Chapter 668
Sometimes in life, things happen that simply can’t be understood.
Just like now.
“Where do you think you’re going? Got somewhere to be?”
For a moment, time that had been racing ahead came to a sudden halt.
The Seven Miao Tigers, who had been fighting like wild beasts despite their wounds, the Baek Tribe warriors who filled the dungeon corridors, and even Yal Mok—all froze, staring blankly at the man who had appeared from the darkness.
‘How…?’
The question filled everyone’s minds at once.
Because ‘he’ shouldn’t be here. Couldn’t be here.
And yet, while everyone in the dungeon stood as if they were seeing a ghost, only Yal Mok—his shoulder gripped tightly in that man’s firm hand—realized that this unbelievable sight was real.
He couldn’t help but ask,
“…Why are you here?”
His eyes were dazed, his voice hollow.
But the answer that came back was absurdly short and simple.
“I just came out.”
“…What?”
“I was locked in here, right? So I came out.”
‘What kind of bullshit is that…?’
Everyone, including Yal Mok, was speechless.
‘How the hell does someone locked in a dungeon just walk out?’
And it wasn’t as if he’d been resting quietly inside. He’d been shackled with chains weighing hundreds of kilograms, his inner dantian completely sealed.
The iron bars that surrounded him were even forged with meteoric iron—crafted solely to hold one particular monster.
‘Then how…?’
It was beyond comprehension—utterly inexplicable.
The Baek Tribe warriors instinctively thought of betrayal from within. The Seven Miao Tigers wondered if their intel had been wrong.
But as all of them struggled to process what they were seeing, ‘he’ simply took another step forward.
Step.
The quiet sound of his footfall broke the silence.
Under the flickering torchlight in the dark corridor, Jin Taekyung emerged and squinted.
“Ugh, that’s bright. Hey, you there.”
The Baek Tribe warrior holding the torch blinked in confusion.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“W-why?”
“What do you mean why, you dimwit? My eyes hurt—put your arm down. What is this, a presentation? Crossing the road without your parents?”
“Huh?”
The man didn’t understand a word, but somehow, it felt natural to answer politely.
“Still standing there? I’ll give you three seconds to lower that arm before the light turns red. When it does, you’re dead. Three.”
“S-sorry!”
“Don’t apologize, just put it down already.”
“Yes, sir!”
Fwoosh.
The man quickly lowered the torch, dimming the already faint light. Jin Taekyung nodded with satisfaction.
“Much better. Good job.”
“It’s nothing, I—”
The proud Baek Tribe warrior froze mid-sentence.
‘Wait… something’s wrong.’
A split second later, a dull crack echoed.
Thud.
Ssshhk.
The torch fell into a puddle as its holder collapsed, and the Baek Tribe captain snarled.
“You useless idiot.”
The icy voice snapped everyone back to reality.
They had been watching without thought, but now, like waking from a dream, they realized what was happening.
This wasn’t over.
This was real—and they had to subdue the monster standing before them.
“Kill him!”
The captain’s roar shook the dungeon, filled with powerful energy. He launched forward, kicking off the wall.
Tap—swoosh!
A speed rivaling even the greatest masters of the orthodox sects.
The Seven Miao Tigers moved to block him, but the attacks raining from all sides stopped them.
Clang! Crash!
“Give him the [Antidote] now—!” shouted Yuanhu.
But his cry was cut short. The captain, spotting Yal Mok hurriedly reaching into his robes, was convinced.
‘So that’s it. He hasn’t unsealed his power yet.’
He didn’t know how Jin Taekyung had escaped, but he was sure of one thing—the man’s energy was still sealed.
If so…
‘I can win.’
Even the strongest master was just another man if he couldn’t use his inner power.
Though Jin Taekyung’s martial understanding and technique hadn’t vanished, without internal energy and without a weapon, facing a peak expert like him barehanded was impossible.
‘I’ll capture him myself.’
The thought of earning unmatched merit and the confidence of certain victory made the captain’s heart race.
His sword gleamed brilliantly.
A dazzling aura of sword energy surged along its edge. Seeing Yal Mok glance back, the captain felt a surge of conviction.
‘This will be my strongest strike.’
“Now!”
Swoosh!
A perfect motion. The sword drew light as it split through the darkness, streaking toward its targets.
He shouted in triumph.
“Got yo—”
Slash!
But before he could finish, he blinked in disbelief.
There was nothing.
No Yal Mok. No Jin Taekyung.
Everything in front of him had vanished like a mirage.
‘How…?’
Then, a voice came from behind him.
“Oh, you’re thinking, ‘how,’ right?”
The voice froze his blood. The captain spun around, his sword instinctively lashing out—
Swoosh!
But it never struck.
The blade trembled midair, stopped by something unseen.
‘What the…?’
His sword, filled with energy, had been halted—not by a weapon, not even by a hand, but by the empty space between.
A gap of a single inch. The invisible pressure pressing against his sword was as real as iron.
Slowly, but irresistibly, it pushed the blade back.
Crrrk.
His eyes shook violently.
“H-Heokong Seobjul (Object Grasping in the Void)…?”
The sword shimmered in the dark. Beyond it, white teeth flashed in a grin.
“Close enough.”
“W-what… your inner power was sealed—”
“Close, but not the same thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t bother trying to understand. You wouldn’t get it anyway.”
It was cruel, but true.
Even if the captain spent the rest of his life training, he would never reach the threshold of the middle Dantian.
“W-what in the hell are you—!”
He never finished.
A fist wrapped in broken chains filled his vision.
Boom!
A crushing pain exploded through his body as the blow drove deep into his gut.
“Keuhh!”
The sheer power in that single strike—it could only mean one thing: Jin Taekyung had already broken the seal.
The force behind it was monstrous, beyond human limits.
Swoosh!
He could feel it—his body flying backward, consciousness fading amidst unbearable pain.
‘This… damned… monster…’
That was his last thought.
His limp body crashed into the dungeon corridor, sweeping through the Baek Tribe warriors like a cannonball.
Boom! Crack!
“Argh!”
“Wh-what the—!”
Chaos erupted instantly. Then, as the warriors realized who the broken body belonged to, their mouths dropped open.
“T-the captain…?”
“No way…”
The murmurs died almost immediately.
Because among them, only one man could have done that.
“J-Jin Taekyung…”
Dozens of eyes turned toward a single figure.
Splash. Clink.
Stepping through the puddles, chains hanging from his wrists where the iron balls had been torn off, Jin Taekyung grinned.
“What? Someone called me?”
His smile was bright—completely at odds with the dark, oppressive dungeon.
Like a predator finding prey.
No, like a demon tasting freedom.
“So… who’s next?”
The Baek Tribe warriors froze, chills crawling down their spines.
“Kill him!”
“We outnumber him! Push them back!”
Swish, swish, swish!
More than ten elites leapt from the walls, their weapons flashing. Each was a master in their own right.
But before their blades could even touch him—
Clang! Crash!
The chains lashed out like roaring serpents.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The iron dungeon shook as the warriors were smashed aside.
Dust filled the air. In the midst of it, Jin Taekyung’s voice echoed, cold and amused.
“Damn, summer already? What’s with all these flies?”
He tilted his head.
“Anyway. Next?”
No one answered.
The Baek Tribe warriors, staring at him like they were facing Death itself, stepped back in unison.
But then—
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs behind them.
“Oh, right. Forgot to mention.”
Jin Taekyung smirked and pointed toward the stairs.
“Something big’s coming.”
The next instant, a deafening roar filled the dungeon.
“Taesan’s hungry!”
The roar of a starving beast—no, of ‘Taesan’ himself.