Chapter 155
Zeon asked,
“Why should I?”
“It’s a summons from Lord Xiaolun.”
“And if he calls, I have to go? I’m not a dog.”
“You dare defy Lord Xiaolun’s command?”
Pan Cheongcheon’s expression turned savage.
Zeon replied calmly, as if he didn’t understand,
“I have no connection with him. So why should I follow his orders?”
“Lord Xiaolun is the ruler of the South District.”
“You must have forgotten—I don’t live in the South District. This is the slums.”
“So you’re refusing?”
“Give me a reason to go to the South District. Something convincing…”
“You’re mistaken.”
“…What?”
“I’m not asking. I’m ordering you.”
“I think you’re the one mistaken. I’m not someone who has to obey your orders.”
At Zeon’s cold reply, Pan Cheongcheon’s face stiffened.
“So you won’t come?”
“No.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“We’ll see who regrets it.”
“…Don’t forget what you just said.”
Boom!
The moment he finished speaking, an explosion rang out.
Pan Cheongcheon had thrown a punch.
Zeon’s body was sent flying backward—struck by a sudden blow.
Pan Cheongcheon immediately chased after him.
His hand was glowing red.
It was his signature skill—Jukyeopsu.
A technique combining ancient Chinese martial arts with his awakened ability.
It converted mana into aura and imbued it with the hardness of steel.
Its power was strong enough to crush even large monsters.
Boom!
Pan Cheongcheon struck again with Jukyeopsu.
Zeon was hit once more and sent tumbling across the ground.
Watching him roll awkwardly, Pan Cheongcheon sneered,
“I never liked you from the start. I know your type—stubborn, thinking you’re the best in the world. You look mild on the outside, but inside you’re a snake raising dozens of vipers. You probably killed Tajik too, didn’t you?”
He was convinced Zeon had killed Tajik.
They hadn’t been particularly close, but he didn’t underestimate Tajik’s strength.
Tajik had been arrogant—but capable.
Yet he had suddenly gone mad in the desert and been devoured by a sandworm.
Something like that couldn’t happen without someone pulling the strings.
And Pan Cheongcheon believed Zeon was the culprit.
Boom!
He unleashed Jukyeopsu again.
Zeon was struck and rolled across the ground once more.
Pan Cheongcheon walked toward him.
“I’ll break all your limbs and drag you like a dog. Then Lord Xiaolun might reconsider his opinion of you.”
Xiaolun had ordered him to recruit Zeon no matter what.
That alone showed how highly he valued Zeon’s ability.
But Pan Cheongcheon disagreed.
Zeon’s power might be impressive—but not enough to bring into the South District.
He had only followed Xiaolun’s orders reluctantly.
But now that Zeon resisted, things were different.
He could simply cripple him and claim it was because of resistance.
“Go on—resist all you want, brat!”
Pan Cheongcheon activated Jukyeopsu again.
This time, he aimed for Zeon’s knee.
He intended to shatter the joint and cripple him.
Boom!
Another explosion rang out.
“Ghk!”
The one who threw the punch was Pan Cheongcheon.
The one who groaned… was also him.
Clutching his fist, Pan Cheongcheon staggered back.
What had struck his fist was Zeon’s own punch.
At the last moment, Zeon had countered with his gauntlet-clad fist.
Pan Cheongcheon’s hand was swollen.
Even after using Jukyeopsu, he had taken a heavy impact.
Meanwhile, Zeon stood up completely unharmed.
Brushing dust off his pants, Zeon muttered,
“So ambushing people mid-conversation… that’s the South District’s style?”
“An ambush is just another form of combat. Only fools get hit.”
Pan Cheongcheon shook his swollen hand as he replied.
His fist quickly returned to normal.
He was a B-rank martial-type Awakened.
On top of that, he had inherited martial arts passed down through generations.
His body functioned differently from ordinary Awakened.
Though officially B-rank, his destructive power was closer to A-rank.
His recovery was extraordinary as well.
To an outsider, it might even look like troll-like regeneration.
Of course, it consumed a massive amount of mana.
“You…”
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, a massive impact struck him.
This time, Zeon attacked first.
Pan Cheongcheon was blasted away like a bowling pin.
Zeon immediately pursued him.
Closing the distance in an instant, he threw another punch.
“Tch! You dare—”
Despite the situation, Pan Cheongcheon twisted his body mid-air and blocked the attack like a true martial artist.
Bang!
A heavy impact echoed as both of them staggered.
But only for a moment.
They rushed at each other again.
Thud-thud-thud!
Moving at speeds invisible to the eye, the two clashed—attacking and defending in rapid succession.
A look of confusion appeared on Pan Cheongcheon’s face.
‘What is this? He’s not even a martial-type, so why is he this fast? Did he learn martial arts like me?’
Zeon’s movements were far beyond anything he had imagined.
Zeon wasn’t even using his known awakened ability—sand.
He was fighting Pan Cheongcheon on equal footing with pure physical ability alone.
Whoosh!
Zeon lowered his body and rushed in, unleashing a barrage of punches.
Pan Cheongcheon blocked with Jukyeopsu and immediately countered with a powerful kick.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, Zeon’s body staggered—but only for a moment.
Before Pan Cheongcheon realized it, Zeon’s hand had already wrapped around his leg.
“You—!”
His eyes shook.
He met Zeon’s gaze—utterly devoid of hesitation.
Zeon twisted his leg without pause.
Crack!
A horrifying sound rang out as Pan Cheongcheon’s knee joint shattered.
“Gaaaah!”
Screaming, he was thrown backward.
No matter how monstrous his regeneration was, he was still human.
Recovering a major joint like the knee would take time.
The problem was—Zeon had no intention of giving him that time.
Zeon’s fist slammed into his chest.
Boom!
“Ghk!”
Pan Cheongcheon spat blood as he was sent flying.
In that instant, Zeon leapt into the air.
Soaring high, he descended toward the falling Pan Cheongcheon.
Crash!
With a deafening impact, Pan Cheongcheon’s head snapped back.
Zeon’s knee had smashed into his face.
For an ordinary person, it would have been fatal—or at least knocked them unconscious.
But Pan Cheongcheon wasn’t ordinary.
In that split second, he had gathered mana and formed protection.
It was the skill known as Aura Shield.
Thanks to it, he avoided a fatal injury.
Still, his face was twisted with shock and rage.
A martial-type Awakened like him had been completely overpowered by someone who wasn’t even in the same class.
His pride couldn’t accept it.
“I won’t forgive you…!”
Whoooom!
He drew out all his mana.
Red aura enveloped his entire body.
In that state, he charged.
Even with one leg injured, it didn’t matter.
Just pushing off with his remaining leg gave him explosive speed.
Wrapped in red aura, he looked like a meteor hurtling forward.
Zeon raised his hand into the air.
At once, the sand from rooftops and the ground rushed toward him like it was being pulled by a magnet.
Whirrrrr—
Sand swirled violently around him.
In an instant, Zeon’s figure was obscured.
‘So he really does control sand… But sand won’t stop me.’
Pan Cheongcheon poured everything into this strike.
It was his ultimate skill—Meteor Hammer.
There was no way mere sand could stop it.
“Die!”
He hurled his entire body at Zeon.
But his attack never reached him.
Just before impact, the sand swirling around Zeon shot forward.
It was Zeon’s unique technique—compressing sand at high pressure and firing it.
Sand Blaster.
Thud!
The Sand Blaster struck Pan Cheongcheon.
It was powerful—but not enough to seriously harm him.
Thanks to his Aura Shield.
Trusting it, he kept charging forward.
But there was something he hadn’t considered.
Zeon wasn’t firing just one shot.
Shu-shu-shu-shu!
Dozens of Sand Blasters fired almost simultaneously.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
They hit him one after another.
With each impact, his speed slowed.
One hit. Two. Ten. Then twenty.
Boom!
“Gaaah!”
At last, Pan Cheongcheon collapsed.
The red aura surrounding him had long since vanished.
Zeon raised his hand one final time.
A far more overwhelming force gathered.
He launched a Sand Missile.
BOOOOM!
With a massive explosion, Pan Cheongcheon was blown far back and crashed to the ground.
His entire body was wrecked.
His limbs were twisted unnaturally, and his chest was soaked in blood.
Only his tough martial body had saved him from death.
Otherwise, that final strike would have killed him.
“Cough… ghk…”
Blood poured from his mouth.
His chest and throat, already stained red, grew darker.
He struggled to stand—but his body wouldn’t move.
In the end, he gave up and lay sprawled on the ground.
“Damn it… Using sand like that… how cowardly…”
“Controlling sand is my ability. Getting hit just makes you a fool.”
Zeon threw back his own words at him.
Pan Cheongcheon had nothing to say.
Zeon looked down at him.
“Tell Xiaolun clearly. If he wants to see me, he can come himself.”
“Don’t get arrogant just because you beat me. You’re not even worthy of touching Lord Xiaolun’s feet.”
“Then let him come himself if he’s so confident. Or at least send a proper invitation. Trying to kidnap someone… that’s just disrespectful.”
“Ghk…”
“Anyway, I’ve made my stance clear. If this happens again—it’s war.”
“War? Do you really think that’s possible? No matter how strong you are, you can’t defeat the entire South District.”
“What if I cooperate with City Hall? Or join hands with the North District? Or maybe the West District… Would that still be impossible?”
“……”
Pan Cheongcheon fell silent.
If Zeon’s sand ability combined with the power of other districts, the outcome was obvious.
After fighting him, he now understood just how overwhelming that ability was.
That was something that absolutely had to be prevented.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
“This wasn’t Lord Xiaolun’s will. It was my own decision. Please don’t take it as the will of the South District.”
Pan Cheongcheon lowered his pride and apologized.
His shoulders trembled with humiliation.