The rain had started not long ago.
It fell steadily, soaking the streets and turning the neon lights into blurred reflections on the asphalt. Cars passed occasionally, their headlights slicing through the wet night, but the street Tae-Hyuk walked on was quieter than most.
Too quiet.
He walked with his usual pace, hands relaxed, expression calm. To anyone watching, there was nothing unusual about him. Just another man heading home.
But his senses were already active.
They were there.
Five of them.
Their presence was controlled and hidden well enough to fool ordinary people.
Tae-Hyuk didn't stop walking.
He let them move first.
Moments later, they appeared.
Not dramatically, just stepping out from the shadows. Their coordination made it clear this wasn't random.
They had planned this.
Assassins.
One stood directly ahead of him. A tall man with a scar over his eye. The others spread out slightly, forming a loose circle.
"He's here," the scarred man said quietly, "Don't miss."
One of the assassins raised a silenced pistol.
Tae-Hyuk finally stopped.
Rain slid down his face, but he didn't react to it. His eyes moved across them once, taking everything in.
"So this are your disciples..." he muttered under his breath.
The gun fired, but the bullet hit nothing.
Tae-Hyuk was no longer there.
Phantom Step.
To the assassins, it looked like he simply disappeared.
He reappeared beside the shooter.
Before the man could react, Tae-Hyuk's fingers pressed lightly against his chest.
"Stay still."
A pulse of Qi followed.
Qi Vein Control — a technique that disrupts an enemy's Qi internally.
The assassin's body stiffened instantly. His breathing stopped mid-motion, his eyes widening as something inside him went wrong.
His Qi flow twisted, then scattered.
He dropped to the ground without a sound.
The others reacted immediately.
Gunfire erupted from two sides, controlled and precise.
Tae-Hyuk moved again.
Phantom Step.
The bullets passed through empty space.
He appeared behind one of them.
The man turned quickly, faster than the first, his body moved to counter but it didn't matter.
Tae-Hyuk stepped forward.
He didn't strike.
He simply reached out.
The space around the assassin tightened.
Space compression, The man's body folded under invisible pressure. Bones cracked quietly, not from impact, but from force closing in from all sides.
He collapsed immediately.
The remaining three hesitated.
Only for a moment, but it was there.
They understood that this wasn't a normal target.
Before they could gather themselves together, Tae-Hyuk was already on the move.
He appeared in front of another.
No wind-up. No warning.
Formless kill.
The man froze.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Then a thin line opened across his torso.
His body gave out instantly, his Qi cut apart before he could even react.
He fell without a sound.
The rooftop assassin fired next.
Shots came down rapidly, breaking whatever rhythm they had left.
Tae-Hyuk looked up.
Then vanished.
A breath later, he was behind him.
The assassin sensed it barely. He turned halfway.
Tae-Hyuk's hand touched his back.
Qi Vein Control.
The man choked.
His Qi spiraled out of control, crashing through his own body. His limbs went stiff, then useless.
Tae-Hyuk finally turned to the leader.
Rain fell harder now, washing blood across the ground in thin streams.
The man's grip tightened on his weapon, but his confidence was gone. His eyes kept shifting, trying to follow something he couldn't see.
Tae-Hyuk stepped toward him slowly.
"You were sent to kill me," he said. "Was it Li Shan?"
The man fired again.
Three shots.
This time, Tae-Hyuk didn't move, the bullets stopped in front of him for a brief second before dropping.
Space Compression.
The assassin's face went pale.
Tae-Hyuk closed the distance.
He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him slightly off the ground.
"You… don't know who you're dealing with," the man said trying to gain leverage.
Tae-Hyuk's expression didn't change. "Unfortunately for you, I do," he said. "And you... you're nothing but a disposable tool."
His fingers moved, Formless Kill.
A clean strike across the shoulder.
The man screamed.
His arm went limp immediately, Qi completely severed in that area.
Tae-Hyuk leaned closer.
"I'll let you live" he said quietly. "You'll probably be killed by those that sent you anyways." Then he let him drop.
The man hit the ground hard, barely conscious, clutching his shoulder.
Somewhere in the distance, footsteps faded.
Tae-hyuk watched the direction of the sound, his senses tracing whoever was running until they disappeared completely.
A faint smile touched his lips. "Good....fear spreads faster that way"
The street fell silent again.
The rain continued like nothing had happened.
Tae-Hyuk stood there for a moment, then he looked down at his hands, blood mixed with rain, washing away slowly.
His expression remained calm but something deeper lingered beneath it.
"This world hasn't changed," he said, as if having a conversation with someone. "Different buildings and different weapons, but the same nature. People still killed for power, hide behind shadows and still underestimate what they didn't understand."
He turned and began walking again.
No rush.
As if this was just another part of his routine, but the air around him felt different now.
He wasn't just observing anymore, he was starting to act.
And once that line was crossed, there was no going back.
The city continued its quiet rhythm, unaware of what had just happened in one of its darker corners.
But soon enough, the Murim world hidden within it would begin to notice.
And when it did, Jin Tae-Hyuk wouldn't be the one adjusting.
They would.