However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
The moment Mu Gyeol unleashed the utmost secret art of the Heavenly Emperor that he had kept hidden—in order to avoid a fatal injury—
Saaaaah.
With the sound of blowing sand, the pressure of the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm that had reached his chest vanished in an instant.
Baek Museong had withdrawn his palm force in the blink of an eye.
He must have judged that he could not inflict a life-threatening wound in such a public spar.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Mu Gyeol also had no choice but to quickly retract the martial arts he had hurriedly raised.
If he unleashed his technique in this state, it would amount to ambushing Baek Museong, who had shown mercy and held back.
Yet at that very moment—
Baek Museong’s hand shot forward like lightning and once again pressed against Mu Gyeol’s chest.
The motion was so natural that even a master of Mu Gyeol’s caliber could only stare blankly at the palm.
“What are you doing?”
When Mu Gyeol asked, Baek Museong replied coldly.
“Shall we continue? Or do you concede?”
Mu Gyeol looked down at his own chest.
If Baek Museong had merely released even a light surge of inner energy, his sternum would have caved in and he would have suffered a mortal wound.
“Is this not a trick?”
Mu Gyeol frowned and protested. Baek Museong answered coldly once more.
“What exactly did I deceive you about?”
For a moment, Mu Gyeol was at a loss for words.
If he had not been so certain of victory and had not relaxed his offense even slightly?
Even if he ultimately lost, he would never have been defeated in such an absurdly one-sided manner.
But Baek Museong had perfectly read Mu Gyeol’s personality and temperament, exploited them, struck precisely at the opening, and seized victory.
‘If he had truly intended to kill and fought with full killing intent, would the outcome have been a little different?’
Mu Gyeol had thought this was merely a spar, not a fight to the death.
Yet Baek Museong had maintained utmost composure from beginning to end, pouring his entire strength into every single move for the sake of victory.
Then, at the final moment, he deliberately showed magnanimity, inducing Mu Gyeol’s carelessness and used that opening to claim victory with ridiculous ease.
In the end, he had been defeated in martial prowess, strategy, and everything else.
‘To lose without even drawing out Baek Museong’s true vacuum…’
Swallowing the bitterness, Mu Gyeol clasped his hands calmly and spoke.
“I have lost.”
At his admission of defeat—
—Waaaaah!
Cheers erupted from all directions.
Since Mu Gyeol had used the Shadowless Sword, it was tantamount to revealing himself as the Alliance Leader’s disciple.
Nevertheless, Baek Museong had won using only the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
Though a certain amount of trickery was involved, employing such a method was ultimately proof that he possessed superior strategy and martial skill.
“The winner is Baek Museong, Lord Baek!”
At Paeng Jong-heon’s shout, Mu Gyeol clasped his hands toward Baek Museong once more and turned away.
‘This much should be a defeat the mid-level elders can accept, right?’
Mu Gyeol’s expression was refreshed.
In truth, he too had received an order from the Martial Venerable to lose.
He had prepared a very plausible way to do so in advance, yet in the end Baek Museong had laid out the board for him perfectly.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
Originally, the Martial Venerable had planned to push Bu Eunseol aside and install Mu Gyeol as the Martial Heaven Division Commander.
But the plan had suddenly changed.
Now Baek Museong would become Commander, while Bu Eunseol would be made Master of the Intelligence and Secret Affairs Division.
Mu Gyeol could not understand it, but he faithfully carried out the Martial Venerable’s command.
For now… he still had to maintain the appearance of a loyal disciple.
‘Now it’s Bu Eunseol’s turn.’
In fact, losing to Baek Museong had been easy for him.
But Bu Eunseol was different.
Since he had to ascend to the position of Intelligence and Secret Affairs Commander despite losing, how he lost was extremely important.
If he failed to display sufficient prowess, he would face opposition from the mid-level elders.
Thud. Thud.
Having lost to Baek Museong, Mu Gyeol deliberately descended from the sparring platform with an appearance of utter exhaustion.
On the opposite side, his gaze met Bu Eunseol, who was waiting.
A faint smile.
Mu Gyeol gave a slight smirk.
—Good luck.
Bu Eunseol pretended not to notice the playful glint in his eyes and maintained an impassive expression.
Mu Gyeol clicked his tongue and left the arena.
‘So far, everything is proceeding according to the Martial Venerable’s plan.’
Bu Eunseol watched Mu Gyeol stagger away as though drained of strength. His eyes gradually deepened.
‘Could the Martial Venerable possibly share the same plan as me?’
In Bu Eunseol’s own scheme, Baek Museong absolutely had to become Division Commander.
Only then could the power of the Martial Alliance be split into three.
From the Martial Venerable’s perspective, however, having the Alliance’s power fractured was hardly desirable.
So why was he trying to hand the Commander position to Baek Museong, who was suspected of being a pawn of the Three Realms?
“Next match—Ascendant Martial Hall Leader Yuk Jangcheon and Supreme Corps Captain Seon Woojin! Come up to the sparring platform!”
Paeng Jong-heon’s shout rang out at that moment.
The sparring resumed immediately.
Shuuk.
At his call, two figures appeared once more on the platform.
Gulp.
The martial artists watching the stage swallowed in unison as though on cue.
Palm King, Yuk Jangcheon.
Even before joining the Martial Alliance, he had been one of the Four Gods and Seven Kings who dominated the martial world.
Together with the Fist King, he stood at the absolute peak in the field of fist-and-palm techniques.
And how formidable was Supreme Corps Captain Seon Woojin?
Having appeared like a comet as the successor of the Sunflower Merchant Group, he repeatedly achieved feats, rose through the ranks, obtained an opportunity to enter the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault, and finally defeated Fist King Seok Chi-haeng to claim a seat among the Four Gods and Seven Kings.
Even more intriguingly, the two men had once been superior and subordinate, eating from the same pot in the same organization.
Now they were both seats among the Four Gods and Seven Kings and were competing for the Division Commander position…
There could hardly be a more thrilling matchup in the world.
—Isn’t this too obvious a fight?
But the perspective of the Martial Alliance’s mid-level elders was slightly different.
Yuk Jangcheon was a grandmaster who had entered the Four Gods and Seven Kings long ago.
Even back then, his skill ranked among the upper tier of that group.
No matter how much of a rising star Seon Woojin was, defeating him was simply unthinkable.
“It has come to this after all.” Looking at Bu Eunseol, Yuk Jangcheon gave a cold smile. “How about withdrawing even now? That way you won’t have to suffer an unsightly defeat.”
“I’m sorry.”
Bu Eunseol politely clasped his hands.
“I wish to challenge the fate that has been given to me.”
Fate.
A word Bu Eunseol detested. Yet he deliberately used it right to Yuk Jangcheon’s face.
—I am fated to become the Martial Heaven Division Commander.
By invoking the word “fate,” he subtly scratched at Yuk Jangcheon’s nerves.
“Youthful challenges, regrettably, most often end in frustration.”
Yuk Jangcheon smiled faintly and extended his hand.
“Let me witness the skill that defeated the Fist King.”
“Begin!”
At Paeng Jong-heon’s command, Bu Eunseol instantly drew the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
Like a swallow skimming low over the water, he darted in and thrust toward Yuk Jangcheon’s throat.
This was not an orthodox righteous or demonic sword style—it was a swift sword form Bu Eunseol had created on the spot.
Yuk Jangcheon was startled.
He had never imagined that right from the opening move his opponent would unleash a killing technique, and one entering from an unavoidable angle at that.
“Thirsty for victory, are we?”
Kwaaaang!
Sneering, Yuk Jangcheon immediately unleashed his signature palm technique, the Fire Cloud Palm Method.
Its formal name: Fire Cloud Sword Seal Palm.
Regarded as the greatest palm art of the past century, Yuk Jangcheon’s palm mastery had always been compared to the Demon-Subduing Dragon-Trapping Palm of the Palm Emperor—one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars who reached the peak four hundred years ago—due to its overwhelming power.
The Fire Cloud Palm Method, surging with flame-like extreme yang energy, was in truth an extreme maximization of acceleration principles; no one could evade it.
Because it changed in accordance with the enemy’s movement and speed.
Shuk.
The Fire Cloud Palm grazed Bu Eunseol’s cheek.
Since his battle with Fist King Seok Chi-haeng, Bu Eunseol had once again advanced the Seven Fist Demon Forms and through his fight with the Heavenly Deity he had personally experienced the Demon-Subduing Dragon-Trapping Palm.
Thus, mere acceleration tricks held no power over him.
“Indeed.”
Yuk Jangcheon nodded.
Bu Eunseol had seen through the flaw in the acceleration principle and adjusted his own movements and techniques in response to the Fire Cloud Palm that changed according to his motion.
That was how he achieved perfect evasion.
“Such marvelous skill can only be attained by splitting time again and again until one reaches perfect Supreme Heavenly Realm.”
Yuk Jangcheon let out an admiring sigh.
“You’re not someone who defeated one of the Four Gods and Seven Kings in a short time…”
A brilliant light shone in his flashing eyes.
“But someone who entered the rank of supreme master long ago.”
“Thank you.”
“But be careful.” Despite the kindly tone, grotesque energy was rapidly rising from both of his palms. “Because hands do not have eyes!”
Kwarung!
The palm force Yuk Jangcheon unleashed this time was slower than before—there wasn’t even a sonic boom.
Bu Eunseol easily parted the force with the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and immediately slashed toward Yuk Jangcheon’s shoulder.
Kwaang!
Yet with an explosive sound, Bu Eunseol’s body was pushed back five steps.
‘I didn’t even see the left hand move.’
Yuk Jangcheon appeared to have fired an ordinary palm strike with his right hand, yet at the same time his left hand executed an exquisite maneuver—as though commanding a living creature to charge straight into Bu Eunseol’s opening with a unique palm force.
—The palm art of Hall Leader Yuk has reached the Realm of Two Gods Facing the Border.
Two Gods Facing the Border.
When palm mastery reaches its limit, the emission and retraction of palm force becomes so free that it feels as though two gods reside in each arm, pouring out and withdrawing force of their own volition.
Astonishingly, Yuk Jangcheon had trained his palm force to this realm, and both arms were independently matching Bu Eunseol’s movements to unleash strikes.
Describing it in words is easy.
In reality, it requires unimaginable inner energy and palm skill that had entered the divine.
“You’re surprised too early.”
Yuk Jangcheon swung his right hand.
In accordance with the motion, his left hand also left faint afterimages that embroidered the air.
Swish.
And those afterimages each became separate palm techniques that poured onto Bu Eunseol’s body.
Some were heavy and solemn like Shaolin palm force; others were sharp and venomous like heretical palm arts.
Palm King.
The reason he bore that title was not merely extreme palm mastery but because he could wield every palm technique and every subtlety in the world, making him the grandmaster of palm arts.
Paat.
In the end, unable to keep receiving the ceaseless palm strikes, Bu Eunseol leaped into the air.
And he unleashed a downpour of swordsmanship.
The twelfth form of the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms: Coiling Dragon Rising Phoenix.
True to its name, dragon-qi coiling upward and phoenix-qi soaring blended chaotically and rained down. By preempting the attack paths, he ensured Yuk Jangcheon could not strike him while he was airborne.
“Hmph.”
Yet as though he had foreseen the tactic, Yuk Jangcheon used Golden Dragon Seizing Claw to erase each sword-qi one by one.
Dissipating tangible sword-qi like smoke… such a feat was only possible after mastering palm arts to the level of Transcending Form and Entering Essence.
Ziiing.
Pressed by the endless Fire Cloud Palm strikes, the Silent Tiger Soul Sword let out a clear hum.
Bu Eunseol raised every last bit of the roughly three hundred years of inner energy he had set as Seon Woojin and poured it into the blade.
“You’re in a hurry.”
Yuk Jangcheon closed the distance until he was right in Bu Eunseol’s face.
Then, as though engaging in bare-handed combat, he extended his hands and began pouring out palm force.
Such close-quarters tactics were used by masters of fist-and-palm arts to amplify the power of their strikes by directly touching the opponent’s body.
Though he had no need to resort to such techniques, Yuk Jangcheon closed in anyway, unleashing palm force that seemed to graze Bu Eunseol’s body, sometimes switching to claw techniques to rake at his neck and shoulders.
Bu Eunseol barely blocked the moves, yet countless gashes had already appeared on his body.
Drip. Drip.
As blood flowed from Bu Eunseol’s wounds, Yuk Jangcheon briefly withdrew his hands and spoke in a benevolent tone.
“Shall we continue?”
Despite the kindly expression, power bristled on his palms.
He had absolutely no intention of stopping—yet he deliberately displayed magnanimity.
That way he could leave a favorable impression on the Martial Alliance mid-level elders watching the match.
“Of course.”
Click.
In response, Bu Eunseol sheathed the Silent Tiger Soul Sword.
“Hm.” Yuk Jangcheon’s eyes narrowed.
Seeing him return the sword to its scabbard, he realized a new tactic was coming.
“Good. Be careful.”
He immediately unleashed the Fire Cloud Palm Method once more.
With eighteen forms of Fire Cloud Palm he had once chilled the hearts of the world’s heroes.
By now the traces of his palm techniques had become undetectable; no one could even see where or how the strikes were launched. Moreover, the palm art he was unleashing now seemed a fusion of Shaolin’s Diamond Prajna Palm and the Mysterious Yin Divine Palm of the Mysterious Dark Sect—sharp yet extraordinarily dense, rendering Bu Eunseol’s swift footwork useless.
‘I will crush whatever martial art he uses in one breath.’
Yuk Jangcheon’s eyes flashed.
Whenever he encountered a master of outstanding palm art he immediately challenged them to a spar; when none could be found, he sought out secret manuals.
He had even mastered lost palm techniques from the Western Regions’ Potala Palace and comprehended the Great Hand Imprint of the outer sects.
Thus the Fire Cloud Palm, born from the fusion of countless palm arts, possessed power that could shock heaven and earth.
“Huu.”
Yuk Jangcheon shook both hands toward the rapidly moving Bu Eunseol.
“Too many openings.”
Even though palm force poured out, no sound was made.
He had unfolded the form Startling Tyrant of the World—a formless, styleless technique designed so the opponent could not defend.
Ssssk.
Yet an astonishing thing happened.
Bu Eunseol, who should have been struck by the invisible palm force and collapsed, stood perfectly unharmed.
“You dodged it.” Yuk Jangcheon swallowed his shock and muttered calmly.
How could anyone perfectly evade a formless, styleless palm technique?
Even he himself could not predict exactly how it would change.
“Thank you for showing mercy.”
At Bu Eunseol’s calm words, Yuk Jangcheon felt his insides boil, yet he nodded composedly.
“From now on the palm force will grow even fiercer. I still advise you to give up.”
“As I said, I intend to challenge the fate given to me.”
“Very well.”
Yuk Jangcheon spread both arms wide.
Most people think palm techniques are simply striking with the palm to kill the enemy but the true profundity of palm arts lies elsewhere.
It is the ability to turn the freest and most delicate part of the human body—the hands—into weapons.
Once one masters palm arts, one can combine the advantages of every weapon in the world and respond to any technique the enemy uses.
Kwaaaaaah!
A tsunami-like palm force began crashing toward Bu Eunseol. It was a technique akin to the fury of nature itself—impossible to evade or block.
Bu Eunseol moved as precariously as a lone boat on a storm-ravaged river, dodging with hair’s-breadth maneuvers yet every time he moved, the palm force inevitably began burrowing toward his vital points.
Kwaang! Kwaang!
Explosions rang out.
If he continued taking these strikes head-on—even if Bu Eunseol used the Diamond Indestructible Body—he could not possibly emerge unscathed.
‘This bastard…?’
But as he unleashed his palm techniques, Yuk Jangcheon’s eyes widened.
The number of solidly landing strikes was steadily decreasing.
It was not that Bu Eunseol was evading with footwork alone—he was gradually using fist techniques to neutralize each palm strike one by one.
The most troublesome opponents for palm masters were never wielders of divine weapons, but rather experts proficient in fist-and-palm arts.
The two hands are freer and more delicate than any weapon but when the enemy uses the same approach, no particular advantage remains.
Grind.
Yuk Jangcheon clenched his molars.
Seon Woojin was not using the swordsmanship that was supposed to be his specialty.
Instead he was enduring like a water ghost, dissolving the Fire Cloud Palm force with clumsy-looking fist techniques… and it quietly infuriated him.
‘Since there’s no way to win, he’s just trying to hold out!’
Determined, he doubled his inner energy and poured out the Fire Cloud Palm.
Yet Bu Eunseol’s fist techniques, though lacking in explosive power, were unexpectedly stable and rock-solid, somehow managing to withstand the Fire Cloud Palm Method.
‘Then there is a way.’
Shuuk!
Closing the distance with footwork, he unfolded the Eighteen Point Rank—sticking to Bu Eunseol as though the two bodies were glued together with sticky resin, and unleashed sharp attacks without pause.
One moment attacking the face with palm techniques, the next smashing the collarbone with an elbow, then using chain leg techniques to seal movement while stepping.
When hands clashed he used Golden Lock Hand techniques to rake; when bodies collided he employed Frontier Wrestling techniques to throw and slam the opponent down.
Even the slightest graze was lethal—truly murderous close-quarters combat.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
After the two exchanged forty-odd moves in an instant, silence fell over the sparring arena.
—The martial arts of Hall Leader Yuk are so murderous…?
Of course, bare-handed close combat is a technique performed at extreme proximity, so it is naturally desperate and perilous.
But was Yuk Jangcheon not attacking with razor-sharp killing moves as though facing a mortal enemy?
It no longer felt like the Martial Alliance sparring platform but rather a gruesome site of a life-or-death grudge match.
Hooong! Hooong! Papapak!
In contrast, Bu Eunseol’s close-quarters combat remained steady and upright, never deviating from the righteous path.
It might appear so simply because he focused on defense, yet in truth his movements carried proper form and contained no killing techniques.
Thus, to the other martial artists watching, it looked as though only Yuk Jangcheon was dancing madly with a blade like a lunatic.
‘This cunning bastard!’
As the exchange continued, Yuk Jangcheon was engulfed in rage.
He had switched to close-quarters combat to finish quickly without unnecessary moves—only to realize that had been Bu Eunseol’s ploy all along.
‘He must have trained extensively in close-quarters combat just for today’s match.’
The Bu Eunseol who had seemed to be helplessly beaten now unfolded the same Eighteen Point Rank, clinging like a water ghost and completely neutralizing the palm techniques.
‘He deliberately used fist techniques to lure me into close-quarters combat!’
Yuk Jangcheon bit his lip.
Close-quarters combat—attacking with every part of the body at extreme range—allows diverse attacks, but only very short, concise moves can be executed.
As a result, the relatively large-motioned Fire Cloud Palm Method was completely sealed.
‘I’ll kill him!’
Enraged, Yuk Jangcheon unleashed one lethal killing technique after another that could snap a neck in an instant.
Even if it made him look vicious, he intended to crush the face of this insidious, clinging bastard in one blow and end the match.
Whooong! Papapak!
Yet after another forty-odd moves passed, Yuk Jangcheon instantly realized.
‘He was hiding his true fist mastery!’
Looking back, luring him into close-quarters combat had been precisely to seal the Fire Cloud Palm Method.
‘This won’t do!’
Crack.
A sound of bones came from Yuk Jangcheon’s body.
He was about to unleash the secret ultimate technique he had kept hidden—using the full power of his life.
