were shaken.
That punch had not just broken his body.
It had crushed his confidence.
Kerus looked at him and turned around toward Ling.
Mei Ling and the others were staring at him. For a moment, it felt like they had forgotten their injuries and pains.
It was shock, awe, and relief that altogether surfaced on their face.
Mei Ling's lips trembled.
"…Rick?"
Kerus looked at her.
Bruised and bloodied, her eyes glistened. Yet relief softened her lips into a fragile smile.
Watching Kerus standing safe, a great weight had finally been lifted from her heart.
Kerus felt something stir inside his chest, too.
Warm yet Unfamiliar, it was Rick's emotions.
Kerus recognized it instantly. It was relief, and trust.
For a brief moment, Kerus allowed himself to relax.
Everything looked calm then. He went closer to Ling for help.
He lifted her.
Depending on Kerus' help, Ling tried to stand up with her fetal injuries.
But suddenly Kerus noticed changes in Ling's friend's expression.
Mei Ling's expression also changed drastically.
Her smile froze.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"Rick!"
Her voice cracked.
Keru's brows furrowed.
Confused, he looked at Seojin, who was sitting injured beneath a tree.
On his face, the same terror was there.
At that moment, a chilling pressure descended through his spine.
The forest grew silent.
Too silent.
The air became heavy.
Kerus's instincts alerted.
Danger.
He instantly looked behind him…
What was standing there was a shadow… moving toward them. The forest was supposed to be filled only with disciples and ordinary beasts, yet what he was looking at was unlike the disciples or beasts he had predicted. An aura of death pressed against the forest, and Kerus realized that this was not a beast meant for him now.