CRACKLE─────
The Ice Palace Lord had done the unthinkable. A martial artist of the Transcendent Boundary, who had lived for centuries, burning through her Innate True Qi?
It was a phenomenon so rare that when it did occur, it was called nothing less than a calamity.
“This is bad…!”
“I’ll kill them all... every last one of them!”
The Sword Demon hastily swung his blade, retreating, but the rampaging Baek Seol-hyang was unstoppable.
Her chilling Yin-Cold Qi began freezing the very fabric of space.
CRACKLE—!
Inside her domain, even time seemed to slow.
The Sword Demon grew sluggish, while Baek Seol-hyang moved faster than ever.
In an instant, she closed the gap and slammed her palm into the Sword Demon’s abdomen.
“Urgh...!”
The force sent the Sword Demon hurtling backward. He gritted his teeth, trying to resist the icy energy spreading through his body, and shouted:
“Priestess…! I leave it to you!”
The Priestess, her eyes wide with focus, began to pray.
“Let the Flame of Destruction consume the world...”
Her Upper Dantian opened wide, resonating with the heavens. Her spirit spread across the battlefield, pushing back Baek Seol-hyang’s domain.
FWOOSH—!
The divine flame—Sacred Fire—emerged, melting the frozen space. As the flames flickered around her, Baek Seol-hyang let out a deranged laugh.
“Ha... hahahaha! Yes, you... Priestess of the Demonic Cult! I’ll kill you and feed your corpse to Mara’s pigs!”
WHOOSH—!
Riding the icy winds, Baek Seol-hyang charged toward the Priestess, palm extended.
“Priestess!”
The Greed Demon stepped in to intercept her. Despite his still-churning stomach, he raised his palm to counter hers.
CRACK—!
While most of his forearm froze solid, the mouths on his palm devoured her chilling energy.
“Impressive Qi, Palace Lord!”
At that moment, Seo-jun flashed a sly grin and made his move, targeting the Priestess. Just as she prepared to unleash her sorcery, Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes turned bloodshot.
“You wretched bastard!”
BANG—!
She kicked the Greed Demon aside and extended both hands, channeling massive Yin-Cold Qi into her palms.
CRAAAAACK────!
Terrified by the incoming energy, Seo-jun activated what appeared to be the Northern Sea Divine Art (though it was, in truth, his refined Energy Absorption Technique).
He had long since deciphered the essence of Frost White Divine Qi, dismantling its structure and absorbing it into his body. The overflowing energy was redirected at the Priestess.
FWOOOOSH—!
The Priestess countered with a pre-prepared spell. A small spark expanded into a protective shield—a thin barrier imbued with the Sacred Fire.
SSSS—!
The chilling energy transformed into steam as it hit the shield, leaving behind a frosty residue.
Seo-jun leaped back, observing the exchange, and nodded with approval.
“An excellent combination, Palace Lord.”
Baek Seol-hyang’s eyes turned a fiery red as blood vessels burst, sending streams of blood down her cheeks. Gasping, she screamed:
“Kill them… Kill these bastards now!”
“Yes, my Lord!”
The elite warriors of the Ice Palace stepped forward, forming a defensive formation against the Extreme Demonic Masters.
Even as they exchanged glances, doubts lingered in their minds:
‘Is he truly the hidden Young Lord?’
‘He uses the Northern Sea Divine Art, so it must be him... right?’
‘But the Palace Lord’s reaction...’
‘She’s not herself right now. If he’s using the Divine Art, he has to be the Young Lord.’
Despite their confusion, they channeled their energy into one of their strongest warriors. The chosen woman unleashed her signature technique.
Ice Crystal Burst.
Massive chunks of chilling energy coalesced into a single, body-sized sphere before erupting forward.
BOOOOM─────!!
The Sword Demon stepped in. Though he had already purged Baek Seol-hyang’s Qi from his body, his frustration lingered over his earlier lapse.
Pouring all his strength into his blade, he sliced through the Ice Crystal Burst—and the warrior who had launched it.
“Kuh...!”
In an instant, one of the Ice Palace’s elites was cleaved in two, collapsing lifelessly.
The remaining warriors gritted their teeth and regrouped, deploying the Heavenly Snowstorm Formation.
This formation followed the principles of the Eight Trigrams, with warriors positioned at the cardinal directions to create a raging snowstorm within.
The Sword Demon swung his blade with indifference.
SWISH—!
Each casual strike inflicted wounds on the warriors without leaving so much as a scratch on his own robes.
8-to-1. The overwhelming outcome was clear: the Sword Demon dominated.
‘This maniac...’
Seo-jun clicked his tongue and moved to assist the Ice Palace warriors. If the Sword Demon broke free, it would spell trouble for everyone.
‘For now...’
Coordination in a group attack was critical, but untrained teamwork often led to disaster.
Seo-jun, unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Heavenly Snowstorm Formation, would normally hinder its effectiveness.
However, the Energy Absorption Technique allowed him to read the flow of Qi within formations as easily as breathing.
Sliding into an optimal position, he activated Frost White Divine Qi and unleashed his technique:
Exploding Snowfall.
BOOM—! BOOM—!
With repeated strikes, the condensed Qi exploded into countless shards, cascading toward the Sword Demon.
Combined with the Heavenly Snowstorm Formation, the attack’s power was anything but ordinary.
Yet it was ultimately meaningless.
The Sword Demon’s blade effortlessly swept the attack aside.
SWOOSH—!
He immediately launched a counterattack.
“Young Lord!”
BANG—! A female warrior blocked the strike, coughing up blood as she shouted:
“Just hold on a little longer! Reinforcements will arrive soon!”
Seo-jun dismissed her words and focused intently. While he had achieved Extreme Demonic Mastery, using Transcendent Boundary power was out of the question.
Balancing the fight relied heavily on Baek Seol-hyang’s efforts and the fact that the Demonic Masters were distracted by their objective: the Demon Lord’s Sprout hidden within the palace.
Seo-jun resolved to avoid revealing his identity while wielding power akin to the Transcendent Boundary.
The Demonic Fire Boundary would have made things easier, but this was his best option for now.
“Haa....”
As Qi surged within him, linking his essence, energy, and spirit, he ascended to a mysterious state—Qi-Spirit Balance.
Time slowed around him.
Having previously stepped into the Demonic Fire Boundary, maintaining this state was far easier now.
Seo-jun’s eyes glinted.
‘Now.’
Timing his move precisely, Seo-jun kicked off the ground, appearing before the Sword Demon in an instant.
“What...?”
The sudden burst of speed caught the Sword Demon off guard. Seo-jun extended his palm, brushing it lightly against the Sword Demon’s blade.
SLASH—!
As the Northern Sea Divine Art absorbed the Sword Demon’s Qi, Seo-jun condensed the purest Yin-Cold Qi into his palm.
The sensation mirrored his Reversal Celestial Sun and Moon Art, but this energy was purely Yin.
“Haa....”
White frost formed with his exhale. Grinning, Seo-jun launched the concentrated Yin energy forward.
BZZT—!
The frost pierced through the weakened blade—and into the Sword Demon’s abdomen.
“Urgh...!”
The Sword Demon swiftly swung his sword, retreating as a surge of energy churned within him. Blood welled up in his throat, and he spat it out in a violent cough.
He glared at Seo-jun, gripping the broken remnants of his sword.
"Impressive..."
Though Seo-jun's cultivation level appeared to be at the Supreme Stage, the power he wielded was undeniably close to that of the Transcendent Boundary.
The Sword Demon growled, patting his own body. After activating pressure points to halt his internal bleeding, he steadied himself.
WHOOSH—!
At the same time, a blade aura surged from the broken sword, forming a phantom blade as long as the original. Narrowing his eyes, the Sword Demon muttered:
"It seems retrieving the Demon Lord’s sprout won’t be so easy..."
Before he could finish, a massive force descended from the sky.
"Tsk."
The Sword Demon reacted instantly, leaping aside to dodge the devastating energy.
BOOOOOM──────────!!
A massive fist-shaped imprint cratered the earth. Thud—thud—thud! Consecutive strikes shook the ground as the Sword Demon retreated further, gazing skyward through his bamboo hat.
"A heavy hitter has arrived."
A man stood with his hands behind his back, floating above the battlefield.
It was Je Cheon-hyeok, head of the Pa Cheon-je Clan, an affiliate of the Seven Demonic Black Gates.
Though he was said to be a step below Namgung Jincheon, the current Martial Supreme, underestimating him would be a grave mistake.
Being one step behind the supreme martial artist meant he was still near the peak of martial excellence. Even the Sword Demon felt the pressure.
"Priestess, what’s your decision?"
The Priestess, who had been battling Baek Seol-hyang alongside the Greed Demon, frowned deeply.
The Demon Lord’s sprout was undeniably important, but greed here could lead to losing everything.
"...We retreat."
With a surge of Sacred Fire, the Priestess repelled Baek Seol-hyang and leapt into the air.
"Finally...!"
The exhausted Greed Demon quickly followed her.
Baek Seol-hyang, however, wasn’t about to let them escape.
"Where do you think you’re going? You won’t get away!"
"Enough."
Je Cheon-hyeok intercepted her. His calm demeanor met the bloodshot, enraged glare of Baek Seol-hyang.
"You dare to block my path?"
"Deviation from energy flow. This has become troublesome."
Je Cheon-hyeok exuded his martial presence. Baek Seol-hyang attempted to respond in kind but suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Ack...!"
More blood poured from her lips. Without hesitation, Je Cheon-hyeok struck her abdomen.
THUD—!
"Ugh...!"
Baek Seol-hyang collapsed, unconscious.
Confirming that the Demonic Masters had completely disappeared from his sensory range, Je Cheon-hyeok turned to the surviving Ice Palace warriors.
"Tend to the damage. Reinforcements will arrive from Ryeon shortly."
The warriors nodded, turning their attention to finding the Young Lord. With the Palace Lord incapacitated, leadership naturally fell to him.
"Um... Where is the Young Lord?"
But the Young Lord was nowhere to be found. The warriors exchanged anxious glances before looking to Je Cheon-hyeok.
"I’ll take my leave."
Je Cheon-hyeok tossed Baek Seol-hyang to one of the warriors.
"Palace Lord!"
A warrior caught her as Je Cheon-hyeok turned to depart.
"Devote all your efforts to the Palace Lord’s recovery. The damage is immense. If left unchecked, the righteous factions will completely take over the western part of Zhongyuan."
With those words, his figure vanished without a trace.
One warrior, cradling Baek Seol-hyang, gazed around at the ruins of the Ice Palace.
The palace lay in utter devastation. The Palace Lord had collapsed due to deviation, and the Young Lord was missing.
"What in the world...?"
His despondent voice was carried away by the frigid northern wind.
Seo-jun, having quickly escaped the Ice Palace, found himself face-to-face with Je Cheon-hyeok.
"Do you have business with me?"
Seo-jun didn’t know much about Je Cheon-hyeok, other than the fact that he was strong.
Still, it didn’t matter. Seo-jun was confident he could escape unscathed even if attacked.
Je Cheon-hyeok studied him carefully as Seo-jun furrowed his brow.
"Northern Sea Divine Art... Thanks to you, the Ice Palace won’t be entirely destroyed."
With those cryptic words, Je Cheon-hyeok disappeared. What he had intended to convey was unclear.
"Well, that’s that."
Relieved at having successfully escaped, Seo-jun quickly found a secluded spot and disguised himself.
No grand identity, just another wandering martial artist from the unorthodox factions.
‘What a shame.’
It seemed unwise to use Baek Seo-jun’s identity for the foreseeable future.
Though it had been a rushed decision to pose as Baek Seo-jun, lingering doubts among others could still arise, despite the logical impossibility of linking him to Cheon Seo-jun.
For now, Seo-jun decided to bide his time and observe.
‘I could still use it for assassinations, though.’
Or perhaps he could return to the Ice Palace later and steal that Ice Crystal Burst technique.
Not that he needed it, but he was curious about how Baek Seol-hyang would react to losing one of the palace’s treasures.
‘Sorry, Ice Palace... but maybe you shouldn’t have picked a fight with the righteous factions.’
Seo-jun chuckled to himself. Whether righteous or unorthodox, it made no difference to him—they’d still have ended up in his crosshairs.
‘Should I stray further from my name for my next identity?’
Humming a tune, Seo-jun activated Mixed Origin Step.
BOOOOM─────!!
Though Baek Seo-jun’s identity was shelved for now, the gains from this adventure were substantial.
A dazzling record of achievements:
The Ice Palace in ruins. The Palace Lord gravely injured. A rift between the Demonic Cult and the Seven Demonic Black Gates. And to top it off, he had temporarily drawn a Transcendent Boundary Master to the Ice Palace.
If the Wulin Alliance’s forces had any competence, this incident would yield them significant advantages.
‘Honestly, they should give me a medal.’
Seo-jun smirked. With just the identities of Baek Seo-jun and Cheon Seo-jun, he’d managed to force one of the Seven Demonic Black Gates out of the war.
‘Now that I think about it... I’m basically a war hero.’
Feeling quite pleased with himself, Seo-jun nodded repeatedly as he circulated his Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
WHOOSH—!
In an instant, he reached a state of Demonic Fire Boundary and Extreme Demonic Mastery simultaneously.
With his safety ensured, Seo-jun set off for the Namgung Clan, resolving to settle on a new identity along the way.
‘Demonic Fire Boundary combined with Extreme Mastery... Should I call it Fire-Extreme Boundary? Or Demonic Extreme Boundary?’
After a brief deliberation, he decided:
‘I’ll stick with Demonic Fire Boundary.’
It fit well enough, considering it was a state derived from demonic transformation.
Standing atop a hill, Seo-jun stretched his arms wide, reveling in his newfound freedom.
"Thank you, Tian Shan! Thank you, North Sea Ice Palace!"
Through this chase, he had grown immensely. With time to consolidate his insights and refine his training, he was confident he would achieve even greater heights.
In the near future, few in Zhongyuan would be able to stand against him.
‘The leaders of the Sixteen Noble Houses? I’ll tower over them.’
But none of that mattered to Seo-jun.
‘Hehe, time to head to Namgung and pinch Chunbu’s chubby cheeks!’
Grinning brightly, Seo-jun quickened his steps toward the Namgung Clan, leaping headfirst into yet another thrilling chapter of his life.