Akashic Records. This was the memory of the world. From the beginning of the world to the present, and even the future events that would unfold beyond the present—

It was the cradle of knowledge where all incidents and information were recorded.

Of course, the events of the future were merely predictions of possible outcomes based on countless probabilities, but that in itself was already astonishing. The foresight and prophecy possessed by transcendent divine beings were glimpses of these possible outcomes through the Akashic Records.

Therefore, obtaining the Akashic Records was, quite literally, equivalent to obtaining the power of omniscience. And omniscience could serve as the foundation to attain omnipotence.

Indeed. In the end, gaining access to the Akashic Records meant taking a step closer to omniscience and omnipotence. It meant holding the possibility of reaching the absolute divine form known as Almighty.

Not all gods were omniscient and omnipotent. From the beginning, very few beings could even access the Akashic Records. That applied to gods as well—there were no exceptions.

Gods attained their divinity by specializing in their own unique fields. In other words, mastering even one aspect of the knowledge contained in the Akashic Records was practically a guaranteed path to divinity.

Acting upon knowledge was a separate matter, but it was far easier to act with knowledge than without it. That was why those who were granted access to the Akashic Records and survived to the end could all achieve divinity.

―Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone can obtain omniscient and omnipotent divinity.

The voice of Akasha, the avatar of the world's memory—the Akashic Records—echoed in Heo Sungshik’s ears. Upon receiving the code and entering the Akashic Records, Sungshik could hear Akasha’s voice. It was incredibly warm.

―Knowing everything and doing everything are entirely different matters.

It was true. Knowing and doing were separate issues. That was why even those who were granted access to the Akashic Records failed to attain omniscience and omnipotence. In the first place, even achieving omniscience, let alone omnipotence, was extremely difficult.

Digesting all this vast knowledge was practically impossible. That’s how hard it was to achieve absolute divinity—and aside from the original absolute god, no one had ever attained it.

“I understand.”

Through Akasha’s explanation, Sungshik was able to roughly grasp the overall structure of the Akashic Records.

At that moment, a notification rang in Sungshik’s ears.

―Congratulations! You have successfully connected to the cradle of knowledge, the Akashic Records.

―However, connecting to the Akashic Records requires a vast amount of spiritual energy. Please check the conditions carefully and use them wisely.

―You have acquired the trait: ‘[EX Rank]—Akashic Records.’

―You have acquired the skill: ‘SSS Rank—Connect to Akashic Records.’

The moment the system messages rang out, Sungshik realized it. That he had fully inherited the access rights to the Akashic Records.

And at the same time, he also realized that the time allowed for this connection was almost up. So, Sungshik fiercely began thinking about what he needed most at this moment.

“Kgh.”

Darkness and the energy of fire surged violently. Hellfire that burned everything—this was the Flame of the Abyss.

The consciousness of Tidian, the master of the Flame of the Abyss, returned to its original form after losing Kim Hoyun’s body. Since he had imbued Kim Hoyun with his power and possessed him, his true form would not perish just because Kim Hoyun’s body died.

“The damage... is greater than I expected.”

But that didn’t mean there was no damage. A severe wound had been inflicted on his spiritual form.

Spark—

Tidian felt as if sparks were flying from the wound on his spiritual body.

The final blow delivered by Sungshik. It had transcended time and space and struck his spiritual body.

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. To interfere with the realm of another world, one had to reach the level of 8-Star mastery capable of manipulating space itself.

Yet Sungshik, who hadn’t even broken through the 8-Star barrier and was still blocked at the 7-Star level, had manifested such a power? Logically, it was utterly nonsensical. It defied the laws of the world—a truly absurd act.

However, Tidian, who had lived for an unimaginably long time, knew. That such unreasonable beings occasionally appeared.

‘Irregular.’

Yes. Sungshik was an Irregular. A being who transcended the laws and rules set by the world. A fundamentally unreasonable existence favored by the will of the world and the goddess of fate.

They, who could twist fate, were also called ‘Pioneers of Destiny’. If they survived until they acquired divinity, they would eventually attain Great Divinity and ascend to the ranks of the gods. And not as lower gods, but as gods of the highest order.

‘He’s definitely dead, right?’

That’s why he had to kill him for sure. If he didn’t, that man would surely become an obstacle in his path. He was that much of a miraculous existence, one he hadn’t seen in ages.

The reason Tidian felt a lingering unease was because they possessed an irrationality that operated on a different track. He was worried that, against all odds, the man might evade even death and return alive.

‘No. He’s definitely dead. No matter how much the world favors someone, I’ve never seen anyone avoid death itself.’

That was why Tidian was certain that Sungshik was dead. Only by doing so could he find even the slightest meaning in losing Kim Hoyun’s body.

‘Should I have taken a step back then?’

He felt deep regret over his choice. He didn’t have to end things with Sungshik at that exact moment—there would have been many other opportunities. Sungshik had been collapsing on his own, drawing out an irrational power that defied common sense. He could have avoided that spot, tracked Sungshik later, and eliminated him then.

But he had been swept up in the heat of Sungshik’s fighting spirit and acted rashly.

‘Now the grand design will be indefinitely delayed.’

Since it had come to this, he had to proceed with the original plan—to regain his true body’s power and break his seal. Only when even the master of the seventh night descended into this world would he have another chance.

‘The seven dukes of the Demon Realm. To face them, I must recover my full power no matter what.’

In truth, he had recovered close to seventy percent of his strength, but the battle with Sungshik had cost him a massive loss once again. That narrowed his options for the path ahead.

“Pthos.”

At Tidian’s quiet voice, a figure revealed itself from the darkness.

“Did you call for me?”

Radiating an eerie aura, the being knelt before Tidian.

“To recover my strength, I’ll be entering dormancy again. You will prepare the next project using the legacy Xiaoguang left behind.”

“Understood. I will proceed as you instructed.”

“I’m counting on you.”

The legacy left by Xiaoguang—through it, the plan would proceed smoothly even while he slept. Looking forward to the day he would awaken once more, Tidian entered dormancy.

[Hey, you guys heard about that?]

└What?

└Apparently, top-tier Superhumans clashed in China?

└What’s that supposed to mean?

A strange rumor began to rapidly spread across online communities. It was said that somewhere between the Chinese cities of Cifeng and Chengde, a battle so intense it altered the surrounding climate had occurred. The rumor claimed that the combatants were as powerful as the Sword Emperor and the Martial Emperor.

At first, it was just a baseless rumor.

[What, it suddenly snowed from the sky and the ground was covered in flames? At that level, doesn’t it mean top-tier Superhumans fought each other?]

└Exactly. It must’ve been top world rankers going at it.

└Whoa, isn’t it illegal for rankers to clash unofficially like that?

└Yeah, it is.

└But is there any proof that rankers were involved?

└Nope. Just hearsay going around.

Because there was no proof, just “someone said” kind of talk, the bait didn’t catch fire. And so, it seemed the rumor would die down. But then someone came along and threw fuel on the embers.

A Chinese BJ Superhuman. Not particularly famous, he mainly uploaded lifestyle streams and travel vlogs.

But a video he uploaded gave substance to the circulating rumor. It was like he’d thrown a massive log onto dying flames.

[Whoa, what is this? Is this real?!]

[Isn’t this staged?]

[This isn’t just top-tier—this looks like an out-of-standard power!]

[Even to my eyes, they look as strong as the Sword Emperor or Martial Emperor. Damn.]

That’s right. The rumor began to take on reality when a certain Chinese BJ Superhuman released a video.

[Title: Releasing the rumored footage of a battle between the strongest Superhumans.]

The video, uploaded to his channel, instantly hit hundreds of millions of views, drawing immense attention. At the rate it was climbing, even reaching several billion views didn’t seem impossible.

The videographer had risked his life to get close to the battle site. The video began on the road from Chengde to Cifeng.

―Hello everyone. I had to start recording suddenly, so here we are.

―See that snow falling over there? That’s what made me start recording. It’s only snowing in that area, all of a sudden. What kind of phenomenon is that?

After that, he quickly moved toward the snow-covered region.

―Guys, can you feel it? There’s an incredible amount of mana. Do you see my hands shaking? My body’s reacting to the aftereffects of this overwhelming mana.

He continued to livestream the phenomenon in great detail.

―From here… I can’t go any further… The mana in the air is rampaging too violently.

He had no choice but to film from several hundred meters away. Due to the Ice Field deployed by Tenril and the spatial domination used afterward by Tidian, he could not get any closer.

Because he was filming from a distance, the video quality was extremely poor. It wasn't even recorded with dedicated equipment, and the raging mana storm prevented the footage from being captured clearly. Despite that, everyone who watched the video could tell.

[Whoa, what is that? An ice storm is raging in this weather.]

[Isn't that blurry shape a wolf? Why does it look like a wolf to me?]

└ Oh, you too? Same here.

Only the outlines of Sungshik and Tidian were faintly visible, but even that was enough to sense that powerful beings were in combat.

The video’s reaction exploded when Sungshik and Tenril bombarded each other with lightning and ice.

[Wow, this is insane. Isn't this a natural disaster at this point?]

[Whoa whoa whoa... Is this really the power of a human? That hazy shape doesn’t even look human, more like a beast—are monsters fighting each other?]

└ If that monster had attacked a nearby city, that city would’ve been annihilated.

└ Agreed. Unless the Sword Emperor or the Martial Emperor shows up, no one could stop it. Or maybe if the Heavenly Sovereign came.

The reactions afterward were largely the same.

The snow-covered land turned into a blazing hellscape, whirlwinds raged, lightning flashed. And when the Thunder Dragon finally revealed itself, someone raised the suspicion that perhaps they were fighting while summoning a Phantom Beast. That comment gained massive support and agreement from others.

The video ended with the screen completely filled with a golden light.

[What the heck, LOL. Was that a cliffhanger cut for real?]

[Not even a "to be continued"—what kind of joke is this, BJ man. ㅡㅡ]

[Give us the next video.]

To their reactions, the BJ Superhuman had only one thing to say. That the recording device exposed to that golden light had been fried due to mana overload. The only reason the footage made it this far was because of a real-time backup function—otherwise, it would’ve all been lost.

He also said that the golden light held far more immense mana than what was seen on screen, and that he himself had been unable to maintain consciousness from the shockwave. By the time he came to his senses and arrived on-site, everything was over, and Chinese Public Security Superhumans had swarmed in.

Those words turned the arrows of suspicion toward the Chinese government. In the footage recorded by the BJ, a few drones flying around the battlefield could be seen. Once people realized those drones had been sent by the Chinese government to record the scene, they began demanding that China release the footage.

At first, China denied having recorded such a video. Since releasing any footage was under the authority of the Chinese government, there wasn’t much the public could do once China took that stance.

Moreover, China was hesitant to release the video because they had failed to respond adequately to the clash. Revealing the footage would only expose their incompetence.

However, public sentiment flipped due to one particular suspicion.

[Didn’t they say recently that the Heavenly Sovereign could now summon Phantom Beasts? With that and the use of multiple elemental attributes, doesn’t one of those figures seem like the Heavenly Sovereign?]

[Yeah, I thought the same thing. Plus, lightning is the Heavenly Sovereign’s trademark. Feels like it really could be him.]

At first, people weren’t sure because there had only been rumors that the Heavenly Sovereign could now handle Phantom Beasts, and no one had actually seen footage of him doing so. But once they heard it, the similarities became too striking to ignore.

[Where’s the Heavenly Sovereign? Let’s ask him.]

They searched for the Heavenly Sovereign, but he was nowhere to be found. After his last confirmed appearance in Tsifeng City, he had completely vanished.

That fact further solidified the belief that the person in the video was the Heavenly Sovereign. The use of abilities similar to his, the clash occurring near Tsifeng City where he was last seen, even the timing matched. People became convinced that the protagonist of the battle was the Heavenly Sovereign.

It was too burdensome for the Chinese government to monopolize information about the whereabouts of a being like the Heavenly Sovereign, who could have a massive impact on the world.

With pressure from the Martial Emperor, the Elemental Master, even the seldom-seen Lord of Thunder and Lightning—along with countless other well-known Superhumans—demanding the Chinese government release the footage, China could no longer hold out.

In the end, unable to endure the pressure, China released the video. Compared to the one initially uploaded, it contained far clearer footage of the battle scenes. And that video once again shocked the public.