When Bu Eunseol first encountered Gu Hongcheong, the skill gap was like that between a newborn and an adult.
But through relentless growth, he had narrowed the gap significantly. If Gu Hongcheong was a robust adult fighting barehanded, Bu Eunseol was a youth wielding a sharp blade.
Supreme Heavenly Flow’s eighth form and Wishful True Binding were his keen edges.
“Show your tricks,” Gu Hongcheong said coldly, standing firm.
No staff hung at his waist, unlike typical Beggar Sect disciples. His Dragon-Subduing Palm, the sect’s finest, had always defeated top masters with bare hands.
Shing.
As Bu Eunseol drew his black sword, darkness seemed to settle over Ascension Platform.
“Hmm.” Gu Hongcheong’s eyes narrowed.
Unlike peak-level masters, those in the Extreme Heaven Realm didn’t rely on techniques to determine victory. An opponent’s height, stride, weapon type and length, distance, and the direction of sunlight—all battle-relevant information was absorbed, analyzed, and used to predict movements and techniques.
From Bu Eunseol’s stance and aura alone, Gu Hongcheong gauged his astonishing inner energy.
“Relying on your inner energy?” he sneered. “That won’t decide the fight!”
Rumble.
A massive palm suddenly appeared before Bu Eunseol’s face—Sudden Arrival, the fastest and stealthiest move of Dragon-Subduing Palm.
Boom!
As Bu Eunseol used Swift Beyond Shadow, a bottomless pit formed where he stood, its power unbelievable even to the eyes.
Swish.
Gu Hongcheong casually waved his hand, and a spiraling palm force, like a dragon dancing in water, surged toward Bu Eunseol’s left.
It was Hidden Dragon Plays with Water, a masterful technique.
‘He can skip movements entirely?’ Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms typically required vigorous stances, but Gu Hongcheong unleashed it with minimal motion, proof he could deploy any technique at will, confirming his Extreme Heaven Realm mastery.
Boom!
As Bu Eunseol pondered, another massive palm force struck.
‘Good!’ Raising his energy, faint light shimmered from his fist, erupting into a fierce glow.
Using Fist Demon Seven Forms’ second move, Extreme Roar of Chaos, he aimed to counter the Dragon-Subduing Palm.
Crash!
The clash of fist and palm sent shockwaves outward, shaking the ground. Dust rose, then cleared with the wind, revealing Gu Hongcheong standing firm while Bu Eunseol was pushed back a step.
“Oh?” Gu Hongcheong’s lips rounded in surprise. He already knew Bu Eunseol’s inner energy rivaled his own.
What shocked him was how easily Bu Eunseol neutralized the sharp energy within his palm strike.
“Even pushed back, you blocked the Dragon-Subduing Palm’s penetrating force,” he said, nodding. “Impressive. Worthy of challenging me alone!” With a shout, he unleashed dozens of palm shadows toward Bu Eunseol—Shock the Hundred Li, the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms’ move creating the most shadows at once.
Swish.
The shadows formed a fan-like barrier, reminiscent of Kwang Yeon’s Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm.
Flash!
Instead of resisting, Bu Eunseol used his movement technique to escape the palm force’s range.
Crack! Pop!
With Swift Beyond Shadow, his body left only faint afterimages, moving as if time sped up dozens of times.
Boom!
As palm forces struck, Bu Eunseol’s speed increased, unleashing Swift Beyond Shadow fully, producing thunderous booms with each movement. Ascension Platform’s vastness allowed him to maneuver freely.
“Rat-like scoundrel! I’ll seal all your escapes!” Gu Hongcheong shouted, changing his palm technique as Bu Eunseol dodged.
Whoosh!
Countless palm shadows erased Bu Eunseol’s escape routes one by one.
Though seemingly light, each force could collapse a pavilion, and their wide range grazed Bu Eunseol, shaking his meridians. If this continued, his meridians would tear.
Shing!
Stopping his movement, Bu Eunseol drew his black sword and unleashed chaotic sword strikes against the palm forces—Annihilation Sword Art, a supreme demonic sword technique.
“Sloppy swordplay,” Gu Hongcheong said, smiling as Bu Eunseol countered, closing the distance.
Clang!
Sword and palm clashed chaotically. Gu Hongcheong’s Dragon-Subduing Palm multiplied without losing power, his inner energy unimaginably deep.
“Ugh.” As Gu Hongcheong closed in, unleashing palm forces, Bu Eunseol countered with sword strikes and fired sharp finger winds with his left hand—Hyeonhyo Demon Finger, Hyeok Sojin’s favored technique.
“Your martial arts are only this much!” Gu Hongcheong laughed, leisurely unleashing palm forces.
‘Strong inner energy, but nothing special.’ Expecting something extraordinary, he had been cautious, but Bu Eunseol’s skills were no different from other demonic sect prodigies.
“Time to end this.” As Gu Hongcheong rapidly unleashed palm shadows, Bu Eunseol’s movements faltered, exposing flaws.
Extreme Heaven Realm masters could predict techniques of those below their level.
Swish!
Targeting the flaw, Gu Hongcheong closed in, but Bu Eunseol switched techniques mid-fight—Hyeonhyo Demon Finger to Mahamyung Jade Fist, Annihilation Sword Art to Blood Thunder Sword.
Pop! Pop!
Having trained with Hyeok Sojin, Bu Eunseol executed demonic techniques with decades-long mastery, even mixing in supreme demonic arts taught by Peach Blossom Valley masters.
‘He knows I can predict techniques and uses varied martial arts.’ Gu Hongcheong’s eyes gleamed as he stealthily closed the distance, like a predator stalking prey.
Changing techniques mid-fight was no easy feat, and Bu Eunseol used the principle of one stance, two steps to cover demonic art flaws, alternating techniques seamlessly—a rare chained combat style even Gu Hongcheong seldom saw.
“Interesting. Martial principles must be countered with martial principles.” As Bu Eunseol mixed demonic arts to buy time, Gu Hongcheong grew excited. “Watch closely, my martial arts!”
Whoosh.
With a sound like air escaping, he withdrew a mountain-crushing palm force instantly, then unleashed a web-like palm force, enveloping Bu Eunseol.
Boom! Boom!
Each flutter of his hands, like butterfly wings, created massive craters around Bu Eunseol.
Though Bu Eunseol tried to counter with mixed demonic arts, he couldn’t fully deploy them, as Gu Hongcheong retracted his palm force the moment Bu Eunseol prepared to strike, disrupting his technique.
‘He even reads my energy flow.’ To execute sword techniques, one must surge inner energy to generate new power. Gu Hongcheong interrupted Bu Eunseol’s movements and energy flow, preventing full technique deployment.
‘Still out of reach?’ Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
Even sect brothers struggled to read energy flows, but Gu Hongcheong predicted his inner energy and blood flow from movements alone, unleashing precise palm forces.
Extreme Heaven Realm.
A state where human martial arts touched the heavens, enhancing mental agility and cognition, allowing novel combat methods unattainable by ordinary martial artists.
Flash!
The Dragon-Subduing Palm found a flaw, striking at Bu Eunseol’s chest acupoint.
‘Unavoidable.’ The timing and angle were impossible to dodge.
Bu Eunseol swiftly deployed Dark Heaven Demon Dragon Palm to block.
Boom!
An explosion pushed Bu Eunseol back three steps.
“Pfft.” Spitting, a pebble-sized clot of blood hit the ground. The strike had caused significant internal injury.
“Heh heh, I see your death,” Gu Hongcheong said, but Bu Eunseol’s eyes remained steady.
‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but…’ To face an Extreme Heaven Realm master, he needed at least five more years. But he had no intention of slowly honing his skills to face Gu Hongcheong.
Meeting the Demon Emperor, he vowed not to climb another’s staircase.
‘I must avenge the Peongan masters who died for me.’ Five years would let their bodies decay. Bu Eunseol swore to kill Geul Wang before their flesh rotted to bones.
“Impressive, enduring this far,” Gu Hongcheong said, admiration in his eyes as Bu Eunseol rose like a roly-poly. “I’ve never seen such a reckless fool in my life.”
Pausing his attack, he asked curiously, “With your skill and talent, you could reach the mature Extreme Heaven Realm in five years. Why take such a reckless risk?”
Swish.
Wiping blood from his mouth, Bu Eunseol gripped his sword. “Who knows when an old man over a hundred will drop dead?”
“What?”
“I thought one of the Four Gods and Seven Kings would have supreme martial arts,” Bu Eunseol said, standing tall with a grin. “But you’re only good enough to make me spit blood.”
“Heh heh… Hahaha!” Gu Hongcheong burst into laughter. “Good, very good! You need that kind of guts to challenge me alone!”
Baring yellowed teeth, he chuckled. “Now I’ll unleash my lifelong killing art.”
His rise to the Four Gods and Seven Kings wasn’t due to Dragon-Subduing Palm but Nine Severing Flash Hand, a twenty-four-move technique designed to kill instantly. It compensated for the Beggar Sect’s rigid strength and unleashed his immense killing intent, earning him the title of the sect’s greatest but excluding him from leadership candidacy due to its murderous nature.
Crack.
Bones creaked in Gu Hongcheong’s body, and radiant light burst from his eyes.
“Take this!” With a beastly roar, millions of sharp hand energies, like light points, poured toward Bu Eunseol.
The Nine Severing Flash Hand, his ultimate technique, was unleashed.
Whoosh!
Hundreds of sharp hand energies, transformed into shadows, blocked all of Bu Eunseol’s movements.
His demonic arts from Annihilation couldn’t counter this level.
‘Now!’
Hum!
Golden light surged from Bu Eunseol, enveloping the hundreds of hand shadows.
He unleashed Wishful True Binding.
Boom! Boom!
But the Nine Severing Flash Hand surged like a tidal wave, enveloping Bu Eunseol.
Flash!
A sharp light briefly shot skyward, bursting like fireworks into millions of light points, raining down on Gu Hongcheong.
Supreme Heavenly Flow, eighth form.
An ultimate counterattack that reads all enemy changes, delivering an unavoidable strike.
Lament of the River was finally unleashed.
