Buk Mu Gyeol went skidding, limp, from Yeon Woo Jin’s kick. Behind him, Ya Yul Geuk thawed his frozen arm and burst forward.WHOOOSH—“Flame Radiant Heaven!”BWOOOM—A lance of crushing force fired straight from Ya Yul Geuk’s hands at Yeon Woo Jin.FWASH—tat-tat-tat—Yeon Woo Jin stepped on the onrushing force itself and sprinted in.“Are you kidding me?!”He’d never seen anything like it.Ya Yul Geuk panicked.“Detonate!”He blew the energy he’d been projecting in place.PAPAPAP-BOOM—KWA-KWA-KWANG—The blast hurled shockwaves in every direction, gouging furrows through the floor.SCRAAAAPE—“Gah! Wh—when did—?”He’d made sure the target was leaping up with the explosion—so when had he moved right in front of him?No lightness skill should make that possible.Not unless it was literal teleportation.Throb—throb—Agony flared from the spot Yeon Woo Jin had struck. Gritting his teeth, Ya Yul Geuk seized the man standing nose-to-nose with him.CLAMP—At the same time, he vented every shred of heat he had.“Ignition Heavenly Avatar!”WHOOOOOOOSH—A heat that should have melted everything drowned Yeon Woo Jin.He had him. There was nowhere to run.Ya Yul Geuk let a triumphant smile bloom.This one would land—without question.But then… Yeon Woo Jin grinned.Come to think of it, his clothes were intact.They should’ve burned away to ash.What?He’s not… hot?That was when Ya Yul Geuk felt it.The feeling was… “hot.”Hot?I’m the one feeling heat?What is this?Absurd.Why am I hot?The instant that thought formed—He saw it.A wavering blue flame rising from Yeon Woo Jin’s body.“Huh?”Not just blue—icy azure.SZZZZT—“Kh…!”A burning sizzle came from his own skin.Startled, he tore himself away from Yeon Woo Jin and staggered back.His gaze snapped to the source of the burnt smell: charred welts seared into his own flesh.He—who ruled over flame—had gotten burned?He looked at Yeon Woo Jin.The azure fire still rippled over him.“Azure Flame…”The fire called the flame of the gods.Even at Mythic Realm, he himself could not kindle it.“How could—”It made no sense.That was when Buk Mu Gyeol, recovered enough to move, charged Yeon Woo Jin.Azure Flame melts all things.Ice would simply vaporize.“Ice-White Life-Snatching Palm!”BWOOOM—A white beam crashed down over Yeon Woo Jin.SSSSSHHH—Just as Ya Yul Geuk had said, Buk Mu Gyeol’s Ice-White Life-Snatching Palm evaporated in front of Yeon Woo Jin.“Huh?”Buk Mu Gyeol stared, stunned.Before the Azure Flame, he was powerless.He’ll pin me with that azure fire next—So he thought.The azure fire flickering over Yeon Woo Jin vanished.Then—CRRRACK—A titanic cold rolled out of him instead.“Unbelievable!”A chill that could freeze the world solid.Was this the same man who, moments ago, had raised Azure Flame?A man kindling Azure Flame suddenly pouring out killing cold?The cold was so absolute that even Ya Yul Geuk, wreathed in flame, felt it bite.WUM—WUM—WUM—White light welled in Yeon Woo Jin’s hand.“W—wait, no way—”Ya Yul Geuk gaped.“Gasp! N—no, that can’t be—”Buk Mu Gyeol reeled too.What unfolded from Yeon Woo Jin’s palm was the very Ice-White Life-Snatching Palm Buk Mu Gyeol had just used.BWOOOM—“G—gods, it’s real!”The man who had been kindling Azure Flame was now firing Ice-White Life-Snatching Palm?Who would believe it?Even seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn’t.They were so rattled they missed the window to dodge.But—it was the Ice-White Life-Snatching Palm.Even if it hit, it shouldn’t be catastrophic.So he thought.CRRRAA-CRACK—“Kh—!”Cold.So cold.It felt like he’d freeze to death on the spot.Only reflex saved him—his body flinched aside at the last instant.Another hair’s breadth and he would have died frozen.He, who had cultivated the Ice-White Divine Art, had nearly died to it.shiver—shiver—The lingering chill had Buk Mu Gyeol trembling.He stared at Yeon Woo Jin in blank disbelief.How could a human body hold two opposing energies at once?It should be impossible.The shocks didn’t end there.WHOOSH—Azure Flame flared over one half of Yeon Woo Jin’s body; killing cold surged over the other.CRRR-CRACK—sizzle-sizzle—The floor on one side glowed red and sizzled; frost bloomed white on the other.Yeon Woo Jin extended his hands toward Buk Mu Gyeol and Ya Yul Geuk.Both men threw up their hands on reflex.“We—we yield!”“I—I surrender!”That wasn’t a human.Continuing was meaningless.He hadn’t even used his full strength against two Mythic Realm experts.Yeon Cheon Baek hadn’t been exaggerating.Before something like this—this absurdity—maybe even Yeon Cheon Baek truly couldn’t win.And now they understood why the Central Plains followed Yeon Woo Jin.They hadn’t refused Yeon Cheon Baek because he lacked power—so they now believed.Before a power so overwhelming no one could dispute it, all were equal.WHOOSH—As the two surrendered, Yeon Woo Jin drew his energies back.Buk Mu Gyeol and Ya Yul Geuk, reading his mood, approached him cautiously.“Are you satisfied now?”“Y—yes.”“I—I have one question.”“What is it?”“H—how can you wield two different energies at once?”“Hold the energy of the Five Elements.”“…What?”“Then swap to what you need, when you need it. Simple, right?”Simple, my ass.If it were simple, why would people devote a lifetime to a single art?Once an energy is etched into the dantian, you can’t just load another.There’s a reason the Duality Divine Art, which splits energy in two, is ranked a peerless art.Just dividing into two earns that rank—let alone five.He doubted he’d understand even if he asked more.So he asked what else gnawed at him.“Then… against us—how much strength did you use…?”“Thirty percent?”Only thirty.He’d faced two masters at Mythic Realm—and his breathing hadn’t even hitched.The two of them, by contrast, were a mess.Gulp—They’d almost picked a fight with this monster.There was a monster in the Central Plains worse than Yeon Cheon Baek.Grit—Whoever had goaded them to invade a land crawling with monsters like this—If they caught them, they wouldn’t be spared.“You’re both Mythic Realm, around Second Star, right?”“Y—yes.”Right on the mark.“Good. I’ll introduce you to a few others at Mythic Realm.”“…Sorry?”Wasn’t Yeon Cheon Baek the only one in the Central Plains?That intel wasn’t just wrong—it was wildly wrong.“About four? And a few more in this hall should break through soon.”He pointed to a cluster of the Central Plains’ most renowned figures, seated and watching.Unbelievable.The Mythic Realm wasn’t child’s play—how could there suddenly be so many?They both looked back at Yeon Woo Jin.All this nonsense… felt like it had come from his hands.And their hunch was correct.At Yeon Woo Jin’s word, people moved like clockwork, taking their positions.“You two, with me.”He led the remaining Buk Mu Gyeol and Ya Yul Geuk back to where Yeon Cheon Baek waited. ****“Keh-heh-heh. Well? How was our Woo Jin? Stronger than me, isn’t he?”Yeon Cheon Baek greeted the two wrecks with a grin.“Y—yes.”“How does it feel to taste your own arts?”“Huh? How did you know?”“Look at your state, you fools.”“Did Yeon know our arts beforehand?”“Who’s to say? Woo Jin, did you?”“I’d read the Ice-White Divine Art once, so I knew it.”“You hear that? He knew the Ice-White Divine Art.”But what stuck in Buk Mu Gyeol’s head was something else Woo Jin had said.“H—hold on. Once? You read it once?”“Right.”“You didn’t just read it once and use the Ice-White Divine Art, did you? You trained hard, right?”“No. Reading it once was all.”“Keh-heh-heh. Enough questions. He said once. Be glad—you’re better off than that one. He’s worse off than you.”“…What?”Buk Mu Gyeol turned. Ya Yul Geuk stood there, face frozen in shock.“H—he watched my art… and copied it?”Yeon Woo Jin nodded.Ya Yul Geuk felt his mind slipping.Yeon Woo Jin wasn’t human.Judging him by human standards was a mistake.“I told you—you got lucky. If you’d marched straight into the Central Plains, how do you think it would’ve ended?”The thought alone was horrifying.They would’ve been wiped out before they could even put up a proper fight.“I—I don’t even want to imagine it.”Both shook their heads hard.Their reaction made Yeon Woo Jin blink.“You were going to invade the Central Plains?”“W—well…”They faltered.“When?”“N—next month…”“Why?”Prodded, they laid out everything that had happened.“So that leaves Southern Wilds Beast Palace and Podalap Palace.”“That’s right. I intend to go persuade them.”“Alone?”“For now.”“Next month… not much time.”“Correct.”Yeon Woo Jin thought a moment.Then he asked Buk Mu Gyeol, “Did you bring the Demonic Tiger Relic?”“Yes. Here.”Buk Mu Gyeol drew it from his robes—the tiger-carved relic.“I’ll loan it to you.”“You called it a divine relic. I heard you’re not supposed to part from it for even a moment.”Buk Mu Gyeol answered plainly. “In front of you, it’s meaningless. What good is a relic? If you so much as will it, the Northern Sea disappears. Use it as you like and return it when convenient.”Yeon Woo Jin studied the relic.“They say it senses Magi, but I’m not seeing anything special.”“I only ever heard that myself… I’ve never actually seen it function.”Still listening, Yeon Woo Jin turned the relic over and over.No matter how he examined it, he couldn’t tell how it worked.Looks like he’d need to dig up more on the relic.He’d thought finding it would solve everything.It wouldn’t be that easy.He held the Demonic Tiger Relic back out to Buk Mu Gyeol.“Keep it on you.”“Is… that alright?”“As things stand, I have no way to tell how it operates. Hold onto it for now. I’ll have to research it.”“Understood.”Buk Mu Gyeol tucked the relic away with care. Yeon Woo Jin smiled.“Thank you—for offering to lend me something that precious so readily.”“N—not at all.”Buk Mu Gyeol’s chest felt strangely hot at the gratitude.“For now, the most urgent matter is Southern Wilds Beast Palace and Podalap Palace.”“Yes.”“What’s your plan?” Yeon Cheon Baek asked.“What else? Go stop them—before they move,” Yeon Woo Jin said with a smile.“You’re going yourself?”“Sure. Why?”“That’s enough. I’ll take these two and go.”“Again? No. It feels like I keep making you do the hard part.”Yeon Cheon Baek chuckled at Woo Jin’s pout.Just seeing that washed the fatigue away.“Boy. Of course a grandfather helps his grandson. And this isn’t just our business—it’s the Central Plains’ business. There’s nothing strange about me stepping up.”“Still, it’s another long trip.”“Leave it to me. You focus on figuring out how that relic works. There’s something else you need to do, too.”“Something else?”“Right. Go to Martial Deity Heaven and find the Strategist. They’ll tell you what you need to do.”There was only one thing that could mean.“It’s time already?”“Yes. In truth, it should’ve been the very first thing you claimed. Go—and make it perfectly yours.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.