The moment Lee Seong-jun stepped fully into the gate, the world around him warped. A violent current dragged his body deeper, his vision swallowed in darkness before abruptly shifting. When light returned, a vast desert of yellow sand stretched endlessly before him, the air dry and scorching. Yet something was wrong. The exit behind him was gone, as if the path back had never existed.
The sensation reminded him of reports he had once read, stories of hunters caught in rare and unpredictable phenomena. He recognized it at once—this was no ordinary gate. It was a Frenzy Gate.
Unlike other gates filled with varied monsters and hidden traps, Frenzy Gates offered a cruel simplicity. One battlefield, one boss. Escape was impossible until the monster was slain. This suited Seong-jun perfectly. He had no interest in wasting energy on minor creatures or meaningless obstacles. His only concern was locating and defeating the final enemy.
For more than an hour, he wandered the barren desert, scanning the sands for signs of movement. His patience was finally rewarded when the ground trembled, and a storm of sand erupted in the distance. From within rose a colossal wormlike beast, its body stretching three meters long, armored in brown hide, its maw lined with countless razor teeth.
It was an Earth Worm, a monster he had studied during training in the past. Despite being a boss, its outer shell lacked visible plating. That detail only heightened his caution—it likely possessed abilities beyond ordinary worms.
Seong-jun readied himself. His condition was excellent, the battlefield empty and open, no distractions. This was the perfect stage to test the depth of his regained power. He activated his buff, feeling strength, agility, and stamina surge through his body. Internal energy spread into his limbs, his body honed like a weapon.
The Earth Worm screamed, sand swirling as it lunged forward, jaws open wide. Seong-jun blurred, vanishing from its path and reappearing at its side. His fist, charged with iron-breaking martial force, slammed into the beast's flank. The strike dented its hide but did little more. The worm screeched in fury and dove into the ground, vanishing beneath the sand.
Seong-jun narrowed his eyes. Ordinary Earth Worms could not burrow with such speed or ambush from below. This was a boss's special ability. A moment later, the ground beneath him burst open as the monster's gaping maw lunged upward. He leapt away, already expecting the attack.
For others, this creature would be a nightmare. Hard skin, endless burrows, sudden ambushes. But Seong-jun was not bound by ordinary means. Extending his inner energy across the desert floor, he traced the worm's movements beneath the sand. Its presence could not be hidden from him.
Instead of chasing, he chose to lure it out. Seong-jun pressed his palm against the ground and unleashed one of the Blood Sect's feared martial arts—the Blood Fire Dance, a destructive technique from the Myulcheonhyeolgong. Crimson bursts erupted from the sand, bullets of blood energy tearing across the ground. Though weakened by his current state, the attack rattled the earth and forced the worm to writhe in pain.
With a violent roar, the Earth Worm erupted from below, mouth wide and body twisting. Seong-jun leapt atop its head, his balance unshaken despite its furious thrashing. Memories of his past life flooded back—climbing cliffs while storms raged, defying death countless times. Compared to those trials, this was almost laughable.
Now he prepared for the finishing blow. The Myulcheonhyeolgong, the Blood Sect's ultimate destructive martial art, was infamous for its overwhelming power—and its price. Each use infected the user's mind with madness, a corrupting influence that could turn any warrior insane. But Seong-jun was no ordinary cultivator. He had once stood as Demon God himself. Such madness could never consume him.
Still, he hesitated. Using only controlled strength would not pierce the worm's thick hide. To kill it in one strike, he would need to unleash the technique fully, embracing its violent nature. He had avoided such extremes until now, but this battle demanded it.
Decision made, Seong-jun kicked off the worm's head, rising into the air. Energy surged within him, a crimson storm of destructive power forming at his command. His eyes were cold, resolute. The desert battlefield fell silent, as if holding its breath for the clash to come.