The center of the peak, where massive fissures and sword slashes tore in every direction.

A situation on the verge of explosion had suddenly gone quiet.

It was because of the figure who barged in the moment Jeong Yeon-shin opened his mouth.

A towering man, nine cheok tall, with one eye, spoke.

“It seems the conversation will be long.”

His voice was deep, as if the abyss itself served as his resonance chamber.

Yet his tone was elegant, like that of a learned scholar from antiquity.

“But I don’t mind. Please, speak comfortably.”

Ssshhhh—

A pale mist spewed from the gate of the volcano.

A giant Yozoku wrapped in that mist, thread by thread, with his whole body.

The chilling fog exuded a scholarly air.

His appearance was indeed that of a modest academic in a long robe, yet due to the scale of the fabric, he appeared only grotesque and oppressive.

“That one, is he from the Demonic Realm...?”

Muttered the old man in a faded plum blossom uniform.

He was one of the two elder swordsmen who had stepped out of the gate alongside the Sword Saint.

The very one whose sword slash had made Jeong Yeon-shin instinctively sense death.

Gi Seong-ja.

An old man who had once been the Plum Blossom Sword Master.

He had earlier said he viewed Ipwang Fortress as a righteous faction.

Even now, that hadn’t changed.

The old man’s mouth moved calmly.

“...He is surely someone who was once highly favored by the Northern God of War.

For such a man to suddenly appear like this... must mean the Divine Sword Corps Commander has something he wishes to accomplish through him?”

It was the insight of a long-lived immortal.

Though he had crossed swords with him, he still trusted the Divine Sword Commander’s nature to the end.

The same went for the Sword Saint.

In the heavy, mountain-like pressure that bore down like a weight on the skin, he said:

“These are indeed troubled times. For a martial man of the North to violate our headquarters, and do so with such composure...”

Each syllable carried immense power.

It was because the echo of the giant’s earlier lion’s roar still lingered quietly on the mountainside.

Because of that, no energy emission was allowed in this space.

In other words, long-range strikes like projectile force or sword energy couldn’t escape. Even sword slashes themselves couldn’t reach beyond.

They had to fight only with their physical bodies.

“What are you all doing?”

As if unaffected by the crushing pressure, Mun Gok of the Six Original Star Lords shrugged lightly.

His demeanor was that of a witty scholar.

“To forcibly duel someone who has no will to fight... is a shameful act.

The elders seemed to be bearing that shame due to unavoidable reasons. As a junior, I couldn’t help but preserve your honor.”

“......”

His calm voice sent chills down the listener’s spine.

At the very least, the forearm of Cheonju, who had placed his hand on his sword hilt, clearly felt that way.

‘Monster...!’

Not a shred of desire arose to draw a sword technique against the giant.

Even the mnemonic verses of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword faded from his mind like a setting sun.

It was due to his sharpened intuition gauging the opponent’s external martial strength.

His upper danjeon’s spirit whispered: without being a peerless master, only meaningless death awaited.

“Why would an absolute Yozoku figure be... protecting the Divine Sword Commander...?”

Cheonju nearly voiced the question, but swallowed it.

Yet any central plains martial artist would be unable to avoid such doubt.

The status and symbolism of the Divine Sword Commander, combined with the hostility below the Great Wall toward Yozoku from the Demonic Realm—anything could be fabricated from that.

All sorts of speculations and assumptions could lead to calling him an “enemy of the central plains.”

Compared to that, even the greatest martial contributions could become trivial stories.

“...Cheonju, your training is still lacking.”

Said the Sword Saint, his expression unreadable.

His gaze rested beyond Mun Gok’s shoulder, upon the unfolding scene.

Step.

Before they knew it, the Heavenly Demon and Jeong Yeon-shin were walking along a path that had been shattered this way and that.

Their backs looked eerily alike.

The Sword Saint continued.

“If you could sense the intent from the Divine Sword Commander’s martial breath, it would be hard to doubt his heart.

As Gi Seong-ja said, he is of the righteous path.

It is only troubling that he has the boldness to seek hope... even in demons.”

The content of the words and the tone were different.

Time could be felt in his voice.

Years of extreme caution to avoid letting body and soul be tainted by the malice of the monstrous spirits inside the Gate.

The old men’s plum blossom swords had bathed in the blood of countless demons who carried heart-devouring madness.

Among them were beings pretending to be human, as well as monsters innately adept in demonic energy arts.

At the very top of them stood the Heavenly Demon.

Sssshk—

At this moment, black hair fluttered like the night sky as a figure walked off in the distance.

The being at the apex of all demons, across all the long years inside and outside the Gate, was walking side by side not with anyone else—but with the Divine Sword Commander.

A sight seared into the eyes of the Immortals of Mount Hua like a brand.

“No mere demonic energy refinement could tarnish the Divine Sword Commander...”

Spoke Gi Seong-ja, a Daoist who maintained perfect tranquility like a polished mirror, firmly holding the unity of spirit, energy, and body.

“But that sight is what will cause the martial world of the central plains to convulse.

There’s no turning back now.

A Yozoku of the North assisting the Divine Sword Commander...won’t help his reputation in the least.”

He still had not sheathed his sword.

Unlike Cheonju.

His combative nature exceeded his years.

The same went for the Sword Saint, whose eyes were more wrinkled than Gi Seong-ja’s.

Wooooong—

The blade began to exude a fragrant scent of plum blossoms.

It was the plum blossom sword style manifesting its intent as scent through the ultimate qi-infused sword.

Before they knew it, internal force had accumulated inside the blade.

Even within Meng Ja Dokgo’s territory, he looked ready to clash with Mun Gok.

Because of that, the Sword Saint’s next words sounded like a final warning.

“I admire the Divine Sword Commander’s heart... but our years of layered experience and stubbornness are the issue.

He tries to shoulder far too much.

It is excessive.”

Mun Gok smiled faintly.

“Had that not been the case, I would never have stepped foot in the central plains with Lord Jeong.

Even if we came down someday, it would have been with the God of Battle.

By any means, I would have killed Lord Jeong.”

“Either way, it’s dreadful!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

With Gi Seong-ja’s cry, a massive explosion of dust erupted.

The ground shook once more, and within the sealed space where long-range attacks were impossible, a feast of bodily martial techniques unfolded.

Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

Blurry silhouettes tangled like fog and bounced off each other repeatedly.

The giant’s shadow grabbed the old Daoist’s arm and slammed him to the ground.

No visible projectile force had flared, yet the peak cradling the Gate continued to shake with unease.

From within the dense clouds of dust, bloody water began to well up in thick drops.

The two of them were no longer there.

***

“A Demon Tribe, huh. There was no such thing in my time. Well... the world is far more interesting when it’s this chaotic.”

“There are more peaceful places. The Demon Tribe are people too.”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied without even looking at the Heavenly Demon, stepping over the shattered remains of the path.

Step.

At the same time, a languid laugh trickled from beneath the Heavenly Demon’s feet. As if he hadn’t heard Jeong Yeon-shin’s answer.

“Can you hear it? The useless noise of those shouting about you.”

“No words were useless. Only rightful concerns.”

As he spoke, Jeong Yeon-shin glanced sideways.

That smile etched on Baek Mi-ryeo’s jawline fell like a blade—sharply and beautifully. It felt as if the very concept of physical gender had been transcended.

“Be honest. You’re an arrogant one. Don’t you see their concerns as baseless?”

“I’ve experienced inner demons. Their worries are warranted.”

“So even if their baseless fears end up killing you, it’s fine?”

“You, kill me?”

Jeong Yeon-shin quietly asked in return. He was still holding the Divine Sword lowered in one hand.

The starlight on the gray blade had long since vanished. Yet he remained one of the Five Greatest Swordsmen in the world, capable of cutting through even the laws of nature.

“It could come to that.”

The Heavenly Demon kept walking casually. Then, suddenly, he pointed toward one side of the cliff.

“Do you know? That flower is a demon.”

A single blossom had sprouted from a crack in the jagged rock. It was the blooming of a plum blossom—rare even in times without famine, especially on Mount Hua.

Jeong Yeon-shin silently stared at it.

‘...Nangnang.’

He suddenly recalled the figure of Yulha, the Head of Mount Hua.

Rustle.

At a casual flick of the Heavenly Demon’s hand, the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} flower bloomed on its own. As if it had mastered swordsmanship. Yet the white petals only bloomed prematurely and never grew.

It had no scent.

“Those petals are the same. Demons incomparable even within the world.”

The Heavenly Demon began speaking cryptically. It sounded like a string of paradoxes, but unlike usual, there was no arrogance in his voice. His tone was so calm it was almost unnervingly pleasant to hear.

‘A demonic nature that can beguile anything and become anything...’

While bracing his spirit in the upper dantian, Jeong Yeon-shin continued walking in silence.

He already knew. The Heavenly Demon had seen through his purpose.

“For someone like you to truly listen is rare. Strange, but delightful.”

Step.

Their footsteps occasionally grew heavier.

The single plum blossom the Heavenly Demon had pointed to drew closer and closer. The closer it was, the stranger it looked. It was growing not from a tree, but a cliff—its blooming season oddly out of place.

The Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Look closely.”

“I don’t know. I thought it might’ve been etched with some ingenious demonic cultivation structure.”

Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly toward the blossom and then turned back as he spoke.

The Heavenly Demon’s smile deepened.

“You misunderstood me. Demonic cultivation means nothing to me. You don’t need to learn that kind of thing to become a demon.”

“That kind of cultivation...?”

“There are 84,000 doctrines in the world because human delusions number 84,000. The weak and pitiful define their own delusions as whispers of evil spirits, and call them demons—avoiding them from the start. Thinking the chants and wooden clappers of monks will drive them away.”

Eighty-four thousand, huh. What foolishness.

He mocked them under his breath.

At the same time, the young plum blossom floated into the Heavenly Demon’s palm by itself.

“If you divide the world by that number, the entire world becomes a demon army. Even that flower petal is no exception. The fools behind us dancing with swords inspired by plum blossoms... When they were young, I’m sure even this flower once appeared as an inner demon to them.”

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the petals shattered and soared into the air.

The two of them had already wandered far from Mun-gok’s battlefield.

“Your power is the same. Bald-headed monks might have praised it, but in the end, it’s just a byproduct of baseless worry. People who transform even nothing into demons out of fear. Pitiful concerns of humans. Even though someone who turns their power into a demon can just as easily dismantle it.”

Now, Jeong Yeon-shin felt he could somewhat understand the kind of life the Heavenly Demon had lived—and how he had become the Greatest Demon of All Time.

“So the Gate is the same? Not some threatening Demonic Fortress, but something to be considered nothing?”

Was that the same will that led the Zhongnan Sword Immortal to cut down a Gate?

But the Heavenly Demon shook his head cryptically.

“I don’t care for such narrow stories. What matters is life.”

It was a slow, deliberate statement.

“People like you and me can live however we choose, and we will never truly fail. The only question is how we choose to live.”

A different perspective.

Jeong Yeon-shin had intervened in the Heavenly Demon’s appearance seeking a grand answer—only to be told the answer was already within him.

It was absurd, even amid the enlightenment swirling inside him. The Heavenly Demon didn’t seem to view Jeong Yeon-shin as any different from himself.

“That shattered petal.”

The Heavenly Demon looked diagonally up into the sky.

“To those plum blossom swordsmen, it’s a wall—or a demon. But to ignorant villagers in the backwoods, it’s nothing more than a curiosity. And giving them an inner demon is even harder. Because they view the world too simply. Amusingly, I too was like that once.”

Fwoosh!

“No different than the ground we trample.”

In that moment, a plum blossom bloomed once again in the Heavenly Demon’s hand. With extremely delicate reverse-flowing internal energy, he gathered the petals from the air and reformed them into their living state.

“One Source.”

The Heavenly Demon said.

“It is the core of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. I’ve never written it in any manual. It may become your lifelong question—or your inner demon.”

“So it was a zen riddle. Other people’s martial arts have become meaningless to me now...”

Jeong Yeon-shin stopped talking.

The third halo in his heart faintly began to spin on its own. The only wheel of dark light. It wasn’t that his energy had surged—yet it began to spin fiercely.

At this rate, he might be able to swing Starlit Night a few more times.

The Heavenly Demon’s lips curved in satisfaction.

“So what you would’ve eventually realized came a bit early. Are you frustrated? I’m pleased. That makes us worthy opponents.”

Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brow.

“The conversation I wanted with you was about something else... the Gate, the Tree of Heaven, and problems beyond martial arts like the famine.”

“There is nothing beyond me, past or present.”

The Heavenly Demon met Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes and spoke clearly, like a being closer to human than anyone.

“Even so, it’s resolved. Everything is starting to feel trivial.”

“What?”

“I’m done with this game. You should worry about how to enjoy your life.”

Unpredictable behavior.

His words were the same. He rambled out of interest, and in the end, gave no clear answers—not even about how he had overcome mortality.

But Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t stop him. Even if he hadn’t tried to, it was the right choice.

Saaaa—

With a single plum blossom in his hand, his long black hair fluttered like the cosmos. At some point, even his gaze had turned from Jeong Yeon-shin to somewhere far on the horizon.

Jeong Yeon-shin had to ask.

“I thought you would forever roam the world. What’s going on? Didn’t you want to observe the changed world?”

The Heavenly Demon slowly parted his red lips.

“Didn’t I see you?”

As if that alone was enough. His voice dripped with boredom.

Jeong Yeon-shin fell silent for a moment. He felt the arrogance of the Greatest Under Heaven settling into him.

It didn’t feel bad.

The Heavenly Demon said,

“Remember this plum blossom. If you view the world as demonic, it will become a demon. If you treasure it, it will become divine.”

“So you dress up being arbitrary in pretty words. That’s a blatant rejection of the law.”

“Which is why it’s Transcendence of Law, isn’t it?”

In that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin saw how he appeared in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

Someone who could do anything.

As a shiver crept up his spine, a massive presence scattered from Baek Mi-ryeo’s body like flower petals.

And that was the end of the Heavenly Demon’s words.