The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s spear struck down at Bu Eunseol like lightning.
Whoosh.
The spear shaft then created endless waves.
As the waves of the Illusion Dream Spear swept over him, Bu Eunseol’s skin was instantly covered in a blood-red hue. Just like the Blood Bone Blade, the Illusion Dream Spear Technique also had a phantom-like nature. It was something that ordinary martial arts could not block.
‘Is it directly hitting the mind and soul?’
Every time the spear tip grazed him, a terrifying energy condensed with all the malice and hatred of the world directly struck Bu Eunseol’s mind and soul. The pain began in the body. It felt as if tens of thousands of blades were tearing through his insides from deep within his soul.
Suddenly he felt something in his body. It was an extremely faint sensation, but Bu Eunseol did not miss the clue.
Suddenly, his shadow multiplied into dozens, matching the afterimages of the Illusion Dream Spear.
It was not that his body had multiplied like afterimages. Instead, he had applied one of the highest principles of the Swift Beyond Shadow Technique—the Hundred Body Forms.
By using it as if deploying clone techniques, he split his pain into dozens of parts.
As expected.
Bu Eunseol looked at the wounds left by the Illusion Dream Spear on his body and instantly found the solution.
Papapapa!
In the meantime, the Illusion Dream Spear poured down with ferocious momentum.
It had no discernible form, like mist, and moved like living creatures with sharp energy, directly striking the body and soul. Moreover, because it was not a real sharp spear, one could only mistake it for a formless force.
‘This is also a wave.’
The Illusion Dream Spear possessed the same wave-like properties as the secret technique unleashed by Myeong Myeol that had once killed the previous Blood God Heavenly Lord. That was why it was difficult to block with martial arts or protective energy, and even without piercing the skin or delivering physical impact, it could inflict intense blows that felt as if tearing the body and soul apart.
‘Fighting many enemies has helped.’
From Bu Eunseol’s perspective, since he had already dismantled similar martial arts before, creating a counter force against the Illusion Dream Spear was not that difficult.
Thud. Thud.
Bu Eunseol spread the Martial Lotus Palm with his bare hands to shatter the formation while simultaneously stomping his feet.
Every time the vibration spread, the Illusion Dream Spear’s copies that ignored distance and dug in gradually became blurry. He had precisely sensed the intensity of the waves unleashed by the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord and was generating identical waves to cancel out the power of the Illusion Dream Spear Technique.
“This bastard…”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord widened his eyes in disbelief.
Even if one knew the method of the Illusion Wind Palm, canceling out those waves required god-like senses and the ability to precisely control internal energy. Yet how could he create the exact same waves just by stomping his feet?
How could someone so young display such divine skill?
As the invisible waves collided in the air and annihilated each other, the Illusion Dream Spear Technique could no longer exert any power.
Papapa! Boom!
Bu Eunseol shattered the falling bloody mist with the Endless Heavenly Light Art while deploying the Swift Beyond Shadow Technique, relentlessly pressuring them.
Eventually, as the Brilliant Net Blood Bones that the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King prided as his true power disappeared, the blood-red mist gradually faded. Likewise, when the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s Illusion Dream Spear lost its mysterious power, it degenerated into ordinary spearmanship.
If they had walked the path of martial arts steadily step by step? Even if Bu Eunseol found a countermeasure, they would have immediately changed tactics and driven him back with new methods.
However, under the plausible name of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants, they had only focused on expanding their forces. Instead of building strength through their own sweat and effort, they chose the easy path of bowing to evil and gaining power effortlessly.
Therefore, even though they could display Infinite Reversal Power, it was qualitatively different from the Limitless Realm reached by the great masters of the Central Plains.
When their own philosophy was dismantled in an instant, they fell into helpless confusion.
‘Rather, the Elephant King, who stubbornly strives to elevate the Eight Iron Arts to the Great Completion realm, seems far stronger than these guys.’
As Bu Eunseol inwardly sneered, nearly all of the millions of blood bones were shattered.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King lost his ferocious momentum and descended to the ground, slowly returning to his original form.
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord, who had been swinging the Illusion Dream Spear while moving like a phantom, also returned to his normal state.
Sweating profusely like an ordinary martial artist, he continued to display the Illusion Dream Spear Technique against Bu Eunseol. In the end, however, before Bu Eunseol’s pure martial arts, the powerful winning methods that the two of the Eight Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants had prided themselves on were neutralized.
“This cannot be!”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord roared furiously and rapidly closed the distance, unleashing the Illusion Dream Spear. But once again, Bu Eunseol’s foot touched the ground, and a subtle vibration spread across the entire area.
Clang.
In that moment, the tip of the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s spear stopped exactly at the tip of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
“Haaap!”
The flustered Illusion Dream Fortress Lord poured all his energy into driving the Illusion Dream Spear forward with a shout, but the spear shaft moved as slowly as if stuck in sticky glue. No matter how hard he tried, the spear tip trembled in the air and would not advance any further.
Despair bloomed in the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s ghost-energy-laden eyes, mixed with green light. Bu Eunseol had not only perfectly destroyed their techniques but had also pierced their fundamental principles and dismantled their very essence.
There was no longer any room for resistance.
“Uwaaaak!”
At that moment, the two men saw Yu Cheongrim screaming and running around in all directions.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s eyes met in the air.
Hadn’t the saying existed since ancient times: when there is a difficult path, find an easy one and go around?
They simultaneously reached out toward Yu Cheongrim.
Flash!
At that moment, a brilliant light burst from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
The right arms of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord fell to the ground at the same time.
Having seen through their intentions, Bu Eunseol had severed both their arms.
“Good.”
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord lost all dignity and let out groans.
At that moment, a vibration that shook the earth spread from afar. Finally, the main forces of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress had arrived near the Crescent Palace.
“Do you think you’ve won?”
Having grasped the situation, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King regained his momentum and showed a vicious smile.
“Even if you take our heads, the people of Ratna Fortress, including the Crescent Palace, will not survive.”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord also sneered.
“Because the forces of both sects will sweep this place clean!”
Eventually, the earth-shaking sound grew close enough to be heard clearly. It seemed the armies of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress had arrived right in front of the city.
The smile on the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King’s coldly smiling lips disappeared.
Instead of frantically dismantling the formation and rushing out to fight the enemies, Bu Eunseol was looking somewhere with a relaxed expression.
[Are you ready?]
At Bu Eunseol’s thousand-li transmission,
[I’m coming now.]
A clear and beautiful voice spread out.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, white-clad figures soared up from inside the Crescent Palace.
As the castle gates opened, thousands of disciples began running out using qinggong.
It was Soyo and the disciples of the Crescent Palace.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord looked at the thousands of disciples emerging from the Crescent Palace and burst into hearty laughter.
“Khahaha!”
“Do you think you can repel an army of fifty thousand with those numbers?”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord also sneered.
“If they can stop the forces of our palace and the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect, I will cut off my own head and offer it to you.”
Their boast was not empty.
No matter how much Soyo had led countless battles to victory alongside the world-renowned genius Bu Eunseol, overcoming a tenfold difference in military strength was nearly impossible. Moreover, their opponents were the great armies of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress, who revered the Cheonchuk.
Regardless of their mockery, Bu Eunseol’s eyes deepened as he gazed at the spot where Soyo had left.
He recalled the time when he had decided to go to Ratna Fortress to find clues about the sacred object.
From the moment he decided to head to Ratna Fortress, Yoo Unryong had read Bu Eunseol’s mind and used the Death Spirit Corps—now the Four Holy Clans’ commerce group—to thoroughly investigate the situation in the Cheonchuk, including Ratna Fortress.
The Four Holy Clans then delivered astonishing information.
—The atmosphere in the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress is unusual.
They had detected signs that the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress were secretly moving large forces toward Ratna Fortress.
What a coincidence.
If Mok Do-in had not mentioned the sacred object in the Crescent Palace, he would not have mobilized the intelligence network of the Four Holy Clans to uncover the movements of Cheonchuk, and he would never have known about Ratna Fortress’s crisis.
After much deliberation, before coming here, he met with Gampana, the head of the Four Holy Clans’ commerce group and the young patriarch of the Four Holy Clans.
—How many troops does the Four Holy Clans currently have?
In response to Bu Eunseol’s question, Gampana respectfully replied.
—Three hundred elite warriors are ready.
They could freely use the power of the sacred object, allowing them to stand shoulder to shoulder with supreme experts of the martial world. Moreover, due to the nature of their power, they could exert even greater strength in large-scale battles.
‘A good opportunity.’
Having finished his thoughts, Bu Eunseol nodded.
—Mobilize all the elite warriors of the Four Holy Clans and entrust their command to the Elephant King.
—The Elephant King?
—He will provide support.
Gampana looked confused.
The Elephant King had not only suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Seolso, the Martial Soul Society Lord, but had also lost his son, Sangdo Yumong.
Yet he was going to support them with troops?
—Take this.
Bu Eunseol took out a scroll from his bosom and handed it to him.
—And send Ahwan as a messenger. If you tell him this, he will understand.
Though Gampana could not understand at all, he followed Bu Eunseol’s order and sent Ahwan to the Elephant Sect.
—What!
Upon hearing Ahwan’s explanation, the Elephant King’s eyes turned white with rage.
Watching the Four Holy Clans grow under his protection in the Four Star Merchant Guild was already painful enough. Now he had to command the Four Holy Clans and even fight other Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants on their behalf?
—Moreover, simultaneously against the forces of both the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress?
As the Elephant King raged,
—In any case, this is good for you as well.
Ahwan unfolded the scroll and began reading Bu Eunseol’s message.
—The people of the Cheonchuk all know that the Four Holy Clans have expanded their influence as a commerce group while growing under the protection of the Elephant Sect.
In other words, if the Four Holy Clans engage in battle with them, they will think the Elephant Sect is behind it.
Ahwan quickly continued reading.
—Furthermore, if those two greedy bastards swallow up Ratna Fortress as well, it will naturally become a great threat to the Elephant Sect, which only possesses a small territory in the Four Star Merchant Guild.
As Ahwan continued speaking, she saw the Elephant King’s eyes turn white as he twisted his cauldron-lid-like fist and quickly waved his hands.
—No! These are not my words. They are from the Martial Soul Society Lord.
And she carefully added,
—May I continue? Or should I stop?
The Elephant King blinked his large eyes and wanted to punch Ahwan’s head for repeatedly asking, but if he did, the Martial Soul Society Lord would come. Since he had not yet reached the Great Completion realm with the Eight Iron Arts, if Bu Eunseol came, his head would be cut off in a single breath.
If only he completed the Eight Iron Arts…
—What?
—Read it quickly!
—Then I will continue reading.
Ahwan once again read the scroll aloud. The Elephant King, leaning back in his chair and listening, felt as if steam was rising from his head.
But there was no fault in the words.
If the forces of the Four Holy Clans attacked the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord to protect Ratna Fortress?
Whether they won or lost, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress would judge that the Elephant Sect was behind the Four Holy Clans.
They would soon invade the Four Star Merchant Guild.
In that case, it was better to participate in this battle where the Martial Soul Society Lord guaranteed victory and strike them first. There was no need to rack his already aching head. Either way, the Elephant Sect could not avoid this battle.
Watching the Elephant King clutch the back of his neck, Ahwan carefully continued reading the scroll.
—It would be better to participate in this battle now and blunt their vanguard. If so, the prestige of the Elephant Sect will shake the Cheonchuk, and you will no longer be merely one of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants…
—Enough!
Unable to endure any longer, the Elephant King reached out.
Gritting his teeth, he said,
—Fine! I will send the Eight Great Elephant Generals to support the Four Holy Clans’ battle. However!
Blood vessels rose in his eyes.
—The time when this king reaches the Great Completion realm with the Eight Iron Arts is not far. So tell him to wash his neck and wait.
—What?
—Tell the Martial Soul Society Lord!
Ahwan, who had been making a blank expression, suddenly smiled brightly.
Only then did she realize. No matter how many hundreds of years the Elephant King trained in martial arts, he could never defeat Bu Eunseol. He would eventually become a loyal subordinate after constantly talking about completing the Eight Iron Arts.
***
Bu Eunseol, awakened from his recollection, smiled.
According to Ahwan, the Elephant Sect had secretly sent all eight of the Eight Great Elephant Generals.
If the warriors of the Four Holy Clans joined them, and if Soyo commanded them? There was no way they could lose.
“Let’s make a bet,” Bu Eunseol said calmly.
“What if you block them?”
“What?”
“I, the Society Lord, will wait here.”
Bu Eunseol spoke leisurely while looking in all directions.
“Instead, if you repel them, I will quietly withdraw and not interfere for thirty years.”
The sects of the Cheonchuk would definitely seek revenge until their sect was destroyed if their leader died. Moreover, the forces of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress were still intact.
If Bu Eunseol beheaded the leaders of both forces?
From that moment on, Ratna Fortress and the Crescent Palace would have to fight endless battles against the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress.
“Is that acceptable?”
At that moment, the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord asked.
“If it were me, I would have the forces to destroy both our palace and the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect.”
Of course, the forces of the Martial Soul Society would be more than enough to defeat the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress.
But he offered another option.
“You would have to kill them all.”
Bu Eunseol said indifferently.
“Even the innocent martial artists and their families.”
“Even if we do not touch Ratna Fortress, we have sworn loyalty to the Three Attendants.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes, gazing at the distant sky, were filled with silence.
“There are not only you who swore loyalty to the True Demon. If I wipe out the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress, another force will emerge.”
Bu Eunseol said calmly.
“Instead, it would be better for more people if guys like you—moderately fearful and good at reading the times—remain crouched down. That would be the path to saving more lives.”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord made a dazed expression for a moment.
It was an extremely insulting remark, yet for some reason, it felt as if Bu Eunseol was looking out for them.
“Fine. If you can stop our forces, we will never approach Ratna Fortress for thirty years.”
“Rahula.”
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King shouted in surprise.
“Are you afraid of death?”
“Vajra Khan. This is fate.”
The Illusion Dream Fortress Lord said.
“Didn’t they say? In the end, what we do is merely the process.”
For a moment, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed. Was there someone among the upper echelons who could foresee the future?
“If you don’t like it, I won’t force you.”
At the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord’s words, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King closed his mouth. After all, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect alone could not face the Elephant Sect and the Crescent Palace.
“Fine.”
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King shouted to his subordinates.
“Stop the attack.”
As the Chaos Star Red Ghosts stopped their attack, Yu Cheongrim, whose entire body was covered in blood, crawled out from between them with difficulty.
“Is it over?”
Yu Cheongrim brightened upon seeing the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord standing with severed arms.
“Then please cut off their heads and avenge me!”
“Stop for now.”
Bu Eunseol said with a solemn expression.
“Now is the time to watch their fight.”
“What? Those bastards were just trying to kill me a moment ago…”
Yu Cheongrim tried to point at the Chaos Star Red Ghosts with a face full of dissatisfaction, but as Bu Eunseol’s gaze grew increasingly solemn, he had no choice but to step aside.
Tap.
Bu Eunseol used qinggong to ascend the spire of the Crescent Palace.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord also climbed the spire despite their severed arms.
Since all of them had vision superior to that of an eagle, they could watch the entire battle taking place far below.
Through their alliance, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King and the Illusion Dream Fortress Lord were able to obtain the important information that what they desired was the whereabouts of the True Demon. They had also figured out that the two were equally cruel, greedy, and cunning.
Even before arriving at Ratna Fortress, they had leaked false information through the intelligence network of the Four Holy Clans.
What they wanted anyway was the whereabouts of the True Demon. The force that first stationed troops in the Crescent Palace and seized the sacred object would monopolize the credit.
Soyo had already analyzed the forces coming from the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress and had devised a strategy to maximize the use of Ratna Fortress’s limited resources and terrain.
They selected quick-witted disciples from the Crescent Palace to gather information on the enemy camp. Once such rumors secretly spread, the two armies could not harmonize.
The two leaders had only cooperated temporarily out of necessity. From the beginning, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress did not have a close relationship nor did they trust each other.
When such rumors spread, a competitive spirit was bound to ignite secretly.
“We believe in the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect!”
At the messenger’s cry, Soyo said in a loud voice.
—Proceed as planned!
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect’s forces were numerous and valiant, but they were somewhat stubborn and preferred straightforward, linear attacks.
Fortunately, Ratna Fortress was located in barren mountainous terrain.
Soyo hid elite troops in narrow canyons and forests along the path to the city and used small numbers to lure the enemy. When the enemies pursued, they activated traps or dropped pre-prepared falling rocks. They repeatedly used hit-and-run ambush tactics to blunt the enemy’s vanguard and increase their fatigue.
They also used the steep cliffs and rugged terrain around the city as defensive lines. They placed archers and catapult units in places difficult for the enemy to climb and launched one-sided attacks.
“The great army of the Illusion Dream Fortress is approaching!”
On the other hand, the Illusion Dream Fortress’s forces were fewer but excelled in illusions and strange gates, making them difficult to predict.
Accordingly, Soyo taught the Crescent Palace disciples mental techniques to maintain concentration and several tips to distinguish reality from illusion when caught in illusions.
—Illusions generally deceive sight and hearing.
Soyo carried mirrors to reflect light during battles with the Illusion Dream Fortress and had some units carry fireworks or instruments that made loud noises to disrupt the enemy’s illusion casting and scatter their concentration.
—Waaaaah!
Under Soyo’s command, after suppressing the vanguard of both sects and blunting their momentum, the Crescent Palace disciples shouted with soaring morale.
“These bastards!”
Having grasped the situation, the martial artists of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress ground their teeth and slowly gathered their fifty-thousand-strong army. They intended to launch an all-out offensive at once so that the Crescent Palace could not defeat them individually.
Finally, the fifty-thousand-strong army surged forward like a tidal wave and launched a total assault. Moreover, because they maintained the unique attack formations of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress, unless the forces were equal, no matter how ingenious the tactics or strategies, they would not work.
At that moment, the sound of a horn rang out from around the Crescent Palace, and suddenly, an army of ten thousand revealed itself behind the forces of the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress.
It was the Elephant Sect’s army commanded by the Eight Great Elephant Generals.
—The Elephant Sect has joined the battle?
Seeing them charging with high momentum, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood Sect and the Illusion Dream Fortress immediately realized the situation.
—No, those guys are not allies!
Only then did they realize.
The Elephant Sect had not come to join them but was a reinforcement force that had rushed over to save the Crescent Palace.
—Attack!
The experts of the Elephant Sect dodged most attacks and wildly tore into the rear forces of both camps.
In the meantime, the Four Holy Clans, empowered by the sacred object, poured out mysterious power, creating a formation as if a giant spear was pushing forward.
—Now!
At that moment, Soyo’s shout echoed across the battlefield.
The Crescent Palace disciples charged forward wrapped in mysterious power with their lives on the line. Behind them were the Elephant Sect’s forces and the Four Holy Clans that had departed from the Four Star Merchant Guild.
In this situation, they were caught in a pincer attack from both sides, left with no way to advance or retreat.
Watching this scene, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King gritted his teeth.
“Sangdo Gangcheon, that bastard was the Martial Soul Society’s dog.”
The Cheonchuk was effectively under the rule of the Cheonchuk merchants, who had held power for a long time and leisurely enjoyed their authority. Because of this, the leaders of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants had never once experienced the Central Plains’ style of combat, which prioritized information over military strength and built elaborate strategies based on it.
“This cannot be.”
At that moment, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King let out a furious cry.
“This cannot be!”
In his rage, he finally turned his body.
Then, flying like a hawk, he reached out toward Yu Cheongrim, who was standing there blankly.
Since defeat was already clear, he intended to at least kill one of Bu Eunseol’s close aides to vent his frustration.
.…!
Yu Cheongrim barely avoided the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King’s palm force, but the powerful shockwave grazed him, sending him flying over ten jang away with a short scream. As a result, the ancient formations installed in the Crescent Palace gradually disappeared, and the surrounding scenery began to reveal itself clearly.
The formation had broken because Yu Cheongrim, who had been the living core of the formation, had suffered severe injuries.
“You dare break the promise?”
Bu Eunseol immediately deployed Thunder Spirit Energy.
Accompanied by thunderous rage, the power of the Heavenly Star Explosion, filled with Thunder Spirit Energy, poured down on the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King.
Bang!
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King, who had blocked the strike, trembled violently with his massive body.
His body was harder than the Diamond Indestructible Body, but when the power condensed with three divine energies penetrated him, he felt unbearable pain. In the end, the Ten Thousand Bone Blood King fell to one knee.
At that moment, the formation completely lifted.
The martial artists and citizens looking up at the tall altar let out exclamations.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King Vajra Khan was kneeling on one knee, and before him, Bu Eunseol stood tall, looking down like a victor.
The sight was like a heavenly god descending to deal with the envoys of evil.
The Ten Thousand Bone Blood King trembled with despair.
The position of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants was like that of gods who ruled over the people in the Cheonchuk. There was a belief that the weak or those born lowly had sinned in their previous lives, while those who were outstanding had accumulated immense karma. Therefore, those who used transcendent martial arts and sorcery were treated as if they were gods incarnate. No one dared to even think of opposing them, and their every word and gesture was regarded as the will of heaven.
Yet by kneeling in defeat before a young martial artist from the Central Plains, all the prestige they had built up until now collapsed.
—To think that such a young man made one of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants kneel…
A being like a god walking the earth.
An absolute existence that people worshipped, feared, and could not defy.
The man who made such a being kneel was not someone who followed fate like themselves in the eyes of the common people…
He was a person who rewrote fate.
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