‘Spouting nonsense about some Yangseol Clan, and in the end she’s actually a descendant of the Wind God?’
Ban Muryeok bit his lip hard.
The masked woman stood with her hands clasped behind her back, not moving a single finger. Yet the only power that could unleash such overwhelming might without any visible motion was the Wind God’s Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
From the rear, Guyang Cheongjeong—the successor of the North Wind Sect who had been observing the situation—spoke quietly to Ban Cheolseong.
“Her technique only works within three zhang, and only from the front.” Guyang Cheongjeong’s eyes gleamed. “Don’t use the Wall of Dark Swords. Deploy the Mighty Soul Blood-Thunder Formation to block her strikes. Then my gate’s Poison Tyrant Sword Formation will subdue her.”
Ban Cheolseong nodded.
Ever since the subjugation of the Black Sea Demon Well, Guyang Cheongjeong had devoted herself wholly to the sword. Among the successors of the Seven Sword Sects of Qinghai, her martial prowess now stood at the very top.
If she was this confident, it had to be the right call.
“Mysterious Brilliance Unit, step forward and form the Mighty Soul Blood-Thunder Formation! I will personally command the sword formation!”
As Ban Cheolseong took charge, the area around the masked woman instantly darkened to pitch black. At the same time, Guyang Cheongjeong and the Sinhyo Unit she led from the North Wind Sect deployed the Poison Tyrant Sword Formation to support the fight.
“Not bad thinking.” The masked woman narrowed her eyes into crescents as she watched the two overlapping formations close in.
“But the gap in strength isn’t something you can bridge so easily.”
In that instant, both formations froze mid-operation. She had not broken them by striking the swordsmen but with some mysterious power, she had disrupted the flow of the formations themselves, shattering them in one breath.
Rumble.
As the warriors halted their circulation, the formations collapsed instantly, revealing their figures once more.
In that brief window, the masked woman flashed forward and reached out toward Guyang Cheongjeong, who was commanding the formation.
“You’re annoying.” The moment her hand stretched toward Guyang Cheongjeong’s throat, the world went black.
At the same time, it felt as if her very soul were being ripped from her body and soaring into the sky.
She instinctively knew—if her soul truly flew away, she would die.
‘No…!’
As death closed in, a single person surfaced in Guyang Cheongjeong’s mind.
Her first love, the one that had made her heart feel like it would burst—yet it had never come to fruition.
But she had not despaired. She had thrown her heart open to the world.
There were countless wonderful men out there, and she had every qualification to meet a good one.
The fever of first love would soon fade.
Yet as time passed, the longing only grew.
The more she tried to meet someone else, the clearer that person’s face became.
So she trained with the sword. Because when she did, she could forget.
Because if she herself became an outstanding person, perhaps they might meet again someday.
Yet before that love could ever bear fruit, her life was about to end at the hands of this mysterious masked intruder who had stormed the Hyeoncheon Sword Sect.
Shaaa…
Then something strange happened.
The pitch-black darkness cleared, and the world suddenly regained its colors.
Standing before her was the man she had dreamed of even in her haze.
Thick, dark brows; sorrowful eyes that seemed to carry the grief of the entire world; a lonely shadow, as though he bore all the sadness of creation.
The only differences were that his bearing and appearance had grown even more ruggedly handsome, and now he exuded the untouchable majesty of a grandmaster.
It was none other than Bu Eunseol.
“How is the Lord here…?”
Guyang Cheongjeong gasped in shock, and Bu Eunseol stepped in front of her.
“Step back.”
He strode forward, straight toward the masked woman.
He wore only simple black robes, yet as he walked slowly under the sunlight, he looked like a black dragon that had descended from the clouds in human form.
“You…”
The masked woman tilted her head as she looked at him.
“Who are you?”
Bu Eunseol did not answer. His face was solemn. “Are you prepared?”
“Prepared for what?”
“Attacking a sect that nests under our banner is the same as attacking Majeon itself.” Murderous light blazed from his eyes.
“Why did you touch the Hyeoncheon Sword Sect?”
“Because he did something worthy of death.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“You will speak.” When killing intent flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, the masked woman snickered and finally opened her mouth.
“It wasn’t an attack. It was an act of kindness.”
“Kindness?”
“Yes.” She spoke calmly. “No matter how I look at it, that fat Sect Leader couldn’t possibly be ‘him.’ So I did him a favor.”
Her words made no sense.
As Bu Eunseol frowned,
“Enough talking. I’ve already shown more than enough mercy.”
Swish.
She waved her hand, and Bu Eunseol’s vision instantly went black. At the same time, it felt as though every last drop of true qi in his body had vanished.
But only for a moment.
The Crystal Divine Energy within him activated on its own, and the black curtain that had covered his sight dissolved in an instant. While watching the fight from the sidelines, Bu Eunseol had already analyzed her ability.
He had thought she was unleashing some kind of invisible palm force but now that he experienced it himself, she wasn’t firing any palm force at all.
It was as if she borrowed the natural energy of the heavens and earth, then used the victim’s own true qi against them, rebounding it like a mirror.
“So you wield the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.” Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
The only power said to be able to attack an enemy by manipulating the true qi flowing through their body was the Wind God’s Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
“You can’t be the Wind God himself. Are you his disciple?”
The masked woman’s eyes widened in surprise that Bu Eunseol had brushed off her power so easily.
“How did you escape the Black Rope?”
“Black Rope?”
“You’re strong.”
They were talking past each other.
“It wasn’t martial arts.”
She wasn’t looking at Bu Eunseol himself, but at the transparent aura rising around him, and nodded. “Because you possess one of the Four Divine Energies, you could dispel it so easily.”
“So it’s not the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi?”
Bu Eunseol frowned.
He had thought she was using the Wind God’s power, but judging from the term “Black Rope,” it seemed to be some kind of arcane sorcery unrelated to martial arts.
“Shall we test it once more?” She took a ragged breath, and her pupils turned pale sky-blue.
At the same moment, black light flowed around Bu Eunseol’s body, and a violent wind erupted. Instantly, the Ban-Geuk Method circulating inside him seemed to vanish completely.
‘No—this feels more like the imperial palace’s arcane arts.’
The ability to neutralize another’s true qi without lifting a finger was extremely similar to the Domain of Nine Wounds Purgatory that the special ranks brought by the Heavenly Deity had once used.
“Try blocking this!” The masked woman narrowed her eyes.
An explosive force slammed directly into Bu Eunseol’s chest.
It wasn’t a palm strike sent through the air; some mysterious power had struck him head-on.
RIIIP!
But there was only noise—no actual damage.
The Crystal Divine Energy within him naturally repelled and blocked her power.
“Crystal Divine Energy.” The masked woman realized the source of his strength and her eyes widened.
“How is a man using the power of the Divine Water Palace?”
“Why do you assume it’s the Divine Water Palace’s power? It could be something else.”
“Liar.” She scanned the aura around Bu Eunseol and spoke coldly. “You may fool others, but you can’t fool my eyes.”
“You’re wrong. You know nothing.”
Just as he had once done with Hyeok Ryeon-eung, Bu Eunseol lied without the slightest hesitation. He had long since learned that even a small lie could throw an enemy into great confusion.
“This technique is something I created myself. I call it the Floating Life as if Dream Art.”
“Floating Life as if Dream” meant that life was no more substantial than a dream.
In one sentence, Bu Eunseol had declared that such an art did not exist. Yet the masked woman, unaware of that, flinched and shouted, “Then we’ll just have to fight again!”
WHOOSH!
This time a razor-sharp wind blew, and suddenly an invisible force tried to cleave Bu Eunseol apart.
It was extremely similar to Wind-Cloud Divine Qi, yet completely different in nature.
Shiiing.
Bu Eunseol instantly drew the Demon-Killer Sword and enveloped it in transparent energy.
BOOM.
The invisible force collided with the Demon-Killer Sword, erupting in a blinding flash as it tried to crush Bu Eunseol.
It felt as though a massive iron weight had fallen from the sky straight onto him.
Crackle!
Bu Eunseol twisted his body into a half-corporeal state to evade the pressure.
BOOM.
A huge crater formed where he had just stood.
Had he remained there, his body would have been pulverized inside that black pit.
‘This truly feels like sorcery.’
SWISH!
Amazed yet undaunted by her techniques, Bu Eunseol immediately channeled Crystal Divine Energy and unleashed the Waning Moon, Dawn Star. Eight cross-shaped sword qi wrapped in transparent light surged toward the masked woman.
“Impressive.” She let out a cry of admiration and conjured hundreds of invisible blades, hurling them at Bu Eunseol in rapid succession.
They had no form and could not be cut.
An ordinary martial artist would have been shredded to ribbons by this single move. But Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship, cloaked in Crystal Divine Energy, turned those formless blades into something as tangible as any physical object.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
A deafening chorus of metal rang out as sword qi clashed with the wind of blades.
Though she wielded mysterious power, everything was effortlessly neutralized by the Crystal Divine Energy.
No matter what technique she used, to Bu Eunseol’s eyes she merely looked like someone striking pretty poses.
SWISH!
Having erased all the blade-winds, Bu Eunseol unleashed the Waning Moon, Dawn Star once more.
The woman raised both hands in surrender.
Any ordinary warrior would have lowered their sword the moment a woman signaled surrender. Unfortunately, her opponent was Bu Eunseol.
SWISH! SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
Regardless of her surrender, the cross-shaped sword qi of the Waning Moon, Dawn Star began slicing across her body.
Papapapapak!
She rolled frantically across the ground in shock.
“What are you doing?!” She managed to avoid fatal wounds, but countless gashes from sharp sword qi now crisscrossed her body.
“Are you insane?!” She roared in fury. “You stab someone who has surrendered without hesitation? How can a real man be so petty?”
Bu Eunseol sneered coldly. “It’s fine for you to complain about my ruthless hand, yet perfectly natural to order the master of another sect to commit suicide?”
Drip, drip.
She looked at the blood pouring from her body, shrugged, and nodded.
“Fair enough. I’ll give you that.” Even after being utterly defeated by Bu Eunseol, she spoke as though she had been going easy on him.
“But don’t get arrogant. I never specialized in martial arts to begin with.”
She paused, then spoke icily.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
She had already seen through Bu Eunseol’s identity.
Yet he was not particularly surprised.
He was one of the youngest and most famous figures among the next generation of sect leaders. Anyone even slightly interested in the current state of the martial world would know his face.
“You still don’t understand the situation.” Bu Eunseol raised the Demon-Killer Sword and spoke in a grave voice.
“Why did you attack the Hyeoncheon Sword Sect?”
“I told you—it was an act of mercy.”
“If you play twenty questions one more time, I will cut your head off immediately.”
The woman was confident, not insane. When she realized Bu Eunseol was truly prepared to strike, her eyes widened.
“You really want me to say it here?”
When he simply waited without answering, she sighed as if she had no choice.
“He’s trying to create Childlike White Bones to achieve the Six Spirits Body Exchange.”
Bu Eunseol stood frozen for a long while, his face blank.
The terms sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place them.
“Childlike White Bones… Six Spirits Body Exchange?”
Only after a long pause did he recall a text he had read back when he was still a member of the old Nine Deaths Squad.
Childlike White Bones.
A supreme forbidden art of the long-extinct Demon Cult: children under ten were captured and turned into white bones through horrific methods…
Six Spirits Body Exchange.
Using that power to transform the body into one capable of wielding six divine abilities.
In simple terms, it was an accursed demonic art that brutally murdered children and converted their intense grudges into immense power—one of the ultimate forbidden arts of the demonic path that should never see the light of day.
And the master of the Hyeoncheon Sword Sect had attempted such a thing?
“Sect Leader Ban.” Bu Eunseol turned, his face filled with disbelief, and stared at Ban Muryeok. “Did you truly turn children into white bones and attempt the Six Spirits Body Exchange?”
“Of course not!” Ban Muryeok leapt up in outrage and pointed at the woman. “That woman is spouting nonsense! Lord, please kill her at once and restore our gate’s honor and prestige!”
“Liar.” The masked woman smiled faintly and pointed toward Sinukhyeon. “The grudges of the Childlike White Bones are rising so thickly that they fill that entire pavilion.”
At her words, everyone turned to look at the Sect Leader’s residence.
But all they saw was peaceful sunlight; there was no trace of any grudge-light.
“Look—she’s clearly insane.”
When Bu Eunseol turned his head, the masked woman innocently blinked. “You can’t see it either?”
“I can’t.”
“Liar. You can block the Black Rope that no one else can even sense—yet you claim you can’t see that?”
She tilted her head.
“Could it be… you’re still a virgin?”
Bu Eunseol’s face darkened menacingly, and the woman suddenly burst into laughter. “Ah, that explains everything.”
“My Lord, will you just stand there and let this madwoman run her mouth?”
Ban Muryeok immediately drew his sword. He strode forward, radiating killing intent, ready to kill the masked woman standing before Bu Eunseol.
“If the Lord finds it difficult to kill a woman, I will do it myself.”
The masked woman glanced at him, then sidled even closer to Bu Eunseol.
“Fine. Then I’ll make you see.”
She instantly removed her mask.
Rip.
Short hair, scars on her neck and behind her ears—a woman’s face was revealed.
She was beautiful enough to be called a stunning beauty, yet the scars gave her the aura of a grizzled veteran who had rolled through the martial world for decades.
“Look into my eyes.”
Blue energy flowed from her pupils.
She carefully stepped closer and lightly embraced Bu Eunseol.
The motion was so natural he had no time to dodge.
Shaaa.
Crystal Divine Energy poured from Bu Eunseol’s body and instantly enveloped her. Then blue energy began flowing from his eyes as well, accompanied by a strange vibration.
“What the— you could already see from the beginning?”
She muttered under her breath, then pointed for Bu Eunseol.
“Look. It’s right there.”
Following her finger, Bu Eunseol raised his head.
He could see black energy rising from Sinukhyeon.
It took the shape of countless skulls, endlessly ascending into the sky.
“That is…”
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize the masked woman had not lied.
Step. Step.
His face twisted with absolute fury as he strode into Sinukhyeon.
“L-Lord!”
Ban Muryeok tried to block his path in panic.
But the aura radiating from Bu Eunseol was so solemn and overpowering that no one dared step forward.
Rattle.
Inside Sinukhyeon, Bu Eunseol scanned the room and immediately raised his left hand.
The entire pavilion shook as though an earthquake had struck. A desk split in two, revealing a hidden door leading underground.
BOOM.
With another surge of inner force, the thick iron doors slid open left and right, exposing a secret staircase descending into darkness.
He went down at once.
A vast underground chamber came into view.
Countless huge jars lined the space.
Bu Eunseol immediately opened the sealed lid of one.
“…”
His face filled with sorrow as he turned away.
The scene inside the jar was too horrific to behold with open eyes.
Dozens of massive jars—some contained the white bones of children, others held bodies not yet reduced to bone, still soaked in blood.
He found an even more hidden storeroom, forced the door open, and discovered a tower built from children’s white bones.
Whoosh.
Ban Cheolseong and Guyang Cheongjeong, who had followed, gasped in horror at the sight.
“How could something like this…”
“Everyone out.”
Bu Eunseol turned and commanded. The two hurriedly retreated in shock.
Back above in Sinukhyeon, Ban Muryeok faced Bu Eunseol with brazen defiance.
“So you’ve seen everything.”
Ban Cheolseong shouted at his father, “Father! Why would you commit such atrocities? Why?!”
“It wasn’t an atrocity. I merely happened to discover the Six Exchange Secret Records.” Ban Muryeok shook his head. “With the body of the Six Spirits Exchange, one can become a supreme master who dominates the martial world.”
He spoke to his son.
“Our gate was once the representative sword sect of Qinghai. But after our core swordsmanship was lost, we fell to the very bottom of the seven gates.”
Black energy began pouring from his eyes.
“I had no choice but to become stronger, even if it meant using a method like this.”
In the Demonic Path, strength reigns supreme.
If one can gain power and authority, anything is permissible.
From the perspective of a demonic cultivator, such a method was not inherently wrong.
But the moment he touched innocent children and turned them into white bones with that wicked art, Ban Muryeok had fallen not into the Demonic Path, but into the Evil Path.
“Father…”
When Ban Cheolseong looked at him with disappointment, Ban Muryeok snapped irritably, “Don’t look at me like that. If you had only become stronger, none of this would have been necessary!”
He pointed at Guyang Cheongjeong.
“You never trained properly and only chased skirts. You kept courting that girl. Because of you, our sect sank even lower into the abyss!”
From the moment he began creating Childlike White Bones, Ban Muryeok had already succumbed to demonic obsession.
There was no turning back.
“Martial Soul Command Lord. They say your martial arts rival the supreme masters of the world.”
Black energy billowed from Ban Muryeok as he approached Bu Eunseol.
“Since it has come to this, why don’t you and I have a duel and settle who is superior?”
Step. Step.
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol walked straight toward him.
Fwoosh.
Hellfire blazed in his eyes.
He could never forgive someone who had harmed innocent children for the sake of increasing his own power.
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