Qing Choxian bit her lip, unable to speak.
She had clearly seen it. Guan Shitian’s sword had twisted unnaturally, aiming for Bu Eunseol’s dantian.
There was no such move in the Tianshan Sect’s repertoire. Guan Shitian had deliberately used a vicious sword technique to kill Bu Eunseol brutally.
"I won’t forgive you!" Enraged, Qing Choxian drew her longsword and charged at Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh!
A mist-like sword vanished before her eyes, only to suddenly pierce toward Bu Eunseol’s side. It was the Emei Sect’s supreme Cloud-Severing Sword Technique, the Cloud-Severing Sword Form.
Clang! Ting!
The sharp Cloud-Severing Sword relentlessly enveloped Bu Eunseol’s entire body.
A sword art that vanished like mist and reappeared abruptly, like a divine technique. Yet, Qing Choxian’s sword was repeatedly blocked by Bu Eunseol’s Black Blade. The pinnacle of Cloud Swordsmanship, the first principle of the Cloud-Severing Sword, was Serene Cultivation and Tranquil Mind.
In other words, only by honing skills in serenity and wielding the sword with an empty mind could its true essence manifest. But as she swung her sword in anger, its profound subtlety failed to fully unfold.
Flash!
Bu Eunseol, who had been parrying her strikes, finally unleashed Meteor Chasing the Moon.
"Urgh." The sword strikes, swift as light, were impossible to track.
She barely leaned back to retreat, but in an instant, strands of her hair were sliced off.
"Don’t harm Qingmei!" With a loud shout, Han Seong drew his sword and attacked Bu Eunseol from behind.
Slash!
As Cloud-Severing Swords struck from both sides, Bu Eunseol shifted his footwork, transitioning his sword moves to a defensive stance.
"Die!" Seizing the advantage, Han Seong joined forces with Qing Choxian to press Bu Eunseol.
Such actions could be considered cowardly for a righteous sect master. But since he instinctively reacted to Qing Choxian’s crisis, he avoided public condemnation.
Clang! Clang!
When two Great Righteous Masters combined their sword techniques, the force was enough to shake the heavens and split the earth. Moreover, having trained in the same Emei Cloud Swordsmanship, their coordination was seamless, like a perfectly executed joint attack.
"Two against one, huh!" Unable to stand by, Myo Cheon-woo prepared to unleash a palm strike. But Seok Woohaeng quickly stopped him.
"Don’t interfere."
"What are you saying? Are we supposed to just watch this?" Glaring at Seok Woohaeng’s cold expression, Myo Cheon-woo gritted his teeth.
"He challenged them in front of everyone to save us. Don’t you get that?" Myo Cheon-woo clenched his jaw. "He knew we couldn’t break through this encirclement while injured, so he challenged them head-on!"
"I know." Seok Woohaeng spoke calmly. "But if you interfere, you’ll fall right into that Han Seong’s trap."
"What?"
"Look what happens if you step in." Only then did Myo Cheon-woo calm his excitement and survey his surroundings.
The guests, having purged the poison, were now watching the battle in perfect condition. Moreover, the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists, along with Janggeom Mountain Manor’s warriors, were poised to strike at any moment.
"They’re waiting for you to lose control and interfere. That way, they can attack us all at once without reproach." In an instant, Myo Cheon-woo felt as if cold water had been poured over him, snapping him to his senses.
He finally understood Han Seong’s cunning scheme. Feeling Bu Eunseol’s superior martial prowess, Han Seong had deliberately joined the fight, feigning anger.
If Seok Woohaeng and Myo Cheon-woo couldn’t hold back and intervened, they’d rush in and deal with them all at once.
"Then what do we do? Just stand here and watch?" Seok Woohaeng shook his head calmly.
"Gather your inner energy. Prepare for any situation." Despite their injuries, Myo Cheon-woo and Seok Woohaeng still had functioning legs.
If they wanted, they could flee immediately. But if they escaped, Bu Eunseol would be instantly surrounded, so they held their ground.
"Hmph, you’ve got some loyalty after all, Seok Woohaeng." Recalling something, Myo Cheon-woo scoffed at Seok Woohaeng. "If you wanted to escape, you could’ve slipped away quietly by now."
All the guests’ attention was focused on the battle between Bu Eunseol and the Great Righteous Masters. With his mastery of the Extreme Slaughter Sect’s assassination techniques, Seok Woohaeng could have escaped unnoticed.
"Loyalty?" Seok Woohaeng laughed coldly. "Shouldn’t we first see how this fight plays out?"
"What?" Even as he spoke, Seok Woohaeng’s gaze remained fixed on Bu Eunseol.
"Watching this battle alone provides valuable insights and lessons. It’s a spectacle not to be missed."
"Seok Woohaeng, you…"
"If he loses, I’ll escape immediately. No matter what happens." Myo Cheon-woo’s jaw dropped.
Seok Woohaeng had neither blood, tears, nor the slightest shred of loyalty.
"He exposed himself in a disadvantageous position to save us, just because we’re fellow Ten Demon Warriors." Myo Cheon-woo spoke in a low voice.
"And you’d betray him?"
"Don’t be mistaken, Myo Cheon-woo." Seok Woohaeng’s eyes were coldly resolute.
"Since when were the Ten Demon Warrior comrades on the same boat?"
"Seok Woohaeng."
"Have you forgotten the lessons of Hell Island? The martial world is no different from Hell Island." There was no wavering in Seok Woohaeng’s gaze. "We are still living in Hell Island. Even at this very moment."
—We are still living in Hell Island.
Myo Cheon-woo fell silent. Seok Woohaeng’s words were not wrong. All trainees had killed each other to become Ten Demon Warrior. There was never any camaraderie or loyalty to begin with.
"No. This place is not Hell Island." Myo Cheon-woo shook his head. "And he knows it isn’t."
This was not Hell Island.
And Bu Eunseol, knowing it wasn’t, had shown such kindness.
"Of course, Seok Woohaeng, your perspective isn’t wrong. The martial world is like a barren desert." Myo Cheon-woo valued Bu Eunseol’s act of kindness in the face of death more highly. "Think as you wish. That’s your life."
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, Bu Eunseol’s duel was reaching its climax. Since escaping the Beggar King’s attack, Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship and inner energy had grown exponentially.
If not for that, he would have lost his life to Han Seong and Qing Choxian’s swords. But even so, he wasn’t at a level to face two Great Righteous Masters simultaneously.
As their Cloud Swords appeared and vanished in the air, Bu Eunseol was gradually pushed to the defensive.
"Even you can’t withstand our combined attack!" As Bu Eunseol’s defeat became evident, Han Seong shouted with a confident expression.
Splatter!
By now, Bu Eunseol’s body was covered in large and small wounds. But they were merely flesh wounds. His eyes burned like flames, and his legs stood firm like Mount Tai.
"His inner energy is formidable." Qing Choxian, observing Bu Eunseol, whispered to Han Seong. "He’s completely unaffected by the inner energy in our swords."
Both, having reached the transcendent realm, were pouring immense inner energy into their swords, just like Bu Eunseol.
Thus, the moment their blades touched skin, overwhelming inner energy would flood the meridians. Yet, despite multiple grazes, Bu Eunseol fought on unscathed.
"No matter how great his inner energy, he can’t fend off our combined attack." Han Seong spoke softly, waving his gleaming sword side to side. "Qingmei, the Unified Arrow Strike."
Unified Arrow Strike.
A two-person joint attack used by masters who have fully mastered the Cloud-Severing Sword to face an enemy.
One uses the Ice-Melting Dissolution Form, while the other uses the Wind-Flowing Cloud-Dispersing Form, attacking simultaneously. This creates an impeccable sword strike, the Unified Arrow Strike, impossible to evade.
"Understood." Nodding heavily, Qing Choxian unleashed the Ice-Melting Dissolution Form.
Sssss.
A faint mist-like sword aura enveloped Bu Eunseol’s entire body. At the same time, a sharp wind poured from Han Seong’s sword tip.
Swish.
Bu Eunseol raised his Black Blade upright.
Could he break the sword strike unleashed by two Great Righteous Masters together?
No such question existed in his mind. Only one thought occupied him.
‘I will not retreat any longer.’ Retreating due to lack of strength was enough once. He would never experience that again.
Hummm.
A strange tremor accompanied a faint glow emanating from Bu Eunseol’s body. The glow gradually shifted to his Black Blade and his left hand. He had worked tirelessly to address his shortcomings, perfecting the secret techniques of the Seven Demonic Fists.
"Unified Arrow Strike!" At that moment, Han Seong and Qing Choxian shouted in unison.
A white sword aura poured down on Bu Eunseol’s head, like a beautiful yet majestic white cloud. But in reality, that cloud was a formidable sword aura capable of passing through any material.
Whoosh!
At that instant, a faint glow shimmered in Bu Eunseol’s left fist.
He was about to use the Seven Demonic Fists, not the Supreme Heavenly Flow.
‘The Seven Demonic Fists…’ A wild gleam surged in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The light gathered in his fist began to spin fiercely like a whirlwind.
As he thrust his fist forward, a dragon-like tornado seemed capable of sweeping away everything in its path. It was the third form of the Seven Demonic Fists, Self-Obliterating Unity, which he had never used before.
Roar!
The raging fist force soared into the air, pushing back the incoming sword aura.
Whoosh!
The sword aura that had blanketed the world in white dissipated, revealing the shocked faces of Han Seong and Qing Choxian.
Flash! Flash!
At that moment, Bu Eunseol’s Black Blade, held in his right hand, produced two radiant beams of light. He had consecutively unleashed the Supreme Heavenly Flow’s Meteor Chasing the Moon.
By seamlessly combining different martial arts to compensate for deficiencies in power and technique, he applied the principle of Two Strengths Surpassing One, learned from his fight with Seong Ryun, the Great Righteous Master of the Beggars’ Sect.
Sssss.
The radiant beams passed through Han Seong and Qing Choxian, vanishing into the sky. Suddenly, the world fell silent, as if time had stopped.
Click.
The heavy silence was broken by the sound of Bu Eunseol sheathing his Black Blade. At the same time, the wide-open eyes of Han Seong and Qing Choxian grew dim.
Spurt!
Blood blossoms bloomed from the necks of Han Seong and Qing Choxian, who stood upright.
Thud.
Without even a single scream, the two collapsed like logs.
"Two Great Righteous Masters at once…" Everyone doubted their own eyes.
A Ten Demon Warrior had single-handedly defeated the combined attack of two Great Righteous Masters!
"Seong-ah!" At that moment, Han Yeongbaek’s anguished wail echoed through Janggeom Mountain Manor. "You, how could you…!"
Han Seong was his cherished only son, the pride of Janggeom Mountain Manor, a Great Righteous Master. Clutching his son’s corpse and sobbing, Han Yeongbaek pointed at Bu Eunseol and shouted to the guests.
"Seize him! Destroy that man!"
Comments