Bu Eunseol and Bukgung Ryeong headed down Wudang Mountain.
The great disciples and elders of Wudang bowed politely toward the two as they departed.
It was likely an expression of gratitude for Bukgung Ryeong and Bu Eunseol, who had rushed to resolve the crisis that had befallen Wudang.
Song Ak escorted the two all the way to the foot of the mountain where a carriage waited, looking reluctant to part.
“Lord Bukgung, Lord Bu. I will surely repay this kindness one day.”
Bu Eunseol and Bukgung Ryeong exchanged wry smiles.
Song Ak still didn’t know the full truth of the incident and believed everything had been resolved thanks to Bukgung Ryeong and Bu Eunseol.
“We merely helped each other. There is no debt between us.”
As Bu Eunseol smiled, Song Ak returned a bright smile.
The two were of different paths and different generations. Yet somehow, friendship had already begun to bloom between them.
“Please take care of yourself always, Lord Bukgung.”
Bukgung Ryeong gave a light nod and boarded the carriage with Bu Eunseol before departing.
“There will be much to do from now on.” Bukgung Ryeong, who had been silently gazing out the window, spoke to Bu Eunseol. “I must now build a solid faction within the Martial Alliance.”
Bu Eunseol wore a faint smile.
He could guess that Bukgung Ryeong’s reason for doing so was to help him.
“Is there really a need to go that far?”
“My old head hasn’t rusted yet.” Bukgung Ryeong gave a self-deprecating smile. “This is not only for you, but for the martial world as well. I’ve engraved my name on the Hero’s Monument and as such, I ought to at least earn my keep.”
His generation was already over.
From now on, it would be young people like Bu Eunseol who must advance.
What he needed to do now was gather trustworthy individuals and consolidate a faction so that he could provide immediate aid when needed.
“I see.”
As Bu Eunseol smiled, Bukgung Ryeong asked, “Where will you go? You don’t seem likely to return to the Martial Alliance right away.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol seem to recall something and ask,
“When I killed that fake Song Ok, he mentioned a place called Jijung Mountain.”
“Jijung Mountain?”
“Yes. As far as I know, there is no mountain by that name. Do you happen to know anything about it?”
Bukgung Ryeong thought for a moment and shook his head.
“This old man has never heard of such a mountain either.”
“Hmm.” Bu Eunseol stroked his chin. “In any case, I’ll investigate Jijung Mountain a little more before going anywhere.”
“Will it be all right to keep leaving your position vacant? This is the Martial Alliance, not Majeon.”
“Don’t worry. I have a shadow of my own.”
“A shadow?”
Bu Eunseol briefly explained about Seo Jinha, who served as his shadow.
This was partly because he trusted Bukgung Ryeong, but also to prevent confusion or disruption if Bukgung Ryeong ever encountered him while he was operating under Seon Woojin’s identity.
“Quite meticulous.”
Bukgung Ryeong clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Well, with that level of preparation, it makes sense you’d even take on the role of a captain in the Martial Alliance.”
“I’ve already told the elder everything in advance. But just in case it’s not me but that friend of mine, please treat him well.”
“Don’t worry. This old man won’t let any confusion arise because of me.”
Bukgung Ryeong smiled in a way that was unlike him.
In turn, a smile bloomed on Bu Eunseol’s lips as well.
“Then until we meet again.”
After alighting from the moving carriage, Bu Eunseol immediately headed to the safe house in Xi’an Prefecture where a secret branch of the Death Spirit Corps was located.
***
As expected, there was no place called Jijung Mountain.
The Death Spirit Corps had searched with full force for three days and nights, scouring not only the Central Plains but the entire outer regions, yet no mountain named Jijung existed.
A mountain couldn’t hide its location or run away on legs.
Even mobilizing the full intelligence network of the Death Spirit Corps, the premier information unit of the Demon Path, they couldn’t find even an ordinary mountain.
In the end, Jijung Mountain was a place that had never existed to begin with.
“Jijung… meaning ‘within the earth’.”
Bu Eunseol sat in the secret chamber of the safe house, lost in deep thought.
Had the old man disguised as Song Ok deliberately lied?
‘That can’t be.’
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
Even if he couldn’t trust the old man’s words, he could trust A-Yeon’s.
But there was no Jijung Mountain anywhere.
That meant it might not be a literal place name, but rather their own secret code or slang.
“How could there be a mountain in the middle of the earth?”
After pondering deeply, Bu Eunseol’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
“Jijung… a mountain in the middle of the earth.”
Until now, he had discovered numerous underground citadels belonging to the Three Realms.
Those would naturally be called ‘underground’.
But if there was a mountain in the middle of the earth? Wouldn’t it be something like a massive well?
“Could it be referring to a volcanic lake?”
There was no such thing as a mountain-shaped well.
Then perhaps it referred to a lake formed by water filling the crater of a volcano?
“If it’s a volcanic lake…”
Bu Eunseol stroked his chin.
“The most likely candidate in Guangdong would be Hogwangam.”
Of course, if considering beyond the Central Plains, there were several volcanic lakes.
But within the Central Plains, Hogwangam in Guangdong was the only one that came to mind.
“I’ll go and see for myself.”
Leaving the safe house, Bu Eunseol immediately headed toward Guangdong.
After several days of continuous qinggong, he arrived at Leizhou Prefecture. He promptly made his way to the Hogwangam area and began searching it thoroughly.
‘This isn’t it either.’
But he found nothing particularly special.
Thinking back, a volcanic lake couldn’t truly be called Jijung Mountain—it was still a volcano.
It couldn’t be described as a mountain in the middle of the earth.
‘I came all this way for nothing.’
Bu Eunseol wore a bitter expression.
In hindsight, the clue had been far too flimsy.
Finding the location of a mysterious faction with just the single word ‘Jijung Mountain’ was unreasonable to begin with.
Bu Eunseol turned and left Hogwangam.
But not long after, a clear, expansive lake came into view.
Bu Eunseol paused and gazed at the lake.
Just as he was about to resume his qinggong, he suddenly noticed a verdant mountain reflected in the water.
“Jijung Mountain.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
The mountain reflected in the lake was neither rising from the earth nor buried beneath it.
It was truly a mountain created in the middle of the earth.
‘So Jijung Mountain means a mountain reflected in a lake.’
Having realized the meaning, Bu Eunseol headed toward the mountain reflected in the lake.
“Hmm.”
As he ventured deeper into the endlessly vast forest, Bu Eunseol sensed a strange energy.
The clear sky had darkened, and thick fog blanketed the woods. The deeper he went, the more his internal true qi seemed to drain away, and his body felt limp.
‘Imperial Palace Martial Arts?’
Imperial Palace Martial Arts specialized in blocking the internal energy of martial practitioners. They could also confine that power to a specific area like a formation.
Everything here seemed to stem from Imperial Palace Martial Arts.
‘I hope this works.’
Most martial practitioners had no knowledge of the origins or principles of Imperial Palace Martial Arts. But Bu Eunseol, having wandered the martial world and faced the Three Realms, had encountered all sorts of bizarre martial arts.
Thus, he had guessed that the Imperial Palace Martial Arts here functioned similarly to sorcery.
Ziiing.
As Crystal Divine Energy enveloped his body, the sensation of his limbs going limp gradually faded.
The energy worked against the power of Imperial Palace Martial Arts as well.
‘Indeed, it’s a power the Infinite Realm would covet.’
Bu Eunseol gazed down at the transparent energy lingering in his hand and took a deep breath.
The Infinite Realm’s human experiments were aimed at strengthening the body, but ultimately at artificially creating the Four Divine Energies.
That meant perhaps…
The Infinite Realm had long been at odds with those who wielded such bizarre powers?
Thud thud.
As Bu Eunseol walked along the path, he extended his hand.
Though the way ahead was clearly open, he could no longer advance.
It felt as if an invisible transparent wall had been erected before him.
Swoosh!
He poured the Crystal Divine Energy held in his left hand in a single burst, sending transparent energy radiating in all directions.
But the result was unexpected.
Until now, the sorcery had collapsed instantly upon contact with the Crystal Divine Energy. Yet now, despite pouring it out continuously, the space merely rippled like water.
He still couldn’t break through whatever was blocking him.
Uuuung!
After pouring Crystal Divine Energy for more than half an hour, his breathing suddenly grew labored.
‘It’s still an external force, after all.’
The Four Divine Energies were natural forces, flowing and generated naturally within the body. But for Bu Eunseol, who drew Crystal Divine Energy externally, he couldn’t sustain it endlessly.
‘If anything, the Thunder Spirit Divine Energy is more natural.’
When using the Divine Energies, Bu Eunseol usually drew on Crystal Divine Energy first.
Unlike Thunder Spirit Divine Energy, which released violet radiance upon use, Crystal Divine Energy showed no external signs no matter how much he used.
But in truth, what had fully settled within his body was Thunder Spirit Divine Energy.
The power he had obtained from the Pool of Demon Blades, where lightning constantly struck, rivaled that of the Thunder God Nae Bihon.
In other words, among the Divine Energies, the one Bu Eunseol could wield more powerfully and naturally was undoubtedly Thunder Spirit Divine Energy.
Crackle! Crackle crackle!
As he raised Thunder Spirit Divine Energy, violet flames swirled around his body, sending intense thunder spirit energy radiating outward.
Boom!
When Bu Eunseol thrust his right hand forward, violet lightning began to strike relentlessly at the invisible barrier.
Crackle crackle! Rumble rumble!
Each time he poured out Thunder Spirit Divine Energy, sounds like something shattering and collapsing echoed endlessly.
How much time passed?
Piiing.
With a strange sound, the transparent wall blocking Bu Eunseol slowly vanished.
It felt as if the Thunder Spirit Divine Energy had melted the invisible glass wall in an instant.
“How strange.”
Bu Eunseol touched the spot where the wall had been and let out a sigh of admiration.
He wasn’t sure whether the transparent wall just now was sorcery or Imperial Palace Martial Arts. But to erect an intangible force as if it were a physical object…
It was a phenomenon transcending ordinary martial principles.
Swish.
As he passed through the blocked space, another forest scene unfolded before him.
Though it was daytime outside, this place was shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Even the sky held a blood-red moon.
“Is such a thing possible?”
In the martial world, there were formations and sorcery that separated spaces. But a mystical art that divided time itself around a certain point…
He had never even heard it as a joke.
Crack.
Bu Eunseol pondered for a moment before immediately using the Face and Bone Shifting Art to change his face from Seolso to Seon Woojin.
Bu Eunseol had too many identities.
The most secretive was Seolso, but the mercenary identity wasn’t helpful when negotiating with sects.
If this place was a large and mysterious faction?
Then Seon Woojin’s identity, affiliated with the Martial Alliance, would be the most useful.
After walking for a while, an unfamiliar scene appeared before Bu Eunseol.
Though it was the same forest, the trees were several times taller and thicker than those seen before, their leaves as wide as umbrellas.
From afar, it looked like a forest inhabited by giants.
‘That must be the entrance.’
Atop the mid-slope of the mountain stood a massive fortress. It seemed to be the main stronghold of Jijung Mountain.
Thud thud.
As Bu Eunseol finally approached the fortress gate, a shadow slowly stepped forward.
It was an old man with a burly, muscular build.
Not only his face but also his neck and arms were covered in fine scars, making him look, from a distance, as if wrapped in purple spiderwebs.
But Bu Eunseol’s gaze fixed not on the old man’s skin, but on his right arm.
His right arm was swollen to three or four times the size of his ordinary left arm.
It looked as if a giant’s arm had been grafted onto a normal human body.
“Could it be…” Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
Among the martial world’s masters, there was only one known for having an abnormally large right arm.
Alongside Palm King Yuk Jangcheon, he was said to have reached the pinnacle of fist, palm, finger, and foot martial arts.
The Fist King, Seok Chi-haeng.
“Fist King, is that you?”
“Yes.” Seok Chi-haeng’s eyes blazed like a volcano. “How did you get in here?”
At those words, puzzlement flickered in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The Fist King was known as a martial artist who wandered the martial world freely like clouds, practicing his path. But his current attitude and tone were like those of a gatekeeper guarding the fortress.
“I stumbled in by chance.” Bu Eunseol feigned innocence. “What are you doing here, elder?”
Seok Chi-haeng was a master who had long ascended to the Seven Kings of the Four Gods, a true martial artist who wandered alone challenging others.
Since Bu Eunseol was currently using Seon Woojin’s identity, he was giving him the respect due a senior.
“You stumbled in?” Seok Chi-haeng snorted. “Do you know how many vermin from the Infinite Realm have tried to sneak in here while hiding their identities? How many have I dealt with?”
“Infinite Realm?” Bu Eunseol frowned and shook his head. “This one is a captain of the Martial Alliance.”
“Hahaha. How amusing.” Seok Chi-haeng glared at Bu Eunseol and spoke coldly. “These days, the captains of the Martial Alliance must have internal energy exceeding six jiazi, and be capable of unleashing Evil-Breaking Divine Energy that can shatter the Eight Essences Black Jade Technique?”
‘So it was sorcery.’
From Seok Chi-haeng’s words, the transparent wall earlier, even if broken with Evil-Breaking power, was a sorcery that required internal energy beyond six jiazi to enter.
He had likely watched Bu Eunseol break the transparent wall from somewhere.
“See? You lot always make excuses like that, crawling toward our forest like cockroaches without end.”
“Our forest?” Bu Eunseol tilted his head.
From the Fist King’s reply, it seemed the sect in that fortress was referred to as some kind of ‘forest’.
“What sect does ‘our forest’ refer to?”
Seok Chi-haeng ignored the question.
“I don’t know what play you’re putting on, but it’s useless.” By now, a storm-like force swirled around Seok Chi-haeng’s left hand.
“Once you enter here, the only way out is as a corpse.”
Even without unleashing his fist technique, the ground where Bu Eunseol stood trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“Fine.”
Realizing further conversation was pointless, Bu Eunseol raised his energy.
‘This is actually a good opportunity.’
Fist King Seok Chi-haeng.
He was known to possess strength nearly equal to Palm King Yuk Jangcheon.
Since Bu Eunseol would eventually have to defeat his rival Yuk Jangcheon to become a Commander, he could gauge Yuk Jangcheon’s level through Seok Chi-haeng, who possessed similar strength.
Uuuung.
As Bu Eunseol raised his energy, Seok Chi-haeng’s eyes widened.
From the wave-like ripple of true qi spreading out, the purity and depth of his internal energy transcended imagination.
“Another monster created by the Three Realms’ bastards.”
“Strike first.” When Bu Eunseol switched to his original voice and tone,
“You’ve got guts.” With a cold sneer, Seok Chi-haeng immediately attacked.
Swoosh.
A light breeze brushed Bu Eunseol’s cheek.
Boom!
At the same time, a massive tree standing beside him exploded into powder.
“You dare tell this old man to strike first?” Seok Chi-haeng spoke as if nauseated. “Attack. That will be the last martial art you perform in your life.”
‘Such formidable power.’
Instead of replying, Bu Eunseol glanced at the shattered tree fragments.
The Seven Kings of the Four Gods.
They were masters who excelled in their respective martial fields and wielded great influence over the martial world.
But until now, Bu Eunseol hadn’t held the Seven Kings in high regard.
After killing the Beggar King, his martial arts had greatly improved, and he had matched Bukgung Ryeong, who was in the middle ranks of the Seven Kings.
Thus, he had only been wary of the Four Gods, who each possessed mysterious powers, and the Dark King Yeop Hyocheon, who had reached the pinnacle of the Seven Kings.
The rest of the Seven Kings had seemed unremarkable.
But seeing the Fist King changed that view completely.
‘This man is the real deal.’
With a light strike, the Fist King had displayed power surpassing even Bukgung Ryeong’s Bullet King internal explosive energy.
Moreover, he had infused a single fist with the profound principles of various martial arts.
“You’re wasting time.”
Seeing Bu Eunseol standing motionless, Seok Chi-haeng assumed he was frozen in fear and shook his head.
“Just die.”
With killing intent flashing in his eyes, he thrust out another fist.
Boom! Boom!
A single technique produced two explosive sounds.
At the same time, terrifying fist power surged toward Bu Eunseol from both sides.
‘Strong.’
Tap.
Bu Eunseol leaped upward in an instant, evading the fist power.
Boom!
Another explosion rang out as Bu Eunseol fell back to the ground.
The fist power pouring from left and right had been feints; the true attack was the intangible fist power flying from behind.
“Monster.”
Seok Chi-haeng’s eyes rippled like waves.
His light strike could shatter mountains.
Yet Bu Eunseol, who was struck from behind, stood upright, radiating pure white internal energy lines.
He was unscathed.
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