Three black SUVs roared up the mountain path, their engines straining against the steep incline. Even before they came to a stop, Jin Ho could sense the urgency radiating from their occupants. Blood Flame and Blood Guard leaped out of the lead vehicle before it had fully stopped, their faces grim with the kind of news that changed everything.
"Jin Ho!" Blood Flame called out, her usual composed demeanor cracked with barely controlled panic. "Thank the ancestors you're still here. The situation has deteriorated beyond our worst projections."
Blood Guard was already pulling out a tablet, his fingers flying across the holographic interface as dimensional readouts filled the air around them. "Corruption levels have spiked across all three primary dimensions in the last six hours. Blood Demon Realm is at 78% contamination, Thunder Realm at 71%, Ice Soul Realm at 69%."
『Worse than we calculated,』 the Ice Soul Demon Emperor observed grimly within Jin Ho's consciousness. 『At this rate, complete dimensional collapse is imminent.』
"How long do we have?" Jin Ho asked, though he dreaded the answer.
"Best case scenario? Eighteen hours before the first realm falls completely," Blood Guard replied, his voice tight with tension. "Once that happens, the cascade effect will destroy the remaining dimensions within minutes."
『Which means,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor's mental voice carried the weight of absolute certainty, 『we can no longer afford a cautious approach. It's time to reveal the dimensional amplification system.』
Blood Flame noticed the strange tricolored weapon in Jin Ho's hand, her eyes widening as she recognized the energy signatures. "That weapon... it's channeling three different power types simultaneously. How is that possible?"
"A lot has changed in the last few hours," Jin Ho said simply. "Seol Hwa-rin transferred the Ice Soul Demon Emperor to me voluntarily. I now have access to Trinity Unity—the combined power of all three demon lords."
The gathered Blood Flame Sect members exchanged glances of awe and apprehension. They'd witnessed Jin Ho's growth from a confused college student to a formidable warrior, but this represented a quantum leap beyond anything they'd imagined.
"That's... incredible," Blood Guard breathed. "With that level of power, you could potentially..."
"Purify entire sections of corrupted dimensions," Jin Ho finished. "But only if I can access the full potential of this unity. And for that, I need to enter the dimensional realms themselves."
『Tell them about the amplification system,』 the Thunder Lightning King urged. 『They need to understand what we're truly capable of when we return home.』
Jin Ho took a deep breath and prepared to share information that would change their entire strategy. "There's something else. The demon lords have told me about a phenomenon called dimensional amplification. When I enter their home realms, my power doesn't just remain constant—it increases exponentially."
"Increases how much?" Blood Flame asked, her tactical mind immediately grasping the implications.
"In the Blood Demon Realm, five times my current strength. In the Thunder and Ice Soul Realms, three times each."
The silence that followed was profound. Blood Guard's tablet slipped from his nerveless fingers, clattering to the ground as the magnitude of what Jin Ho had just revealed sank in.
"Five times," Blood Flame whispered. "Jin Ho, do you understand what that means? Your current power level is already beyond most cultivators' lifelong dreams. Five times that..."
『Would make him capable of techniques that can affect entire dimensions simultaneously,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor supplied, and Jin Ho repeated the words aloud.
"Dimensional ultimate techniques," he continued, drawing on the knowledge now integrated into his consciousness. "In the Blood Demon Realm, I could potentially use something called Blood Heaven Judgment Domain—a purification technique that affects the entire realm at once."
『Show them the preview,』 the Ice Soul Demon Emperor suggested. 『A small demonstration of what dimensional amplification might look like.』
Jin Ho nodded and raised his transforming weapon, allowing it to shift into its axe configuration. He reached deep into his Trinity Unity power, drawing on all three energy types simultaneously, and channeled them into a technique that was barely a fraction of what he'd be capable of with full amplification.
"Trinity Domain: Purification Sphere," he said, the technique name coming to him instinctively.
A sphere of tricolored energy expanded from his position, washing over everyone present. Where it touched, the lingering void corruption from the dimensional rift above was instantly cleansed. Plants that had been withering began to straighten and regain their color. The very air seemed to become cleaner, more alive.
But more importantly for the demonstration, the sphere revealed just how much corrupted energy had been invisible to normal senses. Dark tendrils that had been imperceptibly creeping through the area were suddenly visible as they were purified, showing the full extent of the contamination they'd been living with.
"And that's without any amplification," Jin Ho said as the sphere faded. "With five times amplification, the range and power would be..."
"Enough to cleanse an entire realm," Blood Guard finished, his voice filled with awe and hope. "Jin Ho, this changes everything. We're not just talking about fighting to delay the inevitable anymore. We're talking about actually winning."
『But there are limitations,』 the Ice Soul Demon Emperor cautioned, and Jin Ho shared this information as well.
"The amplification only lasts for about an hour per visit," he explained. "And using dimensional ultimate techniques requires enormous amounts of energy—I might only be able to use one per amplified session."
"Which means we need to be strategic about this," Blood Flame said, her tactical instincts taking over. "We can't just charge into each realm randomly. We need to prioritize based on which dimensions are most critical to stabilize first."
『The Blood Demon Realm,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor said immediately. 『Not just because the amplification is strongest there, but because it's the cornerstone realm. If the Blood Demon Realm falls, the spiritual energy networks that connect all the realms will collapse.』
"Blood Demon Realm first," Jin Ho repeated. "It's the cornerstone—if it falls, the connection between all realms is severed permanently."
Blood Guard was already pulling up dimensional maps on his tablet. "Our intelligence suggests the corruption there is concentrated around the Crimson Citadel—the central power nexus of the realm. If you could purify that area..."
"The purification would spread outward through the realm's natural energy networks," Jin Ho finished, the knowledge flowing from the Blood Heaven Great Emperor's memories. "Like clearing a blockage from the heart—the clean energy would flow to every corner of the realm."
『And once the Blood Demon Realm is stabilized,』 the Thunder Lightning King added excitedly, 『we can use it as a base of operations for cleansing the other two realms!』
"There's just one problem," Blood Flame said, her expression growing troubled. "The dimensional gates to the Blood Demon Realm are heavily corrupted. Normal travel methods won't work—the void energy would tear apart anyone trying to pass through."
『Not anyone,』 the Blood Heaven Great Emperor corrected with confidence. 『Jin Ho now has void resistance from our combined power, plus the Ice Soul Demon Emperor's temporal manipulation abilities. He can create a stable passage.』
"I can create a temporary dimensional corridor," Jin Ho said, understanding flowing through him. "The ice power can freeze the void corruption in place long enough for safe passage, while the blood and lightning energies maintain the structural integrity of the portal."
The gathered sect members looked at each other with expressions of growing hope and determination. For the first time since the crisis began, they had a plan that didn't involve sacrificing everything for a chance at delay.
"How long do you need to prepare?" Blood Flame asked.
Jin Ho consulted with the demon lords mentally, feeling their assessment of his current condition and the energy requirements for dimensional travel.
『We're ready now,』 all three said in unison. 『The Trinity Unity is stable, the weapon fusion is complete, and every moment we delay means more corruption spreads.』
"We can leave immediately," Jin Ho said. "But I want a small team only—this is going to be dangerous enough without worrying about protecting a large group."
"Blood Guard and myself," Blood Flame said immediately. "Plus two of our best dimensional specialists. Anyone else would just slow us down."
『A wise choice,』 the Ice Soul Demon Emperor approved. 『Smaller teams are more maneuverable in corrupted dimensional space.』
As the team prepared for what could be the most important mission in universal history, Jin Ho felt the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. But it was a different kind of weight than before—not crushing, but empowering. He had the tools now, the power and knowledge needed to actually make a difference.
The question was whether he had the skill to use them properly when everything depended on it.