Hae Yeon deliberately spoke coldly.
“Aren’t you no longer the Grand Duke of our palace?”
“Didn’t you say that if any trouble occurred in the Wind God Palace, I should definitely step in?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with utmost seriousness.
“If this is not trouble, then what is?”
“There is no need. Our palace was fated to disappear into the back alleys of history anyway.”
Resignation filled Hae Yeon’s eyes.
“By now, the Wind God Palace has probably already collapsed.”
“It has not collapsed.”
Bu Eunseol declared firmly.
“Because the elite forces of the Martial Soul Society have already arrived at the Wind God Palace.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said the forces of the Martial Soul Society have arrived at the Wind God Palace.”
Hae Yeon wore a dazed expression.
“Why would the Martial Soul Society…?”
“Let’s talk about the details later.”
Bu Eunseol took off his outer robe and draped it over Hae Yeon.
Then he turned his body and walked toward the Wind Human.
“To think that one of the Eight Human Heavens is merely coveting another’s power… The subordinates of the True Demon are truly petty.”
Even as Bu Eunseol spread sharp waves of true qi across his entire body with eyes full of rage, the Wind Human merely chuckled.
“So you are that young brat called the Martial Soul Command Lord.”
Having recognized Bu Eunseol at a glance, the Wind Human instead wore a mocking smile.
“But you shouldn’t act arrogant toward this Heavenly Lord just because you killed the Spear-Wielder.”
Even while knowing that Bu Eunseol had killed the Spear-Wielder, the Wind Human maintained a relaxed expression.
“That mute fool, the Spear-Wielder, was too obsessed with martial arts, just like the Fist Man. The true power of this Heavenly One is not in mere martial techniques.”
After scanning Bu Eunseol with a sharp gaze, the Wind Human lifted the corners of its mouth and said, “Moreover, the fact that you mobilized the Martial Soul Society means… you are the real Martial Soul Society Lord.”
Originally, the position of Martial Soul Society Lord had been temporarily held by Dae Guhwi, who led the Beast Corps, and then passed to Nae Bihon, the leader of the Swift Thunder Corps.
However, the people of the martial world had already noticed that there was a separate true Martial Soul Society Lord.
The real Lord was hiding his identity by using puppet lords.
There was no way that those who had started as corps leaders like Dae Guhwi or Nae Bihon could be the actual Lord.
At one point, because Bu Eunseol was close to the corps leaders of the Martial Soul Society and because of his name, many intelligence organizations had suspected that the Martial Soul Command Lord Bu Eunseol might be the Lord and had thoroughly investigated the truth.
But it had been revealed that Bu Eunseol truly had no connection whatsoever with the Martial Soul Society.
—Then who exactly is the Martial Soul Society Lord?
Some said he was a reclusive expert from the previous generation, while others claimed he was a giant from the merchant world.
What was certain was that unless the Martial Soul Society Lord revealed himself in person, no one could know his identity.
Yet now, for the sake of the Wind God Palace, Bu Eunseol had mobilized the Martial Soul Society’s forces?
Wasn’t that openly revealing that he himself was the Martial Soul Society Lord?
“You don’t care even if your secret is exposed?”
“Since you’re going to die anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
When Bu Eunseol sneered, the Wind Human raised the corners of its mouth and extended its hand.
“Hehe. Struggle all you want. I’ll watch.”
Papapat!
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol shot out finger winds and began moving the surrounding rocks and trees.
A transparent barrier slowly descended from the sky.
He had unfolded the Life-and-Death Battle Array, perfectly sealing off the surrounding thirty jang.
“Rest outside for a while.”
Floating.
Using his inner energy, Bu Eunseol gently pushed the still-dazed Hae Yeon outside the Life-and-Death Battle Array.
“Bu Eunseol!”
She left a short cry, but the array was already complete.
Shishishik!
Nine sharp streams of energy swirled around Bu Eunseol’s body like a gale.
Because he had deployed the Life-and-Death Battle Array, he could now reveal all his power without restriction.
He immediately unfolded the Thirteen Guiding Energies.
“How do you know the martial arts of the Martial Emperor?”
Whether the Wind Human was surprised or not, Bu Eunseol did not answer. Instead, he infused Wind-Cloud Divine Qi into the streams of the Thirteen Guiding Energies that constantly revolved around his body.
Although he had not yet reached the Great Origin realm, when the Thirteen Guiding Energies and Wind-Cloud Divine Qi were combined,
Slash! Slash!
The range of the energy streams spread out over more than ten jang.
“Hehehe, hahahaha!”
Sensing the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi contained within the Thirteen Guiding Energies, the Wind Human burst into wild laughter.
“Yes! So you are the current Grand Duke of the Wind God Palace!”
Pat! Pat!
Even as the sharp energy streams tore at his cheeks, the Wind Human stood with arms crossed and smiled.
“An impressive technique.”
Then he lightly extended his index and middle fingers.
Boom!
With a loud bell-like sound, Bu Eunseol’s body shook violently.
Incredibly, the sharp finger wind had transcended the constraints of time and space and struck his body directly.
But Bu Eunseol did not stay still either.
Shishishishik!
The moment he was attacked, he shot out the nine energy streams—each spanning over ten jang and swirling like a storm—at mysterious angles.
Floating.
The Wind Human rose into the air and evaded the pouring energy streams like a phantom.
It was not intentional evasion; every time an attack touched its body, it was pushed backward or spun around.
It was employing a unique and mysterious technique extremely similar to the Demonic Path’s legendary movement art, Floating Shadow Following Form.
Thud! Thud!
In the meantime, the Wind Human extended its index finger several times.
Each time, Bu Eunseol’s body shook violently.
The finger winds it fired could neither be sensed nor avoided and every time they struck, his body vibrated heavily like a great bell.
If his inner energy had been lacking or his protective true qi weak, this technique alone would have shattered Bu Eunseol’s body from the inside.
Shik! Shik!
Even while continuously taking hits, Bu Eunseol calmly fired the energy streams of the Thirteen Guiding Energies.
Yet none of them touched the Wind Human’s body, and even when they did by chance, they caused no damage.
His body was like a leaf in the wind.
With the slightest breeze, it immediately retreated backward and instantly dissipated the incoming force so it could not be received.
Thud! Thud!
On the contrary, every time he was struck by the finger winds, the vibrations spreading through Bu Eunseol’s body grew larger. No matter how much his protective true qi shielded his body, damage was steadily accumulating.
Pat!
Before long, the Wind Human’s finger winds began leaving sharp gashes on Bu Eunseol’s body.
Not only could its finger winds cause vibration, they could also take a sharp form and tear the skin.
“No matter how much you struggle, you cannot defeat this Heavenly Lord.”
As the Wind Human watched blood flow from the gash on Bu Eunseol’s cheek and smiled mockingly,
Flash!
Suddenly, countless cross-shaped sword energies enveloped the area around the Wind Human in the form of a cross.
Bu Eunseol had unfolded the Waning Moon, Dawn Star, completely surrounding the space in which the Wind Human could move with cross sword energy and sealing off its evasion.
Floating.
But the result was the same.
Even though it was trapped in a space that should have been impossible to escape, the Wind Human’s body—moving like a falling leaf in the air—remained untouched by any attack.
Saaaaah.
When Bu Eunseol changed his sword technique, white smoke rose from his body.
At the same time, the entire thirty-jang space enclosed by the Thirteen Guiding Energies was filled with mist.
He had unfolded the tenth form of the Supreme Heavenly Flow which contained the Great Natural Qi—Martial Mist and Waves.
Whiriririk!
The mist that spread when the Martial Mist and Waves was deployed carried the power to return everything to its original state.
However, the Wind Human could also freely manipulate wind, an extremely natural force.
Since even the mist could not touch its body from the start, the Martial Mist and Waves could neither threaten nor defeat it.
Thud! Thud!
On the contrary, every time the Wind Human extended its index finger, Bu Eunseol’s body now shook visibly.
The mysterious waves that transcended spatial constraints were finally breaking down Bu Eunseol’s protective true qi.
‘So it was right to disregard the Fist Man and Spear-Wielder.’
The Wind Human had not trained in any great martial art, nor did it possess overwhelming destructive power yet it had the ability to evade all attacks and could fire finger winds that could not be avoided.
If time continued to pass like this, his internal organs and bones would eventually crumble completely, leading to death.
Thud.
In the end, Bu Eunseol stopped attacking. A line of red blood hung at the corner of his mouth.
It seemed he had suffered deep internal injuries from the constant vibrating waves.
The Wind Human wore a triumphant smile.
“Have you given up now?”
“Given up?”
When Bu Eunseol showed a faint smile, the Wind Human clicked its tongue.
“Your pride is truly impressive.”
“……”
“In about a quarter of an hour, your body will burst and you will die.”
It was not an empty threat.
If he continued to be exposed to the finger winds that shook his body, it would be destroyed from the inside.
“Now, slowly…”
Clack.
Bu Eunseol held the Ink Soul Sword at mid-level and murmured,
“Let’s end this.”
“You still have the leisure to…”
The Wind Human’s face suddenly hardened mid-sentence.
Only now did it realize that the transparent wind rotating intensely around the dozens of jang area—the storm of the Thirteen Guiding Energies—was still perfectly intact.
“Vacuum.”
The Wind Human’s eyes widened as it realized something.
Until now, Bu Eunseol had not combined the Thirteen Guiding Energies and Wind-Cloud Divine Qi simply to fire energy streams. Instead, while pretending to attack continuously, he had created a storm and vibrations through ultra-high-speed rotation.
At the same time, he had created a tiny gap at the center of the Life-and-Death Battle Array and completely pushed out the air, turning the area into a near-vacuum state for a certain period of time.
Finally, when the space had become so vacuum-like that breathing was difficult,
Pat!
Bu Eunseol lightly fired a sword energy.
This time, the Wind Human could no longer perfectly evade the attack, and a sharp wound appeared on its cheek.
Seeing blood droplets form on its fingertips, the Wind Human roared in fury.
“You bastard!”
“This is funny.”
Bu Eunseol wore a sneer.
“You acted like a god ruling over wind, yet in the end you were nothing but a rat hiding its body by borrowing the power of wind.”
In the end, the Wind Human’s ability to evade all attacks had also relied on the properties of wind.
When Bu Eunseol modified the Life-and-Death Battle Array to push the air outward and slowly drained the internal air using Wind-Cloud Divine Qi and the Thirteen Guiding Energies to create a near-vacuum state, it could no longer deflect the attacks.
Thud!
The Wind Human fired another wave, but unlike before, it could not inflict any significant shock on Bu Eunseol’s body.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The Wind Human, who had been hardening its expression, suddenly clapped.
“Magnificent. While exchanging offense and defense, you were already plotting to pressure this Heavenly Lord with such a clever trick.”
“……”
“Moreover, that ability to handle Wind-Cloud Divine Qi. It would not be an exaggeration to call you the Wind God himself.”
After looking around at the thinned air, the Wind Human suddenly lowered its body into a crouch.
“Let’s end the games.”
Kwaaang!
With a sudden explosion, the Wind Human’s entire body turned red-hot.
Flash!
At the same time, its figure disappeared, and a red flash streaked across Bu Eunseol’s body.
Crack.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol’s shoulder was deeply gouged.
“If there is no air, I simply need to become a powerful wind myself.”
The Wind Human, having reappeared, showed a confident smile.
It had explosively released the energy within its body, turning its own body into ultra-high-speed wind and moving as fast as light.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Becoming a single streak of light, it began piercing into Bu Eunseol’s body.
No matter how much he spread his ultra-senses or unfolded extreme-speed formless movement, he could not block the attacks of the Wind Human, who had exploded all the energy in its body and become wind itself. Even if he barely landed an attack, the Wind Human would move in the opposite direction of the incoming force at that exact moment, so it suffered almost no damage.
“Hahaha! How do you like it!”
The Wind Human laughed arrogantly as it watched Bu Eunseol helplessly taking hits.
“Now you will soon…”
But it could not finish speaking.
It had realized that its own palm had turned black.
“Poison?”
“Since the power to deflect everything has disappeared, you can no longer stop the poison from touching you.”
From the beginning, Bu Eunseol had already given up on cutting the Wind Human down.
The Wind Human was an existence that had reached the pinnacle in manipulating wind and even possessed the ability to suppress a Wind God. Ordinary attacks could never work against someone who could freely control wind like that.
Therefore, only one method remained.
To melt its body with powerful poison and deliver a fatal blow.
“Do you think mere poison will work?”
The Wind Human burst into a confident laugh.
“Hehehe. It seems you have never entered the Wind God Passage in the Wind God Palace.”
The Wind Human was not only free to manipulate the power of wind but was also a master of poison. Otherwise, it could never have created the Wind God Passage, which exponentially increased cultivation through toxins.
“I know.”
Bu Eunseol stared straight at the Wind Human.
“Because I went in myself.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t created by the greatest poison master.”
Black blood flowed from the tip of the Wind Human’s nose.
It looked down at it with a puzzled expression.
“This Heavenly One is immune to all poisons, so why…?”
“That is the blind spot in the words ‘immune to all poisons.’”
Bu Eunseol smiled faintly.
“I too was once immune to all poisons, yet I could not block the poison of the Obsidian Single-Horn Flood Dragon.”
“Obsidian Single-Horn Flood Dragon?”
The Wind Human’s eyes widened.
Had this man absorbed the poison of the legendary spirit creature said to live for ten thousand years—the Obsidian Single-Horn Flood Dragon?
“Even if it is the poison of the Obsidian Single-Horn Flood Dragon, this Heavenly One…”
“That is why I injected two more poisons of comparable level.”
Bu Eunseol said calmly.
“Poisons so potent that even a poison master who devoted his entire life to poison arts could not block them.”
“Poison Saint!”
The Wind Human’s eyes widened.
When had this young brat from Majeon reached the Poison Saint realm?
“You may have completed the method to raise cultivation through toxins, but you never reached the Poison Saint realm, did you?”
At that time, Bu Eunseol had not even reached the entry level of Poison Saint and could not avoid being poisoned. But now, his body, which had unified three poisons, could not be harmed even by the poisons of the Wind God Passage.
In other words, he had seen through the fact that the one who created the Wind God Passage was not a Poison Apex master who had reached the ultimate of poison arts.
Bu Eunseol’s life in the martial world could be summed up as the repeated process of quickly analyzing complex and difficult problems and finding solutions.
In particular, his ability to deeply observe situations involving many intertwined elements, predict possible variables, and resolve them was comparable to that of the Heavenly Mechanism Star, who was said to possess transcendent intelligence.
Tremble.
Only then did the Wind Human realize that the young man before its eyes was an existence it could not possibly contend with.
A divine being possessing superhuman wisdom and martial prowess.
“Not a chance!”
Kwaaang!
Enraged, the Wind Human raised its power to the limit. Its body began burning like the sun.
It had exploded all the accumulated energy and Primordial Qi within its body.
“Hehehe.”
As if resolved to die together, the Wind Human let out a vicious laugh and said,
“Soon this Heavenly One will become a massive bullet that no attack can touch and no method can block…”
The words did not continue.
Flash!
A brilliant five-colored radiance spread out.
Swoosh.
It completely covered the space where the Wind Human had stood.
From the moment the Wind Human had been enthusiastically exploding the energy inside its body while talking, Bu Eunseol had been raising Harmony.
Hwaaaak.
Along with the light shooting into the sky, the Wind Human’s form was completely annihilated.
Chiiii.
Only pale smoke rose from the ground where Harmony had brushed past.
Every trace that it had ever existed in the world had perfectly vanished.
The Wind Human, who had manipulated the Wind God Palace for generations and controlled the world, met an utterly hollow end.
“Acting like an absolute expert while constantly keeping yourself sealed was your fatal mistake.”
Bu Eunseol snorted as he looked at the spot where the Wind Human had disappeared.
Among the Eight Human Heavens he had faced so far, the Wind Human’s ability could truly be called the strongest but in reality, the Eight Human Heavens all shared a fatal weakness.
Every one of them excessively trusted their own abilities, and because they had always been under a restriction preventing them from appearing in the martial world, they had an absolute lack of real combat experience. They had maintained their lineage peacefully for a long time without ever revealing themselves in the martial world or engaging in battles where blood and flesh burned.
In contrast, Bu Eunseol was thoroughly seasoned in combat and had constantly fought life-and-death battles.
In the end, the Wind Human, who had failed to realize that its combat style and senses were on a completely different level, made the absurd mistake of leisurely exploding the energy inside its body in front of a life-and-death enemy while preparing its final strike.
‘If there is someone among the Human Heavens who possesses an ability like the Wind Human’s yet is also well-versed in actual fighting… they will be quite a difficult opponent.’
Unlike the Fist Man and Spear-Wielder, who had specialized in martial arts, the Wind Human had displayed an ability similar to that of the Hundred and Eight Stars.
And in reality, that ability had seemed almost invincible.
If the Wind Human had not only that mysterious power but also the experience of countless battles as a veteran, it would have truly been a difficult fight.
Drip.
As the Wind Human was annihilated, the Life-and-Death Battle Array slowly began to dissipate.
“Bu Eunseol!”
The moment the array disappeared, Hae Yeon, who had been waiting outside, hurriedly ran over.
“Are you all right?”
Looking at her worried eyes, Bu Eunseol calmly nodded.
“Of course.”
“What on earth happened?”
Hae Yeon asked with an expression of disbelief.
“How did you know I was here? And how did you send troops to our palace?”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
He recalled the memory of sending Hae Yeon away from the teahouse.
***
‘What nonsense did I say?’
Bu Eunseol pressed a hand to his forehead.
Just because his own heart felt stifled, he had spat out harsh words at Hae Yeon, who had nothing to do with it, and hurt her.
‘Moreover, something is wrong with her…’
He did not even need to look into her heart.
Hae Yeon was that pure a person.
She was merely a woman who possessed the memories of a twenty-year-old, with only time having passed, just as she had said, but the eyes that had always shone with bright and cheerful light were now filled with endless darkness.
Only after belatedly coming to his senses did Bu Eunseol instinctively realize that something had happened to Hae Yeon.
—If some misfortune befalls our palace, what would you do?
Suddenly recalling her words, his eyes flashed.
‘A dangerous situation has occurred in the Wind God Palace.’
He immediately returned to Majeon, entered Yoo Unryong’s office, and shouted, “Unryong. Focus all intelligence networks and grasp every detail of the Wind God Palace’s situation and movements.”
Yoo Unryong was greatly startled by the sudden order.
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Unryong wore a momentarily dazed expression.
Bu Eunseol’s intelligence organization now encompassed Majeon’s Death Spirit Corps as well as the Supreme Corps of the Martial Soul Society and the Azure Sky Alliance.
If such a vast intelligence network was concentrated on a single matter even temporarily, extremely fast information could be obtained, but a temporary gap would appear in the defensive intelligence network.
“Shouldn’t we divert only part of it?”
“Then it will be too late.”
“Do you understand how dangerous that is?”
“Of course.”
Bu Eunseol spoke firmly.
“Execute it immediately.”
“…Understood.”
Yoo Unryong did not argue further. He called his adjutant Mu Gwang and carried out Bu Eunseol’s order exactly.
His premonitions had never been wrong. If he sensed something strange, then something major must have happened in the Wind God Palace.
Only a few days later, Yoo Unryong brought shocking news.
“An enormous large force is moving toward the Wind God Palace. Even after mobilizing all intelligence networks, we cannot identify their affiliation. It appears to be the Three Realms.”
“The Three Realms?”
“Yes. They are moving forces of this scale, yet none of the martial world intelligence organizations have detected them at all.”
Yoo Unryong added, “If you had not specifically mentioned the Wind God Palace, even the Death Spirit Corps would not have known they were heading there.”
‘So that was it.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew dim.
Only now did he finally realize why Hae Yeon had come to see him and how grave a mistake he had made.
‘This is all my fault.’
Recalling Hae Yeon’s sorrowful smile as she turned away, Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice, “Send troops immediately.”
“Absolutely not.”
Yoo Unryong shook his head.
“If you dispatch the experts of our faction to the Wind God Palace to help them, you will have to immediately relinquish the position of Majeon’s successor.”
The Wind God Palace was, after all, a righteous faction.
If he moved the forces of the Death Shadow Corps to help the Wind God Palace in crisis, Bu Eunseol would no longer be treated as a demonic practitioner but as a traitor.
“If there were rumors that you were engaged like with the Divine Woman Palace, it might be different, but right now you have no connection whatsoever with the Wind God Palace in the martial world, do you?”
Yoo Unryong added, “Even if you publicly announce a relationship with the Wind God Palace now, the forces in Majeon… no, in the Demonic Path, will oppose sending troops urgently.”
“I will send the forces of the Martial Soul Society.”
“The Martial Soul Society? That won’t work either.”
Yoo Unryong objected.
“Even though the four corps of the Martial Soul Society are undergoing strict training, they still lack real combat experience.”
The Four Great Corps of the Martial Soul Society—led by Nae Bihon, Bing Hanpung, Dae Guhwi, and Do Cheonlin—had continued training without pause.
However, because they still lacked real combat experience, hastily deploying them in large-scale battles would likely end in disaster.
“You can have the captains in Sichuan assist in the battle.” Bu Eunseol said. “The corps will be commanded by the corps leaders, but the small-scale squad forces can be led by the captains of the Death Shadow Corps as a temporary measure.”
The captains of the Death Shadow Corps were not only rich in combat experience but could also, in the worst case, combine their strength to unfold the Heart Mirror Technique.
If the Death Shadow Corps’s captains split up the Martial Soul Society’s corps and commanded them on the spot, they could immediately compensate for the lack of experience.
“Moreover, if the Martial Soul Society achieves a great victory in this matter, it will become a stepping stone to being recognized as a mainstream force in the Central Plains… so it can be called killing two birds with one stone.”
“I understand what you mean, but right now all our intelligence networks are concentrated on grasping the movements of the Wind God Palace.”
Yoo Unryong spoke with a serious expression.
“If we send the Death Shadow Corps’ captains as well, even if not immediately… there is a high chance that it will later be discovered that you dispatched them to the Wind God Palace.”
He added one more thing.
“It is not yet time to reveal that you are the Martial Soul Society Lord. If you do, all our grand plans will collapse.”
“You are right.”
Bu Eunseol nodded, yet still said, “But we must carry it out as I said.”
“Why?”
“Because it is better than the Wind God Palace being destroyed.”
He added confidently, “There will be no chance of my identity as the Martial Soul Society Lord being exposed. I plan to kill them all without exception.”
“But…”
“If we cannot save those close to us, what is the point of maintaining secrecy?”
After continuing to ponder, Yoo Unryong finally nodded.
All of Bu Eunseol’s plans placed the safety of his subordinates and those he cherished as the highest priority.
He even placed that above the revenge he so desperately longed for.
If he could not protect those close to him, then what use were grand plans?
“Understood.”
Moreover, Bu Eunseol was a wise general who never made plans driven by emotion and always looked several moves ahead of others.
Although he spoke that way, even if his identity as the Martial Soul Society Lord were exposed by another intelligence organization, he would have surely prepared follow-up measures.
“By the way.”
Yoo Unryong said as he turned around.
“No matter how much you are the Martial Soul Society Lord, to move a large force you still need justification.”
“Tell the Martial Soul Society’s corps leaders exactly what I said.”
Bu Eunseol declared firmly.
“That I am the Grand Duke of the Wind God Palace.”
***
After hearing the entire story, Hae Yeon’s heart swelled with emotion.
‘You really are a bad person.’
After acting so coldly, after turning away as if he would never see her again…
In the meantime, he had realized his own mistake, reflected on it, and even risked his life to come save her?
‘I had barely calmed and suppressed my heart.’
Hae Yeon bit her lip.
From the moment she left him, from the moment she returned alone to the Wind God Palace, she had vowed that no matter what happened, she would never meet Bu Eunseol again.
But it had been useless.
‘No, I could never have escaped in the first place.’
Only now did Hae Yeon realize.
Even if he did not accept her heart, even if he kept pushing her away… she was meant to love him.
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