Seo-jun had previously used his pseudo-domain in the form of Baek Seo-jun’s techniques.
By extracting his inner core outside of his body and using 108 ice pillars as focal points, he had imitated a domain.
But now, there was no need for such tedious efforts. Having fully reached the Transcendent Realm, it was only natural.
Standing in the middle of the vast open sea, Seo-jun dipped his hand into the seawater.
"Eight Cold Hells."
A single conceptual projection, merely a fragment of his true domain, Ideal World. The frigid energy seeped into the Northern Sea, dyeing it completely white.
CRRRRRRRAAAACK—!!!
The sea froze over without resistance. The spreading cold was, in a way, an extension of Seo-jun’s own domain. As the chill extended infinitely, it sensed something massive swimming beneath the ocean.
"Found you."
Seo-jun smiled and focused all his cold energy on that spot.
Deep in the abyss, as the pitch-black seawater momentarily flickered white—
CRACK—!
In an instant, the sea froze solid from its deepest depths, causing the water beneath his feet to swell. The sheer volume of seawater, freezing all at once, expanded in mass instantly.
—KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!
A wretched cry erupted. The monstrous entity twisted its long body before suddenly unfurling like a coiled spring, launching itself toward the surface.
CRASH—!
The completely frozen sea shattered into countless fragments. Ice shards scattered wildly, refracting dazzling light in every direction. Amid the chaos, a towering shadow surged toward the sky.
Seo-jun placed a hand above his brow to block the glare as he gazed up at the creature.
"A dragon…? No, probably just an Imoogi."
Whether Imoogis could fly or not was unclear, but at the very least, this one couldn't.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
The beast that had shot into the sky plummeted back into the frozen sea.
Kyaak—!
It let out a pained shriek upon impact.
The ocean had already frozen solid, deep down to its core. Given its colossal size, crashing straight into it without any countermeasures had to be agonizing.
—Shhhhiiiiiiik!
The monster writhed in agony, then lifted its head and glared down at Seo-jun as if realizing it couldn't swim.
—Shaaaaaaa!
Its presence was strong—somewhere around the Supreme Grandmaster level.
Seo-jun strode forward leisurely, unfazed.
"Why did you even come out here, only to suffer like this?"
The exhausted monster swung its massive tail, which shimmered faintly with a bluish aura.
A monstrous body, an overwhelming reservoir of qi. Imagining the sheer force behind its strike wasn’t difficult.
SWWWWWIIIIIIIIISH—!!!
Seo-jun reached out toward the incoming tail.
Thud.
The strike, which should have possessed tremendous force, was effortlessly stopped in his grasp.
CRACK—!
At the same time, the frozen sea beneath him shattered into fragments.
Seo-jun had seamlessly redirected the creature’s power downward, dispersing the force beneath his feet.
Even if he wasn’t known for physical prowess, this was the Transcendent Realm. Redirecting external force (Hwagyeong) at this level was trivial.
Seo-jun tightened his grip on the creature’s tail and unleashed the icy fury of the Bingbaek Divine Art.
CRACK—!
The monster froze solid before it could even struggle. In an instant, a lifelike ice sculpture was formed.
Frozen in place, its gaping maw—intended to devour Seo-jun—was now permanently agape.
Seo-jun tapped the ice statue with his knuckles, releasing a misty chill, then leaped onto the frozen sea.
He ascended the towering beast’s head, picked a suitable spot, and struck it with a knife-hand technique.
Thud.
The head fell off.
'If it had lived for a few hundred more years… would it have become something like Nok So-pyung?'
Right now, it didn’t seem to know how to wield its own power properly. But if it managed to survive for centuries, the story could be different.
Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun lifted the severed head and returned to Ice Palace.
"Huh? You're back already?"
Bai Xuexiang, lounging lazily in a chair, blinked in surprise.
"How the hell did you find it so fast in that vast ocean?"
"I froze the whole sea. It came out on its own."
"...You brute."
Seo-jun casually tossed the severed head into a corner.
"What's next?"
"Hold on a moment. It’s not like there are that many tasks that require the help of a Transcendent expert."
"I don't have that much time."
At Seo-jun’s words, Bai Xuexiang’s eyes widened.
"Aha… So once you get the information you need, you plan to leave Ice Palace immediately, don't you?"
"My wife gets lonely, you see."
"What? You're married?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Not really, but…"
Clicking her tongue, Bai Xuexiang waved a hand dismissively.
"Anyway, tonight is a banquet. We can’t just let the Young Lord’s return go unnoticed."
As she said, Ice Palace soon held a grand feast.
Most of the Ice Palace warriors were women. The banquet, filled with fine liquor, exquisite cuisine, and the exotic beauty of the Northern Sea, was something no man could refuse.
"Young Lord, have you heard of a training method called Shuangshou (Dual Cultivation)?"
"Shuangshou?"
"Yes. Since Ice Palace consists mostly of women, it hasn’t been very effective until now, but now that you're back…"
Seo-jun, however, found this event incredibly bothersome.
A banquet? What banquet?
The elders of Ice Palace were circling him, looking for any excuse to talk, and there were far too many of them.
"What kind of training method is this Shuangshou?"
"It’s a technique where men and women—through the fusion of Yin and Yang—"
"Ah, well. You ladies can go ahead and practice among yourselves."
For some reason, the Northern Sea felt a little warmer than last time.
At this rate, next time he visited, would the entire Northern Sea be melted?
Seo-jun sat down with disinterest, merely sipping his drink.
Bai Xuexiang clicked her tongue.
"You have no appreciation for the finer things."
"Oh, this is rich."
"What now?"
"You—who’s never even held a man’s hand—are lecturing me about knowing men?"
Pfft—!
One of the nearby elders burst into laughter.
"Indeed, the Palace Lord has no experience in relationships."
"S-Shut up…!"
"Isn’t this a golden opportunity? Why not seize the chance to claim the Young Lord for yourself?"
"How dare you! Have I not told you all to show respect for your Palace Lord?!"
The banquet eventually ended with the elders teasing Bai Xuexiang mercilessly.
Apparently, her lack of romantic experience was no secret in Ice Palace.
That night, several elders visited Seo-jun’s chambers, once again bringing up Shuangshou.
He flatly refused and they left without much fuss.
The next morning, Seo-jun immediately sought out Bai Xuexiang.
"So, what’s next?"
"Tch… You hate banquets, you hate women, and you don’t need wealth since you’re a Transcendent Realm master…"
Even if he did want wealth, Ice Palace had nothing that could satisfy someone at his level.
Martial arts?
He had already perfected Bingbaek Divine Art and Northern Darkness Divine Art. Having mastered those, he had practically absorbed all of Ice Palace’s essence.
'Is there really nothing that could interest him…?'
Lost in thought, Bai Xuexiang let out a long sigh.
She needed more time to understand Seo-jun.
If she was going to keep him here, she needed a task that would take some time…
Suddenly, an idea struck her.
"I heard the elders are researching a new formation technique."
Previously, the elders of Ice Palace had deployed the Bingsul Cheonra Formation in an attempt to stop the Sword Demon—but the result had been disastrous.
Far from stopping him, they had merely lost one of their own.
Since they couldn't afford to be that helpless again, the elders had dedicated themselves to studying formations ever since.
However, formations weren’t something that could be created overnight. Though they had only recently begun their research, progress had already come to a halt.
"You want me to help complete the formation?"
"That's right."
"Hmmm..."
Seo-jun looked at Bai Xuexiang with a strange expression.
Completing a formation?
Honestly, it wasn’t difficult.
The framework was probably already in place. Finishing it wouldn’t take long at all.
But...
'Should I even help them?'
Ice Palace was still the enemy. If they regained their strength, they could become a future threat to the Orthodox Faction.
'I could always develop a counter-technique alongside it…'
After a brief moment of contemplation, Seo-jun asked,
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Why is Ice Palace considered an Unorthodox Sect?"
Typically, sects affiliated with the Dark Lotus Alliance were notorious for using any means necessary to achieve martial excellence.
But from what Seo-jun had seen so far, Ice Palace wasn’t like that. They seemed to cultivate their techniques using the divine artifact Bingjeong, so it wasn’t as if they were sacrificing people in pursuit of martial power.
"Hmm… It’s because of the past."
"Oh? So, did you commit some kind of massacre?"
"Nothing like that. Have you heard of the term Outer Martial World?"
The Outer Martial World referred to martial sects located beyond Zhongyuan (Central Plains), out in the borderlands.
"Originally, the Outer Martial World was treated as Unorthodox. But when the Martial God, Ju Uncheon, unified Zhongyuan, he included the Outer Martial World as part of Zhongyuan Murim. And somehow, Ice Palace ended up being categorized as Unorthodox."
"Huh."
So, in short, Ice Palace was labeled as Unorthodox purely due to geography.
"Honestly, I have no interest in getting involved with those stubborn old men in the Orthodox Faction. The Dark Lotus Alliance doesn’t interfere with us much, so it works out just fine."
Seo-jun had never heard of Ice Palace actively participating in the war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.
Sure, some Ice Palace warriors occasionally appeared, but that was inevitable, given their affiliation with the Dark Lotus Alliance.
After piecing things together, Seo-jun nodded.
"Alright, I get it. I’ll complete the formation for you."
"Hah, how arrogant. Even for someone at the Transcendent, it won’t be that easy."
Bai Xuexiang sneered, though her expression was clearly irritated.
However, despite her attitude, she was inwardly delighted.
'Perfect! This should buy me at least a few months.'
That would be enough time to figure out how to manipulate him.
She grinned mischievously.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Anhui Province…
Chun-bong walked down the street, grumbling.
"Having a husband who's too competent is a problem."
"Hmm?"
Beside her, Namgung Sua chuckled.
"Is he too busy?"
"Yeah. I finally reached the Supreme Grandmaster, but I can't even help him."
This wasn’t a matter of raw strength.
The ability to freely alter one’s internal energy attributes—was that even possible?
If the assassins of Zhongyuan heard about it, they’d roll around in frustration.
"If you ask me, if he’d taken a slightly darker path, he’d have ended up with some ominous title like Slaughter King or something."
"Hmm, in that case, would that make me Slaughter Queen?"
"No, you’re supposed to stop him from going down that road!"
"Oh? Should I?"
Namgung Sua chuckled, and Chun-bong shook her head.
She wasn’t always like this…
"Sigh."
Either way, it was disappointing.
That guy—Baek Seo-jun, was it?
Chun-bong herself had no knowledge of Bingbaek Divine Art, so sneaking into Ice Palace was out of the question.
In the end, with no one to spar with, Chun-bong got bored—which was why she ended up roaming the outskirts of Anhui.
"But this thing is really interesting."
The so-called Namgung Talent Detector, now officially named Chosen Talent Art.
It was an ability that identified individuals with natural martial talent. After several tests, Chun-bong had confirmed that it actually worked.
"This is a real golden opportunity."
A nobody from the backstreets turning out to be a martial arts genius?
How could anyone resist?
As soon as she realized how fun this was, Chun-bong immediately dragged Namgung Sua along and left the Namgung Clan’s estate.
Of course, Hefei (where the Namgung Clan resided) was off-limits.
Most people there already lived comfortable lives.
Hope shines brightest in the depths of despair.
Which was why Chun-bong deliberately headed to the slums on the outskirts of Anhui.
"Alright! Form a line! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You too can be a martial arts prodigy!"
At first, people didn’t pay much attention.
But then they noticed the two women standing in the backstreets, calling people over.
Even though Anhui was relatively well-off compared to other regions, wealth gaps still existed.
So when two elegantly dressed women suddenly appeared, shouting about opportunities, people couldn't help but be intrigued.
"So if your eyes glow, it means you have martial talent?"
"That’s ridiculous. They’re probably just trying to scam people for money."
"They said they’re not charging anything, though."
"Tch, you cowards. I’ll go first."
Chun-bong grabbed random people’s wrists one by one, activating Chosen Talent Art.
After testing a few, suddenly—
One man’s eyes began glowing blue.
"W-Whoa…!"
"Wait, it's real?!"
The crowd murmured in excitement, while the chosen man grinned triumphantly.
"Hah… Hahaha! I knew it!"
He turned to Namgung Sua, who was watching curiously.
She was the most well-endowed woman he had ever seen. His throat went dry as he gulped.
"So what you’re saying is… I’m amazing, right?"
"That’s right! A total life-changing moment!"
Chun-bong giggled.
No matter how many times she saw it, it was fascinating.
Just how did this ability determine talent?
One thing was clear—Seo-jun's martial arts intuition was unparalleled.
As she thought about her brother, Chun-bong’s chest swelled with pride.
However, she had forgotten something important.
The average moral compass of backstreet thugs.
"Hey, woman! This great one shall take you as my concubine!"
The man pointed directly at Namgung Sua, laughing boisterously.
"Huh?"
Chun-bong blinked.
She hadn’t expected that.