“How...”
Heonwon Damcheong muttered in disbelief, his eyes blinking rapidly.
From the perspective of a man who had held a sword his entire life, this was something utterly incomprehensible.
Could Bu Eunseol truly have broken through the Supreme Heavenly Realm?
‘No, that boy hasn’t reached the Limitless Realm.’
When one surpasses the Supreme Heavenly Realm, a righteous master would be bathed in the aura of the Dharma-Heaven Golden Ray or obtain the body of the Golden Spirit Manifestation.
A demonic master would be infused with the energy of the Demon God Dharma Image or gain the flesh of the World-Annihilating Black Spirit God.
Yet Bu Eunseol showed none of these four phenomena.
His martial prowess clearly remained within the Supreme Heavenly Realm.
‘Or... is it not the Supreme Heavenly Realm at all?’
Heonwon Damcheong was utterly confused.
Upon closer inspection, something was indeed rising from Bu Eunseol’s body. But it was neither the aura of the Dharma-Heaven Golden Ray nor that of the Demon God Dharma Image. Nor was it the body of the Golden Spirit Manifestation or the World-Annihilating Black Spirit God.
An unidentifiable, monstrous energy—chaotic and mixed—clung to a body that seemed encased in some freakish shell.
“What exactly are you doing right now?” Heonwon Damcheong asked in a trembling voice. “What in the world are you cultivating?”
“I don’t know myself.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m simply walking the path I must walk.” After a brief silence, Bu Eunseol calmly changed the subject.
“It seems the sword principles and sword momentum of the Natural Sword have been dismantled.”
“What?”
“Shall we move on to the initial forms now? I will dismantle the Natural Sword’s initial forms as well.”
Heonwon Damcheong stared blankly.
“You said you will dismantle the initial forms.”
“Only then would it be a perfect dismantling of the sword art, wouldn’t it?”
Crack.
Heonwon Damcheong clenched his fists tightly.
‘If I don’t kill this bastard here and now, there will never be another chance.’
If he let Bu Eunseol live like this, there would come a day when he could no longer kill him even if he wanted to.
“If you wish, you may even unleash the Myriad Phenomena Sword Style. I won’t mind.” As if reading his thoughts, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“I will never resent you, Elder.”
Heonwon Damcheong stared fixedly at Bu Eunseol.
Those eyes were as clear as an autumn sky reflected in a well, revealing not a single trace of emotion.
‘How could I possibly make such a decision?’
It was Heonwon Damcheong’s final pride.
From the beginning, their agreement had been only to dismantle the Natural Sword. If he broke that promise and attacked, he would no longer deserve the title of Sword Venerable—he would be called the Perished Venerable, and he would have no words in his defense.
“Very well.”
Shaaaa—
At that moment, a gentle breeze blew across Bu Eunseol’s body.
Invisible to the eye, yet it was swordsmanship.
It resembled a hopelessly tangled ball of thread, or a dizzying geometric pattern, ever-changing in a thousand ways.
The initial forms of the Natural Sword could transform into anything and contained the power of the great natural world.
They were truly perfect initial forms.
‘So that’s how it is.’
Only then did Bu Eunseol understand. Having finally grasped how to break the initial forms of the Natural Sword Art, Bu Eunseol thrust the Silent Tiger Soul Sword into the ground.
Then he closed both eyes.
Shwaaaa—
In that instant, hundreds of wounds appeared across Bu Eunseol’s body.
Blood dripped steadily, yet none were fatal.
In the end, Bu Eunseol...
By simply standing still, he cleanly dismantled every initial form of the Natural Sword Art.
“How...” Heonwon Damcheong’s eyes widened in shock.
He no longer had the strength to be surprised or to shout.
“How... did you dismantle this sword form?”
Bu Eunseol explained calmly. “When a human tries to execute a perfect initial form, it is inevitably impossible, is it not?”
The Natural Sword Form was perfect.
The problem lay in the human executing it not being perfect.
When an imperfect being attempts to create and perform something perfect, it inevitably becomes imperfect.
Thus, there was no need to dismantle the sword form at all.
By merely standing still, the Natural Sword Form simply passed through his body.
“Heh... heh heh heh...”
The Sword Venerable, Heonwon Damcheong, let out a hollow laugh.
In truth, he had known this all along.
Ever since creating the Natural Sword, after three years of intense training, he had realized that this sword form could not be performed by human hands. Even a grandmaster who had reached the pinnacle of the sword had wasted three years on it.
Yet this young man had grasped it in just three days.
“What in the world are you?” Heonwon Damcheong asked in a voice thick with confusion.
“What the hell are you!”
“What do you mean?”
“At that level, the Martial Ultimate Ascension should have already begun!” He shouted as though he could not comprehend it. “Why is your martial prowess still lingering in the Supreme Heavenly Realm? Why have you not stepped into the Limitless Realm?”
“I don’t know anything about Martial Ultimate Realms or whatever.”
“What did you say?”
“I simply didn’t want to walk a path someone else had already trodden.” Bu Eunseol answered indifferently. “That’s why people stopped teaching me as well.”
Heonwon Damcheong looked at him as if staring at a monster. “You didn’t want to follow someone else’s path? So? Did you create a new realm or something?”
“I don’t know that either.” Bu Eunseol shook his head and muttered. “I just thought... since even the realms of martial arts are nothing more than concepts created by others, wouldn’t it be better if they all just... disappeared...”
―The realms of martial arts are merely concepts created by others...
Heonwon Damcheong’s face darkened to pitch black.
Since the history of the martial world began, who had ever dared to speak such words? Which grandmaster had ever entertained such outrageous thoughts?
“So? You suppressed the Martial Ultimate Ascension?”
“I don’t know what I suppressed.”
“The Martial Ultimate Ascension! Haven’t you ever had light radiate from your body or something appear in your mind?”
Bu Eunseol searched his memories.
Come to think of it, when he first manifested Harmony, something like that had happened.
“Now that you mention it, I think something like that did happen once.”
“And then?”
“But it felt like I was imitating someone else... so when I decided to choose the path I would pioneer myself, the light vanished.”
“You madman, you absolute madman! At your age, you kicked away the chance to ascend to the Martial Ultimate Realm with your own foot? Are you insane?” Heonwon Damcheong pounded his chest as if exploding with rage. “At your age, you could have reached the Surpassing Heaven Realm that no one in martial history has ever attained! And you kicked it away?”
“Surpassing Heaven Realm or whatever...”
Bu Eunseol answered with a bored expression.
“Isn’t that just another realm someone else made up?”
Heonwon Damcheong’s eyes bulged.
‘What kind of lunatic...’
At last he understood.
Bu Eunseol was a madman beyond normal reasoning, a once-in-a-generation lunatic.
“You lunatic. You’re completely insane.”
Any martial artist dreams of reaching a realm that overlooks the entire martial world. Yet this lunatic before him had triggered the Martial Ultimate Ascension that would let him step into the Martial Ultimate Realm...
And then kicked that precious opportunity away to walk some bizarre path instead.
“I have now dismantled all the sword forms.” Bu Eunseol confidently extended his hand. “Please give me the Boeun Coin.”
In the end, he had used Harmony to evade the power of the Natural Sword and seen through the imperfection of its initial forms.
He had broken the Sword Venerable’s Natural Sword Art, which no one had ever dismantled before perfectly, leaving no room for argument.
“Even if you had dismantled the Natural Sword, I fully intended to kill you anyway.” Heonwon Damcheong spoke honestly in a gravely serious voice. “If I let you live like this, a demonic world will unfold.”
Bu Eunseol was stepping away from the Supreme Heavenly Realm onto a new, strange path that no martial artist had ever taken. No one knew where it led, what power he truly held, or whether he could even wield it perfectly.
Thus, in terms of pure martial strength...
Bu Eunseol could not defeat Heonwon Damcheong, who had reached the Martial Ultimate Realm.
If the Sword Venerable truly decided to kill him, Bu Eunseol could never escape death.
“Then why didn’t you kill me?”
“Because you have no desire for a demonic world.”
“...”
“In all of martial history, no one your age has ever triggered the Martial Ultimate Ascension. Reaching the legendary Surpassing Heaven Realm would not have been just a dream...” Heonwon Damcheong wore a hollow expression. “And a lunatic who kicks that away without hesitation—what kind of demonic world could he possibly create? You’ll just rampage through the martial world as you please, achieve whatever you want, then vanish.”
Bu Eunseol smiled in genuine admiration that the old man had seen through his nature so quickly.
“Elder, instead of wielding a sword, you should have spread a mat and read fortunes.”
“Lunatic.”
Heonwon Damcheong took the Boeun Coin from his robes.
“I have one request in exchange for this.”
Since he had lost the bet, he could not impose conditions on Bu Eunseol. That was why he called it a request.
“Speak.”
“If you truly are the grandson of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade... do not turn your back on the martial world.”
In the past, he would not have understood those words.
But now he did.
The Seven-Finger Demon Blade had not been a murderous demon of the demonic path; he had helped countless people and formed an organization to save the martial world.
“Do you perhaps know about the Absolute Demonic Blade Project, Elder?”
According to the abbot of Blood Shaolin, everyone who knew of the Absolute Demonic Blade Project had been assassinated. If the Three Realms could assassinate even the abbot surrounded by three thousand Shaolin disciples, there was no reason they could not kill a lone wandering Sword Venerable.
Still, he asked just in case.
“I feel like I’ve heard the name somewhere.” Heonwon Damcheong stroked his chin. “I heard that long ago, because of some nonsense spouted by the prophet Moryun, the righteous sects planned something under that name.”
He asked with suspicion, “But how do you know about it?”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
In the end, Heonwon Damcheong only knew that Bu Zhanyang had been doing the right thing.
The Absolute Demonic Blade Project—he had probably heard of it as some passing rumor.
“I happened to hear that such a thing existed. Since no one else seemed to know, I asked just in case.”
Bu Eunseol quickly changed the subject.
“You may rest easy—the Boeun Coin will not be used for evil.”
“Hmph.” When the Sword Venerable handed over the Boeun Coin, Bu Eunseol clasped his hands joyfully.
“Thank you.”
Bu Eunseol accepted the Boeun Coin.
In the past, the Divine Mountain Sage had said he did not know the exact identity of the one who killed Grandfather. That meant the true culprit behind Grandfather’s death would never be found anyway.
Now it was time to hear about Baekri Muha.
“Take care, Elder.”
Without hesitation, he turned and left.
Heonwon Damcheong watched his retreating back and muttered softly, “What a pity.”
Attempting to walk a new path...
It might exert enormous influence on future generations, but it was like abandoning a well-paved road to drive a carriage through thick mud.
“To leave a path that would get you there quickly and struggle along a path that isn’t a path at all...”
Then another thought flashed through his mind, and he shook his head.
“No... perhaps not.”
Maybe walking a new path was precisely why he could achieve such rapid martial prowess.
When he finally reached his destination...
He might climb to a place no one had ever reached before.
“The latter waves of the Yangtze push aside the former waves.”
The Sword Venerable who once dominated the martial world...
Had now become a man of the past, and a new era belonging to new people was dawning.
***
Having obtained the Boeun Coin, Bu Eunseol immediately headed for the Heaven-Escaping Ridge where he had promised to meet Mu Gyeol.
At last he had a chance to learn his true origins, yet his expression was dark.
‘I wonder what trick he’s pulling this time.’
When he had found Mu Gyeol, Bu Eunseol sensed it.
The Divine Mountain Sage was another person trying to bind him with threads and manipulate his fate.
If he had never intended to hand over the Boeun Coin?
He would never have told Mu Gyeol that the Sword Venerable was at Ten Thousand Immortals Peak, nor ordered him to test his martial arts against Bu Eunseol.
―If you speak nonsense, I will surely cut your throat.
That was what Bu Eunseol had told Mu Gyeol at the time.
And he had meant it.
If this time the answer was evasive, or if there was any sign of manipulation...
Even if it meant discarding the identity of Seon Woojin, even if it meant defeat...
He had resolved to risk his life and fight the Divine Mountain Sage.
Tsssss!
Finally arriving at the Heaven-Escaping Ridge, an endless plain stretched before him. A maddened gale howled, and the sky had turned murky.
It felt as though the end of the world was approaching.
Step. Step.
Bu Eunseol walked forward, but no one was visible anywhere on the vast plain.
Yet he could feel it.
Somewhere on this endless plain, someone was watching him.
Because they had reached the pinnacle of martial nothingness, they could conceal themselves even in a single breeze or a fluttering leaf.
Whirr—
Then, from the distant sky came the sound of slicing air as a white-robed man descended from the void.
It was Mu Gyeol.
“Where is the Divine Mountain Sage?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Mu Gyeol gave a faint smile.
“He is already here.”
Hwaak—
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s pupils dilated enormously, and a transparent flow of energy spread from his body.
He was spreading the ultimate senses of the Beast Way to search for the Divine Mountain Sage’s presence.
‘It’s no use.’
The Divine Mountain Sage was presumed to be the Heavenly Emperor. No matter how much Bu Eunseol heightened his senses, he could not detect even a trace of the man, let alone his energy.
“And let me say this in advance.” Mu Gyeol spoke. “My master said that since this meeting was forced by you... he will answer only the questions asked and then depart.”
In short, there would be no long conversation like before.
“Will you accept that?”
The Divine Mountain Sage knew Bu Eunseol was filled with resentment and anger toward him. That was why, before retrieving the Boeun Coin, he had Mu Gyeol confirm this arrangement once more.
‘How thorough.’
In truth, besides questions about his grandfather and father, there were countless things he wanted to ask. Why he had created the identity of Seon Woojin, exactly what he wanted from him, and whether the Divine Mountain Sage truly was the Heavenly Emperor.
But the Divine Mountain Sage had drawn a firm line: he would answer questions and nothing more.
“Fine.” Though inwardly dissatisfied, Bu Eunseol nodded. “Let it be so.”
“Good.” Mu Gyeol extended his hand.
“He asks for the Boeun Coin.”
“He won’t even show himself?”
“That’s right. The Elder will speak to you through my mouth.”
Bu Eunseol frowned.
There were plenty of better places to hide if that was the goal. So why had the Divine Mountain Sage summoned him to this completely open plain and chosen to speak through Mu Gyeol’s mouth?
Tak.
Bu Eunseol tossed the Boeun Coin to Mu Gyeol.
Mu Gyeol smiled calmly and opened his mouth.
“He says to ask.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
“Is it true that you still haven’t found the exact person who killed my grandfather?”
“That is what he says.”
Mu Gyeol continued immediately, “He says to ask something else.”
Bu Eunseol took another deep breath.
Besides his grandfather, there was only one thing he needed to ask the Divine Mountain Sage.
Baekri Muha.
With a single question, he had to extract as much information as possible about Baekri Muha.
‘Then this is the only question.’
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eunseol fired the question straight to the heart.
“The mysterious master called the number one beauty and enigma of the martial world, Baekri Muha.”
Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice.
“Tell me everything you know about him.”
Until now, Baekri Muha’s true identity had never been properly revealed.
There were rumors: that he was the emperor’s hidden illegitimate child, or that he was the disciple of the palace’s number one master, Sangguan Bi, and the first person to ever open the Imperial Treasury...
But if the Divine Mountain Sage knew his true identity?
This single question would instantly reveal who Baekri Muha really was.
“Baekri Muha...”
Mu Gyeol’s mouth opened.
And an answer poured out—more shocking, more unimaginable than anything he could have prepared for.
“He was a descendant of the legendary Baek family, the greatest genius under heaven, and the designated successor who would have ruled all of the Three Realms.”
Boom.
Bu Eunseol felt the world go black before his eyes.
The successor of the Three Realms.
The mysterious master called the number one beauty of the martial world had been the successor of the Three Realms?
Then that meant he himself was the son of the Three Realms’ successor?
Stagger.
Bu Eunseol swayed on his feet.
Nausea surged; he wanted to vomit.
The Divine Mountain Sage did not lie.
If the mysterious master known as the number one beauty and enigma of the martial world, Baekri Muha, was the successor of the Three Realms...
Then naturally, he was the son of that successor.
―...If you abandon even this power and this sword, how will you face them? The Three Realms can no longer protect you.
Suddenly, a memory resurfaced from when he had regained the Thunder Spirit Energy.
A conversation between his father and someone else echoed in his mind.
Then... despite being the successor of the Three Realms, his father had willingly scattered his own inner energy and even discarded his beloved sword?
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