Chapter 443 : Awe (5)

For ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍a moment, the maids stood firm in their resolve and kept their eyes on Il-mok.

The ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍changes occurring within Il-mok's body became even more alarming.

His ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍rogue White Hand Demonic Art had finally devoured the last remnants of the Inner Core’s Yin Qi, bloating its own power to terrifying levels.

Veins ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍bulged across Il-mok’s forehead, signifying his pain. His throat convulsed as he forced down blood that was trying to surge back up.

Startled ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍by this, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah and Jeong Hyeon tried to step forward, but Jin Hayeon reached out her hand to stop them both.

"Don't ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍act rashly. He's still holding it together on his own."

If he had vomited the backflowing blood or fainted from the inability to endure it, it might have been a different story. But forcefully injecting their own Qi while his mind was still actively fighting for control could trigger an even greater danger.

Hyeokryeon Seon-ah glared at Jin Hayeon for a moment before turning back to watch over Il-mok, while Jeong Hyeon began nervously gnawing at her nails.

If she were being honest, Jin Hayeon felt like chewing on her own nails too.

The three maids watched the bizarre spectacle while being gnawed with anxiety.

Just then, the Yin Qi and the Yang Qi suddenly churned before settling down.

The deep grimace on Il-mok's face gradually began to ease.

It was certain that he had finally begun to bring the two berserk energies under control bit by bit.

Only then did the maids let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Haah."

While they all sighed in relief, the underlying emotions were subtly different.

For Jin Hayeon, it was a sigh born purely of relief that Il-mok was safe. But for Jeong Hyeon and Hyeokryeon Seon-ah, their sighs carried a trace of disappointment.

'It could've been a chance to be there with him.'

'I... I could've helped the Left Guardian too, just like Miss Jin did.'

The two girls caught themselves thinking such things and quickly shook their heads.

'Big Brother's health comes first. What an awful thing to think. And besides, being there together with other women...'

'Wh-what an indecent thought! Thank goodness the Left Guardian is safe, that's all that matters!'

While the two women hurried to shake off those stray thoughts, another change came over Il-mok's body, which had been gradually settling.

The energies that had been rampaging through his entire body finally went still and then sorted themselves into three distinct flows before long. Those three streams went into his Lower Dantian, Middle Dantian, and Upper Dantian respectively.

"Huu..."

After exhaling one last time, Il-mok opened his eyes.

"???"

The first thing he saw was the sight of the four maids looking anxiously at him, but it didn't take long for him to grasp the situation.

"It seems I've caused quite a scare. I apologize for keeping you all up so late."

"We're fine. More importantly, congratulations on your breakthrough."

"Congratulations."

"C-Congratulations."

As the women chimed in with their congratulations one after another, Il-mok tilted his head in confusion. Their polite words were one thing, but the atmosphere in the room was a bit off.

Jin Hayeon's reaction was the same as always. Ju Seo-yeon was staring at him with the blank expression of someone looking at a piece of furniture.

Seon-ah’s face, however, had gone slightly red for whatever reason he didn’t know.

As for Jeong Hyeon, she’s blushing red from head to toe while trying her best to avoid his eyes.

Feeling puzzled by their diverse reactions, Il-mok soon felt an ominous sensation and turned his head to look around him.

Scattered across the floor were piles of ashes and icy crystals.

They were the remains of the clothes he'd originally been wearing.

Realizing he was naked, Il-mok hurriedly opened his mouth while still keeping his gaze turned away.

"Could, uh, could you all step outside for a bit?"

—Why are you sending them out? Burn to death all those wenches who saw your shameful parts!!

—Now hold on! Burning women to death, really? Don't you realize this is your chance? Since you're already naked, might as well strip them too!

'Shut the fuck up!!'

He felt like he was about to throw hands with those two bastards if the situation was not resolved soon.

***

The next morning.

Il-mok got dressed in fresh clothes and stepped out of his quarter.

They were the same clothes the maids had so very kindly delivered last night by cracking the door open just enough to slide their hands into the room.

"Have you rested well, Left Guardian?"

As the maids standing guard outside offered their polite morning greetings, Il-mok let out an awkward cough.

"Ahem. Y-you all must be exhausted. Please, go get some sleep."

Il-mok desperately tried to shoo them away to rest.

To be fair, they had been running nonstop to rescue Jong-ri Chu, and they had barely slept a wink last night because of his cultivation crisis.

But that was just a convenient excuse. The real reason was that staying around them any longer felt like it might actually kill him from embarrassment.

While he and Jin Hayeon might have already seen everything there was to see of one another, Il-mok had been completely unconscious at the time and thus had no memory of it.

And if it had just been Jin Hayeon alone, that'd be one thing. He had just exposed himself to four women at once.

'Shameful, my ass! I pride myself on it being quite excellent!'

Il-mok mentally slapped the Raging Demon Sword Art for the jab the night before and shook his head to blast the memories of last night out of his mind.

After more or less forcing the maids to rest, Il-mok headed to the training grounds tucked away in a corner of the fortress.

"Huu..."

Once he'd managed to settle his mind, Il-mok composed himself and began circulating the frigid Yin Qi in his Upper Dantian.

He ran through the forms of the White Hand Demonic Art he'd once learned from Jin Hayeon several times over.

Once it seemed clear there were no major issues at that level, Il-mok moved on to performing his own White Hand Demonic Arts forms rather than the standard forms.

Like a dancer performing a deadly waltz, he scattered the frigid Yin Qi into the air with every movement. After a few moments, he halted his steps and smoothly regulated his breathing.

"Finally, I’ve officially broken past the stage of Extremity in the White Hand Demonic Art.”

It was the silver lining of last night's disaster. 

By successfully suppressing the rogue Demonic Arts while absorbing the Inner Core, he had attained another enlightenment.

On top of that, his Upper Dantian had grown to the point that it holds one sixty-year cycle's worth of internal energy.

Considering how little Yin Qi he originally possessed, this was an unbelievable leap in progress.

'Guess it really was the right call to only eat half the core.'

Just absorbing half of the core had nearly killed him. If he had let his greed take over and swallowed the whole thing, his soul would have already crossed the Yellow River into the afterlife.

Satisfied with his evaluation of the White Hand Demonic Art, Il-mok immediately drew the Ascension Sword.

As he circulated the Yang Qi in his Middle Dantian, the meridians that had gone cold heated up rapidly, bringing an itchy sensation as the heat passed.

But this time, the Raging Demon Sword Art didn't go berserk on him again.

By clashing against the rampaging Yang Qi and subduing it the night before, he gained another lesser enlightenment in the Raging Demon Sword Art.

If the White Hand Demonic Art had just barely broken free of Extremity, the Raging Demon Sword Art felt like it was already halfway to Transcendence.

He swung the flame-wreathed Ascension Sword and went through the Demonic Art’s forms several times over.

'With this level of control, it might be worth a try.'

After thoroughly inspecting his Demonic Arts, Il-mok hardened his resolve and began circulating both Demonic Arts at once.

Yin Qi coiled around his left hand, while flames wrapped around the Ascension Sword held in his right.

Wrapped in two opposing energies at once, Il-mok carefully swung the sword and his left hand in alternation.

Blasts of ice and fire took turns carving through the empty air.

But amidst his sluggish movements, Il-mok came to a stop.

According to the key principles of the White Hand Demonic Art and the Raging Demon Sword Art, the next sequence he was about to perform required their respective energies to flow through the exact same meridians at the exact same time.

And Il-mok knew full well that the instant those two energies collided, he could end up blowing himself apart on the spot.

Stuck mid-stance in an awkward posture, Il-mok quickly calculated his options before forcefully drawing out the Demonic Qi of Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword from his Lower Dantian.

He planned to wrap the Yin Qi and Yang Qi inside the Demonic Qi of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, so that the Demonic Qi could act as a buffer between the two. It’s similar to how he usually used his World-Destroying Primordial Jade Palm.

Once the plan succeeded, Il-mok continued his dance while seamlessly juggling the White Hand Demonic Art, the Raging Soul Demonic Sword Art, and the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword all at once.

When the Yin Qi and Yang Qi naturally flowed through completely separate meridians, he let them be. But the moment their paths threatened to cross, he injected the Demonic Qi of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword to act as a buffer between them.

To ensure he didn't accidentally blow himself up or trigger a catastrophic Qi Deviation, Il-mok kept his sword dance painfully slow.

But even without the two opposing energies directly colliding, this was an extremely dangerous thing to be doing.

Subjecting his delicate meridians to extreme flash-freezing followed instantly by flash-boiling sent jolts of electricity shooting through his nervous system. Oftentimes, it would leave his veins feeling as though dozens of ants were gnawing on them from the inside.

But even as the torturous exercise wrecked his body, Il-mok gritted his teeth and kept his body moving.

'If both Demonic Arts reach Transcendence, I can definitely reach an entirely new realm of power.'

Despite the pain, a fierce hope burned in his chest.

If he had attempted this crazy stunt before both arts broke past Extremity, he wouldn't be suffering from mere tingles and shocks.

He would have suffered a Qi Deviation and died on the spot.

But since he was already at this point, he’s confident that all of these pains would pay off massively.

'If I can perfect this, I might actually have the power to kill the Divine Monk and the Supreme Eunuch.'

Fueled by that thought, he lost all track of time as he completely submerged himself in his training.

Despite his slow movements, the intense mental strain required to juggle the energies caused sweat to pour off his body like a torrential downpour.

And yet, a smile hung at the corners of Il-mok's mouth.

Training that demanded this level of extreme focus had wiped every stray thought from his mind.

All that remained was the thought of martial arts itself.

As he continued his sword dance, the key principles of the White Hand Demonic Art, the Raging Demon Sword Art, and the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword swirled together in his mind, and something new was being born from the mixture.

***

For a full day and a half, Il-mok buried himself in his martial arts.

Except for the time he spent eating, sleeping, and washing, he devoted all his time to martial arts.

Today was the same.

Il-mok was performing his sword dance on the training grounds.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Drums rang out one after another across the fortress, and soon someone came rushing toward Il-mok.

"Stop right there."

As the maids standing guard blocked the man to prevent him from disturbing Il-mok's training, the man hurriedly blurted out his report.

"I-it's the Mierqi! They are approaching the fortress!"

Hearing the panicked report, Jin Hayeon furrowed her brow and cast a worried glance back at Il-mok.

There was no telling what might happen if they forcibly pulled Il-mok out of his trance while he was in the middle of such a dangerous training session.

But thankfully, Il-mok had already sheathed the Ascension Sword and was taking a light breath to steady himself.

It seemed the drums had already snapped him out of his trance.

"Let's go."

With that, Il-mok headed for the building where Jong-ri Chu would be.

"Welcome, Left Guardian."

Though Il-mok was technically his junior in terms of discipleship rank, his official position within the Divine Cult was higher, so Jong-ri Chu readily addressed him with proper respect.

"The Mierqiforces are marching on our gates. I formally ask that you take command of the defense."

At Jong-ri Chu's words, Il-mok shook his head.

"Sixth Brother, you've spent weeks preparing the defenses here to hold them off, so I'll leave the command to you. As for me, once the battle starts, I'll take on the role of fighting on the front lines myself."

"The Divine Cult's order of rank is strict. How could I command our people while leaving the Left Guardian aside?"

"Sixth Brother, a man's rank in the Divine Cult doesn't suddenly make him a brilliant commander. And quite frankly, sticking me in a command tent is a waste of my abilities. I'm much more useful on the battlefield."

After mulling it over for a moment, Jong-ri Chu accepted Il-mok's proposal.

Jong-ri Chu recalled how effortlessly Il-mok had slaughtered the Mierqi tribe’s warrior and the terrifying glimpses he had caught of Il-mok's battle against the giant spiritual beast at the lake.

Considering just how monstrous his junior brother's martial realm had become, Jong-ri Chu had to agree with his assesment.

Having him fighting directly on the front lines seemed like the better option than handling command.

"Understood, Left Guardian."

With Jong-ri Chu accepting his proposal, Il-mok spoke again. "By the way, how long do you think it'll take them to get here?"

"Based on the reports, it should take roughly six hours."

"In that case, I'll take some time to circulate my energy and recover."

He'd burned through quite a bit of internal energy during training, so he needed to refill his dantian before the battle.

While Il-mok settled into a lotus position to recover his internal energy, Jong-ri Chu issued commands without pause.

Soldiers bustled about all across the walls and the fortress.

Within minutes, the entire fortress bustled with activities.

Through the wide-open fortress gates, the various nomadic tribes who had submitted to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult were also hurriedly pouring inside.

In fact, it was thanks to them that word of the Mierqi's approach had reached the fortress this early.

As the hours ticked by, everyone threw themselves into their respective preparations for the imminent war.

Eventually, the sun began to dip, casting a deep orange glow across the sky.

At last, beyond the horizon, an enormous number of nomads came into view.

Because the northern steppes were essentially one giant unobstructed plain, the enemy army was visible long before they were actually within striking distance.

Perhaps having no intention of laying a siege in the dead of night, the horde approached a little closer before coming to a halt and establishing their encampment right there.

A night passed amidst the suffocating atmosphere leading up to the war, and around the morning of the following day, the faint sound of horns echoed from far off, and the Mierqi tribe began advancing toward the fortress.