Thud!

Khahurai Khan came to a jarring halt.

He had extended his arm, catching the blade of the Reversal Supreme Sword Strike on the thick forearm that wielded his Moon Blade.

Crunch!

Perhaps because Jin Cheon-hee had employed a Realm of Martial Mind, the Ice Clarity Sword managed to bite halfway through the flesh. The frost radiating from the blade writhed like a living thing, attempting to flash-freeze the limb, but this very action forced Jin Cheon-hee’s momentum to stall, freezing his body in midair.

A mistake! To think he would sacrifice his own limb to trap me!

It was a movement so reckless that even the precognitive ability of the Transcendence of Human Benevolence had failed to predict it. Because of this lapse, all Jin Cheon-hee saw was a massive fist rushing toward his paralyzed form.

It was unavoidable. Unblockable.

Ka-boom!

The strike detonated directly against Jin Cheon-hee’s face.

“Ghk!”

Shock rattled his cochlea; his vision fractured into white noise. He was hammered into the earth, and before he could recover, the Giant Horse’s hoof descended toward his prone body like a pile driver.

But the blow never landed.

Sama Hyeon, having approached like a ghost unnoticed in the chaos, snatched the descending leg of the beast.

Thousand Changes Sword, Ten Thousand Skills: Thorough Face-Flaying Art.

Rip!

The leg of the Giant Horse, which had barely been scratched by sword aura earlier, was torn away with bizarre ease. The beast screamed, shaking violently before collapsing backward, blood fountaining from the stump.

In that fleeting gap, Cheon Woo utilized the Void-Grasping Art of Taiji, pulling Jin Cheon-hee out of the jaws of death. The entire exchange had occurred in the span of a single breath.

“Hyung! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine. Thanks, Hyeon. Cheon Woo.”

“Hyung, don’t push yourself too hard,” Sama Hyeon drawled, though his eyes remained sharp. “Even with external cultivation, that was a close shave, wasn’t it?”

The three retreated to a safer distance and looked forward.

Leaving the crippled, one-legged Giant Horse thrashing behind him, Khahurai Khan stood tall, staring down at the three warriors. Truly, he resembled an evil god of disaster descended upon the mortal realm.

“You bastards… are no ordinary men.”

“Hahaha. Did you only realize that now, dear customer?”

“Therefore, I have decided to face you with all my might.”

“Is that a bluff? Are you saying you weren’t serious until now?”

Sama Hyeon and Cheon Woo exchanged banter, standing shoulder to shoulder. Behind them, Jin Cheon-hee focused entirely on stabilizing his breathing. The power of the Sacred Jewel surged through him, knitting flesh and bone back together at a rapid pace. If not for the artifact, he would have been combat-ineffective after that last blow to the head.

“Indeed. I was not serious until now. I was saving my strength… After all, are there not many Imperial soldiers left to slaughter? But now…” Khan’s voice dropped an octave, vibrating with lethal intent. “I will kill you with my full power!”

Crack—

Squelch!

His muscles swelled grotesquely. The terrifying giant, already ten cheok tall, expanded, growing at least another head taller as his anatomy warped.

“Die!”

The titan wielding the Moon Blade charged.

***

Phase 2 initiated… is this for real?

Jin Cheon-hee, barely keeping his footing, stared at the transforming Khahurai Khan with astonishment.

The novel Supreme Heavenly Demon was a story that had reached its conclusion in his previous life. He knew the lore; he knew that many secret arts of the Blood Immortal Cult existed. No matter how he analyzed it, this transformation resembled one specific technique: the same art the Corpse Spirit Grotesque Demon and the Dark Lightning Blood Demon had used in the past.

The Blood Immortal Cult’s self-destruction technique: Blood Star’s Descent.

It was a forbidden art where the user fought by channeling the direct power of the Blood Immortal they worshipped, inevitably dying from the overwhelming backlash.

How is that possible when he isn’t even a cultist? Or is it… something similar?

Questions multiplied in his mind, but the reality was simple: Khahurai Khan had become exponentially stronger. His massive size was one thing, but a dense, suffocating aura now wrapped around his frame like invisible armor. He wasn’t even using a specific martial art; he was maintaining that state through sheer instinct.

Monster-like strength. Yet, there was a way to fight him.

Hyeon, Jin Cheon-hee projected his voice via sound transmission. That martial art that tore off the horse’s leg. Can you do it again?

It had been powerful enough to rip through the hide of a Giant Horse that withstood sword aura. Although the beast possessed monster-like durability due to the combination of the Blood Immortal Cult’s secret art and the Horse Spirit Art, tearing it apart meant Sama Hyeon’s technique was a supreme level of Realm of Martial Mind.

I can do it a few more times, came the breezy mental reply. But I don’t know if it’ll work on him.

It will work. I’ll make it work.

Huh? What do you mean?

I’ll attack first. You strike the same spot immediately after.

The energy defense would weaken in a spot that had been attacked once. Sama Hyeon’s follow-up should be enough to inflict critical damage. Jin Cheon-hee quickly relayed the plan to Cheon Woo as well.

Got it? In the meantime, you have to defend against his attacks.

I’ll do it. Definitely.

Then… I’m counting on you.

The strategy session happened in the blink of an eye, the time it took for Khahurai Khan to take two massive steps. Simultaneously, Cheon Woo shot forward like an arrow.

Taiji Wisdom Sword: Supreme Unity Void Reversal.

The defensive technique formed on Cheon Woo’s blade, a concept designed to invert space using the principles of Taiji. It was a defense that had entered the realm of Realm of Martial Mind—the supreme of supreme arts—capable of deflecting almost any force. Just as Jin Cheon-hee had once blocked the Moon Blade with it, Cheon Woo now countered the strike of the giant Khan.

Ka-boom!

He succeeded in scattering and blocking the strike, but the sheer recoil sent Cheon Woo’s body flying backward. In that split second, Jin Cheon-hee blurred past his airborne brother and lunged.

Holding the aura-imbued Ice Clarity Sword and channeling the Transcendence of Human Benevolence, he thrust his blade.

Supreme Unity Immortal Severing Sword: Drifting Cloud Pierces the Heavens.

A Cultivation Art supreme technique specialized solely in thrusting. It aimed unerringly for the neck of Khahurai Khan, who had not yet recovered his stance. It felt inevitable, as if touching that spot was written in destiny.

The tip of the Ice Clarity Sword, sheathed in razor-sharp aura, struck Khahurai Khan’s neck.

Bang!

A violent explosion of repulsive force erupted. But Jin Cheon-hee did not stop his sword. In that infinitesimal moment, emitting heat intense enough to evaporate the blood from his own body, he unleashed dozens of slashes.

Supreme Unity Immortal Severing Sword: Two Dozen Subtle Lightning Sword!

A storm of ferocious cuts tore into the giant’s body, spraying blood from new wounds. But the giant roared, swinging his bare fist with vomiting rage.

“Is this all you possess?!”

Thwack!

“Guh!”

There was a sickening crack as bone gave way.

The fist slammed into Jin Cheon-hee’s side, powerful enough to penetrate his external cultivation and his treasured armored garment. Even as he was launched sideways, Jin Cheon-hee held onto his consciousness by a thread and extended his hand toward Khahurai Khan.

Divine Finger Flick: Abundant Joyous Qi Bullet.

Rapid-fire Qi bullets peppered the giant’s face. They didn’t seem to land with lethal force, but they forced Khan to raise a hand to protect his eyes.

“Now!”

Jin Cheon-hee shouted the command as he crashed into the ground.

Sama Hyeon, having approached Khahurai Khan’s blind spot, was already gripping the thick column of the giant’s neck.

“Okay~ Just as Brother calculated!”

Mimicking the phrasing he’d picked up from Jin Cheon-hee, Sama Hyeon’s hand clamped down like a demon’s claw and tore.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed in a crimson mist. Khahurai Khan’s face contorted in shock.

Then, the Moon Blade swept sideways, slamming into Sama Hyeon’s ribs.

“Keugh!”

Sama Hyeon vomited blood and was flung away.

Jin Cheon-hee, Cheon Woo, and Sama Hyeon—all three were seriously injured. But Khahurai Khan had suffered a fatal wound, a massive chunk of his neck torn away.

Staggering, Jin Cheon-hee forced himself to stand. Watching Khahurai Khan clutch his throat with one hand, Jin Cheon-hee spoke slowly, his voice rasping.

“You… lost.”

He had fought many dangerous battles, but this was truly the first time he had poured out everything, drained his soul dry, just to secure a victory.

“Ha… Hahaha. Wow, this… He’s a real monster, isn’t he? It’s a loss. A total loss.”

Sama Hyeon also stood, swaying on his feet. He wiped blood from his mouth and ruthlessly sealed his own acupoints to suppress the agony.

“If you have time to calculate losses, retreat, Third Hyung.”

“You’re annoying even at a time like this~”

Cheon Woo pulled himself up, trembling. At the very end, the three brothers stood together with their last remaining strength.

And then, Khahurai Khan spoke.

“Did you say your name was Jin Cheon-hee?”

As they watched in horror, Khahurai Khan slowly removed his hand from his neck. Surprisingly, the torn flesh was knitting itself back together, fusing as if it had never been severed. The bleeding had stopped.

“Your words were wrong. It is my victory.”

His grotesque, bulged body shrank, returning to his original form. The unnatural youth vanished, leaving behind the weathered face of an old man.

Yet, he stood.

Though his energy had waned compared to his monstrous state, he was still in better condition than the three battered sworn brothers.

“In the first place… I cannot lose. No. I cannot die.”

Khahurai Khan leisurely raised his Moon Blade. The three brothers desperately tried to cycle their internal energy, scraping the bottom of their reserves.

“The lives of millions of tribesmen rest on my shoulders. It must be me. You seem to think I do this because I fear aging, or death… That is not it. It is because it must be me.”

“Crazy…”

Cutting off Cheon Woo’s murmur, Khan continued, his voice rising with fanaticism.

“…Only I! Only I can open the world for us, the children of the steppe! To slaughter those arrogant pigs and rule the world! Only I can subjugate the other children of the steppe, unite them, and create a Great Empire! For the glorified future of the ancestor spirits and millions of tribesmen, I cannot die!”

Khahurai Khan took a step forward.

The maddened conviction that only he could lead the Suksin tribe to the future drove his battered body. In truth, he was also exhausted, hovering in a state where he could collapse and die at any moment. Yet he moved.

A singular, towering madness stood before Jin Cheon-hee, Cheon Woo, and Sama Hyeon.

“Then, I will stop you. Just as you claimed the lives of millions of tribesmen depend on you, my life exists after this, too.”

Jin Cheon-hee knew he was facing an opponent upon whom logic would hold no sway. Khan was clearly a hypocrite. But he was a hypocrite filled with conviction—a true ruler.

Was there really only one way to stop such an existence?

Staggering, Jin Cheon-hee placed himself in the beast’s path.

“Ah~ Hyung. You have to pay me back for this later, okay?”

“Don’t you know brothers keep no tallies, Third Brother?”

Two sworn brothers stood beside him.

Watching them, Khahurai Khan spoke quietly, a strange respect in his tone.

“I, the Khan of the Suksin, shall remember your valor.”

The Moon Blade cleaved heaven and earth.

Cheon Woo stepped forward first, blocking again with the Taiji Wisdom Sword before being flung away like a ragdoll. Sama Hyeon fired a desperate palm blast and threw himself to the side.

In that frozen moment.

Jin Cheon-hee squeezed out every drop of his remaining energy and channeled the Profound Primordial Complete Foundation Divine Art.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The protective aura that had wrapped Khahurai Khan’s body was gone now. The Moon Blade was fierce, but its momentum had been dampened by the sacrifices of Cheon Woo and Sama Hyeon.

However, Jin Cheon-hee was clearly the weaker combatant now, his internal energy hitting rock bottom. He didn’t even have enough power to activate the Transcendence of Human Benevolence.

What to do?

Then, miraculously.

Everything became clear.

Even without the aid of his Transcendental Core Martial Art, he saw it. Strangely, vividly, he saw exactly what would happen next.

And so, he brought his sword to meet the Moon Blade.

Naturally, the technique of Supreme Unity Void Reversal wrapped around the massive weapon. It was a technique vastly more perfect, more complete, than what Cheon Woo had managed.

The massive force of the Khan’s strike scattered like a gentle breeze in an instant.

He saw Khahurai Khan’s face twist in bewilderment.

And taking one more step forward, Jin Cheon-hee moved the tip of his sword.

It was a soft sword path, drifting like a snowflake in the wind.