“What a peculiar technique.”
Yet Bu Eunseol’s expression showed no surprise. Instead, he nodded as if it were only natural and said, “So, the reason they’re lined up like skewers is to combine their inner power?”
Astonishingly, the monk Bu Eunseol faced was not one but three monks of identical height and build, standing perfectly aligned in a single row.
“Wouldn’t it be better to attack all at once instead of standing in a line like that?”
“Ugh.” Despite Bu Eunseol’s words, the three monks, their tongues severed, could only emit guttural groans.
“Ughhh!” With a roar, the monks now lunged at Bu Eunseol, their ten fingers flickering chaotically.
Sharp finger winds drew long lines, piercing toward his body.
The Divine Finger Technique. Shaolin’s signature technique was being unleashed by the monks of Blood Shaolin.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
With sounds like a bent bamboo snapping back, Bu Eunseol’s body trembled violently.
He had clearly dodged the Divine Finger Technique perfectly. Yet, the sheer force of the passing finger winds was enough to shake his insides.
‘So that’s why they overlapped.’ Bu Eunseol finally understood why these monks attacked while standing so closely aligned.
They weren’t overlapping their bodies to unleash their inner power simultaneously.
‘It was the stacking of their inner power.’
The moment the first monk unleashed his inner power, the second followed suit, and then the third added his own. This successive unleashing of the Divine Finger Technique transcended the limits of inner power and martial principles, producing an indescribably immense force.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The monks’ Divine Finger Technique, stacked three times with their combined inner power, was dozens of times more powerful. Moreover, even if Bu Eunseol dodged perfectly, the shockwaves and air currents alone were enough to inflict internal injuries.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol broke through the arrow-like barrage of Divine Finger Techniques, unleashing a flurry of Fist Demon Forms.
Boom!
A tremendous force curved through the air, targeting the gaps between the three overlapping monks.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
But the moment his fist’s force touched their bodies, golden ripples spread outward like waves.
The Diamond Invincible Body Technique.
Once activated, this ultimate Shaolin technique rendered the user impervious to any external force.
‘They’ve even layered the Diamond Invincible Body Technique?’
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize why the three monks had sewn their eyes shut and cut their tongues.
‘They deliberately sacrificed their sight and speech to master such techniques.’
In the past, the three Chen brothers, said to have united their minds and bodies, only shared physical senses.
This was because they could still speak and retained individual personalities.
But these Blood Shaolin monks had gone further, severing their eyes and tongues to perfectly unite not just their bodies but their minds as well…
Communicating solely through bodily sensations and mental connection.
“Even for Blood Shaolin, this is excessive. Was it really necessary to go this far?”
“Ughhh!” As Bu Eunseol’s voice carried a trace of pity, the monks grew angrier, unleashing even fiercer finger winds.
A monster clad in the Diamond Invincible Body Technique at all times, capable of tripling its inner power output. Bu Eunseol had to defeat these fearsome Blood Shaolin monks without weapons.
Pop!
In the meantime, a finger wind grazed him, rattling his insides.
In this confined space, the Divine Finger Technique, amplified dozens of times, was truly an invincible move. Moreover, with the Diamond Invincible Body Technique protecting them, rushing into close combat risked a devastating counterattack.
Pop! Pop!
Another graze from the Divine Finger Technique shook Bu Eunseol’s body, blurring his vision.
“Uoooh!” In that moment, the monks closed in, unleashing the Divine Finger Technique with their left hands and the Arhat Divine Fist with their right.
Tsssss!
Without retreating, Bu Eunseol shifted his stance dozens of times in place, dodging their attacks.
It was a life-risking maneuver to identify the monks’ weaknesses.
Pop! Boom!
As he evaded the Divine Finger Technique and Arhat Divine Fist at point-blank range…
Hiss.
Bu Eunseol was pushed back three zhang, blood trickling from his mouth. He had sustained a minor internal injury.
‘So that’s how it is.’ By dodging their attacks at such close range, Bu Eunseol finally spotted a flaw.
Had he simply intended to kill the monks, he could have used the Thirteen Guiding Energies, Wishful True Binding, or Glacial Thousand Streams Technique to break their unity in an instant.
But these monks employed a unique strategy and technique unlike anything he had seen before.
And Bu Eunseol, when faced with a new technique, would risk his life to analyze and overcome it.
That was how he could grow to the next level.
‘No matter how powerful, they can’t escape the limits of their martial realm.’
The three monks’ minds were united as one, their attacks so formidable that even Bu Eunseol couldn’t easily withstand them.
Yet their martial prowess hadn’t reached the Supreme Heavenly Realm.
Why? Because they had sealed their healthy eyes and tongues.
To unite their minds and amplify their martial power, they sacrificed their senses, but in doing so, they lost the ability to seize the fleeting moment. In other words, by sacrificing their senses, they could never reach the Supreme Heavenly Realm, where time is split into infinitesimal fragments.
‘It comes down to the difference in martial prowess.’
To break through their defense, he needed to strike at the precise moment they unleashed the Divine Finger Technique and Arhat Divine Fist.
No matter how great their inner power, they couldn’t attack while maintaining the Diamond Invincible Body Technique.
‘I’ll do it.’
However, this method was a dangerous gamble that put his life on the line.
If he failed to seize the exact moment, their attacks would land squarely on him.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As he activated the Thirteen Guiding Energies, two sharp strands of energy coiled around Bu Eunseol’s body. An ordinary martial artist would have retreated or sought another way, but Bu Eunseol stood firm, waiting for the perfect moment. He was risking his life to seize the precise instant, much like the technique used by the Martial Emperor in the past.
Pop! Boom!
Suddenly, the Divine Finger Technique and Arhat Divine Fist struck Bu Eunseol simultaneously.
But at the same moment, two strands of energy erupted from his body.
Whoosh!
As the two sharp strands collided with the Divine Finger Technique and Arhat Divine Fist, both Bu Eunseol and the monks’ bodies shook violently.
The clash of energies sent massive shockwaves rippling through them.
“Ugh.” The monks groaned, but Bu Eunseol’s eyes remained locked on their bodies.
‘Now!’
His senses split time again and again. And at the moment their inner power surged anew, he seized the perfect instant.
Whoosh!
Two hidden strands of energy burst from Bu Eunseol’s body.
Swish!
With a sound like the wind, the sharp energy of the Thirteen Guiding Energies sliced through the gaps between the monks’ overlapping bodies… and with tremendous force, pushed them apart.
“…” The monks froze as if turned to stone.
Thud.
Then, they collapsed simultaneously to the ground.
By separating their closely aligned bodies, he had severed their physical and mental unity.
Though he had only spread their bodies apart, their minds and bodies believed they had been torn into three pieces.
Because they had lived as one until now…
Rumble.
As the monks fell, a low vibration echoed, and a secret door—not the passage Master Gonggong had used to enter the Scripture Pavilion—opened on one side of the bookshelf, revealing another passage.
“Quite a long test.” Muttering softly, Bu Eunseol stepped past the fallen monks and entered the passage.
Thud.
As he entered, the heavy wall closed firmly behind him.
Before him stretched another endlessly long corridor.
It now seemed that this underground mechanism was a passage designed to pass through Mount Song and lead elsewhere.
“A secret passage to escape Shaolin discreetly.” Following this long corridor would likely lead outside Shaolin’s grounds to another location. “Of course, there would be such a passage.”
Since ancient times, Shaolin had faced many tribulations.
Before the Martial Alliance was formed, Shaolin was the central pillar and leader of the righteous sects. All righteous sects rallied around Shaolin, and disputes between factions were mediated by them.
In essence, Shaolin performed all the roles the Martial Alliance now fulfilled.
Thus, forces seeking to dominate the martial world always attacked Shaolin first. Because as long as Shaolin stood, the righteous martial world would not fall.
Yet Shaolin had boldly withstood all invasions and battles. And based on that experience, they had created secret passages to escape during times of crisis.
Grind.
At the end of the passage, Bu Eunseol reached an iron door inscribed with the words Severing Nails, Cutting Iron.
With the sound of a mechanism activating, the thick iron door slowly began to rise.
Step, step.
Inside was a wide space with a door leading to the outside.
Twenty zhang ahead, he saw the shadows of people trapped behind opaque glass walls on either side.
On one side was the shadow of a young child, and on the other, an elderly person bound tightly.
Though their faces were obscured by the opaque glass, they appeared to be pleading for rescue.
Clank.
Suddenly, with the sound of a mechanism, large, pointed spikes protruded above the heads of the two trapped figures.
Clank.
At the same time, two massive spikes rose in front of where Bu Eunseol stood.
“It’s literal, then.”
Severing Nails, Cutting Iron.
It meant breaking nails and cutting iron.
While it typically symbolized decisive action, here it seemed to mean literally breaking the spikes and cutting through iron… to boldly choose whom to save.
Thud.
A low mechanical sound came from near the ceiling above the opaque glass.
It was a warning: if Bu Eunseol tried to break the walls and save them with his martial arts, the spikes would instantly pierce their heads.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol paused to think.
The distance to the opaque walls was about twenty-five zhang.
If he chose to, he could break the walls and save both before the spikes fell.
The problem was that he didn’t know what the opaque walls were made of. They might be special walls that could only be broken with a sword, not fists.
‘He even knew I didn’t bring my sword.’
The moment Bu Eunseol moved, the spikes would fall instantly.
If the opaque glass walls were tougher than expected and didn’t break immediately?
—Choose one of the two. Otherwise, both will die.
The mechanism was telling him this.
Crack!
Without hesitation, Bu Eunseol struck the spike on the left, where the child was.
The spike above the child’s head in the opaque wall vanished.
Thud.
But at the same time, a spike pierced the elderly person’s head on the right.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed, staining the opaque wall red.
Yet Bu Eunseol walked forward with an indifferent expression.
Grind.
As the door opened, his eyebrows shot up.
Clank.
Two more spikes rose from the floor, and two more opaque walls appeared on the opposite side.
This time, the left held the shadow of a young child.
The right held the shadow of a pregnant woman, seemingly carrying a child.
“…”
Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes.
Life is never something to compare or prioritize.
But the mechanism was forcing him to choose.
And if he didn’t, spikes would pierce both their heads.
Should he save the young child with a bright future?
Or the pregnant woman carrying new life?
Bu Eunseol gazed at both with an impassive expression. Then, without hesitation, he broke the spike on the right.
He chose the pregnant woman, carrying two lives, over the single life of the child.
Step, step.
As the door opened, Bu Eunseol walked forward with a blank expression.
Grind.
This time, a single wide passage appeared.
Sizzle.
The iron floor began to glow red-hot.
Clank, clank.
With the sound of a mechanism, footprints appeared on the iron floor. Countless shadows of people appeared behind an opaque wall.
Whirr.
At the same time, the iron floor with the footprints began to glow bright red.
Even without approaching, the intense heat was palpable.
Thud, thud, thud!
Far ahead, behind a transparent wall, countless people were frantically pounding on it. The platform they stood on was likely heating up as well.
“Hmm.” Bu Eunseol stared at the footprints, his eyes glinting.
If he didn’t step on the footprints in the correct order, the people behind the wall would die.
“This time, it’s real.” Bu Eunseol muttered softly.
Until now, the shadows behind the opaque walls hadn’t been real people. Because he had seen through this, he could destroy the spikes and advance without hesitation.
But this time was different.
The countless people behind the wall were real, living humans, suffering in agony. If he didn’t step on the footprints correctly, they would burn to death like charcoal.
Swish.
Bu Eunseol began stepping on the footprints etched into the iron floor.
Sizzle.
Smoke rose as his shoes melted instantly, and excruciating pain surged through him.
The agony of his soles burning made his vision darken.
Yet Bu Eunseol moved as if immune to pain, stepping calmly.
The footprints were intricately carved.
If the weight wasn’t applied precisely, the footprints wouldn’t activate.
Thus, despite the mind-numbing pain, Bu Eunseol had to walk leisurely across the scorching iron as if strolling.
Sizzle.
His soles’ skin had completely melted, and sticky flesh dangled.
The greatest pain a human can feel is burning pain—the agony of being consumed by fire.
This is why, throughout history, branding was a common torture method.
Even the greatest master would have lost consciousness or given up and used movement techniques.
But Bu Eunseol, as if oblivious to pain, steadfastly followed the footprints.
Crack. Crack.
Finally reaching the end of the passage, the people behind the opaque wall vanished.
Though he had stepped off the heated iron, his soles were fused with blood and flesh, making it nearly impossible to move.
Slide.
As the door opened, an empty stone chamber greeted him.
The floor was covered in white powder like sand, with a single table in the center.
The opposite wall was blackened.
Step, step.
As Bu Eunseol approached the table…
Sizzle.
Astonishingly, the white powder clung to his soles, instantly stopping the bleeding and easing the pain.
Reaching the table, he found a small coin box.
It seemed to be a place to insert the Boeun coin.
Zing.
As Bu Eunseol looked at the coin box, the blackened wall suddenly turned opaque.
Just like the walls he had seen in the previous trials.
Hum.
As the black wall became opaque, a faint human figure appeared inside.
At first glance, it seemed like an old man, yet at another, a young warrior.
“You’ve made it to the end.”
A mystical voice echoed from the wall.
“I didn’t have high expectations, but…”
The voice sounded like a refined elder and a demon king dwelling in darkness speaking simultaneously.
“Are you the Divine Sage?” Bu Eunseol asked.
The voice from the wall replied, “I am.”
The Divine Sage.
The greatest diviner and sage of the martial world.
Said to know everything in the world, he was called the Boundless One.
Finally, Bu Eunseol had met him.
“Is the test over now?” Bu Eunseol had suspected all along that everything was a test orchestrated by the Divine Sage.
“Heh heh.”
The Divine Sage’s eerie voice echoed through the chamber.
“Your character, martial arts, observation, and insight—none were lacking.”
He had lured Bu Eunseol to Shaolin to observe and test every aspect of him: his virtue through his treatment of Tang Cheong, his conscience through the Scripture Pavilion’s manuals, his martial arts through the battle with the monks, his insight through the trials with fake people, and his convictions through the trials with real people.
“Why go through all this trouble?” Bu Eunseol asked.
The Divine Sage’s voice responded, “Because I never expected the Namgung Clan to give you a Boeun coin.”
A self-deprecating laugh tinged his eerie voice.
“The Boeun coin meant for you was never supposed to exist in this world.”
In other words, he hadn’t anticipated Bu Eunseol becoming the owner of a Boeun coin from the Namgung Clan.
Hearing this, Bu Eunseol felt a strange relief.
The Divine Sage had predicted and arranged everything up to this point.
If he had foreseen Bu Eunseol receiving the Boeun coin from the Namgung Clan, he would be no human but a god, capable of predicting and controlling everything.
‘That’s a relief.’
If he had predicted every situation and orchestrated this test, Bu Eunseol would have had to destroy that wall and kill the Divine Sage.
A god who could predict everything.
If such a being existed, they would either be the mastermind behind the bizarre events in the martial world or a villain who knowingly allowed them.
“It’s hard to say that rumors reflect a person’s true nature. That’s why I had to confirm what kind of person you are.”
“I knew all this was a test,” Bu Eunseol said.
“Of course. Even accounting for that, no human can hide their true nature.”
The Divine Sage’s voice carried conviction.
Through these tests, he had likely examined every facet of Bu Eunseol and seemed largely satisfied.
If not, he wouldn’t be speaking through this wall.
“Now, it’s time to collect the Boeun coin.”
“Very well.” Bu Eunseol placed the Boeun coin into the box on the table.
Click.
As the coin entered, the Divine Sage spoke, “Ask what you wish to know.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
He had two burning questions:
—Who killed my grandfather?
—Is my grandfather, the mortician Bu Zhanyang, the same person as the Seven-Finger Demon Blade?
But he had only one Boeun coin.
Thus, the Divine Sage would not answer both questions.
After a moment’s deliberation, Bu Eunseol slowly spoke.
“Who murdered the mortician Bu Zhanyang, the official of the Huangju Prefecture?”
Comments