Pok.

“Kreururuk―”

The beasts that were closing in on Sungshik from behind perished as the sword-shaped shadows rising from beneath their feet pierced their vital points.

Phajijijik―

“Kkeueeeee.”

The beasts charging straight at Sungshik were electrocuted on the spot by the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword, which discharged streaks of lightning, causing them to collapse. Even though he had thrown himself into the midst of tens of thousands of monsters, their sheer numbers were not a problem.

With every step Sungshik took toward the center of the Gate zone, dozens, then hundreds of monsters fell before him. Truly, he was moving unhindered in all directions. No monster could stand in his way.

Kwakwakwang―

A massive explosion erupted behind him. Turning around, he saw a vast crater filled with thick smoke. It seemed to be the aftermath of something Jenny had unleashed.

‘Everyone’s doing well.’

At this pace, this group was more than enough to clear out all the monsters in the Gate zone. In particular, it felt as if Sungshik alone could cover the entire area.

And it wasn’t just a feeling.

‘My mana control is much smoother than before, and my body's recovery and resilience have improved significantly.’

It must have started then—when he briefly opened his True Heaven-Splitter Eyes. When he momentarily exceeded his limits. Right after that, his body evolved accordingly.

At this level, even if he were to fight Sadocheon again, he could showcase an entirely different level of power compared to before.

‘I’ll probably reach 7-star+ rank soon.’

―The wall seems right before you now.

Even Heaven-Splitter felt the same. Sungshik’s mastery had already reached a point where, the moment his Divine Technique was perfected, he would be ready to break through the wall.

―Your growth rate is still astonishing.

Upon reaching 7-star rank, the explosive growth he had experienced before had slowed down. However, even now, his rate of progress was incredibly fast. Not even the Martial Emperor or the Sword Emperor Hak Ilcheon had advanced at such a speed.

―That trait of yours, the ‘Pocket Watch,’ isn't this basically a cheat?

Indeed, Heaven-Splitter occasionally sensed a divine blessing lingering on Sungshik’s body. It didn’t grant him any specific power, but it accelerated his growth whenever he was in a situation where he could improve. Heaven-Splitter had long suspected that this was due to the Pocket Watch’s trait.

‘I’ve said it before, this Pocket Watch is a total cheat.’

At Heaven-Splitter’s remark, Sungshik responded as if it were obvious. Even now, he felt that obtaining this trait had been a stroke of genius.

‘And I can definitely tell the wall is closer. That familiar sensation is starting to return.’

It was faint, but he could feel his control over the surrounding space gradually increasing. It was a sensation he had experienced once before.

Back when he went to learn the Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts. That time, in that fabricated world. The sensations he had encountered when he reached a higher realm in that world had faded over time.

But now, as he recovered that level of mastery, those sensations were coming back, piece by piece. It felt like reclaiming something long forgotten.

And the sensation he felt now was exactly what he had felt when he crossed a threshold beyond 7-star rank. One by one, those memories were coming back. It was an electrifying feeling beyond words.

The thrill of growing stronger in real-time. The anticipation of soon breaking through.

Amidst these myriad sensations, Sungshik mechanically cut down the monsters. Even this alone was accumulating experience. This place truly felt like a goldmine.

How long had he been fighting? It seemed like several hours had passed. By now, the number of monsters Sungshik had slain had long surpassed the tens of thousands.

‘Hoo.’

He exhaled, feeling a faint sweetness in his breath. Looking back, he saw an endless pile of monster corpses stretching into the distance.

‘This is insane.’

He must have been in a trance while cutting down the monsters. Now that he was aware of the moment, exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave. His body had already been screaming for rest.

No matter how much he had undergone a rebirth, his body was not tireless. To reach that level, he would need to undergo at least two more transformations to truly surpass human physical limits.

‘I can see the end now.’

The center was now right in front of him. If there was still a long way to go, he would have to take a forced rest. His mana recovery had slowed significantly, and his body's ability to recover from fatigue had also dropped. The exhaustion was accumulating rapidly.

‘Now, all that’s left is… the S-rank Gate.’

He could leave the remaining small fry to the others and focus solely on the 7-star-ranked monsters emerging from the S-rank Gate.

Already, each of the superhumans participating in this battle had slain at least several hundred, if not over a thousand monsters. Most of them were 6-star or higher, and since the majority of monsters were lower-ranked than themselves, this was possible.

By now, the number of monsters they had taken down easily numbered in the hundreds of thousands. This was the largest battle since the emergence of Gates following the Great Cataclysm. Even in the future, this event was considered the precursor or the very beginning of the Gate Break.

In the past, there had been a delay in responding to such large-scale Gate eruptions, and the advancing hordes of monsters had caused massive devastation. It had been recorded in history as a regrettable failure due to a slow initial response.

‘Compared to that, we’re making an excellent first move.’

At this moment, history had undeniably changed. And Sungshik had played a major role in that. Frankly speaking, if they had to choose the key player in this battle, it would be him.

‘Time to finish this.’

After a brief rest, Sungshik dusted himself off and stood up. Now, it was time for the final battle.

The first to reach the center was Sungshik. Almost simultaneously, the Sword Emperor Hak Ilcheon and Jenny arrived behind him.

The other 11 Thrones and high-ranking superhumans had not yet reached the center, or they were focused on clearing out the last remnants of monsters pouring in rather than advancing further.

“Hmm, weren’t there supposed to be two S-rank Gates?”

Jenny asked from the side.

“It must have been an observational error.”

During the briefing, they had been told there were two S-rank Gates. However, now that they were at the center, they could see five in total.

Since the previous observations were done from a distance rather than through direct inspection, it was understandable that the overlapping Gates had been mistaken as fewer in number. In fact, even the count of 821 Gates was likely inaccurate, as some might have been missed.

“Looks like it’s about to begin.”

The usually silent Sword Emperor Hak Ilcheon finally spoke. Just as he said, the S-rank Gates before them had begun to shimmer ominously. They were showing signs of going berserk.

The three of them stood in three directions without saying a word. It was an implicit agreement. They decided to deal with each of them as they came out of the S-class gate..

Paah—

A bright light flashed as monsters poured out of the gate. The majority were six-star beasts.

However, for Sungshik, Hak Ilcheon, and Jenny, these beasts weren’t even worth considering opponents. To them, six-star monsters were nothing more than a warm-up.

Thud.

“The real ones are coming.”

The portal flickered as the boss monsters began to emerge.

‘Five in total.’

The boss monsters that stepped out of the portal were all ranked at seven stars.

“Kroaarrr—”

“Krrraaaang.”

The moment they emerged, the boss monsters roared, asserting their presence. Sungshik quickly scanned their appearances.

‘Blood Giant, Cyclops, Stone Golem, Were-Tiger, Twin-Headed Ogre.’

There weren’t any monsters with strange curses or peculiar traits. Starting from seven-star monsters, some occasionally possessed powerful curses or bizarre abilities, so he had to be cautious. But this time, they were all relatively standard monsters.

If there was one that required special attention—

‘Blood Giant.’

That one was a giant creature made entirely of blood. The blood itself carried a potent toxin, making even the wounds inflicted in battle a weapon against its opponents.

Close-combat transcendents who didn’t know this often made the mistake of engaging it recklessly, only to meet disaster.

‘That one first.’

Sungshik decided to take out the most troublesome enemy first.

As he activated Heaven-Splitter Eyes, weak points across the monster’s body lit up. Among them, one spot shone the brightest.

‘That’s the core.’

The key to defeating this monster was destroying that core first. Since it was made of blood, any wounds would quickly regenerate by absorbing surrounding blood.

Moreover, in a battlefield like this, where monster blood was abundant, it could rapidly grow stronger by absorbing everything around it.

Sungshik sprang into action, charging toward the Blood Giant.

“Fsssshh—”

Seeing Sungshik rushing in, the Blood Giant let out a strange sound and swung its arm at him. Its arm stretched out like a whip, slashing through the air toward Sungshik.

Slice.

Sungshik effortlessly dodged the attack and severed a portion of its arm.

Splurt— Sizzle.

The blood that spurted from its wound splashed onto the ground, melting and corroding the surface as it flowed.

Thunk. Crack—

Evading the attack with ease, Sungshik closed in on the Blood Giant’s chest and effortlessly destroyed its core.

“Guaaaah—”

The creature’s body lost its shape, collapsing into a massive puddle of blood that poured onto the ground.

Drip, drip, drip.

Without hesitation, Sungshik summoned flames, engulfing all the blood and burning it away.

Fwoosh.

For a seven-star monster, its end was surprisingly anticlimactic.

This was because Sungshik knew its weaknesses and characteristics. Normally, attacking it would have been a drawn-out battle due to its regeneration, and the nature of its blood would have made continuous attacks difficult.

But by using Heaven-Splitter Eyes to locate its core and eliminate it immediately, he had resolved the fight effortlessly.

Watching this, Hak Ilcheon and Jenny exchanged glances, their eyes filled with intrigue. Seeing the creature’s blood, they realized that if they had fought it without knowing its nature, things could have gone terribly wrong.

Then, as Sungshik turned toward the one-eyed giant monster, the Cyclops, they, too, began their own battles against their respective opponents.

The battle ended too quickly. Though the monsters were seven-star, they didn’t last long against them.

Jenny easily took down the Twin-Headed Ogre, utilizing her elemental attack powers. Hak Ilcheon, with a single sword, sliced the Stone Golem into pieces.

Meanwhile, Sungshik defeated the Cyclops and then turned his attention to the Were-Tiger. The Were-Tiger, a lycanthropic fusion of a tiger and a human, seemed to be the strongest of the boss monsters here.

It put up a decent fight against Sungshik but ultimately fell under his blade before long.

Hak Ilcheon and Jenny, wanting to observe Sungshik’s combat skills further, stepped back and let him handle the remaining monsters. Watching him fight, Hak Ilcheon couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘He hasn’t broken past the seven-star barrier yet.’

Hak Ilcheon could tell that Sungshik was right on the threshold of surpassing seven-star rank. His keen observation skills picked up on the fine details.

‘I thought he had reached seven-star+, but he’s still at seven stars.’

This realization was surprising. Observing up close, he could see the gap—Sungshik hadn’t yet reached seven-star+, but the power and combat prowess he displayed had already surpassed that of a typical seven-star.

Additionally, Sungshik demonstrated mastery over multiple elemental attributes. Such versatility was only possible for someone who possessed at least five unique traits.

‘Ha. Amazing, truly amazing.’

It was hard to believe. From what he could tell, Sungshik’s primary focus was martial arts. But even that martial skill contained profound, high-level intricacies.

This realization sent a thrill through Hak Ilcheon’s body. He felt an overwhelming urge to cross swords with Sungshik immediately.

Of course, if Sungshik had shown his full strength just now, Hak Ilcheon was almost certain he would win.

‘But if he breaks past the seven-star barrier?’

Then, things would be unpredictable. He might even experience defeat for the first time. The last time he had felt this level of tension was when he had fought to a draw with the Martial Emperor.

Ever since he had acquired the EX-Rank Sword Sovereign trait and ascended to the realm of transcendents, he had believed that his only true rival under the heavens was the Martial Emperor.

But today, that belief was shaken.

‘Maybe… this is the new EX-Rank transcendent that recently appeared in the community.’

Through this realization, Hak Ilcheon could now infer Sungshik’s true identity.

Jenny felt the same. She was completely captivated by Sungshik’s power. She had believed that she was the only one in the world capable of wielding multiple elemental attributes. But seeing Sungshik do the same, she felt a deep sense of kinship and admiration.

Thus, without needing to say a word, both Hak Ilcheon and Jenny approached Sungshik at the same time.

“Well done.”

“You did great.”

Sungshik saw the two approaching him and responded with a soft smile.

“You both worked hard as well.”

Only after saying those words did he truly feel that the gate outbreak incident was over. Having fought with all his strength for the first time in a while, he felt incredibly refreshed. And knowing that they had successfully contained the gate break with minimal casualties filled him with a sense of accomplishment.

Thus, the first large-scale gate outbreak was successfully contained with minimal damage.

And shortly afterward, the footage of this battle was made public—

And it sent the world into an uproar.