Lee Tae-sung accessed Dream World from the private jet.
Because his schedule in the United States had been busy, it had been quite a while since he had logged in.
‘Nothing happened in the meantime, right?’
The war with the Nameless Blood Cult was not over.
Rather, it had only just begun.
A Flame Realm expert named Cheonwang had appeared, and after one defeat, they were focusing on regrouping.
However, since things had been quiet for a while, he had moved busily to handle matters in reality.
Still, from Lee Tae-sung’s standpoint, he had put in a lot of effort.
So much so that he had to eagerly persuade the US government, which wanted to keep him longer, by saying he would come again next time and shake them off.
That was how he came to Demenmark.
It was the northernmost city on the continent, serving as the main base in the war against the Nameless Blood Cult.
“…What is this.”
And Demenmark was now collapsed in various places.
Broken castle gates and walls, the inside of the castle, houses, and streets were all in chaos.
People were moving frantically, working on postwar recovery.
Lee Tae-sung hurried to the barracks where the leadership was.
That place was a mess too.
Since all the buildings had collapsed, tents had been set up temporarily.
In the center, he could see Samuel with bandages wrapped around his arm and head.
“Sir Samuel?”
“Oh. It’s been a while.”
When Lee Tae-sung approached, Samuel smiled, but his wounded appearance looked quite pitiful.
And what was more surprising was that this ‘Samuel’ had been injured.
The Blue Dragon Knight Commander and Northern Commander, a longstanding Transcendental Expert.
It felt so awkward that such a Samuel was wounded like that.
However, Samuel was even more surprised than Lee Tae-sung, his eyes wide.
“In the time I haven’t seen you… did you truly cross the wall?”
Peak Realm and Transcendental Realm.
It was only the difference of a single wall, but an enormous difference existed between them.
The power of Spiritual Will created too great a level difference between those who had realized it and those who had not.
Once one became a Transcendental Expert, they could receive good treatment from any major force and leave their name across the entire continent.
“Yes. Luck followed and it turned out that way.”
“No… you of all people should know this isn’t something that happens by luck….”
If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been so many people in history who despaired at Peak Absolute Master.
Moreover, Lee Tae-sung had been growing stronger quickly with genius-level talent until now.
Yet now he had crossed even this thick wall.
“I’m so surprised… but congratulations. This is a great fortune for our Allied Forces! We had only been hearing bad news, so something this good coming around as well is wonderful.”
“What on earth happened here?”
“The Nameless Blood Cult led by Cheonwang invaded.”
“!”
The Continental Allied Forces were overcoming their defeat and gathering their strength again.
And then, Cheonwang came leading the elite of the Nameless Blood Cult.
Cheonwang, a Flame Realm expert, and the Transcendental Experts beneath him.
However, the Allied Forces had also received many reinforcements in the meantime.
The major forces of the continent had sent the Transcendental Experts they had been hiding away.
Most Transcendental Experts were advanced in age.
Experts from the previous generation or the generation before that, who had been secluded within their martial sects.
Those people had come out.
“The twenty Transcendental Experts gathered that way faced Cheonwang.”
The Flame Realm expert displayed earth-shaking might.
To handle the Nameless Blood Cult’s Transcendental Experts, five were left out, so fifteen faced Cheonwang, and they achieved a draw.
At the end of a battle that seemed like Demenmark would be annihilated entirely, both Cheonwang and the fifteen Transcendental Experts all suffered injuries.
The Nameless Blood Cult had no choice but to retreat.
That was why Samuel’s expression was bright despite being injured.
“The number of Transcendental Experts existing across the continent is roughly between forty and fifty. Since there are people who have been secluded for so long from long ago, it isn’t certain, but even if the Nameless Blood Cult goes all out, we can win.”
They gained confidence from having driven back the terrifying Cheonwang once.
No matter how much of a Flame Realm expert he was, with this many Transcendental Experts, they could deal with him!
If they fought again, more Transcendental Experts would join forces and finish him off!
Furthermore, since Lee Tae-sung had newly become a Transcendental Expert, this too would be a great help.
It was hopeful.
‘Well. I doubt it will be that easy.’
However, Lee Tae-sung was somewhat skeptical.
There was no way the Nameless Blood Cult, which had been in the shadows for hundreds of years, did not know the continent’s power.
There was no way they would face them head-on, so he had to assume there would be some scheme.
‘Well… the Allied Forces will probably handle it well enough.’
It was not something Lee Tae-sung, who was half a mercenary, should interfere in.
“It will take time until Cheonwang recovers, so you can rest a little easier until then.”
“I see. I hope you recover fully. I will do some personal training.”
“Understood. If there is something you are needed for, I will call you.”
After the conversation with Samuel, Lee Tae-sung went to the house assigned to him.
Fortunately, he had been assigned lodging in an area that had not been destroyed this time.
As a Peak Absolute Master and someone who had accumulated tremendous Contribution Points, his lodging was large and grand.
After entering the deepest part, he settled in.
‘Shall I begin.’
Numerous materials spread out on the floor.
They were the things he had obtained by pouring in Contribution Points this time.
Because he had built up so many achievements, the amount of Contribution Points was truly large, but after obtaining materials to make Leo’s body and the Great Light Spirit Realm materials to open the Gate toward it, they had all disappeared.
But he did not regret it at all.
Because those two were the most important things right now.
“Is Leo’s body still not operational?”
Abeson answered from the side.
Leo’s body had already been completely made, but the Mana power for its first activation had not yet been filled.
It was outside expectations, but a delay like this was not bad.
When Leo awakened again, he would become a great asset.
The Great Spirit Realm is a dimension where spirits with power so immense that ordinary Spirit Realms cannot contain them reside—a dimension.
And each dimension usually had a being representing it.
In the gap between dimensions, a sphere of light and a sphere of fire were conversing with each other.
<A human who handles fire really came?>
<I told you. How many times must I say it?>
Though they looked like small lumps, they were in fact highest-grade spirits, representing the Great Light Spirit Realm and the Flame Great Spirit Realm.
The sphere of light trembled.
<A human who wields the power of flame! Is that ominous being going to target our Spirit Realm again!?>
<Hmm. I’m not sure he’s that ominous? He came to our dimension but quietly came and left.>
<That’s because you haven’t experienced that human! Any spirit who has met that damn Flame Emperor will all show the same reaction!>
The Great Light Spirit Realm and the Flame Great Spirit Realm tended to exchange updates periodically.
It was possible because light and fire were originally inseparable and close.
<Well. This time it doesn’t seem to be that human, but a different human. He didn’t cause any trouble, though? I also know the infamy of the Flame Emperor, but one of our children encountered him and he just quietly passed by.>
<It probably isn’t the Flame Emperor himself. But it must be a disciple who inherited his progress. Humans raise their own successors in that way, after all. Anyway, it is true that he visited the Flame Great Spirit Realm, right?>
<Yes.>
<Isn’t that too much of a leap?>
<No. It’s certain. Those people keep coming to the Spirit Realm as if something good is hidden there.>
<Well… that could be. So what will you do?>
<Whether it’s the Flame Emperor or his successor, the best course is not to associate with them. If someone opens the door to the Spirit Realm and crosses over, then I must relocate all the nearby spirits somewhere else. That one will gain nothing at all.>
<Hmm… well. I can’t say anything about your realm’s affairs. I hope you do your best.>
The conversation between the two highest-grade spirits ended like that.
It was something that happened shortly before Lee Tae-sung visited the Great Light Spirit Realm.
Lee Tae-sung opened the Gate and arrived at the Great Light Spirit Realm.
The materials were rare and expensive, but as long as he had them, opening the Gate was easy.
He simply had to draw the Magic Circle as he had learned.
The Great Light Spirit Realm he crossed into was certainly a place brighter in light than other places.
Pure white ground, a somewhat brighter sky, faint shadows of trees, and so on.
Lee Tae-sung had not had a grand plan before coming here.
The goal was clear.
To find the Final Secret Technique left behind by the Flame Emperor.
In a new land, he couldn’t just wander around without knowing the terrain, but he planned to go along and ask a spirit comfortably if he met one.
‘Thinking of the Flame Great Spirit Realm, unlike ordinary spirits, those living in the Great Spirit Realm don’t seem to fear me that much.’
Leo had been found in that way too.
If he met anyone and asked a few questions, he would find it easily.
“……”
However, not long after, Lee Tae-sung realized his judgment had been mistaken.
“Why is it so quiet?”
The Great Light Spirit Realm had nothing at all.
The entirely bright world was filled with silence.
He wondered if they were gathered somewhere else, so he used his Lightfoot Technique for a long while, but no spirits were visible.
In truth, the nearby spirits had sensed the Gate opening and quickly relocated, but Lee Tae-sung had no way of knowing that.
‘If this happens… my plan will go wrong.’
Lee Tae-sung fell into thought.
If Plan A didn’t work, he had to go to Plan B.
And Plan B was something he didn’t really want to carry out.
Namely, summoning his master!
In Dream World, because he could not use the Ascendant Maintenance Ticket, he had to endure the full cost of the summon with his real present body.
Even at Peak Realm it had been too difficult, but now that he had become Transcendental, it was much better.
He had a hunch that he could endure it to some extent.
‘And here, I don’t need to worry about my master’s infamy.’
Whether in the human world or the Spirit Realm, seeing the Flame Emperor caused similar convulsions.
The Flame Great Spirit Realm had been an exception, but since he said the Flame Emperor had not gone there, that could be.
But here, even if he summoned the Flame Emperor, he did not need to worry about Lee Tae-sung’s reputation.
In the human world, every force with a bad connection to the Flame Emperor would clearly oppose Lee Tae-sung, so he could not carelessly summon him.
The Great Light Spirit Realm was a place he would never visit again once he found the Final Secret Technique.
However,
‘Asking my hidden master directly for guidance is also more certain.’
With that thought, Lee Tae-sung opened his mouth.
“Summon Ascendant.”
-Fzzt!
A spark flashed once in the air, and then…
-Crash!
Following that, with a sound like space shattering into pieces, the Flame Emperor appeared.