An unexpected situation had occurred.
However, Bu Eunseol's expression was as calm as could be.
"The Arang Plaque is the only divine artifact of our pavilion and a legacy handed down by our ancestors."
Staring straight at Ak Muryeong, Bu Eunseol spoke politely, yet calmly.
"I will protect this with my life."
Swoosh.
The Arang Plaque, which had been emitting heat, was instantly covered in a blue aura.
He was lightly drawing up the power of nature, the Crystal Divine Energy, to push away only the heat.
"Hmph."
Ak Muryeong snorted.
He knew all too well that Bu Eunseol had learned the North Sea Ice Palace's Glacier Heavenly Flow Art and the Snow Blossom Sect's Ice Crystal Snow Blossom Energy.
Nevertheless, he thought the reason Bu Eunseol didn't deploy them all at once was because he prided himself on his pure internal energy being superior.
Whoosh.
In an instant, flames sparked again in Ak Muryeong's eyes.
Then, as if to swallow the blue aura covering the Arang Plaque, bright red flames blazed fiercely, and the blazing heat spread in all directions.
But it was strange.
Naturally, he should have deployed the Extreme Yin Art to extinguish the heat.
Yet, Bu Eunseol remained standing tall with a peaceful gaze, as if admiring the water mist rising on a quiet lakeshore, still covering the Arang Plaque only with the Crystal Divine Energy, without any sign of drawing up his internal energy.
Crack. Creak.
Even though the Arang Plaque was protected by the Crystal Divine Energy, because he wasn't blocking the internal energy pouring out from Ak Muryeong.
Bu Eunseol's body was crushed, and the sound of his bones twisting echoed continuously.
He was only blocking the heat pouring onto the Arang Plaque with the Crystal Divine Energy.
And he was silently enduring the pouring internal energy with his body.
In an instant, Ak Muryeong's eyes flashed.
With pure internal energy alone, no one under heaven could match Bu Eunseol.
Moreover, even if there was a gap in their martial arts, with his martial prowess, protecting a single command plaque was not a difficult task.
Nevertheless, in order not to diminish the prestige of Pavilion Lord Ak Muryeong, he wasn't using his internal energy.
He was silently enduring the pain.
―'I will protect this with my life.'
Bu Eunseol was strictly carrying out those words.
Only, disregarding his own life, he was also solemnly upholding his duty as a disciple of the Nangyang Pavilion.
Grind.
Ak Muryeong grit his teeth.
Even in the history of the Nangyang Pavilion, where there were rarely any sane people, Bu Eunseol was by far the greatest madman.
How on earth could he break that deranged madness, that stubbornness like an ox's tendon?
Sizzle.
Eventually, the melting Arang Plaque slowly began to regain its original form.
At the same time, Ak Muryeong's momentum was also slowly subsiding.
* * *
Around the time Bu Eunseol finished his reminiscence.
"Shin Domubi. You've truly gone crazy."
Ak Muryeong, revealing his fangs, looked down at the Heavenly Emperor and swallowed his saliva.
"If it's come to this, it would be better to just send you to hell."
Ak Muryeong's figure, pouring out a white radiance.
Was the figure of a Madman Under Heaven, no less than the Heavenly Emperor who was dyed in madness.
"Now, I won't call you the sky of the Orthodox Faction, but the greatest madman of the Orthodox Faction!"
Bang!
Narrowing the distance in an instant, Ak Muryeong drove his fist deep into the Heavenly Emperor's lower abdomen.
The Heavenly Emperor, flying like a cannonball, crashed into trees tens of jang away, causing them to collapse with a rumble.
Rumble.
The Heavenly Emperor, slowly rising from the dirt and dust, walked over slowly, bleeding from his mouth.
Step, step, halt.
Standing tall in front of Ak Muryeong again, he tilted his head.
It was like a provocation to strike him once more.
"Hehehe."
Ak Muryeong pointed a finger at the Heavenly Emperor's face and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
He let out such a satisfying burst of mad laughter that his face was covered entirely in wrinkles.
"Even though you're crazy, your pride is still alive."
In the past, the Heavenly Emperor had fought Ak Muryeong several times, and each time, he deployed the iron wall-like Profound Gate Astral Qi to take his bare fists head-on.
And now.
Having tasted Ak Muryeong's terrifying punch, he was instinctively showing the might of that time.
Bang!
Without a second word, Ak Muryeong.
Once again drove a punch into the Heavenly Emperor's lower abdomen.
But an astonishing thing happened.
Only an explosion echoed, and the Heavenly Emperor was standing tall, looking at Ak Muryeong, wasn't he?
Smirk.
The Heavenly Emperor, wearing a madness-filled smile, raised his fist.
Bang!
This time, Ak Muryeong was sent flying tens of jang away.
Rumble.
Ak Muryeong, raising his body from the pile of stones, had eyes that flashed like a pair of ghost lanterns amidst the spreading dust.
"Even though you're crazy, your fists are still useful."
Step, step.
Every time he took a step, the surrounding space distorted.
Whoosh.
In an instant, Ak Muryeong's right fist was sucking in the light of the whole world.
He was concentrating the power of Annihilation and Destruction, capable of breaking all martial arts under heaven.
As this desperate moment approached.
Twitch, twitch.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Emperor began to move his fingers minutely.
Sensing instinctively that Ak Muryeong wasn't simply concentrating power in his fist, but pouring out the culmination of the martial arts under heaven he had learned all this time.
Contrary to Ak Muryeong who was concentrating power, he was using a profound principle to unravel the flow of power.
Twitch, twitch, twitch.
The minute and profound movements of the Heavenly Emperor's fingers.
Predicted entirely the series of moments when Ak Muryeong's punch, containing the destructive power of world annihilation, would be deployed.
And were severing them.
'The Heavenly Emperor remembers the death match with the Pavilion Lord in the past with his body.'
Bu Eunseol, watching from a distance, clenched his fists tightly.
The Heavenly Emperor, who hadn't shown any particular reaction even when seeing his sworn brother, the Martial Venerable.
In the battle with Ak Muryeong, even while gripped by madness, he was using the profound principles of martial arts.
Rumble.
Ak Muryeong was still concentrating his power.
And the Heavenly Emperor was minutely moving his fingers in time with those movements, unraveling the power.
As that time gradually lengthened.
"Get lost!"
Ak Muryeong let out a booming shout and unleashed a punch that would shake the mountains and rivers.
Crack.
Instantly, web-like cracks spread across the ground where the Heavenly Emperor stood.
Nevertheless, the Heavenly Emperor stood calmly.
He stood tall as if he had become a thousand-year-old rock, minutely moving his fingers, continuing the battle of wits to blunt the power of Ak Muryeong's attack from the very moment it was deployed.
"If you're a madman, play like a madman!"
Boom!
Ak Muryeong eventually changed his attack method.
He deployed an instinctive fist art erupting from the realm of the unconscious, preventing the Heavenly Emperor from engaging in a battle of wits.
His hands, having reached the Limitless Realm long ago, were faster than light, and contained countless profound principles in a single move.
Smack.
Then, the Heavenly Emperor also did not dodge but swung his fists to meet him.
Bang bang bang bang!
Every time their fists entangled in the empty air, the ground couldn't withstand the pressure and sank entirely.
Every movement left long trajectories in the air.
Paaah!
Ak Muryeong poured out fist power as sharp as spear tips.
And the Heavenly Emperor deployed palm arts with a wide range of momentum, creating a round astral shield.
Boom! Paah!
At every moment their fists and palms met, all noise and color vanished.
And the spreading shockwaves materialized, changing the surrounding terrain.
Bu Eunseol, watching from afar, couldn't handle the aftermath even though he had deployed his protective astral energy.
Eventually, he had to create one more wall with the Wishful True Binding.
Smack.
The Heavenly Emperor, continuing the offense and defense, had at some point grasped Ak Muryeong's two fists in his hands.
In the battle of instincts, it was proven that the Heavenly Emperor's hands were faster than Ak Muryeong's.
Squeeze.
The Heavenly Emperor gripped Ak Muryeong's fists, lifted him up, and slammed him into the ground.
Bang!
A deep crater was created, and Ak Muryeong was deeply embedded at the bottom.
Swoosh!
Ak Muryeong, popping out of the crater with a lightning-fast movement, struck the Heavenly Emperor's jaw in a single breath.
Bang!
But the Heavenly Emperor didn't care and stood upright, glaring at Ak Muryeong.
At some point, tens of layers of extremely transparent and faint golden barriers had been created around him.
Profound Gate Astral Qi.
Based on the Golden Immortal True Qi, which was said to have the toughest properties under heaven.
He had created an absolutely indestructible astral shield and blocked Ak Muryeong's attack.
"Even though you're crazy, the martial arts are certainly engraved in your body."
Ak Muryeong laughed, revealing his fangs.
This kind of situation was reproduced exactly the same as when he fought the Heavenly Emperor in the past.
At that time, Ak Muryeong eventually couldn't break the Profound Gate Astral Qi and stepped back, swallowing his bitter anger.
But now it's different.
He has the power to smash anything in the world.
Boom!
As Ak Muryeong swung his fist once more.
With the illusion of hundreds of walls breaking, the golden astral shield scattered in all directions.
He had finally broken the Profound Gate Astral Qi.
Whoosh!
Not missing that opening, Ak Muryeong threw another punch.
The moment his fist, drawing a bright red trajectory in the air, was about to strike the Heavenly Emperor's face.
Boom.
The Heavenly Emperor blocked the punch with a gentle movement.
The movement looked extremely slow, but in reality, he had blocked the attack at a speed faster than lightning.
Bu Eunseol, watching the battle from afar, felt his chest tighten.
They were clearly attacking faster than light, but the movements looked suffocatingly slow.
Because all the simple attacks deployed by the two were close to a considerable Infinite Reversal Power.
Creating contradictions in time even in close-quarters offense and defense.
Just watching it, he felt a pressure pressing down on his chest enough to make him cough blood.
Boom! Boom!
The vicinity of several hundred jang became a ruin, and huge holes that could fit large pavilions appeared everywhere.
"Shin Domubi!"
Ak Muryeong roared and stretched his hand upwards.
"Try to block this!"
Pitter-patter.
Instantly, a rain of black true qi began to fall from the sky.
Ak Muryeong's Heart-Binding Secret Art that had shaken the world.
He deployed Illusion Upon Illusion, attacking his mind and body at the same time.
Swoosh!
In every single falling black raindrop.
The pure power of destruction possessed by Ak Muryeong was concentrated.
Pitter-patter.
Whether the Heavenly Emperor had no means to defend.
He was completely exposed to a power that seemed to melt the body and mind just by touching it.
"Can you not do anything without the Golden Immortal Sword?"
Zing.
Instantly, a mysterious power surged from one of the Heavenly Emperor's hands.
The absolute power he had reigned with as the Number One of the Orthodox Faction, and the techniques and wills of all the enemies he had fought so far were contained within.
Ten Thousand Enemies Returning to One, Heavenly Martial Returning Origin.
It was said to be deployed by combining the martial arts of the enemies he had clashed with so far into one, adding his own martial prowess that had reached the heavens.
The Heavenly Emperor's Infinite Reversal Power, the Heavenly Martial Returning Origin, was deployed.
Paaaah.
As the Ultimate Secret Arts of the two Absolute Grandmasters, known to have reached the ultimate extreme of martial arts, collided.
Without shockwaves or sound, they were converted solely into the form of pure light and spread in all directions of heaven and earth.
Rumble.
A massive hole was created centering on where the two people stood, and red lava surged up from the crevices of the cracked earth.
Trickle.
Then, transparent ripples began to descend from the sky.
The life-and-death battle formation that Bu Eunseol had created by overlapping no less than six ancient formation studies had finally shattered to pieces.
As the tremors stopped and the dirt and dust disappeared, the figures of the two people slowly revealed themselves.
Ak Muryeong was standing completely upright.
And the Heavenly Emperor was in a somewhat crouched state.
Crack.
Then, the ground where Ak Muryeong stood began to crack like a spiderweb.
The posture of the Heavenly Emperor was broken.
But Ak Muryeong had let the aftermath of the power pass through his body.
In other words, in terms of the depth of martial arts, the clear-minded Ak Muryeong was one step ahead, but in the superiority of pure power, the Heavenly Emperor was one step ahead.
"Hmph."
Seeing Ak Muryeong standing perfectly fine, the Heavenly Emperor burst out his energy once again with a furious expression.
"Kaaa!"
Then, the waves spreading from his body became fiercer than before.
The Heavenly Emperor who had become a madman.
Surprisingly, the more he fought.
The more blows he took... the stronger he was becoming.
"You raccoon-like bastard. What do you mean you became a madman."
Ak Muryeong shouted with eyes full of anger.
"No wonder Illusion Upon Illusion didn't work at all... you placed a restriction on yourself."
Ak Muryeong hadn't been recklessly trying to beat the Heavenly Emperor to death all this time.
If so, victory and defeat wouldn't have been decided so peacefully like this, and at least a limb or two would have flown off.
He, having received Bu Eunseol's request, had constantly looked for opportunities and pounded on his mind.
And he examined the Heavenly Emperor's mind with the dharma of Illusion Upon Illusion.
And he finally realized the reason and truth of him becoming a madman.
"You didn't become a madman due to an external shock... you deployed an extremely profound grand method yourself, deliberately destroying your mind."
Because Ak Muryeong had cast Illusion Upon Illusion on the Heavenly Emperor in the past as well.
He knew well how firm a will he possessed.
If the Heavenly Emperor had become a madman by an external power.
Or by someone else?
It would be evidence that his mental barrier was not intact, and even if he couldn't return him to an intact mind with Illusion Upon Illusion, he would have been able to exploit a slight opening.
But the Heavenly Emperor's mind was completely closed off.
In other words, he himself had employed a mysterious secret method to thoroughly collapse his mind.
"To gain limitless power?"
The Heavenly Emperor was becoming stronger the more attacks he received.
A figure who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
Having entered the realm of the unconscious, existing solely in the form of pure power...
He could amplify his power boundlessly, truly as if he had become a Martial God.
"No, that can't be."
The Heavenly Emperor was a person of upright character who did not obsess over power.
There was no way he would have chosen the path of a madman himself to become a powerful existence.
"Since it's come to this, I have no choice but to beat you to death."
A sincere murderous intent finally spread from Ak Muryeong's body.
Until now, because he was trying to capture the moment to cast Illusion Upon Illusion, the momentum to kill was visible, but the intent to kill was absent.
However, realizing that he was in a state where Illusion Upon Illusion wouldn't work, he made up his mind to truly kill him.
The Heavenly Emperor who had become a madman.
That existence itself was like a powder keg that could explode at any time.
'This is the worst-case scenario.'
Bu Eunseol, who had been watching the fight, bit his lip.
Ak Muryeong had cultivated his martial arts for a long time to defeat the Orthodox and Demonic Twin Heavenly Emperors.
Just because the Heavenly Emperor had become a madman himself didn't mean he was a person who would hold back his hands.
Cra-crack.
As the murderous intent flowing from Ak Muryeong's body thickened, his back split open.
And another shadow began to form from within.
Ak Muryeong was born with peerless aptitude under heaven, but nevertheless couldn't surpass the wall of the Orthodox and Demonic Twin Heavenly Emperors.
In the past, he couldn't fathom the reason why.
But only after seeing the peerless masterpiece created by the greatest talent in the history of the Nangyang Pavilion and the greatest blade of all time, the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.
Only after seeing Bu Eunseol, who had inherited the essence of the Nangyang Pavilion's martial arts in a single breath.
Could he realize why he had no choice but to be defeated, even if he came close to the Orthodox and Demonic Twin Heavenly Emperors.
―'Those bastards are all those who carry out the will granted by heaven.'
The Orthodox and Demonic Twin Heavenly Emperors, Bu Zhanyang, and Bu Eunseol.
People like them.
In Ak Muryeong's view, were not those born to lead an ordinary life.
But existences related to the Heavenly Dao or the Mandate of Heaven.
That is why, no matter how outstanding the martial arts he trained, no matter if he created secret arts to defeat them.
He had no choice but to be defeated in the end.
But another opportunity came to Ak Muryeong.
Witnessing Bu Eunseol's growth that smashed the framework of existing martial arts, and personally leading his transcendent development...
―'Then, instead of martial arts, I just need to create a technique that defies logic.'
Paradoxically.
He came to gain realizations and inspirations incomparable to before, achieving a leap in development once again.
―'If this body becomes two, wouldn't I be able to beat those bastards to death?'
Supplementing a qualitative gap with a numerical advantage is a basic logic of martial arts.
Except, no matter what methods were used.
One could not turn what is one into two.
But Ak Muryeong had not only reached the Limitless Realm early on, but also trained the most mysterious mind-controlling secret art under heaven.
And finally, through Illusion Upon Illusion.
He created a secret art where a form identical to his soul did not remain an illusion but could exercise power and techniques like a real entity.
Illusionary Self Striking Body.
Replicating his own mind and martial arts exactly, creating another self capable of acting in reality, and at the same time.
Stepping beyond the boundaries of the Limitless Realm, adding a new Infinite Reversal Power.
Ruuuumble.
Detaching his mind and soul to dwell within the illusion, and granting substance to that illusion with the dharma of Illusion Upon Illusion.
Before him stood an Illusionary Self Striking Body with the exact same martial arts and will as Ak Muryeong.
No, another 'Ak Muryeong' was born.
Vwoom vwoom vwoom.
Then, a golden radiance was shining from the Heavenly Emperor's body as well.
Realizing that Ak Muryeong had deployed an Infinite Reversal Power that transcended the existing common sense of martial arts.
He too was instinctively trying to unleash his Infinite Reversal Power, the Heavenly Martial Returning Origin, once again using the Golden Immortal True Qi.
At that moment, an astonishing thing happened.
Zing.
Suddenly, a form like a golden rope appeared all over the Heavenly Emperor's body, and his power was slowly extinguishing, wasn't it?
Ak Muryeong turned his head.
Bu Eunseol, who had been watching from afar, had approached at some point and was pouring out a bizarre power.
"What are you doing!"
"Pavilion Lord."
Bu Eunseol, who had created a massive rope of true qi, spoke in an earnest voice.
"I will use the secret method this disciple has prepared one last time. Please give me permission."
A dark yellow radiance flashed in Ak Muryeong's eyes.
"Are you truly going to do that? To return that madman?"
"It is a promise this disciple made while receiving his help."
In order to strike down the Martial Venerable.
Bu Eunseol, while receiving Mu Gyeol's help, made one promise.
Even if he couldn't deal with the Martial Venerable, he would definitely return the Heavenly Emperor to a sane mind.
And if that was impossible, he would completely suppress the Heavenly Emperor and find a way to return his mind.
After that, Bu Eunseol went to Ak Muryeong to discuss the matter of the Heavenly Emperor.
And sought out the sage second only to the Heavenly Mechanism Star, possessing the most outstanding wisdom and insight under heaven.
He went to Han Sangja and comprehensively reviewed everything again.
Afterward, he obtained something he hadn't anticipated, and conveyed that content to Ak Muryeong as well.
And now.
Bu Eunseol, disregarding his life.
Was trying to put that plan into action.
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