The disciple's face reddened. "What the fuck are you saying? You delusional—"

The rest of his sentence died in his throat as Tae-Won moved.

It wasn't speed that made the movement remarkable—Tae-Won was still limited by his new body's capabilities—but rather the precision, the economy of motion, the absolute certainty behind each step. He closed the distance between them in three strides, his right hand already moving in a pattern that had once shattered the ribcage of a god.

The Jin Clan disciple's Qi flared in defense, a hastily erected barrier that might have stopped an ordinary attack. But Tae-Won's strike wasn't ordinary. It was the distillation of centuries of combat, adapted on the fly to this world's principles.

His fist connected with the youth's sternum—

Only to meet solid resistance as the disciple's Qi barrier held firm against the strike.

Tae-Won's eyes widened in surprise. His attack, which should have punched through the hastily erected defense, had been completely nullified. The disciple smirked, confidence restored.

"Is that all you've got, rat?" the Jin disciple laughed, his Qi barrier shimmering blue around him. "I've been hit harder by children!"

[Technique Analyzed: Azure Flame Barrier (Basic) - Analysis Progress: 15%]

Tae-Won narrowed his eyes, reassessing. His body was weaker than he'd anticipated, and his Qi reserves were pitiful compared to these trained disciples. He'd need to be smarter, not stronger.

"You caught me by surprise," Tae-Won admitted, stepping back to create distance. "It seems you Jin Clan disciples aren't completely useless after all."

The five disciples circled him now, their confidence growing as they realized he wasn't the immediate threat they'd feared. Tae-Won took stock of his situation: five trained opponents, each with significant Qi reserves, against one barely-cultivated body with centuries of combat experience but minimal physical capability.

The tallest disciple, the one who had insulted him, drew his sword with a flourish. The blade glowed with azure Qi, humming with power.

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," the disciple said. "Most slum rats would be begging for mercy by now. I think I'll take my time with you."

Tae-Won didn't respond. He was busy searching his memories for techniques that wouldn't require much raw power but could leverage his superior combat instincts. The disciples took his silence for fear, their smiles widening.

"Jin-Ho, Jin-Tae, take his flanks," the leader ordered. "Jin-Su, stay back with me. Jin-Min, teach him what happens to trash that doesn't know its place."

One of the disciples—Jin-Min, presumably—stepped forward, his hands glowing with concentrated Qi. He moved with practiced grace, clearly having trained in martial arts since childhood.

"Azure Palm Strike!" Jin-Min called out, lunging forward with his palm extended, blue energy crackling around his fingers.

Tae-Won didn't try to block this time. Instead, he twisted sideways, letting the attack pass within inches of his chest. The air crackled where the Qi-infused palm cut through it.

[Technique Analyzed: Azure Palm Strike (Basic) - Analysis Progress: 30%]

"Too slow," Tae-Won commented, though in truth the attack had been faster than he'd expected. This body's reflexes were still adjusting to his mental commands.

Jin-Min snarled and spun for another strike. This time, Tae-Won ducked under it and used the momentum to drive his shoulder into the disciple's stomach. It was a basic move, requiring little strength but perfect timing.

The impact drove Jin-Min back a step, but did little damage against his Qi-reinforced body.

"Is that all?" Jin-Min laughed. "I barely felt it!"

Two more disciples, Jin-Ho and Jin-Tae, attacked simultaneously from different angles, one with a sword and the other with a whip-like chain that crackled with energy. Tae-Won was forced to dive and roll, the chain catching his ankle and sending a jolt of pain up his leg.

"Argh!" he grunted, pulling free and scrambling to his feet. That had hurt—more than he'd care to admit.

The leader watched with amusement. "Not so confident now, are you, rat? Jin Clan disciples train from birth in the Azure Flame Arts. You're just some untrained peasant who got lucky with your first move."

Tae-Won limped slightly, his body already feeling the strain. He was burning through his minimal Qi reserves just trying to enhance his speed and durability. At this rate, he'd collapse from exhaustion before landing a significant blow.

This isn't working, he thought grimly. I need to change tactics.

The disciples attacked again, coordinated this time, coming from three directions at once. Tae-Won managed to evade the first two attacks but caught a glancing blow from Jin-Min's palm strike across his shoulder. The impact sent him tumbling across the dirt, pain flaring through his body.

[Warning: Qi reserves at 40%]

"This is pathetic," the leader commented, still not bothering to join the fight himself. "I expected more after your bold entrance."

Tae-Won rose slowly, his mind racing. He needed an edge, something to tip the scales. As a last resort, he reached for one of the techniques he'd used to defeat lesser gods—the Void Step, a movement technique that had once allowed him to cross battlefields in an instant.

He focused his remaining Qi, trying to trigger the familiar sensation, but his meridians rejected the foreign technique completely. The energy dispersed uselessly, leaving him gasping for breath.

[Error: Incompatible technique. Body cannot support this level of energy manipulation]

"Damn it," he muttered, dropping to one knee as fatigue washed over him. The disciples were closing in, their faces alight with cruel anticipation.

Then, as his eyes darted around for any possible advantage, he noticed something: the Jin Clan disciples' Qi wasn't evenly distributed. They concentrated it in their hands, feet, and around vital organs, but there were gaps—small but potentially exploitable weaknesses in their defenses.

A memory surfaced—a technique from a remote province of Latvaria, used by assassins who specialized in killing mage-lords with limited resources. It wasn't about power, but precision.

As Jin-Min lunged forward for what would likely be a finishing blow, Tae-Won gathered what little Qi he had left into his fingertips. Instead of trying to overwhelm the disciple's defenses, he targeted a specific point—the meridian junction at the base of the throat, where the Qi flow was thinnest.

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His strike connected with surgical precision, a mere tap that seemed negligible. Jin-Min froze mid-attack, his eyes widening in shock as his Qi circulation temporarily disrupted. It wasn't a devastating blow, but it created an opening.

[Technique Created: Meridian Disruptor (Basic)]

Without hesitation, Tae-Won followed with a conventional strike to Jin-Min's now-unprotected solar plexus. The disciple doubled over, the wind knocked from his lungs.

"Jin-Min!" the leader shouted, his amusement turning to concern.

Tae-Won didn't waste his advantage. He spun toward the next disciple, Jin-Ho, applying the same technique to the meridian point at his wrist just as he was raising his sword. The weapon clattered to the ground as Jin-Ho's hand went temporarily numb.

"What's he doing?" Jin-Tae asked, hesitating now. "Is that—is that a meridian strike?"

The leader's eyes narrowed. "Impossible. That's an advanced technique taught only in the inner halls of the major sects." He drew his own sword, no longer content to watch from the sidelines. "Kill him. Now. He knows too much."

The remaining disciples attacked with renewed vigor, but Tae-Won was adapting, learning their patterns. Their techniques, while powerful, were predictable—clearly designed to overwhelm opponents with raw force rather than finesse.

[Technique Analyzed: Azure Palm Strike (Basic) - Analysis Complete]

[Technique Analyzed: Azure Flame Barrier (Basic) - Analysis Progress: 85%]

Despite his growing knowledge of their fighting style, Tae-Won's physical limitations were becoming critical. His reserves were dangerously low, and his body was accumulating damage from the exertion. He managed to land another meridian strike on Jin-Tae, disrupting his Qi flow momentarily, but took a powerful hit to his ribs in exchange.

The pain was intense, suggesting at least one broken rib. He staggered back, gasping.

[Warning: Qi reserves at 15%]

[Physical condition deteriorating]

The leader stepped forward now, his sword emitting a high-pitched hum as azure energy coiled around the blade. "I've seen enough. You're no ordinary slum rat. Those meridian strikes... Who trained you?"

Tae-Won managed a pained smile. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"It doesn't matter. You're about to die anyway." The leader raised his sword. "Jin Clan Secret Art: Twin Serpent Strike!"

The blade blurred, seeming to split into two identical weapons as it descended toward Tae-Won. It was an illusion created by Qi manipulation, but the danger was very real—both edges could cut flesh.

[Technique Analyzed: Twin Serpent Strike (Intermediate) - Analysis Progress: 40%]

With barely any Qi left to enhance his speed, Tae-Won had no choice but to use his final reserves in a desperate gambit. Instead of trying to dodge, he stepped toward the attack, into the narrow gap between the "twin" blades. It was a maneuver that required perfect timing and absolute precision—the kind of move that had earned him his reputation as the most fearsome warrior in Latvaria.

The sword's edge sliced his cheek as he moved past it, but the core of the attack missed. Now inside the leader's guard, Tae-Won drove his last remaining Qi into his fingertips and struck the central meridian junction in the disciple's chest—the heart gate, as some called it.

The leader gasped, his Qi circulation disrupted completely for a crucial second. His sword arm went momentarily limp, the weapon's glow fading.

[Technique Created: Heart Gate Seal (Intermediate)]

Tae-Won followed with a conventional strike to the throat—not powerful enough to kill, but sufficient to incapacitate. The leader choked, dropping his sword and clutching at his neck as he staggered backward.

The remaining disciples looked on in shock as their leader fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

"H-how?" Jin-Tae stammered. "He's just a—"

"I am NEVER just anything," Tae-Won interrupted, his voice deadly calm despite his exhaustion. "And I am certainly not dirty."

[Warning: Qi reserves at 5%]

[Critical energy threshold reached]

Spots were dancing at the edges of Tae-Won's vision now, but he refused to show weakness. He faced the three remaining disciples who could still fight, his posture straight despite the screaming pain in his ribs.

"Your leader will live," he said. "Consider that mercy. Now take him and go, before I change my mind."

For a moment, the disciples hesitated, torn between vengeance and self-preservation. Then Jin-Min, who had recovered enough to stand, spoke.

"We should withdraw. This... person... is not what he seems."

The others nodded reluctantly. They gathered their fallen leader and began to retreat, casting wary glances back at Tae-Won.

"The Jin Clan won't forget this," Jin-Min warned. "We'll be back."

Tae-Won merely smiled, a cold, imperial expression that looked incongruous on his youthful, dirt-smeared face. "I'm counting on it."

As the disciples disappeared around a corner, Tae-Won's legs finally gave out. He collapsed against a wall, sliding down to sit in the dirt, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

[Quest Completed: First Blood]

[Reward: 3 Basic Combat Techniques: Azure Flame Barrier, Azure Palm Strike, Golden Step]

[Reward: 1 Intermediate Combat Technique: Twin Serpent Strike]

[Bonus: Reputation increased in local area]

Tae-Won felt a sudden influx of knowledge as the techniques were deposited directly into his mind. He now knew how to perform each move, though mastering them would take practice.

"Interesting," he murmured, examining the techniques mentally. "So the System can copy techniques from opponents and grant them to me. Very useful."

The children who had been watching the confrontation with wide eyes now approached cautiously, led by the thin boy who had tried to protect them earlier.

"You... you saved us," the boy said, his voice filled with awe. "Thank you, savior!"

Tae-Won glanced at them dismissively. "I didn't do it for you. They insulted me."

"But still, you beat them! No one ever stands up to the Jin Clan disciples! You're amazing!"

"Yes, well," Tae-Won said, unable to fully suppress the pride in his voice, "I've had some practice."

He turned to leave, intent on finding a quiet place to examine his new rewards and continue cultivation. But as he walked away, he realized the children were following him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, increasing his pace.

They matched it, their faces alight with admiration.

"Following you, savior!" the thin boy replied cheerfully. "I'm Ho-Jin. These are my friends."

Tae-Won walked faster. The children, all thirteen of them, walked faster too.

"Stop following me," he ordered.

"But you're so strong! You beat the Jin Clan disciples! You could teach us!"

"I'm not a babysitter," Tae-Won growled. "I'm trying to become stronger, not gather a collection of street urchins. Now, leave me alone."

Tae-Won thinking that would tell them off, continued to walk. But then he heard walking behind him.

Tae-Won stopped and looked back. The children also stopped and looked at him with admiration. Tae-Won again started walking and looked back. They were still there, now closer.

Tae-Won decided the best course of action and broke into a run. The children ran after him, their laughter echoing through the slum streets.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted, dignity forgotten as he sprinted around a corner.

"SAVIOR! WAIT FOR US!"

"I'M NOT YOUR SAVIOR! I'M THE GREATEST EMPEROR OF LATVARIA! I COMMAND ARMIES, NOT CHILDREN!" he bellowed over his shoulder, drawing strange looks from passersby.

"WHAT'S A LATVARIA?" one child shouted back.

"IT'S—NEVER MIND! JUST STOP FOLLOWING ME!"

Tae-Won groaned. This was not how the Greatest Emperor of Latvaria, Slayer of Gods, should be conducting himself. But as the children's cheerful calls pursued him through the winding alleys, he found himself wondering if perhaps having followers might not be entirely useless in this new world.

After all, every emperor needed subjects. Even if they were just street rats.

For now, though, he ran—an emperor fleeing from his most persistent conquest yet: children.