As dawn broke, Bu Eunseol and Baek Museong spread out a map and put their heads together.
According to the latest flying-messenger pigeon from the Mankyeong Hall, the slaughter demon’s trail had split between Mount Daeryun and Mount Hongok.
He must have realized he was being pursued and hired assassins or informants to scatter false tracks.
“We’ll have to split into two groups to hunt him down,” Baek Museong said.
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“My corps will take Mount Daeryun. Brother Baek, you take Mount Hongok. Either way, if we swing wide, we’ll meet up again on the far side.”
“Hmm.” Baek Museong stroked his chin, then shook his head. “No. My corps will take Mount Daeryun. The Supreme Corps should head to Mount Hongok instead.”
The route to Mount Daeryun was far longer and the terrain far more treacherous.
Only last night he had declared open competition, yet here he was already showing consideration for Bu Eunseol.
“Brother Baek.”
“It’s only because my men’s qinggong is faster,” Baek Museong said with a shrug. “If we’re going to encircle him with both corps, arriving at the same time would be best, wouldn’t it?”
‘He’s right. No matter what we do, neither of us will catch him anyway.’
Neither Bu Eunseol nor Baek Museong would claim merit this time.
Yangseol Rin had sworn she would capture the Earth-Killing Star herself, and Bu Eunseol had handed her the entire intelligence network of the Death Spirit Corps.
Whoever arrived first, she would already have taken the demon and be on her way back.
“Very well. Let’s do that.”
Baek Museong took his men and shot off toward Mount Daeryun first.
Bu Eunseol was in no hurry. He checked his men’s condition once more and carefully reviewed the route to Mount Hongok.
Then—
Flap.
A faint sound like the beating of distant wings reached his ears.
It was the signal from Soyo.
“Prepare to move. I’ll be right back—I have something to attend to.”
Stepping away from the corps for a moment, Bu Eunseol immediately sent a thousand-li transmission.
[What is it?]
[She suddenly left.]
Bu Eunseol frowned. [What do you mean? Even the Alliance intelligence network still places him in this area.]
[She said she read the heavens. Everything around Sichuan was a diversion. The Earth-Killing Star is near Nanju.]
Bu Eunseol nodded, though he did not fully understand.
[Understood.]
‘This might actually be for the best.’
What worried Bu Eunseol most was the possibility of Yangseol Rin and Baek Museong running into each other at the same place.
That was why he had kept Soyo and the Death Spirit Corps tracking her movements.
But if the slaughter demon was not here at all—if he truly was near Nanju—then this was good news.
Whirr.
Bu Eunseol led the Supreme Corps toward Mount Hongok. Yet he deliberately kept their pace leisurely, never pushing too hard.
By the time half a day had passed, the sun was beginning to set.
Seeing a valley ahead, Bu Eunseol stopped and spoke.
“We’ll rest here.”
“Already?” Tae Muryong blinked in surprise from behind him. “Captain, if we take it this easy, Captain Baek might find and finish the demon before we even arrive.”
“It’s fine.”
“It is?”
“And we’ll need our strength to face the slaughter demon, won’t we?” Bu Eunseol gave a relaxed smile. “Whether we hurry or take our time, Mount Hongok is still two days away. Let’s recover our stamina and search slowly.”
Tae Muryong tilted his head in puzzlement, but trusting that Bu Eunseol had a plan, he nodded.
“We rest here!”
At Tae Muryong’s command, the men began circulating their energy or lying down to sleep—each taking the rest they needed.
“Vice-Captain, you rest too. I’ll scout the perimeter.”
“Understood.”
‘The Yangseol Clan…’
Walking along the valley, Bu Eunseol frowned.
Just as Seo Jinha had said, he too had always found Yangseol Rin’s appearance suspicious.
A clan that guarded the deepest secrets of the martial world—how had they been caught by the intelligence network of the Shadow Hall of all places?
And upon meeting him, she had simply handed over every crucial piece of information she possessed?
No matter how many coincidences the world allowed, the odds were astronomical.
‘Or does fate truly exist?’
Yangseol Rin was eccentric, but she did not seem the type to lie or scheme.
If so, was meeting her really fate?
Bu Eunseol did not believe in destiny. Yet sometimes he felt an inexplicable force pulling him forward.
Perhaps meeting her truly was fate—and perhaps it would become the key to peering into the abyss of the martial world he had never seen before.
Night fell.
The men lit fires and began roasting dried rations over the flames.
“Captain.”
Tae Muryong approached.
“Aren’t you tired?”
Even while lost in thought, Bu Eunseol had been silently guarding the area so his men could rest comfortably.
“Don’t worry about me. My stamina is more than enough.”
When Bu Eunseol shook his head, Tae Muryong gave a faint smile.
“With your qinggong, Captain, the journey to Sichuan must feel like a pleasant stroll. You’re exhausting yourself for our sake.”
“It’s nothing. And… if you have something on your mind, speak freely.”
Bu Eunseol had noticed the hesitation in Tae Muryong’s eyes and offered a gentle smile.
“Is something troubling you?”
“No, it’s nothing serious. It’s just…”
Tae Muryong lowered his voice.
“To me, Captain, you seem to have no desires at all. Yet you risk your life carrying out every mission for Hall Leader Yuk. I’ve always wondered why.”
“No human is without desire.” Bu Eunseol smiled faintly.
From Tae Muryong’s perspective, it must seem strange.
Seon Woojin showed no greed for status, fame, or power—yet he threw himself body and soul into every assigned task.
“Desire doesn’t have to be for fame or authority.”
“If not fame or power, then what…?”
“Who knows.” Bu Eunseol turned the question back on him. “What about you, Vice-Captain? What do you want?”
“I…”
After a moment’s thought, Tae Muryong answered quietly.
“To keep living like this—together with you and the men, sharing life and death, joy and hardship, for as long as possible.”
“Sharing life and death, joy and hardship…”
A lonely smile touched Bu Eunseol’s lips.
When he was young, that had been his wish too.
To share life and death, joy and hardship with his grandfather—that was all he had ever wanted.
But a cruel murderer had stolen that dream, and even defiled his grandfather’s grave, robbing him of eternal rest.
The wish he had clung to so desperately had become an impossible dream forever out of reach.
“A modest yet difficult wish.”
“Is it?”
When Tae Muryong smiled awkwardly, Bu Eunseol spoke with conviction.
“Then I will do everything in my power to make your wish come true.”
It was a promise he could not keep.
One day Bu Eunseol would leave. Tae Muryong’s wish could never be granted.
Yet if he trained these men well and made them strong…
Even after he left the Alliance, the Supreme Corps could still stand together, sharing life and death, joy and hardship.
“I’ve always been curious what you truly want, Captain.”
“Who knows.”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the distant sky and shook his head.
“I think I once had something… but I’ve forgotten it now.”
Moonlight reflected in his eyes, revealing an unspeakable sorrow and grief.
‘He’s not lying.’
Tae Muryong could feel it.
Bu Eunseol had lost his dream long ago—and had lived ever since swallowing endless pain.
‘So this is the kind of man he is.’
Sometimes it takes surprisingly little time to truly understand someone.
A single sentence can reveal an entire life and heart.
And that only happens when you care deeply for that person.
Boom.
At that moment, a faint whistling sound reached Bu Eunseol’s ears.
It was the sound of tremendous internal energy tearing through the air or a blade slicing the wind.
‘This is…’ Bu Eunseol shot to his feet.
Tae Muryong cried out in alarm, “Captain! What is it?”
“I thought I heard something.”
“A sound?”
No matter how hard Tae Muryong strained his ears, he heard nothing.
“It’s probably nothing,” Bu Eunseol said lightly. “I’ll go check. Rest easy.”
Without waiting for a reply, he launched into movement.
Tae Muryong felt an ominous chill.
Whoosh!
Before he could say anything to the men, he followed the direction Bu Eunseol had vanished.
“Vice-Captain!” Jeong Jongdo followed Tae Muryong.
The resting men looked at one another, then shouted in unison: “Everyone—follow the Captain!”
Bu Eunseol was not using his ultimate Swift Beyond Shadow, but the orthodox Scattered Form Infinite Step. Yet his speed surpassed the technique’s limits, resembling the supreme orthodox movement art Heavenly Dragon Great Luo Step.
His qinggong had reached such a transcendent realm that even an ordinary technique became the pinnacle of movement.
‘The sound is gone.’ Bu Eunseol halted briefly and listened intently.
The whistling was no longer audible.
No matter how he heightened his senses, nothing reached him.
It seemed he had accidentally caught a sound that had traveled from an unimaginable distance.
‘Could this be a diversionary tactic?’
A strange thought struck him.
Perhaps Yangseol Rin heading to Nanju was the slaughter demon’s ruse, and he was actually still in Sichuan.
‘It’s possible.’
If so, there was a high chance he had already encountered Baek Museong, who had headed toward Mount Daeryun.
‘But this direction is not toward Mount Daeryun.’
The sound had come from somewhere else entirely.
Could Baek Museong have heard the same strange noise on his way to Daeryun and changed course to pursue the demon?
‘I need to find the direction.’
Bu Eunseol pushed his superhuman senses to their limit, but still heard nothing.
‘Heavenly energy.’
Suddenly he remembered when Yangseol Rin had infused him with blue energy to let him see the “moving divine bones.”
It had not been her injecting special power—it had been amplifying the Crystal Divine Energy within him so he could see what was normally invisible.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol instantly summoned his Crystal Divine Energy.
Instead of circulating it through his body, he focused it entirely into his eyes. His vision blurred, and pain stabbed through his eyeballs as though they might burst.
‘It’s not working.’
Channeling Crystal Divine Energy into his eyes only clouded his sight and brought excruciating pain—nothing appeared.
‘She said “pure yang,” didn’t she?’
Yangseol Rin had asked if he was a “pure yang” practitioner because he could not see the moving divine bones.
She had mistaken him for someone who had mastered the Pure Yang Art.
‘Energy circulation.’
Bu Eunseol had trained in the Muscle-Changing Sutra’s Yang-nurturing method, then the Ban-Geuk Method atop that immense foundation of internal energy. Unintentionally, he had mastered both orthodox and demonic supreme internal arts, accumulating terrifying power.
As a result, his dantian held an ocean of pure, pristine energy—just like someone who had cultivated the Pure Yang Art.
‘I’ve been treating the Four Divine Energies like ordinary internal arts.’
All Four Divine Energies were forces of nature itself.
They were not meant to be stored in the dantian, but called forth naturally when needed.
‘Naturally.’
Whooom.
As Bu Eunseol spread his Crystal Divine Energy wide while gazing at the distant sky,
Through the blurred haze, he finally saw it—a faint crimson aura rising far, far away.
It rose like smoke, dozens of li distant.
Could that be the Earth-Killing Star energy Yangseol Rin had spoken of?
If so, why had she not seen it and gone to Nanju instead?
Contrary to her confident prophecy, was the Earth-Killing Star truly here?
‘It’s too far.’
Rumble!
Bu Eunseol ignited his Thunder Spirit Energy and unleashed Swift Beyond Shadow.
As the Thunder Spirit Energy merged with his core energy, purple lightning crackled around him.
Boom!
In an instant, he became a streak of lightning cleaving the night sky.
Reaching the source of the crimson aura, he flipped mid-air and switched back to Scattered Form Infinite Step.
‘This can’t be…’
He had arrived at a village at the foot of a mountain. The village was already in ruins, countless corpses lying cold on the ground.
Boom!
Another explosion thundered from the forest on the village outskirts. Bu Eunseol raced toward the sound.
There, ancient trees lay snapped and broken.
Two figures were locked in ferocious combat.
Baek Museong—and a gaunt old man in tattered martial robes.
Around them, Baek Museong’s subordinates formed a tight encirclement, watching the fight without daring to interfere.
The level of the two combatants was simply too high.
‘So that’s the Earth-Killing Star.’
From atop a tree dozens of zhang away, Bu Eunseol observed silently.
The old man was emaciated yet covered in corded muscle, his eyes burning red. His skin was blackened, his movements so swift he resembled a gigantic bat in flight.
‘A technique stolen from the Yangseol Clan.’
Bu Eunseol could see strange energy flowing from the old man’s body, clinging to Baek Museong like invisible threads. Yet Baek Museong seemed completely unaware, relentlessly unleashing mountain-crushing palm force.
‘No, it’s slightly different.’
If Yangseol Rin could manipulate or sever an opponent’s energy flow from afar, the energy pouring from the old man acted like invisible hands, subtly disrupting Baek Museong’s movements.
Boom! Rumble!
Baek Museong unleashed the Arhat Divine Fist in rapid succession, each strike capable of shattering mountains. Yet because of the old man’s invisible interference, the palms kept veering wildly off course.
“Hmph. Demonic arts.” Snorting, Baek Museong closed the distance with the ninth-grade movement technique and unleashed razor-sharp finger force from all ten fingers.
It was the Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand, unrivaled in close-quarters combat.
Crack! Rip!
The Dragon Claw Hand moved faster than the eye could follow, raking across the old man’s body.
Even iron would be shredded by those claws—yet not a single scratch appeared on the old man’s skin.
The invisible energy still clung to Baek Museong, protecting its master.
‘Even a master like him can’t sense it.’
Only now did Bu Eunseol understand Yangseol Rin’s confidence.
If even Baek Museong—peerless among the younger generation—could not detect that transparent energy, no amount of powerful martial arts would be enough to overcome it.
[Heh heh heh.]
Then something bizarre happened.
The gaunt old man, eyes blazing crimson, began perfectly replicating every technique Baek Museong had used.
Boom! Rumble!
First the Arhat Divine Fist erupted from the old man’s palms, then he closed in and unleashed Dragon Claw Hand.
Power and form were identical—not a hair’s breadth of difference. It was as though he fought his own reflection.
“Interesting.” Only now realizing his opponent possessed unnatural abilities, Baek Museong finally raised his internal energy to full. “I haven’t been using my true power until now.”
Shockingly, he had been severely restraining his internal energy the entire time.
When the full might of the legendary Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts was combined with his monstrous reserves, the techniques became overwhelmingly tyrannical.
Hummm. Hummm.
A faint golden glow shimmered around his body.
Prajna Great Power—the secret Shaolin art that carried the energy of destruction and multiplied martial power manyfold—was unleashed.
Sizzle!
The moment Prajna Great Power surged forth, every strand of invisible energy clinging to Baek Museong snapped.
“Haa!”
Pouring everything into the Seventy-Two Arts once more, Baek Museong attacked.
Hundred Steps Divine Fist, Finger Flick Divine Skill, Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, One-Finger Zen—each technique sealed escape routes and struck vital points.
‘He’s strong.’
Watching from afar, Bu Eunseol slowly released his grip on the Silent Tiger Soul Sword’s hilt.
Baek Museong’s martial arts were the very essence of Buddhist martial learning. With the clinging energy severed and Prajna Great Power fueling a storm of simultaneous techniques, the old man could no longer evade.
Bam! Bam!
Struck in the stomach by Lion Roar Seal and in the chest by Demon-Subduing Palm, the old man plummeted from the sky like a wounded bird.
Sssss.
Steam-like heat haze rose from Baek Museong’s body as he expended his full power.
His internal energy was so vast that he had to vent the excess outward to regulate it.
He walked toward the fallen old man, brow deeply furrowed despite his victory.
“Worthy of becoming a Great Murder Star, indeed.”
At first, he had thought the old man was just another common killer demon.
When his men had initially surrounded and engaged him, Baek Museong had held back, intending to let them gain real combat experience.
But after only a few exchanges, everything changed.
The old man had absorbed every technique his men used, instantly found their weaknesses, and critically wounded three of them in the blink of an eye. Even when Baek Museong stepped in, the demon only grew stronger the longer they fought—forcing him to unleash his fully-powered Seventy-Two Arts just to bring him down.
“Captain, well fought!”
His watching subordinates cheered and rushed toward him.
“That old monster was clearly hiding his true strength the whole time.”
Baek Museong nodded and pointed at the fallen man.
“Take his head and we return.”
“Yes, sir.”
The men approached the collapsed elder.
His chest was caved in as though every rib had been shattered by Baek Museong’s palm and fist force.
Shiiing.
One warrior drew his sword and spoke coldly.
“In your next life, be born a good man.”
He swung down in a single stroke.
—AAAAAARGH!
A blood-curdling scream tore through the night.
Baek Museong whipped around.
The old man—who should have been dead—had somehow sprung back to his feet and was now perched on the back of the warrior who had tried to behead him, fangs sunk deep into the man’s throat.
“You monster!”
“Die!”
The horrified men stabbed the clinging old man with their swords,
Glug, glug.
but the demon paid the blades no mind and greedily drank every last drop of blood pouring from the warrior’s neck.
And with every swallow…
Incredibly, the caved-in chest began to swell back outward, bones snapping into place once more.
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