At Yeon Cheon Baek’s words, the Great Khan laughed and spoke.“You’re quite different from the rumors I heard. If you were as they say, there shouldn’t be a single living soul left here.”“Right. If it were the old me, that’s what I’d have done. Clean, and no headaches.”“Then why the change of heart?”“Because of my grandson. He doesn’t like this sort of thing.”“Even the Martial Deity Heaven Lord can’t refuse his grandson?”“That’s right.”“Unexpectedly human of you.”“I have that side to me. So—what will you do? Will you follow me? Or…”Whooom—Yeon Cheon Baek’s pressure shifted.His eyes slowly shaded to black.Gooseflesh crawled over every inch of skin.“…will you all vanish here and now.”At that, the Great Khan looked back.Countless gazes fixed on him.“There’s only one way to save them.”“That’s right.”“Still, I’m the so-called lord of the Great Desert. May I struggle a little longer?”He spoke to Yeon Cheon Baek as if they were long-time acquaintances, without reserve, and Yeon Cheon Baek let out a faint chuckle.He wasn’t a hateful one.“You shouldn’t leave regrets. Do everything you want to try.”“Thank you.”No sooner had Yeon Cheon Baek given leave than a scorching heat surged off the Great Khan’s body.Sizzle—The ground around him flushed red and began to seethe.He looked ready to unleash the final movement of the Flame Heaven-Explosion Divine Art.Sensing the unusual aura, Yeon Cheon Baek smiled.“Not bad. If this were me a few years ago, it might have been dangerous.”What if he hadn’t grown stronger after meeting Yeon Woo Jin?He would still be bemoaning the lack of rivals and neglecting his training.If the Frontier forces had invaded in that window?The thought made him blanch.He’d told others not to grow complacent, yet the complacent one had been himself.Reflecting on that, he watched the Great Khan’s last attack.Fwoooosh—The Great Khan’s body ignited.The flames swelled, then roared up as if to swallow the entire place whole.KWA-WA-WA-—The heat was so intense that the sand under the Great Khan’s feet began to melt.No human could produce such heat.In that state, the Great Khan charged Yeon Cheon Baek.Whooom—Fwoosh—Each time the Great Khan swung his fist, flames that seemed capable of melting everything blasted out.Like a living thing, the blaze chased Yeon Cheon Baek.Yeon Cheon Baek slipped aside, again and again.As he evaded, something felt off.As if the attacks were being “set” so he could dodge?Then a searing heat pulsed from beneath his feet.Looking down, he saw the ground glowing red-hot.“Got you!”So that was it.The moment Yeon Cheon Baek smirked, the reddened ground burst into brilliant light.It speared straight into the sky and crashed down as a torrent of fire that engulfed Yeon Cheon Baek.KUA-AA-AA-AH—!The heat was so great that even the distant ramparts grew hot, and the people of the Gale Sect atop the walls suffered burns.If the heat felt from afar was like this, then Yeon Cheon Baek, struck head-on…?They did not think he would be unscathed.The Great Khan thought the same.No matter how strong, that strike had been everything he had.He wouldn’t die, but it should have dealt considerable shock.As the raging flames sank, a shadow appeared.The Great Khan saw the silhouette and knew at once.His attack had been useless.He was right.When the blaze vanished and Yeon Cheon Baek revealed himself, he was unharmed.He even walked out with his hands clasped behind his back, not a single singe on his collar.A monster, in the truest sense.He understood why the world feared him, why the Central Plains martial world could do nothing against the Martial Deity Heaven.“If that strike had hit anyone but me, they would’ve had no chance. Splendid.”“Hearing that from someone standing there without a scratch doesn’t land at all.”“You’re strong enough. Be proud. I, Yeon Cheon Baek, acknowledge you.”“Thank you.”Why did those words of acknowledgment feel so good?If anyone else had said it, it wouldn’t feel like this.“I’ve lost.”The Great Khan admitted it cleanly.No matter what he did, he couldn’t win.Even if the entire Gale Sect charged, it wouldn’t work.“I’ll do as you say now, so speak. If you tell me to dissolve the Gale Sect, I will.”“No. Keep it. But don’t place excessive burdens on the merchant guilds.”“You mean we can keep collecting tolls as we have been?”“You may, as long as it’s not excessive. In return, for every toll you take, you will guarantee protection for the merchant guilds passing through.”“Understood. I give you my word.”“And you are coming with me to the Central Plains.”“Pardon? As a hostage?”“No. I want to introduce you to my grandson.”“Sir?”“There’s a lot to discuss.”At “a lot to discuss,” the Great Khan gave a faint laugh.“I know what you mean.”“You were preparing an invasion of the Central Plains, weren’t you?”“Yes.”“And you received support from people you yourselves don’t know.”“Yes. We also pledged to attack the Central Plains in alliance with other places.”“Let’s see. Then the ones left are the Southern Wilds Beast Palace and the Podalap Palace, aren’t they?”The Great Khan pitied those two.He himself had met first, before the invasion, and thus avoided calamity; they had not.The Great Khan spoke to Yeon Cheon Baek.“There’s still time. Introduce me to your grandson, and then will you send me to the Southern Wilds?”“Why?”“I’ll persuade them.”“Suddenly? Why?”“They’re still allies. I should at least give them a word.”“Loyalty?”“I’ve never met them, but they’re allies all the same, aren’t they? I don’t think I can just look the other way.”“And the Podalap Palace?”“I’ll try to persuade them too. There’s still time. If I move hard, I can make the rounds.”At the Great Khan’s words, Yeon Cheon Baek chuckled.“Well, if you persuade them and stop the invasion, that’s best. No one gets hurt.”“Exactly.”“Good. Then I’ll show my power so you can persuade them.”Hearing Yeon Cheon Baek say he would show his strength, the Great Khan swallowed.He was eager.What was the true power of the one called the One Martial God, the greatest across past and present?He spoke loudly enough for everyone in the Gale Sect fortress to hear—not just the Great Khan—that he would show his power.It was to let them see his true self and warn them clearly not to try anything foolish.Yeon Cheon Baek opened the power he had kept tightly hidden until now.Drrrrr—Under that overwhelming force, heaven and earth began to tremble.Everyone there felt it.“G-gods! C-can a human possess such an aura?!”“The Great Khan’s aura was a drop in the ocean!”“And we planned to invade a land where that kind of monster exists? We were mad.”“From now on, every merchant guild from the Central Plains—we’ll guard them with our lives. If we slip up, we really will be erased from the world.”All who felt Yeon Cheon Baek’s aura trembled in terror.They had almost made today their funeral day.It felt like they had escaped the noose.More than anyone, the Great Khan’s emotions ran hot.His pupils quivered without rest.When he had stepped into the Mythic Realm, he had been sure there was no one in the world who could do anything to him.He had been wrong.There was another sky above the sky.No—an entire cosmos above the sky.After he had shown his full strength and withdrawn it, every gaze upon Yeon Cheon Baek brimmed with awe.They looked at him as something more than human—a god.The Great Khan was the same.He stared at Yeon Cheon Baek with eyes full of reverence.Yeon Cheon Baek smiled at him and spoke.“How was it?”“Th-the best. You truly deserve to be called the greatest across ages.”“The greatest across ages, hm.”“There is no one under heaven who could stand against you.”“That’s not true.”“Sir?”“There is someone I can’t beat.”The Great Khan’s jaw practically dislocated.“W-what do you mean? You’re joking, right?”“No. There exists a being I can’t defeat no matter how I struggle.”“A god? Do you meet gods as well?”The Great Khan believed only a god could be beyond Yeon Cheon Baek.“No. My grandson.”“Sir?”“My grandson is someone I can’t beat, no matter what I do.”Oh, so that’s what.His love for his grandson was like any grandfather’s.Could he truly not beat him?He must be letting the boy win.A joke, then.So the Great Khan thought.Yeon Cheon Baek said something loaded with meaning.“Ke-ke-ke. When you meet him later, you’ll understand what I mean.”Taking it as a grandfather’s urge to brag, the Great Khan let it pass without much weight. ****Upon returning to Mount Hua, Yeon Cheon Baek went straight to find Yeon Woo Jin and stepped into the Time-Space Division Formation.He’d gone in and out so many times that now he could enter with his eyes closed.Inside, two groups were locked in a fierce battle.Spotting Yeon Woo Jin above, watching from a high vantage, he leaped up to him.“What are those brats doing?”“Oh? Grandpa! When did you get here?”“I just arrived. Looks like you split the orthodox and unorthodox into sides and set them to fight.”“Yes. I wanted to make them strong through competition, and putting them head-to-head like that works incredibly well. They train like mad so they won’t lose.”“Ke-ke-ke. Of course. Is that why they’re brawling like rabid dogs right now?”“Yes.”“But isn’t it too rough? They’ll die at this rate.”“You don’t have to worry about that.”“Mm?”“They’re all illusions right now.”“Illusions?”“Yes. It’s a formation that lets them conduct mental-image training as if it were real. In reality, the people inside the formation aren’t moving.”“Hoh. Then no matter how they swing their swords, they won’t die.”“Right. But they feel the pain for real.”“Huh? Even though it’s mental?”“Yeah. Even as a mental image, the pain is felt. That’s the beauty of this formation. So even if °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° it’s only mental training, you can’t let your guard down. The pain is real.”“Then why make it visible like that?”“So I can watch and see how they fight, and patch the weak points.”“Ho-ho-ho. Our Woo Jin—makes me wonder where the end of your ability lies.”Yeon Cheon Baek sat down beside Yeon Woo Jin.“I brought him.”“Sir?”Brought… who?Not the Demonic Tiger Relic?“Was the Demonic Tiger Relic a living creature?”“No. The Demonic Tiger Relic is a sacred object of the Northern Sea. So I brought the one who bears that sacred object.”“Sounds like you brought the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”“Ke-ke-ke. That’s right. And I brought one more.”“Who?”“The Great Khan of the Gale Sect.”“You made a lap of the Frontier martial world, did you?”At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, Yeon Cheon Baek gave a faint laugh.“Not on purpose. It seems some people have been stirring up the Frontier.”“Stirring it up?”“Yes. They gave massive support so those forces could grow stronger and told them to strike the Central Plains next month.”“Sir?”“I suspect the Demonic Cult is behind it.”At that, Yeon Woo Jin asked:“Do you know which groups are involved?”“The Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Gale Sect, and the Southern Wilds Beast Palace and the Podalap Palace.”“So the Southern Wilds Beast Palace and the Podalap Palace remain.”“Right. But the Great Khan said he’d persuade them.”“Are they close?”“No, he says he’s never met them. Even so, they’re allies; he can’t just let it slide. So he said he’d go himself and persuade them.”“He’s a decent man.”“Yes, he is. That’s why I spared the Gale Sect.”“You did well.”“Shall we go meet them? I brought them to introduce you.”At Yeon Cheon Baek’s words, Yeon Woo Jin smiled.“If Grandpa says so, we should go.”Yeon Cheon Baek beamed at his reply.“Let’s go.”“What about those brats?”“When training ends, they’ll be so exhausted they’ll fall asleep on the spot.”“That figures. Then let’s go.”“Yes.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.