Boom!
Two swords collided head-on.
Seo Yeonhwa and the Black Lotus Saintess.
Their sword energy cleaved the air in front of the Secret Vault.
Whoosh!
Snow burst into the air.
The Thousand Blades Corps’ martial artists held their breath.
No one could intervene.
Seo Yeonhwa twisted her sword.
"You said you were the Black Lotus Saintess."
"I did."
"Then you must know that you’re going to die here tonight."
The saintess smiled.
"Your confidence is excessive."
Boom!
The two women sprang backward at the same time.
Seo Yeonhwa’s sleeve was torn.
Meanwhile, a thin sword wound marked the saintess’s cheek.
The saintess wiped away the blood with one finger.
"Interesting."
Her gaze changed.
"I like your sword."
Seo Yeonhwa raised her sword.
"I don’t like you."
"Then kill me."
The saintess vanished.
In an instant.
Sword energy flashed behind Seo Yeonhwa.
Clang!
Seo Yeonhwa spun and blocked it.
But the saintess’s second sword came flying in immediately.
Seo Yeonhwa lowered her body.
Swish!
The tip of the sword grazed over her head.
At that moment, Seo Yeonhwa kicked off the snow with her toes.
"Twelve Heavenly Blossom Swords."
The first sword.
The second sword.
The third sword.
Sword light spread like flowers.
The saintess blocked the swords in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The twelfth and final sword descended.
Crash!
The saintess was driven backward.
The Thousand Blades Corps erupted in cheers.
"Heavenly Blossom Commander!"
"Long live General Seo Yeonhwa!"
But the saintess was smiling.
"Good."
She lowered her black sword.
"Now let’s do this for real."
The Secret Vault’s Door
Meanwhile.
At the Peng Clan Secret Vault.
A red crack had appeared in front of the massive stone door.
The Black Lotus Cult’s martial artists were trying to smash it open.
Then—
Boom!
A massive great saber flew in from behind and stabbed into the ground at the feet of a Black Lotus martial artist.
"Who dares make a commotion in my home?"
The low, weighty voice made everyone turn around.
Black armor.
A black iron great saber.
And an overwhelming killing intent.
Peng Mucheon.
The Clan Lord of the Peng Clan of Hebei had appeared in person.
The Black Lotus martial artists froze.
"Clan Lord!"
The Thousand Blades Corps dropped to one knee in unison.
Peng Mucheon passed them and looked toward the vault.
"Seo Yeonhwa."
"Yes."
"Fall back."
Seo Yeonhwa was startled.
"But—"
"I’ll handle this place."
Peng Mucheon pulled out his great saber.
Boom!
At that moment.
An immense aura began flowing out from inside the vault.
Peng Mucheon’s expression hardened.
"Could it be..."
The saintess also looked toward the vault.
"You felt it."
She smiled.
"That is what we came for."
Peng Mucheon asked,
"What are you after?"
The saintess replied,
"The legendary martial art said to have been left behind by the founder of the Peng Clan."
A brief silence followed.
Then she said,
"The Northern Sky Overlord Art."
Peng Mucheon’s gaze changed.
That martial art was the forbidden overlord’s way that not even the successive Clan Lords of the Peng Clan were said to have mastered completely.
Once perfected, it was an ultimate martial art that allowed a human body to wield the momentum of heaven and earth.
The saintess raised her sword.
"I’ll take that martial art."
Peng Mucheon laughed.
"Take it?"
He swung his great saber once.
Crash!
The ground split apart.
"If you can make it out alive."
Northern Snowfield
Meanwhile.
The battle between Yu Hwanghui and the Northern Sky Blood Fiend continued.
Boom!
An iron staff and a White Wolf Crescent Saber collided.
Yu Hwanghui’s horse was forced backward.
The Northern Sky Blood Fiend laughed.
"You’re strong."
"So are you."
Yu Hwanghui wiped away the blood.
But his gaze had grown even sharper.
The Northern Sky Blood Fiend swung his iron staff in a wide arc.
"This is the end!"
Kraaa-boom!
A tremendous shock wave swept across the snowfield.
The White Wolf Corps’ mounted warriors fell.
"General!"
Peng Seola shouted.
But one person slowly rose from within the blizzard.
It was Yu Hwanghui.
His armor was shattered.
But the White Wolf Crescent Saber was still in his hand.
"White Wolf Corps."
"Yes!"
"We’re changing formation now."
Peng Seola asked,
"How, Commander?"
Yu Hwanghui looked toward the enemy lines.
Then he smiled quietly.
"Wolves don’t run alone when they hunt."
The White Wolf Corps’ mounted warriors split to the left and right.
The Northern Sky Blood Fiend’s face hardened.
"Could it be..."
Yu Hwanghui thrust his sword forward.
"White Wolf Formation."
Thousands of mounted warriors moved as one.
Within the blizzard, the shape of a massive wolf took form.
White Wolf Formation.
Peng Seola shouted,
"Charge!"
Rumble!
The White Wolf Corps tore straight through the Black Lotus Cult’s forces.
The Northern Sky Blood Fiend gritted his teeth.
"A formation like this..."
Yu Hwanghui appeared before him.
"Your turn now."
And at the Peng Clan of Hebei,
The battle between Peng Mucheon and the Black Lotus Saintess began.
The saintess moved first.
Whoosh!
Her sword aimed for Peng Mucheon’s throat.
Peng Mucheon didn’t dodge.
He simply took one step forward.
Boom!
The sword collided with his armor.
The saintess’s sword was knocked away.
"What...?"
Peng Mucheon’s hand caught the saintess’s sword.
"You trust your sword too much."
He released it.
Then he drove his fist forward.
Northern Sky Overlord’s Fist.
Kraaa-boom!
The saintess was sent flying into the wall of the Secret Vault.
Boom!
Cracks spread across the wall.
The saintess spat blood.
Yet she was smiling.
"As expected."
Her hand touched the floor.
"You are the Overlord of the Northern Sky."
At that moment.
The stone door of the Secret Vault—
Rumble—
began to open on its own.
Blinding light poured out from within.
And deep inside the ancient stone chamber, a black secret manual slowly rose into the air.
Only four characters were engraved on its cover.
「Northern Sky Overlord Art」
Peng Mucheon and the saintess.
Their gazes locked onto the secret manual at the same time.
But neither of them knew.
The instant that secret manual was opened—
The thousand-year-old secret that would shake the entire Peng Clan of Hebei would awaken.
Next Chapter — Chapter 4 「Northern Sky Overlord Art」