“Stop.”
This command was directed not at Xiao Yun, but at Wairang.
As soon as Taeseong was attacked, Wairang shot out from the shadows like lightning. However, Xiao Yun effortlessly subdued him.
All of this happened in less than a second.
Taeseong looked at his torn-off arm.
Only now grasping the situation, the Korean administrators rushed to his side.
“You son of a—!”
“Taeseong!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Oh Haeyoung gripped her axe, glaring at Xiao Yun.
Yu Gi-jun was readying his psychokinesis to strike Xiao Yun’s head.
Meanwhile, Lee Eunha calmly analyzed the situation.
A moment of imminent confrontation.
Unexpectedly, it was Taeseong who stopped them.
“I’m fine.”
There was only one reason Taeseong made this decision.
‘If a fight breaks out, I can’t guarantee my team’s survival.’
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have hesitated to charge at Xiao Yun.
No matter how strong the opponent, Taeseong’s way was to eliminate them thoroughly, by any means necessary.
And he was confident he could do so.
But this was different.
He didn’t know exactly what Xiao Yun was, but it was clear—this was an opponent beyond comparison with any administrator he had encountered before.
Fighting someone like that while protecting his team was beyond his current ability.
Taeseong glanced at his teammates.
The Korean administrators knew Xiao Yun was a Beta-ranked administrator.
That much was evident from the slight tremble in their hands.
‘Well, not that he seriously intended to kill me from the start…’
Taeseong was certain because of the killing intent.
Xiao Yun was someone who could control his killing intent freely.
Proof of that was how he had deliberately let his killing intent leak when lunging at Taeseong.
If he had truly intended to kill him, he would have hidden it instead.
“You… you’re the real deal.”
Taeseong’s guess was right on the mark.
Xiao Yun was known as a ‘madman’ even among the Tree administrators. His actions were completely unpredictable.
There was only one reason he had acted this way toward Taeseong.
Curiosity.
It was simple.
He just wanted to.
“See? Those Gamma and Beta rankings don’t mean a damn thing. Strong ones are just strong. Don’t you think?”
“How tiresome. Why are you Tree administrators so obsessed with testing people?”
“Hahaha! Right? Everyone here is like that.”
“You laugh after tearing off someone’s arm… Looks like you’re just as insane.”
As Taeseong continued his sharp remarks, the other administrators’ faces changed by the second.
It felt like watching a terrorist desperately trying to detonate a giant bomb at any moment.
Then—
Squish.
Rip!
“Ah, sorry. My bad. Guess I went a little overboard with my joke? As an apology, I made it fair. I tore mine off too. Feel better now?”
Xiao Yun casually tossed his own severed left arm to the ground.
The other administrators, seeing this, clamped their hands over their mouths in shock.
At that moment, they all had the same thought.
‘This guy is absolutely insane.’
Only Taeseong remained expressionless as he muttered,
“Tear off the other one too.”
This time, the administrators all shared another thought.
‘This bastard is just as insane.’
“The other one? Hmm… sure, why not? Ah… now I have no hands, huh?”
“I’ll help.”
Taeseong approached Xiao Yun and, with his fully regenerated right arm, tore off the other one.
Rip!
Even as his arm was being torn off, Xiao Yun simply grinned.
“Happy now?”
“I’ll let it go this time, out of respect for your effort.”
The administrators, witnessing this insane conversation, gave up on trying to understand anything.
Just then, the door swung open, and Yato and Ito stepped inside—
Only to freeze at the scene before them.
Xiao Yun’s severed arms lay on the floor, blood pooled around them.
And standing before him, Taeseong was completely unscathed.
“…S-Shao Yun Administrator? What the hell is this…?”
“What, don’t tell me… the commander did this?”
Somehow, Ito’s way of addressing Taeseong had changed to ‘commander.’
Xiao Yun looked at them and spoke playfully.
“Yeah. Taeseong is really strong, you know? I got bored and picked a fight, and, well, this happened. Is he really just Delta-ranked?”
Yato’s pupils trembled.
Her gaze toward Taeseong was now filled with both fear and awe.
Meanwhile, in Ito’s eyes, admiration and reverence burned.
“Just who are you…?”
“Commander…! You’re truly an incredible person!”
Xiao Yun turned back to Taeseong and asked,
“Taeseong. Are you a Returner?”
Taeseong nodded.
“I thought so. Where from?”
“I don’t know.”
“Lost your memory, huh? Earlier, you seemed to make some kind of deal with Ito… mind sharing?”
Taeseong answered, sounding disinterested.
“The loser of our duel obeys the winner’s command.”
“Why that kind of bet?”
“To get information about my younger sibling.”
At the mention of ‘sibling,’ the playfulness vanished from Xiao Yun’s face.
“A sibling, huh… What’s their name?”
“Do I need to tell you that?”
“Who knows? I might be able to help.”
“Stay out of it.”
Taeseong suspected that Xiao Yun held a high-ranking administrator position or something similar.
But he had no intention of revealing his sibling’s name.
He judged that obtaining information from Xiao Yun was not worth the risk of him taking interest in his sibling.
“Alright. If you insist.”
Xiao Yun unexpectedly backed off without argument.
Then, he moved his severed arms, making them float into the air.
The detached limbs drifted toward their original positions—
And as soon as they touched, threads and needles appeared out of nowhere, swiftly stitching them back together.
Everyone stared blankly at the bizarre sight.
“…….”
Like a skilled surgeon performing a flawless operation, Xiao Yun reattached his arms in an instant.
Flexing his fingers, he grinned in satisfaction.
“What’s with those faces?”
“…That’s quite the odd skill.”
“As if growing back an arm is any less odd.”
Taeseong fell silent, conceding the point.
“Oh, right. I promised a reward.”
Xiao Yun turned toward Gi-Jun and Haeyoung.
The two flinched, frantically waving their hands in protest.
“Wh-What do you want? We don’t need anything! Just stay away from us!”
“M-Me too! Please, just don’t pull my arms off!”
Xiao Yun casually ignored them and approached, pressing their acupoints.
His speed was so astonishing that Gi-jun and Haeyoung only realized what had happened after they found themselves unable to move.
Xiao Yun grabbed their arms, then swiftly pulled out needles from his sleeve and began inserting them.
Only after that did Gi-jun and Haeyoung regain control over their bodies, experiencing the same sensation—Not only did their previously blocked qi flow freely, but their entire bodies surged with strength.
“What is this? This refreshing feeling…”
“Gi-jun! My body is overflowing with energy!”
Both stared at Xiao Yun in bewilderment.
Xiao Yun grinned brightly.
“A reward. I promised, didn’t I?”
With that, he turned and walked out the door.
As he left the training hall and wandered down the corridor, Xiao Yun suddenly stopped.
“This is…”
A faint pain radiated from his chest.
When he touched the area, a thin trace of blood seeped onto his fingertips.
“…He pierced through my protective qi and wounded me?”
Only then did Xiao Yun realize—In that fleeting moment, Taeseong’s fingertip had reached his chest.
If Lee Taeseong had been holding a sword…
Xiao Yun licked the blood off his finger, his lips curling into a meaningful smile.
“I like it.”
Taeseong and the Korean administrators headed to the temporary lodgings assigned by the Japanese branch.
Though there was a mountain of things they wanted to discuss, the events of the day had been overwhelming, so they decided to rest for now.
Rumors traveled fast.
They had already sensed an unusual level of hospitality from the Japanese staff, and now they knew why—
Word had spread that the Korean administrators had completely dominated the Japanese administrators in their duels.
Most of the talk revolved around one person: Lee Taeseong, the Delta-rank administrator of the Korean branch.
Stories varied—Some said Yato, the leader of Team 3, had clung to Taeseong’s pant leg, weeping and begging for her life.
Others claimed that Ito, the vice leader, had sworn absolute obedience and now followed him as their commander.
And then there was the tale that Xiao Yun, the “Madman” dispatched from China, had even offered his own arm, asking to be accepted as a disciple.
There was a reason why most administrators avoided Taeseong’s gaze in the hallways and stepped aside to let him pass.
After inspecting his room, Taeseong threw himself onto the bed with a satisfied expression.
“That fight was worth it.”
The rumors were amusing, but the real prize was how the twins’ attitudes had completely changed. Yato could barely meet Taeseong’s eyes and stammered like a frightened kitten.
Meanwhile, Ito’s eyes gleamed with admiration every time he saw Taeseong, shouting “Captain! Captain!” like an eager puppy rushing to its master.
Even securing this luxurious lodging was thanks to Ito persistently appealing to the staff in charge.
It had been a long time since Taeseong had felt the comfort of a proper bed. Wrapped in soft blankets, he felt a peace settle over him, and the accumulated fatigue of the past days melted away like snow.
A wave of relaxation washed over him—This, this was true bliss…
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang, shattering the moment.
Annoyed, Taeseong got up and strode toward the entrance.
When he opened the door, an unwelcome sight greeted him—Xiao Yun stood there, grinning, holding up a bottle of alcohol.
Taeseong asked in an tired tone, “What do you want at this hour?”
Xiao Yun swayed the bottle slightly.
“Do you like drinking?”
Taeseong did like alcohol.
But drinking with this lunatic? Not a chance.
“Go away. I’m not in the mood.”
As Taeseong moved to shut the door, Xiao Yun swiftly wedged his foot inside.
Taeseong looked at him in disbelief.
Xiao Yun’s grin widened.
“Your sister’s name is Lee Sooah, isn’t it?”
The moment those words left his mouth, Taeseong grabbed Xiao Yun by the throat.
His face twisted with fury, his eyes promising murder.
“What the hell are you up to?”
His grip tightened, veins bulging on his hand.
If Xiao Yun made one wrong move, his neck would snap on the spot.
Yet, Xiao Yun remained unfazed, his voice calm.
“Don’t you want to hear about your sister?”
“…”
“Relax. I just came to have a drink and talk. Might as well chat about your sister while we’re at it.”
Taeseong hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Come in.”
The two naturally settled at the table.
Xiao Yun held up the bottle he had brought.
“Do you know what this is?”
“I don’t.”
“Of course not. This liquor is called Wuliangye.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
“It means ‘the precious essence of five grains.’ It was my favorite drink in my world.”
“My world? Are you a returnee too?”
“A returnee? That term only applies if this place was ever my home.”
Xiao Yun paused, then spoke his real name—Tang Unryong.
“I am a transmigrant.”
The former head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, from a distant world of martial arts.
