“Hehehe, the White Dragon brat has grown stronger again. Is it because he came back from the brink of death? Oh my, I should focus on what’s in front of me now. Getting old has made my concentration slip.”

The Technique Emperor pulled a talisman from his chest and gripped it in his hand. The talisman immediately burst into flames and began emitting smoke.

Meanwhile.

The Minor Cult Leader Green Mist drew her sword and took a step forward.

Her intention was to restrict the Technique Emperor’s movements using the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps as before.

Kwooong!

The air grew heavy.

Meanwhile, the smoke from the Technique Emperor’s burning talisman began to gather together.

Ghost Spirit Sect’s Unique Secret Technique: Ghost Spirit Soldiers[1]!

The smoke from the Technique Emperor’s burning talisman swirled together, forming human-like shapes.

Although they had human forms, they were merely bipedal with a single head—hardly recognizable as human.

They appeared to be about ten feet tall, with thin bodies but long limbs.

Two red lights flickered in the head area.

Two of these creatures, resembling ghosts or malevolent spirits, appeared.

‘So this is why the Technique Emperor is strong. If they were jiangshis, I’d be somewhat familiar and could respond, but ghost spirits?’

For martial artists, ghost spirits are beings they might encounter once in a lifetime, if at all.

Even in martial arts novels, while jiangshis, talismans, and formations appear frequently, such mystical techniques rarely take center stage.

But for the Technique Emperor, sword masters are what he encounters daily.

Sword masters are likely the enemies he’s fought most often in his life.

Bang!

While the ghost spirit soldiers were just taking form, the Minor Cult Leader shot forward like an arrow.

Her sword, which she wielded as she flew gracefully, was somehow imbued with sword energy that scattered an ominous light.

The sword moved horizontally, attempting to cut through the ghost spirit soldier’s waist.

Ziiik.

However.

Strangely, though her sword sliced through the first ghost spirit soldier’s waist, it failed to cut through the second one.

Like glue or adhesive, the ghost spirit soldier’s misty body clung to her sword, wrapping around it.

“It seems your martial world experience is limited due to your youth. Tsk tsk. Then you must die. Isn’t ignorance also a sin?”

The moment she heard the Technique Emperor’s voice, the Minor Cult Leader’s eyes narrowed.

“You dare mock me, a lowly creature who uses mystical arts?”

“You’re not the first to speak that way before me and end up in the netherworld.”

“Hmph! Today will be your death anniversary, you old thing!”

Hwaaaak!

Heavenly Demon Divine Arts: Heavenly Demon Blood Killing Energy[2].

Crimson energy began rising like flames from her entire body.

A type of protective hard energy. Normally, protective hard energy surrounds the body to block enemy attacks while simultaneously attacking anything it touches, but this Heavenly Demon Blood Killing Energy was superior.

It directly moves toward nearby enemies and tears them to shreds!

Kwaaa!

The Heavenly Demon Blood Killing Energy poured toward the ghost spirit soldiers, tearing their enormous bodies apart.

In that state, she leaped again.

With the Heavenly Demon Blood Killing Energy crushing everything in its path, it seemed the ghost spirit soldiers weren’t enough to stop her.

“Strange Gates Escaping Techniques: Shadow Arts[3].”

But her charging body suddenly halted in mid-air before landing on the ground.

“What is this…?”

“Did you know that if you capture a shadow, the person cannot move? Because the shadow and the person are one.”

At those words, the Minor Cult Leader turned around.

Something pitch-black was stuck in her shadow. However, she wasn’t completely immobilized.

Though her lower body couldn’t move, her upper body could.

Chwak!

She quickly swung her sword, releasing sword energy.

She aimed to destroy whatever was stuck in her shadow.

In that brief moment, she was startled again.

The mist of the ghost spirit soldiers, which she thought had vanished, gathered and enveloped her.

Of course, they were disappearing as they collided with her blood killing energy, but for an instant, they diverted her attention.

Swoosh

Then came the searing pain.

Taking advantage of her disoriented senses, something heavy struck her solar plexus with blunt force.

“Kaaak!”

There was a crushing sound. Feeling some of her ribs break, her body flew backward.

Even while falling back, she opened her eyes wide to see.

The weapon that had penetrated the Heavenly Demon Blood Killing Energy surrounding her body.

It was the cane the Technique Emperor had been using.

Tung. Chwaaak.

Flipping her body in mid-air, the Minor Cult Leader landed on the ground. But due to the impact just now, her body was pushed backward.

Silence.

Everywhere was quiet.

Everyone had been focused on the brief, intense exchange just now.

“Kukuku. The elderly, women, children—didn’t they say to be most wary of those who appear weak in the martial world? I’m counted among one of them now, yet you know nothing about me and charge in like that. What a waste.”

He held a bell in one hand and a cane in the other.

Though he still supported his body with the cane, everyone could now see that it was no ordinary object.

And before such a Technique Emperor, the ghost spirit soldiers formed again.

They were about half the size of before, but the important thing was that they hadn’t disappeared.

Bizarre. And powerful.

“Well then… shall I attack now?”

“I surrender.”

“What?”

“I said I surrender.”

The Minor Cult Leader spoke with an angry expression.

The Technique Emperor looked at Green Mist with surprise. Meanwhile, Jin Cheonhee had expected this.

‘Rather than sustaining a major injury here, surrendering is the better option.’

She must have already felt the gap in skill when their weapons clashed.

Moreover, her opponent was wielding something unfamiliar that she had never fought against before.

Given her nature, she might be furious, but she wouldn’t blindly charge into a losing battle and ruin the bigger picture.

“I’ll definitely kill you next time we meet, old man.”

“Kukuku! For someone with such cold judgment, your personality is quite nasty, child.”

That’s just who Green Mist is.

That’s why she’s often described as an interesting character in the novel.

Master looked at the Technique Emperor and transmitted a message to Jin Cheonhee.

[As expected… the Two Emperors’ fame isn’t undeserved. He’s shown further progress in the meantime.]

[Was he weaker than this before?]

[Not exactly. But… hmm… he wasn’t at a level to win so overwhelmingly.]

Jin Cheonhee nodded.

[He seems stronger than Grandpa Fist Emperor?]

[Yes. Surprisingly so… What kind of journey must he have taken to stubbornly use ghost spirit techniques that no one else in the martial world uses, to the point of earning the title ‘Emperor’? Effort and luck beyond imagination. And even that wouldn’t be enough.]

[Yes. I can’t even imagine.]

[At least Fist Emperor had fellow sect members, Hee. He wasn’t alone. But this one was different. He’s the sole survivor of the Ghost Spirit Sect and has been alone from beginning to end.]

At that moment, the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, the Technique Emperor, shouted:

“What are you looking at, you bastards! Orthodox, Demonic Cult bastards, all get out! The secret cave is ours now. Get out, all of you! You wretches!”

Master chuckled at the sight.

[Of course, that must have contributed to his cantankerous disposition.]

Martial Righteous Alliance Leader Spear King Ak Jin replied with a gloomy expression:

“Very well. The Martial Righteous Alliance will withdraw for now.”

“Our cult will also withdraw for now.”

Both sides complied more readily than expected.

One might think this natural since it was about keeping a promise, but that was something rare in martial arts history.

Given the Technique Emperor’s nature, it would have been easy to start a dispute by claiming he won using underhanded techniques.

While this was a good thing… something also felt strange.

***

Jin Cheonhee and Zhuge Rin immediately returned to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion camp.

As soon as they returned, Master gave only one order:

“Yoo Ho, our White Dragon Medical Pavilion forces will withdraw from Mount Heng immediately. We must move quickly, so prepare only the essentials and rise.”

“I’ve already prepared everything. All the medical pavilion members have already packed their bags.”

Jin Cheonhee’s eyes widened slightly at Master’s words.

Though slightly surprised, Jin Cheonhee did his job.

“We need to withdraw in a defensive formation. Looking at the current terrain, the formation should be…”

He quickly organized the terrain to make it easier for the martial artists to withdraw.

While preparing the formation, Jin Cheonhee finally asked about his curiosity:

“We’re withdrawing?”

“We must withdraw. It’s likely to become a battlefield between the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions.”

With those words, Jin Cheonhee understood everything.

Ah, so that’s what’s happening.

He had prided himself on knowing enough, but perhaps some naivety still remained.

“You mean the Martial Righteous Alliance won’t withdraw?”

“That’s right. The Alliance Leader will certainly order withdrawal, but an Alliance Leader is ultimately just a representative of the Martial Righteous Alliance, not someone who can command each sect in a hierarchical relationship. Especially since the winner is the Technique Emperor, they’ll consider it a mystical technique.”

“And the Demonic Cult?”

“They’ll say they can’t let the dirty Orthodox Alliance take the secret manual.”

The result is the same, damn it.

Jin Cheonhee asked:

“Then seeing the righteous faction move, the Demonic Cult will move together?”

“Yes. Since the righteous faction is breaking the rules, the Demonic Cult will use that as justification to move. Or perhaps they’re already preparing to move first.”

In the end, the problem is that the Martial Righteous Alliance is a coalition. And the Demonic Cult is just a problem in itself.

‘No, it’s just human desire that’s the problem.’

Orthodox, Unorthodox, Demonic—it might not matter.

It’s merely a matter of perspective and vision.

As long as desire exists within humans, nothing will change.

But being human also means continuing to ask questions.

“If this was going to happen, why did they hold the duel in the first place?”

“For political reasons. Anyway, for whatever reason, they will clash. But it won’t escalate into a major war like the Orthodox-Unorthodox Great War.”

This is the first time the disciple is experiencing such a major event.

There’s bound to be a difference between intellectual understanding and experiential understanding.

After efficiently organizing the defensive formation, he ends up questioning human nature—how typical of a disciple.

‘Sometimes he acts like an old hand in the martial world, but occasionally he behaves like a newcomer.’

From Master’s perspective, the latter is certainly more satisfying to teach.

“From the beginning, those gathered here are focused on the secret manual. Those not gathered are mere observers. Therefore, an all-out war won’t occur. But those gathered here will fight.”

“It’s because of the Eight Great Divine Arts, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s something that repeats in the martial world. You might have stroked your chest thinking it would be different this time… but it’s not. This time will flow exactly the same way.”

As a doctor, one can’t help but hope.

That this time might be a little different. That it might be okay.

Of course, intellectually, he knows it won’t be. But still.

Why is it so difficult?

“Well, you’ve had one of the Eight Great Divine Arts implanted in your head without cost, so you might feel differently.”

“Please don’t tease me, Master. And it couldn’t have been free, could it?”

“Hohoho, that’s right. The Heavenly Demon wouldn’t have planted it in your head without reason. But you did cleverly maneuver your way to the Imperial Archives. You can’t deny that part, can you?”

“Yes, yes.”

“If everyone in the world coveted what they wanted with the same values as you, there would be no conflict.”

Master smiled bitterly.