“It seems you thought deceiving this family head would be easy….”
Gongsun Hwa-uk’s eyes narrowed more sharply than ever.
“As one ages, experience accumulates. And with it comes a corresponding measure of wisdom.”
An oppressive vacuum-like silence enveloped the area around the pavilion, creating an atmosphere so thick it felt suffocating.
After maintaining silence for a moment, Bu Eunseol answered in a calm and polite tone.
“That is only natural.”
“What exactly is so natural about it?”
“Because outstanding intellect and vast knowledge do not necessarily equate to wisdom.” Bu Eunseol spoke quietly and steadily. “Living a long time simply means having experienced and felt many things. As people grow older, they naturally become wiser, more rational, and tend to pursue more reasonable approaches.”
A long life bestows wisdom upon a person.
And that is an unchanging truth.
“Then it seems we can finally have a refreshing, honest conversation.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk, who had withdrawn his murderous aura, nodded.
“Speak freely. You don’t like our Inspector, do you?”
“That is correct.”
Bu Eunseol answered honestly.
“I do not hold any affection for the Chief Inspector.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk’s expression hardened.
He had anticipated it, yet hearing the words directly still came as a shock.
“You’re very frank.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk let out a low groan before asking,
“Then why did you come here? Simply because she asked? Or because she is your direct superior?”
“Of course those factors are included, but they were not the decisive reason.”
With an extremely serious expression, Bu Eunseol continued, “The Chief Inspector is colder and more rational than anyone else. Yet she shows an unusually weak side only toward her family. And remarkably… that outstanding intellect and cunning of hers does not seem to function properly when it comes to her family members.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“She was absolutely confident that she could deceive the family head. But I also knew that such a thing was impossible.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk’s gaze turned icy.
He knew better than anyone that his daughter, who pursued perfection in all things, had a special soft spot for her parents and younger sibling.
But for a complete outsider to see through even that…?
“You accompanied someone you don’t even like… all the way to this house… for such a trivial reason?”
“Because she cherishes her family more than anything, I wanted to help her. I have owed her a great debt over the years.”
“Debt?”
“Yes.”
“So you came here to repay a debt.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk’s eyes grew even colder.
To a father who has a daughter, such an answer felt like the greatest insult imaginable.
“But the biggest reason… was the Chief Inspector's vulnerability.”
“Vulnerability?”
“Indeed. Any man in the martial world who saw the Inspector showing such fragility would find it impossible not to help her.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk made an odd expression.
Gongsun Dankyung pursued perfection as much as her prickly personality allowed.
Yet her parents knew.
Beneath that cold exterior, she hid clumsy and tender emotions.
Until now, only the two of them had seen through it.
But this ordinary-looking young man had perceived it instantly?
“So it’s not merely pity.”
“Correct. If I had to express it precisely… I would say it is a form of rational interest.”
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“The same as what the family head desires.
I will do my utmost to ensure the Inspector's heart is not hurt. I will act the part of a lover, and I will strive to leave a good impression on you and Madam.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with earnest eyes.
“And if this interest can bear sweet fruit… then that would be even better.”
‘He’s quite something. Surprisingly… very impressive.’
No one had ever noticed how clumsy, vulnerable, and tender Gongsun Dankyung truly was underneath.
Which meant he understood his daughter’s heart almost as well as her own father did.
Moreover, that somewhat languid and detached personality was gradually growing on him as well.
‘If he can understand the tenderness in Kyung-ah’s heart to this degree…’
He snorted softly.
‘I suppose I should throw him into the Unique Heavenly Star Section once.’
Unique Heavenly Star Section was the place where he had gathered and perfected all of his formation knowledge, and it was also the future site where he planned to pass on his formation legacy to Dankyung and Dana.
And within it lay one special new mechanism—
A series of trials and gates designed precisely to test the men who would become the husbands of Gongsun Dankyung and Gongsun Dana.
“You know how to play Go, young man?”
When Gongsun Hwa-uk asked, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I have never learned.”
“Not knowing is fine too. This family head shall teach you a game personally.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk rose from his seat and said, “There is a personal chamber I use over there. How about a game of Go in that place?”
“Very well.”
As Bu Eunseol accepted, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Gongsun Hwa-uk’s mouth.
He led Bu Eunseol toward a small cave located near the back mountain of the estate.
At the entrance of the cave, in bold and majestic calligraphy resembling flying dragons and soaring phoenixes, were engraved the characters 천성별부 (Unique Heavenly Star Section).
“Ah, I almost forgot the alcohol.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk exclaimed as if suddenly remembering.
“I have some plum wine I brewed myself. Drinking a cup or two while playing Go makes it taste especially fine.”
“I shall go fetch it.”
“You don’t even know where the family liquor storage is. I’ll go quickly. You go inside first and wait.”
Rumble—
When Gongsun Hwa-uk activated the mechanism, the tightly shut stone door slid open by itself.
“There are two paths inside. The left one leads to the chamber. Wait there.”
Bu Eunseol immediately realized that Gongsun Hwa-uk was up to something.
But he thought, ‘He’s not going to try to kill me, is he?’ and simply nodded.
“Understood.”
Thud. Thud.
As he stepped inside, bright light illuminated the interior.
Gongsun Hwa-uk was a master of formations.
Even though there were no night-luminescent pearls or oil lamps on the ceiling, the inside was mysteriously bright as daylight.
“…Oh dear.”
After walking down the passage for a while, Bu Eunseol let out a soft sigh.
As he had half-expected—He sensed that mysterious, overlapping formations had been laid throughout the interior.
‘Parents with daughters are all the same.’
Even the Divine Maiden Palace Lord Yeon Jami had installed absurdly terrifying trials to select a son-in-law.
And Gongsun Hwa-uk was no different.
He too had prepared mechanisms capable of measuring various abilities to test prospective sons-in-law.
‘Then I suppose I should play along for a bit.’
Swish.
The moment he took one step toward the left passage—
The surrounding scenery shifted, and a towering wall appeared, completely blocking the path.
It was the kind of barrier that could not be passed without destroying it.
“No sword, so they want me to break it with bare-handed techniques… This gate is clearly testing one’s martial prowess.”
Bu Eunseol lightly flicked a finger wind.
Yet only a sharp ‘chik’ sound rang out—not even a scratch was left on the wall.
“Hmm.”
It had been an ordinary-looking finger wind, but he had poured a full jia of internal energy into that single strike.
A finger wind capable of piercing solid steel in one blow… yet not even a mark?
“God-forbidden Heavenly Wall.”
Bu Eunseol let out a hollow laugh.
Only then did he realize—
The wall blocking the passage was none other than the legendary God-Forbidden Heavenly Wall, a barrier that could not even be touched without at least six jia of internal energy.
“If the first gate is already like this… then there will surely be more trials waiting ahead.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk was the undisputed greatest formation master house in the Central Plains.
The standard he demanded of a son-in-law would naturally be unimaginably high.
He would have laid down profoundly mysterious formations… testing not only martial prowess and wisdom, but perhaps even character and temperament.
Because he would never accept a son-in-law lacking in any single aspect.
“This is troubling.”
Bu Eunseol hesitated.
He himself did not know exactly where his martial realm currently stood after surpassing the Supreme Heavenly Realm.
He was rowing toward a final destination whose name he did not even know.
If he unleashed his full power here…
Even he could not predict what kind of incident might occur.
‘Should I just leave?’
Having reached the realm of Spirit Regulation, ordinary formation arts—even those used by the Three Hidden Families or the Imperial Martial Arts—could no longer affect him unless they were from the abyssal forces.
If he wished, he could turn around right now and leave the cave without issue.
Creak…
But at that moment, a low sound came from behind.
When Bu Eunseol turned and walked back—
Rumble…
With the sound of mechanisms moving, the God-forbidden Heavenly Wall that had blocked the front sank back into the ground.
‘He’s given the choice back to me.’
This gate had been designed so that simply turning around would allow one to leave.
In other words, Gongsun Hwa-uk had presented Bu Eunseol with a clear choice.
Refusing the trial was tantamount to refusing Gongsun Dankyung.
And if that were the case, there would be no need to take the son-in-law examination at all.
‘Terrifying… both father and daughter.’
There is no such thing as a tiger father producing a dog son.
Now he understood why Gongsun Dankyung was so intelligent and so perceptive of others’ hearts.
She took after Gongsun Hwa-uk completely.
“But since he gave me the choice… there’s no need to force my way through the mechanisms.”
Gongsun Hwa-uk must have put tremendous effort into creating these trials for the future sons-in-law.
Breaking through by sheer force would, in a way, be an insult and a deception toward Gongsun Hwa-uk himself.
“Let’s go back.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
Though he had made a promise with Gongsun Dankyung, he had no desire to deceive a man of such noble character just to pass the trials.
After all, Gongsun Hwa-uk already half-knew that this visit was false.
—Wouldn’t a sweet lie be better?
Just as he was about to turn around, he remembered Gongsun Dankyung’s earnest request.
—A life like one long dream.
Then shouldn’t we try to have the happiest, most joyful dream possible?
“So that’s what it was.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol finally understand.
Gongsun Dankyung too… had known perfectly well that deceiving Gongsun Hwa-uk was impossible.
That was why she had said those words to him.
Even if it is false…
Please respond to my father’s trials.
Please tell sweet lies.
‘Lies, huh…’
The concept of lying was extremely foreign to Bu Eunseol.
His grandfather Bu Zhanyang had always kept every word he spoke—he never told lies at all.
But since Bu Zhanyang had played the role of both father and mother, he had no choice but to live that way.
If Bu Eunseol had had actual parents… surely they too would have occasionally told him sweet lies.
“A life like one long dream…”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
The meaning behind Gongsun Dankyung’s words pierced deeply into his heart.
If everyone already knows it’s false but can still enjoy it together…
Then putting on one grand play isn’t such a bad thing.
“This family… isn’t easy at all.”
It would have been nicer if they were a little more ordinary.
Because they were all too brilliant, too perceptive, too insightful… this household had become a place where everyone was reading the things they should not see in each other.
Huuuung—
As Bu Eunseol raised his internal energy, a red current began to swirl violently around his fist.
KWAHHHHHH!
When he thrust his hand forward, an enormous storm of true energy tore straight through the God-Forbidden Heavenly Wall.
The motion looked infinitely light—yet it was the heaviest, most powerful fist technique in existence, surpassing even the Nine Walls Divine Fist.
First Form of the Transcendent Seven Fist Demon Forms—Thousand-Hand-Piercing Strike.
‘Oh no—!’
The moment he unleashed the strike, Bu Eunseol inwardly cried out in alarm.
He had momentarily forgotten that his internal energy had grown exponentially compared to the past.
HUUUAAAAA!
The crimson fist power transformed into a gigantic fire dragon, completely annihilating not only the God-Forbidden Heavenly Wall, but the entire passage and fork itself.
Rumble… shwaaaaa…
Dust scattered everywhere.
Before Bu Eunseol now lay an enormous passage, at least ten zhang wide, completely blasted open.
Not only had he shattered with one punch the God-Forbidden Heavenly Wall that was said to be unbreakable by human palm techniques…
He had also instantly turned both diverging paths into nothing but powder.
‘I’ve clearly surpassed five hundred years of cultivation…’
It is said that the limit of internal energy a human body can contain is ten jia (600 years).
And Bu Eunseol’s internal energy had already far exceeded eight units and was approaching the threshold of nine.
In the entire history of the martial world, no one at his age had ever possessed such terrifying internal energy.
‘Well… looks like there’s only one path now.’
The power had been so overwhelming that the fork itself had disappeared.
“Guess I’ll just go whichever way.”
After glancing around briefly, Bu Eunseol continued walking forward.
Suddenly, a vast grand hall appeared.
Night-luminescent pearls on the ceiling drove away the darkness, yet the sheer size of the space created an eerie, oppressive atmosphere.
Clunk.
The moment Bu Eunseol stepped into the center of the open area—
Mirrors began appearing one after another around him.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
As countless mirrors endlessly manifested, it looked as though infinite copies of Bu Eunseol were reflected in every direction.
Ziiing—
But then something strange happened.
The countless reflections of himself inside the mirrors suddenly began turning pitch black.
Blood-red eyes, long demonic fangs, pitch-black skin.
Ssssk.
The demons stepped out from inside the mirrors.
‘Illusion?’
Not only had his reflection turned into demons, but the demons were physically stepping out of the mirrors?
Kieee!
With grotesque shrieks, the demons began attacking Bu Eunseol.
BOOM!
Bu Eunseol immediately unleashed the Transcendent Seven Fist Demon Forms in rapid succession.
The Seven Fist Demon Forms, now fused with the Azure Heaven Seven Forms, had more than twice the destructive power it once possessed.
Pah! Pah!
Every demon struck by the fist power turned to dust and vanished.
“What an interesting formation.”
Bu Eunseol looked around at the mirrors spread in every direction.
Surprisingly, even the fist power of the Transcendent Seven Fist Demon Forms failed to shatter the mirrors.
Rather, the more he struck them, the more mirrors seemed to appear.
Srrrr…
Once again, the reflections inside the mirrors began transforming into demonic figures.
Kieee!
And once again, they stepped out of the mirrors and charged at him.
BOOM!
Bu Eunseol poured out the Transcendent Fist Demon Forms again, trying to destroy both the demons and the mirrors at once.
But something strange occurred.
This time, even when struck by the fist power, the demons only staggered—they no longer turned to dust and disappeared.
“Hm.”
Bu Eunseol looked down at his own hand.
The power he had just unleashed was strong enough to crush an iron house in one strike.
Yet mere mirror-spawned phantom demons were withstanding it?
‘So it’s the effect of being inside the formation.’
It definitely wasn't a mere illusion.
Which meant it was the unique ability of the formation laid here.
‘Gongsun Hwa-uk is the greatest formation master in the world.’
Since he had poured his heart and soul into creating this formation, it would not be easy to break.
‘The message is that I shouldn’t try to force my way through with power.’
Bu Eunseol pondered for a moment.
No matter how profound the formation, if one could create disharmony within it, it could be broken instantly.
But what Gongsun Hwa-uk wanted from this formation was probably not a test of martial depth.
He had already proven that sufficiently with the God-Forbidden Heavenly Wall.
‘What exactly is he trying to see?’
The demons emerged from the mirrors.
They acted like real living creatures—stepping out and physically attacking him.
Moreover, no matter how many times he destroyed or annihilated them with martial arts, they would soon reappear.
Immortality.
The demons born from the mirrors possessed the attribute of immortality.
‘Something that cannot exist, exists.
Something that cannot attack, is attacking…’
In that brief instant, Bu Eunseol’s mind spun at lightning speed.
He was searching for a way to eliminate these endlessly regenerating immortal beings and break the formation.
‘Could it be an illusion after all?’
Kieee!
This time, Bu Eunseol deliberately did not avoid the demons’ attacks.
Szzzzt!
Each time the sharp claws touched his body, white smoke rose and chunks of flesh were torn away.
‘Definitely not illusion.’
The demons existed in reality and they wielded a strange power he had never encountered before.
‘Since they came out of mirrors… logically, they should be illusions that do not truly exist.’
Yet they attacked him as if imaginary beings had gained physical form.
‘Then… is it time?’
If they created a formation that cannot be broken…
Perhaps the characteristic of this formation was that it would naturally dissipate after a certain amount of time.
Szzzzt! Splat!
No matter what technique he used, the demons kept reviving and charging endlessly.
More and more gashes appeared on Bu Eunseol’s body.
And strangely… the more he destroyed, the more demons there seemed to be.
‘Is the family head actually trying to kill me?’
Even after a quarter of an hour passed, the number of demons only continued to increase.
He had thought that if he endured moderately, the formation would end and Gongsun Hwa-uk would appear.
Instead, the demons just kept multiplying.
Szzzzt! Shwaak!
Each time sharp claws grazed him, flesh fell away and a strange sensation of internal injury repeated.
‘This is not normal.’
If he continued failing to block the demons’ attacks…
Eventually he would suffer irreparable, fatal internal injuries.
‘The mirrors.’
Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to him.
The mirrors before him were essentially doorways that spawned the demons.
But the nature of a mirror is to reflect objects.
In other words—when looking into a mirror, what should originally be reflected… is Bu Eunseol himself.
Yet what was reflected… were those demons.
“That’s it.”
In that moment, a flash of light passed through Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“No matter how many things appear to be reflected… ultimately only one existence is real.”
Having gained enlightenment, Bu Eunseol instantly soared into the air.
After that, his figure completely vanished.
He had used the Surface-Flowing Form to cling tightly to the ceiling.
The demons followed him, leaping toward the ceiling as well.
They swung their sharp claws, trying to tear his face and body.
Shiiik!
Eventually dozens of claws raked across Bu Eunseol’s body.
But he did not dodge and simply remained silently attached to the ceiling.
Crack, crackle…
Suddenly, the bodies of the demons began to split apart.
HUUUAAAA!
Suddenly, from the cracks burst forth light as blinding as the sun, and the soaring demons began to disappear one after another.
Since the reflection of Bu Eunseol in the mirrors had completely vanished, the demons too vanished.
“So he wasn’t testing martial skill… he was testing wisdom.”
Most martial artists would have mindlessly fought the endlessly charging demons until they collapsed from exhaustion and died.
But Bu Eunseol, with his exceptional observational ability, had ultimately discovered the weakness of the mirror formation and perfectly broken it.
“Unbelievable.”
If Gongsun Hwa-uk had created this sequence—the God-forbidden Heavenly Wall followed by the mirror formation—in order to find someone worthy of Gongsun Dankyung…
Then most people would have turned back at the first gate, or else exhausted their internal energy fighting immortal demons inside the mirror formation until they perished.
“What kind of son-in-law was he trying to find exactly…?”
The formations here were of a level where only someone who had reached grandmaster tier could preserve their life.
Just what level of son-in-law had Gongsun Hwa-uk hoped for, that he installed such merciless formations?
At this point, Bu Eunseol still did not know.
Because of these gates…
He would soon meet the lama from his lost memories and because of that meeting…
An irreversible event would begin to unfold.
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