Seeing Bu Eunseol’s grave expression, Yoo Unryong tilted his head.
"Tremendous masters?"
Swish!
A strange sound echoed from the distant sky. Moments later, five shadows descended from the air before Bu Eunseol.
Bu Eunseol’s eyebrows shot up. His Beast Way senses had detected their presence from a hundred zhang away, yet they arrived in the blink of an eye.
Step, step.
Without hesitation, they approached Bu Eunseol and Yoo Unryong. Clad in black martial robes and wearing iron masks, their appearance was utterly eerie.
Tremble.
Yoo Unryong, gazing at them, shuddered lightly.
"Do you know them?" At Bu Eunseol’s question, Yoo Unryong drew a sharp breath.
"Myeon… hon."
‘Myeonhon.’ They were the masters of Myeonhon, pursuing Yoo Unryong for failing to kill a Great Righteous Master.
"You’ve been quite troublesome, Yoo Unryong." Yok Cheonbu, leader of Myeonhon’s Third Unit, spoke with a hint of emotion. "To evade our pursuit so persistently."
Yoo Unryong had tenaciously survived both battles and pursuits. His determination and will to live were so remarkable that even the renowned masters of Myeonhon were astounded.
"But this is the end. You’re ready, I presume."
Shing.
As Yok Cheonbu drew his sword from his back and approached Yoo Unryong—
"Leave." Bu Eunseol stepped in front of Yok Cheonbu. "You don’t have the right to take him."
"Bu Eunseol." Yoo Unryong’s face showed shock, while Yok Cheonbu’s eyes gleamed. "That right?"
From the black eyes behind the mask, a crimson killing intent rose like a haze.
Despite the terrifying sight, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, "He killed a Great Righteous Master."
"What?"
"He’s the one." Bu Eunseol pointed to Seong Ryun, collapsed against the tree stump.
Yok Cheonbu signaled to a squad member behind him, who closely examined Seong Ryun’s body and nodded.
"Beggars’ Sect, Great Righteous Master Seong Ryun." Yok Cheonbu stared at Bu Eunseol, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"He killed him?"
"Yes."
"No way." Having pursued Yoo Unryong all this time, Yok Cheonbu knew that despite growing stronger during his escape, Yoo Unryong wasn’t yet capable of defeating a Great Righteous Master. "Nonsense. With his skills, he couldn’t kill a Great Righteous Master."
Bu Eunseol crossed his arms and said flatly, "If you doubt it, see for yourself."
Yok Cheonbu turned and closely inspected Seong Ryun’s body.
"Hmm." Indeed, the scars on Seong Ryun’s body were all traces of the White Horse Whip.
Marks of the Whip-Protecting Armor, wounds inflicted when Yoo Unryong unleashed White Horse Temple’s supreme technique.
"But the fatal wound is a stab to the chest…" A sharp glint flashed in Yok Cheonbu’s eyes.
The decisive cause of Seong Ryun’s death was a precise stab wound to the chest.
‘But the White Horse Whip can mimic all forms of divine weapons, so such a wound isn’t impossible.’
In truth, this was only possible because of Bu Eunseol’s Supreme Heavenly Flow, which left no trace, but Yok Cheonbu had no way of knowing that.
"Ugh." Yok Cheonbu let out a low groan.
His orders were to cripple the martial arts of any Ten Demonic Warrior who failed to kill a Great Righteous Master. But now, with proof of a Great Righteous Master’s death before him, he was torn over whether to punish Yoo Unryong.
"Your goal is the Great Righteous Masters. He’s fulfilled his duty." At Bu Eunseol’s words, a Myeonhon member behind Yok Cheonbu sneered.
"Don’t be ridiculous. That guy defied the Demon King’s orders and fled. That alone is a crime."
Bu Eunseol retorted coldly, "He retreated to fight another day. Killing him now would be like breaking a sharp blade capable of slaying Great Righteous Masters."
Yok Cheonbu silently stared at Seong Ryun’s wounds. After a moment of thought, he turned to Bu Eunseol.
"Which Ten Demonic Warrior are you?"
"Why do you assume I’m a Ten Demonic Warrior?"
"You’re not?" As Yok Cheonbu stared intently, Bu Eunseol sighed, as if resigned.
"Nangyang Pavilion."
"Nangyang Pavilion… I see." Yok Cheonbu’s lingering doubts finally cleared.
‘Even in hell, the bond between men exists.’ Looking at Bu Eunseol, Yok Cheonbu’s lips curved into a faint smile, so subtle no one noticed.
"We’re leaving."
"Unit Leader."
"He killed a Great Righteous Master, didn’t he?" Yok Cheonbu glanced at Yoo Unryong and said, "Ten Demonic Warriors are meant to keep fighting until the Great Righteous Masters are gone, aren’t they?"
Turning back to Bu Eunseol, he added, "The Demon King will understand a slight delay." After staring at Bu Eunseol for a moment, Yok Cheonbu turned away.
"Return."
Whoosh.
They deployed their movement techniques and vanished into the night sky. Yoo Unryong, who had remained silent, stood up.
"Why…" Biting his lip, he spoke with a humiliated expression, "Why did someone like you step in?"
Yoo Unryong felt insulted. That Bu Eunseol, whom he had always resented and envied, had stepped forward to save his life was more humiliating than grateful.
"Didn’t you beg?"
"What?"
Bu Eunseol said coldly, "There’s nothing after death. You want to live. To have another chance. That’s what you told me."
"What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever say that?"
"I don’t know about you, but your eyes, your body… they clearly told me so."
—I want to live! With just a bit more time, I can grow stronger!
Bu Eunseol had keenly felt it. The desperate cry that erupted from Yoo Unryong’s body and heart when Myeonhon appeared.
"Thanks to you, I could deal with him easily, so I helped you to repay the debt." The wounds Yoo Unryong inflicted on Seong Ryun were limited to skin and muscle.
In truth, there wasn’t a single fatal injury. Bu Eunseol was, in his own way, showing consideration for Yoo Unryong.
"Don’t make me laugh!" Yoo Unryong leaped to his feet and shouted, "You think I’ll be grateful for this?"
Glaring fiercely at Bu Eunseol, he suddenly pulled a small vial from his robe and threw it at him. With a tap, Bu Eunseol caught it—a vial containing a golden pill.
"What’s this?"
"Can’t you tell? It’s a pill for internal injuries." Biting his lip, Yoo Unryong shouted, "Next time, I’ll kill a Great Righteous Master with my own hands—and you too!"
With that, he deployed his movement technique and vanished into the night sky.
Bu Eunseol gazed in the direction Yoo Unryong had gone and muttered softly, "Not very honest, is he…"
Yoo Unryong was brash and impulsive but not a villain consumed by evil. He was merely ashamed of having to accept Bu Eunseol’s help to survive.
"…Both of us." In the hellish martial world, there were countless cunning figures who smiled while drawing their blades. Someone as straightforward and pure as Yoo Unryong was rare.
In truth, Bu Eunseol… didn’t dislike him.
"Time to move." Wiping the blood from his lips, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
The wounds from Seong Ryun would require three days of continuous qi circulation to heal. Had he not grasped the martial principle during the fight, he would be the one dead.
"Surprisingly well-prepared." Looking at the vial in his hand, Bu Eunseol gave a wry smile.
Boom!
Suddenly, a thunderous roar accompanied a massive palm energy descending from the sky.
"The Dragon-Subduing Palm?" It was unmistakably the Soaring Dragon in the Heavens technique Seong Ryun had used.
But its power and range were incomparable to Seong Ryun’s. Unable to confront it directly, Bu Eunseol swiftly retreated.
Yet the palm’s scope was so vast he couldn’t fully evade it.
Shing.
Bu Eunseol drew his Black Blade and swung it broadly.
"Tch." But his internal injuries prevented his qi from flowing properly.
Pushed back by the palm energy, Bu Eunseol staggered three steps and spat blood.
Tap.
A figure floating in the air landed before him.
It was an old man with a grizzled gray beard. His eyes were sharp, his frame as sturdy as a bear, and his waist as lithe as a tiger’s.
Clearly a master of supreme martial arts.
"Hmm…" Gazing at Seong Ryun’s corpse, the old man’s eyes radiated a piercing glint. "Did you do this?"
His tattered clothes, illuminated by moonlight, marked him as a Beggars’ Sect master.
"Answer!" His shout was like a thunderclap, infused with immense power that deepened Bu Eunseol’s internal injuries like a lion’s roar.
‘A master I can’t face.’
The old man’s prowess far surpassed Bu Eunseol’s. Even in peak condition, he instinctively knew he couldn’t match him.
‘Should I flee?’ If he admitted the truth, this Beggars’ Sect master would likely kill him on the spot.
But he had no intention of lying to beg for his life.
"Yes." The old man, not expecting Bu Eunseol to admit it so readily, widened his bell-like eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Bu Eunseol."
"Bu Eunseol?" Momentarily stunned, the old man chuckled. "What does your origin or name matter?"
As he finished speaking, a mountain-like aura erupted from him, soaring to the heavens.
"You’ll die anyway." Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and gripped his Black Blade.
This time, no matter the method, death was inevitable.
"Are you from the Beggars’ Sect?"
"Yes." At Bu Eunseol’s question, the old man replied in a low voice, "Our sect claims to be righteous, but we’re just a den of beggars. Since ancient times, beggars have repaid grudges with blood."
Staring intently at Bu Eunseol, he added, "It wasn’t a fair fight, so you have no excuses, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"One of the Dog-Slaying Unit kids, lying by the riverbank, was still breathing. He told me a disciple of our sect was attacked by two Ten Demonic Warriors."
In that moment, Bu Eunseol understood the situation.
Knowing Yoo Unryong was losing to Seong Ryun, Bu Eunseol had quickly dealt with the Dog-Slaying Unit and rushed over. A surviving unit member must have mistaken Bu Eunseol’s actions as joining Yoo Unryong for a joint attack.
"I don’t know what constitutes a fair fight, but I faced him alone."
"Oh, so it was a fair duel." The old man nodded, then suddenly glared, his eyes flashing. "And the dying disciple of our sect lied!"
Whoosh.
An aura that seemed to tear the heavens erupted from the old man.
‘He won’t believe anything I say.’ With a dying Dog-Slaying Unit member’s testimony, even if Bu Eunseol radiated a Buddha-like aura of truth, the old man wouldn’t believe him.
"Are you ready?" At the old man’s words, Bu Eunseol silently raised his inner power.
He had no intention of dying meekly. Drawing every drop of qi within him, a faint glow emanated from his body.
"Not bad spirit." The old man laughed heartily. "If you can block one of my palm strikes, I’ll let you live!"
With wide eyes, he swiftly unleashed a palm strike. The old man’s palm technique wasn’t fast or varied.
But Bu Eunseol couldn’t evade it.
A massive palm seemed to descend from the heavens to the earth, a range impossible to escape even with Swift Beyond Shadow. As Bu Eunseol, gripping his Black Blade, prepared to counter the overwhelming palm strike—
"Pfft." Blood spurted from his mouth.
His qi wouldn’t flow properly, making it impossible to unleash his martial arts.
"Stop!" With a low voice, numerous shadows descended from the air, blocking Bu Eunseol’s path.
Boom.
As they intercepted the Dragon-Subduing Palm, shockwaves spread outward, unleashing a storm that seemed to sweep the world away.
Whoosh!
As the winds dispersed, ten men in yellow robes stood tall before Bu Eunseol.
‘They are…!’ Seeing them, Bu Eunseol couldn’t believe his eyes. The ten men in yellow robes all wore masks, their eyes gleaming sharply.
Staring at their stances and gazes, Bu Eunseol instantly recognized their identity.
‘The Peongan Corps?’
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