Boom!
Suddenly, with a deafening explosion, sparks flew around Bu Eunseol.
Status, seniority, and the depth of martial arts—when a mere fledgling, incomparable in any of these aspects, provoked him to take the first move, Shindo Jangcheon, in a towering rage, unleashed a formless and soundless Annihilation Palm.
Bu Eunseol blocked it with his protective qi.
“Indeed, it seems you have at least mastered the basics of the Annihilation Palm.”
As Bu Eunseol mentioned the Annihilation Palm with every breath, Shindo Jangcheon snarled, “Your leisure ends now!”
Flash!
Instantly closing the distance, Shindo Jangcheon once again poured out formless and soundless palm force. His palm force was so swift it could neither be perceived nor evaded, and with every movement of his hand, hundreds of palm images spread out in a dizzying blur.
Then, an unexpected situation unfolded.
Bang!
Bu Eunseol also closed the distance even further and began to strike back by deploying leg techniques. As they engaged in offense and defense at a range so close their faces nearly touched, their fists and legs collided directly. The arms and legs of the two masters contained power enough to topple a great mountain, and a heavy metallic clanging echoed every time they clashed.
However, no matter how profound Bu Eunseol’s leg techniques were, they could not rival the Annihilation Palm, the grand progenitor of palm studies.
Swish.
Ultimately, Bu Eunseol shifted his body minutely, letting Shindo Jangcheon’s palm force slide past him, and created dozens of fist images. Finally, he unleashed his specialty: the Seven Fist Demon Forms.
Clang!
With a thunderous sound, the fists of Shindo Jangcheon and Bu Eunseol intertwined in the air once more.
Arms and legs, hands and fists collided without pause; bone crashed against bone, and with every impact, a sharp current of air scattered in all directions.
When a fatal strike missed, a counterattack followed immediately, and the exchange, invisible to the eye, continued relentlessly. Shindo Jangcheon’s palm method was as grave and sharp as a great mountain, while Bu Eunseol’s Seven Fist Demon Forms were profound and destructive.
However, Shindo Jangcheon was a master who had trained in the Annihilation Palm for decades and had mastered the number one palm technique of the Demonic Path. As expected, facing him with only the Seven Fist Demon Forms was somewhat overwhelming.
Sssss.
Eventually, Bu Eunseol’s body began to be pushed back.
Flash! Papapapapa!
Shindo Jangcheon’s internal strength was so immense that even though he was drawing hundreds of palm images, his power did not scatter, and his execution of techniques remained fluid.
Clang! Clang!
Breaching the defense of the Seven Fist Demon Forms, Shindo Jangcheon’s palm force struck Bu Eunseol’s shoulder and abdomen.
Despite taking a heavy blow, Bu Eunseol did not retreat and once again narrowed the distance. Shindo Jangcheon, spotting a flaw in that movement instead, attempted to seize Bu Eunseol’s nape using a Joint-Locking technique.
As the distance between them narrowed until they were face-to-face, Bu Eunseol spat out the blood he had been holding in his mouth.
“You have no shame!”
Originally, such a tactic was not something a master of the grandmaster rank would employ.
However, the martial techniques of Nangyang Pavilion had no restrictions; they did not hesitate to use even low-tier methods like the Lazy Donkey Roll if it meant survival.
Paaaaa!
Shindo Jangcheon poured out an even more violent palm force.
Even while possessing such power, he only unleashes the Annihilation Palm.
Just as a sharp glint flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Once again, a palm strike grazed his shoulder. It was so sharp and powerful that even a mere graze turned his clothes to dust and stained his skin black.
“Grrr…”
At that moment, a beast-like roar erupted from Bu Eunseol’s mouth. As he deployed fist and leg techniques while continuously radiating the extreme senses of the Beast Way, the Power of the Wild was naturally unleashed.
Roar!
As the Power of the Wild spread, the Seven Fist Demon Forms—which were supposed to contain intense power within profundity—suddenly transformed into a terrifying total study of demonic arts characterized by pure, relentless aggression.
This made his style the natural antithesis to the subtle and sharp Annihilation Palm.
As Bu Eunseol, transformed into a beast, rained down the Seven Fist Demon Forms with the force of a collapsing mountain at point-blank range, Shindo Jangcheon’s hands and feet became frantic, and his techniques began to scatter.
“Good!”
A mysterious radiance stretched out from Shindo Jangcheon’s eyes.
Although the youth’s foundation in fist and palm studies was inferior to his own, he possessed terrifying internal energy. Realizing that he could not be brought down with the Annihilation Palm alone due to his mastery of Nangyang Pavilion’s practical martial arts—which grew stronger as the fight progressed—Shindo Jangcheon made his move.
Hum. Hum.
A mysterious light spread from Shindo Jangcheon’s palms. Immediately, palm prints began to be etched continuously onto Bu Eunseol’s skin.
Infinite Reversal Power. The Unity of Void and Reality, Complete Destruction.
Through mental intent, he landed palm strikes and deployed the Infinite Reversal Power, capable of destroying any kind of power.
Boom!
Raising his internal energy to the maximum, Bu Eunseol tried to shake off the shadows of the palm force being drawn on his body. However, the power of Complete Destruction was consuming his internal energy. Palm prints appeared and disappeared on his body in a constant cycle.
Complete Destruction sensed the essence and flow of every type of martial force and immediately offset or destroyed that power with palm force—a Infinite Reversal Power. In short, it was an unavoidable palm force that instantly destroyed any power, pouring down infinitely.
“No matter how great your internal energy is, you can never breach this Destruction of All Phenomena.”
Having deployed the technique, Shindo Jangcheon relaxed his posture and looked at Bu Eunseol with leisure.
Once Complete Destruction hit, a palm force that offset and destroyed whatever power was unleashed would cling to the opponent like a ghost. Specifically, it specialized in shattering not only internal energy or supernatural power but also the various types of force used for defense in martial arts. Thus, it neutralized the enemy’s defense itself and thoroughly broke their body.
Unable to offset the palm shadows that were forming on his skin as if attached to it, Bu Eunseol could no longer endure and dropped to one knee.
Hum. Hum.
He continuously exerted his internal energy to block the technique, but the power was penetrating faster than he could stop it.
Crack! Flash!
Exerting a sudden burst of intense internal energy, Bu Eunseol barely seemed to offset the power. Emitting waves of internal energy, he stood his body upright again. However, he wore a hollow expression as if no strength remained in his body, and cold sweat was pouring down his entire frame.
“Impressive. I was skeptical when rumors spread that you had reached the Limitless Realm, but to think you actually endured Complete Destruction.”
Since his body was not shattered after taking the technique, Shindo Jangcheon assumed Bu Eunseol had reached the Wuji point and obtained the body of a Golden Immortal.
“If you had intended to defeat this Palace Lord from the start, you should have prevented me from deploying Complete Destruction.”
Shindo Jangcheon curled his lip.
He didn’t know how the boy had defeated the Heavenly Killer Star, but if he wanted to win here, he shouldn’t have toyed around with fist and palm studies; he should have immediately unleashed his Infinite Reversal Power for a decisive battle. Yet, by arrogantly fighting with fists and palms, he ended up exposed to the Infinite Reversal Power without even being able to counter.
“I cannot understand you,” Bu Eunseol asked, dripping with cold sweat.
“With this much martial prowess, you could have fulfilled your own will. Why did you become someone else’s dog and target me?”
“Aren’t you the one who is someone else’s dog?” Shindo Jangcheon curled his lip. “It will be quite a sight when the blade held by the Demon Emperor points in the opposite direction.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed. Perhaps in the past, but even now, did this man still think of him as a puppet moving according to the Demon Emperor’s will? It was impossible for him not to know that they had publicly clashed several times.
Why was he saying such things?
In that case, is he targeting the Demon Emperor instead of me?
The Demon Emperor is not one to blink even if the Ten Demonic Sects of the Demonic Path attacked him. Why, then, was the Extinction Palace siding with external forces to show such hostility toward him?
“If you are targeting the Demon Emperor, shouldn’t you avoid touching me?” Bu Eunseol asked again, as if he truly didn’t understand. “You must have seen clearly that I have clashed with him several times.”
“Nonsense,” Shindo Jangcheon sneered. “Do you think a single mouth can hide the whole truth?”
“The truth?”
“Enough.” He once again raised his Infinite Reversal Power. “Ask the rest to King Yama.”
Flash!
A brilliant light burst from Shindo Jangcheon’s eyes, and palm prints began to be drawn on Bu Eunseol’s body once again. He was using Complete Destruction for a second time.
But it was strange. Bu Eunseol, who looked like he was dying while covered in cold sweat, stood up calmly and shook his head.
“Do you think using Infinite Reversal Power makes you the Extinction Palace Lord?”
Shindo Jangcheon’s eyes widened in shock. How could a fellow whose entire body was covered in palm prints from the exposure to Complete Destruction stand up so perfectly?
“What…?”
“I was just pretending to take the hits, hoping I might learn something.”
Finally, Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed infinitely.
“However, your method of replacing the fake with the real is both extraordinary and sophisticated.”
He continued in a low voice, “I was always curious how even the most brilliant disguise could deceive everyone in a single sect… It wasn’t that you planted a clumsy fake; you brought in a blood relative who could perfectly replace him.”
The secret of how the top figures of martial world were replaced without being caught was finally out: they were recruiting blood relatives who could perfectly substitute for the target to create a ‘fake.’
Shindo Jangcheon was speechless at Bu Eunseol’s words. This secret had never been revealed, and no one had ever even suspected it. How on earth did this ghost of a man see through it?
As Shindo Jangcheon tried to say something, he finally noticed: “What is that…?”
Only then did he realize a faint light was draped over Bu Eunseol’s body. Because of that faint light, the power of Complete Destruction had been unable to invade his flesh.
“What is that light that it can nullify Infinite Reversal Power?”
“As I thought.” Bu Eunseol wore a disappointed expression. “Since you didn’t reach the realm yourself, you have no way of knowing.”
In truth, from the moment he formed the Heart Mirror Technique, he had been draped in Harmony over his entire body. If it was a fake capable of replacing the Extinction Palace Lord, they surely possessed such ability, and he thought they might even surpass him in the depth of martial arts.
However, Shindo Jangcheon had failed to sense the power of Harmony at all. This was because he had not truly ascended to the Limitless Realm; his prowess had been augmented through external help.
“Looking at your eyes and biological response…” Bu Eunseol muttered lowly after seeing the panic in Shindo Jangcheon’s gaze. “You are certainly a blood relative of Palace Lord Shin.”
“What nonsense!”
“Again, your spirit wavered.”
If one’s spirit were whole and full of dignity, their biological responses would not be revealed, and they could perfectly hide their emotions. Even if someone reached the realm of “Mind-to-Mind Perception,” they would never be able to see through their true intentions.
However, once his composure crumbled due to the unexpected situation, Shindo Jangcheon’s emotional light and biological responses were exposed, allowing Bu Eunseol to continuously see through his heart.
“I intentionally scratched your pride by ignoring the Annihilation Palm Technique, and you showed some interesting reactions.”
Bu Eunseol sighed.
“To think you still feel pride in the Extinction Palace’s martial arts while acting as a fake Palace Lord… Moreover, you exude the exact same atmosphere as Palace Lord Shin, to the point where it’s almost impossible to distinguish you.”
When Bu Eunseol provoked him with fist and palm studies, Shindo Jangcheon had shown pride in the palm studies of the Extinction Palace and mocked him. Furthermore, he possessed a perfectly natural aura of an elderly man that only someone of Palace Lord Shin’s age could show.
There was only one conclusion.
“The person who fits these conditions… is it not Shindo Jangjeong, the younger brother of Palace Lord Shin?”
When Bu Eunseol clicked his tongue and asked, Shindo Jangcheon—no, Shindo Jangjeong—could only stare with wide eyes. How could this fellow see through what even the high-ranking members of the Extinction Palace had failed to notice?
But it was too early to be surprised.
“Seeing as you likely harbored resentment toward Palace Lord Shin’s actions for a long time, you must have staged this… It was probably quite a while ago when the Heavenly Mechanism Star or a kin of the True Demon, perceiving that resentment, enticed you.”
Shindo Jangjeong trembled, unable to believe it. “Have you, like the Demon Emperor, reached Mind-to-Mind Perception and grasped my inner thoughts all at once?”
“Not a chance.” Bu Eunseol shook his head. “If you were the real Palace Lord Shin, no matter how much your inner thoughts were exposed, it wouldn’t have caused such a minute fracture in your spirit.”
He snorted and continued, “If you wanted to properly play the role of Palace Lord Shin, you should have started by imitating the atmosphere that the head of a sect possesses.”
“What?”
“Even if the age is similar and the level of martial arts is the same, you cannot simply possess the dignity of a sect leader.”
Bu Eunseol’s speech flowed like a smooth river, and Shindo Jangjeong found himself unknowingly drawn in.
“But because your nature is not cruel, you probably locked your brother away somewhere instead of killing him… However, the moment you become the head of a sect, the ‘leisure’ you once had inevitably vanishes. Because the fate of countless disciples depends on your every decision and every word.”
The leaders who guide a sect are extremely cautious in every word and action. This is because the lives of all disciples can change completely based on their decisions and attitude.
Therefore, even a naturally frivolous person is forced to become cautious and grave once they ascend to the position of leader. Furthermore, as they are always in the position of giving orders, the dignity of commanding and overwhelming others becomes naturally ingrained in their body at all times.
However, from the Shindo Jangjeong before him, no such dignity was felt.
“It must have looked dull and frustrating to you—why Palace Lord Shin made such stifling decisions.” Bu Eunseol continued as if looking into Shindo Jangjeong’s heart. “But only after usurping the position of Palace Lord would you have felt it—that those decisions were by no means foolish.”
Shindo Jangjeong’s eyes widened at the words flowing like a river. “Are you truly that successor the Demon Emperor hid away?”
He was making a grave mistake.
He thought Bu Eunseol had perfectly mastered the Demon Emperor’s Infinite Reversal Power—Mind-to-Mind Perception—and was forcibly causing cracks in his spirit to look into his inner self.
“It wasn’t Infinite Reversal Power; I could tell from the start that you were not Shindo Jangcheon.”
“From the start?”
“Leading a faction always involves a cycle of making decisions and giving orders. Therefore, that unique atmosphere naturally reveals itself in the leaders who head a sect.” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “Especially if it’s the Palace Lord leading the great Extinction Palace, one of the Ten Demonic Sects of the Demonic Path, that atmosphere should be even more apparent.”
“Yet, even without that atmosphere, the high-ranking members of the Extinction Palace didn’t feel any change, and you have refined palm studies comparable to Palace Lord Shin. If you are full of pride for the Extinction Palace, then you are naturally an insider of the sect.”
Bu Eunseol continued, looking at the stiffened Shindo Jangjeong. “The only person in the Extinction Palace who can perfectly mimic Palace Lord Shin’s attitude and speech, and who is of a similar age, is his younger brother, is it not?”
Shindo Jangjeong’s mouth fell open. He saw now that it wasn’t Mind-to-Mind Perception; the youth had grasped the whole picture with just a few clues. Such resourcefulness was at a level comparable to the Heavenly Mechanism Star.
Swallowing his shock, Shindo Jangjeong asked, “What I am asking is… how do you know the reason why I betrayed the Palace Lord?”
Bu Eunseol snorted. “Palace Lord Shin may be narrow-minded and petty, but he is a man with a clear eye for perceiving the trends of the time. That is why he was able to expand his influence the most moderately among the Ten Demonic Sects of the Demonic Path.”
He looked at Shindo Jangjeong and sighed. “Would such a man lure the Command Lord into a trap under the pretext of leaving the Majeon?”
Bu Eunseol smirked. “For a plan executed by that cautious and timid Palace Lord Shin, isn’t it far too easy a gamble to risk the very existence of the Extinction Palace?”
From the very beginning, Bu Eunseol did not believe the real Palace Lord would have made such a decision. And when Shindo Jangcheon appeared, he was certain: no matter how great his martial prowess, a Extinction Palace Lord who showed absolutely no dignity of a sect leader could not be the real one.
“Furthermore, while carrying out this perilous plan, you only showed a confident attitude, with absolutely no fear or agony regarding failure.”
Only then did Shindo Jangjeong, having grasped the entire situation, let out a deep sigh. “So, even while perfectly mimicking the martial arts and atmosphere, you were able to discern my identity by looking at the ‘eyes’ that matched that age.”
“Indeed.”
Only then did Shindo Jangjeong realize that Bu Eunseol was a person far more outstanding than the rumors circulating in martial world.
“Well, I suppose that’s why you were able to dominate the world at such an age.” Shindo Jangjeong wore a lonely expression. “As you said, all the actions of the Palace Lord looked cowardly to me. No, it looked like he was taking an unnecessarily low posture.”
“That was likely because you were looking from below, not from the top of the sect.”
“You are right.” Shindo Jangjeong had no choice but to admit it. He realized now that all his plans had ended in failure.
“At first, I didn’t believe him,” he said with an incredibly regretful expression. “He said that there are unpredictable figures in the world, and one of them is the Martial Soul Command Lord.”
“You mean the Heavenly Mechanism Star.”
“Yes. He is truly a terrifying individual.”
As Shindo Jangjeong continued, a strange, metallic luster appeared in his eyes, and suddenly, his hair began to turn white from the sideburns. His face became as white as a spirit of the snow, and an intense power that seemed to contain the whole world was surging through his entire body.
It was as if an ancient god, slumbering in a mortal vessel, was finally awakening.
Flash!
As he slowly opened his eyes, his black pupils vanished without a trace, and in their place were silvery-white eyes that looked as if snowflakes had blossomed within them. Those eyes held no emotion, but they possessed a majesty that seemed to pierce through the very soul of the observer and a depth of abyss that seemed to hold the providence of the heavens.
“This is the Manifestation Divine Technique.”
The moment he whispered lowly, an overwhelming divine energy exploded from his entire body. It became an invisible wave that spread in all directions, turning even the surrounding air sacred. The sounds of insects ceased, and the wind held its breath.
It was as if everything on earth was bowing down in reverence before him.
Manifestation Divine Technique.
The Heavenly Mechanism Star had finally completed the transcendent power permitted only to the bloodline of the Baekri family—a secret technique that even a master like Shindo Jangjeong could use freely.
Thanks for the chap🙏