Bu Eunseol emerged from the Divine Water Palace and descended immediately to the foothills where Nae Bihon and Dae Guhwi were staying.
“You’ve changed your face again.” Nae Bihon stroked his chin as he beheld Bu Eunseol’s true countenance. “You have quite a few identities, don’t you, little brother?”
“That’s right.”
“Each must come with its own story, so I won’t ask the reasons. But…” Nae Bihon’s expression turned inscrutable. “Can’t you show this foolish elder brother your real face?”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to briefly explain his circumstances.
His original identity made it inconvenient to roam the martial world, so he had created several personas.
And this was his true appearance.
He deliberately avoided revealing that he was the successor of Majeon. After all, once Nae Bihon regained his power, he would lose all memories of the intervening time.
There was no need to prattle on about every little detail.
“And the Palace Master of the Divine Water Palace gave her permission.”
“So easily? When the Vice Palace Master was kicking up such a fuss?”
“Fortunately, she spared a thought for this little brother’s reputation.”
“Hmph.” Nae Bihon snorted.
No matter how remarkable Bu Eunseol might be, the Palace Master would never reverse her decision on a single word. Moreover, judging by the tears in his clothing, he must have endured considerable hardship.
“Little brother.” Nae Bihon spoke in a low voice. “Now that I think of it, I don’t even know your real name.”
“Whatever my name or identity, am I not still your little brother?”
“Yes, that’s true.” Nae Bihon gazed at Bu Eunseol with profound eyes. “But if this is your true face, shouldn’t you also tell me your true identity and name?”
Nae Bihon wasn’t asking out of mere curiosity.
He wished to remember the face and name of the benefactor who had labored so hard for his sake.
At that moment, Dae Guhwi—who had been sitting blankly—perked up his ears.
He had always believed Bu Eunseol to be the mercenary Seolso, and he was dying to know the man’s true identity.
“My name is Bu Eunseol.”
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath and answered honestly.
“Martial Soul Command Lord?”
Dae Guhwi, who had been listening quietly, came scampering over.
“Master Seol is the successor of Majeon—the Martial Soul Command Lord?”
Bu Eunseol’s renown echoed beyond the Central Plains to the outer regions, so Dae Guhwi recognized him at once.
“Martial Soul Command Lord?” Nae Bihon blinked in confusion and repeated the title.
Having lost his memories, he knew next to nothing about the martial world’s genealogies. Yet from Dae Guhwi’s reaction, he could guess it was an extraordinarily high station.
“So that’s how it is.” Nae Bihon gave a faint smile. “Even if I regain my memories, I will make sure never to forget your name, little brother.”
Gratitude and grudge.
Those who immerse themselves in the martial world can never escape this cycle of favor and enmity.
Even Nae Bihon, stripped of memory, still remembered that instinct.
‘He can forget. No—he will forget.’
Bu Eunseol swallowed the words.
The moment Nae Bihon regained his power, the injury to his brain meridians would heal, and every memory up to now would vanish.
The Pool of Demon Blades.
It was in the vast plain spread out behind the Eunha Ridge, where the Divine Water Palace stood.
Dark clouds perpetually gathered around the Pool of Demon Blades, and the atmosphere was perpetually unstable.
Fierce winds, terrain, high heat and humidity—countless factors overlapped, making lightning strikes inevitable.
Dae Guhwi drew the Field of Divine Spirits he carried and held it out to Nae Bihon.
“Master Nae, I sincerely hope you succeed.”
Nae Bihon smiled and ruffled the head of the worry-laden Dae Guhwi.
“Don’t worry.”
Bu Eunseol also produced the Profound Hunt Stone and offered it. “Brother Nae, be careful.”
Nae Bihon nodded and strode into the center of the Pool of Demon Blades. Already the surroundings were darkening, and lightning was falling in places.
If he planted the Field of Divine Spirits upright and drew in the Thunder Divine Energy through the Profound Hunt Stone… he would surely reclaim his Thunder Spirit Energy.
Flash!
Lightning fell incessantly upon the Pool of Demon Blades.
Merely approaching it felt as though one’s body might explode.
Every hair on their bodies stood on end, yet Nae Bihon walked toward the plain with natural, fearless steps.
As though he instinctively knew exactly where to stand to seize the Thunder Divine Energy in one stroke.
He halted.
Standing firm, Nae Bihon raised the Field of Divine Spirits high.
He thrust his arm skyward.
Rumble.
As if it had been waiting, thunder began to roll across the heavens.
It looked as though the sky were gathering power to pour lightning upon Nae Bihon.
“Master Bu, something feels off.” Dae Guhwi’s eyes flashed with unease.
Born with a Beastly Physique, he could sense danger faster than anyone.
“All the lightning that was falling across the Pool of Demon Blades—it’s converging above Master Nae’s head, isn’t it?”
Rumble.
As he said, the scattered bolts ceased, and light coalesced in the black sky directly above Nae Bihon.
The problem was that the lightning showed no sign of falling; it merely flickered endlessly, as if accumulating energy.
The whole world darkened as though doomsday had come, yet Nae Bihon stood unmoved.
‘Oh no.’
After a long moment of thought, Bu Eunseol finally realized what was wrong.
‘The Needle King was mistaken.’
The Field of Divine Spirits and Profound Hunt Stone served one purpose only: to draw Thunder Divine Energy from a place where lightning did not strike.
But the Pool of Demon Blades was a place where dozens of bolts fell every hour.
There was no need for the Field of Divine Spirits that attracted all lightning; the Profound Hunt Stone alone would suffice.
Yet Jongri Sahyeon had only heard rumors in the past and had thus mentioned both items.
‘The Needle King heard only tales of the Pool of Demon Blades’s frequent lightning.’
As Bu Eunseol suspected, Jongri Sahyeon had heard merely that lightning was common here.
He could never have imagined dozens of bolts striking every hour.
If the amassed lightning in the sky were to pour down upon Nae Bihon all at once?
Even Nae Bihon, bearer of the Thunder Spirit Body, could not withstand such energy.
His body would burst, unable to endure the overwhelming Thunder Divine Energy.
“Brother Nae!” Bu Eunseol instantly unleashed his movement art and rushed toward Nae Bihon.
Flash!
At that instant, a light blinding the entire world poured down.
When the light vanished, lightning began striking the Field of Divine Spirits in Nae Bihon’s hand without pause.
Flash! Flash!
It was not a single strike but an unending torrent.
The lightning that entered through the staff passed through the Profound Hunt Stone Nae Bihon held and flowed ceaselessly into his body.
Flash! Flash!
As pure white lightning fell without cease, white energy gradually began to spill from Nae Bihon’s eyes.
The Thunder Spirit Energy was awakening once more within him.
Flash! Flash!
Yet the lightning continued its relentless flickering, striking the staff.
Drip.
Blood trickled from Nae Bihon’s mouth, and his body began to swell like a balloon.
Unable to contain the influx of Thunder Divine Energy, his body was failing.
“Brother Nae!” As Bu Eunseol drew near, a hemispherical barrier of pure white Thunder Divine Energy formed around Nae Bihon within a three-zhang radius.
The tremendous Thunder Energy pouring from his body spread like a vast protective gangqi, blocked Bu Eunseol’s approach.
Hummm!
Bu Eunseol instantly formed a massive blade with the Wishful True Binding and slashed at the rounded Thunder Essence barrier.
Crackle!
White flames erupted, and the blade formed by Wishful True Binding vanished in an instant.
The power of Wishful True Binding could not pierce that formidable wall of Thunder Energy.
Swish!
Bu Eunseol drew the Ice Soul Sword and generated sword momentum.
Yet the Thunder Energy enveloping Nae Bihon carried a magnetic attraction, accompanied by gale-force winds laced with lightning.
No amount of sword power could breach that wall.
‘There’s no time!’
Bu Eunseol grew desperate.
If left like this, Nae Bihon would lose his life.
Hummm!
Bu Eunseol spread his true energy and flung his arms wide.
Five-colored radiance burst from his entire body, forming a round gangqi barrier.
Just as he had blocked the boulders in the underground fortress of Gugok Mountain, he aligned every ounce of power within him and unleashed ‘Harmony.’
Crackle.
The five-colored gangqi pierced the Thunder Essence barrier around Nae Bihon in a single stroke.
Sparks flying, Bu Eunseol finally reached Nae Bihon, who still clutched the Field of Divine Spirits.
He poured palm force into the staff, attempting to fling it away.
But the moment Bu Eunseol extended his arm—
Crackle!
A tremendous energy surged through his arm and into his meridians.
It was pure Thunder Divine Energy, passing through the Profound Hunt Stone and flooding Nae Bihon’s body.
“Ugh.”
The instant the Thunder Divine Energy entered him, the gangqi formed by ‘Harmony’ vanished.
At the same time, Bu Eunseol’s arm adhered to Nae Bihon’s body.
Crackle.
As Thunder Divine Energy poured in without cease, Bu Eunseol’s body also began to swell gradually.
“Master Nae! Master Bu!” Dae Guhwi, watching from afar, stamped his feet in panic.
If left like this, both men would burst.
“Ugh…” After agonizing, Dae Guhwi began to draw forth his Power of the Wild.
“Raaargh!”
Finally, his muscles swelled, his clothes tore, and Power of the Wild erupted.
Thud, thud.
Crouching low like a beast, he charged madly toward the center like a wild animal.
Fortunately, Bu Eunseol had dispelled the Thunder Essence barrier, so Dae Guhwi easily reached Nae Bihon’s side.
“I’ll help—”
But the moment he entered within three zhang, his body shot into the air and stuck to Nae Bihon.
Crackle!
In the end, the two men adhered to Nae Bihon’s left and right, absorbing Thunder Divine Energy in the same manner.
“Ugh… Argh!”
As Thunder Divine Energy flooded into him, Dae Guhwi screamed in agony.
Nae Bihon, bearer of the Thunder Spirit Body, and Bu Eunseol, wielder of the righteous and demonic powers, somehow endured the force.
But Dae Guhwi, who possessed no such power, quickly reached the limit his body could withstand.
“Gu… hwi!”
The silver lining was that when Dae Guhwi stuck as well, Bu Eunseol and Nae Bihon regained some clarity.
The two tried desperately to move, but no matter how they struggled, they could not even lift a foot.
‘At this rate, we'll all die.’
Even amid the pain of Thunder Divine Energy boring into his body, Bu Eunseol ceaselessly circulated the Ban-Geuk Method.
As his inner energy flowed, the Thunder Spirit Energy began to move in tandem.
―But if you can acquire the power of all Four Divine Powers…
At that moment, he recalled the Daoist secret taught by Gongson Dana.
It was less an inner energy method and more a technique of mutual harmony between two powers—allowing disparate energies to embrace one another.
That was how he had neutralized the extreme yin energy of the Heavenly Glacial Secret, which could damage the blood meridians, using the Crystal God Energy.
‘If they share similar properties… they can fuse.’
Thunder Spirit Energy was very similar to the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Then, could he not disperse the incoming lightning energy by fusing it with the Yeolha Great True Energy?
‘It’s a gamble.’
Bu Eunseol was profoundly versed in martial techniques. Yet he knew little about the esoteric arts of regulating internal energies or generating and dissipating them.
Thus, he could not predict what outcome this attempt might yield.
‘I’ll do it!’
As Dae Guhwi’s body neared the point of rupture, Bu Eunseol instantly raised the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Hummm!
Raising the Yeolha Great True Energy brought pain as though his blood meridians were burning, and his vital energy began to tangle. Yet he did not stop; he began fusing the Yeolha Great True Energy circulating within him with the Thunder Divine Energy pouring in from outside.
Crack.
In that instant, veins bulged across Bu Eunseol’s body like writhing serpents.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, the scorching heat contained within the Yeolha Great True Energy spread in all directions.
Normally, that heat and force would have melted Nae Bihon and Dae Guhwi’s bodies or incinerated their internals.
But both were already saturated with tremendous Thunder Spirit Energy, so they were unaffected by the Yeolha Great True Energy.
‘As expected, their properties are similar.’
Gaining certainty, Bu Eunseol used the mystery of mutual harmony to fuse the Yeolha Great True Energy with the incoming Thunder Spirit Energy into one.
The Yeolha Great True Energy was an energy that only those with a fiery body like the Yeolha Holy Saint, who had trained in extreme yang martial arts all their lives, could harbor.
The reason Bu Eunseol, with an ordinary physique, could contain it without harm was the opposing power of the Heavenly Glacial Secret and the protection of five hundred years of profound inner energy. But when the balance between the two powers broke, it damaged his vital energy and blood, and only with the Emotion-Severing Secret’s aid was he barely able to stabilize it.
Later, upon receiving Gongson Dana’s teachings and the Crystal God Energy, he gained perfect control over the Heavenly Glacial Secret. Now, through the Thunder Spirit Energy, he could store the Yeolha Great True Energy in a stable form within his body.
Crackle.
By binding the Thunder Divine Energy to his internal Yeolha Great True Energy using the mystery of mutual harmony, violet lightning began to flicker across his entire body.
It was a new Thunder Spirit Energy born from fusion with the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Standing tall, enveloped in violet lightning, he looked like the Thunder God descending from the heavens to earth.
At the same time, heat surged around his Baekhoehyeol point, and brief memories began to flood his mind.
It was the dead of night, when even the insects slept.
Beneath the window where moonlight cautiously settled, young Bu Eunseol lay fast asleep on his bed.
―Now, the only one I can entrust my sword to is you, my brother.
A smile touched the lips of the sleeping child.
It was a voice he could listen to a hundred times and never tire of—gentle and low, his father’s.
―If I abandon my power… and even this sword, how can I face them?
Then a deep, resonant voice answered from the opposite side.
―The Three Realms can no longer protect you.
Flash!
Snapped from the recollection, a glint flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
‘What does this mean?’
His heart pounded.
As intense Thunder Spirit Energy pierced his brain meridians, another memory from the past surfaced.
And it… was proof that his father was connected to the Three Realms.
‘Was my father a figure of the Three Realms?’
Even in his confusion, Bu Eunseol chewed over the memory that had just returned.
‘And “face them”? Who exactly are “they”?’
“Ugh…” At that moment, loud groans burst from Nae Bihon and Dae Guhwi.
Their faces had turned corpse-pale, far beyond their limits.
‘First, I’ll use this power to stabilize their bodies.’
Hummm!
Bu Eunseol began pouring the Yeolha Great True Energy fused with Thunder Spirit Energy into Nae Bihon’s body.
Whoosh.
The frenzied Thunder Spirit Energy calmed, and the swollen bodies of the two men gradually returned to normal.
Crackle!
Yet through the Field of Divine Spirits, tremendous Thunder Spirit Energy continued to pour.
‘I’ll endure!’
He could not move a finger, but he could resist the incoming Thunder Spirit Energy with the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Moreover, thanks to Bu Eunseol, Nae Bihon was stably distributing the Thunder Spirit Energy throughout his eight extraordinary meridians.
Squelch.
Then the Field of Divine Spirits and Profound Hunt Stone in Nae Bihon’s hand began to melt like candy.
Unable to withstand the sheer volume of Thunder Divine Energy, they liquefied.
As the endless Thunder Divine Energy finally ceased,
Thud.
Dae Guhwi, unable to contain the stored Thunder Spirit Energy, fainted on the spot.
Crackle.
In contrast, white light spread across Nae Bihon’s pupils, and his body rose into the air.
Flash!
When at last he opened his eyes—
Crackle! Crackle!
Pure white lightning, Divine Spirit Annihilation, radiated in all directions.
At last, Nae Bihon had been perfectly reborn as the Thunder God.
Thump.
Descending lightly from the sky, tremendous waves of inner energy swirled around Nae Bihon’s body, and his eyes were filled with majesty.
“Brother Nae, are you conscious?” At Bu Eunseol’s question, Nae Bihon’s eyes flashed.
“Brother Nae?”
The gentle aura that had always surrounded him was gone; only a solemn, razor-sharp presence emanated from his entire being.
As Jongri Sahyeon had said, the restoration of Thunder Spirit Energy healed the injury to his brain meridians.
Consequently, all memories up to now seemed to have vanished.
“Who are you?”
Though Bu Eunseol wore his true face, he used an alias out of necessity.
“I am Seolso. Brother Nae, you were defeated by a descendant of the Blade Emperor and lost your power to his sword energy.”
“I was defeated?”
“Yes.”
Nae Bihon gazed at the lightning-scarred landscape of the Pool of Demon Blades with unfamiliar eyes.
“Then…”
“That’s right. To restore Brother Nae’s power, we obtained the Field of Divine Spirits and Profound Hunt Stone from the Wild Beast Palace and Valley of Lost Souls and came here.”
Only then did Nae Bihon notice the melted remnants of the staff and stone at his feet.
Most had evaporated from extreme heat, leaving only two bead-shaped metal fragments.
“Hmm.” As if entranced, Nae Bihon tucked them into his robes.
“Brother Nae, do you remember your last battle with the Blade Emperor’s descendant?”
In an instant, light like ceaseless lightning flashed in Nae Bihon’s eyes.
“That bastard. That bastard killed my family!”
Crackle.
An energy incomparably more powerful than before surged from Nae Bihon’s body.
Having absorbed far more Thunder Divine Energy, his power had grown even mightier than before.
“I’ll kill him right now!”
“Wait.” As Nae Bihon prepared to depart, Bu Eunseol spoke.
“Who is the Blade Emperor’s descendant?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I must find him as well.” Bu Eunseol declared boldly.
Nae Bihon would not remember him anyway. Thus, he had to extract an answer by invoking their shared journey.
“Isn’t this why I endured all this hardship with Brother Nae?”
Crackle.
Then white lightning flared from Dae Guhwi’s body, and he began to tremble violently.
Unlike Bu Eunseol, he had failed to distribute the Thunder Spirit Energy stably throughout his meridians, and calamity struck.
“He harbors Thunder Spirit Energy but cannot control it—he’s dying.”
Nae Bihon regarded Bu Eunseol coldly.
“I acknowledge a slight debt. So choose.”
He pointed at Dae Guhwi.
“Will you save that boy? Or do you wish to know the identity of that devilish old man?”
Bu Eunseol replied as if the question were absurd.
“That boy rushed in to save Brother Nae’s life and ended up like this. Yet you would make me choose with his life as the stake?”
“You talk too much. If you won’t choose, I’ll leave.”
Having regained his power, Nae Bihon’s gentle expression had vanished entirely and only the cold, piercing aura of a martial arts master remained.
‘All this is something I must bear.’
Bu Eunseol had never expected Nae Bihon to remain kind toward him after regaining his power and losing his memories.
“Very well. Then save his life.”
“Good.”
Nae Bihon immediately pressed a hand to Dae Guhwi’s Gate of Life acupoint.
Crackle!
Pure Thunder Spirit Energy flowed into Dae Guhwi’s body, lifting him into the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same time, Nae Bihon unleashed over a hundred finger winds in a single breath.
Dae Guhwi, who had been writhing in agony while floating, instantly relaxed.
“Circulate the Thunder Spirit Energy according to my guidance.”
Nae Bihon’s voice carried irresistible authority.
Even in his dazed state, Dae Guhwi followed Nae Bihon’s instructions and circulated the energy.
Crackle.
Faint lightning formed in Dae Guhwi’s eyes as he cultivated.
With Nae Bihon’s aid, he had stably stored Thunder Spirit Energy within his body.
Thunder Spirit Body.
From an ordinary physique, Dae Guhwi had absorbed Thunder Divine Energy and become a Thunder Spirit Body like Nae Bihon.
“Thank you, Master Nae!” Dae Guhwi awoke and clasped his hands in deep respect.
“No need for thanks.” Nae Bihon spoke not to Dae Guhwi but to Bu Eunseol. “Now there is no longer any debt between you and me. Do you acknowledge it?”
“Brother Nae.”
“I am not your Brother Nae.”
Having regained his power, Nae Bihon showed no trace of the former madness.
The endless torrent of Thunder Divine Energy had perfectly cured even that affliction.
As proof, he exuded the stately, solemn bearing of a grand master, and clear energy flowed in his eyes.
Regrettably, he remembered nothing of his time with Bu Eunseol.
“You cannot tell me about the Blade Emperor’s descendant?”
“There is nothing to tell or not tell. It is my personal affair.”
Crackle.
Nae Bihon used Thunder Spirit Energy to rise into the sky.
Enveloped in lightning, his eyes pure white, he looked down at Bu Eunseol and spoke coldly.
“Do not trouble me further. If you follow, I will regard you as an enemy.”
Boom!
With those words, Nae Bihon vanished into the distant sky amid a peal of thunder.
Rumble! Rumble!
The movement art of one who had recovered all his power was truly lightning itself.
It cleaved the air like a bolt striking in an instant.
Boom!
Recalling the monstrous old man who had sealed his Thunder Spirit Energy with the Blade Emperor’s swordsmanship, inexpressible killing intent poured from Nae Bihon’s eyes.
“Wash your neck and wait. Soon I will tear you apart.”
Leaving the Pool of Demon Blades, he ran and ran without pause until he arrived at the Great Wall Courtyard, a short distance from the provincial capital of Hebei.
That place was none other than the Hebei Pang Family.
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