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“This is… serious.”

It’s definitely not of human origin. I can feel a chill creeping up on me.

‘If that’s the case… the power of the Absolute Realm will surge dramatically. If there are constraints on training like that…’

I could achieve a different form of absolute defense than the Peerless Technique!

And unlike the Peerless Technique, if I fail, there wouldn’t be any repercussions!

As I stood there, dazed by the seriousness of the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique, Jin So-cheong gazed into the far sky and said,

“Honestly, I still don’t have the confidence to break through the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique of the Joules, but the reason I provoked him back then was because I wanted to gather any clues about his technique. Without that, we can’t bring him down.”

“I see.”

What on earth is the identity of the Twelve Joules?

What kind of person could pile up such inhuman levels of mastery?

‘Regardless, the masters of the three great powers are all monsters…’

I shook my head and said, “That’s enough. Let’s start preparing for the attack. Talking any further won’t do as much good as taking action.”

“Understood.”

The next day, the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s messenger, Yong Bi-cheon, came to see me. He said that the Master had fully decided to cooperate, and I informed Yong Bi-cheon that the attack would be tomorrow and detailed our plan. After that, he returned to report to the Master.

That evening, Mangnyang, Miho, and Cheon Woo-jin arrived. They all hurried over to participate in tomorrow’s attack. Seeing none of them looked particularly aged filled me with joy.

Miho said, “Baek Woong, don’t you think our forces aren’t quite ready to kill Peng Zuo? Shouldn’t we have gotten at least one or two of the Seven Luminaries?”

I shook my head at that.

“Now that we’ve involved the Twelve Joules, forcing Moon Sovereign into this would be absurd, and we don’t have time to break through Fire Spirit either. Wood Element is originally owned by the Joules, and Golden Crow belongs to Peng Zuo while Earth Spirit is in Dark Heaven Village. We have to resolve this with the resources we have.”

“Then why even involve the Twelve Joules or the Master of the White Lotus Sect? Someone like Peng Zuo is easy to eliminate with a little trickery among ourselves.”

As Miho complained, I glanced over at Zhuge Bu. Zhuge Bu stepped forward to the assembly and declared, “That was my strategy.”

“Hmph. So you want me to trust the words of a guy who was our enemy not long ago?”

“Now that I’ve received obsidian, we’re in the same boat.”

Zhuge Bu nonchalantly brushed off Miho’s words and continued, “If necessary, I have a plan to take down Peng Zuo instantly. You don’t need to worry about not being able to handle him. However, the main goal of this attack isn’t to take down Peng Zuo, but to uncover the enemy behind him.”

“The enemy behind him?”

Miho’s eyes sharpened.

“Who’s the one manipulating Peng Zuo for this invasion?”

“Yeah, odds are it’s like that.”

“Can we figure out who it is? Killing Peng Zuo itself is a challenge, capturing him is another story…”

Then Zhuge Bu replied, “No. It’s likely that the manipulator isn’t a specific individual but a result of the Law of Cause and Effect chain. Peng Zuo himself may not even realize he’s being manipulated. The actual chance of finding the enemy behind is very low.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s why we need this process.”

Zhuge Bu’s eyes gleamed sharply. “…Use deceit with deceit. We must make them think everything is under their control.”

The next day, the attack on Namhae began.

I utilized the Golden Lamp Technique to mobilize all the leaders of the Bancheon Alliance, key experts, and the Imperial Palace’s forces. For now, Zhuge Bu was pretending to be Zhuge Yulong, temporarily teaming up with the Bancheon Alliance, which made coordination with the Imperial Palace smooth. It appeared on the surface that the Imperial Palace and Bancheon Alliance were collaborating.

Our forces numbered about two hundred. Unexpectedly large, I thought this should be enough to go toe-to-toe with the White Lotus Sect or the Twelve Joules. In the next moment, I issued the command.

“Attack!”

Tydaht!!

Only the crème de la crème were called upon, so not a single one of them was below peak expert level. Moreover, the Imperial Palace’s demon soldiers had outstanding vitality and physical abilities, undoubtedly making them excellent assaulters and shields in the front lines.

‘The target is inside the fleet!’

The area for the operation was roughly ten li. We were to advance from here, attack into the fleet interior, lure out the demon sorcerers for assassination, and then kill Peng Zuo. Although it was only a ten-li distance, it was far from easy with monsters and gunmen charging in from all sides.

Crash! Bang!!

Yikes –

The air was filled with the loud sounds of battle, gunfire, and tearing fabrics. A blood mist had settled in, creating a particularly ominous atmosphere, and the fighting was intense. The enemy’s gunmen were formidable against regular soldiers, but in this ambush, the movements of the martial artists were so swift that none could even land a hit. Furthermore, the peak experts were blocking gunfire head-on with their protective energy techniques.

I swiftly advanced, cutting through demon beasts and said to Cheon Woo-jin, “Cheon Woo-jin, are you managing to neutralize the magical power?”

“Damn it. If you could use spirit power properly, you’d be able to do this as well, wouldn’t you?”

“Stop whining. If a strong enemy shows, I’ll take care of it for you.”

According to intelligence, the dense blood mist spreading around Namhae Port acted as a malevolent barrier that drained the vitality and sanity of intruders. Normally, even the highest-ranking martial artists could hardly endure staying in this blood mist for long. However, we had Cheon Woo-jin, who was adept in sorcery, supporting us by neutralizing the blood mist, allowing our forces to fight without hindrance.

Bang!!

[Krrrr…. Krrr….]

At that moment, dark-clothed demon sorcerers appeared near the port, bringing with them enormous demon beasts the size of a dozen ordinary ones. Although the demon beasts appeared to be made of rock, there were dreadful tentacle-like appendages sticking out here and there, giving off an unsettling vibe. Seeing the beasts, the Master of Shadowless Sword dashed forward proudly, shouting, “Hah! What’s the point of being big?!”

Slash!!

The sword strength unleashed by the Master of Shadowless Sword silently sliced through the enormous demon beast. But as if one hit wasn’t enough, the massive beast split into two and reintegrated in the blink of an eye, creating two new demon beasts. The sight dumbfounded the Master of Shadowless Sword.

“…What?! How can that…?”

Startled but undeterred, the Master swung his sword again, striking down the two beasts, but they simply multiplied into four. Realization that physical attacks were ineffective hit him hard.

Slither…!

Moreover, from the dark mist around the port, thousands of tentacle-like appendages crawled out, beginning to envelop everything. It was genuinely a nightmarish place where the Demon Path was running rampant. It seemed no civilians had survived, all having become offerings to the demon beasts.

Then, Miho, now half-human half-fox, stepped forward, her tail adorned with nine blazing flames sparkling fiercely.

[Kah!!]

The moment Miho’s eyes sparkled, the nine flames spun around and transformed into fire beams piercing through the surrounding demon beasts. With a loud explosion, almost all the beasts were obliterated, and I even felt the blood mist swept away by Miho’s power.

‘Strong!’

My allies had strengthened Miho by allying with Abe no Seimei and casting the great art of Yin and Yang. Indeed, as it was said. If she absorbed spirit power, she’d become even more formidable, but irrespective of that, Miho had the potential to grow strong with the resources she possessed.

The demon sorcerers, upon witnessing their beasts fall, attempted to escape by turning their bodies into liquid. But just then, Sa Ma-gyeong unleashed the Qimen Dunjia to ensnare the liquids in the void. Qimen Dunjia possessed the ability to control magical powers, allowing for an easy counter against the sorcerers’ tactics.

“Farewell.”

Sa Ma-gyeong waved his hand, and soon the liquids that had been demon sorcerers were sucked into the center of the Eight Trigrams Diagram, vanishing completely. Mangnyang and Zhuge Bu also utilized similar methods to annihilate the demon beasts.

From the point five li into the ten, it became clear that our forces were overwhelmingly pushing through. I initially thought we wouldn’t need help from the two major factions, but soon after, a figure emerged three li ahead that challenged my thoughts.

Woo———

Surrounding him were neither demons nor blood mist. He simply stood stiffly in the middle of the road, equipped with eight swords. At first glance, one might think he was a demon, but seeing no hints of humanity made the Bancheon Alliance members watch him suspiciously, as no aura escaped from him, making him appear weak.

[Kaahhh!!]

It was the resilient ones from the Imperial Palace that first reacted to his apparent frailty. The dragon warriors and demons, possessing physical abilities rivaling peak experts, charged at him in droves, seemingly ready to rip him apart.

But –

Boom!

With a singular stroke, a dozen demon soldiers were instantly reduced to thousands of meaty shards, scattering through the wind. What amazed everyone was that not even a drop of blood stained his body despite the countless pieces flying everywhere.

“No way!!”

“Everyone, combine your efforts and charge!”

The thirty-odd elite members of the Bancheon Alliance gasped at the sight, quickly forming up to storm him. But just that moment, Dokgo Seong and the Master of Shadowless Sword blocked their way, shouting, “Stop!”

“You can’t handle him!”

Swish…

The six senior members of the Bancheon Alliance were seemingly gathering their utmost power to encircle the mysterious figure. Yet, even without moving, he remained impervious, while Deung Gwak, Dokgo Seong, and the Master of Shadowless Sword all broke into a cold sweat.

The mysterious figure spoke languidly, “I am a mercenary. I have no reason to fight you with my life on the line, so if you don’t move back, I’ll just let you go.”

“……”

No one could utter a word. They all instinctively understood that if he extended even a single sword, someone would surely die, and the troubling aspect was that his attacks could neither be dodged nor blocked. He was single-handedly overwhelming the gathered forces.

But I had an inkling of his identity from the very moment he appeared, and I was deep in thought.

‘I want to test my strength, but…’

My pride surged, and I took a step forward, but quickly retreated. Then Jin So-cheong remarked, “Well done.”

“It might be reckless, but I honestly want to fight him…”

As I lamented my disappointment, Jin So-cheong interjected, “…You can’t die before seeing the end of this [play]. Plus, isn’t your first opponent already decided?”

“Hmm… the challenge is how to deal with him.”

“I think you needn’t worry.”

At that moment, from beyond the blood mist, a figure was walking towards us. He was accompanied by three masked individuals and dozens of experts behind him.

Eventually, the Master of the White Lotus Sect emerged, and from within his mask, he spoke,

[This is quite unbelievable. Has a supreme master like you existed in this world?]

“So it’s the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”

[Despite the rudeness, I wish to hear your name and title.]

It was surreal.

To even think the Master of the White Lotus Sect would request an introduction first!

Then, the self-proclaimed “mercenary” slowly drew two swords from his waist and said, “I am Pasun, ruler of Tianzhu.”

[Indeed… I have heard of your renown.]

“With someone of the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s caliber, you would make an excellent dew for my swords.”

That’s right.

The figure that appeared was none other than Pasun, the supreme being of the Tianzhu martial world and one of the Eight Parts of the Divine, Asura!

Ranking highly among the Eight Parts of the Divine in sheer strength, this monster had overtaken the Tianzhu martial world, standing before us now.

[How interesting.]

With Pasun’s words, the Master of the White Lotus Sect began to slowly lift off the ground.

A strange glow flickered from the interior of his mask, and chaos-like reverse light started to flow from his entire form. Was it merely my impression, or was a shape resembling chaos and the primordial void condensing for a fleeting moment?

[I ask for a match….]

The battle between the mightiest of the Central Plains and Tianzhu was about to unfold.

 

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