Seonghoe stood there, mouth agape, staring blankly at Mu-hui’s retreating figure.

“The Ice King! Challenging a master with the title of ‘King’ to a duel?”

He couldn’t fathom the audacity. No, it wasn’t just audacity—it bordered on madness.

“Even when he first claimed he would take on the rogue masters alone, it seemed absurd.”

Mu-hui had declared he would face all the rogue masters in the tournament. It was one thing to face them one by one, but without rest, it was akin to enduring a relentless onslaught from five masters in succession.

Yet, Mu-hui had done it, and with flair.

He didn’t just scrape by, narrowly avoiding defeat. His swordsmanship was exquisite, as if he already knew his opponents’ techniques, exploiting every gap and connection with precision.

With each duel, Mu-hui’s near-supernatural skills reminded everyone why he was called the Sword Demon.

He dominated or smoothly overcame each opponent, forcing them to their knees.

And now, he was pointing his sword at the supreme master who stood at the pinnacle of the martial world.

When the wall is too high to climb, they say you can’t even feel despair or frustration.

That’s exactly how Seonghoe felt watching Mu-hui.

“Will I ever see the end of that ocean?”

To Seonghoe, Mu-hui had become an endless sea, unfathomable and vast.

As Seonghoe’s murmurs faded into the air, Jegal-myeong, who was cheering for Mu-hui with the younger members of the sect, glanced at him.

“Hey…”

Just as Jegal-myeong was about to speak, a heavy metallic sound erupted from the stage.

Thunk!

The Ice King’s right palm, wrapped in the chilling aura of the Ice Shadow Technique, deflected Mu-hui’s Plum Blossom Sword, which had sliced through the air but bounced off harmlessly.

Despite the sword not penetrating at all, Mu-hui calmly adjusted his stance and stepped back.

The Ice King’s eyes twitched at Mu-hui’s composure.

“Even after four duels, his breathing is barely disturbed. Impressive.”

Mu-hui retreated further, maintaining a distance of five steps, his eyes fixed on the Ice King’s arms, now tinged with blue.

“Solid, as expected. But not unbreakable.”

The Ice King, noticing this, regarded Mu-hui with a curious gaze.

“You’re gauging the hardness of my ice-covered arms…”

His actions were not those of a mere novice. Mu-hui was emulating the seasoned masters of the martial world.

“Hmm.”

The Ice King bent his knees and leaned forward slightly, moving with an uncanny grace as if skating on ice.

Swish!

Where he passed, two lines of ice remained on the ground.

With the Ice Line Step, the Ice King closed the distance to Mu-hui in an instant, his sleeves fluttering.

“I sensed it in the previous duels too, but it’s truly strange. Outwardly, you seem like a mere fledgling…”

His palm, imbued with a chilling aura that could freeze to the bone, descended toward Mu-hui’s shoulder.

“But your actions are those of a seasoned veteran.”

As the palm pressed forward, Mu-hui deftly inserted his Plum Blossom Sword at an angle to deflect the attack.

The Ice King surely knew Mu-hui’s intent to divert the attack. Yet, as if mocking him, the trajectory shifted, but the sword was already in place to intercept the palm’s path.

It wasn’t that Mu-hui had read the Ice King’s move; it was the subtle shift in his sword technique. The essence of the Huashan Sect’s swordsmanship was fully embodied in Mu-hui’s skill.

In a previous life, relying mainly on the Solitary Sword Technique, this would have been difficult. It was a testament to how much his swordsmanship had evolved.

Crack!

As the Plum Blossom Sword’s blade and edge flipped with a subtle vibration, the Ice King’s palm technique faltered, striking empty air.

“Ha!”

The Ice King let out a cold laugh.

Most martial artists use the principle of softness to deflect attacks, but Mu-hui employed change and illusion.

Even the Iron Mountain Fist King and the Master of the Iron Palm watched Mu-hui’s sword with serious eyes.

“Chilling.”

Even the mere aftermath of the attack sent a wave of cold through the air, frosting the surface of their robes.

When a martial artist’s attack misses, it always leaves an opening. The Ice King was no exception.

Mu-hui saw a slight gap but chose not to exploit it.

“Entering would mean death.”

The reason for Mu-hui’s caution soon became clear as the Ice King’s hand, seamlessly transitioning from the missed strike, unleashed a flurry of attacks.

The gap Mu-hui had seen was merely the starting point of a new offensive. The Ice King boldly unleashed the Azure Abyss Ice Jade.

The blue palm, exuding cold, filled the air, leaving Mu-hui no time to swing his sword.

Even if he had time, the surrounding ice and palm shadows made it impossible to extend his blade.

Crack!

The icy palm shadows connected, forming a sphere around Mu-hui.

“In an instant, like that!”

“Ah!”

The martial world experts gasped, and Seonju fidgeted anxiously.

“Brother Mu-hui…”

As Seonju bit her lip and murmured in a weak voice, something unexpected happened.

A tiny beam of light pierced through the white ice. The purple hue was so small and insignificant.

It looked almost like a sprout.

As the Ice King raised his cold-imbued hand, purple sprouts suddenly sprouted all over the surface of the Azure Abyss Ice Jade.

In that fleeting moment, as the blue ice jade’s color deepened and turned purple.

Crack!

The shattered Azure Abyss Ice Jade released a flurry of buds, their petals frosted with ice and snow.

Plum Blossom Endures the Cold

As Mu-hui twisted his waist and thrust his sword, the buds intertwined with the purple petals, swirling in a storm.

The technique, Plum Blossom Endures the Cold, cutting through the ice and cold, was like a spring breeze heralding the end of winter.

The buds that flew to the Ice King’s sides bloomed simultaneously, unfurling snow plum blossoms.

The sword’s fragrance, asserting its presence, pushed back the cold that filled the stage.

The Ice King, with an immense amount of cold energy swirling around his hands, unleashed his palm techniques.

Whoosh!

As a cold wind swept across the stage, all that remained around the Ice King were finely shattered ice fragments.

Forty-eight strikes of Plum Blossom Endures the Cold.

The Ice King blocked them effortlessly, but Mu-hui smiled.

“One technique.”

At Mu-hui’s murmur, a dense cold mist escaped the Ice King’s lips.

Swoosh!

The Ice King charged again with the Ice Line Step, and Mu-hui extended his sword, mixing sword shadows and winds.

Clang!

Fist and sword clashed repeatedly, the Plum Blossom Sword being pushed back by sheer force, only to rebound again and again.

Mu-hui maintained a wider distance than usual, trying to keep his space.

The Ice King, having deflected the dozen sword shadows with a single palm, retracted his right hand and flicked a finger imbued with the Ice Finger Technique.

The concentrated cold of the finger technique was deadly if it struck a vital point even once.

Not just the finger technique, but any attack could turn the tide completely with a single hit, the most terrifying aspect of ice techniques.

Swish!

As the finger wind sliced through the air, it felt as if it were cutting through steel.

“Phew.”

Mu-hui, having sliced through the triple-layered palm force, exhaled lightly, his breath dispersing as a thick mist.

The air was filled with a pervasive cold, and ice and frost were easily found all over the stage.

It felt as if only the stage was in the grip of a harsh winter.

“How is it? Your body must be getting sluggish by now.”

The Ice King, having just executed his second technique, asked Mu-hui with the same cold expression as before.

“Sluggish, I don’t know, but it’s certainly refreshing.”

With each movement, the frost on Mu-hui’s robe fell to the ground, only to be replaced by new frost.

As the Ice King had said, the cold of the Ice Shadow Technique was slowly encroaching on Mu-hui.

Inside Mu-hui, the internal energy of the Purple River Heart Technique was fiercely coursing through his meridians, pushing back the cold.

Amidst this, Mu-hui found himself momentarily lost in thought.

“Something’s tickling.”

It wasn’t a physical itch, but a sense that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

But the Ice King wasn’t about to give Mu-hui time to ponder.

Swoosh!

The Ice King’s attacks grew more relentless, and Mu-hui’s sword began to emit a brilliant light.

The Ice King, having absorbed the wave of Purple River Sword Qi with his palm, clenched his other hand into a fist and launched a punch.

The fist, brimming with cold energy, seemed like a block of ice hurtling toward him.

Boom!

As the Ice River Blue Fist approached, a single plum blossom unfurled its five petals, displaying its brilliance.

Mu-hui executed the Plum Blossom Endures the Winter technique, but the power of the Ice River Blue Fist crushed the blossom and continued toward him.

However, Mu-hui had anticipated this.

With a swift, practiced motion, the sword sliced through the air, cleaving the power in two as if it had been waiting for this moment.

The icy blue energy split apart, revealing the growing hand of the Ice King.

Clang!

The Ice King, refusing to let the retreating sword escape, grabbed it with one hand and thrust his other palm toward Muhwi.

Crack!

Muhwi had no choice but to counter with the force of the Plum Blossom Mountain technique.

A chilling cold began to seep through his palm, sending shivers down his spine.

Finally, the moment the Ice King had been waiting for arrived. Muhwi knew exactly what the Ice King intended to do.

“Frozen Abyss.”

As the Ice King murmured the name of his technique, an overwhelming cold burst forth from his palms and enveloped his entire body.

A blue chill spread in concentric circles, engulfing both Muhwi and the Ice King.

Crack!

The onslaught of cold was so fierce that Muhwi’s body began to freeze instantly.

[Let’s see if you can break this.]

The Ice King’s voice echoed in Muhwi’s mind as ice crept over his face.

‘He’s really angry to use this technique.’

The Frozen Abyss was one of the Ice King’s most formidable skills. Of course, he wasn’t using it at full strength. He was matching Muhwi’s level, as he always did.

If he had unleashed it at the level of a transcendent master, Muhwi wouldn’t even be able to think right now.

Buzz!

Sensing the danger, Muhwi’s internal energy, the Purple Haze Qi, surged fiercely, but it struggled to fend off the icy energy that was freezing not just his body but even his internal pathways.

As the Purple Haze Qi and the icy energy clashed violently, Muhwi continued to ponder.

Suddenly, he found himself standing alone in a vast, empty black space, far from the grand plaza of the Martial Alliance.

The space was unbearably cold and lonely, as if it were made entirely of ice.

In that space, Muhwi was the only source of warmth and a faint purple glow.

Gazing into the endless expanse, Muhwi saw the concept of the Great Void.

‘The Great Void and the Six Harmonies… they might differ slightly in meaning, but don’t they both point toward the world, objects, and phenomena—the myriad things?’

Trapped in the icy hell, what came to mind was none other than the Great Void Mind Technique.

The principles of the Great Void Mind Technique kept flickering in his mind.

‘Is there really a need to distinguish between these two? Aren’t they both part of the Dao that makes up the myriad things?’

The principles of the Great Void Mind Technique, perfectly etched in his mind, suddenly surged forth, sweeping through his consciousness.

As the countless principles poured out like a flood and organized themselves into a single stream, something shifted.

Buzz!

The movement of the Purple Haze Mind Technique began to change subtly.

Then, the icy energy that had been stubbornly holding on suddenly started to retreat.

The Purple Haze Mind Technique spread joyously throughout his body, as if it intended to dye Muhwi’s entire being in purple.

This was a flow that even Muhwi couldn’t control or stop.

Crack!

The sound was not of ice forming, but of it shattering. The Frozen Abyss was collapsing.

“So soon?”

Only six breaths had passed since the Frozen Abyss was unleashed.

Yet, cracks were already forming in the ice that encased Muhwi.

“A monster.”

The Ice King’s expression, usually impassive, now showed a hint of surprise.

Crack!

The cracks spread across his body, shattering the ice and scattering the cold into the surroundings.

Inside the collapsing Frozen Abyss, a purple aura swirled.

Just as the White Sword had been surrounded by a white aura when using the Great Void Mind Technique, a purple aura now surrounded Muhwi.

“What is this…”

Baekyu, who had been watching Muhwi trapped in the Frozen Abyss with concern, now looked on with bewilderment.

The phenomenon of a purple aura swirling around the body wasn’t supposed to occur just because one advanced in the Purple Haze Mind Technique.

“Purple Haze!”

The purple aura enveloping Muhwi was like a sunset in its full glory.

Baekyu couldn’t understand why this was happening.

Muhwi, who had been breathing deeply with his eyes closed, opened them.

A ring of purple light encircled his pupils, casting a mysterious glow.

“Haa…”

There was not a trace of cold in Muhwi’s breath. He had completely expelled the icy energy.

Muhwi looked at the Ice King, who was staring at him in disbelief, and raised his sword once more.

“One move left, huh? What’s your final technique going to be?”

As the plum blossom sword tilted, the purple sunset surrounding Muhwi drove away the cold that had filled the arena.

The winter that had dominated the arena was gone, replaced by the purple sunset.