"The Martial Emperor and the Heavenly Sovereign are going to spar?"

News that suddenly broke out in the middle of the party. At first, everyone was baffled, wondering what that meant. But soon, that confusion turned into cheers.

Martial Emperor Sevrant, considered the strongest Superhuman. And Heavenly Sovereign Heo Sungshik, who rapidly rose to the top ranks.

People couldn’t help but have high expectations for their duel. It was a spar between top-class Superhumans—something hard to witness even if you paid for it.

"Heo Sungshik may have shown some impressive feats, but there's no way he can beat the Martial Emperor."

This was what most people thought. And even further than that—

"You think he's called the Martial Emperor for no reason? Honestly, if he lasts even 3 minutes, I'd say that's already impressive."

Some thought that as long as Sungshik didn't get taken down in three minutes, he’d done well.

"Didn't any of you see the duel video with Boris? I think the Heavenly Sovereign is more than capable."

Still, a few believed Sungshik could hold his own against the Martial Emperor.

"Hoo."

"Getting nervous all of a sudden?"

Seeing Sungshik take a deep breath, the Martial Emperor asked.

"No. It’s not so much nervousness... It’s just that I never really imagined I’d get to face the Martial Emperor, someone called the greatest Superhuman. Standing here like this, it just feels kind of overwhelming?"

Before the regression, of course it was that way. The Martial Emperor was like a sun floating far, far above. A being so high up that Sungshik couldn’t even dare look at him directly.

After the regression, he thought a day like this might come eventually. The Martial Emperor was no longer an untouchable existence, but a wall he would one day have to overcome.

Now that he was face-to-face with someone he once could only look up to, countless emotions surged inside him.

Pride in himself. A sense of accomplishment for rising to this place. A quiet satisfaction. And pity for his past, pitiful self.

All those mixed emotions washed over him briefly, but when he closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, they quickly sank beneath the surface of his heart.

"Looks like you're ready."

"Thank you for waiting."

With those words, the two took their stances.

They had moved down to a spacious area below the hill behind the mansion, taking into account the aftermath of the battle. On top of that, they had set up a hundred-meter radius safety barrier around them. If the two clashed seriously in a place like this, there was no doubt the entire area would be blown away. Even with a safety barrier, no one knew how long it would hold.

Because of that, the spectators gathered far away from the perimeter of the safety barrier. There were many Superhumans among them, so that distance was no issue.

And the ordinary people began watching through magic spheres that magnified the footage.

The first to move was Sungshik. He made the first move. It was also a courtesy granted by the Martial Emperor to a junior Superhuman. If the Martial Emperor had attacked first, Sungshik might have been dragged into his pace from the very start.

Crackle—

Using the footwork of the Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts, Sungshik closed in on the Martial Emperor and swung the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword imbued heavily with the energy of fire.

Clang!

Whoosh.

The Myth-grade gauntlets, Mugeuk Fists, worn by the Martial Emperor, blocked the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword, letting out a clear ring. The flames bursting from the sword were blocked by the Martial Emperor’s inner energy and scattered into the air before vanishing.

It was just a single exchange, but that one move revealed the Martial Emperor’s level. Though not a mere probing strike, it was still blocked cleanly and effortlessly.

The punch the Martial Emperor threw out to block Sungshik’s strike was the most ideal move possible.

That was the kind of martial art the Martial Emperor pursued. The most ideal, efficient, and concise. That’s what he aimed for.

—Clean.

Even the Heaven-Splitter gave a small word of admiration.

The Martial Emperor didn’t counterattack and continued to accept Sungshik’s strikes. Sungshik, thankful for the small gesture, caught the flow after the first move and unleashed a continuous flurry of attacks.

Horizontal slash. Vertical slash. Thrust. Diagonal slash.

"Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts First Form: Weapon-Breaking Strike."

He imbued the essence of the Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts into his basic attacks. He didn’t stop there, even mixing in the Weapon-Breaking Form from the First Movement.

"Oooooh."

To a third party observer, it would seem like Sungshik was relentlessly driving the Martial Emperor into a storm of attacks. But that wasn’t the reality. Every single one of Sungshik’s strikes was blocked by the Martial Emperor’s concise and ideal counters.

However, it didn’t mean Sungshik’s attacks were meaningless. While pressing forward with his flurry, Sungshik was watching for an opening.

And soon, Sungshik saw it through the Heaven-Splitter Eyes—the Martial Emperor’s gap.

"Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts, Fourth Form. Dragon-Slaying Strike."

The Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword surged, targeting the five directions of the Martial Emperor.

Spat―

With a slicing sound, a piece of cloth fluttered through the air. The front flap of the Martial Emperor’s chest garment had been torn by the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword. It hadn't touched his skin, but the fact that it almost had was what mattered.

“Impressive.”

The Martial Emperor's tone held genuine admiration. However, it was evident that the martial art was not yet complete. It was a subtle detail, but the Martial Emperor, who had pursued only martial arts, could tell for certain.

Still, the martial art Sungshik was using was by no means ordinary.

‘At least [SSS] rank.’

No, it could be even higher. A martial art imbued with the profound meaning of breaking harmony and even splitting the heavens. A martial art that defied the heavens.

Nodding as he watched Sungshik’s martial arts, the Martial Emperor issued a warning.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Whoosh―

The Martial Emperor’s punch grazed past Sungshik’s head. It wasn’t a reaction based on sight. His Heaven-Splitter Eyes momentarily glimpsed the trajectory, and his Hyper-Sense triggered a warning of danger, prompting a reflexive twist of the body.

But it didn’t end there. The Martial Emperor’s fist curved downward like a whip, rushing toward Sungshik. It was a sharp curve that exceeded the range of motion of human joints.

‘Kgh.’

Sungshik swallowed a groan inwardly. Caught off guard, he had no choice but to allow a blow from the Martial Emperor’s fist.

Bang!

A crashing sound like rocks colliding echoed as Sungshik was flung away. He bounced his body backward to minimize the damage and landed on his feet.

He had raised his left arm momentarily to block the strike and propelled himself backward to reduce the impact.

“Hooh, your body’s quite solid, isn’t it?”

He had put considerable power into it, but it seemed to have done no damage at all.

The sensation felt when striking Sungshik’s arm was not that of a normal human body. It was the firmness of a master of external martial arts, refined to extremes, nearing indestructibility.

It was thanks to Sungshik’s trait, “[SS Rank] Vajra Armor.” Ordinary attacks would hardly be able to hurt him.

“Yeah, my body’s pretty tough. Whew, but that almost gave me a heart attack. How does your arm whip around like that?”

At Sungshik’s playful complaint, the Martial Emperor chuckled and responded.

“The more extreme your control over your body, the wider the range your body can achieve.”

“Yikes, that sounds like something only you could pull off, Uncle Martial Emperor.”

Indeed. The martial arts the Martial Emperor pursued were not found externally, but within himself.

If the Sword Emperor sought the end with a single blade, and Sungshik sought the end with the defiant power of Heaven-Splitting, then the Martial Emperor sought the end that could be achieved by pushing himself to the limit.

“Hehe, don’t you already have your own martial art? Looks like you've found your path and are running full speed ahead.”

“Still, no way I could match up to you, Uncle.”

The two exchanged a warm grin as they faced each other.

“Ready to continue?”

“Of course.”

If this were just a light spar, this would’ve been enough. But neither could be satisfied now. Their fighting spirit had ignited like a fire.

“Alright then, I’ll get serious now.”

Sungshik declared.

He began gradually drawing out his power.

‘Let’s start with lightning power.’

Crackle crackle crack.

Sparks began to emit from Sungshik’s body.

“Whoa, it’s here!”

It felt as if he could hear the spectators’ awe-struck voices.

Sungshik’s trademark—multi-elemental power. Among them, his lightning (雷) power began to manifest.

Sungshik focused the drawn lightning power into the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword. The sword was soon enveloped in brilliant blue lightning.

Sungshik contemplated how to best utilize this electric power. Then he recalled a method—to use it like a sword of lightning through his implementation ability.

He remembered a technique from an old arcade game, where a character’s sword emitted tendrils of lightning that auto-targeted enemies no matter how randomly it was swung.

Sungshik decided to take advantage of the distance between them.

“Hap!”

With a spirited cry, he swung the sword. Thick lightning bolts poured out from the blade toward the Martial Emperor. Though he dodged to the side, the lightning twisted like snakes, relentlessly pursuing him.

“!”

The Martial Emperor’s expression revealed intrigue. A gray aura formed on his fist.

Limitless Martial Art. First Palm: Myriad Transformations, No Change.

Fwoosh!

Powerful energy burst from the Martial Emperor’s fist, neutralizing the lightning.

But Sungshik’s attack wasn’t over. More lightning continued to surge from the sword, pouring toward the Martial Emperor.

“Such sly attacks.”

The fact that such words came out of the Martial Emperor’s mouth meant Sungshik’s attack truly had a dishonorable side. To unleash such an attack from a distance where he reduced the risk of being hit himself—he thought it was quite a troublesome tactic.

But then again, the Martial Emperor wasn’t called that for nothing. Even in this situation, he found the best course of action. He charged straight toward Sungshik, taking on the pouring lightning energy with his whole body.

Because he had shrouded himself in protective qi, the actual damage taken wasn’t much. He chose to accept a bit of loss in exchange for closing the distance.

The instant Sungshik had just launched his attack—within that half a breath of time—the Martial Emperor dashed in, and Sungshik couldn’t help but be late in reacting to his charge.

As expected…

He let out a small exclamation in his mind. He’d already figured this kind of attack wouldn’t be very effective. But lightning wasn't the only power Sungshik could wield.

He still had many other attributes at his disposal. Depending on how he used them, the entire battle could shift. First, he drew out the power of shadows and scattered chains of shadow toward the Martial Emperor.

The Martial Emperor simply tore through the chains with brute strength and continued to charge. It was brute force, plain and simple.

Still so barbaric with that strength, I see.

But that didn’t mean the chains of shadow were meaningless. Through them, he was able to create a small opening. That was more than enough.

Sungshik used Shadow Movement. Though it consumed a lot of attribute power and manifestation strength, it was an incredibly useful skill in battle.

“Huh.”

A hollow sound escaped from the Martial Emperor’s mouth. He thought he had secured the distance even at the cost of some loss, but now he’d ended up on the losing end. It was a completely unexpected move, a miscalculation even for him.

How long had it been since he’d taken the short end in a fight? With a small admiration, his fighting spirit ignited. Perhaps he had taken this too lightly.

There was no doubt Sungshik was weaker than him. But the way he wielded his strength was no ordinary matter.

The power of attributes was one that could produce countless variables. Sungshik was not someone to be taken lightly or approached with a light heart.

Perhaps I should take this more seriously.

The Martial Emperor’s eyes sank deeply. He moved with true resolve.

He had fought countless long-range type opponents before. The most important thing when facing them was to control the distance. That was why he had tried to close the gap with Sungshik earlier even at the expense of taking a hit.

But seeing Sungshik extend the gap again with some strange technique, it seemed the usual methods wouldn’t work. In that case, he would just have to move faster, earlier than Sungshik. If that wasn’t enough, then he would simply take control of the entire space itself.

Goooooo—

At the Martial Emperor’s will, the area around them gradually came under his control.

He’s already capable of this level of spatial domination?

To dominate space and engage in a battle of spatial control—that was a power only achievable beyond 8 stars. Yet, he was already displaying this level of control?

The Martial Emperor was clearly, as observed through Insight, still rated at 7-star+. This shattered Sungshik’s common sense. It was a monstrous talent on a different plane.

To implement this kind of power beyond his own rank—it could only be called a talent granted by the gods.

Of course, the spatial control that could be naturally manifested at 8 stars and the one he was showing now were as different as the sun and a firefly. But even so, the fact that he was manifesting it was astonishing.

On top of that, that very spatial control began to pressure Sungshik. As before, it would no longer be easy to teleport behind the Martial Emperor. He could already feel the shadow attribute energy he had left behind beginning to be erased by the Martial Emperor’s spatial control.

The space behind me…

Sungshik glanced behind him. The rear was blocked off by a safety barrier. The restriction of a hundred-meter radius was becoming a significant limitation.

In that case, there was only one thing left—a frontal showdown. That might actually be better. It was what he secretly wished for anyway. He thought it would be nice to clash head-on with the Martial Emperor in a fiery fight.

The moment Sungshik made up his mind—