“Brother Bu!”
The ancient, weathered gate opened, and a man in blue robes rushed out with both arms spread wide.
It was none other than Hyeok Sojin.
“Sojin.”
“Hahaha! How long has it been?”
Hyeok Sojin grabbed both of Bu Eunseol’s hands and shook them excitedly, practically dancing with joy.
Bu Eunseol, who had set out to find the power of the Four Divine Energies, had somewhat abruptly come to visit Heaven and Earth Severing Sect.
“You came without even sending word?”
“I was just passing by. Thought I’d visit the elders after so long and see how Peach Blossom Paradise is faring.”
“Is that so? Come in, come in!”
Like an inn servant welcoming a guest, Hyeok Sojin gestured enthusiastically and personally led Bu Eunseol inside.
Then he shouted loud enough for all of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect to hear.
“Grandfather! Look who’s here!”
A grand banquet was held at Heaven and Earth Severing Sect for the first time in a long while.
Since it was a quiet place where retired demonic cultivators lived in seclusion, Heaven and Earth Severing Sect rarely held banquets even for distinguished guests.
Even when they did, it was only a modest gathering in a small banquet hall.
But now, everyone in Heaven and Earth Severing Sect had come outside and was holding a lively feast.
Because Bu Eunseol had arrived.
He had once saved the dying Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, healed the illnesses of the former demonic cultivators who had fallen into despair—including the sect leader Hyeok Gongbaek—and completely turned around the life of Hyeok Sojin, the next sect leader who had been wasting his talent in hopelessness.
As the greatest guest and benefactor of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, his visit prompted an unprecedented grand banquet.
—Hahaha!
At Bu Eunseol’s request, the banquet was held in Peach Blossom Paradise, where the former demonic cultivators lived in retirement.
Unlike in the past, the eyes of the elders staying in Peach Blossom Paradise were now full of vitality and overflowing with energy.
The final years of a martial artist could sometimes be rather shabby.
Especially for those whose inner force had declined in old age or who carried old injuries, such thoughts weighed even heavier.
Bu Eunseol had restored the pride of the neglected demonic cultivators of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect and never forgot that it was thanks to their existence that the demonic path had flourished.
When the demonic cultivators of Peach Blossom Paradise passed away, no matter how busy he was, the successor of Majeon and the foremost new-generation master of the demonic path would personally perform the cleansing rites and prepare the coffin.
He would stay until the very end to mourn them.
Just receiving such honor was enough for the former demonic cultivators to straighten their shoulders.
Their lives had not been in vain.
Their final moments would never be pitiful.
To win the support of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, Bu Eunseol had promised to take full responsibility for the final rites of the great demonic cultivators of Peach Blossom Paradise.
And he had kept that promise unwaveringly to this day.
—Piii! Bang!
The mischievous Hyeok Sojin had even prepared fireworks and set them off during the banquet.
Perhaps because people become a little childlike with age?
The fireworks that embroidered the night sky were enjoyed even more by the elders of Peach Blossom Paradise than by Bu Eunseol himself.
Amid endless laughter, the banquet continued all through the night.
The next day, Bu Eunseol spent the day in conversation with Hyeok Gongbaek and the demonic cultivators of Peach Blossom Paradise.
Whether as the successor of Majeon or as the Martial Soul Command Lord whose name shook the world, Bu Eunseol still treated the elders in the same gruff yet warm manner he had during his days as one of the Ten Demon Warriors.
After talking all day long, as dawn approached, Bu Eunseol quietly slipped out of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect.
Now that the sect had grown larger, both Hyeok Gongbaek and Hyeok Sojin were extremely busy.
If he announced his departure, they would try to detain him repeatedly, and everyone in Heaven and Earth Severing Sect would struggle to see him off.
To avoid causing any more trouble for those who had given him such warm hospitality despite his sudden visit, Bu Eunseol chose to leave quietly.
After leaving Heaven and Earth Severing Sect and walking for a while, he came to a fork in the road with a large tree standing there.
Swish.
From behind the tree, a tall shadow emerged as though it had been waiting.
It was Hyeok Sojin.
“Sojin.”
“Let’s go together.” Hyeok Sojin grinned and said, “Whether it’s to hell or the edge of the sky, I’ll accompany you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you think you can fool me?”
Hyeok Sojin spoke with utmost seriousness in his eyes.
“Your body isn’t normal. You’re seriously injured, aren’t you?”
Having traveled the martial world with Bu Eunseol for a long time, Hyeok Sojin knew all his habits and expressions.
In particular, Bu Eunseol’s senses were so sharp he could detect the sound of a leaf falling a hundred zhang away.
During the banquet, Hyeok Sojin had set off fireworks.
The original Bu Eunseol would have looked up at the sky before the fireworks even exploded.
But Bu Eunseol only looked up after they went off.
And it was the same now.
He would have sensed Hyeok Sojin waiting here in advance and spoken first before showing himself.
In other words, Bu Eunseol had now completely lost the super-senses that were the foundation of any martial artist.
That meant, needless to say, his inner force level had plummeted, and he had clearly suffered grave injuries.
Yet he had not said a single word about it and had kept smiling calmly the entire time.
Sensing that Bu Eunseol was about to leave abruptly, Hyeok Sojin had come here ahead of time to wait.
“Nonsense.”
Bu Eunseol cut him off.
“If I were injured, I would seek treatment. Why would I come here?”
“Because you need treatment.”
A glint flashed in Hyeok Sojin’s eyes.
“With the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy.”
“Wind and Cloud Divine Energy?”
“Didn’t you subtly ask the elders of Peach Blossom Paradise about the legend of the Wind God Tower?”
Hyeok Sojin’s eyes were full of certainty.
“Then what your body needs to recover must be the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy.”
Bu Eunseol fell silent.
It was exactly as he said.
After examining his internal condition for several days, the only way to restore the blocked Two Divine Energies and his senses was to obtain one more of the Four Divine Energies.
And among the remaining Two Divine Energies, the fastest and most certain way to acquire one was to find the Wind God Tower.
Although the Wind God Palace had not appeared in the martial world for over a hundred years and its location remained unknown, the Wind God Tower appeared periodically.
If he could find it, he could visit it at any time.
‘The only ones who might know the location of the Wind God Tower are them.’
After much deliberation, Bu Eunseol had sought out the former demonic cultivators gathered at Heaven and Earth Severing Sect.
Those who had roamed and dominated the martial world their entire lives must have at least heard of the Wind God Tower legend.
Among them, someone might possess a clue.
“Hm.”
Finishing his recollection, Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Isn’t that what traveling the martial world is all about?”
“The current martial world has completely changed.”
“Changed how?”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to explain about the True Demon and the Eight Human Heavens.
Since he would eventually spread the information through his network once he obtained the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy anyway.
“I see.”
Hyeok Sojin did not seem particularly surprised.
“It’s similar to the martial legends Grandfather told me when I was young.”
Heaven and Earth Severing Sect had preserved secret manuals passed down through generations of demonic cultivators.
Although Hyeok Gongbaek did not belong to the Three Demons and Three Venerables, he was a great demonic cultivator of comparable stature…
So he may have known something about the True Demon.
“If what you say is true, then I have even more reason to follow you.”
Hyeok Sojin smiled confidently.
“If it weren’t dangerous, it wouldn’t be a journey through the martial world. And danger is exactly what makes martial arts grow stronger.”
“Sojin.”
“If you wander the martial world alone while injured, do you think I could sleep soundly?”
Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
When Hyeok Sojin showed this much sincerity and concern, there was nothing he could say to refuse.
“If you leave, what happens to Heaven and Earth Severing Sect and the elders?”
Realizing this was permission, Hyeok Sojin broke into a wide grin.
“It’s fine. I’ve already taken care of most of my responsibilities. Lately the only thing keeping me busy is the renovation work at Peach Blossom Paradise.”
With another sigh, Bu Eunseol nodded.
“Fine. Let’s go together.”
The moment permission was granted, Hyeok Sojin jumped up like an excited child.
Having managed Heaven and Earth Severing Sect with his grandfather since a young age, he had never really had the chance to travel the martial world.
To think he would once again journey with Bu Eunseol?
He was so thrilled he felt like dancing with joy.
“You made the right choice. Hahaha. Who else but me could accompany you, Brother Bu?”
Hyeok Sojin’s booming voice echoed into the distant sky.
***
Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin unfolded their movement techniques and headed endlessly southward.
The place where the legend of the Wind God Tower had been passed down was none other than the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Although Bu Eunseol had lost his super-senses and his inner force had drastically declined, he was still capable of using movement techniques.
Even so, Hyeok Sojin rented a long-distance carriage midway.
If they could find one pulled by a legendary Snow Mane Horse or Blood Sweat Horse—said to cover a thousand li in a single day—it would not be as fast as movement techniques, but it would still allow relatively comfortable and swift travel.
—We’re losing too much time.
Yet for Bu Eunseol, every day was precious.
In the end, the two gave up on carriages entirely and relied solely on movement techniques to head toward the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
They traveled by day and, when night fell, chose a suitable spot to camp.
When the two had previously journeyed the martial world together, they had stayed mostly around the Seongdo, so they had rarely slept outdoors under the night dew.
But now, crossing such vast distances quickly, camping became inevitable.
Crackle crackle.
In a quiet, deserted forest, the sound of burning firewood echoed.
After traveling by movement technique for half the day, Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin had settled in a forest beside a flowing valley to rest.
“Brother Bu. Is your body in very bad shape?”
Hyeok Sojin looked at Bu Eunseol—who sat with eyes closed in meditation—with worry.
He seemed noticeably thinner, and his complexion was poor.
“I didn’t want to ask, but…”
Taking a deep breath, Hyeok Sojin continued, “I need to know the extent of your condition.”
Bu Eunseol slowly opened his eyes.
“All the energies within my body are blocked, and my remaining inner force is a little less than two jiazi. Even my super-senses are gone.”
“Your senses too?”
Hyeok Sojin’s expression grew grave.
A temporary loss of inner force or depletion of energy could happen.
But the complete loss of senses meant that every capability of a martial artist had vanished.
Bu Eunseol’s condition was far more serious than he had imagined.
“Just what happened?”
“Compared to the price of taking the Fist Man’s Light Binding—the power that destroys everything—head-on with my bare body, I got off cheaply.”
“So you really fought one of the Eight Human Heavens.”
From the moment Bu Eunseol had spoken of the Eight Human Heavens, Hyeok Sojin had already guessed that Bu Eunseol had clashed with them and been injured as a result.
“How strong was the Fist Man?”
But since he had not heard the detailed battle, Hyeok Sojin took the chance to ask quietly.
“Surely he wasn’t stronger than the Three Demons, right?”
Bu Eunseol recounted the fight with the Fist Man in detail.
“Someone like that was one of the lowest ranks?”
Hyeok Sojin’s mouth fell open.
The story of the True Demon, who had reincarnated across generations while manipulating the world, sounded like an exaggerated legend and was somewhat hard to believe.
But the Eight Human Heavens were real people actively moving in the current martial world—people Bu Eunseol had personally fought.
To think that even the lowest among the True Demon’s kin were on par with the strongest figures in the martial world?
“Haha.”
Hyeok Sojin let out a hollow laugh.
It felt as absurd and ridiculous as receiving an unpleasant insult from a complete stranger.
“I always thought something was strange… but now it feels like I’ve heard a bad joke.”
Shaking his head, Hyeok Sojin continued, “So in the end, you were injured by being struck with the Infinite Reversal Power.”
“That’s right.”
“Is that… even possible?”
The Infinite Reversal Power was less a martial art and more a transcendent power that surpassed the limits of what a human could exert. Therefore, unless one unfolded the Infinite Reversal Power themselves or wielded a comparable power, it was fundamentally impossible to block.
Yet he had blocked it with his bare body?
“It was only possible because the Harmony I mastered had the ability to neutralize the power of the Infinite Reversal Power.”
“Harmony… you mean the one where you mix various martial arts?”
“Similar, but different. The Harmony I use is, simply put, the alignment of power—it is the maximum force I can exert.”
Hyeok Sojin tilted his head, unable to fully understand.
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to explain Harmony in detail.
After listening for a long time, Hyeok Sojin’s face brightened.
“Then doesn’t that mean you’ve actually entered the Limitless Realm? And Harmony itself is a form of Infinite Reversal Power.”
“No. I eliminated the Infinite Ascension Steps and even denied the very concept of the Limitless Realm.”
“I don’t understand. If you deny the Limitless Realm, how can you wield power capable of opposing the Infinite Reversal Power?”
“The system of ‘realms’ is treated like truth, but in reality it does not account for each individual’s personality or disposition. In other words, it is an imprecise classification.” Bu Eunseol explained calmly. “That is why, even within the same realm, martial prowess is not equal. That is why martial artists speak of early stage, mastery, and peak—but even those distinctions fall short.”
“Hm.”
“Above all, because of the word ‘realm’… martial artists unknowingly impose limitations on themselves. All because they follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.”
“Because of the classification of abilities by realm?”
“Something like that. Those who reached the Limitless Realm naturally accepted the manifestation of the Infinite Ascension Steps. Because that was how the masters who reached the Limitless Realm had always done it.”
Hyeok Sojin stroked his chin as though realizing something.
“So you questioned it and refused to accept it.”
“Correct. My goal was never the Limitless Realm.”
When he first began learning martial arts, Bu Eunseol had held a somewhat vague goal: to never lose to anyone. But after experiencing and clashing with the power of those who dominated the martial world, that goal became more concrete.
He wanted to reduce the terrifying power of those beings to the level of an ordinary human.
And that resolve did not align at all with the established truths of martial realms and systems.
That was why he could abandon the Limitless Realm without regret.
“I understand now.”
Only then did Hyeok Sojin fully grasp Bu Eunseol’s words.
“To you, even the Limitless Realm—the dream of every martial artist—was not enough.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“It wasn’t that it wasn’t enough—I simply had no interest in it. I merely walked my own path.”
Martial artists had, as though by agreement, admired and aspired to the Limitless Realm.
They considered the Heaven's Will Realm something no one could ever reach.
But Bu Eunseol was different.
He had entered the martial world only for revenge.
He did not even see himself as a martial artist.
Therefore, he had never admired or desired the established realms of martial arts.
“But I doubt you completely ignored the Limitless Realm just because of that.”
Hyeok Sojin knew Bu Eunseol’s personality all too well.
He would not have turned away from Infinite Ascension Steps simply out of doubt or because he wanted to walk his own path.
“Of course not.”
Bu Eunseol explained the situation when he had first sensed Infinite Ascension Steps.
“When Infinite Ascension Steps manifested, I did not feel it was necessarily a step toward reaching the Limitless Realm. Instead, it felt like heart demons.”
“Heart demons?”
“Yes. What I called ‘phenomena’ at the time—the Infinite Reversal Power—felt like it was forcing me to choose one path.”
The first time Infinite Ascension Steps manifested was when he unfolded Harmony.
And that manifestation felt as though it were saying: “If you reach the Limitless Realm, you may choose one Infinite Reversal Power, such as Harmony.”
But from Bu Eunseol’s perspective, no matter how extraordinary the ability, ‘Harmony’ was merely one of many martial mysteries.
It was neither the dream-like realm he sought nor his ultimate goal.
Therefore, rather than seeing Infinite Ascension Steps as a sign of reaching the Limitless Realm, he considered the possibility that it could be heart demons designed to make one obsess over a single power.
“I understand what you’re saying, but…”
Hyeok Sojin let out a sigh.
Even after listening intently, he found it overwhelming.
The more he heard, the more Bu Eunseol felt like some unknown lifeform.
Because his thoughts and theories rendered null everything the grand masters who had upheld the martial world had built.
“It seems that was a perspective only you could have.” Hyeok Sojin spoke his honest feelings. “Ordinary martial artists cannot easily manifest Infinite Ascension Steps, nor can they store such diverse powers within their bodies.”
The reason Bu Eunseol could wield what he called Harmony was precisely because so many different powers coexisted within him.
And in truth, that alone was already tantamount to completing a new martial system.
In the history of the martial world, no martial artist had ever simultaneously possessed such diverse powers.
“You’re right. Perhaps that is exactly why I could view the Limitless Realm and the manifestation of Infinite Ascension Steps from a different perspective.”
Bu Eunseol acknowledged it.
“If I had walked a single path like ordinary martial artists and devoted myself entirely to mastering one true martial art, I might have suppressed the manifestation of Infinite Ascension Steps or never considered another way.”
“Simply possessing the Two Divine Energies already means I harbor power that defies the common logic of martial arts within my body. And moreover…”
Bu Eunseol, about to mention that his inner force had surpassed ten jia, shook his head.
“Well, something like that.”
“But if you obtain the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy, will your body truly recover? How can you be sure?”
“In truth, the Light Binding is still gnawing at my body even now. And the Two Divine Energies are barely holding it back.”
Even with the faint layer of Harmony, the fact that he had not instantly shattered and died after the Light Binding—a form of Infinite Reversal Power—penetrated his body was solely because the Two Divine Energies were blocking it.
“Two powers are fiercely holding it at bay—so with three, you believe you can completely drive it out.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“Exactly. In this situation, I cannot expel or erase the Light Binding from within.”
Hyeok Sojin nodded.
If something inside the body would explode the moment it was disturbed, it had to be resolved internally.
Any external interference would most likely make things worse.
“You chose the simplest solution. If two powers are too much, just obtain a third.”
“Precisely.”
Having grasped the full situation, Hyeok Sojin let out a long sigh.
“It seems having too many different powers isn’t always a good thing. If you cannot perfectly control them… it becomes worse than having none at all.”
“Well said.” Bu Eunseol nodded. “That is why the wise men of old chose one inner force mind method and one martial art, refining them to the point of ascension. Mixing many things together is slower than truly mastering just one.”
In truth, acquiring such diverse powers had not been Bu Eunseol’s intention.
Fate had brought him these various powers and martial arts, and he had simply accepted them.
If Bu Eunseol had not possessed such broad-mindedness and exceptional talent, he would not have been able to contain such power in the first place.
“We will definitely find the Wind God Tower and obtain the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy.”
Hyeok Sojin clenched his fist firmly and spoke with conviction.
“I will make sure we find it.”
In reality, his physical condition was worsening with each passing day and his meridians seemed to be slowly hardening.
Yet Bu Eunseol showed no particular worry.
He simply wore a calm, peaceful smile.
As long as he was with Hyeok Sojin, he was certain they would find the Wind God Palace and obtain the Wind and Cloud Divine Energy.
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