“Snap out of it.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Song Ak glared at him with eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Snap out of it? Haven’t you seen the atrocities those bastards have committed so far?”
“Song Ak.”
“Just stand there and watch. I’ll chop those scum into pieces right now and put an end to this horrific incident.”
His momentum was impressive, but the number of Ghosts that had crawled out around the graveyard alone was roughly five hundred.
Even if Song Ak died and came back to life, it was an army he could never hope to face.
Yet, consumed by killing intent, he clicked his tongue while staring at Bu Eunseol.
“If you’re scared, then tuck your head in like a turtle and hide. This poor monk will sever all their heads for you.”
At that moment, the Taoist who sensed their presence glared toward the spot where the two were hiding and shouted.
“Who’s there!”
“Who else? This great one is—”
Papak.
Bu Eunseol swiftly pressed Song Ak’s acupoints just as he tried to stand.
His condition clearly no longer looked normal.
“I’ll handle this, so stay right here.”
Whispering lowly, Bu Eunseol placed his hand on Song Ak’s back.
Ziiing.
In that instant, his pupils flashed with pure white light for a moment. He had used the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra.
“Until the Wudang reinforcements arrive.”
With his Hyeopcheok acupoint sealed, Song Ak could only stare wide-eyed.
“I know. All this time, Wudang’s experts have been secretly following you.”
Swiik.
Finishing his words, Bu Eunseol immediately stood up. He strode boldly toward the taoist standing amid the graves.
“A member of the Corpse Sect?” Deliberately pretending ignorance, he channeled inner energy and shouted loudly. “You’re using some bizarre sorcery in this graveyard.”
The Taoist, startled by the sudden appearance of a young man dressed as a mercenary, couldn’t hide his surprise.
“You are…”
Looking at Bu Eunseol—who had disguised himself with Seolso’s appearance—the Taoist furrowed his brow.
“A disciple of the Bullet King.”
“What kind of experiment requires such complicated methods? If you want to kill commoners, why not just kill them yourselves?”
Before meeting Manwol, that would have been a genuine question.
The Inbiin each possessed tremendous power so if they truly wished to slaughter mortals, they could do so at will.
But now he knew.
The Inbiin were conducting some kind of experiment and it was nearing its final stage.
“You must have been hired by those cockroach-like Martial Soul Society.”
“Judging by your silence, you seem similar to that fellow Yeon Wol.” Bu Eunseol raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking sneer. “A mere low-ranking pawn who knows absolutely nothing, huh?”
Instantly, the taoist’s gaze turned strange.
In the martial world, no one knew the true identity of the Inbiin.
Because the moment one learned it, they were certain to die.
Yet the man before him knew Yeon Wol was an Inbiin—and was still alive.
Which could only mean… Yeon Wol had died at his hands instead?
“Fufufu. How surprising.”
But the reaction was unexpected.
Even after learning Yeon Wol had been killed, the taoist burst into laughter.
“That a mere martial artist could defeat one of us.”
Though each Inbiin had different abilities and goals, they seemed to refer to themselves collectively as “us.”
“A disciple of the Bullet King surely doesn’t possess such power.”
“Why can’t I kill you?”
“Because you cannot kill us with mere martial arts.”
The Taoist’s yellowish pupils gleamed.
“That would mean you are either a master who has reached the Supreme Heavenly Realm capable of opposing our Phase… or someone from the Baekri family.”
Surprisingly, he said almost the same thing Yeon Wol had.
Bu Eunseol pondered deeply for a moment before nodding calmly.
“You’re well-informed. I come from the Baekri family.”
The Inbiin had repeatedly mentioned the Baekri family.
Bu Eunseol intended to use this taoist to confirm whether the Baekri family was truly operating covertly in the martial world.
“You claim to be from the Baekri family?”
The taoist stroked his chin, stared at Bu Eunseol for a long while, then narrowed his eyes.
“Madman. You dare impersonate the Baekri family?”
‘Can they distinguish Baekri family members just by looking?’
“Why do you think that?”
Instead of answering, the Taoist suddenly stomped hard.
Thud.
A yellowish radiance spread in all directions, forming a circular barrier within a radius of a hundred zhang. At the same time, the eyes of the roughly five hundred Ghosts rising from the ground emitted sharp blue light.
“I don’t know how you learned about us, but…”
Muttering something incomprehensible, killing intent surged in the taoist’s eyes.
“You die here.”
As the taoist prepared to attack, Bu Eunseol mimicked the tone of Clear River Realm’s Emissary and sent a transmission in an eerie voice.
[I am an Emissary of the Clear River Realm.]
He was making up anything he could to extract more information from the Taoist.
[Aren’t we on the same side? There is no need to fight.]
The Taoist stared at Bu Eunseol for a long moment before frowning.
“What nonsense is this?”
‘So the Inbiin and Clear River Realm have no connection?’
[Why don’t you believe me?]
Suddenly the Taoist extended his hand.
“Hmph. If that’s true, show me the Spirit Token first.”
In that moment, Bu Eunseol realized two things.
—The Inbiin and Clear River Realm could not be called allies. Yet there existed enough cooperation or contact for him to demand the Spirit Token.
[Due to circumstances, I cannot show it right now.]
“What a rat-like bastard.”
Only then did the Taoist realize Bu Eunseol had been toying with him; his eyes blazed.
“First the Baekri family, now impersonating an Emissary of the Clear River Realm?”
“By sending the Ghost Children, the Infinite Realm learned the method of physical evolution.” Bu Eunseol spoke quickly. “And by sending Ghosts, this realm learned how to manipulate souls. Isn’t that right?”
When the Taoist furrowed his brows, Bu Eunseol continued. “You handle those born weak so they can be reborn as the strong—you are aiding reincarnation, aren’t you?”
“Madman. Now I see—you’ve just been haphazardly swallowing rumors from everywhere.”
When the Taoist spoke decisively, Bu Eunseol realized he would no longer be fooled and showed a regretful expression.
“A low-ranking pawn who barely knows anything, yet quick on the uptake.”
“You die.”
The Taoist extended his hand.
“Let me show you just how worthless the martial arts of this world are.”
Crackle—crackle.
A bizarre sound rang out as inner energy began draining from Bu Eunseol’s body.
One of the signature arts of the Inbiin—the secret technique that annihilates all power within the body.
But it didn’t matter.
Earlier, Bu Eunseol had placed his hand on Song Ak’s back and used Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra to synchronize with his internal cultivation method.
He had converted the Ban-Geuk Method into the form of taoist energy, then dispersed it throughout the eight extraordinary meridians.
Ziiing.
When Bu Eunseol drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, a faint chill rose from it.
He intended to face the taoist using the taoist energy distributed through his extraordinary meridians.
“Turn him into dust.”
Rumble—rumble.
At the taoist’s shout, the Ghosts flashed blue light from their eyes and surrounded Bu Eunseol.
Paaah!
As the Ghosts reached out, a bloody pattern formed in midair along with a foul stench.
Sssk.
Merely brushing against the pattern caused clothing to melt and flesh to burst open.
It was as though an indestructible sword aura was being endlessly drawn in the air.
Papap!
The Silent Tiger Soul Sword, imbued with taoist energy, sliced through the air and the blood-colored patterns engraved everywhere burst into flames like fire.
It was no easy battle.
The mysterious energy flowing from the ground suppressed even the super-senses of the Demon-Killer Sword.
Every time the Ghosts attacked, corpse poison was sucked into his nostrils.
Moreover, there were five hundred enemies, and the space was confined to roughly a hundred zhang.
It almost felt like dealing with assassins swarming in a single small room.
“Heh heh heh. No matter how great your martial arts are, soon-”
The taoist, watching from afar, let out a sinister laugh—only to suddenly widen his eyes.
“What is that?”
Even though all physical senses had been suppressed.
Even though extreme corpse poison was being poured out.
Even though movement was restricted in the confined space…
Splash! Paat!
Bu Eunseol was cutting through the Ghosts like bundles of straw, completely unperturbed?
Fighting one against many was precisely Bu Eunseol’s specialty.
He didn’t need to unleash heaven-shattering, earth-splitting inner power.
He didn’t need to display transcendent martial arts capable of collapsing mountains and reshaping terrain.
The profound swordsmanship Bu Eunseol had mastered and refined over countless battles was reliably severing the enemies’ lives.
‘Strange.’
Ziiing. Ziiing.
Moreover, at some point a faint light began radiating from his body.
It closely resembled the phenomenon that occurred when his body recovered inside the Martial Venerable’s secret vault.
Every time the light flickering from his body pulsed, the energy that had blocked all physical power was naturally dissipating.
Kwaaaarrr.
Before long, all blocked channels had been cleared, and every ounce of strength returned perfectly.
‘So this is what changed.’
After entering the Martial Venerable’s secret vault, his body seemed to have become something largely unaffected by ordinary sorcery.
‘In that case.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
There was no need to drag this out any longer.
He would unleash perfect harmony in one breath and erase both these Ghosts and the Inbiin Taoist from existence entirely.
Kukukuku.
The moment he released all the energy within his body, the entire graveyard began to shake violently.
“That bastard’s inner energy-?”
Sensing that Bu Eunseol had regained his inner power and senses, the taoist scattered yellow talismans from his sleeve.
The yellowish glow pouring from the eyes of hundreds of Ghosts grew even denser.
“You die here!”
As the taoist shouted and the Ghosts all charged at Bu Eunseol at once,
Ziiing.
A majestic golden light began to envelop Bu Eunseol’s body.
The Prajna Great Power unfolded, perfectly aligning every force within him.
Just as he was about to extend perfect harmony to its fullest—
“Kyaaaaah!”
With a crow-like piercing shout, a crimson radiance shot skyward from the grass behind Bu Eunseol.
At the same time, a shadow resembling a blazing demon emerged.
Its blue robes were filthy; the white belt was soaked red as though drenched in blood.
Its eyes glittered with madness.
Muttering incomprehensible words in a low, continuous voice, it advanced.
It was none other than Song Ak who had earlier been subdued by Bu Eunseol.
“Hm?”
The Inbiin taoist frowned at Song Ak.
He wore Wudang robes, yes, but why was he approaching while humming like someone possessed by a malevolent spirit?
“Who are you?”
“I am Song Ak of Wudang.”
Song Ak, who had been humming eerily, shouted with a wretched expression.
“Did slaughtering… those innocent commoners feel that refreshing?!”
“Shut up.”
“From now on, this poor monk will punish you in Heaven’s stead, so accept it obediently.”
Instead of replying, the Taoist burned another talisman.
The eyes of the Ghosts now resembled solid yellowish orbs.
“Kill those two in one go!”
Whoosh.
Hundreds of Ghosts floated up like wraiths and pounced toward Song Ak.
The Ghosts’ bodies were harder than steel, exuding corpse poison far worse than any venom; those farther away endlessly unleashed swarms of pitch-black patterns resembling thousands of wasps.
Even a single missed attack would tear flesh with poison-laced claws.
Every breath burned the lungs as though scorched by fierce corpse poison.
Yet Song Ak merely swung his sword back and forth with an incredibly annoyed expression. Nevertheless, the Ghosts were bursting apart lightly—or even scattering like dust.
Consumed by rage and killing intent, Song Ak was executing Wudang swordsmanship in the style of demonic sword forms.
‘He didn’t fall into heart demons—he crossed into the demonic path?’
Watching the fight, Bu Eunseol’s eyebrows shot up.
The man considered a candidate for the next leader—had Song Ak’s soul ultimately entered the demonic path?
‘No… he stands at the crossroads.’
To catch ghosts, one must become a ghost oneself.
The pure, childlike Song Ak had accepted the murderous intent of the killing fiends while executing them one after another and upon encountering the Taoist who commanded Ghosts, the killing intent he had bottled up inside exploded.
Now only one decision remained:
Would he fully step onto the demonic path?
Or remain a taoist of Wudang?
‘I must focus solely on protecting him for now.’
If he tried to stop Song Ak now, the overwhelming killing intent inside him would likely turn him into a great butcher.
Better to let him fight to his heart’s content and buy time so he could choose at the fork between righteousness and evil.
Swaaak!
Song Ak unleashed swordsmanship as though possessed by a god.
Wudang, together with Shaolin, stood as one of the two great pillars of orthodox martial society; its swordsmanship was evaluated as the foremost among the righteous sects.
Song Ak was a first-rate disciple of Wudang and a great master who had mastered various orthodox sword styles.
When Bu Eunseol quietly blocked only the Ghosts’ attacks without stepping forward, Song Ak—suddenly sprouting wings like a divine dragon—unleashed even the supreme sword techniques he had never used before, all at once.
‘Becoming the future sect leader was impossible from the start.’
While following Bu Eunseol, Song Ak had released his no-kill sword restraint and fought intense battles where blood and flesh exploded.
Experiencing unprecedented extreme combat, he broke through his previous limits and was rapidly advancing into a new realm of martial profundity.
Such rapid achievement was unprecedented in the entire history of Wudang.
‘His martial talent is far too outstanding to entrust with sect leader duties.’
Like Bu Eunseol, Song Ak was improving his swordsmanship in the midst of battle in an instant.
A martial genius of this caliber could never become sect leader.
Throughout generations, the Nine Great Sects and One Union had never assigned the most brilliant geniuses to sect leader duties. Instead, they turned them into figures who would elevate their sect’s martial arts to the absolute peak.
‘I’ll help him reach that peak.’
Bu Eunseol no longer simply protected Song Ak; he stepped to his side and stood back-to-back.
“Let’s fight together.”
“Heh heh heh, good!”
When Bu Eunseol and Song Ak stood back-to-back and unleashed their swordsmanship, something astonishing occurred.
The essence of Nangyang Pavilion’s combat swordsmanship—the strongest in practical battle—and Wudang’s all-encompassing sword art fused together, transcending the limits of martial arts and giving birth to a natural sword form of perfect harmony.
Shu shu shu shu!
As Song Ak’s Enemy Mirror Technique endlessly produced circular sword energy,
Flash! Flash!
Bu Eunseol’s Meteor Chasing the Moon Form consecutively severed enemy necks.
Sssk!
When the enormous cross-shaped sword qi of Waning Moon, Dawn Star Form shredded the charging Ghosts, Song Ak’s Shapeless Life form unfurled a fan-like vast curtain of light to protect Bu Eunseol.
Flash!
Every time the two long swords flickered ceaselessly, Ghosts fell like straw bundles.
Bu Eunseol deliberately applied the principle of adaptive swordsmanship, guiding Song Ak’s swordsmanship to an even higher level.
Thud thud thud.
After one full hour had passed, the only thing left standing on the altar was the lone Taoist.
Having used up all his talismans, he stared trembling at his empty hands.
Woooong.
The mysterious wall that had covered a hundred zhang had completely vanished.
With all the Ghosts’ malign energy gone, the formation naturally dispelled.
“These bastards… my ten years of effort creating these Ghosts—!”
“Heh heh heh.”
Song Ak, face washed in blood, bared white teeth in a grin.
“Even if you spent a hundred years, it wouldn’t matter.”
Having cut down five hundred terrifying foes and tasted blood, Song Ak’s eyes overflowed with killing intent. His expression was utterly ferocious and his speech had grown thick and crude like a thug from the black factions.
“This poor monk will kill them all!”
Swaaak!
Song Ak began dancing toward the Taoist on the altar with his blade.
Having slain hundreds of Ghosts, his very flesh had become killing intent itself.
“You are the true culprit who has harmed so many innocent commoners until now!”
The Taoist, whose martial arts were apparently pathetic, kept forming hand seals on his forehead, desperately trying to cast something.
But each time, Bu Eunseol shot out sword qi, rendering the attempts useless.
Woooong!
Thanks to the formation being dispelled, Song Ak’s inner power had fully returned.
The sword aura coalesced on the Songmun Ancient Sword rose nearly a zhang high.
Normally, when orthodox practitioners manifested sword aura, it glowed white or blue.
But Song Ak’s… was dyed a vivid blood-red, just like that of demonic path practitioners or killers.
“Die!”
By now Song Ak’s Taichi Wisdom Sword had drawn closer to the demonic path’s Blood Dragon Demonic Sword Form.
His gaze radiated deadly venom.
‘This is the critical moment.’
Song Ak’s soul stood at a crossroads.
The instant he executed the Taoist, the killing intent inside him might completely dissipate, allowing him to enter perfect, unstained righteousness.
Or, by killing the Taoist, he might fully awaken to slaughter and step onto the boundless demonic path.
Bu Eunseol did not interfere in the fight; he simply watched quietly from behind.
The choice belonged entirely to Song Ak.
“Die, I said!”
Slice! Slice! Slice!
Song Ak poured out his resentment in sword strokes.
Each time the blade grazed, chunks of the Taoist’s flesh flew off.
With every strike, Song Ak’s killing aura and murderous intent gradually diminished.
In the end, he overcame this trial and stepped fully onto the path of true righteousness.
‘Once that Inbiin Taoist dies, he should return to normal.’
As Bu Eunseol gave a faint nod,
Rumble rumble.
Around the graveyard, roughly a hundred taoist-robed martial artists climbed up.
They were none other than the Wudang sword warriors led by Elder Yeong Heo, who had been secretly following Song Ak and observing the situation.
“What in the world…”
Yeong Heo gaped at the fallen Ghosts scattered across the graveyard.
They had already followed Bu Eunseol and Song Ak to the vicinity of the graves but the sudden mysterious barrier had prevented them from seeing inside until now.
Yet the barrier had abruptly vanished, revealing hundreds of corpses strewn everywhere.
“E-Elder!”
At that moment, Song Un—a first-rate disciple standing beside Yeong Heo—pointed ahead.
“Song Ak seems to have gone mad.”
“What do you mean?”
Feeling something was wrong, Yeong Heo looked forward and saw Song Ak who had become like a single ferocious demon.
“Get away from that!”
He let out a monstrous roar while madly unleashing slaughter sword forms; the Taoist frantically dodged them.
“Benefactor.”
Yeong Heo rushed over to Bu Eunseol, panting, and asked.
“What happened here?”
Bu Eunseol had already undone his disguise the moment Yeong Heo appeared.
“What do you mean?”
“S-Song Ak…”
When he turned his head,
Sssik. Lick.
Song Ak licked the taoist’s blood off the Songmun Ancient Sword with his tongue, wearing a murderous smile.
“A fake taoist, yet surprisingly nimble.”
“…”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to tell the truth.
“Because that vicious taoist still isn’t dead, he cannot control his killing intent.”
“Cannot control his killing intent? What does that mean?”
When Yeong Heo asked in bewilderment, Bu Eunseol fell silent.
He couldn’t think of any excuse.
That Song Ak had raged at the miserable deaths of commoners and realized Wudang’s teachings might not be entirely correct?
Or that the killing intent Wudang had long suppressed had finally erupted?
‘No.’
If he said something like that, Song Ak would either be sent into wall-facing seclusion or subjected to even more intense mental training by Wudang.
“He…”
After much hesitation, Bu Eunseol averted his eyes from Yeong Heo and muttered lowly.
“After drinking the waters of the martial world… it seems he has become somewhat corrupted.”
Thud.
Yeong Heo and the other taoists dropped their jaws in shock.
Regardless, Song Ak had cornered the Inbiin taoist and was carving him to pieces.
Comments