Blood dripped from the sky.
The white snow and ochre soil below were stained black and red. The sound of crunching accompanied it.
Sabak.
“Khck.”
Jin Myeong-jo, Lord of the Blood Pavilion, staggered, tapping his thigh lightly with his index finger.
His upper leg had been torn open, a massive gash exposing deep tissue. Within the wound, red mist clashed against an auspicious aura, battling for dominance.
His bloodline’s regenerative ability was at odds with the remnants of the spell-infused martial technique that had injured him.
[Divine Blood Demon Annihilation. I know your secret art ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) is linked to the Divine Sword Pavilion’s Leader. Did you think I’d let you unleash it so easily? Go ahead and try channeling your internal energy again—I shall grant you and your clan a taste of the Eight Infernal Hells.]
The voice carried a mocking lilt. It was disturbingly human.
The leaves at their feet trembled, and branches quivered across the landscape.
As if to flaunt its dominance over nature itself, the Sacred Manifestation of the Six Harmonies unfolded, radiating an overwhelming presence.
[This domain belongs to me. Not even the Sword Saint can defy me here. You will not walk away unscathed.]
“You’re full of it. Scholars always love to exaggerate. What, did taking a few of Hyun’s old man’s sword strikes make you feel invincible?”
Ak Su-rim slammed the tip of her spear into the ground.
A melodious laugh cascaded down from the heavens.
[Lord of the Divine Spear of Ipwang Fortress, Ak Gaya. You know full well that you are wrong. Have you regressed into an immature child since achieving Rejuvenation? Still, your little scheme is plainly obvious to me.]
“What scheme?”
She tilted her head with a sneer.
[You’re looking for me, aren’t you? Your qi ripples with urgency. But it is not enough. Like your short legs, you cannot even come close.]
“You son of a—”
[Do not misunderstand. I am not avoiding you out of fear. I sensed your presence from afar while I was traveling. Now that you have willingly walked into your own death, I may use your demise to shake Ipwang Fortress.]
“Listen to this bastard talk. Do you really think you’re some kind of divine sovereign? Just because the Sword Saint isn’t here, you act like the world is yours?”
[Engaging in conversation with you only lowers my standing. But you are correct. The one seated in Shanxi is a Celestial Deity. And soon, I shall take the Heavenly Eye Wood from your Lord and become Yama incarnate.]
“You crazy bastard!”
A colossal surge of qi erupted from Ak Su-rim’s body.
Boom!
The sheer force of it thundered across the heavens, sending towering pines toppling in every direction.
The snow-covered ground caved in a perfect concentric crater, and even the sky itself seemed to split open.
“You cowardly son of a bitch. If we fought head-on, you wouldn’t be any stronger than me!”
[You fool. This, too, is power. The moment you face me directly, you will only realize how utterly beyond you I am.]
“Shut up. How long do you think you can keep hiding? Do you know who you’re dealing with? Ipwang Fortress’ Black Spear.”
[Whether Fist Sovereign reaches me first, or whether you die before that moment arrives... you only have two fates awaiting you.]
“Eon Hwayeon won’t beat our youngest. She’ll be dead before sunset. We’re starting by cutting off your arms and legs.”
[Ak Gaya, how foolish you are.]
High above.
A scholar stood upon the clouds, fanning himself as he covered his face.
Beneath his jet-black hat and semi-transparent veil, Zhuge Clan Leader wore a perfectly composed smirk.
[What belongs to me cannot be destroyed without my permission. Do you think your main family sought me out despite knowing they were at a disadvantage in power... simply to prevent the leak of martial arts secrets? No. The Eight Great Clans are what they are today because of me. She cannot be defeated. Not beneath the protection of Zhuge Wuhou.]
Ak Su-rim’s long lashes fluttered upward.
“A divine artifact...?! You handed a family heirloom to an outsider?”
[I stand alone as perfection. It is only natural that I refine flawed tools.]
Zhuge Clan Leader’s White Crane Fan rippled gracefully.
At his gesture, the clouds unraveled like silk, drawing themselves toward him.
[That is enough. There is no further need for conversation. Both I and you have gathered sufficient strength.]
Saaaa—
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freewebnovel.cσ๓.
Suddenly.
A colorless radiance bloomed, absorbing the clouds as it swelled in size.
A bolt of formless lightning.
Its descent was instantaneous.
A single massive column of energy etched itself into the void between heaven and earth, descending with a velocity that transcended reality itself.
Jin Myeong-jo twisted his body to evade—
—He failed.
This time, there were two strikes.
Whiiiiiing—!
One pierced straight through his upper torso.
***
In a single second, the youngest of the Black Spears had declared their supremacy.
At this moment, Ma Gwang-ik Lord’s hands were no different from cannons.
While many of Shanxi’s noble families observed from beneath their canopies, treating the duel as though they were gamblers watching a betting pit—
Jeong Yeon-shin’s attack sent clouds of dust billowing across their embroidered robes.
They knew this was Eon Hwayeon’s duel of vengeance.
Yet, as aristocrats, none of them wagered on her defeat.
They understood the prowess, achievements, and legacy of the Eight Noble Clans’ Fist Sovereign.
But Jeong Yeon-shin had no interest in such things.
“Khck!”
A groan—incredibly close.
The sound of teeth scraping against gums brushed against his shoulder before it suddenly retreated at an absurd speed.
Hoo—
A short distance away, Eon Hwayeon smiled.
Then, she reached into her robes and casually tossed something behind her.
Thud.
A small, round stone rolled across the ground.
Its surface was etched with ancient characters, so old they resembled a painting rather than mere writing.
Each stroke of the engraving faintly shimmered, emanating an ethereal aura. Even at a glance, it was no ordinary artifact.
It landed just outside the dueling platform.
Naturally, the gathered aristocrats watching with complex expressions all turned their attention toward it.
It was an item of immense value, once carried by one of the Eight Noble Clans’ most honored figures.
The greedy glint in their eyes was impossible to conceal.
Jeong Yeon-shin gestured with his chin.
“What is that?”
“...Proof that I am cunning,” Eon Hwayeon replied. “It’s useless now. Ignore it.”
Despite her injured fists, her expression remained indifferent.
‘That has to be a spell-infused artifact.’
For a moment, Jeong Yeon-shin considered pressing the matter further.
But when he saw her face, he realized—she truly knew nothing about it.
“The Gate Master’s surprise is understandable. To unleash such a powerful strike once again...?”
Men and women in luxurious silk martial robes spoke in grave tones, their voices heavy with tension.
They had begun to realize that this battle would have far-reaching consequences for the Shanxi martial world—in one way or another.
But outside the dueling platform, none of that mattered.
‘Once isn’t enough for a decisive blow.’
Jeong Yeon-shin’s thoughts fragmented like falling raindrops, branching into countless streams.
He analyzed his opponent’s internal energy structure, predicted the trajectory of her next strike, and assessed the precision of his own meridians and muscles.
He had no time to concern himself with his disheveled clothing.
Eon Hwayeon, the Fist Sovereign of the Eon Clan, was a different person than she had been during the Martial Alliance’s Grand Opening Tournament.
‘Dismantling her protective qi is the key. Even though my Radiant Wheel Qi has grown stronger, it’s still not enough.’
The body-hardening techniques of elite fist masters were said to render blades and spears meaningless.
And when it came to Jinju Eon Clan’s elite, the internal energy barriers they cultivated were beyond comparison.
The fact that her fist remained intact even after taking a direct hit from Transcendent Steel Qi was proof enough.
At that moment, Eon Hwayeon’s lips twisted.
Kwaaaa—!
A colorless wave of energy enveloped her entire body.
In less than a blink of an eye, her right arm and back radiated light.
Her shattered protective qi had already restored itself.
The Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
The Three Blossoms Converge into Purity.
Her internal energy replenishment kept pace with the speed of thought.
She was different.
For a fleeting moment, Jeong Yeon-shin recognized this undeniable truth.
She wielded the Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit with complete mastery—more so than any adversary he had faced before.
As expected of the Fist Sovereign of the Eon Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans.
With lips stained with blood, Eon Hwayeon seized Jeong Yeon-shin’s wrist and underarm, lifting his entire body in a grappling maneuver—a technique imbued with both ferocity and eerie precision.
The Eon Clan’s Divine Fist.
The One Hundred and Eight Forms of Eon Clan Divine Fist.
The Twin Luminance Moving the Mountain (雙明移山).
“Haa—!”
Her short battle cry echoed.
In that instant, Jeong Yeon-shin was enduring the rebound of multiple Transcendent Steel Qi strikes.
His grip, shoulders, and waist—despite his ability to continuously unleash devastating attacks, it was a separate matter to withstand the counterattacks.
A supreme martial artist who had tempered the Eon Clan’s Fist Arts to its zenith exploited even the tiniest of openings.
Fwaaaah!
Jeong Yeon-shin’s world flipped upside down.
The sky fell beneath him, the white peaks of the snow-covered mountains beyond the dueling platform plunging downward.
A violent gust of wind roared past his ears.
He was about to be slammed into the ground.
A ray of light flashed across his mind.
His thoughts burned intensely.
How could he deliver a proper counterstrike?
What should his next move be?
Thud!
With a flick of his opposite hand, he redirected his Radiant Wheel Qi.
He had begun channeling it the moment his arm was grabbed.
Against adversaries who mastered the Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, foresight and calculation were absolute necessities.
A faint gust of energy struck Eon Hwayeon’s shoulder.
Her robe wrinkled in succession, and in the same moment—
Her grip loosened.
Kwaaaaang!
She was slammed into the ground, her spine rattled by a crushing impact.
Even after softening the blow, it felt as though she had been struck by a meteorite.
Shattered debris from the dueling platform flew past Jeong Yeon-shin’s peripheral vision, scattering into the air.
But in that instant, even as his back smashed against the earth, he was already twisting the minute muscles from his trapezius to his latissimus dorsi, generating an internal wave of energy through his pressure points.
‘Wind God’s Footwork.’
With this, Jeong Yeon-shin diverted a significant portion of the impact.
The dust beneath him billowed outward in a powerful gust.
A level of internal energy control that allowed him to redirect external force.
At the moment when Eon Hwayeon’s gaze had locked onto his chest, her eyes widened.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet had already swung upward, then—
Boom!
Every fiber of his body contracted and expanded in perfect rhythm.
Following instinct, he reversed the flow of energy entirely.
His Yongcheon pressure point absorbed the scattered force from the impact, while his core and arms braced against the sheer gravitational pull of Radiant Wheel Qi’s immense force.
“......!”
Eon Hwayeon was hoisted into the air, her fist missing its intended mark as she tried to land another blow.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision flashed blue as he flipped her over, slamming her down.
Crack.
As he twisted his arm downward, his wrist’s Neiguan pressure point unleashed a shockwave of energy—a newly carved circulation path.
Within moments, the Eon Clan’s grappling arts evolved at an astonishing rate in Ma Gwang-ik Lord’s hands.
Her raven-black hair flared as she struggled midair, but only for an instant—
Fwaaaah!
Boom—!
“Kuhuk!”
The dueling platform fractured as if hit by an earthquake.
Dust spread in thick waves along the cracks, billowing outward.
Blood spurted from Eon Hwayeon’s mouth just as she crashed into the ground.
Even her reinforced body-hardening qi had its limits.
Yet.
Her eyes snapped open.
She reacted immediately.
The movements of a supreme master of close-quarters combat were always as swift as light.
Like Jeong Yeon-shin, she slammed both feet into the ground, her taut arm muscles bulging as she channeled energy through her limbs.
In that moment—
The foremost fist master of the noble sects—
Saw his eyes.
A brilliant blue light flickered in his gaze.
Even as he held onto her left arm, the qi within Ma Gwang-ik Lord’s hands was distorting in a spiraling formation.
She was not mistaken.
It was present in both his right and left hand.
A killing technique so oppressive it crushed the very air before it was even unleashed.
“......!”
It was—
Another strike of Transcendent Steel Qi.