Paat!
Having unleashed his movement technique, Bu Eunseol immediately left the capital city behind.
While running through the quiet outskirts, he spotted a vast reed field in the distance and came to a stop there.
Jiing.
At that moment, he felt a blatant gaze directed at him from straight ahead.
Huuuiiiing.
As the wind blew, a hazy cloud of dust spread outward.
Step. Step. Step.
Pushing through the dusty earth, a tall figure clad in white slowly walked out.
It was a man with skin so unnaturally red it felt grotesque, and even his hair was dyed flame-red like flickering fire.
His eyes were remarkably calm yet crimson energy swirled at the corners of his eyes, giving off an indescribably sinister and eerie aura.
It was a completely alien and bizarre presence—one Bu Eunseol had never encountered before.
‘He must have raised his martial prowess through some artificial great technique.’
The man’s appearance felt somehow artificial and grotesque, much like when he had fought Yuk Jangcheon in the past.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
Crack.
The man twisted his neck at an odd angle and formed a faint smile.
“Even if you are a master of the Limitless Realm, today shall be your funeral.”
“Looks like the United Heart Society thought the same.”
Bu Eunseol snorted, instantly grasping the situation.
“You wanted to gauge the true extent of this lord’s power, didn’t you?”
Oooong.
Instead of answering, the man raised his left palm. A clearly defined flame took shape there.
Flame Emperor.
It was the extreme yang martial art of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars—once used by the supreme expert of the Three Realms who had tried to swallow the North Sea Ice Palace—and the one Bu Eunseol had first encountered.
Oooong. Oooong. Oooong.
The difference was that the man’s flame was not red, but transparent.
Flash!
As the flame in the man’s palm grew larger and larger, Bu Eunseol immediately executed the Waning Moon, Dawn Star, unleashing a massive cross-shaped sword qi.
Chii.
The man wrapped the transparent flame around himself like protective energy. The sword qi that touched it vanished in an instant.
Kwa-rung!
This time, Bu Eunseol used the Heavenly Hand Void Wave—one of the most powerful single-strike techniques among the Fist Demon Seven Forms.
But the result was the same.
Thanks to the Flame Emperor energy enveloping the man’s body, the attack disappeared before it could even make contact.
“Interesting.”
Wrapped in transparent Flame Emperor energy, the man stood with his hands behind his back and provoked Bu Eunseol.
“Show me your strongest attack. I won’t dodge it.”
Swoosh.
Instead of replying, Bu Eunseol extended his left hand.
Float. Rumble rumble.
Stones and wooden fragments from all around began rising into the air.
Papapapapak!
The objects that had floated upward started spreading out at terrifying speed.
No one could see what was happening inside, and the formation would never deactivate until one person died—the Life-and-Death Battle Array had been deployed.
Jiing.
Once the formation was complete, a transparent barrier enveloped the area within thirty zhang. What once took more than half an incense stick’s time to set up could now be completed in a single breath.
“Let’s begin.”
Huuuiiiing.
As Bu Eunseol thrust his fist forward, a red flash shot out.
Boom!
The man’s body shook along with the flash.
When a fist was thrown faster than sound could travel, the compressed air produced not only a shockwave but also intense pressure and high heat. Bu Eunseol unleashed eighty-one punches in an instant against the man, who still stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
It was the perfect Extreme War Roar, fused with the Water Cloud Void Form of the Fist King, Seok Chi-haeng.
Boom! Boom boom boom boom!
Shockwaves and light that shook heaven and earth erupted, yet the man completely annihilated Bu Eunseol’s fist power.
This was not the Flame Emperor martial art known to the martial world until now.
It was not a technique that killed enemies with extreme heat. It was an absolute martial art capable of instantly evaporating any force unleashed upon it.
‘So this is the origin of the Baekri family.’
The martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars that had descended upon the martial world were said to be the divine manifestation techniques of the Baekri family, divided into eleven branches.
And the energy the man was using now seemed to be that very origin.
Clack.
Bu Eunseol sheathed his Silent Tiger Soul Sword once more.
Flash!
Spotting an opening in the man’s movements, he executed the extreme speed Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
Along with an image as if the entire world were being sucked into a single point, a red line began slicing through space.
Chiiiiik.
But the red-hot Silent Tiger Soul Sword only scraped away the Flame Emperor energy the man emitted—it could not sever his neck.
Spin!
Immediately rotating the Silent Tiger Soul Sword to change the sword form, he unleashed needle-thin sword qi that froze heaven and earth, covering the man’s body.
It was the Heon Won Bright Sword infused with the Ice Essence Snow Blossom Qi.
Crack. Craaaack.
Even though more than one hundred and eighty sword qi—enough to freeze an entire lake in an instant—covered the man’s body in the blink of an eye, they evaporated instantly without penetrating the Flame Emperor's energy.
Jiing.
At that moment, Bu Eunseol froze in place, his Silent Tiger Soul Sword still extended toward the man’s baihui point.
He intended to use the Heat Flow Without Obstruction and Flowing Fire Without Boundary principles of the Yeolha Great True Energy to directly scorch the man’s internal organs.
Crackle.
Yet flames rose from the man’s body and instantly annihilated even the power of the Yeolha Great True Energy Bu Eunseol had unleashed.
After that, Bu Eunseol poured out various martial techniques and even the extreme poisons stored in his body, but he still could not break through the Flame Emperor energy.
“Messy.”
Once Bu Eunseol’s attacks paused, the man lightly threw a single punch.
Chiiii.
Every time the man extended a punch, Bu Eunseol’s body shook violently.
The transparent Flame Emperor energy pierced through all his defenses and dug into his meridians as if to melt them.
Oooong.
Bu Eunseol changed tactics, manifesting his internal energy externally to envelop the man’s body.
Rumble rumble.
The ground shook, and the man’s legs began slowly sinking into the earth.
He was pouring ten jia of his full power into burying the man’s body deep underground.
Chiiii.
However, the power of the Flame Emperor energy instantly annihilated even the massive internal energy Bu Eunseol was pouring out.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
Flash!
At that moment, brilliant light burst forth from Bu Eunseol’s body.
It was the ultimate power he could unleash.
He had manifested Harmony in a single instant.
Paaaaah.
The man had no time to dodge and was instantly swallowed by the sea of light.
The technique of using internal energy to drive the man’s body into the ground had been employed solely to ensure that the Harmony would not miss. It had been intended to restrict the man’s movements for that brief instant.
Saaaaah.
When the sea of light vanished, the world began regaining its original colors.
Bu Eunseol doubted his own eyes for a moment.
The man was standing there completely unharmed, exactly as before.
‘He can even block Harmony…’
Until now, Harmony had displayed absolute power.
Had it not even annihilated the supreme ultimate art the Heavenly Emperor had unleashed with full confidence when they had entered the Baekri family’s secret vault?
Yet this man had endured Harmony with nothing more than Flame Emperor energy?
“So this was your final trump card.”
The man seemed to sense Bu Eunseol’s shaken spirit and formed a faint smile.
“No matter what martial art you use, it’s useless.”
He spread both arms with a proud expression.
“Because from the beginning, none of it can reach me.”
The Flame Emperor energy that had reached its extreme possessed the ability to annihilate any and all power.
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
Nevertheless, Bu Eunseol smiled instead.
In truth, he had been suppressing his power the entire time. Although he possessed many different strengths, he had refrained from combining them.
If he fought that way, he could not achieve any progress in his martial arts.
Because he could kill his enemies far too easily.
“Are you still acting relaxed?”
At the man’s sneer, Bu Eunseol snorted instead.
“It’s not relaxation. I haven’t even started yet.”
“What?”
“When has any martial artist in the martial world ever poured out their power in single bursts while executing martial arts?”
The man’s expression hardened in an instant.
Only then did he realize that all the power Bu Eunseol had unleashed so far had been nothing more than straightforward, single-strike attacks designed to be blocked or avoided head-on.
In other words, he had fired them in straight lines so the man could block or dodge the combination of orthodox, demonic, and unorthodox forces, along with extreme yin, extreme yang, and the Harmony that exploded with every power within his body. He had not even used the Heaven-Destroying form of Harmony—infusing all his power into the Silent Tiger Soul Sword—or the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
“Now I shall show you.”
Clack.
Bu Eunseol raised the Silent Tiger Soul Sword he held to chest height.
“The martial arts I have achieved.”
From now on, he intended to use attacks that fused his power with true martial technique.
Kwaaaang!
With an explosive sound, Bu Eunseol’s body turned into purple lightning and slashed toward the man’s neck.
He had incorporated Thunder Spirit Energy into his movement technique.
Chik!
It was an attack as fast as lightning, yet the Silent Tiger Soul Sword could not reach the man’s neck due to the Flame Emperor energy.
Slash!
But in that instant, dozens of blades made of black true energy coiled around the man’s body.
The Wishful True Binding had been unleashed.
Hwaak!
Once again the Flame Emperor energy spread out, instantly annihilating the blades of the Wishful True Binding. Yet Bu Eunseol changed his sword art in that brief window, pouring out over a hundred sword qi at close range.
He had unleashed the variations of the Heon Won Bright Sword at angles that were impossible to avoid.
Chik!
The man swung his fists ceaselessly, pouring out Flame Emperor energy but in that moment, a transparent hand suddenly burst from the ground and began digging into his vital acupoints.
Bu Eunseol had executed the Thirty-Six Form Lightning Thunder Hand using the Crystal Divine Energy.
Before the man could even defend against the Lightning Thunder Hand,
Shiiik! Shiiik!
Nine sharp gusts of wind pierced into his body.
He had unleashed the Thirteen Guiding Lights infused with Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
Kwa-uuuuu!
The Thirteen Guiding Lights combined with Wind-Cloud Divine Qi had become several times more powerful and carried energy capable of penetrating anything.
Chik! Chik!
The man activated the Flame Emperor energy to its maximum and defended against the pouring attacks but the martial arts Bu Eunseol unleashed were truly inescapable—no way to avoid them, no path to escape… they carried the profound principles of supreme martial arts.
“With just this much…!”
The man tried to shout that he still had strength left, but he closed his mouth.
He had seen the smile on Bu Eunseol’s lips.
‘He’s enjoying this?’
Bu Eunseol poured out hundreds of fist shadows, sword qi, and energy traces in the blink of an eye.
Within them lay terrifying power and exquisite profundity that could not be avoided with simple evasive movements or resolved with ordinary martial principles.
To execute such martial arts, one had to pour in every ounce of strength and maintain total concentration.
Yet here he was, casually pouring them out in a wild frenzy while smiling?
Kwaaa! Paaaaaah!
The smile on Bu Eunseol’s lips deepened as he continued pouring out attacks.
He was genuinely enjoying himself.
All the enemies he had faced until now had either reached a level far above his own with terrifying martial prowess, or possessed supernatural powers that transcended the principles of martial arts, like the domain deployed by the Hundred and Eight Stars.
Because of that, instead of freely unleashing the martial arts he had comprehended, he had always been extremely cautious, observing the enemy and breaking through their weaknesses or unexpected vulnerabilities.
But the man using Flame Emperor martial arts was different.
He only used Flame Emperor energy, which could annihilate everything.
He used neither supernatural powers nor Limitless Realm capabilities—only pure martial arts.
For the first time, Bu Eunseol was able to pour out all the martial arts and profound principles he had comprehended without holding anything back.
Kwa-uuuuu!
His attacks had now become a single massive storm that coiled around the man’s body.
The Flame Emperor energy possessing the origin power of the Baekri family was an absolute force capable of annihilating everything.
But even it had limits.
Chichichichik.
Because of the insane barrage of alternating martial arts storms, and because of the ceaseless attacks Bu Eunseol poured out, they had already exceeded the capacity that the Flame Emperor energy could annihilate.
“Ugh…”
Blood vessels had already bulged on the man’s forehead.
The attacks Bu Eunseol poured out had become so fast they were invisible to the eye, and the continuous strikes had merged into one relentless torrent.
Chik. Chiiiiii.
Finally, when the martial storm that even Flame Emperor energy could no longer block began crushing the man’s body,
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The man’s body began to split apart.
By continuously annihilating the overwhelming martial power that a human body could not withstand, the Flame Emperor energy had finally reached a limit it could no longer handle.
“In the end…”
The man bit his teeth as if sensing defeat and spoke.
“You think this is your victory?”
He wore a cruel smile.
“But you have lost. I was merely bait.”
Hwaaaaak!
His skin split open and scorching heat began spreading outward.
The Flame Emperor energy that annihilated everything was now destroying his own body instead.
“From now on, the real attack will begin.”
The man wore a cruel smile.
“No matter how great the martial arts you use, you can never wi—”
In the end, the man could not finish his sentence.
Craaack! Paaaaaah!
The Flame Emperor energy pouring from his split body instantly melted his form away.
Drip. Jiiiiing.
As transparent liquid flowed in all directions like Hwagolsan, the Life-and-Death Battle Array began to deactivate.
The transparent barrier disappeared, and the surrounding scenery became clear once more.
And as if he had been waiting for the formation to lift, an old man with cruel eyes was slowly approaching right in front of him.
“This is impressive. To think you could so easily kill alone a fellow using the origin of Flame Emperor energy.”
At the old man’s exclamation, Bu Eunseol responded with a bloodthirsty smile.
“The United Heart Society is meticulous. I quite like it.”
Every faction he had encountered until now had been confident in their own strength. Therefore, they had never prepared layered or tripled forces, always coming alone or simply directing a first wave of attack.
But the United Heart Society was different.
To be certain of killing their target, they had laid down bait to tie his feet, then prepared a large force and set up a heavy encirclement.
“You knew?”
The old man tilted his head and asked.
“If you knew a large force had been added, shouldn’t you have run away like a rat? Why did you stay still?”
Bu Eunseol curled the corners of his lips.
“Because my grandfather did the same.”
The Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang.
He had always roamed the martial world alone, and no matter what faction or how many troops attacked him, he had always slaughtered his enemies single-handedly.
Step Across the World.
His very existence made him peerless.
No faction or army could ever halt his steps.
And now Bu Eunseol… was about to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and begin his own Step Across the World.
“Huhuhu.”
The old man watched the aura Bu Eunseol was emitting, then burst into wild laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
After laughing heartily for a long while, he suddenly stopped and spoke coldly.
“It is a tale as old as time in the martial world—a young man who overestimates his own skill and meets an early end.”
Then he raised his hand.
Sssssss.
Around a hundred martial artists dressed in pitch-black clothes revealed themselves.
Every one of them was enveloped in Flame Emperor energy, just like the man from before.
It was truly a despairing situation.
Bu Eunseol had poured out his heavenly supreme arts without pause to deal with the previous man yet here was a force of equal strength, prepared in such numbers?
If he had to deal with all of them, he would need to unleash attacks hundreds of times more powerful than before.
“No matter how great your martial prowess is, you cannot handle this many troops, can you?”
“Strange.”
Bu Eunseol tilted his head.
“If you can freely command a force this large… there would be no need to speak of a True Demon or the Baekri family. You could simply conquer the entire martial world in one go.”
His eyes flashed as he asked,
“So why are you scheming so sneakily in the shadows like rats?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Thud.
As the old man lowered his hand,
Rumble rumble.
The large force enveloped in Flame Emperor energy charged toward Bu Eunseol.
Hundreds of warriors using Flame Emperor energy—the power that annihilated all external forces.
In the end, being surrounded and killed by them was the only outcome.
‘That means there must be some restriction on creating a large force wrapped in Flame Emperor energy.’
Having finished his thought, Bu Eunseol calmly drew his Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
“You have made a mistake.”
Srrrng.
The mysterious light spreading from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword shot up into the sky.
“Sending someone who uses Flame Emperor energy first in order to tie my feet.”
They had sent the man possessing energy that annihilated any power first, in order to prevent Bu Eunseol’s escape and perfectly encircle him.
And that had been a fatal mistake.
It was no different from giving Bu Eunseol a clue on how to counter the Flame Emperor energy.
Chiiiiii.
Blue flames began rising from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had infused it with Crystal Divine Energy.
‘The origin of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars martial arts is emotion.’
Through the knowledge from the Baekri vaults and the stories from the Ancient Sword Forest, he had learned that the power of the Baekri family—the origin of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars—was all modeled after human emotions.
And after fighting the man, he had realized that Flame Emperor energy was the emotion of ‘rage’ that annihilated everything.
In other words, the origin power of Flame Emperor energy was a raging torrent of burning anger that annihilated all martial arts and power.
Therefore, one had to oppose it not with martial force, but with a heart technique.
‘With the Seven Blood Tear Forms.’
All martial arts could be mixed with the Three Divine Energies.
Movement techniques or sword arts went well with Thunder Spirit Energy, while true energy martial arts like the Wishful True Binding had good compatibility with Crystal Divine Energy. Wind-Cloud Divine Qi could be mixed with most martial arts.
But he had never once tried mixing anything with the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
Because its power was already overwhelmingly strong, and because its blade art sought only death, it could not be mixed with other forces.
Yet through this battle, he had gained an insight.
Heart Technique.
The power of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars martial arts originated from the mind.
The martial arts of the Flame Emperor manifested that intense mind as power, and the reason the flames burned without stopping was surely due to the emotion of rage.
Since the energy of Crystal Divine Energy contained the calm, still qi that contrasted with passionate emotions, Bu Eunseol was attempting, for the first time, to infuse Crystal Divine Energy into the blade art of the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
―Even when it is time to die, you cannot close your eyes.
Seven Blood Tear Forms, Fifth Form.
The blade qi of the Death Without Closing Eyes—an endlessly quiet and desolate death blade art—spread out from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Surprisingly, however, it was not death qi that spread.
Hwarurururu.
An unknown, mysterious energy began spreading across the field like wildfire in an instant.
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