A man of pure shamelessness had arrived, standing before death itself.
A foolish idiot indeed… wasn't he?
Who did he think he was? Trying to change the world? Ah… don't make me laugh.
Did he truly believe he could change the world? Such thoughts only remained foolishly buried within his heart.
Even the mortal ruler had abandoned us—so what hope could someone like him possibly have?
Ahh… just an idiot.
Many thoughts filled the air within the black space of the ice mountain, where a cold wind lingered endlessly. Suddenly, a voice could be heard, echoing through the frozen silence.
Three million years passed like an instant.
Once, I dreamed as if I were a butterfly, trembling within my own dream, trying to find reality itself. Yet beneath the cursed sky, only the wraith of equality existed.
It does not matter if you die in the end. First, know yourself… or else even heaven will know you before you do.
Blood rain fell from the sky, cleansing nothing—only the string of fate itself. Human suffering… perhaps that is what changes the hearts of people today.
I will always remain kindhearted.
— Sun Tzu, throughout all ages.
[ARC: Battle of the Region Continent — Begin]
...
Father… who is Sun Tzu?
The Sage Emperor.
A young boy stood quietly in place. His hair was a strange blend of raven black, blue, and white, shimmering as if three colors existed within a single strand.
He wore a long blue tunic with wide, elegant sleeves that puffed slightly at the edges, and simple sandals upon his feet.
The supreme elder sat at a table near the window, gazing outside. After a moment, he turned back with a gentle smile and handed the boy a large book.
Its cover depicted a bald man holding a flower, his head shining beneath a golden robe.
The supreme elder mixed herbs, soil, and flowers within a bowl.
While working, he spoke softly, still smiling.
"Sun Tzu was the most brilliant man in the entire mortal world… a being who stood against the ideology of Renewal."
"Renewal represents destruction… while Sun Tzu represents peace."
He looked up and sighed gently.
Sun Tzu was once a violent man—one who had committed the most horrifying crimes imaginable. And yet, he changed his path… becoming the most gentle man in the mortal world.
He opened the book.
This was written by the Mortal Library… and also by Sun Tzu himself.
In the Legend of Sun Tzu
He was born as an ordinary scholar in a small village. Until the age of thirty, he lived a simple and unremarkable life, achieving nothing beyond what could be called ordinary accomplishments.
Yet, strangely enough, those small achievements were enough for him. He once believed he had already fulfilled his purpose in life. There was no pressure, no fear of failure—only a quiet acceptance of his own existence.
He had already done what he wanted to do.
And yet… every passing year, a quiet regret grew within his heart.
He regretted not becoming an immortal.
Even though he lived a life many would consider complete and peaceful, he still longed for something beyond it.
He wished to become an immortal… a healer among immortals, someone who could save lives and ease suffering.
It sounded childish. Perhaps even foolish. Too soft-hearted for the harsh world.
But that was truly what he desired.
However, there was one problem.
He had no soul force energy.
If others had learned this truth, they would have given up immediately on the path of immortality.
But Sun Tzu refused.
He did not stop.
Instead, he continued searching—traveling across his village, seeking any possible method, any forbidden path that could allow him to rise beyond his limits.
Until one day, he discovered something known as the Blood Realm.
A place where even those without talent… even those abandoned by fate… could awaken their power.
But the price was terrible.
In order to awaken, one had to kill and consume the lives of others.
It was a path stained with cruelty—one that society itself condemned.
Sun Tzu stood at the edge of that truth, looking down into the abyss of his future.
And there… he made his choice.
He became an evil cultivator.
For seventy years, he walked that dark path.
And through countless sins and bloodshed, he eventually reached the level of a Sage Artist rank.
Yet even then, he did not reveal his crimes.
He hid everything carefully, covering his past with wealth earned through soul coins, bribing the authorities of ordination itself.
On the surface, he was no monster.
He was known as a healer.
A man who saved lives. A man who brought people back from the edge of death.
No one knew the truth beneath that kindness.
He fought in wars.
And somehow… he survived.
Years passed.
He built a village of his own.
He created a family.
A life that finally felt like peace.
One day, he was outside cutting wood.
Sweat ran down his forehead as he worked. He casually ordered his servant to cut more wood for him before turning back toward home.
A warm meal was waiting for him.
A normal life.
A peaceful ending… or so he believed.
The supreme elder paused, holding the book tightly.
But when Sun Tzu opened the door—
He saw it.
His family lay lifeless on the ground.
For a moment… the world stopped.
Terror filled his heart.
And then, he looked forward.
There stood the founder of the Blood Realm.
The same being who had once granted him power… now stood before him again.
His family had been drained of life—left as hollow remains, as if even their existence had been erased.
Sun Tzu collapsed to his knees.
The Renewal Sect expected rage.
They expected hatred.
They expected madness.
But instead…
Sun Tzu felt something else.
Regret.
Not for what had been done to him…
But for what he had done to others.
This was his own punishment.
His own return of fate.
Every life he had taken… every family he had destroyed… it all came back to him in that moment.
And yet…
He did not curse the world.
He did not scream at heaven.
He simply lowered his head.
And cried.
For three weeks, he did not sleep properly.
For three weeks, he remained in silence.
And still…
He did not hate Renewal.
Instead, he began to question everything.
Why does death exist in this world?
Why does pain exist in my mind?
Why does my body tremble when I think of morality?
Why does my heart continue to beat in suffering?
He looked down at his own feet.
And for the first time…
He truly saw the world.
The wind moved through the trees.
Leaves rustled softly.
Life continued as if nothing had happened.
So many lifetimes had already passed.
After twenty years of bitter cultivation…
Sun Tzu had finally reached the peak of his path.
He stood silently.
And then…
He began to understand something.
A long silence followed his awakening of thought.
Sun Tzu stood alone in the world he had built—yet somehow, it no longer felt like his own. The weight of everything he had done and everything he had lost pressed quietly against his heart.
And still… life continued.
The wind still moved through the trees.
The world still breathed.
Time still flowed forward without mercy.
...
One day, Sun Tzu held his wife's hand.
He sat beside her quietly, while doctors stood nearby, covering a cloth gently over her body.
A soft cry of a newborn echoed in the room.
Sun Tzu's expression twisted for a moment.
Not with joy… not with anger…
But with something far more complicated.
He looked at his wife.
She was holding a newborn child in her arms.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he slowly stood up and walked outside.
The cold air greeted him.
The sky above was quiet… almost empty.
And then he saw it.
A pack of wolves hunting a deer.
The deer ran desperately through the forest, its hooves striking the frozen ground. But the wolves did not stop. They chased it with patient hunger, their eyes fixed on survival.
One wolf leapt forward.
The deer stumbled over a fallen branch.
In that single moment of weakness—
The leader of the pack struck.
Its teeth sank into the deer's neck.
The deer cried out.
A final, desperate sound.
And then… silence.
Sun Tzu watched everything without moving.
The wind passed through him.
The world felt unbearably clear.
He slowly raised his head toward the sky.
And gently placed a hand against his forehead.
"So… this is life and death…"
He laughed softly.
But it was not a happy laugh.
It was bitter… almost broken.
For a long time, he had searched for meaning.
What is life?
What is death?
Why are people born?
Why do they suffer?
And now… he finally began to see an answer.
Everything in the world existed because of cause and effect.
When a human is born, their life is already moving toward its end.
Time itself begins to count down the moment existence begins.
Life is not just joy.
It is not just pain.
It is something in between.
Something bittersweet.
A beginning that already carries an ending.
And death…
Death is not destruction alone.
It is release.
A return.
A quiet ending to a journey that was always temporary.
Sun Tzu lowered his gaze.
The world felt different now.
"So this is it…"
"If I am to die one day… then I should leave something behind."
He laughed again, softly.
As if something inside him had finally shifted.
...
"I will step forward… and become immortal."
"Let heaven witness the existence of Sun Tzu."
"Let even fate remember my name."
The supreme elder closed the book gently.
He smiled faintly.
"This is only the beginning… the first book of Sun Tzu. Just a warm-up."
He turned slightly.
"Why are you interested in him?" he asked.
The young boy, who had been listening quietly, slowly stood up.
He smiled.
"I've been reading many books these past days."
"I found a figure in the Mortal Library… named Sun Tzu."
"And I saw his name appear more than once in the records of Renewal."
The supreme elder stroked his beard slowly, looking out through the window.
Sunlight touched his face gently.
"Go back to your room, brat."
"Your body is still not awakened."
"At this moment… you are only a fragment of your spirit."
A soft sigh escaped the boy.
But he did not argue.
He turned away.
And walked forward—
passing through the wall as if it did not exist.
Then he stopped.
Came back.
And hugged the supreme elder tightly.
The supreme elder smiled quietly and patted his back.
Time passed in silence.
Finally, the elder turned away.
The soil, herbs, and grass he had been mixing slowly condensed into a glowing sphere.
He infused it with soul force energy… then placed it into his soul realm.
He stood up.
"Goodbye, my son…"
"This may be the last time we meet."
He paused.
"If I survive… I hope to see you at your awakening ceremony."
"I would teach you the way of immortality."
"I would treat you as my own child."
Silence.
"…Thank you, uncle."
The supreme elder gently touched the door.
"Take care of yourself."
And then—
He vanished from the space.
🌍 Empire Continent
A vast field of wild grass stretched endlessly.
Frost covered the ground like a silent blanket.
Dark clouds slowly gathered in the sky.
Trees stood frozen, wrapped in vines and snow.
The world felt abandoned… yet alive.
A herd of deer moved across the field, leaping carefully through the frozen land.
But behind them—
A massive wolf pack followed.
Their teeth were stained with blood.
Their eyes burned with hunger.
The chase was not just survival.
It was instinct.
It was fate.
The deer fought back desperately, striking with its horns.
The wolf roared in rage, refusing to stop.
Both sides fought only to survive.
One to live in peace.
The other to continue living at all.
And then…
Far beyond them—
A mountain of ice rose into the sky.
Inside it…
A black void.
And within that void stood a man.
A bald-headed figure with a shining crown-like skull.
He wore a finely designed robe, its sleeves flowing like smoke.
A purple garment wrapped his waist.
Chains and rings adorned his wrists and legs.
He stood… powerful and still.
"I, Sun Tzu…"
"…will always be kind."
And in that moment—
A voice answered from beyond.
A butterfly drifted through the wind… and fell gently between branches.
A snake crawled across the ground.
It raised its head—
and struck.
Poison spread through the butterfly's body in silence.
A man stood there.
Tall.
Wearing a straw hat.
A red garment draped across his body.
He touched the brim of his hat gently.
He looked toward the ice mountain.
"The second supreme elder… and the second strongest of the Empire Continent."
"The one who froze Sun Tzu…"
"The Empire of Peace itself."