“Two black, one white. The Spear King and the Minor Cult Leader will face each other first.”

“The unorthodox faction has good luck.”

However, no one doubted Master’s decision.

In fact, Master wasn’t showing favoritism to anyone.

Master continued:

“Very well. Then after the two of you duel, Technique Emperor, you will fight last. If either the Spear King or the Minor Cult Leader is seriously injured in this fight, you may put forward another fighter.”

Green Mist answered:

“That won’t happen.”

“Quite confident.”

The Spear King drew his spear and twirled it in a circle.

Despite the lightness of the movement, the wind it created was terrifying.

Yet Minor Cult Leader Green Mist didn’t change her expression even with the Spear King before her.

As Master and the Technique Emperor stepped back, only the Spear King and the Minor Cult Leader remained in the open space.

The two gazed at each other from a suitable distance.

Ak Jin pulled his spear back, taking a stance. Conversely, the Minor Cult Leader of the Sun Moon Divine Cult drew her sword and extended it toward him.

Once both had assumed their stances, Master said:

“Then let the duel begin!”

Clap!

The moment he clapped his hands, it was the Minor Cult Leader who moved first.

The first technique she used was the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps.

Krrrrrk—

The Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps used by someone who had reached the Transformation Realm contained threatening and formidable power.

While pressing down on the surrounding air to pressure the Spear King, her form scattered and then reappeared before him.

The sword blade imbued with hard energy—a mark of the Transformation Realm—gleamed with a dark red light.

Simultaneously, formless energy rose, pulling the Alliance Leader’s body like a magnet.

‘Is this a battle between two of the Ten Great Masters of the world?’

If Jin Cheonhee hadn’t reached the Transformation Realm himself, he wouldn’t have understood the distant realm she was displaying.

At that moment.

The Spear King’s spear writhed like a dragon and shot out.

Kabang!

The spear and the sword tip collided simultaneously.

That explosion alone scattered the momentum of the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps.

‘Wow, so this is how someone at the Transformation Realm counters the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps.’

Not all at the Transformation Realm could do this.

It must be a realm possible only for the Ten Great Masters of the world, somewhere between the peak of the Transformation Realm and the entrance to the Profound Realm.

In that state, the Spear King’s spear rushed in as if crawling up the blade.

The Minor Cult Leader concentrated her power on her sword to deflect the spear tip and then released sword energy to attack from a distance.

Tsukaak!

The Spear King wasn’t flustered.

He simply pulled back the deflected spear.

While pulling it back, he simultaneously added rotational force to create hard energy, defending against her attack.

Kwabang!

The hard energies collided and exploded.

The sound was almost enough to burst one’s eardrums, but there were no ordinary civilians among those present.

Everyone just concentrated on capturing even a little of this battle between masters in their eyes.

At that moment, a martial artist from the Righteous faction murmured in admiration:

“This is a life-and-death duel between absolute masters at the Transformation Realm!”

“It’s so evenly matched!”

“To think that the Demonic Cult’s Minor Cult Leader and the Spear King are on equal footing!”

Some from the Righteous faction watched with sighs.

But Jin Cheonhee alone was watching with a different perspective.

‘The Spear King blocked an abdominal spear wound! That’s fortunate!’

In any case, one of them would be carried off.

And with high probability, it would be Master or Jin Cheonhee who would treat them.

As a doctor, he prayed that whoever won would come back less injured.

Jin Cheonhee widened his blue eyes, focusing intensely on their fight.

Regardless of who got hurt, he needed to know how, with what force, which parts were stabbed, and how many times, to make treatment easier.

‘Don’t injure the brain. And please spare the lungs if possible…! If you must stab, aim for places with fewer aftereffects and easier treatment…!’

He recited one by one the areas difficult to operate on in the field, wishing that these at least would remain unharmed.

His aura was so ominous that spectators naturally turned to look at Jin Cheonhee.

“It seems the White-Robed Divine Dragon is also focused on this duel.”

“Shh, even within the Transformation Realm, there are big differences. This is how one welcomes Heavens beyond the Heavens.”

“Having achieved enough to be called a genius himself, he’ll probably learn a lot this time.”

“Nothing as enviable as a young, strong martial artist.”

But Jin Cheonhee paid no attention to this.

‘Just now the Spear King narrowly avoided a head trauma. Against that hard energy, no matter how well one blocks, it wouldn’t end with just a concussion!’

At that moment, Master said:

[Hee. If they die, you won’t need to treat them.]

[What?]

[In battles between those at similar Transformation Realms, either both end up with minor injuries, or one dies instantly.]

“…”

[So if you must worry… worry about them staying alive rather than treatment.]

Master’s cold whisper made him shiver.

Though Master had sensibilities different from ordinary people, it was more surprising that he noticed what was on his disciple’s mind while watching the duel.

[Master, who are you cheering for?]

[Hmm. Let me see. I don’t particularly care who wins, but I think the Sun Moon Divine Cult will win by a slight margin this time.]

Clang!

At that moment, the Spear King’s spear shaft spun through the air.

With his weapon broken, the Spear King lost.

Spear King Ak Jin wore a gloomy expression.

Master said:

[When fighters of similar realms battle, it ultimately becomes a weapon contest. The Demonic Cult’s divine weapon is quite formidable. Of course, not as good as your Ice Clarity Sword, but still.]

After transmitting those words, he rose and announced:

“Minor Cult Leader Green Mist of the Sun Moon Divine Cult wins!”

Waaaaaaah!

The cult members’ cheers and the Righteous faction’s shocked groans spread simultaneously.

Master said:

[However, even a weapon ultimately reflects the martial artist’s capability, Hee.]

That jewel-encrusted sword must be quite a divine weapon. Master continued:

[Also, that Minor Cult Leader Green Mist is not to be taken lightly. To overwhelm the Spear King despite being younger, she must have already suppressed many other minor cult leaders and absorbed the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.]

Jin Cheonhee nodded.

[Not just brute force, but her mental state must be extraordinary.]

[Yes. In a way, even that flashy attire might be a device to achieve her mental state. Though she also seems to enjoy it.]

In the novel, she played quite a significant role.

Of course, as she walked the Heavenly Demon Blood Path and slaughtered countless innocent civilians, she eventually died at the hands of the protagonist, Yeo Ha-ryoon.

But as Master predicted, she was a considerable strategist and possessed formidable power herself.

‘She’s quite an interesting villain.’

When reading the novel, Jin Cheonhee thought Green Mist was a well-crafted character befitting a villain, seeing her evil deeds and cruelty.

After all, it was just a novel where no real people died.

‘Yes. Becoming reality means that all those villains from the novel are real too. And all the people they killed are all real.’

While it might be unavoidable for martial artists to fight each other over grudges, killing innocent civilians was still…

Jin Cheonhee gazed at the villain he once found intriguing with complex emotions.

Sensing his gaze, she deliberately gave him an alluring smile.

Her smile, faintly mixed with soul captivation techniques, might have stirred the hearts of ordinary martial artists, but it didn’t reach Jin Cheonhee, who had mastered the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique.

‘She’s probably still busy killing people even now.’

She loves alcohol, loves men, loves murder, and loves strategy.

Above all, she loves power, conspiracies, and evil deeds.

The scene where she beheaded her enemy and mixed his blood with wine to drink was the highlight.

The enemy was alive, tied limb by limb, and had to watch her mix his blood with wine and drink it.

–Kekekek. Old man, your blood is so clear—is that because you eat vegetables unlike a proper Demonic Leader?

-Geuuurgh, keuuurgh! Geuuuk!

-Ah, no need to struggle with your cut tongue. I don’t have a taste for blood-drinking either, but this is the only way I can absorb your internal energy. Still, as the leader of the Demonic Cult’s Six Families, your internal energy is exquisite.

-Geuuk!

-That’s right. You trusted me since I was young. It’s not your fault. Me? Hahaha… I just coveted your internal energy. But don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your children.

-Geuk! Kraaaak! Geuuk!

-You can’t move anyway with your limbs and meridians cut, old man. Don’t strain… Hmm… No, actually, there’s no need to hold back on drawing blood, so you can strain more.

Pure evil.

Sama Hyeon could still be taught the way of humanity before he became evil, but Green Mist was already pure, complete evil.

She moves thoroughly for herself and thoroughly enjoys power and conspiracies.

Yet she’s so obsessive about martial arts training that she managed to defeat one of the Ten Great Masters, the Spear King, without getting a scratch.

‘Ah, there’s no hope. No hope at all.’

The Heavenly Demon saw the seed of evil in Green Mist and gave her a chance to reach the heavens.

In a way, the Heavenly Demon Blood Path suited her aptitude.

-Interesting child. Evil from birth, one who will live in evil. Yes, Little Evil. Can you become Great Evil? As long as you cannot escape from being Little Evil, you will die.

Those were the words the Heavenly Demon spoke to Green Mist when transmitting the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.

In the original work, her evil nature ultimately couldn’t reach the protagonist Yeo Ha-ryoon’s Heavenly-Killing Star. At the end of that bloody path, the protagonist judged the villain.

Even then, Green Mist never strayed from the path of evil until the end.

Usually, when a protagonist is about to behead a villain, they give them a chance to say one last thing.

Typically, villains show their human side.

Sometimes with words of remorse or regret, sometimes with concern for family.

But Green Mist was never like that.

-Damn it, Heavenly-Killing Star… Why wasn’t I born under the Heavenly-Killing Star?

She only regretted not becoming Great Evil.

‘I didn’t expect to see Green Mist here.’

Perhaps because Yeo Ha-ryoon had risen to a position where he could refuse her.

It was an unexpected development.

‘Now it’s the battle between the Demonic Cult’s Minor Cult Leader and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.’

As preparations for the next battle concluded, the two walked out, keeping a distance from each other.

‘The Unorthodox Alliance Leader is strong.’

In the original work, Sama Hyeon later kills him and tears off his facial skin.

With Sama Hyeon’s martial arts at that time, he couldn’t defeat the Unorthodox Alliance Leader. But the latter was still human.

Despite experiencing countless events in the unorthodox faction, Sama Hyeon exploited his one remaining human trait, struck him from behind, and killed him.

There was nothing to be concerned about. For the original Sama Hyeon, death was mercy.

After killing the Technique Emperor, he wore his mask and scrambled everything, burning it all.

Without any desire for the Technique Emperor’s martial arts.

He simply burned the world while manipulating the entire Unorthodox faction.

And after building up his internal energy, he removed the Technique Emperor’s mask and took control of the entire unorthodox faction.

‘Technique Emperor. Know that you’re living longer thanks to me.’

Unlike with Sama Hye, Jin Cheonhee didn’t directly save him, but the Technique Emperor is also someone whose life was spared thanks to Jin Cheonhee.

Even if the person himself doesn’t know it.

Of course, Jin Cheonhee has no intention of telling him.

Master, who was judging, rose to his feet.

“As representatives of your factions and for the final match, a somewhat more dramatic start to the duel would be fitting.”

Master flicked his finger.

‘Vibration energy?!’

Tang!

At that moment, what kind of marvel did he perform?

All weapons simultaneously shook and made a sound.

Ziiing-!

It was like striking a massive gong.

While everyone was astonished at how he made all the swords in their scabbards resonate—

Taking that as the signal, the Unorthodox Alliance Leader moved first.