A brief silence fell over the room.
Suddenly, White Mask clapped his hands and burst into hearty laughter.
“Truly impressive! To have such keen insight at such a young age!” Nodding repeatedly, he gave Bu Eunseol a thumbs-up. “A martial treasure like the Yeongsasin Sword should only be entrusted to someone with discerning eyes. So, we couldn’t help but test you.”
With a smile, White Mask clasped his hands together, took the sword from the box, and held it up.
“This sword is impractical for actual combat, but it’s a work of Master Dragon of Qilian Mountain, with significant artistic value. The gems embedded in it alone are worth a thousand taels of gold.”
He extended the sword toward Bu Eunseol.
“This is an additional reward from the Treasurer, beyond the prize for your victory.” Bu Eunseol merely stared at the sword.
“Come, please… take it,” White Mask urged.
Looking at White Mask’s face, Bu Eunseol’s eyes curved into crescents, an uncharacteristic expression for him.
“If I don’t accept this, I’ll have no justification.”
“Pardon?” Instead of replying, Bu Eunseol took the sword from White Mask’s hands.
At that moment—
Hiss!
The moment he gripped the hilt, white smoke billowed from it. Simultaneously—
Click!
Sharp, fine needles shot out from the hilt, emitting a foul stench that suggested deadly poison.
“Is this part of the test too?” Bu Eunseol asked, slowly removing the needles embedded in the hilt.
White Mask gave a sly smile. “You’re not surprised, so I suppose you anticipated everything.”
Orchid Flower, standing nearby, flashed a radiant smile and said, “But you were too relaxed. You may have avoided the Bloodshade Poison on the needles, but the Cloudmist Snowlung you inhaled is no ordinary toxin.”
Cloudmist Snowlung.
A rare poison crafted in Xiangyang, where masters of hidden weapons reside—a specialized smoke toxin.
Even a single breath could halve one’s internal energy in an instant.
“Heh heh heh.” At that moment, a low chuckle echoed as a middle-aged man in luxurious robes stepped into the training hall.
His features were sharp, but his fleshy frame and oily skin betrayed his indulgence. This was Ok Hobang, the current overseer of Dongpyoseorang.
Behind him followed Blood Awl and Ghost Scythe, two of the Eight Great mercenaries and his trusted lieutenants.
“You’ve definitely been poisoned by the Cloudmist Snowlung,” Ok Hobang said, his true colors revealed as he sneered wickedly, noting Bu Eunseol’s pale complexion. “You’ve been quite a nuisance, you brat.”
Bu Eunseol stared at Ok Hobang and asked, “Are you Treasurer Ok?”
“Indeed.”
“Is killing the tournament winner a tradition of the Martial Tournament?”
Ok Hobang sighed, glancing at the armed mercenaries. “To be honest, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this. If you had just drunk the tea, it would’ve ended quietly.” He let out a low laugh. “If the winner were found guilty of immoral conduct with our guild’s mercenaries, we naturally couldn’t hand over the divine sword.”
“I see. That makes sense,” Bu Eunseol said, nodding calmly.
Orchid Flower’s voice turned sharp. “You’re awfully relaxed for someone in your position.”
“He must be confident in his martial skills,” Ghost Scythe said, his eyes glinting as he stepped closer. “But with your internal energy halved, you can’t possibly defeat the four of us.”
Individually, their skills might not match Yang Myeong, the Blood Demon Lord, but together, their strength rivaled his. Moreover, they were all adept with hidden weapons and poisons, and this was their home turf—Dongpyoseorang. No matter how skilled Bu Eunseol was, escape was impossible.
“This should be interesting,” Bu Eunseol said, lightly extending his arm.
Whoosh!
An old iron sword from the armory’s racks flew into his hand—a display of terrifying telekinesis.
“Your internal energy… it hasn’t diminished?” Ghost Scythe gasped.
The distance from the armory rack to Bu Eunseol was a full three jang, yet he moved the sword with a mere gesture.
“It has,” Bu Eunseol replied coldly, glaring at them. “But it’s still more than enough to take your heads.”
Bu Eunseol’s Ban-geuk Method had reached the pinnacle of the third layer, with internal energy nearing two jia.
Aside from the grandmasters of the previous generation, his internal energy was unmatched. Even after inhaling Cloudmist Snowlung, he retained a fearsome one jia of internal power.
“Don’t make me laugh!” Ghost Scythe roared, swinging the twin scythes in his hands like lightning.
His Twelve Forms of Shattering Twin Scythes, derived from assassin martial arts, unleashed relentless follow-up strikes once momentum was gained.
“Scythes, huh?” Bu Eunseol muttered, his eyes gleaming as he faced the onslaught of scythe shadows and drew his iron sword.
Clatter! The iron sword in his hand emitted a sound like raindrops striking a window.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol’s body blurred past Ghost Scythe, employing Swift Beyond Shadow.
“Argh!” A bloodcurdling scream followed. In a mere passing moment, a fountain of blood erupted from Ghost Scythe’s neck.
“What in the world…” The remaining mercenaries and Ok Hobang gaped in shock.
The sword strike was so fast they couldn’t even discern how Bu Eunseol had executed it.
Crack! The iron sword in Bu Eunseol’s hand began to fracture, shattering like brittle pastry.
“It’s broken again,” he remarked.
“What… what is that…?” White Mask stammered, his jaw dropping. A horrifying realization struck him.
“The sword broke… not because of a clash with Yang Myeong…”
“Exactly,” Bu Eunseol confirmed.
The faces of Ok Hobang and the remaining mercenaries turned ashen. They had assumed Yang Myeong forfeited for some unknown reason, but in truth, Bu Eunseol had defeated him with a single sword strike.
“His sword technique shattered the blade?” White Mask muttered in disbelief.
Swish!
Bu Eunseol used telekinesis again, pulling an old greatsword from the armory into his hand.
“No matter if it breaks a hundred times. There are plenty of weapons here.” Bu Eunseol bared his teeth in a grin, a sight that filled Ok Hobang and the mercenaries with dread, as if a reaper from hell had appeared.
“What are you all staring at?” White Mask snapped, regaining his composure first.
As the most skilled and bold among the remaining mercenaries, he seized the moment when Bu Eunseol reached for the greatsword, revealing a vulnerability, and fired a hidden weapon from his sleeve.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Activating a pellet tube, dozens of poisoned darts blanketed Bu Eunseol.
Whirl!
Bu Eunseol’s body spun like a whirlwind, evading the darts with Swift Beyond Shadow. In an instant, he appeared behind White Mask and said in a low voice, “You’re not even worth a sword strike.”
Flash!
The greatsword was drawn in a blur, and a thin line of blood appeared across White Mask’s neck as he held the pellet tube.
Spurt!
Blood sprayed in all directions as the severed head hit the ground.
“Let’s end this quickly,” Bu Eunseol said, his eyes blazing like charcoal in the lamplight.
The moment his pale, slender hand moved again, another life in the room would be snuffed out.
“Young Master Bu!” Ok Hobang lunged forward, dropping to his knees before Bu Eunseol, his voice trembling. “I’ll give you the Yeongsasin Sword! Please, spare us!”
“I don’t need it,” Bu Eunseol replied with a cold smile. “I’ll destroy Dongpyoseorang and find it myself.”
Ok Hobang’s eyes widened, his body shaking with fear.
A reaper.
Before the mercenaries stood a god of death, holding their lives by a thread.
“We were wrong, Young Master!” Orchid Flower cried out, collapsing to her knees in a wail.
Blood Awl, standing beside her, also knelt. “We were wrong!”
“Wrong? What were you wrong about?” Bu Eunseol said impassively, gazing at the blood dripping from his greatsword. “Killing in the martial world is just another day.”
“Are… are you forgiving us?” Ok Hobang asked, forcing a smile.
Bu Eunseol muttered calmly, “I said it’s just another day in the martial world…”
Killing and being killed is commonplace in the martial world. In other words, Bu Eunseol saw no need for forgiveness or hesitation.
“Young Master Bu!” Ok Hobang and the mercenaries’s eyes filled with terror.
The moment that greatsword moved, their souls would be wandering the underworld.
At that moment—
Crash!
The roof of the training hall caved in, and a black shadow dropped to Bu Eunseol’s feet with a short cry: “Young Master!”
It was a boy in black martial robes—Black Leopard.
“Show mercy!” Black Leopard knelt before Bu Eunseol, who held the raised greatsword. “They were only afraid of breaking their promise to Hell's Blood Fortress.”
“…Move,” Bu Eunseol said.
“Young Master!”
“I said move,” Bu Eunseol repeated in a chilling tone, glaring down at Black Leopard. “I’ve never spared anyone who aimed for my life.”
Ok Hobang and the mercenaries trembled in fear, realizing that even if the heavens split, Bu Eunseol would not forgive them.
“Young Master!” Black Leopard slammed his forehead into the ground with a thud. “He may not be a father to be proud of… but he’s the only family I have left under the heavens!”
Bu Eunseol’s expression shifted. He hadn’t anticipated that Ok Hobang and Black Leopard were father and son.
“Though I was born a bastard and lived as a wanderer… Treasurer Ok later learned of my existence and treated me well,” Black Leopard said, tears streaming as he looked at Bu Eunseol with desperate eyes.
“Can’t I bear just a fraction of my kin’s sins?”
Bu Eunseol’s voice turned grim. “Stand.”
“Pardon?” When Black Leopard looked up, Bu Eunseol had already sheathed his greatsword and turned away.
“Don’t cry or kneel again. Such actions… change nothing.”
Wiping his tears quickly, Black Leopard stood firmly and said, “Understood. I’ll never cry or kneel again.”
“That’s enough,” Bu Eunseol replied.
The sight of Bu Eunseol and Black Leopard resembled a young master and his disciple.
Regaining his composure, Black Leopard turned to Ok Hobang and the mercenaries. “The Young Master has spared you. Rise.”
“T-thank you, Young Master Bu,” Ok Hobang stammered.
Bu Eunseol looked down at him coldly. “Your son saved your life.”
Ok Hobang’s face flushed with shame. He approached Black Leopard and grasped his hands.
“Haya… my son…” All this time, he had ignored Black Leopard’s warnings and recruited unsavory mercenaries.
By disregarding the warning not to cross Bu Eunseol, he had endangered not only himself but all of Dongpyoseorang’s mercenaries.
“I’m ashamed, son. I never listened to you…” Black Leopard’s eyes glinted. Except in private, Ok Hobang had never once called himself his father. “From now on, I’ll heed your advice. I won’t bring criminals or wicked mercenaries into the guild,” Ok Hobang declared, turning to Blood Awl and Orchid Flower behind him.
“You two as well. If you wish to stay in Dongpyoseorang, you must refrain from evil deeds.”
“Of course, sir!” Blood Awl nodded eagerly, and Orchid Flower bowed her head.
Had Black Leopard not intervened, they would have died by Bu Eunseol’s hand. They vowed never to commit evil again.
“My son,” Ok Hobang said, approaching Black Leopard. “I’ve been a shameful father, but from now on, I’ll never do anything to bring disgrace. I’ll make Dongpyoseorang a place for honorable mercenaries, as it once was.”
Changing one’s ways is no easy feat.
But thanks to Black Leopard, Ok Hobang, who had been given a second chance at life, transformed in an instant.
“Ha ha ha!” At that moment, a low chuckle and a sigh echoed from all directions. “It seems there was no need for me to step in.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
Even with his Beast Way senses heightened, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of the voice.
Six Harmonies Voice Transmission?
A supreme technique that couldn’t be mimicked without three jia of internal energy had just been performed before his eyes.
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