The flames rising from the mountainside were touching the clouds.
“That lunatic…”
I couldn’t help but mutter a curse the moment I saw it. The heat radiating all the way from that distance was intense, hinting at just how scorching the center of those flames must be.
I watched the flames. The sheer size was overwhelming, its grandeur so vast it was almost crushing to behold from afar.
“Hah.”
How much energy would it take to release flames of that magnitude? One thing I knew for sure: I couldn’t produce flames like that, not in my current state.
Feeling the intense heat, I quickened my pace.
It wasn’t just me; both Mugwon, running in the lead, and Mageomhu had also accelerated, so I sped up to keep pace.
Crackle.
Ahead, I heard the sound of lightning sparking.
Rumble!
Suddenly, Mageomhu surged forward, her speed skyrocketing as she shot ahead.
“Vice-Leader…!”
Mugwon called out urgently, but she was already far ahead. Taking that in, I gathered energy into my toes.
“Tch.”
The sensation was far from satisfying. Without my Guyeomhwa Arts, I couldn’t generate the explosive power I once wielded.
Even worse, my core energy hadn’t fully recovered, leaving me with a persistent sense of unease.
“Well, it’s all my own doing.”
I couldn’t blame anyone but myself for causing this mess. As much as I wanted to follow at a steady pace—
“Sigh…”
Watching that ridiculous inferno, I couldn’t afford to hold back.
Boom!
I leapt forward with force.
With an ample amount of energy, the difference in speed was obvious.
The problem was—
“I almost messed up.”
Attempting to unleash too much energy at once, the flames nearly burst out uncontrollably.
Since I was still maintaining my demonification, if the flames had erupted, it would’ve all gone to waste.
“Paejon!”
As I charged forward, Mugwon called out to me, but I ignored him as well.
The name grated on me. I should’ve picked a better alias if I was going to be addressed like this.
The closer I got to the destination, the harder it was to breathe.
The black flames were still burning fiercely, holding their place. The heat was truly relentless.
I looked at the sky.
Above the towering flames, I could see someone suspended in the air.
“That damn bastard.”
Dokgo Jun was hovering in midair, his body wrapped in black flames.
Though he was undoubtedly using a massive amount of energy even in that moment, it was nothing to him.
I looked around.
The enormous flames were surrounding the area, but they weren’t igniting the forest.
This implied a level of control.
“Rather than control…”
It looked impossible, but—
The flames themselves seemed almost performative. Just their sheer size was enough to make onlookers tremble.
As a means of intimidation, there was no better approach.
“…Not just anyone could do this.”
Honestly, I could say this was something only I could manage. Perhaps even Cheonma might be able to, but—
“In terms of creating intimidation, I’m the best at it.”
The flames resembled a tidal wave, easily inspiring fear in those watching.
I knew all too well how effective this was, so I always began with a display like this.
Look at them.
“…It’s already having an effect.”
As I neared the edge of the heat’s reach, I saw the others gathered there.
Dressed in similar white attire, they looked on at the looming tidal wave of flames with despair.
Mugwon’s information was accurate.
A substantial number of powerful warriors had gathered.
“What is this?”
And their martial prowess seemed anything but ordinary. Almost none of them were below the level of a high-ranking master.
From the looks of it, many of them could even hold sub-leader positions within the sword divisions.
“They brought such a force here?”
And in such a short amount of time?
Based on my knowledge of the past, it would’ve taken them a long time to amass this kind of force in Sichuan.
They must’ve gathered urgently, yet it was still a formidable force.
As I slowed down, some of the warriors shifted their gazes to me.
The looks were far from friendly.
Some glared with contempt, while others looked at me with sorrow in their eyes.
“Sorrow?”
They were probably looking at me like that because of my rather youthful appearance.
To them, even a young martial artist like me had become a demon. That must’ve been why they gave me such pitying looks.
I continued moving forward, feeling their stares, until I finally stopped at the destination.
When I arrived, Mageomhu was already there, gazing into the air, her eyes fixed on Dokgo Jun.
Following her gaze, I looked up at him as well.
High above, a man wrapped in flames stood, watching the assembled forces below with his characteristic intense gaze.
This was precisely the boundary.
The barren forest marked the territory of the demons, while the lush green forest just a step away was under Cheonma’s mercy.
The Alliance’s forces were positioned beyond the border, meaning they had not yet crossed into Sichuan.
Rumble!
The flames began to stir. Even the slightest movement caused a reaction, given their sheer size.
The tidal wave, roaring and towering towards the sky, seemed as if it could engulf everyone present at any moment.
Crack!
As the flames surged upward, pressure exploded outward.
The force cracked the dry ground around us.
It was an indescribable sight.
“To think I’d see this with my own eyes.”
When I did it myself, I didn’t realize, but seeing it from another perspective—it was monstrous.
Such a mass of flames rising to the sky at once—how could it not be awe-inspiring to those watching?
Especially if they imagined those flames directed at them.
Could they truly remain sane?
ROAR!!
The sound from the flames was like the roar of a beast.
Soon, all the flames converged at a single point in the sky, forming into a sphere, though this power was something different from the hidden technique, Flame Orb.
“That’s no technique… it’s just—”
It was simply an enormous amount of flame, gathered and concentrated.
Pouring energy into releasing such flames must have required an incredible amount of power.
And then, holding it aloft in the air took even more.
To maintain that concentration at a single point would have drained a tremendous amount of strength.
Even if I had an immense amount of energy in those days, expending it this inefficiently would mean…
“Probably half of it’s already used.”
Energy is abundant but not infinite.
Even if I had an absurd amount of energy back then, half of it would likely have been spent by now.
Despite that, the reason I was doing this so recklessly was—
“For intimidation.”
It was to deliver an unmistakable show of dominance to the enemy.
And when I displayed something of this magnitude, from my experience, it was highly effective.
Even now, it was clear.
“This… is…”
Judging by the expressions on the faces of the enemy forces, it had struck a nerve.
Despair.
Their faces were filled only with despair and fear.
Dokgo Jun calmly took note of them, meeting their eyes one by one.
Those who met his gaze trembled uncontrollably or collapsed under the weight of terror.
That’s how it always was.
Anyone would react this way before something overwhelmingly powerful.
Back then, I had an uncanny ability to sense this and take advantage of it.
In the chilling silence, the only sound was the breathing of the flames.
Dokgo Jun was the first to speak.
“A lot of you have gathered.”
The enemy forces flinched at his voice, resonating with mingled energy.
“I came because I heard insects were plotting in hiding, and it seems the rumors were true.”
His crooked smile and choice of words were utterly despicable. Couldn’t he just speak plainly?
I wished he would, but as always, his words continued regardless of my wishes.
“What were you doing, hiding here?”
At Dokgo Jun’s question, they hesitated and retreated, but no one responded.
Seeing this, Dokgo Jun’s eyebrows knitted slightly.
“I’ll count to three. If I don’t hear an answer by then, this conversation is over.”
A threat to start a war.
As he finished, he raised his fingers and began to count.
With each finger folded down, the massive orb of flame behind him began to simmer and bubble.
One look was enough to know he was ready to release it if things went south.
Just before the final finger folded, someone stepped out from among the Alliance forces.
Judging by his robe worn over a martial uniform, he seemed to be a unit leader.
He was a young-looking man for someone of his rank.
With a tense expression, he stepped forward and spoke to Dokgo Jun.
“I am Bi Yeon-seom, Leader of the Golden Dragon Unit.”
As expected, a unit leader…
“…Wait.”
Bi Yeon-seom?
The name sounded familiar.
“Where have I heard that?”
I couldn’t recall exactly. It didn’t seem like a particularly important name.
Anyway, the man who introduced himself as Leader of the Golden Dragon Unit approached Dokgo Jun from beyond the boundary, initiating a conversation.
“On behalf of the Martial Alliance, I request a dialogue with you.”
“A dialogue?”
Dokgo Jun laughed.
“Do I look like I came here for a conversation?”
“…”
“It seems you think I’m a fool.”
Bringing an assembly of high-level warriors to the boundary and asking for a conversation? It was nonsensical.
Moreover—
“A mere unit leader thinks he can negotiate with me? It seems the Martial Alliance truly underestimates us.”
The fact that only a unit leader had come to request a dialogue was an issue in itself.
Bringing an army behind him and then sending only a unit leader to speak?
“Do they really think so little of us?”
Even if this was part of some plan, it was incomprehensible.
No matter how foolish the Martial Alliance might be, they wouldn’t forget their place.
They weren’t in a position to request a dialogue.
In facing a ravenous beast, they should be pleading desperately for their lives.
The reason behind this boldness remained a mystery.
The problem was—
Rumble…
For now, I only felt suspicion and doubt.
But in the past, I knew it wouldn’t have ended there.
The black flames, towering and fierce, continued to seethe, resembling the sun.
Whoosh…
The massive sphere began to shift position, creating an illusion of an eclipse.
At the same time, Dokgo Jun slowly descended from the sky.
His robe billowed as he floated down.
Seeing this, Mageomhu stepped back, making way for him.
Dokgo Jun naturally took that place and moved toward Bi Yeon-seom.
In my past life, I was relatively short for a martial artist. Compared to Mageomhu, I was a bit taller.
But next to a martial artist like Bi Yeon-seom, I was far shorter.
However, as I approached, I didn’t feel small at all.
With one step forward—
Boom!
A wave of pressure spread through the entire forest.
“Ugh…!”
“Ahh…!”
Under that crushing pressure, the Martial Alliance warriors trembled and collapsed.
The boundary drawn by Cheonma.
Dokgo Jun crossed that line.
It didn’t matter.
This boundary was a mercy Cheonma granted the Martial Alliance.
A mercy that would spare their lives as long as they didn’t cross it.
Crossing outside the boundary of Sichuan, Dokgo Jun reached out, his hand hovering near Bi Yeon-seom’s neck.
“You wretch.”
He didn’t grab him.
He simply grazed his neck with his hand.
Yet even with just that, the air grew heavy.
His violet eyes met Bi Yeon-seom’s dark ones.
“Do not attempt any foolish tricks with me. Unlike the Sect Leader, my patience is limited.”
ROAR!!
The blazing orb in the sky began to shift form.
As the flames moved, the scorching heat distorted the air.
The sizzling sound of something burning reached my ears.
The shape shifted once more.
Though it was too distorted to see clearly, it faintly resembled—
“A wolf?”
It looked like a wolf, jaws wide open.
It seemed ready to consume everything in its path.