Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted, so loud it seemed impossible for humans to have created it.

The clash of supreme masters.

With each exchange of blows, a fierce wind shook the surroundings, creating a powerful force that allowed no one to approach.

Having transcended the ordinary, these masters communicated directly with the essence of nature, gradually freeing themselves from the limitations of finite inner strength, living in a realm beyond that of ordinary experts.

While typical masters had to push their inner strength to the extreme to unleash their ultimate techniques, these transcendent masters could do so effortlessly, as naturally as breathing, unleashing their power dozens of times in a single breath, akin to a natural disaster.

As martial artists ascend to higher levels, the gap between realms widens dramatically. Those nearing the pinnacle begin to transcend human limitations, entering the realm of the transcendent.

Thus, they are called transcendent masters, and thus, they are called supreme.

The majestic Jinryeong Mountain Range and the vast expanse of Jongnam Mountain were being crushed under the might of these two supreme masters.

The ancient pavilion, rich with the history of past sages, crumbled helplessly under the disaster wrought by the supreme masters, yet the hidden figure beneath, the Shadow Emperor, remained still, enduring it all.

The continuous, unbroken rhythm of the two masters’ breathing, as if dozens of breaths were strung together.

The sound of sword and whip slicing through the air.

The light, free steps of the Sword Saint, barely brushing the ground.

The heavy, earth-pressing steps of the Ghost King.

The fluttering of their robes.

Amidst the explosive sounds of cliffs shattering and the pavilion collapsing, the Shadow Emperor did not miss a single sound from the two masters.

“Over a hundred exchanges now. The Sword Saint is leading.”

With eyes closed, breath held, and clinging to the cliff like a frog, the Shadow Emperor read the life-and-death struggle between the Sword Saint and the Ghost King through the waves of energy and sound alone.

The frequency of the Ghost King’s robe fluttering was increasing, betraying his urgency.

The once steady rhythm of the Ghost King’s movements, like a musical instrument, was now faltering and disordered.

The flow of the battle was being completely dominated by Mu Hui.

“Even the Ghost King, who has slain two supreme masters, is being pushed back like this.”

Listening to the sounds from the Ghost King, the Shadow Emperor slowly, ever so slightly, extended his hand. Feeling the coolness of the twin blades at his waist, he patiently awaited the right moment.

An assassin waits.

And so, dozens more exchanges passed swiftly.

Slash!

The sound of something being continuously sliced.

Having once lost his twin blades to Mu Hui, the Shadow Emperor was certain that Mu Hui had severed the Ghost King’s dragon whip once again.

At this turning point, the Ghost King’s momentum was completely broken. Hearing this, the Shadow Emperor’s eyes snapped open, and he released his concealment technique.

Simultaneously, the Shadow Emperor sprang forward, thrusting his twin blades toward Mu Hui’s back. The blades gleamed, poised to pierce Mu Hui’s back, but Mu Hui, without even turning, was already driving his sword into the Ghost King.

The Shadow Emperor’s eyebrows rose at Mu Hui’s disregard for his ambush, focusing solely on cutting down the Ghost King.

“This madman?”

But the Shadow Emperor soon realized that Mu Hui’s actions were not reckless.

Behind Mu Hui, a shimmering presence, Zaha, scattered in the sunlight, condensed into a sword-like force directed at the Shadow Emperor.

Feeling the vibration of this force, the Shadow Emperor’s eyes widened. If it were a simple force, he could have easily cut through and driven his blades into Mu Hui’s back, but he could not.

“Imbuing intent into the force? Has he integrated the essence of the formless sword!”

Despite his shock, the Shadow Emperor adjusted his grip on the twin blades, unleashing the ultimate technique of the Moonlight Twin Dance in response.

At that moment, the Ghost King, gritting his teeth, struck out with both palms, fiercely deflecting the sword aimed at his throat.

Boom!

A simultaneous explosion and gust of wind erupted around Mu Hui.

Mu Hui, with his sword lowered, caught his breath, while the Ghost King and the Shadow Emperor, having withstood Mu Hui’s attack, now stood shoulder to shoulder.

The Ghost King, with a faint line of blood on his neck, glared at the Shadow Emperor beside him as if he could kill him with his eyes.

“So, you were planning to use my life as bait for your assassination? That’s why assassins are…”

“Isn’t it enough that you’re still alive, King?”

Despite the Shadow Emperor’s shameless demeanor, the Ghost King’s neck muscles tensed, but with Mu Hui approaching, he had no choice but to hold his tongue.

“Are you done with your greetings?”

Watching Mu Hui slowly raise his sword to mid-level, the Ghost King and the Shadow Emperor instinctively widened the distance, preparing to join forces.

Having faced Mu Hui’s force directly, and with the Ghost King having sensed the force Mu Hui emitted from his back, they both understood.

Imbuing intent into the force.

This meant Mu Hui had begun to wield the formless sword, approaching the realm of the absolute.

Not yet having reached such a level, the two masters naturally chose to join forces against Mu Hui.

Their pride as supreme masters was tarnished, but the two men chose survival over honor.

Thud!

The three masters, exchanging glances, simultaneously charged at each other.

In an instant, the three masters were entangled in a chaotic exchange.

Sword, twin blades, and twin palms clashed in a dizzying flurry. From the left, the twin blades, from the right, the twin palms, but the Sword of Life showed no sign of haste.

The Ghost King, alternating his palms, unleashed a force that could swallow a tree whole.

Though inferior to his original technique, the Ghost King’s palm technique was fierce beyond measure.

Rip!

As the force and sword energy clashed, the sound of tearing drums echoed repeatedly, and as the Sword of Life swung vertically to cut through the force, the twin blades surged from above and below.

The Shadow Emperor’s move to sever Mu Hui’s fingers gripping the sword energy. Seeing this, Mu Hui executed the Wave Nine Forms, honed through his duel with the Thunder Blade.

Clang!

Mu Hui twisted his wrist, deflecting the twin blades coming from above and below simultaneously, then angled his wrist to thrust the Sword of Life into the Shadow Emperor’s chest.

Not just a simple thrust, but with the sword’s edge trembling, creating countless variations.

“Ugh!”

The Shadow Emperor hurriedly deflected the seven thrusts aimed at shredding his chest, but ultimately allowed two strikes, leaving dark red marks on his chest. Mu Hui’s Wave Nine Forms easily dismantled the Shadow Emperor’s Moonlight Twin Dance.

At that moment, Mu Hui’s gaze shifted. In his violet eyes, the image of the Ghost King, rotating his hands and executing his palm technique, was reflected.

Even as he pierced the Shadow Emperor’s chest, Mu Hui’s left hand scattered the thick petals of the Plum Blossom Mountain.

With each rotation, Mu Hui’s left hand deflected the Ghost King’s palm technique, driving in the clustered petal force into the collarbone.

Crack!

The pain of a broken collarbone forced the Ghost King to retreat, his eyes twitching as he looked at Mu Hui.

“This feeling… it’s been a while. I haven’t felt this since I faced the Lord.”

Despite the pain, the Ghost King, squinting one eye, glared at Mu Hui, who seemed completely unfazed.

Even with two masters of the same realm joining forces, they were barely holding their own, and as the exchanges continued, they were gradually being pushed back.

Having lost his dragon whip and with their combined attack failing, the Ghost King began to feel the same sense of powerlessness and intimidation he once felt only from a tyrant.

Many martial artists, when facing a master of a higher realm, feel their limits and walls, and the Ghost King, despite being a supreme master, was no exception.

As Mu Hui looked at the Ghost King and the Shadow Emperor, both injured and glaring at him, he exhaled deeply.

“Not bad.”

That was Mu Hui’s assessment after facing the combined attack of the Ghost King and the Shadow Emperor.

The continuous duels with the martial alliance members to create a new solitary sword technique, the consecutive duels with supreme masters like the Sword Saint, the Thunder Blade, and the Iron Mountain Fist King, and the ever-growing understanding of intent.

Mu Hui was preparing to reach the absolute realm, having already surpassed the transcendent realm, naturally acquiring the ability to withstand the combined attack of two transcendent masters.

“If I take just a few more steps forward.”

He would reach a new realm he had never achieved in his past life.

For the first time, Mu Hui, who had maintained his position until now, stepped forward.

The Sword of Life, calmly raised to mid-level.

The shimmering presence on the Sword of Life illuminated the Ghost King and the Shadow Emperor like the dawn breaking at sunrise.

The presence extended into countless lines, creating myriad changes, scattering petals, and blooming dozens of plum blossoms in the air.

The Unmoving Flower of Dark Fragrance.

In the blink of an eye, a garden of plum blossoms, bathed in violet light, descended.

Unlike when he had displayed it to the Sword King and the Sword Saint, this time, the Unmoving Flower of Dark Fragrance unfolded with such skill and naturalness.

As Mu-hui’s martial prowess grew, so too did his understanding deepen, naturally leading to mastery of his techniques.

“Argh!”

In a desperate attempt to counter the all-consuming force of the Dark Fragrance Unmoving Flower, both the Ghost King and the Dark Emperor unleashed their martial arts with reckless abandon. Despite their full strength, wounds began to accumulate on their bodies.

The renowned techniques they had honed over a lifetime were no match for the ever-changing flow of the Dark Fragrance Unmoving Flower, which shifted like the currents of nature itself.

“Cough!”

The Dark Emperor, noticing his severed left arm and the deep sword wounds on his thigh and waist, resolved to survive at any cost. He hadn’t endured all these years just to die a meaningless death in such a place.

With every ounce of strength, the Dark Emperor pushed forward.

Boom!

Even as his body was drenched in blood, the Ghost King continued to resist, striking out with both fists.

“Mount Hua Sword Saint!”

Seizing the opportunity, the Dark Emperor struck the Ghost King from behind with a palm attack. Distracted by the Dark Fragrance Unmoving Flower, the Ghost King was too slow to react.

“Dark Emperor!”

The Ghost King shouted, but before he could finish, he was torn apart by the Dark Fragrance Unmoving Flower as he lost his balance and was pushed forward.

Using the Ghost King as a shield, the Dark Emperor attempted to escape the clutches of the Dark Fragrance Unmoving Flower.

‘I can survive.’

He took in the view of the Jin-gyeong Mountain Range, preparing to use the assassination techniques of the Thousand Kill Sect. If he could just hide himself once, he was confident he could escape despite his injuries.

Thud!

At that moment, two blades pierced through the Dark Emperor’s chest.

His eyes widened in shock, and he trembled, unable to complete the leap off the cliff he had intended.

Watching him with indifferent eyes was Mun-yeong.

“Senior Brother, you always mocked me for only being good at stealth. Do you remember?”

“Mun-yeong!”

“Thanks to mastering a level of stealth even you couldn’t achieve, I can finally avenge our sect today.”

Hearing Mun-yeong’s voice from behind, the Dark Emperor coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“How dare you… Even if your stealth surpasses mine, without the wounds from the Sword Saint, your blade would never have reached me.”

“Perhaps. But you’re not just wounded; your spirit is shattered. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this easy. I only gave myself a thirty percent chance.”

The Dark Emperor’s desperate desire to live had blinded him to the reality around him.

Though he tried to belittle Mun-yeong with a gruff voice, Mun-yeong calmly twisted the twin blades embedded in the Dark Emperor’s chest.

“All those who left the sect with you are dead. You’re the last one.”

The Mount Hua Sect had crushed the Dark Assembly’s forces and headed straight for Zhongnan Mountain, while the assassins of the Thousand Kill Sect continued to hunt down the remnants of the Dark Assembly.

Thanks to this, Mun-yeong had been able to cross off every name on the kill list of traitorous assassins.

Now, only the name of the Dark Emperor remained.

The Dark Emperor let out a hollow laugh, blood spilling from his lips.

“Do you know? I left the Thousand Kill Sect because I didn’t want to die such a meaningless death.”

“If you lived as an assassin, you should die as one. What kind of grand death were you hoping for?”

Mun-yeong withdrew the twin blades from the Dark Emperor’s chest and swiftly decapitated him.

“And now, it’s the Thousand Kill Sect’s turn. Thanks to you, Senior Brother. We’ll bear the burden of your sins.”

Having ended the Dark Emperor, Mun-yeong turned away.

He bowed deeply to Mu-hui, who was watching them both.

“Master, I will never forget the grace you showed by allowing me to take my revenge personally.”

* * *

“It seems I’ve secluded myself for too long.”

The old man, seated cross-legged on a rock, sighed as he looked at the kneeling head of the Gu-yu Sword Sect.

The death of the Azure Sky Sword Emperor, the rise of the Blood Demon of Shaanxi and the Heavenly Demon, the founding of the Black Night Palace—events he had missed during his seclusion.

The head of the Gu-yu Sword Sect appeared somewhat despondent as he recounted these past events.

“To think we suffered the disgrace of losing two candidates for the sect leader to the Mount Hua Sect. Sect Leader, how can you still show your face? You should have either attacked Mount Hua or died trying. One of the two should have been done.”

As he spoke, the head of the Gu-yu Sword Sect’s face twisted with frustration, while the sect leader bowed his head even lower.

“My apologies.”

“While I was away, the reputation of the Gu-yu Sword Sect has plummeted.”

After a moment of contemplation, the old man spoke again.

“A late-stage prodigy in his twenties, the Mount Hua Sword Saint, quite a formidable talent. It might be worth meeting him before challenging the Sword Immortal.”

“Are you planning to go to the Mount Hua Sect, then?”

The sect leader asked cautiously, but the old man’s gaze was icy.

“Mount Hua can wait. First, I need to restore order to our own sect, which has become a mess.”