After Jeong Yeon-shin’s flickering presence—whether mirage or real—vanished, silence swallowed every direction.

Dan Jeong-jeong began walking the rugged trail out of habit.

A dark and gloomy mountain path.

It was after she encountered the phantom of the Deputy of the Divine Sword Corps, and after the Jinryeong Mountains fell into extreme silence.

The official road.

Something that had long since become meaningless.

But now, it felt as if a path protected by the authorities had reappeared.

Although the ominous energy of the Heavenly Demon’s vein still shimmered in the night air like a coiling dragon’s tongue, there was a sense of safety nonetheless.

‘What... is this?’

Was this another deception of the Heavenly Demon?

Or the insight of her Upper Dantian?

Dan Jeong-jeong gripped the Ipwang Sword tightly.

Just like the martial artists of Bonseong, now scattered across the Central Plains, whether alive or dead.

This was the domain of the Demonic, said to mock even the heavens.

If one did not remain vigilant to a foolish degree, they could easily find themselves in the grasp of the Cult Leader at any moment.

And wasn’t he the very adversary who clashed with Jeong Yeon-shin multiple times and still survived by mocking him?

‘Now those lowlifes of Jianghu are going on about whether Lord Jeong was the Cult Leader’s puppet or her favorite lover.’

But nothing happened.

Until she reached the cliffs of the Falling Wild Goose Peak of Mount Hua, no one attacked.

Only—whether illusion or real—the Deputy of the Divine Sword Corps appeared before her once more.

“It’s mostly been settled.”

He leaned diagonally against a stone wall with greenish moss stains.

Rustle.

The hem of his wide, purple robe pressed against the stone, the sound unnervingly surreal.

It was unlike the time when he intervened in the affairs of the Hwangbo family as a blue-ranked warrior.

“When you say it’s been settled... what do you mean...?”

Dan Jeong-jeong couldn’t understand.

No one would, in this situation.

‘If it’s the Heavenly Demon’s illusion, I should be on guard.’

But without realizing it, she exhaled her internal energy using the Moon Spirit Chaos Circulation.

The edge of her short-cropped hair, which had been rippling from her qi, gently settled.

Like a lion whose mane had vanished.

‘The Lord told me not to release it...’

But if it was someone from Ipwang Fortress, she couldn’t help it.

Anyone would react this way upon seeing that purple robe.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin seemed used to such responses.

“That internal energy method—what relation does it have to Master’s Moon Spirit Harmonization Circulation... never mind.”

The unparalleled, beautiful young man representing their entire sect naturally continued.

“First, I need to hear what happened after the Divine Sword Corps moved north.

I haven’t been back long, so I’m in the dark about the current situation in the Central Plains.”

“...He really seems real this time.”

“Are you disobeying orders?”

“No, no!”

Dan Jeong-jeong waved her hands instinctively, feeling as if she had fallen into a dream.

If even she was reacting this way, how would the martial artists of Jianghu—those who no longer even acknowledged the Divine Sword Corps—feel?

In the heart of the tomb of the first Heavenly Demon.

Without any precaution against ambush, Dan Jeong-jeong began to speak.

“So, it started last winter.

From what I heard from the General Bureau’s people, the warlords who were supposed to send provisions—one by one—stopped sending word.

That was around the time rumors spread that Lord Jeong had died in the North...”

“And the imperial court?”

“The supply amounts were inconsistent.

No one knew if it was because His Majesty was being fickle, or if another influential figure was interfering.

Then...”

Dan Jeong-jeong swallowed hard.

Exhausted from long battles, recalling such an extreme moment drained her.

But Jeong Yeon-shin calmly urged her on.

“Keep going.”

“His Highness the Prince of Gungmyeong was staying at the Fortress Lord’s Hall to guard Bonseong, but then he suddenly left after receiving some message.

He even took the imperial guards stationed there.”

“And?”

“He never returned.

Even as the houses under Bonseong and the remaining blue and white-ranked disciples scattered after being defeated by the Seven New Enemies of the Desolate Overlord...”

“The Seven New Enemies of the Desolate Overlord?”

“‘Break’ and ‘Desolation.’ New rising powerhouses.

They’ve been hailed everywhere as the heroes who dismantled Ipwang Fortress.

They’ll probably become a known name in the Shaanxi region too, soon enough.”

Dan Jeong-jeong’s throat trembled slightly.

By then, Jeong Yeon-shin’s murmuring had lowered into a calm mutter.

“Hailed as heroes.”

“Among some of the Jianghu folks.

But among commoners, I’ve seen people get into trouble for calling them ‘enemies’ too openly.”

“What about the Ipwang Clan Leader?

He should’ve been the strongest among the warriors left behind at Bonseong.”

“I don’t know.

The Jianghu warriors’ encirclement surged in all at once...”

From that point, Dan Jeong-jeong’s speech grew scattered.

“A slender old man carrying a spear on his back suddenly demanded to bring out the Ipwang Spear and unleashed a terrifying strike.

The General Bureau’s scribes said it was the Moonlight Martial Arts of the former Spear King...

They said he was a legendary old master people thought was long dead.

With just one thrust, he opened a road wide enough for a carriage to pass from Bonseong’s front gate to the inner fortress...”

Suddenly—

A tremor shook the Jinryeong Mountains as if they were being ripped apart.

Kugugugugugugugu!

The cliffs standing tall like folding screens dropped rocks of all sizes like vomit, while the dry ground beneath the two of them rose in uneven waves.

The night air thickened all at once.

That was because murky demonic energy began seeping out from every ridge like smoke.

A black mist, endlessly swelling as if to match the size of the sky itself.

At the same time, an overwhelming presence swept up Dan Jeong-jeong’s spine and vanished.

A shudder of unimaginable magnitude raced down her back.

And then—a woman’s voice echoed faintly.

[The Formation of the Distorted Void will soon be complete.

All the bugs nearby will gather, and just like always, they’ll slaughter each other.]

‘The Cult Leader...?!’

[Their innate energies, their blood, their grudges—they will make the Founder closer to how he was in life.

If the spell array beneath the Jinryeong Mountains is fully awakened, that’s what will happen.

Now, the Duel of the Three Talents Across Time shall commence.

The Founder, me, and you...]

Arrogance, madness, and chaos.

Perhaps because her focus was locked onto the formation technique, her breathing was uneven.

Her voice even trembled slightly.

This wasn’t human.

She wasn’t merely a demon.

She radiated a divine, spiritual aura.

Even her ramblings and the Jinryeong Mountains themselves seemed to harmonize.

“Lord Jeong!

The Cult Leader is...!”

But Dan Jeong-jeong couldn’t finish her sentence.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly turned his gaze toward a thicket of bare branches to the left.

Crack.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Two old men emerged from the dark underbrush with a single step.

Aside from the sound of branches snapping, they had no presence.

One carried a long spear swaying behind him.

The other sat atop a luxurious palanquin carried by attendants spreading a painted mourning cloth.

It was the old man with the spear who stepped on the branches on purpose.

Ferocious Reverse Polarity Return.

If they had truly chosen seclusion, no one would have ever found these old monsters.

Martial artists were said to be like sandbanks spread beneath the surface of a lake—there were always ancient masters like them hidden out of sight.

“Let me ask directions,”

said the old man with the spear slung across his back, abruptly.

“......”

“How does one reach Martial Perfection without starving along the way?”

It was a question that felt like the lifelong pursuit of his soul.

Naturally, one would call him a madman.

But the moment Dan Jeong-jeong fully saw the old man, a groan escaped between her teeth.

“The former Spear King...!”

“Young one, looks like you know who I am—but you’re wrong.”

The old man with the spear gave a skeletal grin on his gaunt face.

“The title ‘Spear King’ was once used to honor Emperor Sage Yue, the greatest spearman of past and present.

It was a name meant to be inherited by the Ipwang Divine Spear if he mastered the secret techniques of the Ak family.

But that child didn’t become the family head—he stood by and watched the family collapse.

So, there is no ‘Spear King’ in this generation.”

Spear King Ak Bi-gang.

According to Dan Jeong-jeong’s knowledge, he was the uncle of Ak Su-rim, the Ipwang Divine Spear.

He had once vied for the position of Ak family head against Ak Su-rim’s father, lost, then disappeared with a secret copy of the Ak family’s spear techniques.

Over a decade later, he returned in a surprise one-on-one duel and shattered his brother’s spear.

Even when the full might of the Ak family moved to ensnare him with a Heaven-Net Formation, he was a supreme master who had chosen to vanish—there was no catching someone like that.

This was the reason the Ak family, unlike the other Great Eight Houses, had not flaunted their power.

Jeong Yeon-shin likely knew this much already.

He asked indifferently,

“Old monster, did you really break your golden silence just to come to Ipwang Fortress?”

“You, who look like that whelp from the Ma family, I asked you first.

How does one reach the end of the martial path without starving?”

If the former Spear King brought up someone from the Ma family, he could only be referring to the Defiant Tyrant.

Dan Jeong-jeong, glaring at Ak Bi-gang with eyes full of terror and fury, accidentally sucked in a breath.

He really was a monster.

Ak Bi-gang spoke as if telling an old tale to a grandson.

“There’s only one answer.

You must become strong enough that the powerful willingly offer up their rice to you.

That’s the endgame of this era.

Where peerless masters enter life-or-death duels over a few grain pills, and rusty blades pierce the plains like reeds.”

Rustle.

The old man dragged his black spear down from his shoulder.

Dan Jeong-jeong flinched.

Ink-Linked Spear.

One of the weapons that stabilized Ipwang Fortress during the Divine Sword Corps’ absence.

“The current world is on borrowed time.

In such a world, the only duty given to the strong is to be the last to starve to death.”

“I’m just an old man from the Gaebong Gyeong clan who holed up and gathered money.

But I happened to see the Divine Sword Corps at Zhongnan Mountain.

They’ve honed their edge well.”

The old man on the ornate palanquin, who had accompanied Spear King Ak Bi-gang, spoke slowly.

“Seeing that Divine Sword of yours, I take it you’ve inherited the position of Commander.

It’s unfortunate—you’ll go down as a lesser commander compared to the Lost Sword.

At least, while he was around, it was an era of peace.”

Back then, even Ipwang Fortress stood whole—

But the old man’s words ended there.

A brief grudge toward Yong Hui-myeong flickered.

Just like how Ak Bi-gang had deliberately named the Defiant Tyrant.

Dan Jeong-jeong bit her lower lip, suddenly on the verge of tears.

‘The Head of the Gaebong Gyeong Clan...!’

They said he was the ‘Emperor of Gunreung’ among the high houses.

A man who had trained in martial arts, the top figure of that historic metropolis, and richer than any king.

Possibly second only to the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager in the number of elixirs consumed.

Though he always called himself a merchant and never involved himself in the affairs of Jianghu—if it was about the Heavenly Demon’s legacy, it seemed even he had changed.

“......”

At some point, a terrifying stillness had surrounded the stone mountain.

One of the simplest phenomena within the Jinryeong Mountains.

A stronger contender arriving to eliminate threats in advance.

Each had their own reasons for entering the martial world.

But this world never allowed for a single ruler.

Just as Jianghu was called a ‘forest of martial arts,’ supreme masters and unmatched warriors continued to appear, regardless of generation.

This can’t happen.

Dan Jeong-jeong had lived through the days when the Three in Purple made their names known across the land—Ma Yeon-jeok, Shin Byeok, and Yong Hui-myeong.

Not too long ago.

It’s commonly said: that was the golden age of Ipwang Fortress.

But now, Jeong Yeon-shin stood alone.

Just like the martial artists of Bonseong, scattered in all directions from Ipwang Fortress.

“Lord Jeong! Please, leave me behind and retreat! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Take them one at a time...!”

If we’re talking about Ak Bi-gang and the Head of the Gaebong Gyeong Clan—these two were among the most overwhelming powerhouses in the entire “Jinryeong Mountains Crisis.”

Alongside the rumored, unshackled Lord of Sim Mu-ryeon, they formed the three pillars—

Three figures no one could hope to challenge in the battle for the Heavenly Demon’s legacy.

Forgotten giants trying to claim their place as rulers of the new era.

In the old days of Ipwang Fortress, the Three in Purple would’ve appeared together to face them.

But in Dan Jeong-jeong’s eyes, Jeong Yeon-shin was only shaking his head alone at the monsters.

“Head of Gaebong Gyeong... does it amuse you to pretend to be a powerhouse at your age?”

“It’s not about amusement.

The strong devouring the weak has always been nature’s law.

Even the common folk live by it.”

“The common folk were never weak.

Because they had Bonseong.

You all only realize that once you’re about to die.”

[That’s enough.

Will you speak life and death with your tongue?]

Suddenly, a booming echo emanated from Ak Bi-gang as he aimed the Ink-Linked Spear at Jeong Yeon-shin.

Dan Jeong-jeong sensed it instantly.

The moment before the reappearance of the same technique that had pierced straight through Bonseong Fortress.

Even the Gaebong Gyeong Clan Head had now risen from his palanquin.

If she got caught in the drawn-out duel of supreme masters now, Dan Jeong-jeong wouldn’t even leave behind a single shred of skin.

‘Too late...!’

She opened her eyes wide.

Someone had to witness the end of the Divine Sword Corps Commander.

But it was meaningless.

The three peerless masters vanished without warning, not even a trace caught by Dan Jeong-jeong’s eye technique.

Suddenly, the mountain peak behind her collapsed in five distinct grooves.

It was the cliff of Mount Hua’s Falling Wild Goose Peak, and it looked as though some incomprehensibly massive being had grabbed it and crushed it.

Boulders and dust rained down in a landslide.

[Through the Nation.]

[Swallow the Living, Strip the Dead.]

The willpower of Spear King Ak Bi-gang and the Gaebong Gyeong Clan Head thundered in her ears.

Clouds tore apart, and thunder cracked.

Unbelievable as it was, it must have been the clash of their internal power.

At the same time—

Kugugugugugugung—!

The pressure crushed the vast stone road of the mountain, grinding it down.

Layered striations of yellow and ash-gray rock revealed themselves as the ground around Dan Jeong-jeong sank.

The shockwave of the collision seemed to have narrowly missed her.

‘Lord Jeong...?!’

The next moment, the three of them reappeared in the sunken earth like a lie.

Only ten paces away—close enough for Dan Jeong-jeong to see them ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) clearly.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!

Only then did gray dust clouds explode from every direction.

Fragments of shattered rock mountain burst into the air.

Dan Jeong-jeong, peering below to find Jeong Yeon-shin, shut her slightly parted lips.

The purple longcoat remained intact.

But beneath his raised sleeve, blood dripped thickly from the hand gripping the Ipwang Sword.

Without a doubt, it was the Divine Sword Corps Commander’s wound.

The two old men were different.

They had no hands left to bleed.

All four of their arms were gone.

And even the severed points were different.

Some were cleanly sliced like glass.

Others were brutally torn or ruthlessly hacked.

One even looked as if it had been mocked and slashed dozens of times.

An absurd scene.

This wasn’t the swordsmanship of a single man.

“......”

Then, Dan Jeong-jeong’s Upper Dantian insight manifested.

Spear King, Gaebong Gyeong Clan Head, and Dan Jeong-jeong.

Their eyes became three mirrors surrounding Jeong Yeon-shin.

In the Spear King’s fading gaze was a smooth-faced Ma Yeon-jeok.

In the dimmed eyes of the Clan Head, a smirking Yong Hui-myeong.

And in Dan Jeong-jeong’s eyes, strangely, appeared a one-armed man in a straw hat she had never even met.

The starlight still poured down.

It showed no sign of stopping.

[Heavenly Demon.]

The Divine Sword Corps Commander exhaled white breath like a winter night.

Alongside an ever-deepening intent.

[I’m in a hurry.]