Nod.
Bu Eunseol suddenly looked into the empty air and nodded.
It was as if he were sending a signal to a comrade somewhere.
Paah.
At that moment, countless wood fragments and stones shot up into the sky, then transparent membranes and chains spread out around Bu Eunseol and the armored man.
It was the Life-and-Death Battle Array.
The highest formation art of the Nangyang Pavilion for a life-or-death decisive battle.
It was being deployed in the form of the Gongsun Family’s closed capture array studies—Secluded Chains Capturing the Lone Exile.
Shuuuk.
At that moment, a black shadow dropped from the air beside Bu Eunseol.
It was Black Leopard.
“I have set up the formation exactly as you taught me.”
Before entering the Ancient Sword Forest, Bu Eunseol had intuitively sensed that a terrifying enemy lurked inside.
However, inside the Ancient Sword Forest there were almost no stones, and most of it consisted of large trees and plants.
No matter how skilled Bu Eunseol was, the probability that he could instantly deploy the Life-and-Death Battle Array when needed was low.
After careful consideration, Bu Eunseol had hidden Black Leopard in advance so as not to miss the powerful enemy who had infiltrated the Ancient Sword Forest, and also so that his identity as a Nangyang Pavilion disciple would not be exposed.
He had prepared Black Leopard to be able to deploy a formation that combined the Life-and-Death Battle Array with the Gongsun Family’s array studies.
Hummm.
Finally, the formation was perfectly completed.
“Watch the fight carefully.”
“Understood.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Black Leopard nodded and retreated outside the range of the two men’s clash.
Crack.
At that moment, as if the armored man had released his power, the ground split apart, and with tremendous shockwaves, the surrounding trees and rocks crumbled.
At the same time, blade-like thorns sprouted from his back, and soon a large crimson sword was formed on his spine.
Clack.
The armored man, having drawn the large sword, pointed it at Bu Eunseol.
It was as if he were inviting the first move.
But Bu Eunseol instead crossed his arms and looked on with arrogant eyes.
Flash!
Then, a cold glint surged from the eyes hidden behind the mask the armored man wore.
Whoosh!
He began swinging the large sword.
As the crimson blade sliced through the air, the earth split and fragments condensed with energy spread out like hidden weapons.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Every time the large sword moved, thunder-like sonic booms rang out, and whirlwinds of sword energy swirled toward Bu Eunseol.
“Ugh.”
Black Leopard, watching the fight from afar, grimaced in pain.
The man was merely standing in place and swinging his sword, yet unbearable shockwaves spread out and struck his internal organs directly.
However, Bu Eunseol seemed completely unaffected by the shockwaves.
Without even drawing the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, he calmly dodged the attacks with a composed expression.
Ziiing.
A strange wave spread from the body of the armored man swinging the large sword, and with a thunderous roar, a sword energy shaped like a massive dragon surged toward Bu Eunseol.
The move was sudden, and because the range of the sword energy was too wide, it was an attack that could not be avoided.
Tsz tsz tsz!
Bu Eunseol lightly leaped into the air, and countless afterimages were created around his body.
He had pushed qinggong—Swift Beyond Shadow—to the limit, allowing him to change direction ninety-nine times in a single step.
Whoooosh!
The dragon-shaped sword energy passed straight through Bu Eunseol’s body.
Whiiiing!
But the sword energy made a wide turn again and swallowed Bu Eunseol from behind.
No matter how fast the movement technique or how mysterious the footwork, it was an exquisite rotating secret technique that could not be dodged.
Shiiing.
Bu Eunseol finally drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Pat!
At the same time, an extremely plain trajectory embroidered the air.
It was the Horizontal Sweep of a Thousand Armies technique, which even third-rate martial artists would never use in actual combat.
Paah!
Yet the Horizontal Sweep of a Thousand Armies that Bu Eunseol used emitted a brilliant light as if the Milky Way were pouring down.
Crash!
At the same time, the dragon-shaped sword energy vanished with a bizarre glass-shattering sound.
“So it was a Black Divine Artifact.”
Bu Eunseol muttered lowly.
He had seen through the fact that the massive dragon-shaped sword energy was not martial arts, but something emitted from the large sword the armored man was holding itself.
Grind.
The eyes of the armored man behind the mask grew even fiercer, and suddenly the large sword in his hand spun at ultra-high speed, creating hundreds of sword energies around his body.
Whoosh! Whoooong!
He had fully unleashed the power of a Black Divine Artifact, far transcending the limits of martial arts that a human could emit.
Kwaaaaaah!
Blood-red sword energy that dyed the entire world crimson spread out before Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Hundreds, thousands of strands of sword energy—each capable of toppling Mount Tai—poured down…
No matter what martial art was used, it would be difficult to block such sword energy.
And even if he dodged with his body, Black Leopard behind him would eventually be swept away by the sword energy.
Flash!
But at that moment, along with brilliant light, hundreds of mysterious patterns began to form before Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The God-Killer Energy that destroyed a Black Divine Artifact.
The mysterious power of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword had manifested naturally.
Whooo!
The pouring sword energy had already vanished cleanly.
Bu Eunseol had annihilated all the sword energy with a single strike.
“……”
The armored man’s eyes changed constantly. His expression showed he could not understand the situation at all.
The power of a Black Divine Artifact could never be blocked by ordinary martial arts.
Even with Peerless Realm power, if the compatibility was wrong, it was difficult to offset.
Yet he had easily split the power of a Black Divine Artifact with a single sword, as if slicing tofu?
“That mask was also a Black Divine Artifact, wasn’t it?”
Bu Eunseol tilted his head slightly.
“Seeing how your eyes keep changing, you seem like quite a talkative fellow… but you can’t speak because of that.”
When the armored man’s eyes grew even fiercer, Bu Eunseol chuckled.
“Can you not exert your power without that mask?”
Flash!
Instantly, violent flames sparked in the armored man’s eyes.
Clack.
And he slowly began to lift the iron mask covering his face.
Craaack.
As the iron mask came off his face, the adhered flesh tore away with a sticky sound.
The iron mask had not been worn—it had been directly attached to the flesh.
Rip.
When the mask completely fell away, bloody pus flowed down, and the rotten, decayed skin that had been pressed under the mask was fully revealed.
Where the flesh had been torn away, blackened necrotic tissue and mottled scabs were tangled together in a bizarre shape.
“Actually, it’s the opposite.”
When he spoke aloud, the melted skin at where his lips had been twitched, and yellow teeth were revealed between them.
The appearance of the man after removing the mask.
It looked like a criminal who had received the punishment of being burned by fire in hell had risen to the human world.
“It was a tool to control the power of this Chief Supervisor.”
Chief Supervisor usually referred to a position in charge of a faction’s intelligence network.
Moreover, the fact that it controlled his power suggested a high probability that he had undergone some mysterious great technique rather than being an ordinary martial world person.
But what surprised Bu Eunseol was that this armored man held the position of Chief Supervisor in the United Heart Society.
“For someone as young as you to be an Chief Supervisor means that each organization within the United Heart Society operates its own separate intelligence network.”
“Surprising.”
At a single casually thrown remark, Bu Eunseol inferred many pieces of information.
The man slightly moved his melted eyelids and said, “How did you know I was young?”
Not only was the man’s face grotesquely hideous, but because of the melted skin, it was impossible to gauge his age.
He seemed more curious about how Bu Eunseol had concluded he was young than about how well Bu Eunseol knew the United Heart Society.
“If an older person had suffered that much damage, the bones would be exposed and the skin would be completely necrotic.”
Bu Eunseol readily explained.
“But some flesh still remains.”
“You must be from one of the healer clans.”
The man tilted his head.
“As if it weren’t enough that the disciple of that worthless Bullet King, known as a mercenary, had sneaked into the Ancient Sword Forest of Mount Heng,”
“……”
“Knowing about our Society…”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
The mercenary Seolso was not a very famous figure, yet the man had instantly recognized his description.
From that fact alone, one could guess that the United Heart Society, which had never revealed itself until now, had been secretly continuing its martial world activities and exerting considerable influence.
Staring into the armored man’s eyes, Bu Eunseol snorted.
“I also know that the United Heart Society is a gathering of all sorts of mixed forces opposing the Baekri Clan and the True Demon’s faction.”
“Information that a mere disciple of the Bullet King shouldn’t know.”
The armored man’s eyes grew fierce.
“Then is the rumor true that the Bullet King has been hiding an enormous force and background all along, and became the leader of the Azure Heaven Alliance?”
Just as Bu Eunseol had expected.
The armored man was quite talkative.
And that was a very advantageous situation. He could obtain various unexpected pieces of information.
‘It’s good that the United Heart Society misunderstands the old man.’
In fact, not only the United Heart Society but many forces in the martial world believed that the Bullet King had been hiding his true face all along and had been secretly operating a hidden force for some goal. Otherwise, he could not have gathered so many factions and clans in such a short time and founded the Azure Heaven Alliance.
‘That way, they won’t easily touch him.’
New alliance leaders constantly face assassination attempts.
At that stage, cutting off the central figure is enough to easily collapse the force.
Nevertheless, the reason the Bullet King was able to spend peaceful days as the leader of the Azure Heaven Alliance was clearly because they were extremely cautious, calculating that he had a separate true identity.
“Who knows.”
“Are you denying it?”
Bu Eunseol deliberately put on a meaningful expression and shook his head.
“Think whatever you like.”
Bukgung Ryeong would face numerous trials ahead as the leader of the Azure Heaven Alliance.
In that case, it would be better if the United Heart Society and many other abyssal forces mistakenly believed that Bukgung Ryeong possessed a greater force and plan than what had been revealed so far.
“It’s the same as you hiding the fact that you are actually from the Ancient Sword Forest even though you now belong to the United Heart Society.”
For a moment, a subtle light flickered deep in the armored man’s eyes.
Only then did he realize that Bu Eunseol had not obtained the information in advance, but was subtly probing through conversation with him or observing his physiological reactions.
“Does this body look like a specter that has been stuck all over the Central Plains and cannot even die of old age, cursed?”
“Then how can you control the demonic creatures of the Ancient Sword Forest?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Then I should at least know your name.”
Bu Eunseol grinned.
“So I can at least engrave a name on your tombstone.”
Unable to endure the provocation, the armored man grinned back.
“Heh heh heh. You’re quite eager to dig things up.”
Even as he said that, he answered in a low voice.
“Won Pung.”
The armored man, Won Pung, spoke in a low voice.
“I don’t know how you got in here,”
He paused for a moment, then raised his hand, and shadows rose up by piercing through the ground.
Rumble. Clack.
Countless metal monsters that they had dealt with earlier had been buried here.
“The ones buried here are several times stronger than the Omnipotent Men you handled at the entrance—they have been further improved.”
Won Pung let out a low chuckle.
“These are a Black Divine Artifact that can think.”
“So you stole the Ancient Sword Forest’s research and became the United Heart Society’s lackey.”
“You’ve heard a lot, but strangely everything is wrong.”
Won Pung answered calmly.
“After all, the Ancient Sword Forest is also part of our Society.”
It was a cryptic remark, but Bu Eunseol could once again infer several pieces of information.
‘Just as some factions of the Three Realms belong to the United Heart Society… it seems some forces within the Ancient Sword Forest have either submitted to the United Heart Society or were absorbed by them, having their power taken.’
“Well, have I talked too much?”
Won Pung said indifferently.
“Don’t be afraid. Those Omnipotent Men are meant to be used to clean up the remnants at Hoan Peak.”
“You mean the Hyungsan Sect.”
“They’ve been stubbornly holding their ground where the Ancient Sword Forest is located and have maintained their lineage for quite a long time. But now the time has come to clean them up neatly.”
Bu Eunseol was slightly surprised.
That meant this Ancient Sword Forest had been established in the Southern Peak since the Hyungsan Sect had been building its reputation for generations.
Won Pung, who belonged to the United Heart Society, had intended to take everything here and then eliminate Myeong Un and the entire Hyungsan Sect, who had sensed the presence of the Ancient Sword Forest.
‘Myeong Un’s intuition was correct.’
Myeong Un had intuitively sensed that this matter concerned the survival of the Hyungsan Sect, which was why he had contacted the Death Spirit Corps.
And that had been an exceedingly excellent choice.
“Now let’s do this for real.”
A mysterious light flashed in Won Pung’s skull-like eyes.
Hummm! Hummm!
Then, a low sword cry once again spread from Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
“Heh heh heh heh.”
Seeing that, Won Pung wore a sinister smile as if he had grasped the entire situation.
“I see. So you also possessed a Black Divine Artifact.”
It was not unreasonable for him to think so.
God-Killer Artifacts like the Silent Tiger Soul Sword did not exist in the martial world to begin with, nor was it known.
“I don’t know where you picked it up,”
A sinister light flashed in Won Pung’s eyes.
“But I’ll show you what a real Black Divine Artifact is.”
Whiririric!
When Won Pung swung the large sword again, countless sword gangs were drawn in the air and began to coil around Bu Eunseol’s body.
But they were not real—they were illusions.
Sizzle!
Bu Eunseol casually saw through the illusions and sliced his body again with the Meteor Chasing the Moon Form.
However, like the previous metal monsters, only sparks flew and he suffered no significant injury.
“The Black Divine Artifact strengthens the user’s body.”
Flash!
This time, a lightning-like sword strike dug into the great vital point on Bu Eunseol’s chest.
Tsz tsz!
Bu Eunseol instantly evaded it and tried to counterattack, but his body’s reaction suddenly slowed compared to normal, causing the sword strike to graze his chest.
Pat!
“It can also control the enemy’s movements…”
Papapat!
Won Pung spun the large sword round and round again, slicing through the empty air.
Rumble!
When Bu Eunseol’s body slowed due to the power of the a Black Divine Artifact Won Pung was exerting, he spread the Thunder Spirit Energy and immediately escaped its range.
Papapapa!
Having evaded the attack, Bu Eunseol once again poured out over a hundred and eighty strands of sword energy with the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
He had unfolded the Heon Won Bright Sword so that Won Pung could not evade using the power of a Black Divine Artifact.
Slice! Pat!
But before he could even complete the sword form, the technique was interrupted. Won Pung’s sword strike had struck his shoulder.
The reason evasion was impossible.
It was because his sword energy transcended distance and directly hit Bu Eunseol’s body.
“It can cut or fold space like an Absolute Boundary.”
Because of the endless chatter, Bu Eunseol felt as if blood were flowing from his ears.
Yet the words that came out were so astonishing that he could not help but listen.
Won Pung was using all the abilities of the Black Divine Artifact possessed by the owners Bu Eunseol had encountered so far.
The ability to restrict the enemy’s movements that the Huashan Sect elder had possessed, or the Absolute Boundary effect of the ring that the one disguised as the greatest disciple of the Wudang Sect had possessed…
He was using all of them at once.
Drip.
Blood flowed from his shoulder.
Thanks to the thick protective profound energy, his bones had not split, but he had suffered a deep sword wound that even cut into the muscle.
Nevertheless, Bu Eunseol looked at Won Pung with a casual expression and asked, “You’re quite impressive, surviving while using the power of a Black Divine Artifact so recklessly.”
A Black Divine Artifact was not omnipotent.
It could emit power that surpassed human limits, but if more power than that was used, the mind and body could not endure and would collapse.
Until now, Bu Eunseol had personally witnessed a Black Divine Artifact users self-destruct by using that power recklessly.
But Won Pung was using multiple abilities of a Black Divine Artifact simultaneously without any restrictions.
“Those things they had were all failures.”
Won Pung straightened his shoulders and laughed boldly.
“Only I possess a perfect Black Divine Artifact.”
Ziiing.
But at that moment, a mysterious light spread from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
It was very similar in color and feeling to the eye light that the Demon Emperor occasionally emitted.
“So you don’t possess a Black Divine Artifact.”
“What?”
“You are…” Bu Eunseol withdrew his gaze and wore an expression full of pity. “…the completed product of the research that the Ancient Sword Forest so desperately tried to perfect—turning humans into a Black Divine Artifact.”
Tremble.
For a moment, Won Pung’s body shook violently.
A secret he absolutely did not want exposed had been discovered by an enemy he wanted to tear apart right then.
“Nonsense!”
Rumble.
With a rage-filled shout, a storm-like wind blew from Won Pung’s body.
“How dare you treat this Chief Supervisor like an object!”
“Really?”
“Shut up!”
Boom!
When Won Pung released his power once more, a red burning radiance spread behind him.
As if wrapping his body in red madness, Won Pung spread red light and poured attacks toward Bu Eunseol.
Rumble! Boom!
Every time the large sword sliced through the air, the earth shook and explosive sounds like detonating gunpowder spread out.
Bu Eunseol did not bother to confront him head-on and deliberately circled around him.
“You turned your body into a lump of iron, yet this is all you can do?”
Bu Eunseol intentionally wore a mocking smile to provoke his mind.
“Disappointing. The human Black Divine Artifact created by the Ancient Sword Forest is completely useless.”
“Don’t run away like a rat!”
Ziiing.
Won Pung used the ability of the Black Divine Artifact to slow Bu Eunseol’s body.
Rumble!
But when Bu Eunseol unfolded the Thunder Spirit Energy at full power, even the ability of the Black Divine Artifact could not catch him.
“Uaaaaah!”
As if furious, Won Pung charged with all his might.
However, the angrier he became, the more wildly he swung the large sword, and his sword paths became twisted.
Bu Eunseol could have precisely targeted the momentary openings to counterattack, but he simply leisurely slipped out of the range of the attacks.
“You bastard!”
Every time Won Pung’s sword strike sliced through the air, shockwaves occurred, splitting the ground and sending piles of stones flying.
Occasional close combat also broke out, but Won Pung’s attacks could no longer inflict damage on Bu Eunseol.
Clack.
Won Pung suddenly stopped attacking.
Only now had he realized that Bu Eunseol was not using his full power and was deliberately provoking him.
“Fine.”
Calming his rage-filled mind, he ground his teeth and said, “I admit I underestimated you.”
“Are you just going to leave those so-called Omnipotent Men standing there?”
Bu Eunseol, arms crossed, pointed at the metal monsters—the Omnipotent Men—waiting far away.
With your ability you cannot face me, so call for reinforcements.
Understanding the meaning of that gaze, Won Pung spat out, “I’ll tear your mouth first.”
Clank.
He began to throw off the armor covering his entire body.
Thud. Thud.
Every time he removed one piece, the red energy flowing from his body grew denser, his muscles swelled greatly, and his aura completely changed.
“It’s the same as the mask.”
Won Pung let out a sinister laugh.
“These armors were not to protect the body, but to suppress the rampage of the Black Divine Artifact embedded inside my body.”
Kukukuku.
As if his words were not false, when he had thrown off all the armor, he emanated an aura that shook the earth and seemed to change the color of the sky.
“So this was your real skill.”
Bu Eunseol nodded as he looked at the tremendous aura flowing from Won Pung’s body.
“You originally had great martial talent.”
From the beginning, the reason he could become a human Black Divine Artifact was because he had reached quite an impressive level of martial prowess.
“If you possess this much skill at such a young age, a Covenantor must have come to you.”
Won Pung’s martial prowess, with his power unleashed to the maximum, surpassed the Supreme Heavenly Realm. Even if he had not reached a stable Peerless Realm, at this level he would surely have been offered a Covenant.
“Is the power gained from a Black Divine Artifact not acknowledged by Covenantors? Or do Covenantors not come to the strong ones of the United Heart Society?”
Upon encountering Won Pung, Bu Eunseol had been curious about the level of his true skill that had massacred the Ancient Sword Forest and what position he held within the United Heart Society.
But what he was truly curious about was whether the figures from the Sacred Realm would offer Covenants to the United Heart Society as well—which had been established under the banner of rejecting and opposing the Baekri Clan and the True Demon’s faction—to balance the fight.
If the United Heart Society had this many strong experts, it could break the balance of the fight that had continued since the beginning.
Bu Eunseol had deliberately not killed Won Pung quickly and instead provoked him in order to confirm his true skill and obtain clues about the Covenant.
“If you can create a human-form Black Divine Artifact without limit and because of the power of a Black Divine Artifact you are not bound by the Covenant… then the United Heart Society could have crushed the Baekri Clan or the True Demon in one blow long ago.”
There must be some restriction or reason.
Otherwise, the Baekri Clan or the True Demon would not even be worthy opponents from the start, and the United Heart Society would already be ruling the martial world.
“To those things, King Yama will give you the answer!”
When Won Pung threw a punch, Bu Eunseol’s eyes were filled with a massive flash.
Boom!
Perhaps because it was a speed with no time to dodge?
Bu Eunseol crossed both hands to block his face.
Ziiing.
In that instant, white energy spread from Bu Eunseol’s eyes, but Won Pung did not notice.
Sizzle.
At the same time, Bu Eunseol slid back an entire jang.
Pushing Bu Eunseol back a full jang with a light strike was proof that he had reached a level capable of at least causing Peerless Equal Angle.
“Cruel indeed.”
Savoring the source of the terrifying power he felt through both arms, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
“So it was life force after all.”
In fact, he had deliberately been in the state of unfolding the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra.
He had taken Won Pung’s strike on purpose to grasp his martial arts foundation.
“Because he won’t live long anyway, he was able to become a human Black Divine Artifact… and there was no need to offer him a Covenant.”
Won Pung’s tremendous power and the fact that he could freely wield that power after becoming a human Black Divine Artifact was because he had chosen a limited lifespan, pouring out the life force he was born with in a short period of time.
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