"This is the end!"
As Seong Ryun’s palm finally descended toward the fallen Yoo Unryong’s head—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
With a fierce gust of wind, Black Blade energy poured down from the sky like a torrent of rain toward Seong Ryun.
"What’s that!" Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Seong Ryun hurriedly leaped backward.
The cascading sword energy vanished as if washed away, and a man in white descended from the air like an immortal. It was Bu Eunseol.
"You are?" Seong Ryun couldn’t hide his shock.
For Bu Eunseol, who was supposed to be fighting Woo Gang and the Dog-Slaying Unit, to be here meant they had been defeated!
"Yoo Unryong." Without delay, Bu Eunseol approached Yoo Unryong, who was leaning against a tree. "You lost to him."
"Don’t make me laugh. I haven’t lost yet! I’m just… resting for a moment." Though he spoke defiantly, the blood at the corners of his mouth had dried and crusted.
His deathly pale complexion and labored breathing made it clear he had sustained severe internal injuries. Even if he circulated his qi to heal, recovery wouldn’t come quickly.
"You wouldn’t object to me facing him, then." To Bu Eunseol’s question, Yoo Unryong only snorted, offering no reply.
At that moment, Seong Ryun slowly approached from behind the fallen Bu Eunseol.
"What happened to Senior Brother Woo?"
"He overestimated his skills." That brief answer told Seong Ryun everything.
"I see. So that’s how it is." Swallowing his anger, Seong Ryun muttered in a low voice. "Senior Brother Woo always supported and cheered for me." Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the distant sky.
"When I became a Great Righteous Master, and when I became a Blue Bamboo Beggar… he celebrated as if it were his own achievement."
Crunch.
Clenching his fists, a sun-like killing intent blazed in Seong Ryun’s eyes. He couldn’t forgive Bu Eunseol for killing the senior brother he respected.
"So, I’ll kill you." Bu Eunseol nodded silently.
The martial world was a path woven with gratitude and grudges. As long as one stood in this world, no one could escape the cycle of enmity and obligation.
Hiss.
Slightly bending his left leg to trace a semicircle, Seong Ryun unleashed a series of palm techniques: Dragon-Subduing Regret, Hidden Dragon in the Abyss, and Dragon Battling in the Wild.
Whoosh.
As the full force of the Dragon-Subduing Palm surged, the surrounding air seemed to vanish in an instant.
‘He’s strong.’ The power of Seong Ryun’s Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms was no less formidable than the divine weapons renowned throughout the martial world.
Bu Eunseol immediately drew his Black Blade to counter the palm energy.
With a whooshing sound, sword winds and palm shadows filled the reed field, and in an instant, Bu Eunseol and Seong Ryun exchanged over thirty moves. As if performing a choreographed demonstration, neither yielded an inch.
Despite the fierce exchange, no clear victor emerged, only the sounds of Crack! and Boom! resonating through the air.
"…!" But after about a hundred moves, the tide of battle shifted.
As Seong Ryun mixed in Jade-Shattering Fist and Roaring Tail Fist alongside his Dragon-Subduing Palm, Bu Eunseol was gradually pushed onto the defensive.
Boom!
In the midst of this, Seong Ryun unleashed the Dragon-Subduing Palm’s Soaring Dragon in the Heavens. Bu Eunseol swung his Black Blade to deflect the palm energy, attempting a counterattack.
Whoosh!
But suddenly, with a piercing sound, the Soaring Dragon in the Heavens transformed into the Jade-Shattering Fist’s Ferocious Tiger Crossing the River. As a result, Bu Eunseol’s Black Blade, meant to counter the Soaring Dragon, lost its target.
‘He’s changing techniques mid-move?’ Evading Seong Ryun’s dizzying array of moves, Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes. ‘Impossible.’
Retracting a technique mid-execution was already difficult. Yet Seong Ryun was transforming one technique into another mid-move.
Rip!
As the Jade-Shattering Fist grazed his shoulder, his sleeve scattered like dust. But Bu Eunseol didn’t retreat—instead, he closed the distance further.
‘There’s something to this.’ Until now, Bu Eunseol had restrained his sword, holding back.
Had he unleashed the Supreme Heavenly Flow at full power, he might have fought evenly. But victory alone wasn’t his goal. A life-and-death battle was an opportunity to find flaws in one’s martial arts or to advance them further.
‘If I can’t progress here, I’ll never win the battles ahead!’
"You’re nearing the end!" Seeing Bu Eunseol retreat repeatedly, Seong Ryun’s eyes gleamed with confidence, believing he had seized the advantage.
‘Just a little more!’ Unleashing a mix of the Beggars’ Sect’s martial arts, Seong Ryun’s body surged with endless qi, fueled by the burning emotion of vengeance. ‘Soon, I’ll cut down this vile demon who killed Senior Brother Woo!’ But he didn’t realize that his burning desire for revenge blinded him to Bu Eunseol’s eyes, which were relentlessly analyzing his techniques.
Swish.
The Dragon-Subduing Palm grazed his shoulder, tearing his clothes. Bu Eunseol deployed Swift Beyond Shadow to retreat, while Seong Ryun swiftly pursued, unleashing more techniques.
Rip.
The Dragon-Subduing Palm transformed into the Heavenly Eagle Claw Technique mid-air. A thin line of blood trickled from Bu Eunseol’s cheek where a claw grazed him.
‘From palm to claw, from hand to fingers…’ Spotting Seong Ryun’s fingers flowing naturally like water, Bu Eunseol finally understood.
‘That’s it!’ Seong Ryun wasn’t changing or mixing techniques mid-move. He was using complementary techniques that flowed naturally into one another. For instance, he used the Soaring Dragon in the Heavens, descending naturally to connect with the Heavenly Eagle Claw, as if an eagle snatching prey.
Continuous Flow, Unbroken Chain; Extend the Short, Break the Long.
Martial techniques must flow seamlessly and be executed at the right moment. Seong Ryun was arranging different techniques so precisely they functioned as one cohesive martial art.
‘This guy has deeply studied all of the Beggars’ Sect’s martial arts, linking different techniques into a single whole!’ Realizing this, Bu Eunseol’s eyes sparkled brilliantly, and a fiery heat surged within him.
He had learned a profound principle of martial arts from Seong Ryun’s attacks, something unattainable through mere practice.
‘What’s this now?’ Seong Ryun grew irritated as Bu Eunseol’s expression grew increasingly relaxed.
"Acting calm, are you?" Raising his full power, Seong Ryun unleashed a flurry of techniques.
Swish.
But Bu Eunseol’s movements suddenly changed. He unleashed a fist technique with his left hand while simultaneously deploying the Supreme Heavenly Flow with his right. Lacking the time to blend different martial arts into one like Seong Ryun, he used fist and sword techniques together to complement each other.
"Doing something bizarre, huh?" Seong Ryun leisurely mixed Dragon-Subduing Palm and Jade-Shattering Fist, pressing Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh!
But something was off. As Seong Ryun transitioned from Dragon-Subduing Palm to Jade-Shattering Fist, Bu Eunseol’s fist shot out, interrupting the technique.
"Hmph." As Seong Ryun unleashed the Dragon-Subduing Palm again to crush Bu Eunseol’s chest, the Black Blade came slicing toward his head.
‘This guy.’ As Bu Eunseol masterfully linked fist and sword techniques to cover his weaknesses, Seong Ryun felt a chill. ‘Did he learn the principle of Using Strengths to Cover Weaknesses from me?’
What Bu Eunseol was doing was clearly the martial principle taught to him by the Martial Alliance.
"Fit the Technique to the Body…" Muttering the maxim of Nangyang Pavilion’s practical martial arts, Bu Eunseol threw a series of punches.
Swish!
As four streams of fist energy surged toward Seong Ryun’s face, he thrust out both palms with full force.
"…Act According to the Situation!"
"No chance!" Seong Ryun unleashed the Dragon-Subduing Palm to dispel Bu Eunseol’s fist energy, then closed in to strike with the Roaring Tail Fist. But in that moment, Bu Eunseol’s Black Blade was already aimed at his lower abdomen.
"Ugh." Seong Ryun had no choice but to halt his Roaring Tail Fist and retreat.
Forcing the fist technique would have meant exposing his abdomen to Bu Eunseol’s sword.
"Don’t mock me!" Realizing his martial secret had been stolen, Seong Ryun’s face flushed red with rage. "You think a guy like you can wield the principle of Using Strengths to Cover Weaknesses?"
This time, Seong Ryun unleashed the Dragon-Subduing Palm with his left hand, transitioning to Jade-Shattering Fist, while his right hand moved from Roaring Tail Fist to Heavenly Eagle Claw. This was akin to the Dual Mind, Dual Use Technique, forcing Bu Eunseol to face the equivalent of two Beggars’ Sect masters.
‘It’s working!’ Seong Ryun inwardly rejoiced.
As he fully unleashed the principle of Using Strengths to Cover Weaknesses, Bu Eunseol’s technique rhythm began to falter slightly. ‘His method, created on the spot, still has flaws!’
Whenever Bu Eunseol simultaneously used fist and sword techniques, tiny gaps appeared.
‘He’s not deliberately exposing weaknesses, is he?’ Doubt crept in. Could Bu Eunseol be intentionally revealing flaws?
‘This guy is too dangerous.’ Seong Ryun’s instincts sounded an alarm.
This mysterious figure was like steel, growing tougher with each clash. He began to think it might be better to retreat than continue fighting.
‘No. I have to kill him.’ If he failed to defeat this Ten Demonic Warrior, the elders would appoint another Blue Bamboo Beggar as the next sect leader.
Wouldn’t that make Senior Brother Woo’s sacrifice in vain?
‘Even if it’s a trap, I just have to kill him!’ Seong Ryun no longer cared about martial supremacy or victory. Those things didn’t matter. He simply had to kill Bu Eunseol.
Boom!
At that moment, Bu Eunseol unleashed both sword and fist techniques simultaneously. His balance faltered, exposing a vulnerability near his side.
‘Now!’ Spotting Bu Eunseol’s weakness, Seong Ryun thrust out both palms.
Whoosh!
Pushing back Bu Eunseol’s attack with the Dragon-Subduing Palm, Seong Ryun closed in with full force. He immediately targeted the exposed side with a palm strike.
Roar!
This was his recently devised technique, No Fault in Peril, infused with his lifelong inner power.
‘Even if I get injured, I’ll crush your body!’
"Urgh." A few drops of blood spurted from Bu Eunseol’s mouth as the palm energy struck him.
But his body moved forward toward Seong Ryun.
‘Damn!’ In that moment, Seong Ryun realized.
This was all a trap set by Bu Eunseol. His palm strike hadn’t hit Bu Eunseol accurately, as if an invisible force had twisted his arm.
Stab!
With a cutting sound, the tip of the Black Blade pierced Seong Ryun’s chest.
Clank.
As Bu Eunseol sheathed his Black Blade, Seong Ryun staggered back heavily.
"How…?" Clutching his chest, Seong Ryun’s eyes widened.
Even if the weakness was a trap, he should have been able to evade it. But his critical strike had inexplicably missed. And it wasn’t due to his own mistake.
"Why did it miss…?" Unable to comprehend, Seong Ryun stared wide-eyed as Bu Eunseol spoke.
"You didn’t see it."
"What…?"
"I used Sword Momentum to match the moment you unleashed your palm energy." Seong Ryun’s eyes wavered like ripples.
"Just Sword Momentum… and I didn’t see it?"
With a solemn expression, Bu Eunseol said, "Of course. You were consumed by your intent to kill me." Seong Ryun’s eyes shook violently.
"Is that so?" He nodded, as if realizing something.
If he lost this fight, he couldn’t become the Beggars’ Sect’s next leader. That urgency and desperation had blinded him to Bu Eunseol’s hidden technique.
For Bu Eunseol, the strength or weakness of martial arts didn’t matter. He had simply countered Seong Ryun’s killing move to survive.
Seong Ryun’s strike, aimed solely at killing, had missed, while Bu Eunseol’s counterattack, driven by survival, succeeded.
‘I threw myself into the abyss of ruin.’ Understanding everything, Seong Ryun’s eyes filled with deep regret. This fight was for his senior brother’s vengeance and his chance to become the next sect leader.
He had every reason to win desperately.
"A beggar, greedy despite his lot…" But that greed scattered his mental focus, leading to a fatal mistake in the final moment. "…I was foolish."
With those brief words, Seong Ryun breathed his last. His eyes remained open, filled with resentment.
"Urgh." As Seong Ryun fell, Bu Eunseol spat out the blood he’d been holding back.
Even with Sword Momentum twisting the force, he couldn’t fully block the full-powered No Fault in Peril palm strike.
‘If I hadn’t reached the fourth level of the Ban-geuk Method… I’d be the one dead.’
Bu Eunseol’s meridians were enveloped in powerful protective qi, shielding him from external forces. Without it, a single palm strike would have shattered his meridians and ruptured his organs.
"What a terrifying guy." Yoo Unryong’s voice came from where he leaned against the tree stump. "You even took down Seong Ryun."
Though collapsed on the ground, he had watched the entire fight between Bu Eunseol and Seong Ryun. And he realized just how fearsome Bu Eunseol was.
"I’d heard Nangyang Pavilion’s martial arts are perfected through real combat… but growing stronger during a fight? That’s a first." Yoo Unryong’s eyes held admiration rather than hostility.
Bu Eunseol’s combat was so intense and desperate it seemed to burn everything within him. Regardless of martial prowess, it stirred the hearts of those watching.
"…" Despite Yoo Unryong’s admiration, Bu Eunseol stood like a stone statue.
"Are your injuries severe?" Bu Eunseol shook his head with a grave expression.
"Tremendous masters… are coming."
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