“The Fiend of Mount Hua!”

The words slipped out of the mouth of the Sect Leader of the Extreme Heaven Sect as if he were chewing on them, his voice barely a whisper.

Unconsciously, he took a step back.

The Fiend of Mount Hua.

The most formidable of the younger generation in the martial world.

“Or perhaps, even calling him that doesn’t do him justice.”

His reputation had already spread far and wide after he withstood five moves from the Ice King of the North at the Heavenly Martial Tournament. Before the Martial Alliance’s grand opening, there were whispers that the Fiend of Mount Hua might rival the Six Dragons, but those whispers had vanished. The entire martial world now knew that comparing the Fiend to the Six Dragons was folly.

Moreover, the Ice King himself had acknowledged him, leaving no room for doubt about the rumors.

In the martial world, the Fiend was already seen as a monster, a master of the highest order who demanded caution.

“Damn it. This one and that one.”

The Sect Leader turned his gaze to the man in black standing before him.

The Young Lord of the Conqueror’s Castle, known in the martial world as the Black Claw Dragon of the Six Dragons.

Like the Fiend, the Black Claw Dragon had heard of the Sect Leader’s background and yet showed no sign of retreat, instead choosing to provoke him.

Having grown up in the prestigious Extreme Heaven Sect, the Sect Leader was encountering, for the first time, peers who were unimpressed by his lineage.

Unlike the Sect Leader, who flinched upon recognizing the Fiend, the Black Claw Dragon, Yang Mansoo, looked at the Fiend with gleaming eyes.

“The Fiend of Mount Hua!”

Invited to the banquet as a guest, Yang Mansoo had intended to keep a low profile. He had planned to toy with the Sect Leader a bit, but now a far more intriguing opponent had appeared.

“And that aura!”

He had been curious why a Daoist from the orthodox sects would be called a ‘Fiend,’ but now he understood. The Fiend exuded a fierce, electrifying presence that swept over him like a biting wind, something rarely seen in a Daoist.

Yang Mansoo tried to sense the Fiend’s energy, but found nothing. This only made him more fascinated.

Completely losing interest in the Sect Leader, Yang Mansoo stepped back.

“We’ll meet again.”

His voice was filled with competitive spirit, but the Fiend merely twisted his lips into a mocking smile.

“I doubt it’ll be any fun.”

With that, the Fiend pushed through the crowd and walked away.

Yang Mansoo chuckled, a mix of competitiveness and wounded pride in his laughter. Like the Sect Leader, he wasn’t used to being dismissed so easily.

“Ha! Let’s see what you’re made of.”

He had been holding back his emotions, but after being treated like this by the Fiend, he forgot the advice to restrain himself at the banquet.

Clang!

A metal claw shot out from his right sleeve, fitting snugly onto his hand. As his fingers moved, the claw twisted, aiming to tear into the Fiend’s shoulder.

“Annoying.”

The Fiend clicked his tongue, his sleeve fluttering as he unleashed a technique. Twisting his left hand, he struck Yang Mansoo’s wrist, causing his fingers to splay open from the impact.

The Fiend didn’t stop at disrupting Yang Mansoo’s technique. Unlike other orthodox martial artists, he had no intention of politely backing off.

In the martial world, those who overstepped their bounds paid the price.

The Fiend’s fingers snaked through Yang Mansoo’s splayed ones, locking their hands together.

“Gah!”

Yang Mansoo tried to pull away, but the Fiend’s grip was like a steel vice.

Crack!

The Fiend’s fingers tightened, bending the metal claw out of shape. His hand was imbued with a fiery internal energy, making the claw buckle easily.

“Urgh!”

As the claw twisted, Yang Mansoo’s hand inside it was not spared. The pain of bones bending and breaking made him groan, yet he struggled to free himself.

“Young Lord!”

It was clear to everyone that Yang Mansoo was being overpowered. His subordinates, who had been watching, moved to intervene, but a woman with a sword stopped them.

“Don’t move unless you want to escalate this.”

“Zhongnan… the Golden Sword!”

Unlike when she looked at the Fiend, her eyes were cold and sharp, ready to draw her sword at any moment.

Standing by the Fiend’s side, she blocked the Conqueror’s Castle warriors from interfering.

As the tension rose, the metal claw shattered into pieces, falling to the ground. Yang Mansoo clutched his mangled right hand, clearly in no condition to practice martial arts for months.

“I told you, it wouldn’t be fun.”

The Fiend sneered, but Yang Mansoo could only stare at him with a twisted expression.

“To think I couldn’t even withstand a single move.”

He had heard the rumors about the Fiend, but he hadn’t expected the gap to be this vast.

The Sect Leader was equally shocked.

“How could he be defeated so easily?”

Yang Mansoo had bested two of the Six Dragons, yet he couldn’t withstand even one move from the Fiend. It was astonishing.

This wasn’t even a duel. Yang Mansoo had been toyed with.

The Fiend glanced at Yang Mansoo’s broken hand and spoke.

“Be grateful you’re here as a guest. Otherwise, I would have taken your arm.”

“Such insolence!”

“You bastard!”

The Conqueror’s Castle warriors moved to attack, but Yang Mansoo raised his uninjured left hand to stop them.

He realized that if he didn’t hold them back, it wouldn’t end with just subduing them.

Despite being from an orthodox sect, the Fiend had no qualms about shedding blood, and Yang Mansoo saw this clearly.

The Fiend looked between the pained Yang Mansoo and the dazed Sect Leader, then turned away without hesitation.

As he walked away, no one dared to stop him.

***

The headquarters of the Celestial Trading Company, one of the three great trading companies, was vast, surpassing even some of the larger clans.

In its grounds was a large pond, more like a lake, with a long bridge stretching across it. In the middle of the bridge was a pavilion, offering a view of the pond and the surrounding gardens.

In the spacious pavilion, a long table was set with a feast of delicacies.

Twelve individuals were gathered there, each sponsored by the head of the trading company.

Among them were young people like the Fiend and Yang Mansoo, as well as older figures.

The guests were cautiously sipping their drinks and picking at their food, trying to gauge each other.

But the Fiend paid no attention to them, focusing instead on savoring the various wines laid out before him.

“So, you’re the Fiend of Mount Hua.”

The Fiend paused, lowering his drink, and looked up to see a middle-aged man sitting across from him, the oldest in the group.

The man wore the same blue robes as the Sect Leader, marking him as the Master of the Extreme Heaven Sect.

“Master of the Extreme Heaven Sect.”

“Oh, you recognized me right away. But your manner of speaking is quite irritating. Aren’t you from an orthodox sect that values etiquette?”

The Sect Master infused his voice with anger, and the atmosphere in the pavilion grew tense.

“You don’t seem like someone worth showing respect to. Whoever sponsored you must be blind.”

The Fiend deliberately filled his cup and drank, meeting the Sect Master’s gaze.

The Sect Master’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“You’re full of yourself because of the Ice King. He must have gone easy on you, seeing you as just a child.”

The Sect Master tried to gauge the Fiend’s level by sensing his energy, but he couldn’t pinpoint it, only guessing that the Fiend had reached a mature level of mastery.

“Hmm.”

But the Sect Master wanted more than just a guess; he wanted certainty.

“I can’t let this opportunity to assess the Fiend of Mount Hua slip by.”

Though the Seven Sects of the Seven Stars had united under the name of the Demonic Heaven, internal competition for power was fierce.

Which of the seven would lead and which would fall was uncertain.

The Sect Master saw the Fiend as a means to gain an advantage over the others.

The Fiend had played a key role in thwarting the plans of the Nine Dragons Sect and the Hidden Dragon Society in Shaanxi, defeating four masters of the Demonic Heaven, and even withstanding the Ice King’s attacks.

Many demonic sects had been thwarted by the Fiend.

In the Demonic Heaven, the Fiend of Mount Hua was garnering more attention than many seasoned orthodox masters.

If he could single-handedly capture the notorious Volcano Sword Demon at the Geukcheon Gate, it would not only crush the morale of the orthodox sects but also solidify his standing within the Sadocheon.

“Shall I give it a try?”

The master of Geukcheon Gate had been planning this ever since he learned that Mu-hui would attend the banquet.

All that remained was to gauge Mu-hui’s exact martial prowess and adjust the plan accordingly.

“As a senior in the martial world, let me offer you a drink.”

The master of Geukcheon Gate took the cup Mu-hui had set down and poured the wine himself.

The sound of the wine pouring into the cup resonated through the pavilion, a testament to the internal energy he had infused into it.

Mu-hui’s expression shifted subtly as he heard the sound.

The cup was soon filled to the brim.

“Take it.”

The master didn’t simply hand over the cup. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it spinning towards Mu-hui, as if launching a hidden weapon.

The cup spun through the air towards Mu-hui, yet not a single drop of wine spilled.

It was a cup filled with the internal energy of a supreme martial artist, threatening at such close range. But Mu-hui calmly extended his hand beneath it.

The cup hovered above Mu-hui’s palm, spinning fiercely in mid-air, yet the wine inside remained undisturbed, creating only gentle ripples.

The master of Geukcheon Gate, along with the onlookers, couldn’t help but marvel at Mu-hui’s skill, stopping the cup without even touching it.

“Unbelievable!”

“To control such profound internal energy at his age, and with such precision!”

“Is he countering the cup’s spin with his own internal energy?”

The cup’s rotation gradually slowed until it came to a complete stop, gently landing on Mu-hui’s palm.

Mu-hui picked up the cup.

The master of Geukcheon Gate expected him to drink, but Mu-hui defied that expectation.

Crack!

A crack appeared at the rim of the cup as it neared his lips.

“Why taint good wine with such crude internal energy?”

Mu-hui flung the wine towards the master of Geukcheon Gate.

“Ruins the taste.”

The master’s eyes widened.

The wine scattered into tiny droplets, each one imbued with both the master’s and Mu-hui’s internal energy, rushing towards the master like a barrage of hidden weapons.

Despite the master’s maximum effort, Mu-hui had managed to infuse even more energy into that single cup of wine.

It was a clear demonstration that Mu-hui’s mastery of internal energy surpassed that of the master.

Not only had he infused more energy, but he had done so with an extraordinary finesse.

The droplets spread out like a blossoming flower as they flew through the air.

“A flower?”

Seeing the wine droplets take the shape of a flower, the master quickly rose and swung his sleeves.

Bang!

The impact felt as if he had been struck by a powerful blow, despite it being mere droplets of wine.

His sudden movement left him unsteady, and he was pushed back helplessly. By the time he had retreated four steps, he was already over the pavilion’s railing.

Crash!

The master broke through the railing and fell below, flipping in mid-air to land on the surface of a pond before leaping to a nearby rock.

“……”

Though uninjured, his feet and the hem of his pants were soaked from the pond.

“This humiliation…”

Standing on the rock, the master looked up with a fierce expression.

Mu-hui stood above, looking down at him through the broken railing of the pavilion.

The difference in height between the master on the rock and Mu-hui above made the master’s cheeks twitch with anger.

“How dare you look down on me!”

Mu-hui, hands casually behind his back, smiled knowingly, as if he had anticipated the master’s intentions all along.

“Master of Geukcheon Gate, do you understand now?”

Mu-hui’s presence, no less intense than the master’s murderous aura, enveloped the pavilion and the pond below.

Ripples spread across the pond, and the ornamental plants trembled.

“Behold. This is the gap between you and me.”