Bu Eunseol, awakened from his thoughts, answered indifferently.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Even after hearing the words acknowledging that he was Seolso, the blind man did not seem to believe it. He began to spread waves of internal energy and strange currents.
It appeared he was trying to confirm whether Bu Eunseol had used disguise or not.
However, because Bu Eunseol had changed his face and body using a mysterious energy rather than the Face and Bone Shifting Art, the man ultimately failed to detect the disguise and simply nodded.
“I see.”
“You must be a subordinate under the Dark God Heavenly Lord, correct?”
“Indeed.”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, the blind man wore a subtle smile.
His appearance was that of a middle-aged man who looked about ten years older than the real Bu Eunseol, yet his voice was cracked like that of a hundred-year-old elder, mixed with the sound of dripping water droplets.
“It seems you are skilled enough to escape with your life from the Dark God Heavenly Lord’s grasp.”
The man extended his hand with a relaxed expression.
“No need to drag this out. Let’s begin.”
Upon seeing the blind man’s posture as he cradled his sword, Bu Eunseol showed a hint of admiration.
Until now, he had defeated countless powerful enemies and reached a level where he could fight on equal footing with supreme experts of the Limitless Realm. Although his martial prowess was not yet widely known in the martial world, it could not be denied that he was one of the top figures in the current martial world.
Yet here was someone standing before him in such a comfortable posture?
‘Is he pursuing perfection through ordinariness?’
The blind man’s face was so ordinary that one would not remember it even after staring at it for a long time. His standing posture was also so ordinary that it seemed full of openings. His eyes, his clothes—nothing about him had any distinctive character.
And that absolute ordinariness had strangely transformed into perfection.
Jiiing.
At that moment, a pressure as if the sky were collapsing poured down around Bu Eunseol.
The blind man had merely shifted his comfortable standing posture slightly, yet an irresistible pressure emanated from that alone.
‘Hmm.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
If he recklessly attacked or changed his posture in this situation?
It would only expose his own weakness, and his neck would immediately fall to the man’s blade.
“Not bad.”
Even with his eyes closed, the man nodded faintly as if he could see everything clearly.
“To be able to understand this posture at your age.”
When Bu Eunseol still remained motionless like a rock, the man spoke with genuine admiration.
“But how long can you endure?”
“Endure?”
Bu Eunseol let out a short laugh.
“It may be a perfect posture, but it is limited to defense. It is inevitably vulnerable to change.”
Bu Eunseol slowly raised his hand.
The speed was so slow it was almost yawn-inducing, yet his balance and posture did not waver in the slightest.
Kwa-rung!
Suddenly, with a thunderous explosion, a destructive force capable of shattering the world erupted from his fingertips.
Without any violent posture or process of concentrating internal energy, he had launched the Inner Bullet Qi in a single instant.
But something mysterious happened.
The Inner Bullet Qi that struck the man’s body was deflected as if touching a loach on an oiled plate.
In an instant, it bounced off to the side of his body and shattered a rock more than ten zhang away.
He had merely been standing still, yet he deflected an Inner Bullet Qi powerful enough to collapse a great mountain?
“You have properly inherited the martial legacy of the Bullet King.”
The blind man let out an exclamation of admiration.
“At this level, you seem even stronger than the Bullet King in his youth.”
Even though he had spoken and nodded his head, the blind man’s defensive posture did not loosen.
After observing the sight for a while, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“It wasn’t that you deflected the Inner Bullet Qi. The posture itself was the profound principle of the martial art.”
He too was a great master, young but deeply versed in the principles and profundities of martial arts across the world. The moment the Inner Bullet Qi was deflected while the blind man simply stood still, he immediately saw through the secret.
“You created a new defensive posture that never existed before, using the theme of ‘perfection.’”
“Hmm, indeed.”
The blind man nodded when Bu Eunseol instantly grasped the definition of the ‘perfect posture.’
“To possess such martial prowess at a young age, yet restrain your activities in the martial world and never reveal yourself like a hidden dragon…”
He tilted his head.
“That means you definitely have a dual identity.”
The man began to analyze Bu Eunseol with interest, his eyes still closed.
“Actually, until I came here, I thought you were the successor of Majeon.”
“…….”
“A mere mercenary could not display such martial prowess, and we could not trace any of your movements.”
Surprisingly, he had already figured out a considerable part of the mercenary Seolso’s true identity.
“But to think you were a completely different person.”
The moment he heard the blind man’s confident voice, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
‘He is so certain…’
Just from his tone, it was clear the man possessed the ability to see through disguises.
‘If I hadn’t obtained this power back then, Seolso’s identity would have ended today.’
If Bu Eunseol had not gained the mysterious power to change his entire body through the masked man, he would never have been able to maintain Seolso’s identity this time.
“You are far too strong to be called a mere subordinate of the Dark God Heavenly Lord.”
Bu Eunseol also began to analyze the blind man.
“Melting the attribute of perfection into martial arts is a realm that cannot be reached at middle age.”
“…….”
“Your speech and gaze make you seem like a hundred-year-old elder who has experienced all the hardships of the world.”
A sharp light flashed in the eyes of Bu Eunseol, who was currently in the form of Seolso.
“Moreover, if you were truly a subordinate of the Dark God Heavenly Lord, you would simply carry out orders. There would be no reason to show such curiosity toward me…”
The blind man’s expression was extremely expressionless.
But as long as he had a human body, there were biological reactions that could never be hidden.
At this moment, Bu Eunseol was displaying a terrifying insight and observational ability comparable to the Demon Emperor.
“So, it was you.”
Hearing Bu Eunseol’s voice as if he had intuited something, the blind man spoke for the first time with emotion in his tone.
“Who am I?”
“An Eight Human Heaven.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.
“Inbiin.”
The blind man slightly tilted his head while still cradling his sword.
“Why do you think so?”
“Previously, when the Dark God Heavenly Lord captured Lady Seoryeong, he said this: ‘I will hand her over as a test subject to a guy who isn’t even human.’”
“Lady Seo?”
After tilting his head for a while, the blind man spoke in a low voice.
“Are you referring to the doll that Heavenly Mechanism Star bastard created to imitate the Manifestation Technique?”
“Her name is Seoryeong.”
“So what?”
Bu Eunseol continued coldly.
“There is only one person to whom someone like the Dark God Heavenly Lord would casually say the words ‘isn’t even human.’”
“You thought I was Inbiin just from hearing that?”
Bu Eunseol did not answer.
So far, he had defeated no less than four of the Eight Human Heavens Lords—the Fist Man, the Spear-Wielder, the Dead Man, and the Poison Lord.
Having roughly grasped the level and abilities of the Eight Human Heaven Lords, he had seen through the fact that the blind man was no ordinary subordinate of the Dark God Heavenly Lord.
“Or did you simply guess?”
“Are you admitting that you are Inbiin?”
“Well…”
The blind man smiled faintly and said something strange.
“Interesting. I don’t know how long it has been since I had such an interesting conversation.”
“…….”
“It was quite a piercing remark, but…”
Inbiin spoke calmly.
“In the end, you have revealed the hidden identity you were concealing.”
Then, with a confident expression and eyes still closed, he stared straight at Bu Eunseol.
“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
In the martial world, if one excluded the core members of the Baekri Clan, True Demon, Sacred Realm, Three Realms, and other abyssal forces… there was only one person at such a young age who possessed this level of insight and martial prowess and was so knowledgeable about the Eight Human Heavens.
The successor of Majeon, who had constantly clashed with the Three Realms and the Incheon Lords—the Martial Soul Command Lord.
“So even Inbiin is nothing special. Calling me Majeon’s pawn?”
However, Bu Eunseol absolutely did not acknowledge it.
No matter who Inbiin was, he would never be able to see through his disguise.
“Was the reason you became blind because even with eyes you couldn’t distinguish people?”
Bu Eunseol, whose appearance had been changed to Seolso, not only had the face of a man in his thirties but also spoke with the rough yet piercing, free-spirited tone of a mercenary.
Because his entire appearance had changed, there was no need to deliberately alter his gaze or voice with the Art of Deceptive Enlightenment; such speech and eyes came naturally.
“From the moment you judged me to be Inbiin without any reason, you could only be the Martial Soul Command Lord.”
“Think whatever you want, but I’m disappointed.”
Bu Eunseol clicked his tongue.
“To use such a forced excuse just to hide your own mistake.”
“Mistake?”
“From the moment you began slaughtering the special-grade mercenaries of the Central Plains… you already showed your true intentions.”
“Showed my true intentions?”
Looking at the blind man, Bu Eunseol lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Creating a nonexistent fictional slaughter star and killing mercenaries is no different from announcing that you must see me alone.”
“Hoo.”
“There would be no need for a subordinate of the Dark God Heavenly Lord to see me alone. It must have been to study or experiment on my body, just like before.”
The blind man, who had been listening silently, nodded.
“I cannot deny it.”
Then he slightly raised the arms holding the long sword and spoke.
“That’s right. This is indeed the Inbiin Lord.”
The Inbiin Lord.
The leader of the Eight Human Heavens and the head of the Inbiin who continuously conducted bizarre experiments while torturing and killing people.
He had finally appeared before Bu Eunseol.
“Good.”
At that moment, a sharp flash gleamed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“Then let’s stop talking and begin.”
Thud.
Bu Eunseol kicked a stone at his feet.
Jiiing.
Light spread across a radius of several dozen zhang around the cottage, and transparent light began to linger in the air.
Using the true learning he had comprehended so far, Bu Eunseol had completed a unique formation by combining the Gongsun Clan’s formation techniques with Nangyang Pavilion’s Life-and-Death Battle Array—one that even a supreme expert of the Limitless Realm could never escape.
He had already spread it around this area in advance.
“A formation. You prepared quite thoroughly.”
As the Inbiin Lord smiled, Bu Eunseol took out a dull black iron ring from his bosom.
He was wearing the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, which looked like an ordinary iron sword, but he had no intention of drawing it from the start.
Because he had to be the perfect Seolso.
Just like the Bullet King’s self-rotating golden rings, he had prepared a weapon in advance for this battle that could maximize the power of the Inner Bullet Qi.
Kwa-rung!
With a sound of thunder, the iron ring shot toward the Inbiin Lord’s forehead.
“……!”
At that moment, the Inbiin Lord’s complexion changed slightly.
Like Bu Eunseol, he was an expert in the human body who could distinguish people solely by muscle shape and physical characteristics. Therefore, he had already grasped the body shapes of major figures like the Martial Soul Command Lord in advance.
But the person before his eyes was truly a different individual.
‘As expected, he still cannot recognize me.’
Having read the inner thoughts from the blind man’s movements, Bu Eunseol swallowed a smile of satisfaction.
In the past, he would have forcibly lowered his internal energy level and used only martial arts appropriate for Seolso’s identity.
While appearance could be changed, the martial skills and energy ingrained in the body were difficult to alter.
But because he had become a human with a truly different body—not just the face—thanks to that mysterious power, he could freely transform both his internal energy level and martial arts and use them as he wished.
Boom! Boom!
As the iron ring shot forward, explosive sounds rang out and the body of the Inbiin Lord, who was holding his sword, was pushed back step by step.
He was still maintaining the perfect posture as he had done until now.
However, Bu Eunseol was cleverly controlling the iron ring, continuously generating formless currents to break the profound principle of the ‘perfect defensive posture’ that the Inbiin Lord had created.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang!
In the time of a single breath, thirty iron rings drew hundreds of black lines and pressed down on the Inbiin Lord.
Uuuung.
Eventually, a protective strong energy formed around the Inbiin Lord’s body.
Even if the perfect posture could deflect the Inner Bullet Qi, it could not block the sharp internal energy force that felt like being stabbed by millions of needles.
Kwaaaaaarrr!
The Inbiin Lord, surrounded by black lines, still maintained that posture.
He could have counterattacked, yet it seemed he was testing whether Bu Eunseol could break the profound principle of the perfect posture he had invented.
Kurrr. Shiiiiik. Saaaaah.
Before long, the iron rings changed from explosive sounds to sharp, keen noises, and finally to the soft sound of wind.
When the power of the Inner Bullet Qi left in the iron rings reached its peak, it attained the realm of “extreme hardness turning to softness” and “ultimate gentleness”—where great power becomes soft instead.
‘So he still intends to face me with only the perfect posture.’
Even while launching Inner Bullet Qi powerful enough to collapse mountains, Bu Eunseol was observing every inch of the Inbiin Lord from head to toe using a pupil technique modified from the Mind’s Eye.
He had seen through the fact that the Inbiin Lord was currently using only the profound principles of martial arts, not abilities.
Twitch.
At that moment, the Inbiin Lord’s finger moved ever so slightly.
It was proof of a transition from defense to offense.
Hwiririririk!
At that instant, Bu Eunseol suddenly stopped his attack and shot forward like lightning, spinning fiercely on a diagonal.
Kwaaang!
With a world-shaking roar, a terrifying force sliced through the ground like a beam of light.
Kwaaaaaarrr!
The Inbiin Lord had collapsed the cliff of a mountain dozens of zhang away.
“So that posture was a move prepared for such a counterattack.”
Looking at the traces of the split ground, Bu Eunseol muttered in a low voice.
“To absorb the enemy’s attack and unleash a decisive counterstrike in a single blow?”
The beam the Inbiin Lord had fired was the accumulated power of all the Inner Bullet Qi Bu Eunseol had launched until now.
When Bu Eunseol barely avoided that counterattack, the Inbiin Lord’s previously calm voice changed for the first time.
“…Impressive.”
Until now, he had captured countless strong experts for human experiments.
By accumulating the power the enemy poured out and counterattacking in one go.
“All the enemies so far failed to break my defensive posture… and were helplessly killed by the counterattack using the accumulated power.”
The Inbiin Lord’s voice carried emotion, as if in genuine admiration.
“Even the Heavenly Emperor at your age probably could not have reached such a martial realm.”
“So you fought the Heavenly Emperor in his youth?”
“Well…”
When an ambiguous answer came, Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
For a moment, the thought flashed through his mind: Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor becoming a lost soul was the Inbiin Lord’s doing?
‘No, that can’t be.’
He did not know what power the Inbiin Lord was hiding, but the Heavenly Emperor he had seen before possessed martial prowess akin to the incarnation of destruction itself.
Even when teaming up with So Okrim, whose skill was not far behind his own, they had only barely managed to escape with their lives.
No matter how great the Inbiin Lord’s martial arts were, they were absolutely not at a level capable of opposing him.
“Or perhaps you begged a Heavenly Lord of the Four Divine Heavens and met him that way.”
The Inbiin Lord was a more secretive figure than any subordinate of the True Demon.
While maintaining the rough, free-spirited tone of someone who had lived as a mercenary his entire life, Bu Eunseol continued speaking without pause.
Sreung.
Instead of answering, the Inbiin Lord slowly drew the sword he had been cradling from its sheath.
“I acknowledge it. You have reached a level where you can receive this Heavenly Lord’s sword.”
A pure white radiance poured from the sword the Inbiin Lord drew. Surprisingly, it was a divine sword possessing the energy of Destroying Evil.
Flash!
A razor-sharp, extremely fast killing strike poured toward Bu Eunseol’s face.
‘Demonic sword arts?’
He had wondered what swordsmanship would come out after drawing a divine sword, but instead it was cruel demonic-style sword arts that did not match the sword’s attribute at all.
‘Fast.’
Bu Eunseol’s reaction speed was truly like light, yet before he knew it, sword energy radiating pure white cold air was piercing toward his face.
Clang!
With a metallic sound, a tremendous shockwave swept through the surroundings, spreading intense ripples.
Chichichik.
Before he knew it, thirty or so iron rings were connected in the shape of a sword in Bu Eunseol’s hand.
Iron Ring Sword.
Instead of drawing the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, he had combined the Inner Bullet Qi with his internal energy to create the Iron Ring Sword, allowing him to use the iron rings like a sword.
Chik-chik-chik. Paang!
When he unleashed the Explosive Boom Technique through the Iron Ring Sword, the blind man was instantly flung backward.
Hwirik! Chwaak!
At the same time, the Iron Ring Sword in his hand scattered back into thirty iron rings and shot toward the Inbiin Lord like a meteor shower.
Ting-ting-ting.
The Inbiin Lord once again assumed the perfect defensive posture and deflected the iron rings. Then he closed the distance to within three cheok and slashed toward Bu Eunseol’s neck.
Hwik!
In that moment, the iron rings returned to Bu Eunseol’s hand and reformed into the Iron Ring Sword.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the weapons clashed again in the air.
Kurrung!
The Inner Bullet Qi extending from Bu Eunseol’s five fingers dug into the Inbiin Lord’s vital points on the chest.
Jiiing.
A faint radiance flowed from the Inbiin Lord’s body after being struck by the Inner Bullet Qi, and then—
Toong!
It was instantly returned to Bu Eunseol.
True to the profound principle of the perfect posture, he was immediately reflecting even true energy martial arts like the Inner Bullet Qi.
Pat!
Bu Eunseol avoided the returned Inner Bullet Qi and retreated a short distance to widen the gap.
“…….”
A brief silence fell.
The reaction speed and brain processing of the two far surpassed that of ordinary martial world practitioners by dozens of times.
In a moment shorter than the blink of an eye, such an exchange of offense and defense had taken place.
“…….”
The Inbiin Lord, who had raised his divine sword to middle guard, tilted his head.
The profound principle of perfect defense he had created was a martial principle that had never appeared in the martial world before.
Even the current supreme experts of the martial world could not easily block it.
Yet this mercenary called Seolso was skillfully handling it with outstanding martial arts and quick wits.
“So defense alone is not enough.”
Thud.
The Inbiin Lord suddenly let his long sword hang down toward the ground and walked calmly toward Bu Eunseol.
“Then now, I will show you what a perfect attack is.”
A supremely mysterious radiance swirled around his body as he approached with eyes closed.
Perfect attack.
Until now, the Inbiin Lord had not truly attacked; he had only used perfect defense to absorb incoming attacks and counter.
He had never launched a real attack.
“I will see if you can block a perfect attack as well.”
Chik, chiiiiik!
The Inbiin Lord, who had been scraping the ground as he walked, suddenly charged at ultra-high speed and began slicing into Bu Eunseol’s body.
Swae-swae-swae-swae-swae!
The trajectories of the sword strikes cutting through the air were so fast they were invisible to the eye.
It was a truly perfect attack—capturing unavoidable instants and leaving no room even for evasive movements.
Pushut!
Blood spurted from Bu Eunseol’s body in an instant.
He had suffered large and small wounds across his entire body from the condensed sword strikes pouring in as a single mass.
Swae-swae-swae-swae!
Having closed the distance, the Inbiin Lord continued swinging his long sword at ultra-high speed with eyes closed, slicing toward Bu Eunseol’s vital points.
His divine sword was twice as long as an ordinary long sword, and its blade was honed to a deadly blue edge. Moreover, once he entered close range, the blade condensed like a dagger, and the swordsmanship became even more bizarre and unpredictable.
It was a strange sword art that had never appeared in the martial world before.
‘He intends to fight purely with martial arts, without using abilities.’
After becoming aware of abilities within Baekri Geomha’s personality, Bu Eunseol had realized just how terrifying it was. He had also realized that the Four Divine Heavenly Lords possessed similar power and had been preparing countermeasures.
But the Inbiin Lord, astonishingly, was not using any abilities at all.
Just like Bu Eunseol himself.
He was revealing the will to settle the fight using only high-level martial arts.
‘Madman.’
In that instant, Bu Eunseol realized it with his entire body.
The Inbiin Lord.
This man was not only superior in martial arts to all the strong experts he had fought so far, but he was also a lunatic who casually risked even his own life.
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