Do Juwon stared at me like he’d just come face-to-face with an unknown life-form he’d never experienced before.

What the hell is this thing even supposed to be?

He’d thought he had leverage over me.

He’d been watching me since the first time we met at The Dark Den, and when he saw me fight during the official martial-artist license exam, he’d felt a strange sense of familiarity.

And when we met again on Jeju Island, Do Juwon became certain.

Kim Muhyuk. The young rising star from the orthodox faction, praised as the best talent to appear since Richard Han... and he’s the leader of the underworld crew, Blue Wolves?

I still wasn’t so widely known that everyone recognized my name the instant they heard it.

Partly because there’d been so many major incidents—scandals involving the Eight Great Sects, Sun and Moon Gate sealing itself off, and more—and partly because I’d deliberately avoided media exposure.

But within Korea’s martial world, I was already one of the most watched rising stars.

And at the same time, I’m also the Sword Ghost of the underworld—the one who wore goggles and walked around drenched in blood.

I was tangled far too deep in a place an orthodox young rising star had no business stepping into.

Just having that fact exposed was a risk big enough to get me socially buried.

I was planning to use that weakness someday...

But the one showing his face openly and threatening someone wasn’t him.

It was me.

“Why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me you’ve got neither money nor information. Blood Tiger Gang isn’t some little mom-and-pop shop.”

With that sloppy tone and that vicious glare aimed straight at him... was this really the orthodox young rising star everyone talked about?

Do Juwon hid his flustered reaction and decided to probe me.

“...Hey, Goggle Killer. Do you even understand what position you’re in right now?”

He deliberately didn’t use my name. He used the nickname the underworld had called me.

Because “Goggle Killer” was the slaughtering demon who’d walked out of that cave on Jeju Island after killing over a hundred swordsmen.

Blood Tiger Gang had some of the footage from before the CCTV got destroyed, and if even a little of it leaked, my life as an orthodox martial artist was over.

And yet, in this situation, I’d come to him and demanded ten billion won.

It was the kind of thing that made you question someone’s intelligence—

“So? You’re saying you can’t pay, and you can’t give information?”

I clicked my tongue softly, pulled a notebook out of my inner pocket, and set it on the table.

Why is he smiling like that?

Do Juwon stared at the notebook like it was a bomb.

“How do you think I found Blood Tiger Gang’s base? And how did I figure out that Director Do Juwon of Cheonghwa Group is the same person as the Fifth Tiger?”

“Compared to your identity, that isn’t exactly some earth-shattering secret.”

Everything I’d mentioned was information a random person couldn’t just know.

But if you were someone who kept an underworld information broker like Hwang Suksu under your thumb and made him work for you, it was all information you could dig up.

“You came here to threaten me with that? How ridiculous.”

He still had composure on his face as he sneered.

But I could’ve bet money on how that expression was about to change.

“I told you. I’m not here to threaten you—I’m here to collect a debt.”

I pushed the notebook across the table toward him.

“Read it. Once you do, you’ll understand who’s the one holding power in our relationship.”

It didn’t even take ten seconds for Do Juwon’s face—half doubtful as he flipped it open—to freeze like he’d seen a ghost.

“...Where did you get this?”

A cold smile formed at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes sharpened like he wanted to devour me.

Inside the notebook were things only sworn brothers were supposed to know: the Blood Tiger Gang boss’s real name, Blood Tiger Gang’s organizational chart, and core intel like high-security business plans—scrawled down carelessly as if none of it mattered.

“Now that’s more like it. That serious face.”

When his poker face collapsed and twisted into a mess, I smiled in satisfaction.

I leaned in and lowered my voice into a whisper.

“What do you think happens if I spread what’s written here to Martial Alliance? No—considering the value, it’d be better to hand it to the Five Great Unorthodox Sects instead. I’d probably get ten billion won for it without much trouble.”

“......”

In my previous life, I’d spent twenty years in the underworld as a freelance drifter.

Given the nature of drifters—doing rough work more often than not—I couldn’t help but know unorthodox organizations better than orthodox ones, and I remembered most of the big incidents and the information tied to them.

Information on Blood Tiger Gang isn’t that widespread right now, sure. But give it ten years, and it’ll all be common knowledge.

They’d started out aiming for a small elite force, but the Blood Tiger Gang I remembered from the future was a massive organization that grew by swallowing up parts of what was currently the Five Great Unorthodox Sects.

And the process was so violent and cruel that the Five Great Unorthodox Sects of the present would feel like gentlemen by comparison.

I’m not planning to create a future that matches what I know.

Of course, Do Juwon—a Blood Tiger Gang executive who couldn’t imagine any of that—would be desperate to find the traitor who leaked their secrets and tear them apart.

“...Sounds like this could take a while. Want a cup of coffee?”

Even now, Do Juwon was keeping his calm. He wasn’t ordinary.

But once I had the initiative, I had no intention of dragging things out.

“Collecting a debt sure is hard. Fine. Forget it. It’s not like this is the only place I can go.”

I stood up like I had no regrets, and Do Juwon’s gaze wavered.

For an instant, his eyes gleamed with killing intent.

“You think you can walk out of here alive without my permission?”

GRIT!

He ground his teeth and warned me in a chilling voice.

As one of Blood Tiger Gang’s highest executives, he was a martial artist who’d reached the pinnacle realm long ago.

I can kill you right here, right now.

With that will packed into it, he poured killing intent onto me.

SSSSSS......

Killing intent sharp enough that even a pinnacle expert would be forced to tense up.

But as I stared back at him, my reaction stayed flat.

I casually rested a fist on the sword hilt at my waist and asked in a dry voice.

“You really want to do this? Who do you think is going to have to deal with the bigger consequences afterward?”

“......”

It wasn’t just a matter of skill.

The way I looked at his killing intent, as if I was sick of it.

It didn’t feel like he was facing some brat barely past twenty.

It felt like he was staring at a martial artist worn down and honed on a battlefield.

And that cursed sword...

Phantom Dream let out a ZZZIIING—, as if it were hungry for blood, and released its own sword cry.

That sword had been the cause of the brawl in the cave. The reason everyone in Tamra Alliance had charged in like they were possessed—

Gulp.

For the first time in a long while, Do Juwon felt the emotion called tension.

When he first saw me at The Dark Den, I’d been nothing but a brat. He’d wanted to scout me and raise me up a bit—nothing more.

When he saw me again on Jeju Island, he’d been surprised, but he’d still thought I was a flower he could snap whenever he felt like it.

But now?

He didn’t think he’d lose in a fight.

But it also didn’t look like it would be easy.

For him—Blood Tiger Gang’s executive, the Fifth Tiger.

It was so ridiculous he almost laughed.

“Ha... this is driving me insane.”

Do Juwon shook his head, then finally withdrew his killing intent first.

Because if we fought now, it felt like he’d be the only one losing.

He let out a sigh and rolled up his sleeve.

A red tiger tattoo on his forearm came into view.

“Fine. I’ll give you what you want.”

It was basically the same as raising the white flag.

I stopped pushing pointless dominance games and sat back down.

Do Juwon swept his hair back and continued.

“But I’m not just going to hand it over. First tell me why you’re looking into Red Worm, and what your exact objective is. If there’s a chance Blood Tiger Gang takes damage because of it... I’d rather just pay ten billion won.”

It was a reasonable demand, so I nodded.

Put another way, it meant that if the reason benefited Blood Tiger Gang, cooperation was absolutely on the table.

And I’d prepared something that would catch his interest before I came here.

“I’m going to bring in Red Worm and hit Black Heaven Society.”

“Black Heaven Society?”

The moment a name from the Five Great Unorthodox Sects came up, Do Juwon’s eyes narrowed.

Black Heaven Society was one of the five largest powers in the unorthodox faction, and it dwarfed Blood Tiger Gang in sheer scale.

I’d recently ambushed a smuggling ship and dealt them a heavy blow, but compared to Black Heaven Society’s full operation, it was still only a tiny fraction.

“...Interesting. But you’re not planning this alone, are you?”

“Of course not. Martial Alliance will move, and some of the Eight Great Sects will help.”

I left out the most important part.

I haven’t actually talked to them yet.

Do Juwon’s eyes widened at the sheer scale of it. His mind started calculating at high speed.

Martial Alliance and the Eight Great Sects directly moving to strike Black Heaven Society...

“If it’s really on that scale...”

Blood Tiger Gang had plenty of strength, but they still weren’t on the level of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects.

But if Martial Alliance and the Eight Great Sects joined forces and brought Black Heaven Society down, there was a high chance Blood Tiger Gang would claim the vacant space.

At this point, he can’t help but accept.

It was a proposal only someone who knew Blood Tiger Gang’s ambitions inside and out could make.

“According to my information, there’s someone with one foot in Red Worm and one foot in Black Heaven Society. That’s why I need more detailed intel. So I can tie the bastard up for good.”

In truth, nothing about this plan was clearly formed yet.

It was something I’d thrown together in a rush on the taxi ride over.

But I dressed it up to sound convincing, and to Do Juwon—who already rated my information network highly—it sounded very plausible.

“It’s a tempting plan. If it really goes the way you think, it’d be perfect.”

He didn’t look like he believed every word, but I hadn’t come here expecting full trust.

“Even if it fails, you don’t lose anything, right? Even if you lend a hand, it’s not like the risk is huge.”

“...So that line earlier, about borrowing me...”

He was sharp. I nodded and grinned.

“If you want to hook a big fish, you need proper bait. And from what I saw earlier, your acting isn’t totally unwatchable.”

“Hahaha! You want to use a Blood Tiger Gang executive as bait?”

For the first time, Do Juwon laughed openly.

After the two of us exchanged tight, detailed discussion for a while...

Blood Tiger Gang decided to cooperate with my plan—temporarily.

The two of us stood up, smiling with satisfaction, and shook hands.

“Maybe we can actually be decent business partners.”

“I’m glad we understand each other better than I expected. I’ll contact you again.”

But beneath those smiles, we were thinking different things.

He’s dangerous. Before he gets bigger, I need to find an opportunity and cut him down at the root.

It’s obvious what you’re thinking. But before that, your head is the one that’s going to fly.

And so, hiding what we really thought, the two of us agreed to join hands—temporarily.