Seo-jun fiddled with the sleeves that he had unraveled and rewrapped.
‘It’s better than I expected.’
For one, it’s more convenient than Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship. The threads don’t break and stay connected.
More importantly, after trying it once, he understood the technique.
‘I could probably change the patterns when I unravel and rewrap them.’
It felt like making thread art with Qi. The clothes made from Heavenly Silkworm Silk , which Seo-jun casually referred to as a "divine garment," didn’t have this capability originally. But if he tried, it seemed possible.
Since his peak days, Seo-jun had been using his internal energy to practice thread art, so this was nothing new.
He took on the guise of Baek Seo-jun and casually scanned the surroundings.
The recent strike had killed nearly a hundred demonic soldiers, but there were still quite a few left.
The battlefield wasn’t limited to this area. Although he wasn’t sure of the details, it seemed like quite a large force from the Demonic Cult had invaded Kunlun.
“Hey, Malkodosa.”
“…What is it?”
“There’s no need to be so afraid. I’m in a good mood today.”
Baek Seo-jun flashed a grin and walked over to the Taoist.
“Now that we’ve met like this, let’s introduce ourselves properly. What’s your name?”
“I don’t have a name to share with a filthy Black Lotus sect member.”
“Filthy?”
Seo-jun’s eyes scanned the area. The battle had calmed down, and the remaining demons, as well as the tired-looking orthodox sect martial artists, were all staring at him.
“In my eyes, these half-baked fools are easy to deal with. How about it? Want to give it a try?”
“…Pungwol.”
“Oh, Pungwol. A name with a great flavor, no doubt chosen by someone who understands elegance.”
As they spoke, Seo-jun expanded his Qi perception and assessed the martial artists around him.
There were three high-level demons in his Qi perception. Overall, Kunlun seemed to be at an advantage, but the Demonic Cult’s forces couldn’t possibly be limited to just this.
This was a battle between Kunlun, a single orthodox sect among the Sixteen Major Sects, and the Demonic Cult, one of the pillars of the orthodox sect’s adversary.
Naturally, the Demonic Cult had overwhelming superiority.
“As I said, I’m in a good mood today. But look at the demons swarming Kunlun, as if they’re serving me tea.”
“…What do you want?”
“Eliminate their forces.”
“Impossible.”
“Then?”
“Then what? Should I just let the demons go?”
Pungwol’s tone grew noticeably more polite. Seo-jun chuckled and laughed out loud, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction.
“Ha-ha! Don’t test me. You’d best stay up high and watch, I’ll handle it.”
“How can I trust you?”
“If you don’t trust me, do you have another way?”
Pungwol, with a mysterious smile, looked at the man.
Having spent many years roaming the martial world, Pungwol immediately recognized the man’s martial arts style. The technique he was using was the Ice God’s Art from the North Sea Ice Palace, meaning he was an expert from the Black Lotus Sect, the very sect currently at war with the orthodox forces.
But this person’s skill was far beyond what Pungwol expected for someone here.
‘Transformation Stage? I can’t tell…’
Since the man hadn’t revealed his full strength, there was no way to gauge it. But judging from the single strike just now, he was no ordinary high-level martial artist.
To deal with him, either the Sect Master or the Elders would need to join forces.
But was that really necessary? The man hadn’t done any real damage to Kunlun so far.
In fact, he was even offering to help deal with the demons.
‘What’s his true intention?’
Pungwol stared at the man for a long time before finally speaking.
“…Fine, we’ll do it your way.”
“Good choice.”
The man smiled faintly. Just as he turned to leave, Pungwol spoke again.
“But… You’ll give me your name after hearing mine, won’t you?”
The man froze in his tracks. He turned his head and glanced at Pungwol, then smiled again.
“Baek Seo-jun. I am Baek Seo-jun of the North Sea Ice Palace.”
*****
Kunlun Mountain’s terrain was treacherous, and ordinary people would find it difficult to navigate freely.
With sparse trees and vast plateaus, getting lost in a forest wasn’t a common problem, but the sharp peaks created many variables in combat.
“All forces retreat! Only stop the demons heading toward the sect; leave the rest alone!”
Pungwol’s voice, imbued with internal energy, reverberated throughout Kunlun Mountain.
Seo-jun quickly eliminated the remaining demons, then lightly landed on the ground.
Thud—!
With just a few leaps, he reached the peak of the mountain. From there, he observed the tangled battle between the Demonic Cult and Kunlun’s martial artists.
‘No retreat. Should I chase after them for retreating?’
Despite being at a disadvantage, the Demonic Cult was persistently pursuing Kunlun’s rear.
Whoosh—!
A sphere formed beneath Seo-jun’s feet, created by the Mixed Origin Sun and Moon Art. He focused on the enemies who seemed to cause the most damage.
BOOOOM──────!!!
A living missile crashed right in the middle of the battlefield.
*****
The strategist of the Demonic Cult, Jo Hyeon, received the urgent report.
‘A master of ice techniques is rampaging...’
The forces mobilized for this assault were disposable, meant to weaken Kunlun’s strength and wear them down.
But this was not a force to be discarded so easily. If Jo Hyeon made the wrong move, his life could be in jeopardy.
“What a hassle. What’s the current location?”
The aide pointed to a spot on the map.
“The most recent intel says this is where he was last seen. But his movement speed is so fast…”
“Have we tracked his route?”
“Yes!”
The aide drew a line on the map, showing the route of the ice master’s movement.
Jo Hyeon scanned the map quickly, then pointed to a specific spot.
“As expected. He’s attacking the strongest areas of our sect. Have we contacted the Eight Great Lords?”
“Yes!”
“Then our next target is the Eight Squad. Mobilize the Sixth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Squads to ambush in this canyon and strike all at once.”
“The Eleventh Squad Leader is currently absent.”
“I know. The Eleventh Squad Leader is just a peak-level fighter. The Sixth and Eighth Squad Leaders are at the Supreme level. That should be sufficient.”
Even the most skilled masters would have a hard time dealing with two Supreme-level fighters and attacks from all directions.
After observing the situation, Jo Hyeon gave the command.
“The rest of you, retreat for now. Pushing forward here would only bring losses.”
“Understood!”
The aide rushed out. Jo Hyeon stared after him for a moment before tapping the desk, deep in thought.
‘To search for an unknown figure…’
According to the higher-ups, the person would eventually find his way to the cult on his own, but Jo Hyeon couldn’t accept it.
‘If he’s going to show up anyway, why go after Kunlun?’
Tsk, Jo Hyeon clicked his tongue. It was a pointless worry. The High Priestess must have had some reason for it.
“The Heavenly Demon descends, bringing eternal glory to the Demonic Cult.”
Under Mara’s reign, the Demonic Cult would achieve everlasting glory.
*****
Seo-jun alternated between using the Mixed Origin Sun and Moon Art and the Yellow Dragon Earth Slaying Technique as he traversed Kunlun Mountain. It wasn’t easy to use the Mixed Origin Sun and Moon Art at ambiguous distances.
While massacring demons with determination, Seo-jun soon reached a canyon. The terrain was perfect for someone to shoot arrows from the cliff above and hit someone below, making it an ideal killing spot.
‘This is it.’
To his surprise, Seo-jun sensed the presence of demons lying in ambush on the cliff above through his heightened Qi perception.
They were quite stealthy, but with Seo-jun’s abnormal Qi perception, their presence was easily detected.
Moreover, these were demons imbued with demonic energy. Unlike other demons, their Qi wasn’t adept at hiding from Seo-jun’s perception.
“It’s them!”
The demons, not from the cliff above but from below the canyon where Seo-jun was waiting, charged at him with gleaming eyes.
The leader of the group was a Supreme-level fighter. After a brief moment of thought, Seo-jun decided to rush toward them head-on.
Swoosh—
From Seo-jun’s waist, his sword was drawn on its own.
“Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship…!”
The lead demon was shocked and slowed down, but it was already too late. Seo-jun unfurled his Heavenly Silkworm Silk sleeves into dozens of threads and swirled his hand.
Swoosh—
The demons and the cliff were both cut down. Thankfully, the lead demon managed to deflect a portion of the threads, so the demons weren’t all massacred.
Rumble—!
However, as the cliff broke apart, rocks began to pour down into the canyon below.
To make matters worse, the lead of the Eight Squad was now faced with Seo-jun’s Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship.
“Someone help! Damn it!”
The Eight Squad Leader barely managed to block the attack with his sword, and as he called for help, demons who had been scrambling atop the collapsing cliff quickly drew their bows.
Twang—!
A rain of dozens of arrows flew toward Seo-jun. These were shots from peak-level archers. There was no chance of missing, and the arrows were infused with slight Qi energy capable of piercing steel.
‘Demonic energy…’
There was no need to use his full power for this.
Baek Seo-jun grinned and opened his mouth.
Crack—
His jaw widened enough to reach his chest, and golden Naedan energy surged out, glowing brilliantly.
“Eight Cold Hells.”
A similar domain was established as cold winds swept through.
Crackling—
All the arrows that were flying toward him froze and fell. Tall ice pillars shot up into the sky. Standing atop one, Baek Seo-jun gazed down at the cliff below.
“Struggle all you want. I’ll entertain you for now.”
Hell had descended.
*****
“Sixth, Eighth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Squads… all annihilated.”
“…This is unbelievable.”
Jo Hyeon stared down at the map with a grim expression. No matter how much the outcome of a martial world battle rested on the outcome between masters, to have lost four squads in such a short time with all the disadvantages?
Even worse, the Sixth and Eighth Squad Leaders were both Supreme-level masters.
“Is it certain that he’s a master of the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“Yes. He claimed it himself, and the martial art he uses, Ice God’s Art, confirms it.”
“Those Black Lotus bastards have lost their minds. How dare they interfere in our sect’s affairs?”
Boom—!
Jo Hyeon slammed his hand onto the table.
“Inform the sect. The Black Lotus Sect—no, the North Sea Ice Palace has interfered.”