'No, I cannot.'
Bu Eunseol, who had been about to grasp his sword, soon shook his head.
The reason he had revealed his identity as the Lord of the Martial Soul Society through Seolso this time was to move the Martial Soul Society freely, escaping the crossroads of the Demonic Path and the Orthodox factions.
However, if he were to use the Seven Blood Tear Forms now, all his plans would vanish like bubbles.
[Could it be that you possess a secret heart technique beyond the Great Natural Qi?]
The senses of the man in white, who had unfolded the Manifestation Divine Technique, became alarmingly sharp. He had seen through Bu Eunseol’s inner conflict just by looking at his expression.
Boom.
At that moment, along with the sound of the earth's axis shaking, the interior of the Absolute Boundary surrounding the two men began to tremble entirely.
Crackle.
Simultaneously, a crack appeared in the space over a hundred yards away, and the outside scenery became faintly visible. Standing there in an orderly formation were the Four Great Corps Leaders and the warriors of the special combat units of the Martial Soul Society.
As if a priest were holding a ritual treasure while performing a spell, they held their weapons before their chests, spreading their hands toward the heavens and the earth, lightly supporting the weapons with their index and middle fingers.
The Heart Mirror Technique.
They were collectively unfolding an ancient secret formation technique that could manifest a mental world solely through the operation of a formation.
Crackle.
As time passed, though it was very slight, their power was slowly breaking the Absolute Boundary constructed by the man in white. Since the Heart Mirror Technique was a secret technique capable of unfolding a mental world, it naturally included a method to shatter one.
—The Lord could not have vanished so suddenly if it weren't for an Absolute Boundary.
Feeling that something was wrong when Bu Eunseol suddenly disappeared, the corps leaders of the Martial Soul Society immediately sensed that an Absolute Boundary had been unfolded nearby.
Although they had not perfectly mastered the Heart Mirror Technique, they understood the principles of how a mental world is manifested and broken.
What if an Absolute Boundary existed here? They surmised that it would not be impossible to break it by combining their strength through the Heart Mirror Technique, and they immediately put it into action.
[Hmm.]
The man in white muttered, withdrawing his power for a moment.
Since he had already decided to break the laws and use his strength, killing Bu Eunseol was no different from stepping on a single insect.
[I’ve lived long enough to see everything.]
He chuckled.
[To think you deduced the existence of the Absolute Boundary not by detecting it directly, but simply because your leader suddenly vanished...]
At that moment, Bu Eunseol snorted and threw out an unexpected remark.
“Is the Baekri Clan so short on people?”
[What do you mean by that?]
“If you had brought a Great Army, wouldn’t this have ended long ago?”
[...]
“Since you've already revealed yourselves, it would be enough to just sweep everything away cleanly. I don’t understand why you are handling things so clumsily.”
The Baekri Clan had never once revealed themselves directly until now.
Whether they sent a servant or a slave, the fact that they sent a subordinate to act on their behalf meant they clearly placed great importance on the matter of the 'New Bloodline.'
Yet, why did the True Demon and Baekri Clan send only one subordinate each?
[Has it not occurred to you that it is because I alone am enough to crush something like the Martial Soul Society?]
The Baekri Clan and the True Demon were giant powers that had divided the martial world between them since ancient times. And it was true that both the strange man from before and the man in white possessed the strength to easily destroy the Martial Soul Society alone.
“Even so, there is no way they would truly send you alone.”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze grew even sharper.
“In the end, even those two powers... are bound by some sort of agreement or restriction that prevents them from interfering in the martial world at will.”
It was perhaps a natural conclusion.
If the Baekri Clan or the True Demon could roam the martial world as they pleased, the current martial world would have already become their battlefield, and every sect would have fallen under the rule of these two great powers.
However, a neutral force known as the Sacred Domain existed in the current martial world, and even during a conflict like this, they only dispatched a very small number of personnel.
In other words, it was evidence that some form of constraint had existed for these two powers since long ago.
[It seems to me that you are likely the 'Shell.’]
“Is that important?”
[It is important. To me.]
The man in white smiled brightly.
[If you truly are the Shell, I would be achieving a great feat, and perhaps the restriction placed upon me might even be lifted.]
“...”
[Even if that isn't the case, if I ransack the Martial Soul Society and dig out information regarding the New Bloodline... that too will be a great feat.]
Rumble!
As the man in white slowly raised both his arms, the giant sphere he created completely covered the sky, casting a deep darkness over the earth.
[You were destined to die regardless!]
As he reached out, the sphere that had covered the sky began to fall, blazing like a massive star. The moment that colossal power struck the ground, this entire area would evaporate without a trace.
Kwahng!
At that moment, with an explosive sound, a brilliant light burst forth from Bu Eunseol’s body.
If the man in white had thrown the sphere immediately without hesitation, there would have been no way to resist or even room to evade. However, thanks to the Four Great Corps Leaders buying time by unfolding the Heart Mirror Technique from the outside, he was barely able to devise a way to counter that power.
—What if I myself become a blade and harbor the blade energy of the Seven Blood Tear Forms?
The Seven Blood Tear Forms could release blade energy that brings death to all things through a single blade; even without a sword, it could be unfolded with one's own two hands.
—But it is a gamble.
To harbor the blade energy of the Seven Blood Tear Forms within one's body meant, in the end, falling into that very death himself.
But there was no other way.
If he lost to this man, the Martial Soul Society would ultimately face destruction.
'I bet everything on this one move!'
Zzzzzzt.
With a low vibration, Bu Eunseol’s entire body was being dyed black. His body itself became a blade, harboring the blade energy of the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol recalled the formula for the seventh form of the Seven Blood Tear Forms, which he had never once performed until now: 'Death with Lingering Sin.'
'Even in death, guilt remains... it is only a pity.'
His grandfather, too, likely created this style without regard for his own death, solely to protect the people around him. And Bu Eunseol, as well, had unfolded this technique without hesitation to protect the people of the Martial Soul Society.
With a short shout, a black radiance bloomed. It was the light of death emitted to protect all life.
Kwah-woong!
Becoming a single black star, Bu Eunseol kicked off the ground and soared into the sky. In direct contrast to the white sphere of the man in white poured out for destruction, his body became a black trajectory burning away his life.
Flash!
As the two powers collided, the entire world temporarily lost all color and form. When the light subsided, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.
It had become a perfect plain.
As if an enraged god had swept away all the world's unevenness with a single breath, the earth stretched out straight and level without a single error. Even the boundary between heaven and earth was clearly divided by a single sharp, straight line.
Nothing remained upon that vast flatness. Not only were there no traces of life, but it was difficult to find even a single pebble to prove the past.
Whoosh.
When the wind swept away the dust, two silhouettes appeared. The body of the man in white, who had boasted arrogance as if the world were his, was in a wretched state. His flesh was melted or torn, and black energy flowed out like smoke through his tattered clothes.
Bu Eunseol was the same.
His hair was filled with ashen dust, and the wounds visible through his torn clothes were tangled with blood and earth. However, their expressions were entirely different. The arrogant eyes of the man in white were muddied with pain, anger, and a faint, unbelievable horror.
In contrast, Bu Eunseol was expressionless.
Even during his martial arts training, his bones had been broken and his flesh torn countless times. Since entering the martial world, he had fought while constantly crossing the threshold of death, repeatedly managing to survive.
Wounds of this degree were nothing.
[You... blocked that with your bare body?]
The man remained unaware that Bu Eunseol had resolved to die and unfolded the Seven Blood Tear Forms by using his own body as a weapon; he mistakenly believed Bu Eunseol had simply collided with his power with his bare flesh.
Step, step.
Bu Eunseol moved his feet slowly, paying no mind to the man's shocked state.
The fight was not over yet.
Only by cutting off the man's breath would the battle finally end.
Crackle.
As he drew up the Heavenly Glacial Secret once more, purple Thunder Spirit Energy burst from his left hand. Due to the severe injuries, even the fusion of the Three Divine Techniques had broken.
But it did not matter. As long as a handful of True Qi remained—even if only a single thread of strength was left—he could fight.
Tremble.
The man in white trembled involuntarily.
Shrouded in an infinitely dark aura and approaching with his eerie red eyes flashing, Bu Eunseol looked as if King Yama, the personification of death, were walking toward him while exhaling black breath.
Finally, just as Bu Eunseol was about to launch his attack,
Flash!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, and then a small silhouette squeezed into the space between the two men. Suddenly, in the middle of the space between them, a young boy dressed in blue slowly appeared.
The Sacred Domain.
The old man from the Sacred Domain, whom he had met in the past while searching for a higher being of the Executioners alongside Han Sangja, had appeared again in the form of a young boy.
Grip.
Bu Eunseol, recognizing the old man of the Sacred Domain, let out a snort.
'You're late.'
The reason he had deliberately leaked information that the New Bloodline was in the Martial Soul Society to induce an attack from the True Demon and the Baekri Clan was not to settle the score by fighting them directly, but to draw out the intervention of the Sacred Domain.
Only when the Sacred Domain intervened could this martial world be prevented from falling under the control of a specific giant power.
It was because he could prove that the martial world was not merely a battlefield for the Baekri Clan and the True Demon, but a space where ordinary martial artists could coexist separately from them.
Finally, with the appearance of the old man from the Sacred Domain, that fact was as good as proven; however, his arrival had been far too late.
“Martial Soul Society Lord.”
The boy's voice was low, yet it resonated across the entire sky like thunder.
“Cease your attack.”
“He attempted to massacre not only this Lord, but all of my subordinates.”
A bloody light flickered in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“If I do not kill him, the future troubles will be endless.”
“That will not happen.”
The boy looked toward the man in white.
“For he shall withdraw quietly.”
In an instant, the man in white’s eyes grew as sharp as a blade.
[Are you saying the Sacred Domain intends to interfere in the affairs of my main family?]
“I do not mean to interfere.”
Though his original form was that of an old man, because he had taken the appearance of a young boy, even his voice flowed out with the clear ring of a youth.
“The Sacred Domain has already confirmed it. The seed of conflict you speak of, the ‘New Bloodline,’ is not here.”
[Regardless, it is certain they have hidden it. If we interrogate and investigate them, we will be able to find its whereabouts.]
“That is not for the Sacred Domain to concern itself with.”
The boy spoke as if making a solemn declaration.
“The important point is that the Martial Soul Society has perfectly fended off the envoys sent by the two Great Clans.”
[Fended off?]
“Did you not also lose to the Leader of the Martial Soul Society?”
The man in white’s expression turned sharp.
[I have not yet properly used the power of my main family.]
“I saw clearly with my own two eyes that you just used the power of the Spiritual Awakening, which corresponds to the Third Step.”
[And?]
The boy continued calmly.
“Since things have turned out this way, we have no choice but to recognize the Martial Soul Society as a power of the Middle Heaven.”
[The Middle Heaven?]
The man in white’s eyes widened.
[You mean to say you will recognize a mere ragtag group that was founded only a few years ago as the Middle Heaven?]
“Their military strength and martial prowess are not inferior even when compared to the martial world Alliance of the light. Furthermore, they held off an Eight Human Heaven Lord alone, and did they not emerge victorious in the duel against you?”
[Victorious? Give me just a bit more time. I will take his head right this instant.]
He had clearly lost to Bu Eunseol and had his life saved by the intervention of the boy just before death. Nevertheless, he had completely forgotten that fact and was instead shouting loudly.
“That is not permitted.”
[Why?]
With a firm expression, the boy pointed toward a distant, transparent crack where a portion of the Absolute Boundary had broken, revealing the outside.
“Because soon, through that opening, the secrets regarding the Baekri Clan and the True Demon will be made known to the entire martial world.”
There, a hole had formed through the shattered Absolute Boundary, showing the landscape outside. The Four Great Corps Leaders of the Martial Soul Society had combined their strength to create such a crack.
Flash.
The man in white’s gaze sharpened.
The Absolute Boundary of the Baekri Clan could never be broken by ordinary martial artists; only the ultra-strong, those worthy of receiving the Covenant, stood even a chance of shattering it. Yet, the martial artists of the Martial Soul Society—whom he had thought of as mere insects—were breaking it?
“The Martial Soul Society possesses troops capable of manifesting mental worlds, and they have masters stationed there who are worthy of the Covenant,” The boy said solemnly. “If you continue to fight like this, the balance that has been maintained until now will be completely disrupted.”
The man in white said coldly, [The main family will restore the balance themselves.]
The boy burst into a hollow laugh.
“Are you saying the Baekri Clan will now personally step into the martial world and act as the Sovereigns of the martial world?”
[...]
“Like the other, you have failed to kill the Lord of the Martial Soul Society. Furthermore, if the Lord and his warriors fight to the death? In the end, every law and secret that this Sacred Domain has risked its life to protect for your sake... will spread throughout the entire martial world.”
The man in white remained silent, having nothing left to say. Then, pointing at Bu Eunseol, he spoke in a low voice.
[There is a high probability that man is a shell for the True Demon. He must be killed immediately.]
“The matter of the Martial Soul Society has already left the hands of the two Clans. Therefore, the Sacred Domain will handle that matter as it sees fit.”
[...And if I refuse?]
“I will have no choice but to do what this Sacred Domain has always done.”
A mysterious energy radiated from the boy’s body as he held his hands behind his back. It was neither martial arts nor sorcery, but another power—extremely alien yet existing since ancient times.
'So that is the power of the Sacred Domain.'
A flash passed through Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he watched. The energy had no form and its attribute was ambiguous, yet it caused the surrounding air to evaporate and the earth to vibrate minutely.
'I thought he would use something that mixed the powers of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon.'
The Sacred Domain possessed mysterious parchments that could subjugate martial artists as subordinates to the Baekri Clan or the True Demon. For that reason, he thought they would use a mixture of the two powers as a vacuum secret art.
However, what the old man of the Sacred Domain used was a unique... third power that he had never seen or felt before. Furthermore, the range of the power was so immense that the moment the energy spread, the interior of the Absolute Boundary was instantly filled with that alien force.
'This is the power that can mediate between the Baekri Clan and the True Demon.'
[I did not lose.]
The man in white, who had been staring at the boy for a long time, spoke stubbornly.
[I said I did not lose to such a trivial martial artist!]
That shout echoed through the world like thunder, but it soon became a hollow echo and faded away.
“Is that all you have to say?”
When the man in white noticed the boy’s firm gaze, he spoke with a voice full of venom.
[You will come to regret this decision. For my House will not sit idly by regarding this matter.]
“Such words...”
The boy let out a smirk as he looked at the man in white.
“...should only be said after you have achieved a feat and broken your restriction.”
The boy also knew that the man in white was of the Holy One's bloodline—one who was treated with coldness and neglect by the Baekri Clan.
Crunch.
At that moment, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground for hundreds of yards inside the Absolute Boundary.
The Manifestation Divine Technique.
Even though he was bound by a restriction, the Manifestation Divine Technique was displaying a power that transcended imagination.
Grit.
Gritting his teeth, he rose into the air and glared alternately at the boy and at Bu Eunseol, who was disguised as Seolso.
Swish.
He then turned into hundreds of points of light and vanished into the distant sky.
“Phew.”
Watching that scene, the young boy from the Sacred Domain let out a deep sigh.
“That was a close call. Just a little later and it would have been a disaster.”
Muttering lowly, he approached Bu Eunseol and lamented deeply.
“Are you mad? You tried to kill him even while clearly knowing he is a figure of the Baekri Clan?”
“He was trying to kill me; was I supposed to just stand still?”
After a momentary blank expression, the boy wore a peculiar smile.
“You are quite polite.”
That was Bu Eunseol’s mistake. Because he knew the boy’s true identity well, polite and formal speech had naturally slipped out.
“I simply realized he was an extraordinary master of high standing because that figure from the Baekri Clan treated you so formally.”
As Bu Eunseol skillfully made an excuse, the boy shook his head and asked.
“Just who are you?”
“The Lord of the Martial Soul Society.”
The boy chuckled.
“I mean your true identity.”
When Bu Eunseol did not answer, the boy spoke again.
“Well, fine. Since you have become a candidate for the Covenant anyway... let us take some time to settle things calmly.”
He then reached his hand toward the sky.
Pa-aaaa.
Then, through the power of the Heart Mirror Technique unfolded by the four corps leaders, the power of the Absolute Boundary—which had almost completely collapsed—was established once more as a sturdy, single layer.
However, unlike the one belonging to the Baekri Clan, a completely transparent wall was formed, suggesting it was an Absolute Boundary unique to the Sacred Domain.
“To not only know well of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon, but to even use the sensitive information they seek to lure them out...”
Having firmly restored the Absolute Boundary, the boy said with a deep sigh.
“You must certainly be his disciple.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed.
The Demon Emperor.
In the end, even the old man of the Sacred Domain was mistaking him for the disciple of the Demon Emperor.
‘Which means the Demon Emperor indeed has a hidden disciple.’
He had thought it strange all along. Despite having placed Bu Eunseol—who came from the Ten Demon Warriors—as the successor of Majeon and settling the succession line, why had the Demon Emperor not passed down the Vacuum Absolute Secret Arts that could make one the greatest person of the Demonic Path?
Although he had indirectly passed down the Wishful True Binding, a secret technique of a thousand years, the Demon Emperor’s true absolute technique was ‘Natural Disorder’—a demonic secret art of immeasurable depth that seized the enemy’s psyche in an instant.
Ultimately, there was a separate disciple meant to inherit the Demonic Absolute Arts of the Greatest of the Demonic Path.
“Well, since you likely know the procedure well, let us begin.”
The boy smiled brightly.
“You are well aware that since you have already entered the Absolute Boundary of this Sacred Domain, you cannot avoid the Covenant.”
He then pulled two parchments from his robes. Still unaware of Bu Eunseol’s true identity, the boy held out the parchments to him once again, urging him to become a subordinate of either the Baekri Clan or the True Demon.
“Oh, dear.”
At that moment, a flash erupted from the boy’s eyes.
“I almost made a grave mistake before imposing the Covenant.”
He glared toward the area of Bu Eunseol’s shoulder.
“I acknowledge that your martial arts are great, but you must never look down on the power of the Baekri Clan.”
‘What on earth is he talking about?’
As Bu Eunseol knitted his brows, the boy extended his palm instead of answering.
Whoosh.
Then, from the center of his palm, from that tiny point, a chillingly blue light began to leak out. At first, it was a faint stream of light, but the power condensed in an instant soon became an uncontrollable torrent, spreading across the entire world.
Rumble, Kwa-oooo!
The wind, which had suddenly become a blue storm, turned into a massive wave that seemed ready to tear the very space apart as it poured toward Bu Eunseol.
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