“Hoo…”
Jeong Cheongja, who had been about to leave, let out a deep sigh.
He had discovered a faint auspicious energy leaking from the ruins.
Walking over, he slowly extended his hand.
Rumble.
The trees and stones were pushed aside, and three metallic boxes rose into the air.
“This is…”
Jeong Cheongja’s eyes narrowed.
These were some of the treasures that had been stored in the Essence Three Realms.
Moreover, among the stored treasures, they weren’t particularly special ones.
Yet they had withstood the power of the Demon Emperor—who brought calamity not only to living beings but even to inanimate objects—and remained perfectly intact.
“Then this must be fate as well.”
Taking a deep breath, Jeong Cheongja tucked them into his robes.
The boxes were made of heavy metal and were far from small.
But the moment they entered his robes, they seemed to shrink into tiny beads; from the outside, there was no trace of them at all.
And just as he was about to depart,
Sssssss.
Suddenly, with the sound of tens of thousands of insects pouring out, the surroundings darkened.
Over a hundred masked figures began to surround Jeong Cheongja like ghosts.
Hummm.
A constant vibration emanated from their bodies, and perhaps because they practiced some sinister martial art, their pupils were dyed purple.
Even more bizarre was that each had two pupils side by side.
They looked less like humans and more like monsters wearing human shapes.
“Stacked-Pupil People?”
Jeong Cheongja muttered as if exclaiming.
“Has he actually found the Evil Calamity Hell-Forging Scripture?”
The Evil Calamity Hell-Forging Scripture.
It was the most notoriously wicked forbidden book in all of martial world history, said to contain the most heinous demonic great method ever written. It was also rumored to include recipes for creating utterly malevolent demonic creatures that no technique could oppose.
Among them, the Stacked-Pupil People had their body and soul linked as one.
It was said they could instantly acquire techniques to counter any martial art by witnessing a comrade’s death to that art. For example, if one Stacked-Pupil Person died to a certain sword technique, the others would immediately master the counter to that technique.
However, the secret arts of the Evil Calamity Hell-Forging Scripture were so cruel that one had to abandon their humanity to practice them. Because the contents had only been passed down as legend and never actually appeared in the human world, such demonic creatures had never truly existed.
Yet the Demon Emperor had unearthed that legendary forbidden book and succeeded in creating the Stacked-Pupil People.
“Demon Emperor.” Jeong Cheongja’s eyes flashed as he grasped the situation.
The Demon Emperor’s personality was meticulous beyond measure. He always accounted for the slightest possibility of error.
He had clearly stationed even the Stacked-Pupil People here as insurance.
“To reach such a martial realm and still leave not a single gap…”
Sssssss.
The Stacked-Pupil People were programmed to kill every living thing that entered their field of vision.
The moment they spotted Jeong Cheongja, they charged without hesitation.
“No chance!”
As Jeong Cheongja spread his arms,
Whoosh—!
The attacking Stacked-Pupil People began burning fiercely in an instant.
It was the Flame Emperor Energy of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
Hwaruk, hwaruruk!
As the master in charge of all scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion of the Essence Three Realms, he had read every secret martial manual stored there.
He was an expert whom no one could take lightly.
Sasasasa.
Even as they burned, the Stacked-Pupil People rushed into the flames like fearless moths.
Hwaak! Hwaaaak!
As their numbers grew, even the pouring Flame Emperor Energy could no longer incinerate them instantly. Moreover, the surviving ones somehow began to block the flames instead of being consumed when struck by the Flame Emperor Energy.
“Kh…” Jeong Cheongja groaned.
Their numbers seemed endless, and with each comrade’s death they acquired the counter to his technique. Moreover, no human body could endlessly unleash flames hot enough to melt iron.
The one small mercy was that creating Stacked-Pupil People required astronomical amounts of money, countless spiritual creatures, the souls of fetuses that died in the womb… materials that could not be easily obtained.
In other words, even the Demon Emperor could not produce them infinitely; their number was limited. If he could have created unlimited numbers, he would have long since swept away the righteous sects and dominated the entire martial world.
“Khuuu…”
Smoke began rising from both arms of Jeong Cheongja as he poured out Flame Emperor Energy.
His body had reached its limit and could no longer endure.
‘No need to deal with them all.’
Swish!
Jeong Cheongja stopped unleashing the Flame Emperor Energy, executed a single explosive movement technique, and instantly left the area.
Sasasasa!
The Stacked-Pupil People also used flight-like steps, turning into black meteors as they pursued him.
***
Under the scorching sun, small sand dunes and barren hills stretched endlessly.
It looked less like a desert and more like a desolate wasteland.
Whenever the wind blew, even the sky grew hazy, and the whole world appeared like a mirage.
Thud, thud.
A lone shadow trudged endlessly along the rough, parched path.
It was none other than Jeong Cheongja, who had come from the Essence Three Realms of the Western Regions toward the Central Plains.
“Haa… haa…”
Jeong Cheongja breathed heavily.
He had barely shaken off the Stacked-Pupil People, but in the process his stamina and internal energy had been completely depleted.
Originally his internal energy was so profound he could cross a thousand li in a single breath but after being exposed to the Demon Emperor’s power, he suffered irreparable internal injuries and was barely clinging to life using the Absolute Soul-Returning Technique.
If things continued like this, he would die before ever reaching the Central Plains.
Sasasasa.
At that moment, the sound of insects moving echoed faintly on the wind.
Stacked-Pupil People.
The demonic creatures that never stopped until their target was dead had once again closed in tightly on him.
Sssssss.
Before long, the Stacked-Pupil People appeared, already encircling him.
“Fine.”
Jeong Cheongja forcibly gathered what little internal energy remained.
Sharp sword energy surged from his index and middle fingers.
He intended to unfold the Finger Sword and cut down the charging Stacked-Pupil People.
“This will be the end.”
Jeong Cheongja bit his lip.
The Stacked-Pupil People feared neither death nor pain and would keep coming endlessly.
He would not last much longer.
“Why is it so noisy?”
But then, accompanied by a clear and bright voice,
Psssh.
Suddenly, from the sand mound where Jeong Cheongja stood, a young man in ragged clothes sprang up.
His face was covered with cloth so his features couldn’t be clearly seen, but his eyes were deep and clear like a lake.
Tilt.
The Stacked-Pupil People tilted their heads when a new figure suddenly appeared in their vision.
Though they were demonic creatures programmed to eliminate every enemy in sight, they were still made from human flesh.
Thus they possessed a certain degree of thinking ability.
Their super-senses could detect even a mole underground within fifty zhang.
So how had they failed to notice a young man sleeping soundly just ten-odd zhang away…?
The Stacked-Pupil People stood there pondering the reason for quite some time.
“Tch.” The young man clicked his tongue as he looked at the masked figures with double pupils. “Stacked pupils, huh. Looks like you’ve practiced some bizarre demonic great method.”
Despite facing over a hundred Stacked-Pupil People, he wore a relaxed expression and flopped back down onto the sand.
“I can’t fathom why anyone would bother learning such a technique. They’d be better off spending that time refining real martial arts.”
Jeong Cheongja, watching the young man, opened his mouth in shock.
Had this youth been lying here all this time wishing for death?
Or had his senses dulled so much that he couldn’t even feel the terrifying aura of the Stacked-Pupil People tearing through heaven and earth?
“Hey! Run away quickly!” Jeong Cheongja urgently called out. “The Stacked-Pupil People pursue their target to the very end and are extremely ferocious. If you stay in their sight, you’ll die too.”
As if to prove his words, the purple double pupils were now fixed not only on the old man but also on the recumbent youth.
“Hmm.”
Hearing that, the young man rose again.
He walked over to Jeong Cheongja’s side and spoke calmly.
“From just that one sentence, I can tell you’re a good person, Elder.”
Jeong Cheongja opened his mouth, puzzled by the remark, and the youth scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
“I’ve lived in this desolate desert for so long… and too many people have stabbed me in the back.”
Then he approached with a bright, innocent grin.
“Whenever I reached out to help, I often ended up in trouble instead.”
Bang!
At the same moment, a sharp aura exploded from the youth’s body.
It was strong enough to completely block the energy pouring from the Stacked-Pupil People.
‘Such momentum from this young man?’
Jeong Cheongja’s eyes widened in astonishment.
A youth who seemed barely past twenty was unleashing an aura vast enough to cover the entire desert?
Grrrrr.
The Stacked-Pupil People bared beast-like sharp fangs.
They had now included the youth in their targets for extermination.
Swoosh!
Without further ado, they launched their attack.
No matter how perfect a combined assault formation they used, over a hundred experts could not simultaneously attack one person with full power.
But because the Stacked-Pupil People had mastered a special demonic great method, even if they were the size of a small puppy, they could concentrate their full power into a single strike.
Swooooosh—!
Yet something astonishing happened.
The youth did not bother engaging each one individually.
Moving at ultra-high speed, he was actually toying with them.
Flash!
In that instant, sharp daggers appeared in both his hands.
With streaks of light, the necks of the Stacked-Pupil People began falling one after another.
“Remarkable movement technique.” Jeong Cheongja let out an admiring gasp.
With movement technique so fast it was almost invisible, he rendered their attacks meaningless and cut them down one by one.
“Kh…”
But as the battle continued, a groan escaped the youth’s lips.
The Stacked-Pupil People had adapted to his speed. They began dodging his attacks and counterattacking.
Watching this, Jeong Cheongja clenched both hands.
“I cannot let an innocent person get dragged into this.”
From his palms, the purest flames in all the world began to rage.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, dozens of fire pillars erupted from the ground where the Stacked-Pupil People stood.
It was the ultimate technique of the Flame Emperor—Distant Plains Infernal Blaze.
Hwaak, hwaaaaak—!
Any Stacked-Pupil Person touched by the flames was instantly reduced to bone fragments and collapsed.
“Keuk!”
Having forcibly used internal energy when he had almost none left, Jeong Cheongja coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Elder!”
When the youth tried to support him, Jeong Cheongja shook his head.
“It’s fine. This body is already broken.”
Then he gave a faint smile.
“The Mercenary King’s movement technique and dagger arts truly are unmatched in the world. Impressive indeed.”
The youth in ragged clothes…
He was none other than the famed Mercenary King, Black Leopard.
“How did you know?” Black Leopard looked surprised.
The title “Mercenary King” was well-known, but no one in the martial world knew what martial arts he used or what he looked like.
So how had this old man recognized him at a glance?
“Though I secluded myself deep in the mountains of the Western Regions, I always kept my ears open to news of the martial world.” Jeong Cheongja smiled gently. “If you weren’t the Mercenary King, how could anyone lie alone in a place swarming with bandits and face the Stacked-Pupil People single-handedly?”
Black Leopard’s eyes sharpened.
“Are you saying these are the Stacked-Pupil People created by that wicked demonic great method?”
“If they weren’t, how could they leave bone fragments behind inside the heat of the Distant Plains Infernal Blaze?”
“Eight Emperors and Three Stars…”
Only then did Black Leopard realize that this elder was no ordinary man and that he was connected to the Three Realms that were hostile toward Bu Eunseol.
“Elder, you are-”
“Don’t worry.”
Jeong Cheongja smiled calmly as if reading Black Leopard’s mind.
“It’s a little different from the Three Realms you know.”
“How so?”
“It would be too long a story, so let’s leave it there. This old man doesn’t have much time left.”
Looking at Black Leopard, Jeong Cheongja nodded.
“A person with as clear and pure a heart as you should already sense what kind of person I am.”
Black Leopard unconsciously nodded.
A pure, refreshing energy like that of an immortal flowed from Jeong Cheongja’s body, and profound wisdom dwelt in his eyes.
One could change appearance, but never the innate energy one was born with.
‘He is a good man.’
Traveling together with Bu Eunseol, Black Leopard had somehow developed an instinctive ability to distinguish good from evil.
And the reason he could do so was not because he possessed extraordinary insight like Bu Eunseol, but because his own mind and heart were inherently clear and pure.
“Are you perhaps an elder of the Wudang Sect?”
The term “heart” was one commonly used by taoist practitioners.
At Black Leopard’s question, Jeong Cheongja shook his head.
“No, nothing like that. However…”
Looking at Black Leopard’s face, something seemed to occur to him. He reached into his robes.
Though it appeared there was nothing inside, when he extended his palm, a fairly large box appeared.
“It seems this has an affinity with you.”
“What is it?”
“An item that will suit you perfectly.” Jeong Cheongja smiled. “I’ll probably need your help once more.”
“Are they coming again?”
“At most one quarter-hour—perhaps even half that. So open it quickly.”
Black Leopard carefully opened the box.
Inside lay a pitch-black metallic object gleaming with an eerie light.
It was a set of shoulder guards that could be worn separately.
“This is—”
“One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume. The genuine article once used by the Black Wing Blood Lord, who boasted the greatest qinggong in the world.”
The Black Wing Blood Lord was a grandmaster of the unorthodox path, evaluated as having elevated movement techniques to their absolute peak. With the mystical weapon One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume alone, he had stood unrivaled under heaven.
But he mysteriously vanished inside the Martial Harmony Valley and never reappeared in the martial world.
Afterward, it was said that his beloved weapon had disappeared completely as well.
So how did this old man possess it?
“He did not leave the martial world. He entered our realm.”
Jeong Cheongja smiled as if reading Black Leopard’s thoughts once again.
“Try wearing it.”
Click.
The One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume fit Black Leopard’s shoulders perfectly.
When he raised his internal energy to execute a movement technique,
Swoosh!
His body lightly lifted into the air, and sharp energy spread out in the shape of wings.
The exclusive weapon of the Black Wing Blood Lord—One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume.
At last, it had reappeared in the world.
Sarasara.
But at that moment, accompanied by the sound of swarming insects, black shadows surged toward them once more.
Just as Jeong Cheongja had predicted, another wave of Stacked-Pupil People had arrived.
“With your current strength, you should be able to escape them easily.”
Jeong Cheongja looked at Black Leopard with the gentle eyes of a grandfather.
“Buy this old man just a little time so I can get away.”
“Who exactly are you?” Black Leopard asked. “What kind of person could inflict a mortal wound on someone like you, Elder?”
He had already realized that Jeong Cheongja was not only a good man, but also a master of profound martial arts.
So who could have felled such an expert in a single stroke?
“Though I operate beyond the Central Plains, my roots are here. And I have no intention of standing by while forces that would destroy the martial world run rampant.”
Understanding Black Leopard’s meaning, Jeong Cheongja shook his head.
“I gave you the One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume simply because fate connected us.”
Then he showed a kind smile.
“Life is only a brief visit before departure. We helped each other once… so there is neither debt nor obligation between us.”
“Elder-”
Jeong Cheongja smiled faintly.
“Take care of yourself.”
And in an instant, he vanished.
Black Leopard stood stunned.
The old man before him had transcended all worldly affairs and felt no lingering attachment or regret.
So why would anyone try to kill such a remarkable person?
“He said there was neither debt nor obligation…”
Whoooosh.
Raising his internal energy, Black Leopard’s body floated into the air.
The sharp energy flowing from the One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume became even clearer.
“How could I possibly accept such a treasure for nothing?”
Sasasasa.
By then the Stacked-Pupil People had closed right up to him.
Normally he would have tried to escape somehow, but not now.
The more of them he eliminated, the easier it would be for that senior of the martial world to get away safely.
Swoosh!
When the One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume fully formed wing-shaped radiance, blade-like energy soared to the heavens.
BOOM! Swoosh!
As Black Leopard executed his movement technique, an explosive sound rang out and a single streak of light flashed. He had merely passed between them at extreme speed, yet the Stacked-Pupil People’s bodies split apart like toys and rained down onto the ground.
Sssss.
Enraged, the Stacked-Pupil People began emitting strange heat from their pupils.
Swoooosh!
At the same time, they unleashed high-speed movement techniques and chased after Black Leopard.
“Come on then!”
Whoooosh.
When Black Leopard doubled his internal energy output, a sound like the One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume was sucking in air from all directions rang out,
Swooooosh—!
Suddenly it unleashed tremendous airflow, accelerating his movement technique more than twofold.
‘What an incredible treasure.’
Gazing at the One Feather Sky-Piercing Plume pouring out terrifying currents, Black Leopard smiled.
“From now on, I’ll call you Black Wing.”
They say master and disciple resemble each other.
Having finally obtained a beloved weapon he would use for life, Black Leopard—much like Bu Eunseol—had already started giving it a name.
Shiiiik—!
Perhaps thanks to receiving a name, Black Wing unleashed even fiercer currents, turning Black Leopard’s body into a single streak of light.
***
At last Jeong Cheongja passed through Yumen Pass and entered the Central Plains.
Having reached Sichuan, he ceaselessly executed qinggong.
‘I hope that boy is safe.’
Even in his dazed state, Jeong Cheongja earnestly wished for Black Leopard’s safety.
He possessed the temperament of a true hero. Despite his gentle appearance, his heart was loyal, deep, and upright.
He would surely become a pillar of the martial world in the future.
Jeong Cheongja hoped he would escape the Stacked-Pupil People without incident.
‘The Realm Lord should have been here.’
Executing qinggong, Jeong Cheongja looked up at the distant sky with frustration.
To avoid repeating the past mistakes of the Three Realms, to prevent being corrupted by power and authority, the Essence Three Realms had deliberately avoided building massive organizations or outstanding intelligence networks.
Instead, they secretly raised exceptional successors in various places and allowed only the leaders to maintain close contact.
As a result, Jeong Cheongja alone could obtain neither intelligence nor assistance from the other members of the Essence Three Realms.
‘I hope Okrim is in that place.’
Within the Essence Three Realms, once So Okrim reached a certain level, she would be able to achieve another breakthrough.
Jeong Cheongja and the other members had, over the years, researched and restored martial purifications, and secretly prepared them in three hidden locations, including Neungna Mountain.
Since she had already perfected the Celestial Emperor's art long ago, she was surely training diligently right now in one of those three divided locations.
She had always possessed talent that exceeded all expectations.
After much deliberation, Jeong Cheongja had chosen Neungna Mountain as his destination.
‘Please let her be here.’
Arriving at Neungna Mountain, Jeong Cheongja swiftly climbed the mountain path.
Swoooosh!
But then a strange sound echoed from somewhere.
Could it be that the Stacked-Pupil People had reached even this deep mountain and were waiting for him?
Whirr, whirr!
Yet immediately afterward came another peculiar whooshing sound.
It sounded like the noise of concealed projectiles being fired, or like gusts of wind.
‘Could it be Okrim?’
Rushing toward the source of the sound, he reached a wide clearing in the forest.
There stood a tall man, and around him, hundreds of projectiles floated in the air, moving freely like living creatures.
‘The Ten Fingers Eternal Return?’
A technique capable of controlling countless projectiles individually,
Adjusting not only their speed but even the nature of the energy infused into each one.
Was this not the pinnacle of projectile techniques—the Ten Finger Shadow Wheel Line, a skill so difficult that almost no one had ever fully mastered it?
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