Cheong had never once struggled in a one-on-one fight against anyone at the transcendent level, even back when she was only at that stage herself. Her habit of half-jokingly bragging about "transcending" to the next realm was actually part pride and part fact.

But Cheong was no longer merely transcendent.

The result was that Geomokgun got thoroughly, utterly beaten.

Every inch of her was struck without mercy. She was hit while extending her sword, struck mid-swing, kicked in the abdomen, her shin smacked, her neck jabbed, and her thigh bruised—an experience that left her legs buckling without her even realizing …