Jeong Yeon-shin silently ascended the mountain path.

Rustle.

There was much beneath his worn leather shoes. Tiny stones and fragments of wood.

For some reason, it felt like he was walking the trail of all past grudges and bonds.

Some were ground softly beneath the leather soles with a gritty brush, others resisted even decent weight, pressing back with a solid firmness.

At the end of that dirt path, two figures awaited.

One, a massive man seated silently atop a split log, tossing and catching a pebble in silence. The other, a man of the Myung lineage, perched lazily on a crooked old tree, gazing down at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“I’ll speak up and step out first. I don’t deserve to sit with the likes of you.”

The man of the Myung lineage said.

Between his tangled, lengthy hair, the sharp tips of his ears stood out in a faint red hue. The complexion of someone with liquor in their veins.

In contrast, his loosely opened front garb was monochrome. Sunlight touched his face, but his body remained soaked in a black-and-white world.

“Wargod.”

That distinct ki and overwhelming Great Circuit—it was as though it was shielding his own servant.

From the fact he didn't bother to turn toward Jeong Yeon-shin, simply resting an elbow atop an iron chest. The Wargod was allowing his subordinate to speak first.

Meanwhile, the current head of the greatest intelligence network in the Central Plains still stared at Jeong Yeon-shin, unable to shake his astonishment. He swallowed dryly and spoke again.

“Ah, I am Hao Mun-ju. Privately known as the madman of Simmuryun... that is, the close friend of the Sword Demon Baek Seo-goon. You know, that madwoman? The one who, driven by pride over nothing, went and incurred a debt to you on her own and then wandered around repaying it herself. She was, in a way, a symbol of the martial world—a sword ghost.”

“......”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s upper dantian, intensely heightened, saw through the Wargod’s intent.

He wanted Jeong Yeon-shin’s state to fully relax through Hao Mun-ju’s untimely rambling. Indeed, the slightly drunken voice of the Myung lineage man had a calming effect like a reed flute. It reminded him of the time he experienced this once from Seonmok Lord Cheon So-so.

“As we’ve investigated, you truly value those around you. Even the abnormal consumption rate of manpower at Ipwang Fortress proves it... We truly didn’t think you’d walk alone. Even if no one can combine power with the Wargod...”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes lingered on the iron chest supporting the Wargod’s massive elbow. It was similar in size to the wooden box he once used to carry Master Jade Sword’s head to Mount Wudang.

A pungent scent reached his nose.

What was inside?

Even before ascending the mountain, he had scanned the surroundings with his senses.

But he hadn’t felt the presence of Elder Council Chief Shin Byeok or his uncle Ma Jin at all.

Only the lopsided pressure that felt like the sky itself had been blocked.

Meanwhile, Hao Mun-ju seemed to feel burdened by Jeong Yeon-shin’s silence.

He glanced nervously at the Wargod, cold sweat forming on his clear forehead.

Then, suddenly, his form vanished from the spot in a motion like illusionary transformation.

—“I’ve received the Wargod’s order. Today, I’m to move as I wish... So I plan to observe everything from a distance and record it in full. Of course, only within what the security methods permit. No matter the outcome, it’s bound to shake this cold world to its core.”

His voice, which sounded forced at first, grew brighter the farther it got from Jeong Yeon-shin.

Like a madman playing a grand game across the Central Plains.

Even then, Jeong Yeon-shin silently watched the Wargod’s chest, then slowly asked,

“...Is that something meant for me?”

“It is.”

A coarse voice like it would scrape the inside of his ears. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Far from the soft, familiar tone they first exchanged.

Srrrk.

The Wargod rose slowly from the log.

The shadow grew.

Unlike the Divine Sword Strategist, this was a different kind of giant.

Though both could be described as towering, if Mun Gok’s body was a steel tower, the Wargod was a sculpture.

His entire musculature was tightly wound, honed purely for battle.

Another Jeong Family’s movement art.

‘I created mine and mastered it. This one was born with it.’

The insight reached that far—

Because suddenly, the Wargod’s pebble ricocheted toward Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet and struck the ground with a thud.

At the point of impact, a crack rippled like a wave, kicking up thick dust. As Jeong Yeon-shin’s view dropped sharply, the mountain itself began to collapse with a thunderous roar, as if causing its own landslide.

Kwarururururung!

The hazy dust seemed to blur time itself.

It didn’t take long for the slope, clearly a mountain moments ago, to sink inward like a hollow collapse.

What remained were jagged stone pillars standing like spears from the rocky ground. Like a sculptor had carved the wide terrain. The Wargod stood atop one of them, firmly.

A land not just desolate, but perilously so.

“Looks just like my homeland now.”

The Wargod said.

From a slightly lower pillar, Jeong Yeon-shin calmly asked,

“Why drop the chest first, even sealing it with an energy barrier?”

“As if I’d give that to you first.”

The Wargod lifted his bare hand.

It held nothing. Truly, empty-handed.

Only a faint red hue began to bloom in his large palm. It felt like death itself was being worn as a gauntlet in place of any weapon.

Jeong Yeon-shin silently observed the sharp, blade-like terrain below, then—

Boom!

He struck a stone pillar with the momentum of a gale.

Several translucent shockwaves chained together. A dozen rocks shattered in a line. Before the echo of the explosion even finished, Jeong Yeon-shin had already unsheathed his sword in front of the Wargod.

At that moment, the Wargod clenched his fist.

He avoided the oblique slash with only a slight tilt of his massive shoulder.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Next to the Wargod’s blunt ear, the Divine Sword’s blade flickered in pure white.

Even the rays of sunlight piercing through looked distinct in the slowed time.

The Wargod was smiling.

Hoo—

With an exquisitely controlled motion, his opposite hand extended forward.

It seemed like a light probing strike, but Jeong Yeon-shin stomped down on the Wargod’s knee like it was the ground, creating a powerful left-handed counterforce.

A defensive move centered on demonic energy.

‘Coming for my chest.’

Wrong.

The trajectory shifted freely.

In an instant, the fist changed course. What had aimed for his solar plexus now smashed into his chin.

Like Mun Gok’s divine strength, the force surged from his jaw to his skull. In a flash, Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes rolled back, only to be instantly filled with an even deeper, purer white glow.

‘Brilliant Star.’

Crack!

Grabbing the Wargod’s shoulder sleeve, the divine form that should’ve soared to the heavens was instead hurled upside-down.

The inner energy shield shattered like a mirror, scattering along his jawline, and the fragments of that technique were sucked into the Hungry Petal Draw of the Ten Thousand Flowers in the Rain from his left hand.

As the Wargod grabbed Jeong Yeon-shin’s head with one hand, Jeong Yeon-shin, still gripping the Wargod’s sleeve, was drawing down the formless sword—the Starlit Night.

Fwoosh!

It’s coming.

Along with the draw of his sword came a horrific, shredding roar of energy. The blade, igniting a deep navy flame, burned through the hem of War God’s robe and pierced straight through his shoulder, even tearing his protective qi and flesh.

Byulbam burst clean through—only to be torn back out the next instant, as War God hurled Jeong Yeon-shin headfirst into a distant stone pillar.

KWAHHHHHHHHHHNG!

Jeong Yeon-shin, embedded in the rock, turned his neck once.

With a crack, two swords brushed beneath his line of sight.

Transcendent Sword and Starlit Night. Twin swords.

They were enough.

He needed no assistance. ot even a joint assault.

—“He moves with absolute strategy. That’s how he could face Ming and the Emperor of Gunreung with the Anti-War God Faction still behind him.”

That’s what Mun Gok had told him before they set out.

War God was someone who had experienced joint attacks from the Three Great Protectors of the Imperial Court, the Three Generals of the Outer Forces, the heads of several orthodox sects, and many more—and yet he had not only survived but caused immense damage to the Ming side. That meant his ability to survive in chaos was, indisputably, the best in the world.

“I have to win one-on-one. For what comes next.”

Jeong Yeon-shin thought momentarily of the Northern Tae Yeom-ryong.

“You remind me...”

It was War God.

“I envisioned a growth curve outside of any assumption.”

He rolled his shoulder like some back-alley thug, and even that motion caused his muscles to constrict and halt the bleeding without pressure.

“Around one year.”

War God muttered something vague—then suddenly smiled.

“But you’ve already surpassed that. What happened?”

The God of War was curious about someone else’s advancement. It could only be thanks to Yulha Nangnang’s living sword.

A divine mystery of the world, one that made green shoots sprout in wastelands, that boosted not only living beings but even the spiritual essence of humans. It even affected his inner energy wheel.

It allowed the three layers of his internal martial power to rotate in perfect harmony, like rare oil perfectly lubricating the gears of a clock.

Artificial unification. The sword of the Mount Hua Sect leader, born from profound enlightenment, had functioned like a divine mechanism inside Jeong Yeon-shin’s body.

—“Three is too many. Try reducing it to one.”

That line from the First Heavenly Demon rang in his ears as Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.

“Come in.”

He could feel it coming. The living sword’s effect wouldn’t last long. He could already sense the three internal wheels beginning to turn separately—just as Yulha Nangnang had warned, half a day was the limit.

As always, this would be a short battle.

“...Are you in a hurry?”

A faint smile touched War God’s lips.

“I’ve seen it a lot on the battlefield. The strong ones who are always waiting for something—or being chased by something.”

“There’s only one thing I’m waiting for.”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s face showed no particular emotion.

He was a veteran of a hundred battles—so was the current head of the Divine Sword Corps.

“Interesting. Tell me.”

“The end of resentment.”

A short answer.

And War God’s lips curled deeply.

“Resentment is a shackle that only falls off when you die. That’s true not just for people like me—but even for civilians who live as if every moment is war.”

“Your view’s similar to Namje’s.”

“Perhaps. The young Namje raised me, and I, while young, raised the old him.”

Fwoosh—

From the edge of a pillar where he had flipped to stand, Jeong Yeon-shin’s left hand now held a sword of deep blue flame, flickering long and fierce.

He spoke calmly.

“When Namje passed on, the meaning he held was different.”

“He wanted to embrace, didn’t he? He had the heart of an emperor. As for me—I was just a commoner who considered only Namje as the next ruler of the world. And I’m still agonizing over you.”

War God spoke with indifference.

But to Jeong Yeon-shin, it carried the same pressure as when he had once faced the First Heavenly Demon clad in Baek Mi-ryeo’s sword.

Perhaps it was because War God’s martial skill now approached the apex of all ages. Or perhaps it was simply that the entire world itself was growing madly strong under the rising earth’s energy.

Crack, crackle—

The sound was like ice being crushed.

And around War God’s body, sunlight began to scatter like it was reflecting off diamond.

Even without having seen it before, he knew.

The strongest defensive qi in the world—North Primordial Chaos Body. The origin of the Heavenly Light Armor.

“With just now, you’ve tasted Mun Gok and Yeom Jeong through me.”

“......”

“If Mu Gok’s single move holds the South Emperor and the North Capital together—Then what will you use to match me? And how many more could I still hold within me?”

It was said that when all six of the Northern Liu Yuan Star Lords combined, they became War God.

The battlefield tactician Cham Mang, the short-duel king Mu Gok, the war god Yeom Jeong, the monstrous Mun Gok, the silent bat, and the world’s Namje—

He was declaring a short decisive match in the form of a ridiculous question.

And yet, with the insight born from countless battles, he had likely already seen Jeong Yeon-shin’s weak points.

Still, he chose to do it this way.

Before his eyes stood the incarnation of the North.

If I win, I’ll be the greatest in the world.

Jeong Yeon-shin kicked off the ground—

And behind him trailed two brilliant paths of swordlight—one snowy white, the other dark ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) navy—like constellations carved into the night sky.