“Huhuhu.”
Un Hakbi wore a peculiar smile.
“So what if you’ve figured it out now? Does it really change anything?”
When he openly admitted it, Bu Eunseol could not hide his astonishment.
He had expected something like this, but the ability itself was truly shocking.
“Then that means even supreme masters like the Demon Emperor or the Heavenly Emperor could be trapped inside your domain.”
“Huhuhu. Who knows.”
Even though Un Hakbi was looking at Bu Eunseol like a fish already caught in his net, he still refused to give a clear answer.
“Well, if that ability were truly omnipotent, you would have long ago claimed the title of the strongest under heaven.”
At Bu Eunseol’s provocation, Un Hakbi no longer fell for it and began raising his inner energy once more.
“Enough idle talk. It’s time for you to die.”
A victorious smile hung on Un Hakbi’s lips.
No matter what kind of martial art Bu Eunseol unleashed, he could counter with the exact same art—only with far greater power.
As long as Bu Eunseol remained trapped inside this domain, there was no way he could defeat Un Hakbi.
Swaaak! Swaaak!
As Un Hakbi continuously unleashed Wishful True Binding, his body suddenly trembled again, as though absorbing something new.
Click.
Then, abruptly, he sheathed his treasured sword.
He had seized the perfect ultra-swift killing sword capable of savoring death with the eyes.
He was preparing to unleash the Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
“I can already see your death.”
Gripping the sword hilt, Un Hakbi moved like a ghost, following Bu Eunseol as he evaded Wishful True Binding. The moment the slightest opening appeared, Bu Eunseol’s head would surely be separated from his body.
Whirrr!
Perhaps because of a brief lapse in concentration?
Wishful True Binding grazed Bu Eunseol’s cheek and dug deeply into the ground.
Click.
In that instant, the sword hilt in Un Hakbi’s hand shifted ever so slightly.
The Meteor Chasing the Moon Form was about to be unleashed.
Whirrr.
Sensing it, Bu Eunseol spun his body at high speed and poured every ounce of strength into Swift Beyond Shadow. Because of that, Un Hakbi ultimately failed to capture the perfect instant needed to execute Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
He had no choice but to momentarily halt his offensive.
Drip, drip, drip.
As Bu Eunseol landed once more, drops of blood fell to the ground.
Un Hakbi looked at his wounded form and gave a faint smile.
“Have you finished struggling?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol simply stared down at the blood pooling on the floor.
‘...’
In truth, up until now he had deliberately refrained from counterattacking and had only focused on dodging Un Hakbi’s assaults.
The Jungson family had finally revealed itself and now he had learned that the power of the Hundred and Eight Stars fully dominated a fixed domain?
He needed to clearly grasp the true nature of that Hundred and Eight Stars power for the future.
Otherwise, he might fall victim to the unpredictable ways in which the Hundred and Eight Stars might wield their strength next time.
And now, at last, he had found the thread.
‘So that’s how it is.’
To ensure his certain death, the Jungson family had lured out Gongsun Dankyung—one of the highest-ranking members of the Martial Alliance.
They had dispatched Un Hakbi, bearer of this terrifying power called the Earth Prison Star, and had him establish his domain right here.
If they had gone to such lengths for perfection, and had truly intended to kill him with absolute certainty?
They should have, at the very least, brought subordinates who could enter and fight together inside the Earth Prison Star’s domain.
Yet the Jungson family had acted like utter fools who couldn’t even calculate properly.
Once again, they had sent only Un Hakbi alone to lure him to this remote mountain villa.
Which meant the opposite was true.
Un Hakbi had come to Shinyue Mountain Villa alone for a very specific reason.
‘The domain.’
Un Hakbi had established his domain in Shinyue Mountain Villa and he had instantly absorbed Bu Eunseol’s abilities the moment he entered it.
Strangely, there was not even a single ant inside this mountain villa.
Not even the frogs or insects commonly found around a deep-forest villa.
“No one else is allowed to enter this domain together with you.”
Bu Eunseol gave a faint smile.
“That’s why you called me to this secluded place. To make sure no other person—or even the smallest animal—could be present.”
Un Hakbi’s complexion shifted slightly.
He had never imagined that Bu Eunseol would completely unravel the nature of his power in such a short time.
“Knowing that changes nothing.”
Un Hakbi smiled.
“No one can enter this space. And I’ve stationed subordinates not only around the villa but throughout the entire surrounding area to block any approach.”
He spoke with absolute confidence.
“Even if you had urgently summoned the armies of Majeon or the Martial Alliance, they would never reach this place.”
“There’s no need for an army.”
Piiii.
As Bu Eunseol raised his energy and whistled, the ground around the mountain villa began to shake violently, as though an earthquake had struck.
Seeing this, Un Hakbi burst into loud laughter.
“You fool. Knowing I would deploy my domain around this villa, did you really think I would leave even a single underground insect alive?”
Shockingly, in order to perfectly manifest the Earth Prison Star’s power, Un Hakbi had detected and eliminated every creature underground—moles, snakes, everything. It was because of these constraints, no matter how mysterious and mighty the Earth Prison Star’s power was, he could never become the strongest under heaven.
Click.
Un Hakbi assumed the stance of Meteor Chasing the Moon Form toward Bu Eunseol, who was raising his energy.
“You will die right here.”
Piii.
But from the distant sky came the cry of a hawk.
At the same time, a large messenger eagle began circling above Bu Eunseol’s head.
It turned out Bu Eunseol had used tremendous inner energy to spread the whistle sound dozens of li, summoning the messenger eagle kept by the Death Spirit Corps.
“Hahaha! Even if you called it, how do you plan to let it in? It can’t break through the walls of this domain!”
Un Hakbi laughed uproariously, but Bu Eunseol only gave a cold smile.
“Who knows.”
Click.
Bu Eunseol too sheathed his Silent Tiger Soul Sword and assumed the stance of Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
“Even if the domain walls can’t be broken, I made a gap earlier—one large enough for a single messenger eagle to slip through.”
“Then try it.”
“No. Not until I can kill you perfectly.”
A wild light blazed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“The moment you unleash your martial art, I’ll send the eagle inside. That way your head will surely be severed.”
Radiating sharp killing intent, he began observing Un Hakbi closely.
He too was waiting to seize an opening and unleash Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
“Bluffing, are we?” Un Hakbi sneered. “Do you really think you can fool me with such lies?”
If there truly was a way to let the eagle inside, he would do it right now.
There would be no need to wait for a precarious instant.
“How boring.”
With a smile on his lips, Bu Eunseol said, “I’ll make it easy for you to unleash Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.”
Srrrng.
He drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword again and slowly walked toward Un Hakbi.
Thud. Thud.
With every step he took, a faint radiant aura rose around his body.
‘Is he serious?’
Un Hakbi’s eyebrow twitched.
Meteor Chasing the Moon Form was an ultra-swift killing sword that seized the perfect instant to sever the enemy’s breath in one strike.
Yet here he was, calmly walking forward and inviting it?
‘Does he really have a way to force the messenger eagle inside at the decisive moment?’
If, at the instant he activated the Earth Prison Star’s power, the eagle slipped in?
The domain would completely collapse.
And then, without even understanding how, his own head might be cut off.
“As expected of the man who holds positions in both Majeon and the Martial Alliance under two different identities.”
Un Hakbi smiled.
“The rumors say that what makes you formidable isn’t just your outstanding martial arts, but also your exceptional intellect and unfathomable strategies.”
“…”
“But no matter how brilliant your mind is, you will never be able to instantly shatter a domain that even the people of our family cannot undo.”
Un Hakbi smiled.
“You’re clearly putting on a show of strength to induce an opening—”
Piiii.
At that moment, the circling messenger eagle cried out again.
Flinch.
Un Hakbi’s body jerked.
Because the eagle had suddenly begun flying low, as though it really intended to enter.
“Why aren’t you attacking?”
Bu Eunseol gave a subtle smile.
“If you’re anxious, why not just use your martial arts instead of relying on the Hundred and Eight Stars’ power?”
“…”
“Are the people of the Jungson family all talk and no real training in martial arts?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Of course the Jungson family also cultivated martial arts, and their level surpassed most factions in the martial world. But the problem was that the opponent before him was a master against whom ordinary martial arts were completely ineffective.
‘That monster doesn’t fall short even against the previous generation’s supreme experts.’
If the domain were broken, he could never win through martial arts alone.
Un Hakbi had no choice but to be cautious.
“Are you afraid the domain will break?”
Bu Eunseol smiled.
“Because you can’t win with pure martial arts?”
Was it his sharp perception, or could he peer into the soul?
This monstrous man was deducing a great deal just from facial expressions.
“If you won’t come to me, then I’ll come to you.”
Releasing the sword hilt, Bu Eunseol slowly walked forward.
At the naturalness of his movements and demeanor, Un Hakbi felt his head might split open.
―Does this bastard truly have the ability to force the messenger eagle inside at the decisive moment?
―Is this all a bluff? Would someone like him really gamble with his life?
Un Hakbi’s pupils trembled ceaselessly; his expression twisted.
He did not know.
This was one of the Demon Emperor’s favorite tactics—creating tiny fractures in the enemy’s mind and turning their greatest strengths into fatal weaknesses through psychological warfare.
Even the Sword Venerable, who had mastered Natural Sword, had suffered a fracture in his soul from a single sentence of the Demon Emperor’s and ultimately converted Natural Sword into an ordinary martial form before being killed, had he not?
‘Even the Hundred and Eight Stars are not omnipotent.’
A faint light passed through Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
At last he had seen through Un Hakbi’s weakness.
‘This man has never trained himself.’
Though the power of the Hundred and Eight Stars transcended martial ability, it was still a human being who wielded it.
Yet Un Hakbi had relied solely on his innate power and never trained his body or mind.
In truth, that was only natural.
If he could absorb the martial abilities of any expert who entered his domain, what need was there for personal training?
‘An ordinary martial world master would not have been shaken by such words and would have attacked immediately.’
In reality, the psychological tactic Bu Eunseol had laid was not merely about the messenger eagle.
Yet Un Hakbi, merely at the single statement that the eagle might be let inside, had felt fear and could no longer maintain an intact mind, constantly growing anxious.
―If, the moment I unleash my martial art, the domain’s power weakens even slightly?
―Would the domain collapse instantly, and would I die with one slash from him?
Just by looking into Un Hakbi’s eyes, Bu Eunseol felt as though he could clearly hear every thought running through the man’s head.
“To become a powerhouse who rules the world, above all else one must maintain an unshakable mind.”
Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
“Is this the inevitable end for power gained without effort?”
Even if one held in their grasp a force capable of shattering the world, if the mind was imperfect?
In the end, only defeat remained.
“Heh heh heh.”
Yet Un Hakbi lowered his head and laughed quietly, then suddenly burst into mad laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
“Do you really think everything ends if you just break my domain?”
With a wave of his hand, with a shuuk sound, all the transparent walls blocking every direction vanished.
Had he given up on killing Bu Eunseol?
“I wondered why that person specifically chose me to send…”
Un Hakbi’s body turned transparent.
Woooong.
At the same time, his movements and expressions began to gradually transform, perfectly mirroring the Bu Eunseol standing before him.
“Hm.”
When Bu Eunseol furrowed his brow, Un Hakbi furrowed his brow at the exact same moment—not imitation, but like a perfect mirror reflection.
“What a bizarre trick.”
Ziiing.
Catching an opening in Un Hakbi’s movements, red light exploded from Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had unleashed Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
Shwaaaak!
But something astonishing occurred.
Un Hakbi, at the exact same instant, unleashed Meteor Chasing the Moon Form with identical angle and striking point.
Clang!
With a metallic ring, sparks flew from the tips of their swords, and both Bu Eunseol and Un Hakbi stepped back simultaneously.
“This technique is called the Illusory Radiance Secret Mirror. Only the true Earth Prison Star can perform it.”
Un Hakbi burst into wild laughter.
“Now you and I are one and the same. Can you kill yourself? Hahahaha!”
The ultimate secret art and true power of the Earth Prison Star.
It erased the boundary between them and the other person, making the enemy and self into a single existence.
It was the method of Object-Self Unity, Self-Other Oneness.
“I’ve become a nightmare-like existence that cannot be killed by any means!”
“Can I kill myself… you say.”
“Exactly. If you kill me, you die too.”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze turned clear and serene.
He had personally witnessed the Sword Venerable’s Natural Sword and, while gaining deep insight, thanks to the Evil Spirit Bell embedding itself into the rock, he had attained a portion of the Great Natural Qi in a state of utmost stillness and extremity.
And from that, he had been able to create a sword form capable of naturally returning all things.
But it had been incomplete—more of a mutual destruction technique than one that severed the enemy’s life.
No, it had been closer to a self-destructive sword form that suppressed one’s own power.
Yet now, with Un Hakbi’s Illusory Radiance Secret Mirror creating a perfect duplicate of himself, a second identical existence had appeared in the world—one he could clearly observe from the outside.
In that case, even if he “killed himself,” could it truly be called self-destruction?
“This will be interesting.”
Bu Eunseol smiled.
Thanks to Un Hakbi’s Illusory Radiance Secret Mirror, he had instead gained an indescribable great realization and obtained the key to unfolding his newly created sword form in a different way.
Saaa.
A gentle breeze blew from somewhere.
And that wind brushed past Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword and blew toward Un Hakbi, who stood with the same face and stance.
To Bu Eunseol, who held a single breath of Great Natural Qi within him, it was a pleasant wind.
But to Un Hakbi, bearer of the grotesque power of the Hundred and Eight Stars, it was not.
Crack crack crack.
A horrifying sound of bones resounded from Un Hakbi’s body as the wind struck him.
This wind, imbued with the mystery of Natural Sword, had the power to return all things to their natural order.
In other words, it instantly transformed the extremely unnatural Earth Prison Star—who copied others’ powers exactly as his own and pretended to be real despite being fake—back into a natural state.
Gurgle.
As all his power suddenly reversed flow, Un Hakbi staggered like a drunkard, blood spilling from his mouth.
“Gah!”
Merely exposed to the strange breeze Bu Eunseol had unleashed, he had suffered deep internal injuries.
“This cannot be!”
Un Hakbi desperately raised his energy to the limit.
“You must die together with me!”
He pushed the Earth Prison Star’s power to its maximum.
Swoosh.
Bu Eunseol paid no attention whatsoever to Un Hakbi’s movements and simply gazed up at the distant sky.
It was as though he had completely forgotten the other man’s very existence.
“The Sword Venerable… he truly reached a boundless realm.”
With a sigh, he murmured softly.
“Never forced, never deliberately done, yet arising naturally… nothing lacking in the least…”
“Die!”
At that moment, a power of annihilation capable of erasing all things flowed from Un Hakbi’s sword.
Having accumulated every bit of Bu Eunseol’s power that had entered his domain, he now poured out all his remaining life force in this final technique.
Whir.
With his hands clasped behind his back and sword hidden behind him, Bu Eunseol once again extended the Silent Tiger Soul Sword forward.
Behind him appeared a scene like mist rising over a lake at dawn, rippling gently.
Shu shu shuk.
And that mist passed through Un Hakbi’s body and vanished into the distant sky.
Thud.
In that instant, Un Hakbi dropped the sword he had been holding.
He stared at Bu Eunseol in utter disbelief.
“What kind of sword art is this?”
“Supreme Heavenly Flow, Tenth Form.”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze was endlessly serene.
“Martial Mist and Waves.”
Inspired by a single insight from the Sword Venerable’s Natural Sword, Supreme Heavenly Flow’s Tenth Form had finally revealed itself to the martial world.
“Martial… Mist and Waves…”
Un Hakbi muttered dazedly in a low voice.
Psssh!
At the same time, blood began gushing from all seven orifices of his face.
The Hundred and Eight Stars all possessed bodies like those of the Diamond Indestructible monks and terrifying regenerative power.
Yet the moment he was struck by Martial Mist and Waves, every abnormal power vanished, leaving him with an ordinary human body.
“Don’t think you’ve won.”
Blood streaming from his seven orifices, Un Hakbi spoke in a low voice.
“In any case, that person has already foreseen this entire situation.”
“That person?”
A strange feeling rose in Bu Eunseol.
Since Un Hakbi was a member of the Jungson family, the one he served should naturally be the family head.
Yet he deliberately used the honorific “that person”?
Could it be that there was a separate power behind the scenes controlling the Jungson family?
“Indeed. That person is a divine being who presides over all affairs under heaven. Your death has already been decided.”
Life was fading from Un Hakbi’s eyes.
“Where is Chief Inspector Gongsun?”
“In Cheonsim Valley.”
Even as he died, Un Hakbi wore a faint smile.
“You will definitely go there, won’t you? Because that person said you absolutely would.”
“…”
“But that place will become your grave. Hehehe.”
Blood pouring from his mouth, Un Hakbi burst into mad laughter.
“Kuahahaha! There awaits that person’s… something you cannot even begin to imagine—”
Thud.
He could not finish his sentence. Eyes wide open, he drew his final breath.
Bu Eunseol fell into deep silence, lost in thought.
A divine being who presided over all affairs under heaven, who controlled the Jungson family from behind the scenes, and who knew Gongsun Dankyung.
Why would such a person—no, why would they try to kill him or rather, Seon Woojin, the covert head of the Martial Alliance’s intelligence division?
“I’ll find out the reason soon enough.”
Shaking off his thoughts, Bu Eunseol raised his inner energy to its limit.
To collapse the Martial Alliance and to handle the many affairs ahead, Gongsun Dankyung was necessary.
Even aside from that, he had no desire to see Gongsun Dankyung die at the hands of worthless people who held no value.
Boom!
Raising Thunder Spirit Energy, Bu Eunseol leaped into the distant sky in a single bound.
Even though he knew full well it was a trap, he was heading to Cheonsim Valley to rescue Gongsun Dankyung.
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