Moreover, just who were “them”?
‘No, something doesn’t add up.’
Hyeok Ryeon-eung had said he tried to kill him because he was Baekri Muha’s son.
Why would anyone want to kill the son of a man who had been the designated successor of the Three Realms?
Especially when that man had already discarded both his power and his weapon.
“Is that everything?” When Bu Eunseol asked in a hollow voice, Mu Gyeol nodded.
“That is what he says.”
Bu Eunseol’s heart sank into darkness.
No matter how much Baekri Muha had been called the number one beauty of the martial world, he had been a master whose martial prowess shook the entire martial world. Bu Eunseol had thought that if he learned his true identity through the Divine Mountain Sage, tracing his footsteps would not be impossible.
But if he was the successor of the Three Realms, everything changed.
They had ruled the martial world until now while desperately concealing their existence. It was only natural that the successor would be protected by ironclad secrecy, impossible to track by any faction.
No matter how vast an information network one mobilized, whether Baekri Muha’s origins could be uncovered remained unknown.
“The master asks if that is a satisfactory answer.”
Bu Eunseol stared at the distant sky with empty eyes.
“It is.”
Then he turned away listlessly.
In his memories, his father had always been gentle and kind. The thought that such a father had been the successor of the Three Realms, a man who slaughtered countless people—it was unbearable.
Even if his father was not a figure revered by all, Bu Eunseol had at least believed him to be righteous.
But if Baekri Muha was his father...
If the man who hid behind the title of the number one beauty of the martial world was the successor of the Three Realms...
Then Bu Eunseol was the descendant of a sinner who had lived a thousand generations in infamy.
Stagger, stagger.
Without even using qinggong, Bu Eunseol left Heaven-Escaping Ridge with faltering steps.
Mu Gyeol, standing alone on the empty ridge, spoke in a low, hoarse voice, as though his throat were clogged.
“Master... will he be all right? It would have been better to simply say you didn’t know.”
A low voice came from the air around him.
[He already possesses clues. Had I evaded the question, he would have doubted every word this master has ever spoken.]
The voice was heavy with power, yet somehow filled with a sigh.
It was the voice of the Divine Mountain Sage.
[Even if he single-mindedly pursues only the truth about Baekri Muha... he will discover nothing.]
As the Divine Mountain Sage’s low voice rang out, the howling gale on Heaven-Escaping Ridge died down.
[It is better to give him a portion of the truth.]
Heavy silence settled over the now-still ridge.
Unable to bear the silence, Mu Gyeol changed the subject in a brighter tone.
“As you said, Master, he truly possesses monstrous talent in the martial arts. I thought the Sword Venerable would have taken at least one of his arms.”
[He grew up in an environment that left him no choice.] After a brief pause, the Divine Mountain Sage’s hoarse voice rumbled low. [Who would have thought that Elder Moryun’s prophecy would lead to something this enormous...]
Rumble.
A faint peal of thunder rolled, the color of the sky shifted, and a sinister current began to spread.
Boom.
At the same instant, an incomprehensible pressure and aura exploded around Mu Gyeol.
Drip, drip.
Crimson blood poured from Mu Gyeol’s nose and ears.
“Urgh.” With a groan, Mu Gyeol spat a clot of blood and dropped to one knee.
Shwick!
Beside him, a masked elder in cyan robes revealed himself.
It was the Divine Mountain Sage who had been concealing his presence all this time.
[Hmph.]
The man who had suddenly appeared snorted, his eyes flashing as he looked to the distant sky.
Wuuung!
The pressure crushing Mu Gyeol vanished in an instant.
Yet Mu Gyeol, bleeding profusely, finally lost consciousness and collapsed.
Thud.
At that moment, a tremor that felt like the world itself was crumbling shook the ground in front of the Divine Mountain Sage.
Simultaneously, millions of motes of light in every color rose from the earth opposite where he stood. The scattered lights gathered into a single point and soon formed the silhouette of a person.
Shuuuuu.
When the lights finally faded, an old man of utterly ordinary appearance stood there.
Only his eyes were impossibly deep and eerily evil.
Meeting that gaze felt like falling into an inescapable abyss for ten thousand kalpas.
[Sado Muryeong.] A groan-like voice escaped the Divine Mountain Sage’s lips.
The old man who had appeared...
Was none other than the Demon Emperor, Sado Muryeong.
[You have raised your disciple well.]
The Demon Emperor looked down at Mu Gyeol, collapsed and bleeding. There was no emotion in those eyes—like watching a fly writhe and die.
[To think he managed to cling to life.]
It was impossible to tell whether it was praise or mockery.
[What brings you here?] The Divine Mountain Sage’s eyes flashed beneath his mask. [Meeting face to face benefits neither of us.]
[Why did you speak of Baekri Muha?]
[Your ears are as quick as ever.]
[Speak.]
A solemn light appeared in the Demon Emperor’s eyes.
[Alliance Leader.]
Crack.
The bones in the masked, hunched body of the Divine Mountain Sage cracked loudly. In an instant, the stooped old man transformed into a tall, imposing middle-aged man over six cheok in height.
Though his face remained unseen, his proud nose and deep, sword-like brows overflowed with righteous energy. A thin veil of mist seemed to envelop his entire body, exuding a mysterious and unapproachable majesty.
Exactly as Bu Eunseol had suspected.
The Divine Mountain Sage was the number one figure of the righteous faction, the current Martial Alliance Leader—the Heavenly Emperor, Shindo Mubi.
Having long ago reached Returning Void United with the Dao, his lifespan had vastly increased, and he had nearly attained immortality; at a glance he appeared as youthful as a young man.
[Our agreement was that it would end with vengeance for the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.] Gray vortices swirled in the Demon Emperor’s eyes as he continued. [Why have you broken that promise?]
[He brought the Boeun Coin and asked.]
[And you eagerly told him everything just because he asked?]
[He would have learned it eventually. Had I refused, all the trust I built until now would have crumbled.] Shindo Mubi spoke in a low voice. [Even then, he cannot discover anything more.]
[Do you truly believe you can deceive this revered one with such words?]
The energy flowing from the Demon Emperor’s eyes grew darker.
In contrast, Shindo Mubi’s gaze became even calmer.
[If he learns it, that too is fate.]
[Fate?]
A savage storm raged in the Demon Emperor’s otherwise serene eyes.
[Fate is decided by this revered one alone.]
Then came words of shocking impact.
[Even if that boy learns that Baekri Muha died by our hands, will you still speak of fate?]
Dead silence, like the hush of death itself, fell over Heaven-Escaping Ridge.
[...It is not nearly so simple a matter.]
Shindo Mubi’s voice emerged strangled, as though something were lodged in his throat.
[We massacred and burned countless innocents. That karma must be borne.]
[Baekri Muha was fated to die regardless.]
[But the boy is innocent.]
[Being Baekri Muha’s son is sin enough.]
Shindo Mubi snorted. [Then you should have killed the child the moment you found him. That would have ended it—no such troublesome affair.]
The Demon Emperor gave a nasal snort.
[He risked his life insisting otherwise, so I had no choice but to believe him. He had cultivated the Muscle-Changing Sutra... I could not believe it.]
[Thanks to that, Majeon celebrated.] Shindo Mubi said coldly. [Bu Zhanyang died, and the boy walked into Majeon of his own accord to seek revenge.]
[Indeed. I thought we had gained a fine blade.]
The Demon Emperor’s deep eyes stared into the distant sky.
[After all, he was the child raised by Bu Zhanyang.]
When his gaze returned to Shindo Mubi, black haze rose from his eyes.
[Yet now you try to ruin that fine blade before we can even turn it against the Three Realms.]
[I fail to understand why you obsess over a boy you know cannot destroy the Three Realms.]
[You need not know.] The Demon Emperor said lowly. [Simply ensure he never again touches Baekri Muha’s trail. If he continues meddling in strange affairs...]
A light deeper than chaos flowed from his pupils.
[I will be forced to do that boring thing once more.]
Righteous light shot from Shindo Mubi’s eyes as well.
When their gazes met—
The ridge shook as though the world were ending, and the sky turned pitch black.
Ruuuumble.
The earth quaked, cracks splitting the ground wide.
[Hmm.]
The Demon Emperor observed Shindo Mubi’s aura for a long while before snorting.
[You have grown much. Truly much.]
Twitch.
Shindo Mubi’s pupils dilated, and strange light poured from his entire body.
[Let me offer one piece of advice.]
At the same time, beams of lightning shot from his eyes.
[If you ever speak such arrogant words again, I will definitely take one of your eyes.]
[Heh heh heh.] The Demon Emperor stared straight into Shindo Mubi’s eyes. [So long as days like today do not repeat—anytime.]
He lifted the corners of his mouth.
As though he already knew everything.
[If you wish to remain Alliance Leader for long... remember this revered one’s words well.]
Huuu.
With those final words, the Demon Emperor scattered in all directions like a cosmic existence.
Shindo Mubi stared blankly at the place where he had vanished, then gnashed his teeth.
[Sado Muryeong.]
As his fists clenched—
BOOM! Craaaash.
An explosion roared, and an entire cliff on the opposite side collapsed.
[Has he noticed?]
Blue energy spread from Shindo Mubi’s biting lips.
That secret must never be revealed now. If it were, the righteous martial world would fall into chaos and ruin.
[No choice then. The moment the great work is complete, I will kill him immediately.]
Snorting, Shindo Mubi looked to the distant sky.
Then, raising his energy, he lifted the unconscious Mu Gyeol into the air and vanished in an instant.
***
Bu Eunseol returned neither to Majeon nor to the Martial Alliance.
He cut off all contact even with Soyo who had followed him, and under the identity of Seolso, he wandered the martial world.
‘A man of the Three Realms...’
He wished Hyeok Ryeon-eung had simply lied in his dying moments. That the revelation had been one final act of confusion...
But that was impossible.
Hyeok Ryeon-eung had desperately wanted to bring him into the Infinite Realm, and that desire had been genuine.
While executing the Divine Great Law...
He must have glimpsed the image of Bu Eunseol’s father in his memories, and that was why he tried to kill him.
In a way, it had been extraordinarily fortunate. Hyeok Ryeon-eung had learned it only by chance while performing the Divine Great Law.
That meant...
At the very least, the Infinite Realm did not know he was Baekri Muha’s son. If they had known, they would have tried to kill him from the beginning, just like Hyeok Ryeon-eung.
‘Was Father truly different from the man in my memories?’ Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes.
The father in his memories had always been warm and gentle. Could that warm man truly have been a hidden villain?
The Three Realms were the Three Realms.
Even if they claimed noble purpose, their evil deeds could never be erased.
‘Then perhaps he felt remorse midway.’
Maybe his father had belatedly realized the atrocities and wrongs of the Three Realms. That could be why he scattered his cultivation and abandoned his sword, leaving the Three Realms behind.
There were memories that supported such a possibility.
Yet here too, questions remained.
Only the Three Realms could kill the successor of the Three Realms. But judging from the conversation he had overheard in his dream, his father had been in a position where he needed the Three Realms’ protection.
That meant Baekri Muha might not have been killed by the Three Realms, but by some other force.
‘Is there a faction in the martial world that opposes the Three Realms?’
It was possible.
There could be a hidden faction opposing the Three Realms.
Baekri Muha might have left the Three Realms, only to be assassinated by their hand in the end.
‘Nothing is certain. But...’ Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and organized his thoughts.
From now on, there were two things he had to do.
Confirm whether Baekri Muha truly was his father and discover which force had killed him.
‘To learn the truth, entering the Three Realms is inevitable.’
A man called the number one beauty of the martial world...
A man whose origins had never been uncovered—if he was the successor of the Three Realms, then the only way to learn the truth was to enter the Three Realms.
‘What on earth happened with the Three Realms?’
From Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s reaction...
The Infinite Realm regarded Baekri Muha as an irreconcilable enemy.
If the Clear River Realm and the rest of the Three Realms learned he was Baekri Muha’s son... the chances were high they would treat him as an enemy too.
‘Then there is only one way.’ Bu Eunseol looked at the Silent Tiger Soul Sword hanging at his waist and took a deep breath.
‘Defeat the Demon-Killer Sword users and become a sword of the Three Realms.’
The Emissary of the Three Realms who had killed Wang Cheol in the past had said:
- If one survived the struggle for the Demon-Killer Swords, one could become a sword of the Three Realms—a position nearly equal to successor.
Then obtaining a Demon-Killer Sword and entering that struggle was the only viable path.
Shiiing.
Bu Eunseol drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
The true identity of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword was a Black Divine Artifact.
Yet even before energy was infused, the Demon-Killer Sword users had insisted it was a Demon-Killer Sword.
That meant...
Perhaps he did not need to obtain another Demon-Killer Sword.
Could he not participate in the struggle by using the demonic energy latent within the Silent Tiger Soul Sword?
Wuuung.
When Bu Eunseol infused Thunder Spirit Energy, the sword let out a pleasing hum.
When the maximum amount of Thunder Spirit Energy finally poured in, faint light leaked from the scabbard and mysterious patterns began to form.
‘It is not Thunder Spirit Energy.’
Come to think of it, Thunder Spirit Energy was a power born from nature. Infusing it would never produce demonic energy.
‘Demonic energy...’
After pondering, Bu Eunseol raised the Wishful True Binding, the exclusive mind art of the Demon Emperor.
He wrapped tangible black true energy around the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Wuuuung!
The sword began greedily absorbing the power of the Wishful True Binding with a low vibration.
‘It devours this too?’
The Wishful True Binding was orthodox demonic arts. By manifesting and wrapping it around the blade, had he truly given it the nature of a Demon-Killer Sword?
Ziiing.
Yet something felt strange.
As he poured the Wishful True Binding into the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, an odd resonance pulsed through his mind. It was the peculiar sensation that only Demon-Killer Sword users could feel among themselves.
‘It really works.’
While absorbing the Wishful True Binding...
The Silent Tiger Soul Sword had genuinely taken on the characteristics of a Demon-Killer Sword. Bu Eunseol doubled his inner energy and continuously infused the Wishful True Binding.
The sword now radiated immense demonic energy, exactly like a true Demon-Killer Sword.
‘They sensed the aura.’
Clack.
When Bu Eunseol sheathed the Silent Tiger Soul Sword once more—
KWAAAAA!
Not long after, a deafening explosion of air tore through the sky as a black shadow crashed violently to the ground.
A rugged, massive man clad in black.
He strode straight toward Bu Eunseol, frowning as he muttered, “It wasn’t him.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened at the sight.
The black-clad man was none other than Do Cheonlin, successor of the Blood Flame Blade Sect.
Do Cheonlin possessed features so refined they evoked the moon floating in the night sky, along with a somewhat dark aura.
But now both his appearance and aura had changed dramatically.
His frame had become solidly muscular, his forearms wrapped tightly in the leather guards favored by wandering warriors.
Countless scars marred his exposed skin.
He looked exactly like a martial artist staking his life in endless life-or-death duels.
‘Is this my fault too?’ Bu Eunseol felt a strange mixture of emotions.
Every person who had clashed or competed with him until now had seen their lives transformed. Especially those who had been rivals or faced him one-on-one...
As though assimilated by Bu Eunseol, they had all become martial artists pursuing the extreme path.
Had Do Cheonlin changed in the same way?
“I sensed a unique demonic aura and came running.” Do Cheonlin stared at the scabbard of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword in Bu Eunseol’s hand. “Did you craft a new scabbard for your Demon-Killer Sword to suppress its demonic energy?”
He was called the Perfect Scholar for his outstanding talent in every area, not just intellect. Do Cheonlin had roughly grasped why the seemingly ordinary Silent Tiger Soul Sword had briefly radiated demonic energy before stopping.
‘Everything feels like someone’s elaborate game.’
Bu Eunseol said nothing, merely gazing at Do Cheonlin.
He had decided to seek out the Demon-Killer Sword users and participate in their struggle.
Yet the moment he discovered how to release demonic energy from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and let it spread, the first to appear was Do Cheonlin?
In the past, the two had been arch-rivals fighting for the position of successor in Majeon.
And now, they had become competitors once again—this time for the seat of a sword of the Three Realms.
“That look in your eyes feels familiar.” Do Cheonlin tilted his head as he stared intently at the face of Seolso, a false identity.
Clear yet somehow shadowed.
Sharp yet utterly indifferent to everything.
For some reason, that atmosphere and those eyes did not feel unfamiliar to him.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“No.”
“I see.” Do Cheonlin clicked his tongue and muttered, “A fierce demonic aura flared up and then vanished... I thought it was that elusive bastard wielding the Blood Lightning Demon-Killer Sword. What a pity.”
“Blood Lightning Demon-Killer Sword?”
“There’s a guy like that.” Do Cheonlin looked to the distant sky with an annoyed expression. “A Demon-Killer Sword that can lock onto a single target from dozens of zhang away and fire arrow-like thunder energy with perfect precision.”
Do Cheonlin had fought countless Demon-Killer Sword users while wandering the martial world. Not long ago he had clashed with the wielder of the Blood Lightning Demon-Killer Sword.
Realizing he could not win in direct combat, the opponent had fled immediately.
Do Cheonlin had been chasing him ever since, fighting and pursuing in endless repetition.
“Well, a chicken in hand is better than a pheasant in the bush.” Do Cheonlin smiled coldly. “No need for idle talk.”
He slowly drew his Demon-Killer Sword, and a soft radiance bloomed in all directions.
Having traveled the martial world and fought countless masters who wielded Demon-Killer Swords...
The moment he saw Seolso wearing a Demon-Killer Sword at his waist, he intended to stake his life in mortal combat.
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