Thud thud thud!
Each time his fingertips struck the empty air, the weapons of the Amcheondae members shattered, and their limbs flew upward.
Splatter.
After barely more than ten seconds, Amcheondae members lay collapsed all around, trembling as they gushed thick red blood.
‘Such power…’
The Amcheondae members’ eyes widened in shock.
What Bu Eunseol had unleashed was something fundamentally different in nature from the Bullet King’s Inner Bullet Energy.
It was pure air bullets created solely through raw force.
Unlike the Bullet King’s technique—which cleanly severed an enemy’s windpipe—Bu Eunseol’s version caused explosive pressure akin to detonating tens of thousands of pounds of gunpowder, scattering devastation in every direction.
Crack.
As a result, the Amcheondae members’ bodies crumbled like fragile biscuits.
The terrifying waves of power unleashed by Bu Eunseol were the most destructive martial force any of them had ever encountered in their lives.
“Huff… huff.”
Yet even for Bu Eunseol, the consumption of inner force was no small matter.
What made the Bullet King so formidable was that he had cultivated Inner Qi to the absolute peak—allowing him to unleash the mystery of the “bullet” while circulating his energy in an endless loop.
Bu Eunseol, however, had literally poured out his force like cannonballs.
No matter how vast his inner reserves, exhaustion was inevitable.
Splatter.
Finally, when every last Amcheondae member had perished, a deathly silence descended.
It was undeniably brutal, yet facing an unavoidable, inescapable art left no room for resentment or regret.
“Impressive.”
From ahead of Bu Eunseol stepped the Amcheondae Leader, Hui Mussang.
“But you have not reached the same realm as the Bullet King.”
He mistakenly believed Bu Eunseol had fallen into depletion because he had failed to truly master Inner Qi .
“A qi that cannot circulate force is nothing more than a dance of death.”
Half of his statement was correct.
Because Bu Eunseol had repeatedly mimicked the technique with terrifying bursts of raw power, his energy reserves had indeed plummeted to rock bottom.
Hui Mussang possessed an uncanny sixth sense for measuring an opponent’s inner-force level so he instantly detected the state of depletion.
Thud. Thud.
As Hui Mussang advanced, a soft shing sounded from behind him.
Dozens of warriors clad in blood-red robes descended, encircling Bu Eunseol like a closing net.
“Our unit is divided into three vanguard divisions.”
Hui Mussang sneered at the panting Bu Eunseol.
“So far you have only faced our First Vanguard.”
“…”
“Achieving such martial might at your young age is remarkable, but—”
Brilliant radiance erupted from the sword Hui Mussang gripped.
“Now it is time for you to die.”
***
Bu Eunseol began his desperate flight for survival.
He had intended to confront the Amcheondae Leader and his men with Inner Bullet Qi, but the extreme drain left him vulnerable.
The Second Vanguard employed a unique technique that disrupted an opponent’s inner force—likely derived from Imperial Palace martial arts.
When the Third Vanguard finally appeared, Bu Eunseol suffered severe internal and external injuries and was forced to break away.
Fortunately, the nearby Geonchang Branch of the Martial Alliance existed. If he could pierce through this encirclement… he should be able to shake them off without much difficulty.
Whoosh—
Bu Eunseol unfolded his movement technique at full speed.
The character named Seon Woojin still carried certain limitations when facing truly powerful foes—especially after continuously mimicking and firing Inner Bullet Qi, causing an unnecessary and massive expenditure of force.
Now he found himself relentlessly pursued by the Amcheondae.
All he could do was race to the Martial Alliance branch and lose his tail.
“Huff… huff.”
At last, Bu Eunseol—covered head to toe in blood—collapsed before the branch’s main gate.
Thump.
As he fell, warriors inside the branch poured out.
“Quickly—to the Rejuvenation Hall!”
Seon Woojin was a high-ranking member of the Martial Alliance.
In particular, as the newly appointed Head of the Secret Intelligence Division, he held authority to mobilize branch forces across the Central Plains. Portraits bearing his likeness had already been distributed to every branch.
The Geonchang warriors therefore recognized him immediately and hurriedly carried him to the Rejuvenation Hall.
“The Dongrim Pavilion Lord is currently in this region—bring him at once!”
At the branch leader’s shout, several warriors nodded and sprinted outside.
The Dongrim Pavilion Lord of the Martial Alliance, Sagong Won.
A native of Hangrim, he was not only an exceptional physician but also profoundly knowledgeable about medicinal herbs. When not handling Alliance duties, he wandered famous mountains collecting rare plants.
By sheer coincidence, he had visited the Geonchang Branch precisely to gather herbs.
In short, he was the single most ideal person to treat Bu Eunseol’s grave injuries.
“A dangerous condition.”
Sagong Won, led inside by the warriors, took Bu Eunseol’s pulse and immediately wore a grave expression.
“He has fallen into depletion after exhausting his true energy. This pavilion lord must personally infuse inner force. The rest of you—stand guard outside.”
The Geonchang warriors hurriedly bowed and exited the hall at his command.
Once silence enveloped the room, Sagong Won gave a faint smile, looked down at Bu Eunseol, and let out a cold chuckle.
“Truly impressive. To endure such wounds and still cling to life…” He murmured quietly while gazing at the unconscious man. “I heard you were being chased by the Amcheondae while injured… so I waited here. The escape routes of Martial Alliance dogs are always so predictable.”
The Dongrim Pavilion Lord, Sagong Won.
He was a deep-cover agent secretly planted in the Martial Alliance by Majeon.
Upon learning that Seon Woojin had fled from the Amcheondae’s pursuit, he had anticipated the man would head straight to the nearest trustworthy branch—Geonchang—and arrived ahead of time.
A gravely wounded high-ranking Martial Alliance member had nowhere else to turn.
“How dare you touch the secret organization of our Lord…”
Sagong Won extended a finger toward Bu Eunseol’s throat.
There lay a fatal acupoint—one slight press would end his breathing forever.
“You should never have dreamed of surviving in the first place.”
The instant he pressed the acupoint—
Flash!
The supposedly unconscious Bu Eunseol opened his eyes.
In that moment Sagong Won was so startled his heart nearly leaped from his mouth.
“What—?!”
Ignoring the other man’s shock, Bu Eunseol rose slowly, as though waking from a deep slumber.
“You’re quite quick. I was worried you might arrive late.”
He even yawned as he muttered the words. Sagong Won’s eyes bulged.
“Are you some kind of Jiangshi*?!”
*Chinese hopping vampire / zombie
He had personally confirmed the man’s energy had bottomed out and he had suffered mortal wounds—yet how could he stand up so casually?
Bu Eunseol looked at Sagong Won and gave a small smirk.
“The Martial Emperor's Secret Vault contains many orthodox secret arts.”
Then, as if kindly answering the question, he spoke calmly.
“For example, once one masters the Star River Energy, as long as the dantian remains intact, full recovery of inner force is possible.”
“Star River Energy…”
Only then did Sagong Won grasp the situation. He bit his lip.
“So you already knew… that this old man was waiting here for you?”
“Of course not.” Bu Eunseol’s lips curved upward. “I simply thought—if it’s Majeon—they would surely plant at least one or two deep-cover agents near any Martial Alliance figure they decided to assassinate.”
“…”
“This was the perfect opportunity to root out those agents who might target me.”
The moment he suffered the Amcheondae’s ambush, two excellent plans occurred to Bu Eunseol.
The first was precisely this: to smoke out and eliminate the Martial Alliance moles planted by Majeon who would try to strike him down.
Seon Woojin had now risen to a high position within the Martial Alliance and had thoroughly offended Yeop Hyocheon—second-in-command of Majeon—by annihilating the Blood Trace Soul Corps.
It was only natural that Majeon would eventually mobilize their planted agents to eliminate him.
“Lies.” Sagong Won’s eyes flashed as realization dawned. “Even with Star River Energy, instantly recovering force that has fallen to zero requires at least four hundred years of cultivation depth.”
He glared coldly at Bu Eunseol.
“You are not Seon Woojin.”
Bu Eunseol merely smiled without replying.
In truth, his inner force had long surpassed five hundred years of cultivation depth. He had comprehended the mysteries of Ascending and Descending Path and Endless Circulation Without Endpoint.
Firing dozens—or even hundreds—of Internal Bullet Energies would barely make a dent in his reserves.
“Who… are you really?”
Sagong Won instinctively understood.
The identity “Seon Woojin” was nothing more than a disguise.
No matter how prodigious a genius, no matter how brilliant the stratagem, no one could so perfectly predict the inner workings of both Majeon and the Martial Alliance—down to the very moment their agents would be activated—unless they had personally endured countless storms, survived layers of plots and counter-plots, and reached the absolute pinnacle of some sect or organization.
“You don’t need to know. Just understand one thing.” Bu Eunseol spoke firmly. “From now on, I will begin eradicating every mole Majeon has embedded within this Alliance.”
Sagong Won tensed visibly.
He knew Bu Eunseol would surely torture him to extract information about the remaining agents.
‘With his skill level… he won’t even allow me the chance to take my own life.’
The torture methods of martial artists were beyond imagination.
Because martial artists constantly tempered both body and mind, their endurance far surpassed ordinary human limits.
Thus torture techniques had evolved to match that resilience.
“I… I don’t know the identities of the other agents.”
“I know.” Bu Eunseol replied calmly. “If agents knew each other’s identities, capturing one would unravel the entire network… so of course the upper echelons never let them learn.”
“You understand well. Then what do you plan to do?”
“I plan to wait for you to commit suicide.”
“How curious. Most people would torture the information out of me no matter what.”
Crack.
At that moment, with a crisp sound, white foam bubbled from Sagong Won’s mouth.
He had bitten down on a fake tooth laced with poison.
“Thank you. For granting me this mercy.”
“No need to thank me. I never needed information about Majeon’s agents in the first place.”
In an instant, Sagong Won’s pupils dimmed.
Only in the final moments before death did he finally comprehend Bu Eunseol’s true objective.
“You… intend to destroy both the Martial Alliance and Majeon at the same time…”
Crash!
With those final words, Sagong Won collapsed, smashing the table.
Hiss—
White smoke immediately began rising from the corpse.
What he had bitten was the most vicious toxin in the martial world—Hwagolsan.
Thud thud thud.
Hearing the commotion, the warriors standing guard rushed inside.
“How—?!”
The men who entered stared in shock.
The man who had been on the verge of death was now sitting calmly, while a thick pool of dark blood spread across the floor before the convulsing corpse.
“The Dongrim Pavilion Lord was a Majeon mole.” Bu Eunseol looked at the warriors and spoke evenly. “Immediately inform the Alliance headquarters that the Dongrim Pavilion Lord was an agent. Order a thorough investigation of everyone in his circle.”
As he rose unhurriedly, the branch leader—who had been standing among the warriors—asked cautiously, “Your injuries… are you truly alright?”
“Of course.”
“Already?”
The branch leader’s mouth fell open.
He had started as an assassin and endured countless hardships to reach his current position. As a result, he possessed considerable medical knowledge—not inferior to many Hangrim physicians.
When Bu Eunseol first arrived at Geonchang Branch, his inner force had been utterly depleted, leaving perhaps two or three years’ worth of cultivation at best.
Yet he was already recovering?
‘Just how deep is his inner force…?’
The time required to restore completely depleted energy is directly proportional to one’s cultivation depth.
For someone with one hundred years of cultivation, full recovery might take a single day.
For three hundred years, perhaps one hour.
Yet less than a single quarter-hour had passed, and every last drop had returned?
‘Clearly his force had vanished entirely…’
Did that mean his cultivation exceeded four or five hundred years?
“Then… how should we report this situation?”
“Report exactly what happened. The rest I will personally explain to the Martial Alliance upon my return to headquarters.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, the branch leader stood dumbfounded for a moment before bowing deeply.
“Understood.”
When he raised his head again, Bu Eunseol had already vanished.
‘This isn’t a dream, is it…’
After blinking blankly for a long while, he pinched his own cheeks several times.
When he first heard that a young rising star, who had become one of the Seven Kings, had been appointed Head of Secret Intelligence, he assumed the man had simply enjoyed good backing and fortunate timing.
Now he realized the truth.
This was no ordinary talent.
This was a supreme master capable of turning the entire martial world upside down.
***
—During the Amcheondae’s assault on Intelligence and Secret Affairs Division Lord Seon Woojin, a long-embedded Majeon mole—the Dongrim Pavilion Lord—was exposed and slain by the Division Lord himself.
The shocking rumor spread like wildfire across the martial world.
Having moles inside the rival organization was nothing unusual for either Majeon or the Martial Alliance.
The two great coalitions—one righteous, one demonic—had always planted deep-cover agents to secretly monitor each other’s movements. That was perfectly normal.
But for Majeon to dispatch one of their elite vanguards to assassinate a newly appointed high-ranking figure like the Intelligence and Secret Affairs Division Lord—and for that assassin to turn out to be none other than the Dongrim Pavilion Lord, a respected senior of the Martial Alliance—was undeniably shocking.
—He is not one of our agents.
Majeon flatly denied everything.
That was the expected response.
When planting deep-cover agents in enemy territory, all identifiable proof of affiliation was erased before deployment.
Moreover, because the Dongrim Pavilion Lord had committed suicide with Hwagolsan, no concrete evidence remained.
Even if his ghost appeared and confessed, Majeon would never admit it.
—Truly wicked bastards!
The Martial Alliance side could barely conceal their fury.
To think Majeon would not only send an elite unit to attack a trusted high official freshly appointed by the Alliance Leader himself—but would also attempt to finish him off using one of their own planted moles?
This was something the Martial Alliance could never overlook.
—Until Majeon issues an official apology, every Majeon branch and demonic sect within our sphere of influence will face difficulties.
In protest, the Martial Alliance began exerting subtle but unmistakable pressure on demonic sects within their territory.
—Who are you calling wicked?
In retaliation, Majeon immediately applied the exact same pressure tactics against the righteous sects.
With both sides acting this way, the martial world turned into a sheet of thin ice.
For a long time the two great coalitions that divided the world—Martial Alliance and Majeon—had maintained an uneasy but stable standoff, refraining from direct infringement.
But this incident shattered that fragile peace.
An invisible contest of strength had begun.
As the razor-sharp standoff continued without end, small- and large-scale armed clashes erupted between lower-level forces.
Eventually both sides ordered their branch warriors to arm themselves and protect allied sects within their spheres.
Direct large-scale war had not yet broken out—but the slightest spark could ignite an explosion at any moment.
Shaanxi Province — Martial Soul Society, Martial Soul Pavilion. Grand meeting hall.
Present were the core pillars of the Martial Soul Society: Dae Guhwi, Bing Hanpung, Do Cheonlin, Dam Yuyeon, Yoo Hwaryeong, and others.
As for Nae Bihon, being the sect leader of the Thunder Spirit Gate, he did not reside permanently at the Society. He came and went constantly while managing the Swift Thunder Corps.
At the center of the meeting hall sat a figure whose face was concealed behind a silk veil.
It was Bu Eunseol.
Because his identity was officially unrelated to the Martial Soul Society, he kept his face hidden even among trusted confidants.
“Just as the Lord planned, not only Shaanxi but the entire martial world has become a sheet of thin ice.”
Chief Strategist Dam Yuyeon spoke calmly.
“Branches of Majeon and the Martial Alliance everywhere are now locked in razor-sharp confrontation. If anyone fans the flames at this moment, a major war will erupt immediately.”
She continued with confidence.
“Right now, forcing a direct collision between Majeon and the Martial Alliance is no longer impossible.”
The grand scheme that had been postponed until now—the one Bu Eunseol had held in reserve even while enduring the Amcheondae’s ambush—was precisely to make Majeon and the Martial Alliance clash head-on.
The two coalitions divided the martial world between them.
If those two titanic forces collided, an uncontrollable chaos would engulf everything.
“We cannot let this opportunity slip away.”
Bing Hanpung gave a faint smile.
“Then it is time for our strike team to act.”
Hearing Bing Hanpung’s confident tone, Dae Guhwi’s expression darkened.
“Lord Bing. If Majeon and the Martial Alliance collide, it won’t just be martial artists who suffer—the innocent common people will be caught in the crossfire as well.”
A righteous-demon war was never merely a fight between the Martial Alliance and Majeon.
Every sect across the martial world would choose sides and throw their full strength into the conflict.
Countless ordinary civilians would inevitably be swept up in the carnage.
Dae Guhwi looked at the silent Bu Eunseol and asked, “Are you truly intending to make Majeon and the Martial Alliance clash?”
His large eyes trembled.
If Bu Eunseol nodded… then the homes of countless commoners would turn to ash.
Until the imperial army intervened, the two great martial coalitions would collide with full force.
A full-scale righteous-demon war would erupt.
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