Seventy-two peaks of Mount Song.

It was the land to be shattered next after the Ming imperial family and the Blade Citadel in the northern martial world. Naturally, its geography had long since been etched into the memory of the Battle God. Thanks to the intelligence of the Thirteen Thousand Spirits.

The one-eyed cripple thought,

‘It resembles home.’

Arriving at the place that had repelled the Lord of the Blade Citadel, he realized the saying “Mount Song lies as if asleep” was true. Not just the rugged elevation, but the endless ridgelines stretching like a reclining Buddha across the steep terrain.

And it was at the foot of that Buddha-like mountain where Shaolin was located. Which meant the Battle God had been flung quite a distance. He was now pounding the peak that corresponded to the dantian of that vast “mountain Buddha.” At the exact spot where the Lord of the Blade Citadel had retreated like a leaf on the valley stream.

Boom!

Dust rose from the ground where his fist struck. It was full force.

The power burrowed deep into the earth, at least a hundred li, and plunged all the way into an abyss. The magma-like underpressure stored deep below stirred violently. If it erupted beyond the granite crust of Mount Song, it would have become molten lava instantly—but the internal force technique of the Battle God was flawless.

There was no fallout.

The destructive technique had been refined with the martial artistry of Northern Constellation Marquis Yeomjeong and Wugok, and as such, he could wield the greatest body in history freely.

For the opponent, it was a single punch—instant death.

Thud!

With a single step, the Battle God caught up to the Lord of the Blade Citadel midair, right in front of her face. He looked down at the world’s greatest and said,

“Face me.”

Her Annihilation Sword curved like a moonlit branch.

Moon Spirit Divine Art: Light's Beginning.

It moved as if the sword went first, and the arm followed.

Swish.

She slashed his waist, drew him in, spun like a pinwheel, and in «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» an instant, she was behind the Battle God. The sword strike that slipped into the protective aura of Northern Origin Desolation burst blood into the air.

It went deep.  A single light strike reached the muscle. Even with the external master’s body fortified by internal energy similar to the Southern Sect’s.

The Battle God whirled around, eyes gleaming with a mix of thrill and shock. He suppressed the inertia of his forward advance, which had seemed like it would surge endlessly, using Air Step Void Path. That sent a hazy gust outward, and as his body descended like moonlight, he clashed again with the Lord’s sword strike.

At the same moment, his massive fist, rotating like a giant waterwheel in the same direction, slammed into the surface of the Annihilation Sword.

KWAHHHHHHHHH!

The shockwave exploded like a swollen cloud, crushing the peak beneath their feet. The overcast sky scattered like a sea of ashes. And high above, faintly, came a thunderclap like a giant's sneeze.

It was the aftermath of an unrefined punch. There was no time to channel technique into the sword.

While both the Lord of the Blade Citadel and the Battle God—sword master and empress dowager—could shift mental incantations in a split-second, this battle had surpassed even that speed.

“Hup!”

Even so, power naturally surged through her sword.

The Battle God had achieved a natural body state. Every muscle and flow of internal energy moved of its own accord.

And that wasn’t the end.

Those who reached the limits of humanity could unleash chained techniques even without breath. The Battle God didn’t even reset his posture after his arm bounced off the Annihilation Sword. Like a drunken brute, he just flicked his leading foot.

This time, he also infused it with the technique that had pierced deep underground earlier.

Craaaaack—

The space struck by the toe fractured like glass and shattered.

“......!”

A flutter of green fabric swept through the Battle God’s lone eye. The Lord of the Blade Citadel, her massive form pivoting softly around his giant leg, struck like a falling leaf caught in twilight wind.

And the Battle God felt a chill of recognition.

The Lord, using the perfect evasive body art of Graceful Perfection, stepped lightly on his shoulder. Then, with a downward swing of her Annihilation Sword, she cleaved his collarbone clean through as she soared upward.

THWACK!

Though it was flesh and bone being cut, the sound was like metal being sheared. As if hundreds of layers of cold-forged steel had been sliced at once. Without his born physique and Northern Origin Desolation, the blade would’ve reached his carotid.

‘Wind God footwork?’

But the Battle God had already turned, driven by vitality like the northern martial world itself. And without hesitation, he seized her ankle. It was a formless, spontaneous capture.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!

Friction between protective auras sent clear lightning-like pulses bursting through the air. The recoil was immense.

Though his internal energy barrier remained intact, the Lord of the Blade Citadel merely looked down at him indifferently. Even as her jade-colored pant leg around the ankle began to dent slightly.

“That move just now... I’ve seen it before.”

Suspicion filled the Battle God’s face.

“It’s natural for a disciple to move like their master. But the sequence seems reversed. Your moves are deadlier. Perfected beyond flaw. And yet, somehow...”

Whoosh.

Even as her sword blurred with the wind, the Battle God spoke through internal breath.

“Your body technique... doesn’t feel like the original source.”

A high dantian insight.

He had never disregarded his own intuition.

If a hunch had to do with an opponent, he pursued it relentlessly—even if called despicable—if it led to victory. The nickname Battle God was earned the same way.

Craaack—

The sound of fabric twisting.

It came from her ankle. Transcendent divine power began to crush her flesh and protective aura.

“You are clearly a great master.”

He grinned as he spoke.

“The sword of the best in the world carries overwhelming perfection and uniqueness. To influence such a being... it could only have happened in your distant childhood.”

‘Even a monster like you had a time like that,’ was the unspoken thought, but it vanished between his yellowed teeth—

Splatter—!

Moon Spirit Sword Qi. The sword strike style once regarded as the strongest under heaven.

Before his severed arm could fall, the Battle God grabbed it with his intact hand. Then instantly activated his true energy, the Erect Huang Power, sealing off acupoints, veins, and muscles like engineered tissue.

Heavenly qi, like the North, responded with ferocity.

Boom-boom-boom!

The Battle God of the North. He never loses. He must always win.

He looked up at the Lord of the Blade Citadel, now floating freely in the air, and smiled.

“You should’ve added Threefold Refinement to that sword cut.”

Then her lips moved slowly.

“You judged correctly. It was something you didn’t need to know, but now you've learned.”

“Tree with ears.”

The Battle God joked carelessly.

“I know now that I need heaven’s luck to kill you. So of course I’ll use whatever I can. Besides, I’ve found a small, bright flaw in your flawless martial art—like the North Star. Now I’ll investigate what ‘source’ influenced you.”

They gauged each other's distance.

The Lord of the Blade Citadel had roots throughout the world, versatile in all things. The Battle God had long since reached the limits of heaven-given strength, like her.

The one who wielded that power best—was the greatest. Literally, the most capable being.

Though the Lord of the Blade Citadel, with her knowledge and finesse, outclassed the Battle God, he still had a chance. If fortune aligned, he could kill her.

“We can spar for seven days and nights—it doesn’t matter. A method to break you will appear. You might even tire first.”

As he continued speaking, his severed arm returned to near-perfect condition. While he lacked the divine power to manifest creation from nothing, like a possessed blacksmith, he could restore his flesh. The Battle God of warfields had been through this many times.

“......”

The Lord of the Blade Citadel, staring down at him, suddenly descended.

Just as the Battle God shifted his shoulders slightly—

KWAHHHHHHHHHH!

Without warning, a massive greatsword exploded through the air and struck her in the waist.

In an instant, her body twisted and flew like a meteor, collapsing several mountains along a distant ridge.

First—her full awareness had been focused on the Battle God. Second—the man who struck, descending with his sword and entire body as one, was monstrously powerful.

“Blade Sect Lord Dan Seong-eum. They called him a half-wit of the world.”

The Battle God looked up at him incredulously, then clenched and opened his fist.

“If I’d hit with that force, I might’ve shattered her.”

“......”

The gaunt swordsman said nothing.

Even his dull pupils looked at the Battle God briefly—but that was all. Hovering in the air, gripping the greatsword in one hand.

The Battle God wasn’t impressed. Dan Seong-eum lifted his head toward the direction the Lord had flown.

Watching him closely, the Battle God smirked.

“‘Half-wit’ was too kind. You’re insane.”

Clearly unskilled in Air Step Void Path or Sky-walking techniques, he barely supported himself with muscle strength and the recoil of the sword.

He was, quite literally, a sword ghost.

The Battle God asked,

“Will you join forces? I’m Naddam, who pursues justice, not honor. All is permitted.”

But in the next moment, Dan Seong-eum vanished.

He flew at the Lord of the Blade Citadel, who returned like a mirage—as if nothing had happened.

Thunderous blasts followed one after another, and the ground flipped beneath the monochrome shockwaves.

At the edge, his greatsword slashed diagonally and struck her shoulder.

KWAHHHHHHHHH!

In an instant, it slammed her into a canyon far below. Along the faint linear path of that strike, fragments of pale stone rained in concentric circles.

And as her face hovered over dead grass, the Battle God stood before her. He extended his fist toward the head of the undisputed best in the world. The pinnacle of the martial world.

Huuuh―

White breath scattered through the searing air. With internal breathing, he summoned literal divine energy.

[The world’s greatest shall be decided with your disciple.]

In a moment stretched into eternity, split into dozens of slices, four movements converged into a single point.

The Battle God’s crudely carved fist gathered overwhelming power. The Lord calmly raised the Annihilation Sword toward his arm. Dan Seong-eum, with sword in hand, descended like a black thunderbolt to cleave them both in half.

“......!”

But at the center of their paths, miraculously, the Divine Sword appeared — and shattered every deadly blow.

[All-Heaven.]

Yet even as the absolute ones perceived time like a slow, sticky swamp, it was still slow enough to hold two more words of Jeong Yeon-shin’s intent.

[Flower Rain.]

The smell of grass and steel mingled.