[No.]
Bu Eunseol had finally gained his enlightenment.
The mouth of the man looking at Bu Eunseol, who was wrapped in a mysterious radiance all over his body, opened.
[It is not something like that.]
And he tilted his head sideways.
[Something like martial arts...]
His voice rang out.
A great ripple arose in the mind of Bu Eunseol, who was about to enter a new realm.
Ssk.
The man reached out his hand slowly, as if swimming in water.
At that, something invisible flowed out from his fingertips.
An energy that was heavier than air, stickier than water, and wriggling like a living creature stretched out toward Bu Eunseol.
At that moment, a death-like silence flowed.
It was to the point that his ears felt deafened by the too sudden quietness.
At the same time, bizarre thoughts began to pour into Bu Eunseol's mind.
―'Humans ultimately become corrupted.'
'They are inherently weak beings, and as time flows, unnecessary thoughts increase.'
'Because they are beings that ultimately shake and waver due to the anguish they created themselves.'
Swish, swish.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and countless human figures brushed past his eyes all at once.
Those blinded by desire killing each other, those intoxicated by power trampling on the innocent, those trembling in fear and kneeling servilely.
―'If there is an unwavering mind and an indestructible physical body...'
There was a clear solution.
The answer that humans had been searching and wandering for over a long time.
―'If one could create a powerful physical body that is not destroyed, a mind that does not waver at anything?'
As he thought of himself becoming a flawless being without a single defect, Bu Eunseol was swept by a sense of ecstasy as if his body would melt away.
If he were to possess a steel-like physical body that does not receive a single wound from any power, and an iron wall-like mind that does not even stir at pain and temptation?
There would be no need to forcibly make the mind serene, nor would there be a need to build a barrier.
The painful training of sitting in meditation every morning to master his distracting thoughts would become unnecessary.
So would the ascetic practice of grinding down mind and body by forcibly suppressing emotions whenever they surged.
―'There is no need to dwell on trivial martial arts techniques, agonizing and researching over a single movement and a single profound logic.'
The training of swinging tens of thousands of times over several years to master a single sword method. That tedious repetition of correcting postures without tolerating even an inch of error.
Reading martial arts secret manuals to grasp their profound logic, and staying up all night to research better methods, all of those things would become meaningless.
―'Sorrow and joy, grief and ecstasy.'
Not only that.
There would be no need to manage one's mind due to the emotions one must constantly experience while living.
There would be no case of one's life being swept away due to those emotions either.
"Haa."
An ecstatic gasp came from Bu Eunseol's mouth.
The light of ecstasy flowed out from his eyes with dilated pupils.
If there were such a secret method?
Even in a life of a hundred years, there would be greater progress than living for a thousand years.
Step, step.
Bu Eunseol slowly walked forward.
His eyes had lost their focus, and the Silent Tiger Soul Sword grasped in his hand drooped weakly, dragging on the ground.
Before he knew it, a warm and benevolent hand was stretched out before his eyes.
That hand was emitting light.
It was a soft and gentle light, as cozy as a mother's embrace.
Every single wrinkle on the palm seemed to contain all the truths of the world.
More than anything, in that hand... the path that humans must take was visible.
It contained the power to save the weak and suffering-filled human life.
Even so, it wished for nothing.
It did not want a price, loyalty, or obedience.
It was a hand that wished only for human happiness.
Ssssk.
Bu Eunseol approached beneath that hand like a pilgrim who had found a holy land and knelt on one knee.
At that, the benevolent hand slowly descended toward his wrist.
As if a god were bestowing a blessing upon a human, slowly and majestically.
And now, if that hand touched his own?
Along with infinite power, he would become a perfect being... liberated from all pain and anguish.
―'Seol.'
However, from within the endlessly distant and deep darkness, the caring voice of his grandfather was heard.
At the same time, an old memory came to mind.
The image of himself falling asleep while being carried on his grandfather's back during his childhood, when his knees hurt all night and he had a high fever in his head.
―'Only after meeting you... did this grandfather realize how lonely and solitary a life he had been living.'
His grandfather let out a deep sigh.
―'The grandfather of the past had lived his entire life with his soul stolen by the darkness.'
And he repeated in a voice more painful than anything.
―'Life and death partings, grief and suffering... How could one escape from that infinite fetter?'
His grandfather had deeply regretted the matters of the past and had been living in the pain of remorse.
However, by sublimating that resentment and sorrow into power, he had been able to reach the peerless realm of all ages.
Again, the voice in his mind.
It changed to that of an affectionate yet powerful middle-aged man.
―'The reason weak and suffering-filled humans have constantly developed is...'
'Not thanks to someone's salvation, but because they sublimated that remorse and pain with their own strength.'
The rear garden of Saha Manor.
White flower petals scattered down atop the thinly iced pond and the quiet corridor, riding the gentle breeze.
The sun poured in obliquely between the neatly trimmed pine forest and stone steps, breathing color into each and every fluttering petal.
With his hands clasped behind his back against that scenery, his father Baekri Muha looked up at the distant sky and said.
―'If the time comes in the future when you learn the truth of our main family... I hope you remember the words this father spoke.'
Ziiiing.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol's head throbbed as if it would split open.
It was as if two powers were pulling his soul in different directions.
At the same time, two divergent paths unfolded before his eyes.
One side was a dazzling path promising salvation and serenity, and the other side was a thorny path where only blood and pain spread out.
One side was a path where he could inherit the transcendent ability of the one who existed since primeval times.
One side was the path of martial arts, where he could not even see where its end lay or what he stood to gain.
If one were of sound mind, they would never choose that thorny path.
Bu Eunseol chose one path without hesitation.
Shhing!
In an instant, a low sword cry spread out, filling all directions as if a dragon awakened from a long sleep had let out a low roar.
Flash!
Radiance exploded in all directions.
A wave of light spread out in all directions, beginning to cleave through the darkness.
The darkness wriggled and resisted like a living creature, but the brilliant wave of light mercilessly tore it to shreds.
The radiance that had spread out explosively gradually disappeared.
[...]
The figure of the man reaching out his hand was seen before Bu Eunseol's eyes.
Unlike at first.
That hand, which had been benevolent and warm, had changed into a pale and bloodless one, much like the hand of a corpse.
The fingernails were discolored black, and bizarre patterns were engraved on every knuckle.
Bu Eunseol.
He had chosen not to inherit the power of the True Demon, but to walk the path of martial arts he had achieved himself.
Spurrrrt!
A thin red bloodline was drawn on the wrist, and dark red blood surged up like a fountain.
He had severed the wrist that he had barely managed to cut off even with the Sacred Fire Secret Transmission combined together with So Okrim, with a single sword strike.
Crack.
The man tilted his face sideways along with the sound of his neck bones creaking.
If things had gone as they originally should have, Bu Eunseol's wrist would have been cut off, and his own wrist should have attached to his arm instead.
Yet why had such a thing happened?
At that time, as if he had sensed something, the man's gaze fell downward.
Only then did he sense what was on Bu Eunseol's wrist.
A darkish bracelet, pulsating with intense energy as if it were alive, was fastened there.
Srrrrk.
The scenery that had been encroached upon by gray light slowly disappeared as if peeling away, and the scenery around the vicinity of tens of jang began to regain its original color.
The fascinating thing was that while the colors had returned, all the hues were faint and blurred as if faded.
He manifested the authority of the Realm of Destruction and Extinction.
The massive barrier that had been deployed over an area of tens of li, and even the shadow that had been unfolding mysterious fist arts...
They had all disappeared, evaporating like water vapor.
Srrrrrk.
As Bu Eunseol slowly exerted the power of the Void Extreme Realm, an astonishing event occurred.
All the cloth wrapping around the man's body disappeared, and his appearance hidden in the darkness slowly revealed itself.
A pair of amber-colored eyes flashed with a cold light on a steadfast face that looked as if it were carved from a rock.
"Grandfather."
The man who had been covered by the cloth.
He was none other than his grandfather in his youth.
'Does it mean Grandfather was the True Demon?'
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
There was no way that was the case.
If his grandfather was the True Demon who had repeated reincarnations for generations? Then he would never have lived such a life of remorse while working as a corpse examiner.
Step, step.
However, the one walking over was definitely his grandfather.
Only, it was not the benevolent appearance.
But the appearance of the Great Murder Star, the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, who had driven the world into terror.
Clamp.
Bu Zhanyang, taking out a large great blade from his back, assumed a low stance.
Due to the function of the Realm of Destruction and Extinction spread over tens of jang around him.
The Three Divine Energies had disappeared within Bu Eunseol's body, and instead, about two sixty-year cycles of internal energy had returned.
Because he had just now reached the entrance of the Void Extreme Realm, he had not been able to eliminate the power perfectly.
Billow, billow.
An ink-colored haze was rising to the ends of the sky from Bu Zhanyang's great blade.
Just like Bu Eunseol, only two sixty-year cycles of internal energy remained, but its purity was as different as heaven and earth.
'I must attack first.'
If he let that momentum spread, his head would come off before he could so much as raise a hand.
Pat!
Bu Eunseol, narrowing the distance in a single breath, unfolded the Thirteen Hwa Wu Forms with all his strength.
Since it was impossible to strike him down in a single breath, he intended to continue the offense and defense with a flawless sword method that had no gaps.
Claaang!
Bu Zhanyang received his attacks by moving only the great blade while standing in place.
The more he unfolded his sword method, the more momentum condensed all over Bu Eunseol's body, and that in turn became the power to take control of the surrounding area.
Vwoosh!
At that time, Bu Zhanyang swung the great blade.
At that moment, Bu Eunseol's sword aura, which had been spreading like a spiderweb, evaporated in an instant.
Clamp.
And the sharp blade tip of the great blade dug into Bu Eunseol's heavenly pivot acupoint.
'Kuk.'
Bu Eunseol stepped back three jang, but the sharp blade energy clung to him endlessly like a black ghost, stabbing at his neckline.
Srrk.
Bu Zhanyang's body had already become one with the great blade.
As the sharp blade energy that felt like carving bone spread out, Bu Eunseol's skin was splitting open even though the attack had not reached him.
'I cannot match him.'
Was it because the gap in internal energy, purity, and blade art was large?
He had exchanged only a few moves, yet his body would not obey him, as if he were submerged in deep water and flailing.
The pressure that his head would fall off at any moment closed in from all directions.
If things went on like this, it was to the point that his head would fall off within three moves.
'This place is the realm of emptiness and nothingness.'
In an instant, another realization pierced through Bu Eunseol's mind.
'I was still obsessing over the superiority of internal energy.'
The reason he had tried to reach the realm of Void Extreme was solely to fight with the power of his physical body.
And if he could do that?
He had thought he would then be able to contend on equal terms even with the Heavenly Demon Emperor, who was called the foremost person of the current era.
And now, although not perfect, he had created a realm that could extinguish the supernatural power possessed by the enemy and himself.
In that case, it was just a matter of fighting with all his might.
Swoosh!
As his pride and belief in the Void Extreme Realm arose, Bu Eunseol's sword method began to change.
He gradually began to strike back against Bu Zhanyang's blade art, which he had not even dared to oppose before.
Pat, pat, pat, pat!
Before he knew it, the hem of Bu Zhanyang's clothes began to be cut by Bu Eunseol's sword method.
Vwoosh!
Bu Zhanyang likewise carved out and stabbed at Bu Eunseol's cheek, shoulder, and major acupoints.
Even though the gap in skill was clearly revealing itself.
Bu Eunseol, without fear, was rather narrowing the distance.
Bu Zhanyang's fatal attacks missed time and time again.
Vwoosh!
He whirled the great blade once in the air.
Swooosh!
He discharged a massive blade energy like a half-moon, splitting Bu Eunseol's torso horizontally.
This blade move was tyrannical beyond words, and the retreat paths were also strictly blocked.
It could not be avoided in any direction.
Whirl!
At that time, Bu Eunseol's Silent Tiger Soul Sword likewise rotated in the empty air and pierced toward Bu Zhanyang's neck.
Although the movement was half a beat slower.
His sword method was faster than Bu Zhanyang's blade move, making it seem as if they had unfolded their moves almost simultaneously.
Claaang!
Following a metallic sound close to an explosion, sparks holding pure white light poured in all directions like splitting lightning.
At the same time, blue electrical flashes exploded from both weapons, sweeping the surroundings.
The blade tips of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and the great blade had accurately collided with each other in the empty air.
Whoooosh.
The sparks and the light faded away along with the desolate wind.
[Seol.]
Before he knew it, his grandfather had changed from his cold-hearted prime years to his benevolent twilight years.
[You are excellent.]
Bu Zhanyang smiled.
[Through martial arts, you seek nothingness and complete emptiness to achieve the Dao.]
And he continued his high praise.
[Much like the protagonist in a folktale... as if mastering a sword method by being struck by lightning, and gaining enlightenment by watching the sun rise and set.]
Clack.
Bu Eunseol, lowering the Silent Tiger Soul Sword to the ground, approached his grandfather.
His grandfather was looking at him with a proud smile.
"Grandfather."
It was an appearance he had wanted to see even in his dreams.
As he approached closer, the somewhat stuffy yet nostalgic body scent he had always smelled could be felt.
"I was also happy to be with you, Grandfather."
That was the answer to the final words his grandfather had left behind.
Bu Eunseol, looking at his grandfather, spoke as if swearing an oath.
"And I will surely... find the culprit and take revenge."
Squelch.
And he drove the Silent Tiger Soul Sword deep into the scrawny chest.
Craaack.
At that moment, Bu Zhanyang's wrist stiffened into a gray color, like a corpse drained of vitality.
After a moment.
Along with a snapping sound, something fell to the floor with a thud.
That was the wrist portion of the True Demon's remains, passed down since primeval times.
[Why do you refuse it?]
The man, returned to his original appearance, asked.
[Even you are my bloodline.]
"I am... the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang's grandson."
Flash!
As a flash of light arose, the man's neck was cut off, and his head tumbled to the floor.
Trickle.
Not the body, but the severed head.
Accurately, red blood began to gush out from the left eye.
As that blood seeped into the cracks of the floor, a mysterious radiance soared up from the ground soaked around it.
Srrrk.
In the place where the radiance had disappeared, a single pearl holding beautiful colors was laid out neatly.
Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl.
What had been embedded deep within the man's left eye was none other than the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl that had disappeared from the Dragon-Phoenix Ring.
"As expected. So that was it."
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
"There is no way the True Demon who was in Cheonchuk a thousand years ago... could appear before me."
The Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl that allows one to inherit the power of a predecessor with just a single drop of blood.
The remains of the True Demon said to have been born in primeval times.
And the imperial treasure, the Dragon-Phoenix Ring.
These three things had combined.
The memory that had remained in the True Demon's wrist.
He could not only vividly experience the memories intertwined with Pahon.
He was also given an opportunity to inherit a portion of the power contained in the True Demon's remains, and that was all it had ever been.
Because half of the blood flowing in his body belonged to the True Demon.
However, instead of the path of inheriting the True Demon's power, Bu Eunseol chose the path of martial arts he had pursued all along.
Bu Eunseol had refused to inherit the True Demon's blood, and so the Nine Heavens Cloud Splendor Pearl acted.
It endlessly changed its form... into the man, into the shadow made of light, into the appearance of his grandfather.
And it passed down a portion of the enlightenment left in the blood as the profound logic of martial arts.
As a result, he was able to confirm and define the new realm he had reached.
And he was finally able to complete the Void Extreme Realm.
"The road ahead is long."
Because he had just entered the entrance to the Void Extreme Realm, it was not yet possible to fight with a perfectly ordinary physical body.
It left behind about two sixty-year cycles of internal energy, and the range of the Realm of Destruction and Extinction was also merely tens of jang.
And there was more, now that he had entered the Void Extreme Realm.
He was able to realize that the realm one could reach by obtaining the Four Divine Energies and the Void Extreme Realm were completely different paths.
What if he were to obtain the Heaven and Earth Divine Energy in the future?
He would attain Harmony with Nature.
And he would reach a transcendent realm where he could not even predict what phenomena would occur or what kind of power he would come to possess.
"However."
Even so, Bu Eunseol felt a proud self-esteem.
Up until now, he had faced countless individuals who used supernatural power.
In the end, even transcendent powers like the Soul Demon Dharma Energy and the Profound Divine Technique Qi had appeared.
Despite that, he had silently endured the disadvantages and pursued only martial arts.
And now...
The turn for those who used supernatural power to become disadvantaged had come.
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