‘He’s serious.’
Bu Eunseol knew.
Yeop Hyocheon genuinely meant to kill him with this attack. Defending alone would lead to being overwhelmed and killed.
‘I must strike first.’ To defeat a superior opponent, one must take the initiative and never retreat. ‘I can’t enhance my techniques with mental methods now.’
The earlier fusion of the two techniques was a fleeting stroke of luck. Hoping for such fortune in a life-or-death moment would lead to instant death.
‘Then it’s the Thirteen Guiding Energies.’
Yeop Hyocheon had partially grasped the Wishful True Binding. To withstand his unpredictable lethal strikes, Bu Eunseol needed an unexpected technique—the Thirteen Guiding Energies.
Whoosh!
Yeop Hyocheon vanished, unleashing invisible killing strikes.
Zzt!
Pushing Swift Beyond Shadow to its limit, Bu Eunseol’s hands and feet moved fluidly, like rubber. Like Yeop Hyocheon, he executed fist, kick, and movement techniques with different parts of his body.
Pop!
But the result was unexpected.
Though he combined distinct techniques, the power was weak.
The sharp force unique to the Thirteen Guiding Energies was feeble.
Pop!
Blood spurted from Bu Eunseol’s neck as Yeop Hyocheon’s strike grazed him.
The burning pain sharpened his senses.
‘Without the Martial Emperor’s Tranquil Awakening, it can’t unleash its full power?’ In the vault, merely combining techniques had produced sharp energy.
Now, the power was dozens of times weaker.
‘Back then, I had long refined the Martial Emperor’s Tranquil Awakening, so it came naturally.’ Without it, the Thirteen Guiding Energies was an empty shell.
Realizing this, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
Zing!
Focusing, energy flowed through his body.
Though ill-suited to his nature, requiring calm meditation to access, the Martial Emperor’s Tranquil Awakening surged as his life hung in the balance, calming his spirit and filling his heart with emotion. He instantly reached the state of Tranquil Heart Through Deep Emotions.
“Hah!” Overwhelmed by emotion, Bu Eunseol let out an unprecedented battle cry.
He executed the Cloud Purification Step with his legs and the South Peak True Fist with his left hand.
Whoosh!
Sharp energy surged from his waist to his fist.
The Thirteen Guiding Energies, the Martial Emperor’s true technique, combined righteous martial arts to unleash unpredictable force, now manifesting through Bu Eunseol after four hundred years.
Pop, pop!
But Yeop Hyocheon was too fast, dodging left before the force could fully form.
Bu Eunseol still had his right hand.
Swish! Crackle!
Unleashing the Immortal-Capturing Hand with his right hand, two blade-like forces targeted Yeop Hyocheon’s flanks and retreat path.
“Hoh,” Yeop Hyocheon exclaimed, swiftly evading.
‘There!’
Tap!
Pinpointing Yeop Hyocheon’s position, Bu Eunseol used a movement technique and unleashed the Thirteen Guiding Energies again.
Swish! Crackle!
Three streams of force swirled around him like a guard, striking unpredictably or retracting to circle him.
Snip.
A strand of Yeop Hyocheon’s hair was minutely cut as he dodged.
“Good,” Yeop Hyocheon said, shifting tactics.
He closed in to neutralize Bu Eunseol’s force.
Pop! Pop, pop!
They clashed and parted, soaring and landing.
Like beams of light, they collided and separated in the air.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out as their light-like shadows collided head-on.
Hiss.
The two figures parted, revealing Yeop Hyocheon and Bu Eunseol.
“Hm,” Yeop Hyocheon sighed, looking at his sleeve.
Though uninjured, it was sharply sliced.
“Heh,” he chuckled, his killing intent fading. “Even a prodigy has limits to their enlightenment,” he murmured, narrowing his eyes. “You couldn’t have fully grasped my techniques in this short time…”
His voice mixed admiration and disbelief.
Clank.
Sheathing his sword, Bu Eunseol replied respectfully, “I only discerned that your hands and feet moved with different principles.”
“Such a sharp force technique isn’t from the Nangyang Pavilion… Did you create that technique on the spot?” Yeop Hyocheon asked.
Unable to mention the Martial Emperor’s Hidden Vault, Bu Eunseol shook his head. “I merely applied insights gained from the Heaven and Earth Severing Sect journey.”
Yeop Hyocheon stared, probing for truth.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes held only confidence.
The Thirteen Guiding Energies was indeed an insight from that journey.
By omitting the vault, he could remain honest.
“I see,” Yeop Hyocheon nodded, interpreting it as a technique passed by Hyeok Gongbaek. “You’ve advanced yet again.”
His eyes and expression returned to normal.
Bu Eunseol felt a chill.
‘Majeon is truly Majeon.’
The sect always maintained a solemn atmosphere, with neither the Demon Emperor nor Yeop Hyocheon openly displaying demonic aura.
Only Ak Muryeong, the Nangyang Pavilion Master, showed a typical demonic demeanor.
But now he understood.
All the sect’s demonic figures possessed immense demonic aura, merely concealed. Majeon was the holy land of countless demons, the cradle of great demonic masters.
“This should suffice,” Yeop Hyocheon said with a faint smile. “Even on a solo mission, you won’t tarnish the sect’s prestige.”
“A solo mission?” Bu Eunseol asked, puzzled.
He had undertaken solo missions, but only for successor tasks.
Yeop Hyocheon smiled. “Lead the Death Shadow Corps into the martial world to aid the Cheonsal Leader.”
An unexpected order.
Bu Eunseol blinked, and Yeop Hyocheon added in a low voice, “Details have been relayed to the Manbak Hall Master. Go see him.”
He turned, signaling dismissal.
“Then,” Bu Eunseol said, clasping his hands.
As he turned to leave, Yeop Hyocheon’s voice rang out. “You’ve become a sharper blade than I expected.”
Bu Eunseol froze, realizing the spar’s true purpose.
‘So that was it…’
Yeop Hyocheon was a blacksmith.
He had forged a blade through countless strikes and tempering, now testing its quality.
Had the blade been unsatisfactory, a failure…
He would have destroyed it instantly.
‘Majeon is indeed Majeon.’
Bu Eunseol clenched his fist and slowly left the training ground.
***
That afternoon, after washing, Bu Eunseol lay in his quarters, resting for the first time.
His muscles felt torn, and he lacked the strength to move a finger.
A test disguised as a spar.
Yeop Hyocheon had drawn out all of Bu Eunseol’s hidden abilities.
‘I thought he aimed to advance my skills through sparring.’ In a sense, it wasn’t wrong.
The spar had allowed him to apply the Martial Emperor’s Tranquil Awakening and Thirteen Guiding Energies in combat swiftly.
But one thing was certain…
Yeop Hyocheon had intended to kill him but changed his mind mid-fight.
‘Is the Chief Instructor plotting something?’ Until now, Yeop Hyocheon had seemed to favor him. But this spar revealed that as a misconception.
A tool.
Bu Eunseol was merely a tool—a sharper blade than expected.
That sharpness might not be entirely welcome.
Too sharp a blade could harm its wielder.
‘I’ll find answers later.’ Dwelling on unanswerable questions only drained mental energy.
Regaining some strength, Bu Eunseol rose to meet Baek Jeoncheon, the Manbak Hall Master.
But there was no need.
As he prepared to leave, Baek Jeoncheon arrived.
“It’s been a while, Leader Bu,” Baek Jeoncheon said, his usual genial smile in place.
But having glimpsed Yeop Hyocheon’s true nature and the sect’s reality, Bu Eunseol saw that smile differently.
“Hall Master,” Bu Eunseol said, clasping his hands.
Baek Jeoncheon produced a small wooden box from his robe.
“What’s this?” Bu Eunseol asked, opening it to find a gleaming token engraved with twin dragons vying for a pearl—the mark of a first-class Corps Leader.
“Leader Bu, you’ve just been granted the status of a first-class Corps Leader,” Baek Jeoncheon said calmly. “However, it’s a temporary status for a covert mission, so formal procedures were skipped.”
‘Was this planned from the start?’ Upon returning, the Death Shadow Corps was moved to a first-class residence.
It had been puzzling, but now it was clear.
Everything had been orchestrated.
“This covert mission…” Bu Eunseol asked, masking his thoughts.
“The Heavenly Thief,” Baek Jeoncheon said with a deep sigh. “His whereabouts have reached the Martial Alliance’s ears.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyebrows rose.
Tracking the Heavenly Thief was Weiji Hyesang’s successor mission. How had the Martial Alliance learned of it?
“As a successor mission for the Hwa Wu Sword Sect, it’s beyond their capacity, so the sect intervened,” Baek Jeoncheon explained in a low voice.
The Heavenly Thief was known to possess intimate knowledge of both demonic and righteous spies. When the Hwa Wu Sword Sect caught his trail, the Martial Alliance dispatched a force to Hainan.
“They sent five first-class sword divisions, including the Iron Sword Division, and ten third-class divisions under them,” Baek Jeoncheon said, narrowing his eyes. “To prevent an all-out conflict.”
If the Martial Alliance sent a sect-level force, it would spark a righteous-demonic war. But first-class divisions operated independently, their leaders bearing full responsibility.
If a conflict arose, it could be dismissed as their unilateral action.
“But it’s just a facade, isn’t it?” Bu Eunseol said.
Whether they sent one force or a dozen first-class divisions, their affiliation remained unchanged.
A clash between Majeon and the Martial Alliance was inevitable.
“In a clash of powers, justification is key,” Baek Jeoncheon sighed. “A fight between full forces is hard to resolve, but this can be dismissed as a rogue division’s act.” Shaking his head, he continued, “With the Martial Alliance’s forces deployed, the sect can no longer ignore the situation.”
The Heavenly Thief’s matter had escalated beyond the Hwa Wu Sword Sect, becoming Majeon’s concern.
A question struck Bu Eunseol.
Did this mean Weiji Hyesang’s mission was a success? A failure? Or partially successful?
“Given the circumstances, the successor mission is on hold. It’s that critical,” Baek Jeoncheon said, reading Bu Eunseol’s thoughts. “There have been clashes between our divisions and the Martial Alliance’s in the Oji Mountain area, where the Heavenly Thief is hiding.”
Sighing deeply, he shook his head. “Two weeks ago, the sect urgently dispatched the Cheonsal to Oji Mountain.”
Bu Eunseol couldn’t hide his shock.
The Cheonsal was one of the sect’s three great divisions.
Deploying them was akin to sending a sect-level force. If things went wrong, a miniature righteous-demonic war could erupt in Oji Mountain.
“Then why is our division being sent so late?” Bu Eunseol asked.
“In forming the encirclement around Oji Mountain, the Cheonsal Leader requested an additional first-class division,” Baek Jeoncheon explained. “But the sect has no more first-class divisions to spare. Thus, the Chief Instructor proposed temporarily elevating the Death Shadow Corps to first-class status. Your division’s strength surpasses a second-class division.”
With Bu Eunseol alone, the Death Shadow Corps exceeded second-class strength.
With peak masters like Myo Cheon-woo and Yoo Unryong, and members far stronger than before, they were practically a first-class division.
“At dawn, lead the Death Shadow Corps to Oji Mountain,” Baek Jeoncheon said, eyeing the silent Bu Eunseol gravely. “There, follow the Cheonsal Leader’s orders.”
An unwelcome mission.
But Bu Eunseol nodded. “Understood.”
As a Corps Leader, such missions were inevitable—something he’d prepared for since aspiring to the role.
‘But I won’t blindly follow orders.’ His expression was calm, but his eyes burned like the sun.
Before the Death Shadow Corps’s quarters, in the training ground, Bu Eunseol gathered the members to brief them on the mission. He explained their elevation to first-class division status, the standoff in Oji Mountain between the Martial Alliance’s sword divisions and the sect’s forces over the Heavenly Thief, and their need to join the Cheonsal.
“We’ll prepare immediately,” the squad leaders said, dispersing with nonchalant expressions.
Trained relentlessly, they were ready to survive any mission.
With Bu Eunseol, even a mission to hell held no fear.
As dusk fell and the sky turned red, a cold-faced man stood in Bu Eunseol’s office, arms crossed—Yoo Unryong, leader of the Fifth Squad.
“Why’d you call me?” Yoo Unryong asked.
Though a squad leader, he still struggled to accept Bu Eunseol as his superior.
Bu Eunseol didn’t mind.
Whether Yoo Unryong saw him as a superior didn’t matter, as long as he performed his exceptional abilities freely.
“I didn’t know you were the scion of a prominent official family,” Bu Eunseol said.
“What do you mean?” Yoo Unryong asked.
A faint, unfamiliar smile crossed Bu Eunseol’s face. “Your family.”
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