Bu Eunseol could sense it instinctively.
Yu Baek. He was of Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s bloodline.
‘So he left behind a descendant.’
Hyeok Ryeon-eung had never married.
So how could someone resemble him so closely in appearance and even possess the Blood Ring Ghost Eyes? Was all of this truly mere coincidence?
Paaht!
At that moment, Yu Baek broke through the formation and escaped outside the bamboo grove.
Though Bu Eunseol’s hesitation had lasted only the briefest instant, Yu Baek had seized that tiny gap, wrapped himself in the Wishful True Binding, and fled.
Kwarung!
Bu Eunseol unfolded his movement technique and swiftly pursued Yu Baek’s trail.
But he was already gone.
There was no way he could have vanished from sight in such a short moment.
Most likely, like an assassin, he had used the Hundred Kills Concealment Technique to erase his presence completely in an instant and was now hiding somewhere nearby.
Swiik.
Bu Eunseol climbed atop a rocky outcrop and surveyed the area.
Whether he had used the Turtle Breath Great Method or not, not even the faintest trace could be detected.
Yu Baek would rather starve to death than reveal himself.
‘I cannot stay here long.’
When a master of his caliber deploys the Turtle Breath Great Method to hide, no amount of heightened senses can easily find him.
In the past, even the Martial Venerable and Baekri Mujo had failed to locate him when he used the Turtle Breath Great Method in front of Dabi Mountain’s hidden cave, hadn’t they?
‘I have no choice but to turn this entire area upside down.’
Bu Eunseol raised his inner energy.
Woooong.
At the same time, radiant five-colored light began to bloom from his entire body.
Just as the Martial Venerable and Baekri Mujo had once done, he intended to unleash the Heaven-Splitting Sovereign’s supreme technique—obliterating the entire region in one strike—and locate and eliminate Yu Baek in a single breath.
Kuuong.
The sky trembled as though it would tear apart, and a colossal vibration spread across the once-silent land.
A fierce light flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, and in both hands, an intense wave of energy capable of overturning the entire area began to swirl violently.
Kukukuku.
Under the overwhelming power he emanated, the mountains, rivers, trees, and grasses held their breath in silence.
Jiiiing.
When the energy within his body perfectly aligned, brilliant light burst from both hands, spreading an aura that seemed to pierce the very cosmos.
The power of harmony had been aligned.
‘I will destroy everything.’
The moment he was about to push forward with all his strength the power of harmony gathered in both hands—
Shiiiiik!
From far away, a strange tearing sound through the air rang out.
‘Blood Soul Demonic Travel?’
That distinctive sound through the air—was it not the exact noise produced when the Demon Emperor’s elite strike force, Cheonsal, unfolded their exclusive movement technique, Blood Soul Demonic Travel?
‘So they came out to meet him.’
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
Even with his own intelligence network, he could not perfectly track the movements of Majeon’s elite strike forces.
He had not anticipated that they would come here to escort him.
‘No helping it.’
Sensing the rapidly approaching presences, Bu Eunseol unfolded his movement technique without hesitation and immediately left the area.
‘He is an assassin by origin.’
Even while swiftly fleeing, Bu Eunseol did not stop analyzing Yu Baek.
‘Seeing how accustomed he is to pain, it’s certain.’
The energy strands of the Thirteen Guiding Energies were not merely sharp.
Because they concentrated immense inner power, even a graze would cause meridians to burn as though scorched by fire.
Yet Yu Baek had not let out a single groan.
With eyes as cold as ice, he had only sought openings. Such endurance was something ordinary martial artists could never imitate.
‘Or perhaps it’s because of the Emotion-Severing Secret.’
When one masters the Emotion-Severing Secret to a deep level, emotions become so withered that one grows numb to everything. It was possible that Yu Baek had reached great completion in the Emotion-Severing Secret and had become a body incapable of feeling pain at all.
‘I must return as quickly as possible.’
If he lingered in this area and was detected by the Shadow Pavilion or any of Majeon’s intelligence organizations?
An uncontrollable disaster would unfold.
‘To Majeon.’
Since he had failed to prevent Yu Baek from entering Majeon, now, as the Martial Soul Command Lord, he had to protect the Death Shadow Corps family from the Demon Emperor’s schemes.
***
Immediately upon returning to Majeon, Bu Eunseol issued a top-priority order to the Death Spirit Corps through Yoo Unryong.
—Activate every intelligence network and investigate the individual named Yu Baek thoroughly.
By the time Bu Eunseol arrived at Majeon, Yu Baek, now the Blood Secret Command Lord candidate, was already in a private audience with the Chief Instructor.
‘He cannot be immediately appointed as Command Lord.’
Unless achievements are recognized, even the Demon Emperor cannot simply grant the Command Lord position on a whim. Doing so would completely shatter the discipline of Majeon—an alliance that operates on the logic of power and domination.
If someone with no accomplishments is appointed Blood Secret Command Lord, even the Demon Emperor’s prestige would be damaged.
‘He has no intention of doing that anyway.’
The Command Lord enthronement ceremony requires—at minimum—the supervision of Jin Seol, the Flower of Majeon, and the attendance of the highest-ranking figures, including the Ten Demonic Sects.
But there has been no movement whatsoever from the Ten Demonic Sects.
That means he was not summoned here to be appointed Blood Secret Command Lord right away.
—The Chief Instructor appoints Yu Baek as the Poison Demon Division Lord.
As expected, after concluding the private meeting, the Chief Instructor appointed Yu Baek as the Division Lord of the Poison Demon Division, a first-grade intelligence strike team under the Shadow Pavilion.
The official reason was that he still knew nothing about Majeon’s operations, and that this was a considerate measure to allow him to adapt to Majeon’s affairs before testing his abilities…
But there was surely another motive behind it.
Suppressed Demon Pavilion, Bu Eunseol’s office.
As Bu Eunseol read through the reports Yoo Unryong had brought, his eyes narrowed to the thinnest slits.
“…The illegitimate son… of the Hyeok Clan Leader?”
According to the Death Spirit Corps’s investigation, some rather shocking information had been obtained.
Yu Baek was the illegitimate child of Hyeok Ryeon-eung, who had once been the Hyeok Clan Leader.
“They say a courtesan he impregnated retired quietly, gave birth in secret, and later went to find Hyeok Ryeon-eung—but he coldly turned her away.”
But the truly shocking revelation came next.
Yoo Unryong spoke with an extremely grave expression. “However, the upper echelons of our main headquarters recognized young Yu Baek’s talent and took him into the Heartless Blood as an assassin.”
“Heartless Blood?”
Bu Eunseol could not hide his inner surprise.
Heartless Blood.
Majeon’s secret assassination organization, a place that solely trained killing machines designed to eliminate enemies.
Officially, however, the existence of Heartless Blood was never acknowledged.
Because its training methods were far too cruel and its assassination operations utterly unethical.
Some said the difference between Majeon and the Martial Alliance came down to whether such assassination organizations were exposed to the light or kept hidden.
Whether they openly displayed their brutality or concealed their ugliness completely and never revealed it.
In essence, there was no real difference between the two factions.
“That’s right. It seems he has been secretly raised as an assassin under Majeon’s direction all this time.” Yoo Unryong continued. “And if he truly is an assassin from Heartless Blood, then the reason they summoned him here is obvious.”
“Assassinating key figures within Majeon?”
“Exactly.” Yoo Unryong’s expression grew heavy. “There’s hardly any other reason that makes sense.”
There was no way someone from Heartless Blood—an assassin—would be placed in the position of Blood Secret Command Lord, which was essentially Majeon’s chief inspector.
It was far more convincing that he had been brought into Majeon to carry out a certain mission.
“Then he really is a disposable card.”
At that moment, Myo Cheonwoo shrugged.
“Even if he is an illegitimate child, to use a capable assassin who carries Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s bloodline for something so trivial?”
“It may not be trivial at all.”
Yoo Unryong shook his head.
“For example… assassinating the Martial Soul Command Lord, whom no one else can touch.”
Instantly, silence blanketed the meeting room.
Regardless of anything else, Yu Baek possessed martial prowess outstanding enough to evade Bu Eunseol’s sniper attack.
If he used extremely vicious assassin techniques instead of a frontal confrontation, he might not kill Bu Eunseol outright, but he could at least inflict a fatal wound.
“Pitiful.” Myo Cheonwoo shook his head. “Abandoned by a heartless father, and then picked up by demonic figures incapable of feeling joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, only to be turned into a killing machine.”
At that moment, Wi Cheongyeong spoke.
“I cannot understand it. I know Hyeok Ryeon-eung is a cold-blooded man without tears… but even so, why would he abandon a genius with such outstanding martial talent?”
“Right?” Myo Cheonwoo pressed a finger to his temple and muttered. “He has no legitimate heir and no disciple anyway. Why would he allow his own flesh and blood to be thrown into a demonic pit like Heartless Blood?”
Listening to the two of them, Yoo Unryong suddenly realized something and spoke with a grave expression.
“They deliberately leaked that information.”
“What do you mean?”
“If they had truly intended to hide this from our main headquarters, would the Death Spirit Corps have uncovered Yu Baek’s identity so easily?”
At Yoo Unryong’s words, Myo Cheonwoo’s eyes widened.
“They leaked it on purpose.”
“Exactly. The Demon Emperor deliberately leaked the pitiful backstory of an illegitimate child—so that we would learn of it and waver.”
Yoo Unryong turned to look at Bu Eunseol.
“So that we would feel sympathy toward an enemy who must be eliminated at all costs.”
The Death Shadow Corps captains faintly nodded.
Everyone knew that, though Bu Eunseol appeared cold on the surface, he had a warm heart and deep affection for others.
“You must never feel pity for him.” Looking at Bu Eunseol, Yoo Unryong said, “If you do, not only you, but everything we have built until now will come to nothing.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
Yoo Unryong spoke with a heavy expression.
“It’s possible they summoned him here not to kill you… but to provoke your emotions and shake your position as Majeon’s successor.” His face was dark as he continued. “You must assess the situation coldly. As long as we remain in Majeon, the Demon Emperor holds the initiative. That is an unchanging fact.”
“Unryong.”
Seeing him speak so passionately—almost angrily—about something concerning Bu Eunseol himself, Bu Eunseol looked at him with slightly apologetic eyes.
He was the one who skimped even on sleep to handle affairs.
Not for personal advancement or glory, but solely to ensure that Bu Eunseol’s goal would be achieved without fail.
That was why, whenever any risk appeared, he tried to detect and eliminate it in advance.
Thud thud thud.
At that moment, urgent footsteps were heard, followed by knocking at the door.
“My Lord, it’s me.”
It was Jo Namcheon’s voice.
He opened the door hurriedly and spoke in haste.
“A strange order has been issued to the Command Lord.”
“A strange order?”
Yoo Unryong, standing nearby, frowned.
“That person—the Nine Demon Heaven Lord, now the Poison Demon Division Lord, Yu Baek.”
Jo Namcheon took out an envelope from his robes.
“He has been ordered to learn Majeon’s operations under the Command Lord and to be taught how to operate the intelligence organization.”
He extended the envelope toward Bu Eunseol.
When Bu Eunseol took out the missive inside, it contained the Chief Instructor’s command: For the time being, not only teach Yu Baek about Majeon’s affairs, but also instruct him in gathering information and operating intelligence networks in a manner befitting a Blood Secret Command Lord candidate.
Moreover, the fact that something that could have been conveyed verbally was deliberately documented and delivered—did that not mean there was to be no negotiation, no room for refusal?
“What does it say?”
At Yoo Unryong’s question, Bu Eunseol handed him the missive.
The captains crowded around and read it together.
“Isn’t this going too far?”
After confirming the contents, Won Semun jumped up in outrage.
“They deliberately spread rumors about adding another Command Lord under the Shadow Pavilion to undermine the Martial Soul Command Lord’s authority—and now they’re openly telling you to teach him?” Won Semun fumed. “Just as Lord Yoo said, they are clearly aiming to openly bring down the Command Lord.”
The other captains nodded in agreement.
Among all the countless figures in Majeon, why assign the education of a mere candidate—who has not even become Command Lord—to Bu Eunseol, the busiest person handling the most affairs?
Wasn’t the intention to humiliate him glaringly obvious?
“It seems you will have to go to the Solitary Light Pavilion after all.”
Jo Namcheon said cautiously.
“If you carry out this order as is, the Command Lord’s prestige will suffer greatly.”
“It’s fine.” Bu Eunseol, who had been listening silently, shook his head. “I will do as instructed.”
“My Lord—”
“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles without danger.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“If that man has been given some mission by the Demon Emperor, then isn’t it better this way? I can keep him close and observe him directly.”
He rose from his seat.
“Through him, I can also figure out the Demon Emperor’s intentions.”
“But your dignity as Command Lord…”
“Dignity is unimportant. This place was never meant to be permanent anyway.”
“That’s not something to take so lightly.”
Despite Yoo Unryong’s attempt to dissuade him, Bu Eunseol firmly waved his hand.
“I will teach him for the time being, as per the Chief Instructor’s order. We will soon be short-handed. Since the Silver Flame Division’s training is complete, Myo Cheonwoo, return to the Death Shadow Corps and assist Unryong with his duties.”
“Bu Eunseol-”
“The meeting is over.”
Though the captains were somewhat dissatisfied, they had no choice but to nod and rise from their seats.
After leaving the meeting room, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and gazed at the distant sky.
He had already guessed from the beginning that Yu Baek was a disposable piece, and that the reason he had been summoned to Majeon was either to exert some influence over him or to shake his spirit.
Because the Demon Emperor enjoyed manipulating everyone like pieces on a chessboard.
As long as they remained in Majeon, it was difficult to escape his reach.
The only thing Bu Eunseol was truly pondering was one question.
The Demon Emperor’s true objective.
‘What does he really want?’
He had helped bring back Jeok Bung, making it impossible to force through absurd orders, but the Demon Emperor was still the Demon Emperor.
If he truly wanted to kill Bu Eunseol, he could do so without much difficulty.
If he harbored truly malicious intent, he could harm him in any number of ways.
Yet he only issued incomprehensible missions.
And every time, it was impossible to tell whether they would bring harm or benefit.
‘No matter what it is, I will not avoid it.’
In the past, he would have left Majeon without hesitation along with the Death Shadow Corps but now he clearly recognized the Demon Emperor as his enemy.
At the same time, he had to greatly expand the Martial Soul Society.
In that case, rather than leaving Majeon, it would be wiser to build a force so powerful that even the Demon Emperor would not dare touch it lightly, and to uncover all of Majeon’s secrets and the Demon Emperor’s schemes.
‘This will be the last time you toy with me in this manner.’
Gazing at the towering Sacred Demon Hall that pierced the distant sky, Bu Eunseol slowly turned away.
The next day.
Suppressed Demon Pavilion, Bu Eunseol’s office.
Standing before the door was a man dressed in black martial robes, his face covered by an iron mask.
Thud.
He looked at Bu Eunseol and respectfully clasped his hands together.
He was the Blood Secret Command Lord candidate, the one tasked with wandering the martial world to identify forces that might threaten Majeon—the chief inspector of Majeon.
Yu Baek.
“Remove the mask.” Bu Eunseol said gravely. “From now on, when you are with me, take off the mask.”
Yu Baek slowly removed the mask.
Thick eyebrows and large eyes were revealed.
The outer corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward, giving the impression of constant anger.
Yet it was impossible to deny that they were eyes of incomparable beauty, almost like a woman’s.
“Before that—tell me what you did in the Nine Demon Heaven. What tasks you handled, what responsibilities you were given.”
Bu Eunseol had already received a full investigation through the Death Spirit Corps.
He already knew that Yu Baek was an assassin of Heartless Blood and had carried out numerous killings.
Nevertheless, as his superior, he intended to hear it directly from Yu Baek.
Swiik.
Instead of answering, Yu Baek handed over a booklet he had been holding.
When Bu Eunseol opened it, it contained a detailed record of how Yu Baek had lived, what tasks he had performed, and what achievements he had made—his entire personal history written out in full.
Tak.
Bu Eunseol closed the booklet and set it down.
Then he stared straight into Yu Baek’s eyes and spoke clearly.
“I will hear it from you personally.”
At that, Yu Baek tilted his neck awkwardly.
Then he pointed to the area near his throat with his thumb.
Wondering what he meant, Bu Eunseol furrowed his brows.
Yu Baek forcefully tilted his head back and pointed again at one spot on his throat.
There, Bu Eunseol discovered a single purple scar.
‘He deliberately… damaged the vocal cords?’
He didn’t need to inspect closely to know.
It was a sword wound that had pierced straight through the vocal cords.
“Does Heartless Blood destroy the vocal cords of all its assassins?”
The wound had been made with expert precision—life-threatening damage was avoided, yet the vocal cords accurately severed.
That meant Heartless Blood had deliberately slit the vocal cords of its assassins to prevent them from speaking.
Nod.
Yu Baek nodded.
A killing machine had no need to speak.
For assassins who obeyed absolutely and carried out killings, a voice was utterly useless.
“Does it not hurt?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Yu Baek shook his head, as though he had heard a word that had nothing to do with him.
“That’s strange. Even for Heartless Blood.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes glinted as he asked, “Shouldn’t an assassin prioritize gathering information above all else? Then why do you claim to know nothing about gathering information in the martial world or operating an intelligence organization?”
Yu Baek took a deep breath and pointed again at the booklet—indicating that he should read it.
“Hm.”
With no other choice, Bu Eunseol carefully read through the booklet once more.
It stated that assassins of Heartless Blood carried out killings solely based on information provided from above, and therefore were never taught the process of gathering various kinds of intelligence.
‘So they train assassins this way.’
Bu Eunseol read again through Heartless Blood’s assassin training process.
Heartless Blood forbade all external contact, training assassins only in dark caves with secret killing techniques, and dispatched them into the martial world only when needed—using and discarding them like expendables.
It was an extremely narrow-minded yet brutally efficient method.
‘So that’s how it is.’
In short, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Yu Baek knew nothing except how to kill people.
‘An unfortunate assassin with a tragic past…’
Born an illegitimate child, abandoned by his father, taken in by Majeon and turned into a killing machine… he was an unfortunate assassin.
The Demon Emperor had clearly attached such a person to him on purpose.
And the intention behind it was obvious without needing to dwell on it.
“Very well.”
Nodding, Bu Eunseol said, “For now, we will begin by learning about the current situation in the martial world and how to operate an intelligence organization.”
In any case, “duties” were merely an excuse.
But Bu Eunseol intended to teach him properly.
Because only then… would some kind of conclusion be reached.
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