Two months later.Four figures emerged, their clothes in tatters—yet their auras were utterly transformed.Hye Gwang kept laughing to himself, as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened.“To think… I could become this strong. I can hardly believe it.”“So could I,” Hye Yeon chimed in beside him.Hwa Sogwang nodded. He felt it too.His cultivation had risen to the Seventh Star of the Manifestation Realm.Two whole stages gained in just two months.And it wasn’t just Hwa Sogwang—Hye Gwang had reached the Fourth Star of the Manifestation Realm,Hye Yeon the First Star of the Manifestation Realm,and Namgoong Hwan had climbed to the Eleventh Star of the Transformation Realm.All of them wore expressions of elation.They had reached the realms they had long yearned for.“I didn’t even realize how the time passed… to think two months are already gone.”“Indeed.”“I wonder how things have been outside in the meantime.”“Well, I want greasy food. And I want it with wine.”“Hahaha! Then tonight, let’s eat and drink our fill, in-law.”“Agreed, hahah!”They walked on, savoring the feeling of stepping outside again—when disciples of Qingcheng Sect spotted Hye Gwang and came to greet him.“Well now, have you all been well these two months I’ve been gone?”The disciples tilted their heads.“Sect Master, what do you mean?”“What do you mean, what do I mean? I’m asking if you’ve been well during the two months I was in the training hall.”“Today is the second day since you entered the training hall, Sect Master.”“…What? What are you talking about? Two days? Impossible! I suffered in there for two whole months. Are you mocking me?”The disciple looked flustered.“N-no, Sect Master! I would never! I’m telling the truth—it has only been two days.”“That’s impossible!”The idea of mocking the Sect Master was unthinkable.As Hye Gwang pondered what punishment this outrageous insolence deserved, an elder approached, having overheard the exchange.“What is the matter, Sect Master?”“Hye Seong, this boy dares mock me.”“What? Sect Master, surely that’s not possible. What did he say?”“He claims that today is only the second day since I entered the training hall. If that’s not a blatant lie meant to mock me, then what is?”Hye Gwang’s face hardened in disbelief.But Elder Hye Seong Jinin replied, “Sect Master, it is you who speak strangely. There is not a single falsehood in the boy’s words.”“What?”“It has indeed been two days since you entered the training hall.”“That’s absurd! I was in there for two whole months!”“No, it is certainly the second day.”“You…! All of you planned this, didn’t you? Who came up with this pathetic joke?”“Sect Master! What joke? Why are you saying such things? Did you suffer hallucinations? I assure you—only two days have passed.”Hye Gwang’s temper flared.A joke was one thing, but this was too much.Then Namgoong Hwan sighed.“They’re telling the truth.”“What do you mean?”“It’s all because of the Time-Space Division Formation the lord set up inside the training hall.”“The… Time-Space Division Formation? What is that?”“It’s a formation that makes one day outside equal one month inside. Two months in the formation… means only two days have passed outside.”“Such a… ridiculous formation…”“Our lord cast it himself. And does anything you experienced in there make sense otherwise?”When he thought about it, it was true.Everything inside the hall had been absurd—being healed from the brink of death with a single touch,experiencing illusions as real as reality,having their constitutions forcibly transformed…“So… only two days passed outside?”“Yes.”“Hah…”“This is how it has always been done.”“‘Always been done’… You mean, our lord has been passing down manuals to other sects and clans in this same way?”“Yes. The Five Great Clans are already under his banner.”“What? Truly?”“Indeed. The Tang Clan was the last to pledge.”“My heavens…”“Our Five Great Clans will become the new vassal houses of Martial Deity Heaven, under the lord’s rule.”“Damn it!” Hwa Sogwang grumbled. “If only I’d met the lord sooner, I could have gotten in ahead of the rest.”The Sect Master couple stared at Hwa Sogwang and Namgoong Hwan in astonishment.The Five Great Clans and the Blazing Fire Divine Palace were already under Woo Jin’s command.“The Wudang Sect, Mount Heaven ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Sect, and the Beggars’ Sect will follow next. And the other sects after them. The lord has already become the dominant power.”“My heavens…”It meant he had already absorbed more than half of the Orthodox factions.What would the Martial Alliance think if they found out?They had struggled for decades to unite the Orthodox world, failing every time—forever mired in power struggles and petty rivalry.Yet those same sects and clans now bowed their heads to Woo Jin.Namgoong Hwan said, “Under overwhelming power, all under Heaven will become equals.”And it was true—Under Woo Jin’s vast power, the martial world would be united.The Sect Master couple exchanged looks in silence.It was time to decide.Inside the training hall, Woo Jin had already told them the Demonic Cult would soon rise again.That was why he had returned their manual, set aside time to train them, and improved their bodies.Hye Gwang looked to his wife.“My lady, I think it’s time we decided for Qingcheng as well.”“Yes.”“First, we must convene a council of elders.” ****The Qingcheng elders’ council was held.At first, everyone congratulated Hye Gwang and Hye Yeon on their achievement—and celebrated the return of the Yin-Yang Harmonization Sword Art.But the good mood ended there.When they heard the Demonic Cult would soon return to the world, the atmosphere grew cold.When they heard the Five Great Clans, Wudang, Mount Heaven Sect, and the Beggars’ Sect already served Woo Jin, it grew heavier still.In effect, they were speaking of submitting to Martial Deity Heaven.And they couldn’t refuse—it was already too great a tide to turn back.Nothing was more foolish than going against the inevitable.“We will abide by the Sect Master’s decision,” the elders said.Hye Gwang nodded.“On my way here, I thought long and hard. But when I consider it—our benefactor has done us no harm. He took his own time to teach us, to raise our achievements, to improve our constitutions.”The elders listened intently.“The debt we owe him cannot be measured. Thus, as Sect Master, I will follow him.”“We will follow!” the elders cried in unison, bowing their heads.Hye Gwang breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, they agreed.Then he remembered something.“Ah! I nearly forgot—keep tomorrow clear.”“Why is that?”“Our benefactor said he would improve your constitutions as well.”“R-really?”“Thank you!”Their faces lit up.They knew the Sect Master couple’s newfound strength came from their improved bodies—he had told them so himself.Now the opportunity had come to them.It was a fateful chance.Hye Gwang smiled to himself as they rejoiced.We’ll see if you can still smile in there.He wasn’t about to warn them.Why should he suffer alone? ****The Ten Thousand Mountains.In a dark underground prison, a man hung from chains, writhing in agony.Before him stood a young man, biting into an apple as he watched the prisoner with interest.“You’re a tough one. Most people break by now.”When he smiled, his fangs caught the light.The man in chains spat bloody saliva.“I will never… serve you. I have only one lord.”“I don’t know who this ‘lord’ of yours is, but… lucky man.”The young man’s smile cooled, killing intent flickering in his eyes.“What if your lord was gone—would you come to me then?”“Heh… That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard.”“Oh? I’m telling you I’ll kill your lord. What’s so funny about that?”“No one in this world can defeat my lord. Someone like you would be reduced to dust with a flick of his finger.”The young man stared blankly for a moment—then burst into loud laughter.“Khahahaha!”Rumble—.Crack—.The underground prison shook with his laughter, stones falling from the ceiling.“Ghhhk!”The sheer force made the chains rattle, a groan escaping the prisoner.“You’re really entertaining. Now I’m curious. I want to see this ‘lord’ of yours.”“He… is a god.”“Wow. You really are fanatical.”The young man smirked.A god? Humans and their boasts.Now he wanted to see it—to watch this so-called god be shattered before the man’s eyes.A slow smile spread across his face.“Well, well. When I was ordered to establish the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in the human world, I thought it would be boring. Turns out, this is fun.”He looked back at the man in chains.“Malyang, was it? Tell me—who is this lord of yours? If he’s really that strong, there’s no harm in telling me, is there? After all, if I can’t beat him, I’ll be the one turned to dust.”The man in chains was none other than the Dark Prison Emperor, Malyang.And the young man before him—Third Corps Commander of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s Imperial Guard, Balho.Through his disheveled hair, Malyang’s eyes glinted.“I cannot tell you.”“Why? Afraid? Afraid of seeing your lord smashed to pieces?”Malyang gave no answer.“Want to know something?”Malyang raised his head.“The truth is… I don’t even need to torture you to make you tell me your lord’s location.”Malyang’s pupils trembled.A foreboding chill crept over him.Balho grinned.“You’re going to be mine. Completely mine. You’ll follow only me. And then… you’ll tell me, with your own mouth, exactly where your so-called lord is.”

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