Bu Eunseol was descending Great Sword Mountain.
He wasn’t using qinggong, moving slowly, step by step. His body, as if brimming with energy, emitted faint energy waves like mist.
It was as if he were harmonizing body and mind, heightening his senses to their peak for an impending battle.
Reaching a wide clearing halfway down the mountain, he—
Halt.
He suddenly stopped.
Scanning the sharp energies surrounding him, he called out.
"Come out."
"Ugh."
A furious exclamation shook the air. From behind a large rock opposite him, a small figure emerged. It was Elder Nengyin.
"From your expression, it seems you didn’t just notice me on the roof… you knew from the start." Elder Nengyin had been hiding on the roof of the Medicine Stone Pavilion, eavesdropping on A-Yeon and Ok Yuha.
Bu Eunseol had known but pretended otherwise.
The one who tied the knot must untie it.
"Indeed."
"How did you know?"
"If you planned to kill me, you could afford to teach me your inner energy technique, couldn’t you?" Bu Eunseol said calmly. "As you’re acting as the pavilion master, you must also control the pavilion’s forces."
"Ho, and how did you know that?" Elder Nengyin gave a strange smile. "I didn’t do anything to arouse suspicion."
"Even with the pavilion master’s position vacant, how could an elder unilaterally decide to teach an outsider the sect’s secrets?"
Teaching an inner energy technique to an outsider is strictly forbidden in any sect.
Yet Elder Nengyin had casually taught him the ultimate teachings of the Milyeon Heart Technique to save A-Yeon.
This implied she held the authority of the vacant pavilion master.
"It was an unavoidable decision." Elder Nengyin nodded in acknowledgment. "Not just me—anyone would have made that choice. If that girl suffered further, the pavilion would face irreversible ruin."
"But I cannot understand." Bu Eunseol tilted his head. "Is repaying kindness with enmity part of the Sword Pavilion’s code? I treated her with utmost sincerity, so why are you trying to kill me?"
Elder Nengyin’s expression turned pained. "The previous heir fell into a demonic affliction and became ill because of a man… how could I let the next heir follow the same path?"
"The previous heir…" Bu Eunseol realized something. "Then not only Pavilion Master Ok, but all the pavilion’s heirs… they must all have the Yang Radiance Constitution."
It was an abrupt statement.
But Elder Nengyin’s eyes flashed with surprise.
"How did you know that?"
"The pavilion’s mysterious arts are impressive but overly ambitious."
"Ambitious?"
"To master them, one must open both the lower and upper Dantian simultaneously… so you seek women with the Yang Radiance Constitution as heirs, don’t you?"
Impressed by Bu Eunseol’s deduction, Elder Nengyin nodded.
"Correct. To master our pavilion’s heart techniques, one must have the Yang Radiance Constitution."
"That’s the cause."
"Cause?"
"Women with the Yang Radiance Constitution, bearing fiery Yang energy, naturally have richer and more passionate emotions than ordinary women." Bu Eunseol shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Teaching such women mysterious arts meant to calm the mind—doesn’t that invite such disasters?"
"And that passionate, intense nature nearly cost us our heirs." Elder Nengyin, who seemed about to flare up, calmly acknowledged his words. "Twice, no less."
"Twice?" Bu Eunseol tilted his head, and Elder Nengyin’s eyes filled with resentment as she spoke.
"It’s happening again because of you."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you pretending not to know A-Yeon’s state?"
"I’m not pretending—I’m stating facts. I have no connection with her."
"No connection?" Elder Nengyin scoffed. "No connection, yet she’s so consumed by longing she can’t think straight, calling your name in her sleep at night?"
"She did?" Bu Eunseol was dumbfounded.
Other women aside, A-Yeon had never even given him a glance. To think she held such deep affection that she called his name in her dreams?
'Is it something like first love?'
The fever of first love strikes everyone at least once. Especially in youth, one might fall for someone’s appearance or actions. Bu Eunseol thought A-Yeon’s pure heart had belatedly succumbed to the fever of first love.
"Fine." Bu Eunseol shrugged. "You’re trying to kill me for such a trivial reason?"
"Trivial reason?" Elder Nengyin shouted with venomous eyes. "If I had killed that Seven-Finger Demon Blade when he came to the pavilion, Yuha would never have ended up like this!"
A shocking revelation.
The Seven-Finger Demon Blade had come to the Sword Pavilion? Why was such a fact unknown?
"He came to the pavilion?" Bu Eunseol frowned, and Elder Nengyin bit her lip. "He came to see Yuha, saying she must have fallen ill because of the elder massacre."
Her eyes wavered as she recalled that time.
"He was covered in blood, gravely injured."
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened. The Seven-Finger Demon Blade had foreseen that Ok Yuha would fall ill due to the elder massacre and had secretly come to the pavilion to help her.
"Then why did he leave?"
Elder Nengyin’s expression turned confident. "He had no choice but to leave. He faced the pavilion’s greatest force, the Silent Void Annihilation Formation."
It turned out Elder Nengyin had intervened to prevent the Seven-Finger Demon Blade from meeting Ok Yuha and had kept it hidden all this time.
"He said he didn’t want to kill the pavilion’s disciples and left." Elder Nengyin’s expression turned venomous.
"But I made a grave mistake."
"What mistake?"
"I shouldn’t have let him go." A chilling killing intent emanated from her eyes. "If I had activated the Silent Void Annihilation Formation, I could have killed him instantly. But out of misplaced mercy… I caused Yuha to live in pain her entire life."
"Was that his fault?"
"If I had killed him, Yuha would have given up cleanly, and she wouldn’t have developed such a deep sickness."
Elder Nengyin gritted her teeth. "But she lived hoping he’d return someday… waiting her entire life."
'So that’s why she didn’t use her dharma name.'
Ok Yuha, once the pavilion’s heir, lived as if she had returned to secular life, not using her dharma name. She had hated the Seven-Finger Demon Blade yet waited for him her entire life.
"Because of that vile Seven-Finger Demon Blade, the pavilion lost its heir and was forced into decades of seclusion."
"…"
"And now another demonic spawn is bewitching our heir—how can I stand by and watch?"
From Elder Nengyin’s perspective, the pavilion’s heir had ruined her life because of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.
And now A-Yeon, the next heir, was falling into a demonic affliction because of Bu Eunseol—she couldn’t let it pass.
"So you’re determined to kill me?"
"Correct." Elder Nengyin spoke with unwavering resolve. "I’ve endured as an elder to ensure this never happens again, to secure a proper heir."
Looking at the distant sky, she said with a sigh, "How can I stand by when the mistakes of the past are repeating?"
"Killing me will resolve everything?"
"Hmph. If the source is removed, she won’t suffer a lifetime of sickness or regret."
"Elder." Bu Eunseol’s voice carried more resignation than anger.
He understood Elder Nengyin’s pain and resentment to some extent.
For someone who lived solely for the pavilion, watching heirs ruin their lives over men was unbearable.
"Loving someone is natural. How can you artificially stop it?"
"Such words apply in the secular world. But how can one steeped in desire remain in the Sword Pavilion?"
"The pavilion’s mysterious arts are too greedy. Is it necessary to choose women with the Yang Radiance Constitution, which clashes with the Sword Pavilion, as heirs?"
The Sword Pavilion selected heirs with the Yang Radiance Constitution to master its mysterious arts. But was it necessary to choose such women, whose emotional intensity and fervor were ill-suited to the Sword Pavilion?
"They have wide emotional swings and express everything passionately."
"The pavilion’s swordsmanship is unmatched by any sect. Is it necessary to make such women heirs to master the mysterious arts?"
"What do you know to say such things?" Elder Nengyin shouted angrily. "Women’s sects have always been swept away by the martial world’s powers. The pavilion stood tall for generations because of its immense strength."
Bu Eunseol sighed, as if resigned.
It was true that women’s sects were often used as stepping stones by powerful factions. And to maintain a sect, sufficient martial prowess was necessary.
As an outsider, Bu Eunseol couldn’t criticize the pavilion’s ways.
"So." Scanning the sharp energies surrounding him, Bu Eunseol said, "You’re prepared for an all-out war with Majeon to do this?"
"Hahaha." Elder Nengyin laughed with a furious tone. "If you had roamed the martial world as Majeon’s heir, that might be true."
Her sharp eyes scanned Bu Eunseol. "But coming here under a different identity means you’re moving covertly to avoid intelligence networks."
"…"
"If I quietly deal with you here, who would know?"
Elder Nengyin wasn’t just a stubborn old woman.
She was a leader with keen insight, capable of perfectly managing the pavilion in the absence of a master.
"If I had killed the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, none of this would have happened. My greatest regret is not killing him to end Yuha’s torment."
Bu Eunseol remained silent.
He half-understood Elder Nengyin’s pain. After all, two heirs had fallen into demonic afflictions because of demonic men, forcing her to worry about the pavilion’s future even in her old age.
But to prevent disciples’ inner turmoil through murder?
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, Elder Nengyin was no disciple of the Sword Pavilion but a butcher wielding a killer’s blade.
"Ambitious dreams." Realizing there was no room for her to change her mind, Bu Eunseol said coldly, "You didn’t kill the Seven-Finger Demon Blade out of mercy but because you lacked confidence. Failure would have cost the pavilion its elite disciples in an instant."
Bu Eunseol smiled coldly.
"But you’re confident you can kill a fledgling heir of Majeon, so you’ve come forward."
"Insult me all you want. My mind is made up." Elder Nengyin said with resolve. "If I don’t go to hell, who will?"
Clap.
As she raised her hand—
Swish.
Over sixty disciples flooded the clearing, blocking Bu Eunseol’s escape routes.
"You know this isn’t a fair duel. We plan to overwhelm you with numbers, so don’t resent us for being ruthless."
"Haven’t you already repaid kindness with enmity?" Bu Eunseol smiled calmly.
"Nothing could be more ruthless than that."
The fight had already begun.
By striking at Elder Nengyin’s conscience with words, Bu Eunseol had dealt another blow.
As a human, she trembled slightly, feeling shame. But hardening her heart, she raised her hand to activate the formation—
Step, step.
From behind a large tree ten jang away, a white figure emerged with the sound of footsteps.
It was Ok Yuha.
Walking to Bu Eunseol and standing before Elder Nengyin, her eyes were empty.
"He… came to the pavilion?"
She had come to buy time for A-Yeon to make her decision.
And if a fight started, she planned to delay it with various excuses. But overhearing Bu Eunseol and Elder Nengyin, she learned that Bu Zhanyang had risked his life to come to the pavilion for her.
"Bu Zhanyang… for me…" Ok Yuha staggered, as if her soul had been shattered.
"How… how!"
She let out a desperate cry.
"How could you be so cruel!" Her voice poured out the pain of years past, filled with sorrow. "You knew how I waited for him! You knew I longed for him my entire life!"
She burst into tears, sobbing.
"How could you deceive me!"
"Then what would become of the pavilion!" Elder Nengyin also let out a desperate shout. "To a disciple who abandoned everything for a man! Should I have said he was a man of honor who kept his promise?"
"Master!"
"The pavilion was once the leader of the orthodox factions! But because of you, its status plummeted!" Elder Nengyin shouted in rage. "We finally trained a new heir to make the pavilion bloom again! Or should we let the same thing happen again?"
"This can’t… this can’t…" As Ok Yuha reeled in shock, faint steam rose from her body.
At the same time, wrinkles began to form on her once-smooth skin. Her anger was breaking the Green Veil Flower Charm Great Method.
"He came for me… knowing I’d fallen ill… covered in blood…"
In Ok Yuha’s eyes, she saw a solitary man climbing Great Sword Mountain, bloodied.
His strong frame, tightly pressed lips. Eyes unyielding even if the heavens collapsed. A lonely, sorrowful air…
The image of that solitary peerless warrior.
"How could you…" As the Green Veil Flower Charm Great Method fully broke, her face aged—
Swish.
A gentle breeze struck her acupoints.
Bu Eunseol, standing behind her, had sealed her acupoints.
"Why?"
As Ok Yuha’s consciousness faded, she murmured, and Bu Eunseol carefully seated her against a rock, whispering,
"Bu Zhanyang wouldn’t have wanted you to destroy your energy in anger." If the Green Veil Flower Charm Great Method, built on her life’s energy, broke, she would be left with nothing.
Bu Eunseol had sealed her acupoints for her sake.
Humm.
He infused warm energy to calm her.
"Rest, Pavilion Master."
"Bu… Zhanyang." In her fading consciousness, Ok Yuha saw the man she dreamed of.
Even if the world pointed fingers, he walked his path silently with a wistful smile…
The swordsman who gave her bittersweet memories.
"I’m sorry."
Drop.
A single clear tear rolled down Ok Yuha’s cheek as she fell asleep.
Bu Eunseol carefully leaned her against a tree stump to avoid waking her and covered her with his outer robe.
"Elder Nengyin." Turning, Bu Eunseol looked down at her with solemn, cold eyes. "With such a base mindset, you think you can revive the pavilion? That’s why it’s in this state."
"What?"
"Your greed has ruined the pavilion."
Bu Eunseol slowly drew his black sword.
"Now I’ll show you."
"Hahaha! Seems your fame has blinded you." Despite the fearsome aura emanating from Bu Eunseol, Elder Nengyin laughed loudly. "I know your martial arts are impressive. But if a sect has stood at the peak for centuries, you should understand its strength."
She shouted immediately,
"Flame Flower Corps and Lotus Corps, listen. Deploy the Silent Void Annihilation Formation against him."
Swish, swish, swish.
The sixty disciples moved chaotically, surrounding Bu Eunseol.
A strange pressure poured from all directions, pressing down on him.
"Even the invincible Seven-Finger Demon Blade would have died helplessly in this formation." Elder Nengyin smirked.
The Silent Void Annihilation Formation, the pavilion’s supreme formation, was divided into three stages and composed of the elite Flame Flower and Lotus Corps.
It could defeat any master in an instant.
"The Seven-Finger Demon Blade…" Bu Eunseol muttered with a hollow expression. "To think he’d die helplessly in such a formation."
A surge of boldness rose within him.
The Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang.
A grandmaster of peerless blade arts who dominated the world with a single sword.
And wasn’t he the heir to that blade legacy?
"Deploy the First Formation!" At Elder Nengyin’s command, the disciples moved chaotically, wielding their sword techniques.
The pouring pressure became a massive energy wave, swirling like a vortex. It seemed to suck in the air, making breathing impossible.
But Bu Eunseol stepped into the circular energy wave without hesitation.
Not out of reckless bravado, but because he trusted the absolute blade art created by the Seven-Finger Demon Blade—the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
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