The entire courtyard froze.
Disciples stared. Some dropped their practice swords. Cho Yul's face turned pale, his confident expression twisting into confusion, then realization, and finally—a flicker of fear.
"You… you're that—fat loser from before!" he stammered. "The one we threw out!"
Jinhyuk tilted his head slightly, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"No," he said coolly. "I'm the ghost you woke up in the wild."
His words were calm—measured. But behind them simmered a quiet violence that made everyone step back.
Cho Yul tried to puff his chest. "Don't act arrogant just because your face changed! So what if you're pretty now? You think we'll treat trash like you with respect just because—"
CRACK.
He didn't even see the fist.
Jinhyuk moved so fast, only the sound of Cho Yul's jaw snapping echoed clearly.
The disciple flew across the courtyard, crashing through a stone pillar with a sickening crunch.
Gasps erupted.
Someone screamed. A few disciples ran toward Cho Yul's crumpled form.
Jinhyuk didn't move.
> [Quest Updated: Make Them Kneel – 1 Target Down.]
An elder stepped forward, fury in his eyes. "You dare attack an inner disciple of Black Moon Sect on our grounds!?"
Jinhyuk slowly turned his head toward the man—Elder Min, the same one who had sneered at him during the entrance trial.
"I dared to step through your gates once before," Jinhyuk said, stepping forward. "And you laughed."
He tossed something to the elder's feet.
The Fang of the Shadow Beast.
"A gift. From the monster you said would kill me."
The elder bent down, eyes widening. It was a core fang from a Stage 3 Beast—something even most outer disciples couldn't hunt alone.
"You entered the Shadowfang Wilds alone…" he muttered. "And survived?"
"No," Jinhyuk corrected. "I ruled it."
The jade token on his waist glinted. Elder Min noticed it too late.
"Y-you're with Ghost Valley?!"
"I'm your guest," Jinhyuk said smoothly. "Which means if I kill someone here… you can't retaliate without starting a war."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Jinhyuk looked at all of them—disciples, elders, onlookers, even the few sect leaders who had arrived at the commotion.
"I came to your gates once before… weak, lost, begging to grow."
He raised his hand, and with a single flick, let out a burst of icy Qi that shattered a stone statue nearby.
Now everyone felt it.
Power. Unrestrained. Cold. Controlled.
"You could've had me as a loyal sword," he said, eyes sharp. "But you turned me away like garbage."
He leaned down beside the barely conscious Cho Yul.
"Next time someone knocks, open the damn gate."
Then, without another word, Jinhyuk turned and walked out of the sect—his cloak billowing behind him, every step heavy with purpose.
No one followed.
No one dared.
> [Quest Complete: Make Them Kneel
Reward Unlocked: Technique Slot +1, Title Gained – Shadow Tyrant (Rare)
Hidden Trait Progression – 30% toward Heavenly Sovereign path.]
He vanished into the forest without a trace.
But the name he left behind would echo in Black Moon Sect for years to come.