Even though Bu Eunseol had seen through Gongsun Guryeong’s dark intentions with perfect clarity, he calmly explained the reason.
“It was a mistake to carry that large bamboo box on your back.” His eyes deepened, as if recalling a distant memory. “Since childhood, I’ve carried a large bamboo box filled with ritual items on my back.”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Gongsun Guryeong said, his face contorted with confusion.
Bu Eunseol continued in a matter-of-fact tone, “The human spine is naturally curved. But the bamboo box used for carrying goods is so large that even an adult would struggle, and it hangs down to the hips.”
He pointed a finger at Gongsun Guryeong’s waist, where the bamboo box rested.
“Because of this, those who carry such a large bamboo box for a long time naturally bend their waist slightly to adjust.” Bu Eunseol gestured toward Gongsun Guryeong’s posture, his shoulders slouched and his waist excessively bent. “You bent your waist like a bow to appear like an ordinary young man. But a peddler with no martial arts training would never carry a basket like that. The pain in their waist would make walking impossible.”
“Heh heh heh. So that’s what it was.” Gongsun Guryeong let out a sinister chuckle, finally realizing the secret he had overlooked. “I’ll have to avoid carrying useless boxes like this in the future.”
At that moment, Hwangbo Cheongyeong, who had been flanking Gongsun Guryeong from both sides, let out an arrogant laugh.
“Gongsun Guryeong, do you really think you’ll have a future after today?” As Hwangbo Cheongyeong interjected, a venomous glint of murderous intent flickered in Gongsun Guryeong’s eyes.
“Don’t interrupt, you brat.”
“Brat? Do you even know who we are to talk like that?”
“Hahaha!” Gongsun Guryeong suddenly burst into wild laughter.
His laugh, infused with inner energy, reverberated through the mountains and trees.
“I know full well you’re the pampered offspring of the Eight Great Families.”
“Then you must also know this is your last day,” Zhuge Seoun retorted coldly.
Gongsun Guryeong’s smile turned darker. “You think you’ve pinpointed my location because you’re so clever?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying I knew everything from the start. That the brats from your three families have been chasing me on your own.” In that instant, the faint smile on Zhuge Seoun’s lips vanished.
Gongsun Guryeong’s words had completely shattered the predictions of Zhuge Seoun, who had meticulously planned everything up to this point.
“From the fact that the pursuers from your families have surrounded the area near Daemyeong Mountain…” Gongsun Guryeong bared his white teeth in a wide grin.
“…to the fact that you’ve banded together to guard this pass.” His sinister smile caused the fake skin on his face to move unnaturally, creating a grotesque atmosphere.
The corners of Zhuge Seoun’s eyes twitched. Gongsun Guryeong’s words implied not only that the families’ intelligence had been completely compromised but also that a formidable intelligence network was aiding him.
“Knowing all that, why did you come here?” Moyong Kyung, who had been listening silently, asked.
Gongsun Guryeong smirked. “Because I wanted to peel the skin off young, tender fools like you instead of old, weathered ones.”
He licked his lips, staring at Bu Eunseol with a rapturous expression.
“I’ve found a treasure I couldn’t locate in decades of wandering.” Despite Bu Eunseol’s ordinary appearance and skin, altered by the art of disguise, the deranged doctor, who had dissected humans for decades, seemed to see through to his true skin. “I made the right choice listening to him.”
‘Him?’ A fleeting spark flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
In that moment, he recalled the mysterious masked figures aboard the Gyoryong Band’s ship.
“No matter what nonsense you spew, Gongsun Guryeong,” Moyong Kyung said, stepping forward with a calm expression, “the fact that you’ll die today doesn’t change.”
Shing.
Moyong Kyung drew the sharp sword at his waist. The Hwangbo brothers also began exuding a sharp aura, as if drawing upon their inner energy.
Just as the situation teetered on the edge of erupting, Zhuge Seoun shouted, “Rin-ah, now!”
It was a common tactic for fugitives to feign readiness for battle only to flee. Knowing this, Zhuge Seoun immediately signaled to deploy a defensive formation to block any escape routes.
Swish swish swish.
With the sound of rustling grass, the surroundings of the open clearing blurred, and a faint mist began to envelop the area. Zhuge Serin, hidden in the trees, had activated the formation.
“The Zhuge Family’s Six Harmonies Formation?” Gongsun Guryeong said, recognizing the technique instantly, a cruel smile spreading across his face. “Did you think I’d try to escape?”
The Six Harmonies Formation was not a particularly advanced technique, merely a simple defensive formation designed to confuse one’s sense of direction and prevent escape.
“You brats are dreaming. Heh heh heh.”
“Hmph, don’t you know our family doesn’t act without confidence?” Zhuge Seoun said, regaining his composure with a smile.
The group consisted of individuals with peak-level skills, including exceptional masters like Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin. Even if Gongsun Guryeong’s abilities approached the Transcendent Realm, their combined strength was more than enough to handle him.
“A murderer like you sure talks a lot,” Hwangbo Cheongyeong said, one of the Hwangbo brothers flanking Gongsun Guryeong. He adjusted his Thunderous Armor Hands and lowered his stance.
“Shall we get started?” Zhuge Seoun drew his Six Harmony Fan, and Moyong Kyung raised his sword.
But something was off.
Even with a battle imminent, Bu Eunseol stood with his brows furrowed, staring intently at something behind Gongsun Guryeong.
“Brother Bu,” Zhuge Seoun said, puzzled, about to speak—
Wooom!
A low vibration shook the ground.
From Gongsun Guryeong’s body, a sharp aura erupted, and a tremendous wave of energy soared into the sky. The shockwave was so powerful it took visible form.
“How can this be?” Zhuge Seoun’s eyes widened at the unexpected sight.
The manifestation of energy. Wasn’t that a feat only masters who had reached the perfected Transcendent Realm, with decades of internal energy, could achieve?
“How is this possible…?” Moyong Kyung and the Hwangbo brothers gaped.
But Zhuge Seoun quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Don’t panic! Didn’t we anticipate that his skills might have reached the Transcendent Realm?”
This was precisely why they had painstakingly recruited Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin.
“If we can just withstand his initial assault, we can handle him.”
Hwangbo Jegyeong clenched his fist with a confident expression. “You’re right. Our brothers—”
His confident words were cut short.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, a massive force crashed down where the Hwangbo brothers stood.
“Who’s there?!” the startled brothers shouted, leaping to either side.
Bang!
An explosive sound rang out, and a hand-shaped crater appeared where they had been standing.
The sheer power was almost unbelievable.
Whoooosh.
As the dust settled in the breeze, a strange sound echoed.
Click clack.
The sound of footsteps was oddly distinct, as if someone were walking on marble, despite the path being covered in grass and dirt.
Click.
Finally, two men appeared.
The man on the left wore snow-white robes, his skin as pale as if dusted with powder. The man on the right wore black robes, his skin as dark as ground ink.
The clacking sound came from the wooden clogs they wore.
“There aren’t any particularly appetizing ones here,” the man in black said, revealing teeth stained black in a grotesque display.
“We’re just whetting our appetites for nothing,” the man in white replied, baring sharp teeth in a bright smile.
“They look useful to me. We could keep them around for a while.” Zhuge Seoun’s body trembled as he stared at the newcomers.
The names of the most bizarre and cruel masters in the martial world flashed through his mind.
“Black and White Impermanence…!”
Black and White Impermanence.
Expelled from the Blood Gate, one of the Four Great Evils of the martial world, due to their grotesque hobbies.
Black Impermanence, the Great Strength God, killed to consume human flesh. White Impermanence, Jun Muyeol, killed women without reason and indulged in male companionship. They had long been public enemies of both the righteous and demonic factions, vanishing from the martial world years ago. So why had they appeared here?
‘A trap!’ Zhuge Seoun’s instincts screamed. The simultaneous appearance of Black and White Impermanence, who had vanished long ago, and the deranged doctor was no coincidence.
“That one’s skin is mine,” Gongsun Guryeong said, pointing at Bu Eunseol. “I won’t give it up, even in death.”
“Ho ho ho, no need to worry,” White Impermanence said, laughing and pointing a finger. “I prefer rugged, manly types like those over effeminate ones.” The Hwangbo brothers’ faces turned pale.
White Impermanence’s finger was pointing at them.
“Then it’s settled,” Black Impermanence said, looking up at a towering tree and baring his black teeth. “The one hiding up there is mine.”
His gaze fixed on the tree where Zhuge Serin was concealed.
“Looks tender enough to chew whole.”
Grind.
As Black and White Impermanence grinned, grinding their teeth, Zhuge Seoun, Moyong Kyung, and the Hwangbo brothers felt their souls nearly leave their bodies.
‘How could this happen?’ An unimaginable nightmare was unfolding before their eyes.
The murderer known as the deranged doctor, thought to be at peak-level strength, had reached the perfected Transcendent Realm. Behind him was a terrifying intelligence network that had outwitted the Eight Great Families, and now figures like Black and White Impermanence had appeared to aid him.
Victory was impossible, and escape was equally out of reach.
‘I was wrong.’ Zhuge Seoun finally realized.
Why the three great families had united their forces to pursue a single murderer. Why the family elders had refused his advice to split the pursuit teams.
‘The leaders accounted for every contingency, which is why they didn’t divide the forces further.’ Zhuge Seoun hung his head.
No matter how clever his strategies, he was still an inexperienced youth compared to seasoned martial artists. He realized that misjudging the enemy in the martial world led to one outcome: death.
“Shall we get to work?” Black Impermanence said, licking his lips and leaping toward the tree.
Yet Zhuge Seoun’s group stood frozen, their bodies paralyzed by overwhelming fear.
“Heh heh heh.” As Black Impermanence reached for the tree where Zhuge Serin hid—
Crackle.
A blaze like the sun sparked in the night sky.
Boom!
Five streams of force tore through the air, striking Black Impermanence’s chest and face.
“Urgh!” Forced to dodge the razor-sharp attack, Black Impermanence twisted his body and landed back on the ground.
“Who’s there?!” he shouted, landing and staring at the young man before him, his jaw dropping.
Bu Eunseol, who had been standing in front of Gongsun Guryeong, was now blocking Black Impermanence’s path. In that moment, not only Black Impermanence but also Gongsun Guryeong and White Impermanence rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
How had Bu Eunseol, who had been standing right in front of them, moved to intercept Black Impermanence?
“To think such elusive movement techniques exist in the martial world…” Black Impermanence muttered, genuinely impressed. “I’ve devoured countless young fools, but I’ve never seen someone with such stealthy footwork.”
Unfazed by the praise, Bu Eunseol gazed calmly into the distance.
“Sojin.”
“Yes.”
“Handle this one.”
“Understood.” With a low reply, Hyeok Sojin, who had been concealing his presence until now, stepped in front of Black Impermanence.
“Ugh,” Hyeok Sojin said, grimacing at Black Impermanence’s black-stained teeth. “When was the last time you brushed those?”
‘This insolent brat…’
Grind.
Veins bulged on Black Impermanence’s forehead.
“Die!” Five razor-sharp lines shot toward Hyeok Sojin’s face.
At last, Black Impermanence unleashed his ultimate technique, the Black Vigor Demon Claw.
