Whoosh!
Two shadows shot forward like arrows.
The one in front was the Heavenly Thief, pursued by Bu Eunseol.
‘He’s fast.’ The shadow’s speed was almost lightning-like.
Even Bu Eunseol, pushing his Swift Beyond Shadow technique to its limit, couldn’t easily catch up.
‘He’s injured.’ Blood occasionally sprayed into the air from the fleeing shadow. Despite his critical wounds, the Heavenly Thief moved too swiftly for Bu Eunseol to close the gap.
‘But I’m confident in my endurance.’ With his deep inner energy, Bu Eunseol could maintain Swift Beyond Shadow at full speed for over half a day.
Swish!
Realizing Bu Eunseol was closing in, the Heavenly Thief’s movements grew more intricate. He darted into a forest like lightning, leapt over cliffs with Cloud-Soaring Steps, and vanished again.
“Pointless,” Bu Eunseol said.
Due to his injuries, the Heavenly Thief couldn’t fully suppress his noise or presence. No matter the distance, Bu Eunseol’s Void Heart Vision instantly detected him.
Boom.
The Heavenly Thief’s movements gradually slowed. Finally, he stopped beneath a cliff, leaning against it, breathing heavily.
“Huff, huff.”
Tap.
Bu Eunseol, catching up, narrowed his eyes upon seeing him.
The Heavenly Thief, missing for decades, had an ethereal, sage-like appearance. But blood flowed from his left chest, and his eyes were dimming.
His life was fading from a fatal wound.
“You…” Panting, the Heavenly Thief pointed at Bu Eunseol’s face. “What’s your connection to Gowol?”
Known as the world’s greatest master of movement techniques, the Heavenly Thief instantly recognized Gowol’s techniques in Bu Eunseol.
“He was my teacher in movement techniques,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“Your teacher…”
The Heavenly Thief’s eyes narrowed as he panted. “I heard he returned to Nangyang Pavilion in his later years. Then you must be from Nangyang Pavilion.”
“Yes,” Bu Eunseol confirmed.
“No use,” the Heavenly Thief said, gritting his teeth. “No matter what you do, I’ll never talk.”
Bu Eunseol smiled faintly. “Don’t talk. If possible.”
“What?”
“If I learned your secrets, I’d be hunted by both factions for life, wouldn’t I?”
“What are you saying?” The Heavenly Thief blinked, frowning at the unexpected response. “You’re a strange one. If you don’t want secrets, why chase me?”
“Your appearance has thrown our sect into chaos. The successor struggle has become a mess, to say the least,” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “No need for me to act. Just die quickly.”
“You don’t seem to be one of them,” the Heavenly Thief said.
‘Them?’ Bu Eunseol’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m dying anyway…” the Heavenly Thief sighed deeply, gazing at the sky. “I should at least unburden my heart.”
Swallowing a heated breath, he said in a low voice, “I never saw any secret ledger listing spies of both factions. I just spread the rumor.”
“You wanted to be hunted by both factions?”
“Heh heh heh.” the Heavenly Thief’s eyes, gazing at the sky, held deep regret. “I was just a decoy to draw their attention. My movement techniques are unmatched, after all.”
It was incomprehensible.
Living as a fugitive for decades just to divert attention?
“Curious who they are?”
“Not interested,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“Why not?”
“I don’t care about martial world politics. And some things are better left unknown…” Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed as he trailed off.
He had just noticed peculiar weapons embedded in the Heavenly Thief’s back like a porcupine’s quills.
Swish!
With a gesture, Bu Eunseol drew the tiny weapons from the Heavenly Thief’s back into his hand using Void Grasping Technique.
‘Could it be…’ The weapons were fine needles with minute barbs. In the martial world, only the Sahyang Clan could craft such intricate needles.
“The Sahyang Clan…” Blood-red light flared in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, brighter than blood itself.
The weapons that killed his grandfather, Bu Zhanyang.
Why were they in the Heavenly Thief’s back?
Could the one who killed his grandfather be after the Heavenly Thief?
“Corrosive Blood Poison…” The needles were coated with a bluish liquid—Corrosive Blood Poison, a deadly toxin.
Blood-red light shimmered in Bu Eunseol’s eyes like a mirage.
“Who…” Emitting a blood-red aura from his eyes, Bu Eunseol roared like thunder, “Who threw these weapons?”
Hiss.
His rage unleashed uncontrollable energy, melting the needles in his left hand instantly.
“Who used these weapons?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Sahyang Clan’s weapons!” But the Heavenly Thief’s eyes were already clouding over.
The poison had spread through his body, and he had lost too much blood. Without his profound inner energy, he would’ve been dead long before Bu Eunseol’s pursuit.
“Answer before you die!”
Bu Eunseol pressed his palm to the Heavenly Thief’s Life Gate acupoint, infusing energy.
Crack!
A sharp sound came from the Heavenly Thief’s molars—an assassin’s false tooth containing poison.
Shudder.
As the poison spread, the Heavenly Thief’s eyes dimmed further.
His last spark of life was fading.
“Speak!” Suppressing his surging emotions, Bu Eunseol poured in more energy.
Whoosh.
Pure Ban-geuk energy, blending yin and yang, flowed through the Life Gate into his meridians, briefly restoring a faint light to the Heavenly Thief’s eyes.
“Who used the Sahyang Clan’s weapons coated with Corrosive Blood Poison?”
“Corrosive Blood Poison… Sahyang Clan’s weapons…”
Hearing Bu Eunseol, a subtle gleam flickered in the Heavenly Thief’s eyes. “Tianzhu Confucian Fist…”
Bu Eunseol’s chest burned as if it would burst.
The Heavenly Thief had named a technique Bu Eunseol hadn’t mentioned.
“You’re right. The one using the Sahyang Clan’s weapons and the Tianzhu Confucian Fist—who is it?”
“Seven-Finger…”
Gazing at the distant sky with unfocused eyes, the Heavenly Thief said in a low voice, “…Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang.”
With that, he breathed his last.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes lost focus at the unexpected answer.
Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang.
The former deputy leader of Majeon, who vanished long ago…
Wasn’t that the name of the legendary swordsman, the same as his grandfather’s? Could Seven-Finger Demon Blade Bu Zhanyang still be alive and be the one who killed his grandfather?
‘Or was my grandfather Seven-Finger Demon Blade Bu Zhanyang?’
Impossible.
The breathing technique his grandfather taught him from childhood was the Muscle-Changing Scripture, the supreme technique of the righteous factions. How could a legendary demonic master learn Shaolin’s Muscle-Changing Scripture, never leaked to outsiders?
Besides, his grandfather had ten warm, living fingers.
‘But…’
Doubts lingered.
How could a master of Shaolin’s supreme technique end up as a lowly coroner in a backwater agency, shunned even by vagrants?
Ultimately, even Bu Eunseol didn’t know his grandfather’s true identity.
Whoosh!
A black cloud surged in the distant sky, then plummeted to the ground.
Boom!
A figure in shimmering, peculiar robes landed—it was the Cheonsal Leader.
“The Heavenly Thief!”
Wi Muyeom, looking between Bu Eunseol and the Heavenly Thief, shouted, “What happened?”
“…” Bu Eunseol stood with unfocused eyes, as if he hadn’t heard.
Wi Muyeom roared, “Can’t you hear me?”
Slowly, Bu Eunseol turned his head. “Someone was fleeing near Hatch Peak, so I pursued.” In a lifeless voice, he added, “But he stopped here suddenly and died.”
“What did he tell you?”
Bu Eunseol shook his head. “Nothing.”
Wi Muyeom stared piercingly, as if gauging his truthfulness. A strange force in his eyes seemed to probe Bu Eunseol thoroughly.
But Bu Eunseol remained still, maintaining his vacant gaze.
“Hmph.” After a deathly silence, Wi Muyeom swallowed a groan and turned to examine the Heavenly Thief’s body.
‘A fatal wound near the heart.’ His eyes narrowed.
The weapon that pierced the heart was a thin, sharp blade, closer to a flexible sword used by righteous faction masters than a typical sword.
‘No one in our sect uses a flexible sword.’ Frowning, he examined the back, where flesh rotted from poison-laced weapons.
‘Corrosive Blood Poison?’ The decay made it impossible to identify the weapons.
‘Hmm.’ The wound missed the heart slightly, but the bleeding was severe, as if all his blood had drained.
‘The timing of their encounter is key.’ Wi Muyeom calculated the time the Heavenly Thief fled at full speed. ‘He wouldn’t have died instantly upon arriving here.’ If Bu Eunseol was here, they likely exchanged words.
‘Hmm.’ Wi Muyeom’s eyes sharpened.
With no witnesses, the truth was impossible to uncover.
Boom!
A white lightning bolt struck, and a man in white robes landed.
It was Lee Seocheon, leader of the Heavenly Sword Division, commanding all of the Martial Alliance’s divisions.
“Damn.” Seeing the Heavenly Thief’s cold corpse, Lee Seocheon’s face fell.
Swish, tap, tap.
Cheonsal and Heavenly Sword Division members arrived, lining up behind Wi Muyeom and Lee Seocheon. With the Heavenly Thief and Bu Eunseol at the center, the two factions faced off, creating a tense standoff.
The air grew heavy, the atmosphere menacing.
“Who are you?” Lee Seocheon stared at Bu Eunseol, but got no reply.
“You seem to be the first to find the Heavenly Thief,” he pressed, eyebrows twitching, but Bu Eunseol remained silent.
He saw no need to explain to a Martial Alliance leader.
“Hmph.” Lee Seocheon groaned, examining the Heavenly Thief’s body. He froze, unable to close his mouth, as he studied the sharp wound near the heart.
‘Not a demonic technique.’ Though it seemed ruthless, the technique was closer to righteous swordsmanship.
Demonic sword techniques often included twisting or dragging motions to maximize lethality. But this wound was a clean, swift strike through the heart, with the blade withdrawn quickly.
‘This is incomprehensible.’ Lee Seocheon had spotted the Heavenly Thief’s trail almost simultaneously with Wi Muyeom and pursued him.
But the Heavenly Thief’s movement and stealth were exceptional, causing them to lose him briefly. When they found him again, he was a cold corpse, with no clue who killed him or how.
“We can’t determine who killed him. To investigate the cause of death, the Martial Alliance will take the body,” Lee Seocheon said.
Wi Muyeom scoffed. “Nonsense.”
In a low, firm voice, he declared, “Our sect will take his body.”
“So it’s come to this,” Lee Seocheon said, his eyes gleaming. A direct clash was inevitable.
But then—
Hiss!
White smoke began rising from the Heavenly Thief’s body.
His skin melted, turning into a pool of red blood on the ground.
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