“Form up teams and move out now! We can’t rely on guilds alone—we won’t have enough people!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Immediately after the Monster Wave broke out, the Association went into overdrive.
They mobilized all available forces and dispatched them to the scene, while monitoring the situation in real time and assessing the scale of the damage.
From the Association alone, multiple B-rank and A-rank Hunters were deployed.
It was a near all-out mobilization—but that was exactly what a Monster Wave required.
It had to be treated like a full-scale war.
With monsters already spilling toward the city, the major guilds would no doubt be on high alert as well.
They had to eliminate the initial wave quickly and establish a defensive line, or the casualties in later stages would spiral out of control.
“The Audit Division is moving too! All B-rank and above, follow me to the gate. C-rank and below—escort civilians and support evacuation efforts immediately!”
Seo Ye-rin remained calm in the face of the sudden emergency.
As team leader, she issued commands quickly, assigning roles based on each member’s abilities.
‘Have Dawnlight, Radiance, and Wolak already arrived on site?’
Expanding her detection magic to its widest range, Seo Ye-rin scanned the battlefield.
She sensed two overwhelming magic powers, both stronger than her own, and one uniquely strange energy signature, not as large in quantity, but extremely distinctive.
Besides those, she also detected about eleven others roughly on her level, moving swiftly.
It was encouraging.
Most of the Five Great Guilds had already begun to act.
Seo Ye-rin allowed herself a small sigh of relief, thinking the damage might be less severe than expected this time.
‘Still, the Association can’t just sit back and let them take all the credit.’
The Association was already being overshadowed by the reputations of the Five Great Guilds.
If they failed to achieve anything in this incident, their authority would be in serious jeopardy.
Determined to prevent that, Seo Ye-rin pushed herself and her team to move faster.
That’s when it hit.
OOOSHHAAAAAK!
“What… was that?!”
“Team Leader! What is this mana?!”
“Message from HQ! A massive unidentified mana signature has suddenly appeared near the Wave epicenter!”
It was power unlike anything they had ever felt, so vast and absurd that it was hard to even believe it was real.
And its depth… was immeasurable, like staring into the bottom of the ocean.
Something like this just appeared out of nowhere?
Could it be… a new monster from inside the gate?
Feeling a sinking sense of dread, Seo Ye-rin clenched her expression.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself, trying to calm the storm of confusion rising within her.
“We move forward for now. Our job is to secure civilian safety. Request support from the Chairman, and we’ll do what we can on our end.”
Seo Ye-rin knew just from sensing that overwhelming mana, even if her entire Audit Division charged in, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
So she gave the order without hesitation.
“T-Team Leader!”
“What is it?”
“The Chairman has issued an emergency directive to all deployed Association personnel!”
I knew it.
That kind of power couldn’t be handled by anyone less than a top-tier, asymmetrical force, an S-rank Hunter or higher.
Seo Ye-rin, having expected the Chairman to make a move himself, let out a small breath of relief and smiled, but that smile vanished instantly the moment she heard the actual order.
“All Association Hunters are to focus solely on preventing the Wave from spreading and assisting civilian evacuation.”
“…What?”
Prevent the spread of the Wave and prioritize civilian evacuation.
On the surface, it sounded like a standard command.
But coming from the Chairman himself, the implication was crystal clear.
It wasn’t about stopping the monsters.
It was about containing them, blocking their path, herding civilians to safety, and not directly engaging in combat.
In short, in a time of war when every hand counted, the order was.
Don’t fight.
“Is that order legit?!”
“Y-Yes! It came directly through the Chairman’s secure line!”
“What in the world is going on…!”
Seo Ye-rin’s mind was spinning, disoriented by the confusion.
Still, she composed herself enough to issue orders to her team.
“Follow the Chairman’s directive! Spread out! Lock down any areas monsters might escape through, and evacuate all civilians within those zones immediately!”
While all deployed Association personnel—including the Audit Division—were scrambling under confusing orders, the Chairman who had issued the directive was just as stunned.
“What the hell…!”
There was no time to waste.
Muttering a rare curse under his breath, the Chairman smashed through the window of his office, and shot into the air.
“Of all places… why there—the orphanage…!”
The Association President, flying like a bullet through the sky,
muttered to himself in a panic, cold sweat beading down his face.
There was no mistaking it—
this enormous, overwhelming mana that made his skin crawl.
Something had definitely happened near that area,
or Cheon Hwi had personally decided to act—something grave enough to warrant it.
Cheon Hwi’s orphanage.
A small, unimpressive building made of red bricks—
but the President knew better than anyone just how much it meant to Cheon Hwi.
It was a place founded by parents who longed for their lost son,
naming the orphanage after him and running it with their own hands.
Now, after passing away with the flow of time,
their adopted daughter continued to operate the facility.
To Cheon Hwi, that orphanage was sacred—
a personal reverse scale, a place that should never be touched.
It was a home filled with memories—
the only remnant of his parents’ lives,
a place soaked with their longing and love for their child.
And when, after the Great Cataclysm,
the real estate market flipped and that land became prime property,
many powers had tried to snatch it up with dirty schemes.
What happened to those people?
There’s no need to explain.
Not a single one of them survived.
They all died at Cheon Hwi’s hand.
An entire ruling political party vanished overnight.
Multiple heirs of corporate empires fell.
The mighty—those who once flaunted absolute power and wealth—
met their end.
No societal structure, no legal or political value could protect them.
The entire country shook in one night.
The world, blindsided by the chaos, erupted in confusion.
Anyone with a sane mind would never dare such a thing,
if only out of fear of the consequences.
But Cheon Hwi…
slaughtered them all for one reason:
they crossed into his territory.
Even those who tried to bargain or bluster about consequences were crushed just the same.
The President’s face tightened as he recalled the nightmare.
“At the very least… we have to protect that place.”
And the reason no one was ever punished?
Let’s be clear—it wasn’t that punishment was withheld.
It’s that no one could hold Cheon Hwi accountable.
Even when the Association and the Five Great Guilds—
worried about the massive fallout—moved to de-escalate,
hoping to reason with him and calm the storm…
He had responded with a single gesture,
slamming four of Korea’s top S-rank Hunters into the ground.
The President had never forgotten that moment.
Of course.
It was no surprise that not only Dawnlight and Radiance, but even Wolak’s master were moving urgently.
They must be feeling the same as the Association President.
After all, they would remember this terrifying mana too.
And finally, the moment the Association President arrived in front of the orphanage…
“…?”
What greeted him was the sight of a completely intact building, as if the Monster Wave were happening in an entirely different world.
“Why?”
He couldn’t help but question it.
If the orphanage was untouched… then why?
What had happened—what had made that man, who usually remained calm and composed, go this far and unleash such power?
Confused and increasingly anxious, the Association President began moving quickly to figure out the situation.
He decided it would be faster to ask directly.
The three S-rank Hunters who arrived shortly after felt the same.
Meanwhile, having boldly unveiled the Mugeuk Ilwon Divine Art, Cheon Hwi had fallen into thought.
The powerful first impression was good.
But using Mugeuk Ilwon Divine Art made for terrible broadcast footage.
How should I fight to make it flashy and fun for the viewers, without accidentally blowing everything up?
That was Cheon Hwi’s dilemma.
Because no matter how he looked at it, the power of Mugeuk Ilwon Steel Qi was simply too monstrous.
“Tch… If I swing this properly, I might just wipe out the entire city of Seoul.”
Even when his qi had been blurry and unfocused, it was still enough to crush a thousand-ton strike.
But now, after his ascension, his cultivation realm had risen even higher—
which naturally meant his martial techniques had grown exponentially more powerful.
And yet, since returning, Cheon Hwi hadn’t even properly tested the full strength of his Perfected Flow stage.
Back when he reached the Blossoming Dao Realm or even the Cutting Edge Realm, he’d freely tested his strength without worry.
But in this modern world?
Doing something like that would likely wipe out several countries.
Suddenly feeling nostalgic for the vast lands and rich nature of Zhongyuan, Cheon Hwi let out a quiet sigh.
“I could just use the Heart’s Ultimate Diagram… but…”
A state beyond the Sword of Life and Death, a peak achieved by those who have passed into the Life-and-Death Realm.
Cheon Hwi briefly considered bringing it out, but shook his head with another sigh.
No, that would be too much of a waste.
Besides—just revealing the Mugeuk Ilwon Divine Art had already sent the Association President and the familiar elite scrambling in a panic.
And if he pulled out Heart’s Ultimate Diagram on top of that?
The weaker S-rank Hunters hovering around the Mortal Realm might just drop dead of a heart attack right then and there.
“Ah!”
Just as he was deep in thought, Cheon Hwi’s eyes gleamed, a smile spreading across his face.
He had come up with the perfect solution, a way to fight without worrying about his attacks being too destructive.
BOOM!
He stomped the ground.
From his Dragon Spring Acupoint, a flood of Mugeuk Ilwon Steel Qi surged outward, spreading wide across the area, coating roads, buildings—everything.
The entire street turned pitch black.
Now, the only things with color in this sea of darkness… were Cheon Hwi and the monster horde in front of him.
– This is the wildest thing I’ve seen lol
– The whole street is just straight-up blackened
– Why do I… kind of feel bad for the monsters now?
– Monster sympathizers detected and arrested
– Bro pls LOL
As if night had swallowed the city, the sight left viewers awestruck.
And seeing the chat explode in wonder, Cheon Hwi too felt quite pleased as he prepared to strike.
If the street couldn’t withstand his attack, then all he had to do was reinforce it with his own qi.
A simple solution, which he immediately put into action.
Now fully enveloped in Mugeuk Ilwon Steel Qi, the street would survive.
Cheon Hwi raised a massive greatsword formed from his qi, and took a stance.
A posture crouched low and compressed like a spring, but it was only a setup to explode outward with a mighty swing.
Normally, a casual swing would do…but it looks way cooler if I use a stance, right?
And if I’m going all-in on the visuals, maybe I should shout out the name of a technique too…?
That fleeting thought crossed Cheon Hwi’s mind, but when no flashy name for a simple upward slash came to mind, he gave up on that idea.
And just as that thought ended, Cheon Hwi’s body sprung forward like a coiled spring.
With a powerful snap, his arm extended and the greatsword followed, cutting through the air in a brilliant white arc.
The sword carved an upward slash from earth to sky, its sweeping trail of white streaking across the black backdrop like a comet tail.
SHHHHHHHRRRAAAAAK!
The overwhelming upward slash surged with power, and the Mugeuk Ilwon Steel Qi resonated in response.
The sword strike, unleashed from the massive greatsword, tore through the monster horde, and the qi-coated street peeled away, drawn upward along the arc of the strike, as though the entire world was being lifted.
The result?
Cheon Hwi’s single blow painted a vision of black and white flame, a colossal pillar of fire that shot into the sky.
– LOL what even
– Can’t even see the monsters anymore
– Are we sure he’s human??
– No wonder they call S-ranks “asymmetrical warfare assets” 😨
At last, the pillar exploded in the sky.
A storm of qi scattered violently outward, and the heavens, once clear and blue beneath the midday sun, were drowned in shadow.
Day had turned to night.
Perhaps it was the nature of Mugeuk Ilwon Steel Qi, where black and white coexist in perfect harmony, but in that fabricated night sky, the lingering white qi shimmered faintly…like starlight.
“That should’ve bought more than enough time.”
Needless to say, the monsters that had stood before Cheon Hwi, were no longer there.
No corpses.
No debris.
Not even a trace they’d ever existed.
And yet, Cheon Hwi, who had just performed an attack of unprecedented scale—
stood calmly, muttering as if he had done nothing at all.
All of it was being broadcast live.
And just as Cheon Hwi dispelled the Mugeuk Ilwon Divine Art.
“Song Cheon Hwi!”
The Association President appeared, drenched in cold sweat, his face pale as a ghost, his breath ragged and labored as he rushed onto the scene with a heavy thud.