Yong Hoe drew a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.
“They say you’re the greatest prodigy in the demonic path, yet no matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like much.”
Then he put on an utterly playful expression.
“Shall I tell you a secret? Our faction possesses a secret art that allows us to discern another person’s internal energy level just by looking.”
Flash!
Yong Hoe unleashed a lightning-fast sword strike. The move was completely sudden, with no prior sign of attack whatsoever.
For an ordinary martial artist, it would have been a situation where their throat would be pierced in an instant without even understanding what happened.
Swoosh.
But even though he had lost all his super-senses, Bu Eunseol was still a master of the sword.
Yong Hoe noticed that Bu Eunseol’s pupils were greatly dilated and the tendons on the back of his hand were bulging—he had already prepared himself mentally.
Swoosh, swoosh.
At present, Bu Eunseol’s internal energy was not abundant and his super-senses were gone, so he drew his sword and thrust it straight toward Yong Hoe’s throat in return.
“Your swordsmanship is remarkably high.”
Ssssk!
Yong Hoe instantly shifted from swift sword to chaotic swordplay, creating a net-like sword aura that blanketed the entire interior of the stone chamber.
“To think the renowned Martial Soul Command Lord only has this level of internal energy… Judging by your persistently poor complexion, you must be suffering from a serious illness or a fatal injury, right?” Yong Hoe continued in a teasing tone. “And since you couldn’t sense me coming in advance, it seems your senses have vanished as well.”
Shwaaa!
Spider-web-like sword auras spread throughout the stone chamber space.
He had unleashed a sword technique impossible to evade in such a confined area.
But something completely unforeseeable occurred.
Even though he had poured out sword auras that could not possibly be avoided in this narrow stone chamber, they were being extinguished one after another by the seemingly powerless swordsmanship Bu Eunseol was displaying.
‘What…?’
Yong Hoe’s eyes widened.
Only then did he realize what Bu Eunseol was doing.
‘He’s preempting the point of origin of the sword auras?’
Sword aura is commonly understood as concentrating internal energy into a sharp, tangible form, or transforming it—reflecting the practitioner’s skill and internal energy level—into sword strength or sword rings.
But if one examines sword aura closely, it is not so simple.
Qi is a kind of flow that connects the infinite universe to human beings.
It has no fixed form or permanence; because it reflects human will, even when materialized, it repeatedly arises and vanishes.
Bu Eunseol had grasped this profound principle of sword aura and was exploiting it.
Every time Yong Hoe created sword auras, Bu Eunseol seized upon their impermanence—the characteristic of existing only momentarily under specific conditions—and preempted them, drastically shortening their duration.
To put it simply:
Using subtle sword principles, Bu Eunseol altered the very nature of the sword auras Yong Hoe produced, causing them to disappear before they could even touch his body.
‘This man…’
Only then did Yong Hoe realize that Bu Eunseol was a monster who had mastered a terrifying sword art beyond anything he could handle.
Thud, thud.
Step by step, Bu Eunseol advanced toward the young man, erasing the sword auras that filled the stone chamber.
With each step he took, Yong Hoe felt a suffocating pressure tightening around his throat.
‘This narrow space has become a constraint for me instead.’
Shwaak!
Pouring out sword auras like a madman, Yong Hoe shouted loudly as if to hide his growing anxiety.
“You’re finished now!”
Unperturbed, Bu Eunseol closed the distance to within six steps.
‘As expected, he really has lost his senses.’
Yong Hoe bared his white teeth in a grin.
Boom.
Then, stamping his foot powerfully, the floor beneath Bu Eunseol suddenly gave way.
Because he had lost his Beast Way, he had failed to detect the mechanism installed inside.
Shuuuuu.
An endlessly deep, pitch-black void instantly swallowed Bu Eunseol.
“Haa… haa…”
Wiping cold sweat, Yong Hoe panted heavily.
“Just what is that guy?”
The image of Bu Eunseol steadily approaching him while continuously erasing sword auras, those red eyes slowly drawing nearer, caused cold sweat to stream down Yong Hoe’s forehead.
It wasn’t Infinite Reverse Power, yet merely by unraveling the pure principles of martial study, he displayed such terrifying power?
He possessed a level of strength on an entirely different dimension from any opponent Yong Hoe had faced before.
“The principles of martial study, huh.”
Yong Hoe was someone who had entered the ranks of super-experts in a single leap through the great dharma of the Returning to One Realm.
Because of that, he had never understood why the grandmasters of the martial world repeatedly went into secluded training, devoting themselves endlessly to martial study and refinement. But after personally tasting the mystery and terror of profound martial study through Bu Eunseol, he finally understood.
To grandmasters who had fully mastered martial study, there existed mysterious means capable of nullifying any kind of power.
“From now on, I will never underestimate high-level martial artists.”
Slide.
When he opened the door and stepped out again, a hunched old woman stood directly opposite him.
It was none other than Elder Hyang, who was overseeing the Choseo Conference.
“Did you handle him for certain?”
At Elder Hyang’s question, Yong Hoe nodded.
“As you wished, I pushed him into the passage leading downward.”
“Impressive. It’s no easy task to force someone of his caliber into a mechanism.”
She had been a traitor who joined hands with the Returning to One Realm from the beginning.
But it was not for her own wealth and glory.
It was for revenge against the previous palace lord and Great Duke, who had been killed by the Demon Emperor, and to restore Wind God Palace’s prestige once more.
—That bastard dared to crash the Choseo Conference?
When the uninvited Martial Soul Command Lord Bu Eunseol participated in the conference, she had been overjoyed.
Because now she could take revenge on the Demon Emperor.
Together with the elders, she had devised a plan to push Bu Eunseol into an underground trap installed in the hidden chamber.
But Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess was so great that the probability of him falling into the downward trap was almost zero.
—I’ll push him in myself.
At that moment Yong Hoe had confidently stepped forward.
Though he lacked confidence in defeating Bu Eunseol outright, he was certain he could at least match him evenly and had no trouble forcing him into the trap.
And Yong Hoe kept his promise.
He really had pushed Bu Eunseol into the trap.
“Amazing. It’s said the Martial Soul Command Lord’s martial level has surpassed the Supreme Heavenly Realm—how did you manage to force him into the trap?”
Yong Hoe answered honestly.
“That man’s body was not in normal condition. He probably came here because of that injury.”
“Hmm.”
“But will simply dropping him down there really take care of him?”
Elder Hyang nodded firmly.
“Of course. The Wind God Passage is not a place one can survive through martial skill alone.”
“Wind God Passage?”
“It is the place where successive generations of previous palace lords—renowned for their excellence—all lost their lives.”
Elder Hyang wore a sinister smile.
“Over a hundred years ago, while trying to forcibly open the mechanism to rescue a trapped Young Palace Lord, they ended up burying even the exit. Once inside, there is absolutely no way out.”
Yong Hoe nodded.
“Well, given the state of his body… even if he could fly through the sky, he wouldn’t survive.”
The two shared a pleased laugh.
Yong Hoe would receive unimaginable rewards for eliminating a great enemy of the Three Realms, and Elder Hyang had taken at least some measure of revenge against the Demon Emperor who killed the previous palace lord.
“It’s about time to wrap things up.”
Yong Hoe wore a cruel smile.
“I need to obtain the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi quickly.”
“I’ve already subdued all the participants.”
“Did you kill them all?”
“Of course.”
Elder Hyang bared her yellowed teeth in a grin.
“However, Hyeok Sojin and Zhuge Seoun absorbed an absurd amount of Wind-Cloud Qi thanks to their outstanding talent. We absolutely cannot kill them as they are.”
“Hahaha. So you plan to use the Golden Furnace.”
“Naturally. By squeezing the Wind-Cloud Qi and internal energy out of bodies like theirs, we can obtain power close to Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.”
Only those who possess the Five Elements Qi can store Wind-Cloud Qi within their bodies.
But absorbing Wind-Cloud Qi into the body is called a path of extreme hardship; it takes an extremely long time, and the amount one can absorb is fixed according to innate talent.
Since the absorbed Wind-Cloud Qi is stored in the form of true energy, if another person absorbs it, they gain immense power.
The Wind God Palace possessed a furnace capable of extracting Wind-Cloud Qi stored in the body, and through it they intended to drain the Wind-Cloud Qi from the two men.
“You really are thorough.”
When Yong Hoe laughed, Elder Hyang nodded.
“Now it’s time for this palace to prepare to welcome its new Great Duke.”
***
Whoooosh.
As Bu Eunseol fell endlessly into the trap, fierce wind rushed past his ears.
The bottom was still nowhere in sight no matter how far down he looked.
Judging by the falling speed and height, it was at least a hundred zhang or more.
If his body had been intact, he would have used Land Flight Technique or lifted himself with Divine Energies but right now, performing such feats was impossible.
Moreover, the battle just now had consumed nearly a hundred years’ worth of his internal energy.
‘Only Swift Beyond Shadow remains.’
Whoooosh.
Swift Beyond Shadow allowed ninety-nine changes of direction in a single step, and—like Kunlun’s Cloud Dragon Eight Forms—it could also be used to change direction mid-air.
Bu Eunseol was expending every last bit of remaining internal energy to execute Swift Beyond Shadow and slow his descent.
‘Too late.’
Even continuously using Swift Beyond Shadow, his speed was still too great, and finally the floor came into view.
‘No!’
With no other method, Bu Eunseol spun his body once in mid-air and extended full palm force downward.
Bang!
With a pressure that felt like it would burst his palm, his falling acceleration decreased further.
The moment he felt the rebound, Bu Eunseol curled his body with all his strength and rolled.
Crash!
Covered in dust, Bu Eunseol rolled continuously for five or six zhang.
Fortunately there was a long passageway; tumbling and tumbling, he eventually crashed into a rock on one side.
Thud.
Collapsed on the ground, Bu Eunseol was in a wretched state.
Fortunately no bones were broken, but his limbs felt paralyzed, and every breath brought stabbing pain in his chest.
“Not an easy task.”
Lying flat and staring up at the dizzyingly high ceiling, Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
He had experienced all kinds of ordeals so far; this was not his first time suffering near-fatal injuries.
But to go through this in the unfamiliar space of Wind God Palace, with most of his energy depleted, inevitably felt overwhelming.
“Haa.”
Feeling the surging agony, Bu Eunseol closed his eyes for a moment.
In times like this, forcing movement was worse than resting briefly.
“I pushed too hard.”
Yong Hoe’s swordsmanship was extremely high, and the techniques he unleashed belonged to the highest grade even in the demonic path.
No matter how superior Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship was, facing him was no easy matter.
In the end, to shatter Yong Hoe’s swordplay, he had displayed an unprecedented divine technique—intercepting sword auras midway—but his roughly one hundred and fifty years of internal energy had been reduced once again, leaving him with barely a hundred years’ worth of power.
“Just… a moment… let me rest.”
Eyes closed, Bu Eunseol soon fell into a deep sleep.
How much time passed?
Pinch. Pinch.
At some point, he began to feel as though someone was pinching him.
At first he thought it was an illusion and stayed lying down, but the sensation grew steadily stronger.
“…”
Slowly opening his eyes, Bu Eunseol was speechless.
At some point, hundreds of snakes had swarmed around him and were biting into every inch of his flesh.
Drip, drip.
Blood poured from the bite wounds, black as ink.
“Seven-Step Soul-Severing Snakes?”
The snakes devouring him were the Seven-Step Soul-Severing Snakes—famous for killing a person before they could take even seven steps after being bitten.
“These bastards.”
Bu Eunseol wanted to drive the snakes away, but perhaps because the poison had already spread, his limbs were paralyzed and he could not move.
Yet something was strange.
Every time the venomous snakes bit him, he felt a pinching sensation throughout his body—but it wasn’t particularly painful.
Rather, every time they gnawed at him, a refreshing coolness penetrated deep into his bones, and the throbbing pain gradually subsided.
Not only that—the area around his dantian, which had torn with pain whenever he used internal energy, was slowly growing cooler and more comfortable.
‘The inner core of the Obsidian Single-Horn Flood Dragon.’
Bu Eunseol had forgotten until now.
He had consumed the inner core of the Poison-Horn Flood Dragon—the most virulent poison in the world. By converting that inner core using the Ban-Geuk Method, and storing it within his body, he had laid the foundation for Poison Saint.
Pinch. Pinch.
Each time a snake bit him, Bu Eunseol’s mind snapped awake and vitality surged within him.
Whenever external poison entered, it was instantly converted by the Ban-Geuk Method.
“Excellent.”
Bu Eunseol closed his eyes completely.
The more the Seven-Step Soul-Severing Snakes bit him, the more his body would recover.
How much time passed?
Thud. Thud.
One by one, the venomous snakes that had been biting him began to collapse.
Soon hundreds of them lay sprawled lifelessly around him.
“Hmm.”
Now Bu Eunseol wanted to move his body.
But because the process of storing the incoming poison qi in his dantian was still ongoing, the paralysis had not lifted, though his true energy flowed and circulated endlessly on its own.
Ssshhh.
But once again, a strange sound came from somewhere.
Glancing over, this time swarms of pitch-black scorpions were approaching.
Among scorpions, these were the Red-Faced Black Scorpions—known for harboring the most vicious venom.
“Again?”
Bu Eunseol felt somewhat dumbfounded.
Just where were all these poisons coming from?
Poke, poke, poke.
But there was no time to think deeply.
The extremely venomous scorpions began stinging Bu Eunseol’s body one after another.
At first it was painful and his body tingled, but as time passed, his body began to grow cold—as though he were lying on ice.
“So each has a different toxicity.”
Unlike the Soul-Severing Snakes, the scorpions’ venom carried an ice-cold attribute.
Clack, clack, clack.
Feeling extreme chill, his teeth began chattering involuntarily.
To fight the cold, Bu Eunseol once again circulated the Ban-Geuk Method with full effort.
“Ughhh.”
When the venom of the Soul-Severing Snakes and the scorpions collided inside his body, his body trembled, and waves of scorching heat and freezing cold alternated from his dantian.
‘As virulent as the Poison-Horn Flood Dragon’s core?’
Having obtained the Flood Dragon’s core, Bu Eunseol had become immune to ten thousand poisons and could store poison within his body as true energy.
But in his current damaged state, receiving alternating injections of Seven-Step Soul-Severing Snake venom and Red-Faced Black Scorpion venom, it felt as though he were repeatedly being plunged from an ice cave into molten lava.
‘The two poisons have combined to create a new poison.’
Seven-Step Soul-Severing Snakes and Red-Faced Black Scorpions were not especially rare venomous creatures.
But their sheer numbers were overwhelming, and with the two poisons injected in alternation, it seemed a new, unbearable extreme poison had formed inside the injured Bu Eunseol’s body.
Even breathing was difficult and he felt on the verge of losing consciousness.
‘I must not lose consciousness.’
If he lost consciousness, the Ban-Geuk Method might stop.
If that happened, the precarious balance of poisons would collapse, and his body would instantly become nothing more than a mass of deadly toxin.
“Ughhh.”
Before long, one half of Bu Eunseol’s body had turned ice-cold, while the other burned like lava.
Even in the agony of feeling torn in two, Bu Eunseol continued to circulate the Ban-Geuk Method without cease.
***
Wind God Palace, main training ground.
This was where the disciples of Wind God Palace cultivated their martial arts; it was ten times larger than the average sect’s training field.
Because Wind God Palace’s martial studies were powerful and covered extremely wide ranges, the training ground had no choice but to be vast.
Yet in the center of the training ground stood two large trees, and tied tightly to them were two young men.
Beneath them was a golden furnace emitting constant auspicious light.
The two bound men were none other than Hyeok Sojin and Zhuge Seoun.
“Ughhh.”
Tied to the trees, they continuously let out pained groans.
A mysterious power flowed from the golden furnace at their feet, relentlessly draining the Wind-Cloud Qi and internal true energy they had absorbed.
It was Wind God Palace’s treasure, the Golden Furnace—a divine object capable of extracting or transferring energy and power from within the body.
The treasure used by Palace Lord Wind God to transmit Wind-Cloud Divine Qi to his disciples was now being used to suck out every last drop of Wind-Cloud Qi, vital blood, and internal true energy from Hyeok Sojin and Zhuge Seoun.
“If you’re going to kill us, stop dragging it out and just do it quickly!”
When Zhuge Seoun shouted, Elder Hyang, standing opposite, replied coldly, “Don’t worry. When the time comes, it will end.”
“After stripping us of all our original energy?”
“Hahaha. What original energy?”
Elder Hyang spoke calmly.
“In any case, the Wind-Cloud Qi you possess belongs to this palace. What’s wrong with taking back what’s ours?”
Zhuge Seoun said furiously,
“Is this what Wind God Palace calls the Choseo Conference? Do you think my clan will just sit still?”
“You two trespassed into this palace’s secret grounds and were captured.”
Elder Hyang spoke shamelessly.
“No matter how great the Zhuge family is, it means nothing when this palace exercises its rights.”
Then she added one more remark.
“With even the Martial Soul Command Lord taken care of, what do we have to fear from small fry like you?”
“You’re not even afraid of Majeon? Have you gained some great backer?”
“Of course.”
In that instant Zhuge Seoun’s face froze coldly.
It seemed Wind God Palace had already fallen into the hands of wicked forces, and the situation had become one where no countermeasure was possible.
“Be quiet. Otherwise I’ll seal your speech acupoint as well.”
Though she said so, she did not touch the speech acupoint.
Sealing acupoints would prevent proper energy flow.
After Elder Hyang left, Zhuge Seoun quietly looked at Hyeok Sojin, who remained bound.
He was calm. No—he was even faintly smiling, as though enjoying the situation.
Zhuge Seoun asked in bewilderment, “Aren’t you angry? How can you stay so composed?”
“What is there to be angry about?” Hyeok Sojin chuckled lowly and said, “In any case, they’re all going to die.”
In that moment Zhuge Seoun’s eyes flashed.
Come to think of it—he was the sworn brother of the Martial Soul Command Lord and the successor of one of the Ten Demonic Sects; he might have hidden some incredible secret technique.
“So you have a way to turn this crisis around.”
Zhuge Seoun’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Tell me too. That way I can help.”
“There’s nothing like that.”
“It’s fine. If you tell me, I can assist, right?”
Hyeok Sojin spoke calmly.
“Those bastards said earlier that they took care of Brother Bu.”
He snorted.
“If they had really killed Brother Bu themselves, they wouldn’t be able to say such things so casually. In the end, they either failed to confirm it properly or pushed him into some kind of trap.”
“That may be true, but… what does that have to do with—”
“Brother Bu is a divine being.”
“A divine being?”
“Exactly. In short, there is absolutely no trap of theirs that can catch him, nor any way he can die.”
Hyeok Sojin bared his white teeth in a bright smile.
“He will soon appear and cut all their heads clean off. We just have to wait.”
“Just wait… and that’s it?”
“Precisely.”
Swoosh.
His smile was so pure and dazzling.
“…”
Turning his head, the focus in Zhuge Seoun’s eyes disappeared.
It seemed the time had truly come to mentally prepare himself.
Comments