Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
‘Is he trying to sow chaos again?’
If the greatest master of the demonic path had created a trap based on Great Natural Qi, would the martial artists of the world ever believe it?
No, they absolutely would not.
That meant this fake Saha Manor had not been made by the Demon Emperor himself, but by someone else.
Or perhaps the Demon Emperor did not truly pursue the demonic path and could instead wield the supreme martial principles of the righteous path.
In other words, he had to be someone who did not walk the path of the great demonic master.
‘No, this entire manor itself is chaos.’
This Hogachon was not an ordinary village that had sheltered Jin Seol, but a place where the Saha Manor had been perfectly reconstructed.
‘If this is a matter I cannot clearly uncover right now, I must not dig too deeply.’
If it was a problem that could not be solved immediately?
Then he absolutely must not keep digging endlessly.
That would only bring confusion, and that confusion was… precisely what the Demon Emperor desired most.
“Let’s examine it first.”
Bu Eunseol entered the residence he had seen in his dream and ran his hand over a small chair.
It looked like something a craftsman had made; the chair was the perfect size for a child of four or five years old.
Without realizing it, Bu Eunseol stroked the tiny chair.
Ziiing.
Suddenly his head throbbed with pain.
At the same time, strange memories began flooding into his mind.
―I have to rearrange the objects inside like this again. And if you place something that weighs exactly one tael on the inkstone, the secret door in the wall will open.
In his mind, he saw his father, Baekri Muha, demonstrating the mechanism while guiding the young Baekri Geomha.
It was an age when a child would normally only seek his parents’ arms, yet Baekri Geomha listened attentively to his father’s explanation with clear, bright eyes.
Boom.
After opening the secret passage and stepping out, the garden appeared once more.
Beside it lay a pond. When he moved the stone placed there, the pond split apart and another door opened.
―But this is not the real secret passage.
Baekri Muha continued his calm explanation.
―High-level experts have sharp senses and can easily locate secret passages. That is why you must create many different kinds of secret passages.
Then he looked at Baekri Geomha with loving eyes.
―And when you prepare various kinds of secret passages like this, there is one more advantage. Can you guess what it is?
The young Baekri Geomha, who was called a genius yet still fell short of that title, sparkled with bright eyes and answered clearly.
...At the same time, the present-day Bu Eunseol also opened his mouth.
“Because only by opening every secret passage in the correct order can you activate the mechanism that opens the true passage....”
Clench.
Bu Eunseol tightened his fist.
Even though the energy blocking his baihui acupoint had not yet been resolved, a new memory had surfaced.
That meant there was still hope that he could gradually regain his memories.
“Could the rise in martial prowess Father spoke of have been based on the current level?”
The supreme experts of the present martial world were already stepping beyond the boundaries of the Limitless Realm, and Bu Eunseol himself was seeking a new stage.
From the perspective of his father, Baekri Muha—who had been called a supreme martial artist—was this level perhaps the minimum required to consider one’s martial arts truly elevated?
“Even Grandfather’s martial prowess is something I cannot yet fathom with my current self.”
A sigh escaped him involuntarily.
If Father had truly thought that way?
Then to become a powerhouse who could overlook the entire world, he still had a long road ahead.
“What is certain is that most of what the Pavilion Lord said was wrong.”
Perhaps the words the Human Demon had heard from the Demon Emperor were themselves part of a scheme.
Ziiing.
Was it because he had regained one memory?
The area around his baihui acupoint, which had seemed fine, grew hot and then began to throb as if it would tear apart.
‘Demon Emperor.’
Bu Eunseol ground his teeth.
He did not know why the Saha Manor had been recreated here but through this, the message the Demon Emperor wanted to convey to him became clear.
―Regain your memories, little by little.
Swoosh.
Without realizing it, Bu Eunseol leaned his body against the wall.
“...?”
At that moment, he felt something cold and round against his back. When he turned, there was a small bronze mirror.
It was adorned with various decorations meant to spark a child’s curiosity.
‘This is...’
If this had been before Bu Eunseol met Ji Shuryeon, he would have simply thought it was something his parents had bought for him in childhood.
But now he could be certain.
There had never been such a bronze mirror in his own room.
Because this mirror matched exactly in shape and size the one Ji Shuryeon had received from the person presumed to be the successor of the Sacred Domain.
After pondering for a moment, Bu Eunseol stared intently at the mirror. Yet he felt no strange aura or anything unusual.
‘If this truly belongs to the Sacred Domain?’
The Sacred Domain could wield the powers of both the Baekri Family and the True Demon to some extent.
And he himself carried the blood of both the Baekri family and the True Demon.
‘In that case...’
When he placed his hand on the mirror, a form of light appeared and characters were engraved upon its surface.
―To protect them, I had no choice but to abandon even my child, relinquish the position of successor, steal the Harmony of Sun and Moon, and flee the Sacred Domain. If you see this, please forgive me....
The characters engraved on the mirror’s surface were damaged or erased in places.
The phrase “stealing the object” written in the middle had been interpreted by Bu Eunseol himself.
‘A person from the Sacred Domain was here.’
Feeling astonished, Bu Eunseol spread his Void Heart Command and examined the mirror.
This manor had been built twenty-five years ago.
The mirror itself appeared to have been placed here about twenty years ago.
‘The five-year gap means... the one who placed this mirror arrived at the manor later.’
In an instant, Bu Eunseol’s mind spun like lightning.
If Jin Seol had truly been here? If the Demon Emperor had indeed found her in this place?
‘In reality, it was not a vagrant, but someone from the Sacred Domain who temporarily left Lady Jin here.’
Because this closed-off fake Saha Manor would have seemed the safest place in the world. A place no one could enter.
But something unexpected had happened.
The Demon Emperor, who had been pursuing that person’s whereabouts, arrived and took Jin Seol away. If he took the daughter, that person would surely come looking for him.
Yet contrary to expectation, that person never appeared. Therefore the Demon Emperor must have kept Jin Seol by his side.
‘It is certain.’
Bu Eunseol could sense it instinctively.
His reasoning was correct.
Otherwise, this situation could not be explained at all.
‘Demon Emperor. Even you make mistakes.’
The corners of Bu Eunseol’s mouth lifted slightly.
The Demon Emperor had made a mistake.
He had arranged this fake Saha Manor, but he had not predicted that Bu Eunseol would meet Ji Shuryeon and uncover the secret left behind by the Sacred Domain’s successor.
‘Someday, an unpredictable blade will pierce your heart.’
He had been swayed by the Demon Emperor’s arrangements all along, but now he had stepped off the board the other had created.
Bu Eunseol vowed that someday he would create a situation the other could never predict and launch a counterattack.
‘But... I have not even properly recovered my own past, yet here I am digging into someone else’s.’
With a bitter, self-mocking smile, Bu Eunseol stepped outside.
Without realizing it, he walked toward the small pond in front of the manor.
Following the memory he had just regained, he moved the stone there. But the pond did not split open.
Because this manor had only been built to imitate the exterior, the actual secret passages of the real Saha Manor had not been installed.
Standing there, his vision blurred once more and another past memory surfaced.
―Geomha.
His father, face hidden by sunlight, took the hand of a boy and brought him forward.
―You must greet your older brother.
The boy whose face was obscured smiled brightly and approached the young Baekri Geomha.
―Hello? So you’re Geomha.
The boy revealed white teeth in a wide grin.
―From now on, I will protect you.
As he drew closer, the tall boy’s face gradually became visible.
Beneath the sunlight, that face—was it not Baek Museong’s?
Thud.
Bu Eunseol unknowingly dropped to one knee and collapsed.
Now it was clear.
Baek Museong… had come to the Saha Manor in childhood.
He had been the shadow who came to protect him, to prepare for the bloody calamity that would arrive later.
‘So that’s why Brother Baek was so affectionate.’
Drip, drip, drip.
Yet inside his head, the continuous sound of cracking bones rang out.
At the same time, an excruciating pain surged forward, enough to make his vision spin.
Was it because he had regained so many unexpected memories? Did the heavens not wish for him to recover them?
Thud, thud.
Before he knew it, the veins across his entire body stood out sharply and his muscles began to swell.
An unbearable agony burned through his whole body.
―Uwoooo!
With a long howl, Bu Eunseol instinctively fled the fake Saha Manor at high speed.
His brain felt as if it were on fire and his vision turned pitch black.
Even so, the face of Baek Museong from childhood remained vividly in his mind.
Why had he felt so close?
Why had his heart been so drawn to him?
Because he had known him since childhood—he had been his very shadow.
‘That means he lost his memories as well.’
It was certain.
He too, in order to save him, must have had his memories erased and carried out the escape from the Saha Manor while facing death.
Afterward, he caught the eye of the Buddha Venerable and became his disciple, then studied at various places including the Gongsun family.
He must have emerged into the martial world as the Golden True Dragon but in the end, realizing he had been nothing more than bait left to be discarded, he must have done good deeds to prove himself.
Yet ultimately he fell into the schemes of the Three Realms and his life was completely ruined.
‘I must meet him again.’
Even amid the pain, Bu Eunseol did not lose consciousness and rapidly deployed his movement technique.
Both of them had lost their memories.
If they joined forces, perhaps they could regain those memories.
And if this memory was correct, Baek Museong had sacrificed his life to save him.
Therefore, now it was his turn to save Baek Museong.
Fortunately, the pain soon subsided.
Bu Eunseol immediately headed to Henan, but Baek Museong was not at the Martial Alliance.
Moreover, his movements had been perfectly concealed.
As the Commander of the Martial Heaven Division, his tracks had been completely erased from the Mankyeong Hall of the Martial Alliance.
Above all, he had submitted to the force known as the Three Realms.
There was virtually no way left to meet him secretly.
―He has been completely concealing his movements recently. It seems he is carrying out some major task.
According to the report from the Death Spirit Corps, Baek Museong appeared to be hiding his tracks in order to proceed with something important.
‘Perhaps at that time, Brother Baek also came to the Saha Manor faintly recalling his memories.’
Previously, Baek Museong had also visited the real Saha Manor and encountered him.
Although he had become a completely different person from the past, it was possible that some memory had surfaced and drawn him there.
‘And he must have been afraid.’
To suddenly encounter the Martial Soul Command Lord in the Saha Manor…
He had taken action, but saw no chance of victory.
Then, sensing danger, he must have summoned the vanguard of the Three Realms.
‘In that case, there is only one way to meet Brother Baek.’
He would have to use his position as the Martial Soul Command Lord to formally request a meeting.
“Deliver this to the Martial Alliance’s Martial Heaven Division Leader, Baek Museong.”
He ordered the Death Spirit Corps.
“Tell him I request a meeting to discuss important matters concerning the state of the righteous martial world.”
***
At the Sichuan border, there was a secret training ground that Bu Eunseol had established.
In the past, Gongsun Dankyung had also secretly cultivated her forces, but in the end the high-ranking members of the Martial Alliance had detected it.
And there was only one reason it had been discovered.
Because they had trained endlessly in the same location.
No matter how hidden the place, remaining in one spot for a long time while training would inevitably reveal its true nature.
Therefore Bu Eunseol had built training grounds across the Central Plains that no information organization—whether from the righteous or demonic paths—could detect, and was secretly training his subordinates there.
The training ground in Sichuan was where the warriors of the Death Shadow Corps were training.
Their goals were twofold.
Power of the Wild and Heart Mirror technique.
Power of the Wild was a secret art that amplified the body’s natural power when deploying the beast martial arts of the Southern Man Beast Palace.
Although it was an external heretical art completely different from orthodox Central Plains martial arts, for the Death Shadow Corps warriors who had undergone long, rigorous training, it was not particularly difficult.
What was truly difficult was the ancient secret technique known as Heart Mirror technique, which could enable even ordinary warriors to manifest the Mind World.
Heart Mirror technique could only display its full power and allow survival when the mental and life forces of numerous people were united.
However, for the Death Shadow Corps warriors, each with strong individuality and a tendency to stand out, uniting their hearts was by no means easy.
“I was confident we had reached eighty percent completion....”
Yoo Unryong, who was commanding the Death Shadow Corps warriors, wiped away cold sweat.
“Yet after activating it, I cannot prevent the phenomenon where they cannot move even a single finger.”
So far, under Yoo Unryong’s guidance, the Death Shadow Corps warriors had achieved eighty percent completion of the Heart Mirror technique.
Reaching eighty percent meant they could activate the Heart Mirror technique and return alive without dying but the problem was that after activating it, the warriors would suffer such severe muscle pain that they could not move their bodies for half a day.
“Was the key incantation missing from the Record of Inherited Essentials that we skipped over?”
The Record of Inherited Essentials, which contained the secret art of the Heart Mirror technique, was missing an important incantation—the very secret of uniting hearts.
The reason Yoo Unryong had been able to survive the first time he activated the Heart Mirror technique was because he had done so together with his close friend Myo Cheonwoo, whose eyes alone could read each other’s inner thoughts.
In other words, because their souls had achieved unity, there had been no problem.
But uniting the hearts of the strong-willed Death Shadow Corps warriors had been impossible from the start.
They trusted one another, of course, but not to the extent that a single glance would allow them to entrust their lives to each other like Yoo Unryong and Myo Cheonwoo.
―Hey, you blockhead! What are you doing just standing there like an idiot in the Heavenly Origin position?
―Then why are you dancing around holding the treasure like a puppy that needs to shit? Because of you the whole formation is messed up!
Won Semun and Jo Namcheon were blaming each other and throwing punches,
―That’s just how those guys are.
Wi Cheongyeong paid them no attention and only maintained the formation of the Pursuit Soul Corps under his command.
“It’s wrong.”
Myo Cheonwoo, who had been watching, approached Yoo Unryong and spoke.
“Those guys are the type who naturally love to blame others and rationalize their own actions as a daily habit.”
“...”
“Moreover, they have strong pride and are steeped in a victim mentality, always thinking they are the ones losing out. They never examine the consequences of their own behavior and always look for the problem elsewhere.”
Yoo Unryong already knew that without needing to be told.
“In reality, uniting hearts is too abstract a concept, so they probably don’t even know how to do it.”
“Should we just give up and leave it to that guy?”
Myo Cheonwoo sighed as he looked at the captains and warriors drenched in sweat.
“If we keep activating the Heart Mirror technique like this, they might survive, but all of them will end up half-crippled.”
It was called muscle pain, but the agony was so severe that even these steel-like warriors would suffer for half a day.
The Death Shadow Corps warriors had even joked that “when it comes to torture methods, Heart Mirror technique is the best!”
“Let’s try it just one more time. I think I can find another way.”
―Kuuuugh.
The price of activating the Heart Mirror technique once more was brutal.
Most of the warriors lay sprawled on the ground groaning, and a few were foaming at the mouth.
Only the captains, whose martial arts had reached a stable level, were panting and hanging their heads.
“This won’t do.”
Wi Cheongyeong and the other captains, all dripping with cold sweat, approached Yoo Unryong and shook their heads.
“We need to perfectly establish the incantation for uniting hearts before training again.”
“Easy to say.”
Myo Cheonwoo shook his head.
“The Heart Mirror technique is an ancient secret art created by sages that no longer exists in the present martial world.”
He looked at Yoo Unryong.
“No matter how much of a genius this guy is, asking him to create something to replace the lost incantation of an ancient secret art is too much.”
“Then what should we do?”
Jo Namcheon scratched his head roughly.
“Even our corps members, tempered by the Black Poison Demonic Art and Poison Qi Demonic Technique, are foaming at the mouth.”
The captains folded their arms and fell into deep thought.
If they forced the training to continue like this, the entire Death Shadow Corps would end up bedridden.
“But do we really need to unite our hearts?”
At that moment, Won Semun offered an odd opinion.
“From the start, the Command Lord probably already thinks of us as a bunch of idiots.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
When Jo Namcheon rebuked him, Won Semun looked at the fallen warriors and said, “What did the Command Lord say in the first place? We are all individuals with strong personalities who hate being boxed in. Didn’t he order us to do as we please normally?”
“So?”
“So what? That means we should do the Heart Mirror technique the same way we usually do things.”
Won Semun folded his arms and grinned.
“As long as we hold loyalty toward the Command Lord in our hearts.”
“Loyalty toward the Command Lord...”
Yoo Unryong and all the captains wore dazed expressions as if they had been struck.
The warriors of the Death Shadow Corps all possessed strong personalities and viewed tradition as old-fashioned.
Yet the reason they had been able to become one and overcome every trial so far was solely because of their boundless respect, admiration, and loyalty toward the single person named Bu Eunseol.
“That is correct. A truly brilliant insight.”
Yoo Unryong nodded and said, “Then how about this? Instead of defeating a virtual enemy created by the Heart Mirror technique, we make the scenario one of rescuing the Command Lord in distress.”
“Rescuing the Command Lord in distress?”
Myo Cheonwoo tilted his head, and Yoo Unryong nodded.
“Saving that guy when he is in danger.”
“That sounds like a good idea?”
Jo Namcheon slapped his knee.
“If it’s about saving the Command Lord, they will definitely gather with one heart and one mind.”
Yoo Unryong nodded vigorously.
“Then let’s begin.”
The warriors began receiving mental training from their captains once more.
However, Won Semun and Jo Namcheon were poor at speaking and expressed things too concisely, so their subordinates could not understand.
In the end, Yoo Unryong gathered all the warriors and began the mental training himself.
“The Command Lord is our hope, the symbol of this hall, the reason for our existence, and our pride.”
Yoo Unryong spoke in a loud, clear voice.
“And this Heart Mirror technique is the Command Lord’s highest priority order. It is a faithful method and tool for carrying out the command to grow endlessly stronger and survive without fail.”
He was the long-time commander who had led the Death Shadow Corps in Bu Eunseol’s stead, and a skilled orator.
As Yoo Unryong’s passionate voice echoed through the training ground, the warriors’ eyes gradually began to change.
“Furthermore, it is the only way to rescue the Command Lord when, for some reason, he cannot fully display his martial prowess.”
At Yoo Unryong’s words, the warriors trembled.
Bu Eunseol was an invincible warrior yet the fact that such a situation could still occur was entirely believable...
Because up until now, Bu Eunseol had been endlessly framed by fellow demonic path practitioners, and the Three Realms along with various other forces had used all kinds of sinister schemes and bizarre great laws to impose restrictions on his martial arts countless times.
“Imagine the Command Lord suffering in the cruel grasp of the enemy.”
At Yoo Unryong’s words, the warriors’ eyes began to transform.
Clank.
At that moment, Wi Cheongyeong timely pulled out a golden statue from his bosom.
The statue depicted Bu Eunseol with a solemn expression, pointing toward the sky.
“Will you simply stand by and watch that moment? Or will you draw your blades and fight them!”
At Yoo Unryong’s fervent shout, the warriors who had been sitting on the ground panting sprang to their feet.
Even if they themselves died.
Even if they burned to ash.
They had to save the Command Lord’s life at all costs.
“Rise! Let us stake our lives to rescue the Command Lord!”
―Waaaaah!
As if they had never been exhausted, the warriors leaped up and began forming the Heart Mirror technique in perfect order.
The warriors of the Death Shadow Corps had strong personalities and disliked being constrained but when their desire to grow stronger, their desire to survive, and their loyalty toward Bu Eunseol merged into one, they were finally able to unite their hearts.
Ziiing.
Then the Mind World of the Heart Mirror technique, which had never properly manifested before, revealed itself perfectly.
“Now only the final gate remains!”
Yoo Unryong shouted loudly.
The most important part of activating the Heart Mirror technique was the moment of retracting it.
If their hearts were not united at that point?
Their souls and bodies would suffer severe damage upon release.
Shuuu. Uuung.
Yet even after retracting the Heart Mirror technique, no one collapsed.
Their eyes burned even hotter.
With loyalty toward Bu Eunseol alone, the Death Shadow Corps warriors had finally succeeded in creating and retracting the space of the Heart Mirror technique.
―Huu, huu.
When all training ended, every squad leader and warrior lay on the ground again, drenched in sweat.
Their bodies were exhausted from the several days of grueling training, yet satisfied smiles lingered on their lips.
“But will we ever have an opponent worth using this against?”
Jo Namcheon said then.
“Looking at how the martial world is moving these days, it doesn’t seem like there will be any more battles involving large armies.”
The captains all nodded faintly.
The current state of the martial world was one in which hidden forces were slowly revealing themselves, and supreme experts possessing sect-level power were operating secretly on their own.
Therefore, rather than clashes between forces, collisions between strong individuals and other strong individuals were becoming more significant.
“But you know what they say?”
Myo Cheonwoo spoke up.
“Once you obtain a cane, you are bound to start limping.”
“What does that mean?”
When Won Semun asked, Myo Cheonwoo looked up at the blue sky and grinned.
“It means that the very reason we completed the Heart Mirror technique is because we are fated to fight tooth and nail against incredibly powerful forces from now on.”
“...”
After pondering those words for a while, the captains each tossed out a complaint with annoyed expressions.
“Ugh, how unlucky.”
“Then doesn’t that mean the stronger we get, the stronger our enemies become?”
“Sometimes I think Captain Myo spouts the most nonsense among us.”
They rose to their feet and casually left the training ground.
“You guys! You say that but you’re just going drinking!”
When Myo Cheonwoo shouted, the captains paused for a moment, then scurried out of the training ground like cockroaches fleeing.
“Stop right there!”
Myo Cheonwoo yelled as he chased after them.
“Seriously.”
Yoo Unryong, who had been standing there blankly, suddenly looked at Myo Cheonwoo’s retreating back with a grim expression.
“That guy really is the one who says the unluckiest things.”
Shaking his head, Yoo Unryong turned around.
“Unluckily enough...”
Less than a full month later, just as Myo Cheonwoo had said, they would end up deploying the Heart Mirror technique against the colossal forces that had remained hidden until now—something they could not even imagine at the time.
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