That morning, the fog at the foot of Black Dragon Mountain had not yet completely lifted, leaving a damp chill on the path leading to the border of Shady Dragon Village. Yoe Choin walked calmly, without any fancy robes, just the sect's practical clothing that fit him well. At his waist, the Black Iron Heavy Sword hung with a mass that seemed to suppress the gravity around it.
He didn't bring any troops. It was just himself.
"Foreman, do you really want to do this alone?"
Moen Kang Yo's genuine voice asked curiously.
"Their headquarters is usually staffed by dozens of small-time thugs, but their leader, Heuk-Gwang, is said to have reached the peak of the 3rd level of the Structure Realm. Are you sure you don't need Gwi-Hyuk?"
Moen Kang Yo continued.
"Gwi-Hyuk is tasked with guarding the 'main project' on the mountain, Boss,"
Choin replied mentally as he continued walking.
"This Black Crow Guild is like an illegal subcontractor who has been operating without permission on our land for too long. If I bring guards, they'll only see military strength. But if I come alone, they'll see management authority."
The Black Crow Guild headquarters was in a haphazardly renovated former grain warehouse. In front of it, several burly men with crow tattoos on their arms were gambling and laughing loudly. As soon as Choin appeared around the corner, their laughter suddenly stopped.
"Hey! Look who's here!"
yelled one of the thugs, standing up and spitting on the ground.
"Evernight Gate Cloak? I thought you all starved to death up there after Elder Gong stopped sending us tribute."
Choin stopped about five paces in front of them. His glowing blue eyes scanned the entrance.
"This door is made of cheap wood, and the hinges are rusty,"
Choin muttered quietly, mostly to himself.
"What terrible security management."
"What are you talking about, brat?!"
The second thug approached, his hand gripping the hilt of a large machete.
"Quickly state your business before we use your head as a decoration on this door."
"I've come to see the person in charge of this place,"
Choin said flatly, his voice clear and free of any hint of fear.
"There have been several reports of 'field irregularities' regarding tribute payments in Naga Teduh Village. I want to conduct a direct audit."
The thugs looked at each other, then erupted in contemptuous laughter.
"Audit? Do you think this is a government office?!"
The guard leader laughed until he held his stomach.
"Brat, Evernight Gate is bankrupt. Even Elder Gong kneeled to our leader to stop us from looting your headquarters. Leave before I lose my temper."
Choin let out a short sigh.
"The problem is, I've wiped out the old management. Now, I'm the new leader with complete control over the assets. So, are you going to open the door, or am I going to have to forcefully break it down?"
Seeing Choin's icy gaze, the guards suddenly felt their hairs stand on end. Without waiting for a second command, the guard leader gave the code to open the door.
"Come in. But don't expect to leave with your legs intact."
Choin stepped into the large warehouse. Inside, the smell of cheap liquor and cigarette smoke filled the air. Dozens of Black Crow Guild members were gathered, most of them cleaning their weapons or counting coins extorted from the villagers.
At the far end of the room, on a large wooden chair covered in tiger skin, sat a man with a face scarred by weapons. It was Heuk-Gwang.
"So, this is the 'Young Master' who just beheaded Elder Gong?"
Heuk-Gwang spoke, his voice deep and hoarse.
"News travels fast in the market, Moen Kang Yo. But coming here without an escort... you're either too bold, or you've gone mad from breathing in too much construction dust."
Choin pulled up an empty wooden chair in the center of the room and sat down casually, ignoring the dozens of eyes staring at him with bloodlust.
"Heuk-Gwang, let's talk business. For ten years, you've been exploiting the people at the foot of my mountain. You've been taking tribute from my nearly collapsed branch office. In my words, you're a 'stealth cost' that's sabotaging the region's stability and profits."
Heuk-Gwang grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.
"Profit? We rule the streets here. Evernight Gate is the past. We are the future of this region. If you want us to stop charging the citizens, then you must pay us double what they give you."
"Wrong,"
Choin interrupted sharply.
"In fact, I came here to make an acquisition offer."
The entire room suddenly fell silent. Some of the thugs even dropped their wine glasses.
"Acquisition?"
Heuk-Gwang frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I need labor from outside the sect to secure logistics routes and do manual labor in the fields below,"
Choin said, tapping the table with his finger.
"The Black Crow Guild has a vast network, but your management is a mess. You live off extortion, which means your income is unstable and you're always at risk of sparking a mass uprising. It's a very bad business model."
Heuk-Gwang stood up, his aura at the peak of the Structure Realm exploding, pressuring the air inside the warehouse.
"Are you insulting the way I work in my own home?!"
"I'm not insulting, I'm giving a technical evaluation,"
Choin replied without flinching.
"You have two choices. First, you become my official business partner. You stop extorting citizens, and in exchange, I'll provide a fixed salary from the sect's treasury to maintain security in the area. You will become Evernight Gate's legitimate 'security subcontractors.'"
"And the second choice?"
Heuk-Gwang hissed, gripping his large machete.
"The second choice is 'Total Demolition,'"
Choin said, standing slowly.
"I'll raze this place, throw all 'defective materials' like you into the ravine, and build a new guild from scratch with more cooperative people."
Heuk-Gwang laughed wildly.
"You think you can take us all on alone with that management nonsense of yours?!"
"No nonsense,"
Moen Kang Yo's genuine voice began to take over Choin's tone, becoming darker and more menacing.
"This is a bloody audit."
Heuk-Gwang lunged forward with incredible speed, his massive machete slashing horizontally, aiming for Choin's neck. However, in Choin's eyes, the movement was flawed in Heuk-Gwang's weight distribution, which leaned too far forward.
Using Technique 2: Eternal Night Storm Sweep, Choin didn't draw his sword. He simply swung his massive black scabbard to strike the side of Heuk-Gwang's machete.
KLANG!
The vibration of the impact sent Heuk-Gwang's machete flying. Before Heuk-Gwang could react, Choin was already in his death zone, the blunt edge of his black blade pressing directly into the leader's solar plexus.
"You have great mass, Heuk-Gwang, but your defensive structure is hollow,"
Choin whispered.
"If I channel my Internal Finishing Qi now, your internal organs will explode like a clogged pipe."
"Listen, Heuk-Gwang,"
Choon's voice was calm, yet it echoed throughout the warehouse.
"In project management, there's something called rework. I gave you the chance to be 'renovated' into a business partner. But you chose to maintain your 'broken material' ego."
Heuk-Gwang spat blood, his face red with anger mixed with pure fear.
"You... you're just a lucky bastard! You think you can dominate us with this junk sword?! Finish him! Don't let him leave alive!"
At that command, dozens of thugs snapped out of their fear and lunged forward simultaneously from all angles.
"Foreman, let me take over this cleanup!"
roared the real Moen Kang Yo inside Choin, thirsting for the blood of the enemy before his eyes.
"Be patient, Boss. Don't let your Qi flow get messed up by your emotions,"
Choin replied coldly.
"Use the principle of weight distribution. We'll dismantle it with as little movement as possible."
Choin didn't wield his sword wildly. He activated Internal Finishing Level 3, pumping energy through his meridians, which were already perfectly cleansed like new steel pipes.
"2nd Technique: Eternal Night Storm Sweep!"
Choin spun his body once. The massive blade of the Black Iron Heavy Sword slashed through the air in a 360-degree radius. Instead of cutting, it struck every approaching weapon and body with the same mass as a pile driver.
CRACK! CRACK!
The sound of breaking bones and crushing metal filled the room. Six people were thrown against the warehouse wall, creating cracks in the structure from the immense momentum transmitted.
Those still standing immediately backed away, staring at Choin in horror. To them, the man before them was no longer a warrior, but a living destruction machine counting their deaths by the numbers.
Choin stepped back toward Heuk-Gwang, who was trying to get up, holding his cracked machete. The Black Crow's subordinates could only watch, paralyzed by the terror that crept up their spines.
"Do you see this, Heuk-Gwang?"
Choin pointed at his fallen subordinate.
"This is the result of your poor management. You trained them to be bullies, but you forgot to build a 'foundation' of courage within them. When they encounter a stronger structure, they crumble like a building made of sand."
"Shut up! I am the master of this place!"
Heuk-Gwang screamed madly, forcing all his Qi into his machete for a final, furious attack.
Choin sighed, his eyes scanning Heuk-Gwang's already unstable energy flow.
"Analysis complete. You are irreparable material. Leaving you alive will only taint my new project in this region."
Heuk-Gwang lunged forward, but Choin merely shifted his footing slightly, an efficient move that avoided the machete's attack vector.
"Technique 1: Earth-Splitting Demon Slash!"
This time, Choin didn't aim for the ground. He raised his black sword high, allowing gravity and his Internal Finishing Qi to perfectly blend. The sword fell vertically at absolute speed.
SLASH!
Although the Black Iron Heavy Sword lacked a sharp blade, the mass and power of the Qi concentrated in its tip made it act like a giant axe dropped from a great height. The sword struck Heuk-Gwang's neck with the precision of an architect.
Heuk-Gwang's head was ripped from his shoulders in one brutal blow, rolling across the filthy warehouse floor right in front of his surviving men. His headless body remained upright for several seconds, spraying blood into the air before collapsing with a deathly thud.
Complete silence fell over the warehouse. The only sounds were the terrified gasps of the thugs and their own heartbeats.
The other members of the Black Crow Guild could only stare in awe as their leader was defeated in one simple move.
Choin remained calm. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping away the blood that had splashed onto his face, as if he had just completed a dirty but necessary construction job.
"The audit is complete,"
Choin said, his voice cold and clear, piercing through the fear of everyone present.
He turned to the remaining members of the Black Crow Guild, who had now dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves in unison.
"Listen carefully,"
Choin continued, looking at each of them.
"Your leader has been dishonorably discharged due to management failure. From this moment on, the Black Crow Guild is an asset of Evernight Gate. You will work under my command."
Choin pointed to one of the most senior-looking men among the remaining men.
"You. Clean up this waste material, including your former leader. By tomorrow morning, I want a complete report of your entire inventory and collection areas on the desk at the Liem branch office. Understood?"
"I... I understand, Young Master! We obey!"
they shouted in unison, their voices trembling but filled with pure submission.
Choin sheathed his greatsword. He sat in the bloody warehouse without looking back. Breathing in the fresh air, he let the remnants of Moen Kang Yo's anger subside.
"You're truly cruel, Foreman,"
the real Moen Kang Yo whispered with deep satisfaction.
"Beheading a man in front of his subordinates... that's the strongest message one can send in Jianghu."
"This isn't about cruelty, Boss,"
Choin replied, gazing at the rising sun.
"This is about upholding structural authority. Without a firm end to corrupt material, we'll never be able to build a clean foundation."