-Wooooong...
In the remote outskirts of Starpoint Mountain, where no trace of humanity could be found.
From one isolated peak, the purest yang energy was spreading in all directions.
The intensely refined fiery yang qi held enough power to reduce surrounding plants to ash.
Yet, for some reason, the plants exposed to this energy weren't turning to cinders. Instead, they were growing at an astonishing rate, densely filling the area.
Fierce yet not cruel, overwhelming yet not oppressive.
It was a wondrous sight, as if a small sun had descended into the mortal world.
Before long, all the surrounding plants were tilting their leaves toward the tiny sun, yearning for even a fraction more of its nurturing light.
How much time had passed since the sun's energy began to spread?
-Flash
The eyes of a boy at the center of the yang energy gleamed with a brilliant golden light for a moment, and then the yang energy radiating outward began to slowly fade.
His vision was filled with lush green foliage.
The boy—Baek Hyun, who had merely been diligently circulating his qi—could only let out a small sigh as he gazed at the countless plants leaning toward him so intrusively.
'The One Yang Divine Art is great and all, but this qi circulation is just too flashy.'
With the top-tier heart method, the One Yang Divine Art, combined with the evolved Solar Body's power, the rate at which his internal energy gathered was incomparable to before.
However, every time he properly circulated his qi, an inexplicable sense of embarrassment washed over him.
This wasn't some enlightenment aura or triad harmony purification. Why was a simple qi circulation session so damn showy?
"Well, at least the internal energy is building up nicely..."
Even after mastering the One Yang Divine Art and beginning to seriously learn martial arts, his actual cultivation level was still merely third-rate.
His Solar Body had evolved, giving him a perfectly flawless vessel, but that vessel lacked sufficient internal energy to fill it.
Until now, the only internal energy he had accumulated was from two months of practicing the Clear Mind Heart Method.
That amount was so paltry it was embarrassing to even quantify.
But after learning the One Yang Divine Art, things changed.
The One Yang Divine Art fundamentally treats elements of nature as 'meridians' to breathe in unison with them.
Going beyond the Microcosmic Orbit using only the Eight Extraordinary Meridians or the Macrocosmic Orbit using the body's full meridians.
It uses nature itself as meridians to gather internal energy.
A revolutionary method that transcends the structural limits of internal energy accumulation speed.
It's neither unilaterally giving away energy nor plundering vitality like the Absorbing Star Great Law.
It's simply borrowing the breaths exhaled by surrounding lifeforms to circulate on a far grander scale.
Thus, the One Yang Divine Art is classified as a righteous art, possessing an utterly stable structure like other righteous arts.
Excluding outlier methods like the Northern Darkness Divine Art, it boasted the most overwhelming qi accumulation speed among heart methods.
The internal energy he gathered in one day today surpassed what he had built over two months with the Clear Mind Heart Method.
'At this rate, I'll reach first-rate in no time.'
Baek Hyun brushed aside the encroaching branches as he stood up.
Even after his senior brothers noticed the changes from his training, no real nuisances had arisen to hinder his practice.
In a way, it was only natural.
He had hidden the cards that truly needed concealing and only revealed those that were safe to show, leaving no room for backlash.
'Looks like the plan worked out pretty well.'
No matter the adage in the martial world to hide at least thirty percent of one's power.
Completely concealing one's extraordinary talents that surpassed common sense was impossible from the start. Even if possible, it would be extremely inefficient and dangerous.
To hide his full abilities even from his reliable allies in the sect—who would become his hands and feet in the future?
That would bring an uncontrollable backlash later.
Thus, he needed to prioritize and focus.
Reveal abilities that didn't need hiding, and conceal those that must stay secret even more cunningly.
Hiding the One Yang Divine Art under the glaring light of his Solar Body was a prime example.
Countless senior brothers had examined his meridians, but lacking knowledge of both the Solar Body and the One Yang Divine Art, none had detected it.
Who would scrutinize the flow or form of lava when a person's veins ran with it instead of blood?
Even if the flow seemed odd, attributing it to a quirk of the Solar Body was only natural.
'But no matter how well I hide it, using this would give it away in an instant.'
-Fwoosh!!
Blazing hot fiery yang qi gathered at Baek Hyun's fingertip, igniting fiercely.
A secret imperial martial art of the Dali Kingdom, like the One Yang Divine Art—and one that absolutely could not be discovered by anyone.
One Yang Finger.
Being so famous with such distinct characteristics, getting caught practicing it would land him in serious trouble.
In truth, the One Yang Finger itself wasn't exceptionally powerful relative to the risks of learning forbidden arts.
But the Six Meridians Divine Sword, attainable upon mastering it, was the final piece that would secure him first place in the Life and Death Tournament.
He couldn't give it up.
He had no choice but to train it to mastery without drawing any eyes.
"Sigh, there's just so much to do... When am I supposed to learn the Shoot the Sun Sword Art?"
Top demonic or cult arts could perform exceptionally with just that one technique, no preparation needed.
But the righteous sects' pinnacle arts exponentially improved the more complementary sect techniques one learned.
They required steady, step-by-step progression without shortcuts to reach full potential—like the very embodiment of late bloomers.
That was the nature of the righteous sects' highest arts.
Even if he learned the Shoot the Sun Sword Art right now, its performance would barely surpass the basic Gale Swift Sword.
No veteran could bypass this.
This frustrating, gradual structure applied not just to Starpoint Sect but all righteous sects.
To unleash the Shoot the Sun Sword Art's true power, he had to methodically master the sect's other arts.
The very essence of the righteous path.
'But thanks to that, its potential rivals any art out there.'
So, no rushing.
It had only been a month since he started learning martial arts.
A gamer's mindset, fixated on speed and efficiency, couldn't walk the righteous path.
This wasn't a game—it was reality.
No buttons or minigames to skip training.
He needed the diligent mindset of a model student: persistent and steady in practice.
'Besides, no matter how tough, can it be worse than studying for the college entrance exam?'
Baek Hyun steeled his resolve and picked up his wooden sword.
The sun had not yet set.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Starpoint Sect, being a martial sect, devoted much time to training.
Yet even the greatest warrior couldn't live solely by the sword.
Thus, the sect supplemented disciples' training with essential knowledge for life.
This included basic common sense and etiquette, Taoist and Buddhist teachings, and knowledge of the 'Monstrous Beings' that harmed humans.
"Monstrous Beings. These are beasts or other entities possessing supernatural power. Unlike ordinary martial artists who wield internal energy, their strength far surpasses that of normal beasts."
So-un, the second-generation disciple teaching the Monstrous Beings class, opened a book detailing various Monstrous Beings and spoke in a slow, precise tone—as if demanding not a single word be missed.
"Most possess intelligence and thus do not indiscriminately attack humans, but they occasionally become hostile for various reasons."
Here, Monstrous Beings hostile to humans are classified as 'Malevolent Spirits'.
Those not hostile are termed 'Spiritual Beasts'.
"Even Spiritual Beasts aren't benevolent toward humans, but compared to Malevolent Spirits, harmony is possible.
Our Starpoint Sect, inheriting the mighty spirit of Hou Yi who once purged countless Malevolent Spirits in ancient times, also takes on the role of subjugating those that disrupt nature's harmony."
Baek Hyun pondered as he listened to So-un.
In the pre-remake Dominating the World, Monstrous Beings had grand lore and backstory.
But in practice, they were just field bosses spitting out decent rewards—nothing more.
A few events and interactions existed, but most lore served as mere MacGuffins.
Like a red bean bun with barely a speck of filling.
He hadn't expected much from the remake either.
The main content would still be martial artists scrapping it out.
Likely no major changes to Monstrous Beings...
"First, I'll explain the 'Ten Great Ferocious Beasts'—the most dangerous among them."
Ten Great Ferocious Beasts?
At this unfamiliar term, Baek Hyun immediately straightened up and focused intently on So-un's words.
Had the developers actually fleshed out the previously hollow Monstrous Beings content!?
"The Ten Great Ferocious Beasts are, as the name implies, the ten most perilous types among the world's myriad Monstrous Beings.
At this level, distinctions like Malevolent Spirits or Spiritual Beasts become meaningless. They are more arrogant than any emperor, more temperamental than any fiend.
Even their young are strong enough that peak masters must risk their lives to slay them. Entanglement brings nothing good.
If you encounter one, don't even think of fighting—flee immediately."
Or you'll almost certainly die.
At that blunt, chilling warning, every initiate disciple's face paled in terror.
But Baek Hyun alone showed no change in expression, fully analyzing the new information as he listened.
'Hmm, so like the Nine Great Righteous Sects for Monstrous Beings. More serious lore than I thought.'
So-un meticulously showed illustrations from the book to each disciple, detailing the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts' appearances and traits.
While Starpoint disciples learned this to subjugate them, So-un's explanations seemed designed to instill fear.
And rightly so.
He relentlessly repeated at every turn: never fight them. Impossible not to get the message.
"Remember this well. Fleeing from Monstrous Beings is no shame—especially against the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
They're so rare you won't encounter one unless you're extraordinarily unlucky... but know it anyway."
After sorting his thoughts during the lengthy explanation, Baek Hyun reached a conclusion.
'The devs really put effort into this.'
The systematic classification of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
Half he recognized as pre-remake field bosses; the other half were entirely new.
Evidently, the remake massively expanded Monstrous Beings content, integrating former MacGuffins into the worldbuilding.
'With this much emphasis, they might tie into the main story somehow.'
As Baek Hyun mulled over Monstrous Beings, one initiate disciple cautiously spoke up amid the lecture.
"Um... Senior Brother, I have a question."
"Yes, what is it? Did I miss something in the explanation?"
"No, it's not that... It's kind of a useless question, though."
So, what's the strongest Monstrous Being?
'!!'
'!!!'
'!!!!'
Who's the strongest.
The question that drives every man's heart mad, regardless of age, personality, race, nationality, or era.
Utterly childish, yet all the more compelling for it—every male present fixed their gaze intently.