The battle between the Emperor and Myeolsa Cheon-gun (Heavenly Lord) erupted out of nowhere.
One might have expected the banquet hall to be instantly reduced to rubble, with the surrounding area left in ruins and casualties piling up—but none of that happened.
Even the usual spatial distortions that accompany battles between martial artists who have reached the level of Haegyong (Transcendence) were absent.
Neither of them was fighting seriously. They were merely exchanging light blows.
“Step back for now!”
“I’ll grab the unconscious elder!”
Rather than fleeing in panic, the martial artists in the banquet hall kept their distance and watched the fight unfold.
None of them were concerned about danger.
This was a rare opportunity to witness two supreme martial artists in action. Even if it meant risking their lives, no true warrior would willingly look away.
Chun-bong was no exception—her eyes remained locked onto the fight.
Swoosh—!
Seo-jun’s hand sliced through the air.
The Emperor bent his waist backward to dodge, then smirked and kicked the long banquet table.
Boom—!
Dishes, food, and utensils were flung into the air.
The Emperor’s hands blurred. Sshk! He snatched a dozen chopsticks midair and flung them like throwing knives.
Whoosh—!
Seo-jun kept walking forward without a hint of concern.
The chopsticks halted midair as if they had struck an invisible wall.
Before the dishes could hit the ground, Seo-jun used Hogongseobmul (Elemental Telekinesis) to move them neatly into a corner.
Then, with a flick of his fingers—
Swoosh—!
The chopsticks shot forward with the precision of remote sword control (Igieogeom).
The Emperor chuckled.
“What, do you have a favorite plate or something?”
Thunk.
He casually kicked a chair forward, sending the chopsticks embedding into it.
Crack—!
The chair shattered as the Emperor pushed off the ground, closing the distance between them in an instant.
His outstretched hand took the shape of a raptor’s talon—or rather, it looked more like a dragon’s claw.
Ssshhk—!
Seo-jun leaned back to evade and thrust his foot forward.
The Emperor reacted instantly, driving his knee upward.
Thud!
Seo-jun used the force from the collision to propel himself into the air, his torso arching backward. He then kicked off the Emperor’s knee, swinging his leg in a sharp arc.
“Oh-ho.”
The Emperor caught the incoming kick with his hand. Smack!
At the same time, his curled fingers latched onto Seo-jun’s ankle.
He yanked.
Seo-jun’s body was pulled forward, the Emperor’s other hand already reaching for his torso.
Seo-jun, however, manipulated the natural energy in the air, twisting his body into a rapid spin.
Whoosh—!
His long martial robe snapped outward, wrapping around the Emperor’s wrist.
“Damn. The others should be watching this—this is how you use internal energy properly.”
The Emperor immediately released Seo-jun’s ankle. At the same time, he grabbed hold of the robe wrapped around his wrist and swung Seo-jun toward the ground.
Boom—!
Except—Seo-jun never hit the ground.
Smack!
A blue ethereal hand, formed purely from qi, pushed against the floor.
Seo-jun used it to flip midair and land smoothly, furrowing his brows as he stared at the Emperor.
‘Hand-to-hand combat isn’t working.’
There was no point trying to win a physical fight against him.
He never intended to in the first place.
Fwoosh—!
Three pairs of blue spectral arms emerged from Seo-jun’s back.
The Emperor glanced at them and grinned.
“Hm, the Namgung Clan is all about the heavens, huh?”
If those arms grabbed hold of him, his body would be crushed or torn apart.
Normally, that is.
The Emperor stomped the ground with a radiant smile.
Boom—!
The shockwave sent various objects floating into the air.
He reached out and grabbed a chair leg, immediately flinging it. At the same time, he kicked a teacup and picked up a long pork bone, gripping it like a club.
Crunch—!
Seo-jun smashed the chair leg and teacup with a flick of his ethereal hands.
The momentary distraction was all the Emperor needed to close the distance.
Whoosh—!
The pork bone tore through the air with a vicious sound.
Seo-jun stepped back, dodging.
His six ethereal hands lunged forward.
“Well now.”
The Emperor smirked.
“Guess it’s time to get a little serious.”
The pork bone in his hand twisted into an odd trajectory.
Thud—!
It deflected the incoming hands, creating an opening between them.
The Emperor’s grin widened.
“You gonna block this?”
His waist twisted sharply as he dug his foot into the ground.
The rotational force transferred into his makeshift spear, launching it forward like a drill.
Seo-jun extended his index finger. A murky sphere of energy gathered at the tip.
Swoosh—!
The Emperor’s makeshift spear and Seo-jun’s Reversed Heaven and Moon Strike collided.
CRACK—!!
The spear shattered from the tip, splitting into multiple pieces.
Seo-jun’s attack, however, fizzled out before fully piercing through.
The two Transcendent martial artists stood face to face, both wearing strange expressions.
The Emperor shrugged.
“Feeling better now?”
“Still need to smack you at least once.”
“Come on, don’t break my skull.”
The Emperor let out a lazy chuckle while eyeing Seo-jun with a peculiar gaze.
‘Just how strong is he when he’s going all out?’
This brief exchange wasn’t enough to tell.
One thing was certain—his fighting style relied heavily on internal energy techniques.
That alone made it difficult for the Emperor to accurately gauge his full power.
More importantly, martial artists like Seo-jun only revealed their true strength when they unleashed their domains.
‘He’s been hiding his fangs well.’
No matter how anyone looked at it, this was not the strength of someone who had only recently reached Transcendent.
Based on what was known about Heavenly Lord, he had been:
Peak-level (Jeoljeong) during the Mount Hua Tournament. Supreme-level (Chojuljeong) by the time of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. And allegedly Transcendent by the time he annihilated the Gi Ryeon Sect. Of course, no one actually believed that timeline.
But now, there was no doubt.
Even during the Mount Hua Tournament, Seo-jun had already been at Transcendence level.
‘Interesting.’
Where the hell did this kind of monster come from?
It was usually possible to estimate someone’s age based on their presence and demeanor.
But in Seo-jun’s case—
Was that really his true form?
He didn’t seem that young.
Seo-jun spoke to the Emperor, who was grinning to himself.
“Don’t drag the Namgung Clan into your games. If you do it again, I’ll kill you.”
“Oh my, how terrifying.”
The Emperor spun around with a smirk.
“Move aside, will you?”
The people standing near the entrance hurriedly cleared the way.
Standing in the open doorway, the Emperor pointed toward the sky.
“Did I ever mention it?”
His light golden eyes shimmered with an enigmatic glow.
For a moment, the countless stars in the night sky shone more brightly in response.
“I am acknowledged by the heavens themselves, destined to claim the seat of eternity. You could call me... the Son of Heaven.”
“I won’t acknowledge that.”
“Huh?”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow—then suddenly burst into laughter.
“Haha…! I know Namgung likes to claim the heavens for itself, but you know, don’t you? There’s a true heaven beyond that.”
Seo-jun sneered.
“The moment you accept the sky as something above you, you’re already wrong.”
“Hm. You make a fair point. That does sound reasonable.”
The Emperor cupped his chin, idly tracing circles in the air as he walked. Then, he grinned.
“Well, I’ll think about that when the time comes.”
Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
‘How much of what he says is serious?’
Talking to lunatics was exhausting. There was no clear line between their nonsense and their truth.
“I don’t care. Just hurry up and get lost.”
“Why so cold? I was going to share something interesting with you.”
“Not interested. Leave.”
“Oh, really?”
The Emperor stared at Seo-jun.
There was quite a bit of distance between them, but for martial artists at the Transcendent Realm, distance was meaningless.
His golden eyes gleamed strangely, and Seo-jun frowned.
Then, the Emperor spoke.
“Myeolshinhwe.”
His lips curled upward into a sharp, crescent smile.
“Are you sure you don’t want to hear this?”
Seo-jun’s expression stiffened.
‘Myeolshinhwe?’
He had never heard that name before.
But the meaning was blatant.
The Annihilation of Gods.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Seo-jun stared at the Emperor, unblinking.
The Emperor smiled knowingly.
“The girl you’re always with—she’s from the Geum Clan, isn’t she? I figured she might be interested.”
Seo-jun’s eyes flared red.
The Emperor instinctively stepped back, his face tightening.
“Whoa…”
His lips trembled slightly.
His skin prickled with discomfort.
This wasn’t just killing intent.
‘He carries something like that inside him and still walks around like nothing’s wrong?’
The more he saw, the more interesting it became.
The Emperor laughed, thoroughly entertained.
“Well? Now you want to hear it, don’t you?”
“What do you want?” Seo-jun asked.
“Nothing in particular. It’s not like I’ll lose anything by telling you.”
The Emperor’s grin deepened.
“Oh, actually… I just had a better idea.”
Swoosh—!
The Emperor’s body vanished in an instant.
By the time the air trembled in response to his movement, his voice had already reached Seo-jun from a distance.
“Visit the palace sometime. I’ll tell you then.”
His fading voice scattered into the wind.
A soft breeze brushed past the spot where he had stood.
Everyone except Seo-jun had failed to even track his movement.
Seo-jun’s brow twitched slightly.
As he stood in silence, the people who had cautiously kept their distance slowly approached.
“You alright?”
Chun-bong was the first to reach him, poking his side.
Seo-jun rested his hand on top of her head.
“Geum Chun-bong.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m stepping out for a bit.”
“Huh? Where?”
Seo-jun’s lips curled slightly.
“The Ideal World.”
For a brief moment, a vast domain took shape.
The barely visible realm overlapped with reality, creating an ethereal distortion.
Chun-bong’s brows furrowed.
“What?”
“Oh? Just heading out to catch the Emperor.”
Seo-jun’s smile widened ominously.
‘You think you can just run away from me?’
Of all things, fleeing right in front of him?
That was a fatal mistake.
He was an expert at hunting down his prey.
Riiiip—!
The space in front of him split open.
“I’ll be back soon.”
It wouldn’t take long.