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Ku gugugu….

From a distance, it looked like the Sacred Altar Tree, reaching up to the sky, was slowly starting to collapse. The barrier of the Sacred Altar Tree had already been breached by the Eight Parts of the Divine, but soon it began to weaken to an extent that made that damage irrelevant.

“Aaaah!”

“Run away!”

Ku ku kunk!

The experts and sorcerers of the Twelve Joules, stationed at the base of the Sacred Altar Tree, were all panicking and fleeing. This was a catastrophe so vast and overwhelming that they couldn’t even comprehend the approach of the Eight Parts of the Divine. Fragments of tree trunks began to collapse, destroying the ground like a landslide, and casualties appeared everywhere. Fortunately, the higher-level martial artists and sorcerers started leading their subordinates to retreat, stabilizing the situation a bit.

“Where’s the Joule Master? Where is he?”

Amidst the chaos, the Lord of North Sea Ice Palace shouted nervously. He was a man in his fifties with silver hair and blue eyes, of mixed Western descent, and held high martial prowess among the Twelve Joules. Having brought the elite of the North Sea Sect with him because of the destiny of the Twelve Joules, he couldn’t help but feel bewildered when the Sacred Altar Tree abruptly began to collapse.

At that moment, the sky darkened, and a gigantic shadow covered the hundreds of people in the area.

…!!

That was a massive rock, easily over one hundred and fifty feet in size. In that instant, the thought that such a thing couldn’t be handled by human strength flashed through everyone’s minds. As the ancient rock embedded in the Sacred Altar Tree rocketed down as the pressure dropped, it plummeted towards the ground.

‘No way!’

The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace felt a wave of despair wash over him as he realized that even if he unleashed all his qi, he wouldn’t be able to break such a rock. He could escape with a divine technique, but all the humans here would be turned into pancakes!

Master of Zhu Yi Sect!

Ultimate Technique!

Thunder God Lineage Fist Technique!

Ka gwa gwa gwaang!

A powerful wind swept the ground as a divine figure charged the giant rock, executing One Punch with such force that it bounced back into the air at the same speed it was descending and shattered into pieces from the immense impact. Just with One Punch, he destroyed a boulder as tall as a cliff!

The experts dodged and blocked the falling fragments with their qi. The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace also joined in, shouting.

“Master of Zhu Yi Sect!! What a great divine skill!”

After all, how many martial artists could rebound a rock of over one hundred and fifty feet and turn it into rubble?

Ta-at!

The Master of Zhu Yi Sect descended lightly to the ground like a bird, with a strong mechanism installed on both arms. Although his face bore a gaunt expression, his body was thick with muscle, and he crossed his arms, speaking in a cool voice.

“What on earth is happening? Why is the Sacred Altar Tree collapsing?”

“I don’t know. Is there a way to contact the Joule Master?”

“I’ve already checked with both the Buddhist sect and Haedong Milcheon. However, the Buddhist side has no long-distance communication techniques, and the Heavenly Pillar has been killed.”

“What…!! By whom?”

“It must be Zhuge Sa.”

……

The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace ground his teeth in frustration.

‘Betrayed right in front of the enemy! Damn those filthy Central Plains folks.’

Of course, he knew Zhuge Sa, the strategist of Baek Woong Jin, whom they had seen and introduced to over the past several months. But since Zhuge Sa was relatively unknown and had remained quiet, he hadn’t paid much attention. To his surprise, that very person had killed his allies.

The Master of Zhu Yi Sect spoke.

“Most of the other sect leaders have been found already. First, let’s escape from here and head towards the Amur River; that’s where our sect’s estate is.”

“Isn’t that too far? It might be better to retreat to the Mudan River area and assess the situation…”

As the Lord of North Sea Ice Palace spoke, he seemed flustered.

“No, are you saying we should already give up on finding the Joule Master? What about fighting the Eight Parts of the Divine?”

At that moment, a newly appeared expert interjected.

“The Joule Master commanded us both that if an anomaly occurs, we must abandon the fight here and immediately retreat to the base of Zhu Yi Sect.”

“The Joule Master.”

The leader of the Twelve Joules, Cheok Jun-gi, stroked his beard and continued speaking.

“There’s no time to explain. We need to move quickly.”

“I don’t understand the Joule Master’s intentions.”

“Well… if I must say… it’s preservation of power.”

“For what? If we can’t fight when we must…”

Seeing the Lord of North Sea Ice Palace’s expression of doubt, Cheok Jun-gi smiled wryly. It was an understandably disheartening situation.

“For the Joule Master, it might not be the time to fight right now… He’s different from us.”

Thus, the entire force of the Twelve Joules began to retreat from the Sacred Altar Tree.

From the start, their coordination had been seamless, and cooperation among the leaders was effective, minimizing casualties, and soon their presence had vanished entirely.

A silence fell in the wake of the Twelve Joules’ departure, until three figures suddenly emerged.

Pa-at!

“Interesting. I never expected the World Tree to collapse….”

The entity that transformed back from its original form into a beautiful dark-haired woman, Yacha Sang Gwanwna, muttered. They had gotten close to the sacred altar shortly after the barrier broke, but after Ginna’s suggestion to observe while remaining hidden, they did so.

And just as expected, a little while later, the World Tree’s core began to destabilize, losing its life force and starting to sink. The three members of the Eight Parts of the Divine thought it unnecessary to remain in their original forms, realizing they didn’t need to waste their divine energy.

The bandit leader, Geolsun, responded with a grin.

“Do we really not need to chase them down and kill them?”

In response to that question, the stout Ginna next to him chuckled and replied.

“Haha, it’s unnecessary. It would only waste our divine energy… No need to chase down those little bugs.”

“Really? They may be insects compared to our true forms, but having been active in the martial world for a long time, I know the prowess of the Twelve Joules well. If they group together, it might become a nuisance to Zhuge Yulong’s control over the Central Plains.”

Geolsun wasn’t a fool who spoke without thinking. With the knowledge and experiences he had accumulated while acting as the leader of the Orthodox Sect’s Three Prodigies and the previous head of the Shadowless Sect, he judged the Twelve Joules’ experts as dangerous beings. If possible, wiping them out right here would make things easier moving forward.

But Ginna shook his head firmly.

“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. But the waste of divine energy isn’t worth the gain. More importantly, we haven’t even seen the faces of the Joule Master or the Master of the White Lotus Sect yet.”

“Hmm.”

“Zhuge Yulong can handle the Joule Master alone. We even borrowed Tydaht; there’s no way he can’t manage that. Besides, with the World Tree collapsing like this, they would have lost more than 70% of their power.”

“That’s true.”

Ginna wasn’t overly compassionate regarding letting slip the retreating Twelve Joules experts. He simply recognized that now, with the World Tree’s collapse, the Twelve Joules would have lost the balance of power. As a strategist, he hated the idea of making a small mistake leading to a greater loss.

The Yacha swung her sickle.

Kiing—

A peculiar sound reverberated. Yacha felt that vibration and slowly said, “There’s a strong aura scattered around.”

“How do you know?”

“There are three powerful auras… Among them, I can’t tell which belongs to the Joule Master or the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”

“It’s probably not the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”

“Why?”

“…I’ll leave the search for the Master of the White Lotus Sect to the three outside. That means one of the three must be the Joule Master.”

Following Ginna’s words, Geolsun pondered before responding, “How about we split up and track them down? After all, we could easily break our seals in this condition.”

It was a reasonable suggestion. If each of the original bodies of the Eight Parts of the Divine wielded overwhelming power, splitting up would normally be the fastest approach. Geolsun thought they could easily hunt down the Joule Master alone.

However, Ginna firmly shook his head.

“No! Considering the humans’ true power might be stronger than expected, they could have some hidden tricks. The reincarnation of the Old Ruler is also surprisingly powerful. Among all the foes we’ve faced, he stands out. If it weren’t for our special abilities, it could have resulted in our annihilation.”

“Hmm. Are you saying they might summon entities from the otherworld again?”

“It’s possible.”

“Got it….”

As Geolsun came to an understanding, Ginna clenched his fists.

“We can’t lose any more comrades. Until the time promised by Lord Chi You comes….”

“Then we have to stick together.”

“That’s right. It might be a hassle, but we have to win and minimize energy consumption.”

Ginna was a more conservative and cautious tactician among the strategists. Because of that, he often fell behind those who devised strange and creative strategies. Yet due to his solidity, he (Go) was more successful in enduring battles and gaining the upper hand.

Thus, hope for the Joule Master faded a layer deeper.

The Yacha said, “Let the hunt begin.”

At that very moment, the Joule Master, Ha Eun-cheon, found himself unable to move because of a man blocking his way. He had descended much lower than halfway and was now standing on a cliff leaving Baekdu Mountain, just exiting the Divine City.

“Don’t move.”

The martial artist stood across the Cloud Bridge, pointing his sword qi at the Joule Master.

“If you move, you’re done.”

……

The Joule Master, Ha Eun-cheon, couldn’t disregard that warning. Nor could Hong Gil-dong, the elder of the Manha Spiritual Gate, who stood next to him. The attacking range of the swordsman across from them, like a barrier, was extremely threatening, binding them.

A powerful formless qi was infused with intent, keeping them in check. If they even stepped a little into that territory – or even dared to lift a finger, they would be cut down.

No avoiding this fight. And this fact meant that their opponent was an ultra-master within the Absolute Realm.

“Hmm.”

The Joule Master glanced at the blue sword and the Bright Dragon hanging at Hong Gil-dong’s side, then addressed the man on the opposite side of the Cloud Bridge.

“That’s your companion, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Seems like I inadvertently took hostages. Step aside before I throw them off the cliff.”

The Joule Master tried to intimidate his opponent nonchalantly, but the man didn’t flinch at all.

After a moment of silence, the Joule Master sighed.

“Ah, just toss them.”

Swish!

The next moment, without hesitation, Hong Gil-dong hurled the unconscious Cheongwol and Bright Dragon over the cliff. They were not the kind of good-natured people who would show kindness towards their enemies.

In response, the swordsman on the opposite side swiftly drew his sword.

Piying!

The formless sword qi zipped through the air in a crescent shape, gently lifting Cheongwol and Bright Dragon before sending them flying somewhere safely.

Sssssss –

While it appeared to be an attack, the Joule Master and Hong Gil-dong realized through their experience that the sword qi was devoid of lethal capability and was a masterful technique to bring them safely down to the cliff. It would even allow them to land softly like feathers on the ground.

Soon, Cheongwol and Bright Dragon had vanished from the scene, disappearing below the clouds.

That sword qi had reached an artistic level, earning an unintentional admiration from Hong Gil-dong.

“Impressive….”

Then the Joule Master shot a disapproving glance at Hong Gil-dong.

“Hey. You can’t be praising the enemy in a situation like this!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. But it was impressive, wasn’t it? As someone who uses clones, I can’t help but admire that precision!”

“Seriously… just shut up.”

The flustered Hong Gil-dong shrugged his shoulders.

“Yes.”

“It wasn’t just strength that made you the elder.”

The Joule Master, now frustrated, took out a small wooden barrel from his pocket. Shaking it slightly, an almost unconscious Extreme Tiger appeared. The Joule Master held the Cosmic Fragment in front of Extreme Tiger’s head and said, “I’ll acknowledge your impressive sword qi; you’re a great swordsman. But this time, you’re about to get your friend’s head squashed personally.”

……

“Still won’t step aside?”

At that moment, the swordsman remained unyielding.

“Extreme Tiger risked his life to reach the top of the Sacred Altar Tree. That alone signifies his mission’s success. He fought with his life from the start; what regret could he possibly have?”

“Is that a serious remark? Who do you think you are to decide whether this guy wants to live or die?”

“He is a man and a comrade.”

The swordsman expressed more determination, saying, “Comrades don’t merely indulge each other. If they share the same goal, they must perform their duties resolutely without wavering! It’s not necessary for you, the enemy, to understand that!”

……

“If Extreme Tiger dies unjustly, I will take that responsibility and die alongside you!”

He was resolute. ‘A true warrior.’

The Joule Master admired him inwardly. This admiration was less about the expertise of the swordsman, and more the deep respect for his rigorously honed mental strength and will.

There were many skilled masters in the world, but true warriors who kept their beliefs and principles were exceedingly rare, and such figures deserved admiration regardless of their allegiances.

“You’re likely here because you were ordered by Zhuge Sa to impede my progress. No matter how we try, fighting against a master in the Absolute Realm won’t be easy. Besides, in this valley with countless cliffs laid out like a map, it would be a real nuisance to be held up by someone as strong as you.”

……

“The terrain is perfectly arranged, isn’t it.”

“Indeed.”

“Well… it seems unavoidable. I was hoping to resolve this with words.”

Chiriling!

The Joule Master pulled out the Special Doujin, putting it on his hands. Holding the Cosmic Fragment in one hand, he muttered, “I’ll kill you first, Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong.”

 

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