For a long time, a deathly silence hung over Iron Staff peak.
Hiss.
As the energy currents completely dissipated, Ak Muryeong’s figure came into view.
‘Was it an illusion?’ Bu Eunseol wondered.
He had clearly seen Ak Muryeong being swept away by the full force of his attack. Yet, there he stood before Bu Eunseol, gazing at him with an impassive expression.
Even with the strike born from a moment of enlightenment, pouring out all his strength, Bu Eunseol hadn’t inflicted the slightest harm.
‘No, that’s not it,’ he realized, his eyes flashing as he noticed something.
Ak Muryeong stood unchanged, but the surrounding trees and rocks had vanished, as if someone had wiped clean a canvas of a beautiful landscape. Moreover, the positions where Bu Eunseol and Ak Muryeong stood had completely switched.
Intoxicated by Emotion, Illusion Upon Illusion.
Sensing the danger of Bu Eunseol’s unleashed power, Ak Muryeong had attempted to seize his mind in that fleeting moment. When he failed to affect Bu Eunseol’s spirit, he employed a mysterious technique, swapping their positions and redirecting the massive attack elsewhere.
‘The Pavilion Master subdued my body in that instant,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
Ak Muryeong had transcended even the limitations of demonic martial arts, entering the realm of the Supreme Demonic Path. Though he couldn’t dominate Bu Eunseol’s mind, he had the ability to freely alter their positions.
‘Incredible. Truly,’ Bu Eunseol thought, a renewed sense of respect for Ak Muryeong welling up within him.
Ak Muryeong’s martial prowess had reached a supreme level far beyond Bu Eunseol’s predictions or imagination. Yet, there was a twist.
Despite his impassive expression, Ak Muryeong was inwardly shocked to the point of fainting.
‘This guy?’ he thought.
Unless one stood at the same level as him, it was impossible to withstand the power of Intoxicated by Emotions Illusion Upon Illusion. Yet, despite not having reached the Infinite Realm, Bu Eunseol was entirely unaffected by its power.
‘What in the world did he do?’ Ak Muryeong wondered.
He already knew Bu Eunseol’s inner energy was abnormally high. However, he was unaware that Bu Eunseol had undergone two transformations of rebirth and had broken through the sixth layer of Ban-Geuk Method, reaching Spirit Regulation.
[Hmm.]
Realizing Bu Eunseol’s power and prowess far exceeded his expectations, Ak Muryeong seemed to make a decision. Suddenly, he spread his arms wide.
Swish!
Something strange happened. Despite not being overtaken by Illusion Upon Illusion, Bu Eunseol saw a bizarre illusion unfold before his eyes.
It was a desolate world with nothing in it, the sky dyed gray. The entire world seemed to have perished, leaving Bu Eunseol standing alone.
In an instant, he understood why this phenomenon occurred.
‘The Pavilion Master has created a technique to assimilate spirits,’ he realized.
Dan Cheong had once told him, ‘Shin Domubi, that sly fox, created a strange technique to synchronize inner energy, and it infuriated the Pavilion Master.’
After clashing with the Heavenly Emperor, Ak Muryeong had analyzed the capabilities of the Cheonui Heart Secret and, in his anger, began researching it. While the Heavenly Emperor synchronized inner energy, Ak Muryeong advanced Illusion Upon Illusion, creating a technique to assimilate the spirits of his opponents.
‘Is this the Pavilion Master’s mental landscape?’ Bu Eunseol wondered.
The untouched, empty vista of nature must be the scene within Ak Muryeong’s mind. Staring at the barren landscape, everything felt chaotic. He wanted to abandon all the martial techniques he knew and simply rest quietly in this place, erasing all the secrets filling his mind.
‘Aaaagh!’
Suddenly, a scream echoed from somewhere. Turning his head, Bu Eunseol saw a burning manor and people dying tragically—a scene like a painting of hell. His eyes trembled.
‘The dream again.’
The scene before him was the dream from his days as Mumu, when he had lost his memories. As his spirit synchronized with Ak Muryeong’s desolate and lonely mind, the painful, tragic memories from that time resurfaced.
Boom.
A signboard fell to the ground, engulfed in flames. Staring at it, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
‘Ha (霞).’
Astonishingly, he could clearly see a single character on the manor’s signboard, one he hadn’t noticed in his dreams.
His heart pounded. He had found it.
Finally.
He had discovered a clue to his origins.
As his spirit synchronized with Ak Muryeong’s desolate mind, a fiery emotion began to surge within him again.
Crack. Crack… Shatter!
The landscape he was seeing shattered like glass, gradually revealing the real scenery of Iron Staff peak. Ak Muryeong stood tall before him.
Judging by the flow of time, the illusions he had just seen seemed to have lasted only a fleeting moment in reality.
[Hmm.]
For the first time, a trace of emotion flickered in Ak Muryeong’s eyes as he looked at Bu Eunseol, though it quickly vanished.
[What were you thinking with that last attack?]
Since Illusion Upon Illusion had no effect on Bu Eunseol, Ak Muryeong couldn’t seize his mind and had resorted to assimilating their spirits. Thus, he was unaware of the illusions Bu Eunseol had just experienced.
“This disciple…” Bu Eunseol began, hesitating to admit he had imitated the Star Guard Division Leader, Baekri Mujo. “Inspired by the Pavilion Master’s power, I had a moment of realization and tried to harmonize the powers I possess.”
[Hmph. That was quite a bold realization, but what you’ve chosen is only temporary.]
Ak Muryeong looked down at Bu Eunseol, who stood in a daze, then slowly turned away.
[Especially those extreme yin and yang powers—avoid using them if possible.]
“Yes, sir,” Bu Eunseol replied.
[If you don’t rid your body of unnecessary elements and fully embrace the demonic path…] Ak Muryeong’s voice was like the verdict of the King of Hell. [This will happen again someday, and no power will be able to stop it.]
In essence, Ak Muryeong was warning that unless Bu Eunseol discarded all techniques except those of the demonic path, he would eventually meet his demise.
[Go.]
“Thank you, Pavilion Master.”
Bu Eunseol bowed deeply to Ak Muryeong and carefully descended Iron Staff peak.
Through this encounter, he realized two things.
‘The Pavilion Master isn’t just a great demon,’ he thought.
Ak Muryeong was neither a madman obsessed with martial arts nor a demon devoid of emotion. He simply sought to surpass his limits, striving to become the greatest in the world.
‘He healed me.’
Nor was he someone who disregarded righteousness or master-disciple bonds. The force Ak Muryeong had unleashed wasn’t meant to attack. He had infused it with immense true energy, fully restoring Bu Eunseol’s tangled and chaotic qi channels. His inner energy, nearly identical to Bu Eunseol’s Ban-Geuk Method, carried the pure essence of nature.
Had Ak Muryeong not restored his body with that initial force, Bu Eunseol wouldn’t have dared attempt wielding four martial arts simultaneously.
‘I owe the Pavilion Master a great debt,’ he thought.
According to Ak Muryeong, to avoid the clashing of the techniques and powers within him, Bu Eunseol would need to dismantle all but the demonic martial arts. However, mastered techniques couldn’t be deliberately discarded. The only path was to wholeheartedly refine the demonic arts and enter the Supreme Demonic Path, as Ak Muryeong had.
‘By refusing his teachings, I’ve made my choice.’
Instead of pursuing the Supreme Demonic Path, Bu Eunseol chose a new path: harmonizing the energies within his body. Perhaps this decision was influenced by witnessing Baekri Mujo’s artificial harmony.
Ak Muryeong had sensed this resolve in Bu Eunseol’s final strike and, instead of passing down Illusion Upon Illusion, had healed his body.
‘If the Star Guard Division Leader could do it, so can I,’ Bu Eunseol vowed.
Even if it led to failure or death, he would choose the path no one else had taken.
***
‘That guy.’
As Ak Muryeong turned away, a golden radiance flashed in his eyes. No matter how enlightened, no one could simultaneously wield four conflicting righteous and demonic martial arts.
‘So that’s what it was.’
Looking at the distant sky, a fiery heat glowed in his eyes. He had intended to use Intoxicated by Emotions Illusion Upon Illusion to erase the miscellaneous martial techniques in Bu Eunseol’s mind and pass down his own refined martial secrets. But Bu Eunseol’s mental barrier was too strong, impervious even to Illusion Upon Illusion.
Left with no choice, Ak Muryeong had used a new technique inspired by his battle with the Heavenly Emperor’s Cheonui Heart Secret, attempting to guide Bu Eunseol toward the Supreme Demonic Path by assimilating their spirits. Yet, in that moment, Bu Eunseol’s eyes wavered, and their spiritual connection broke.
In that instant, Ak Muryeong realized Bu Eunseol was forging a new path, aiming to harmonize the righteous, demonic, and Buddhist martial arts he had mastered.
‘To think such a thing was possible for anyone other than him.’
For a human of flesh and blood to wield conflicting righteous and demonic martial arts simultaneously was something only one person in a lifetime—a peerless grandmaster who had vanished—had achieved. Though Bu Eunseol hadn’t perfectly wielded them simultaneously, alternating between two at a time, the fact that his body remained intact proved he was a prodigy on par with that legend.
‘Is this fate?’ Ak Muryeong thought, recalling the word his rival, the Demon Emperor, often used.
[Hmph.]
He let out a low scoff.
[This pavilion chose the wrong successor.]
Muttering softly, he slowly disappeared into the depths of Iron Staff Mountain.
***
When Bu Eunseol returned to Dan Cheong’s office after descending Iron Staff peak, he found not only Dan Cheong but also Baek Yeon, So Jeon, and Master Iron gathered there.
They all knew that, despite being a terrifying demon, Ak Muryeong loved Nangyang Pavilion more than anyone. They had hoped he wouldn’t overlook his successor’s condition and might even pass down the pavilion’s supreme techniques.
“He didn’t teach you any martial arts?” Dan Cheong asked.
“That’s right,” Bu Eunseol replied. “The Pavilion Master used his power to realign the chaotic energies in my body but didn’t teach me any techniques.”
At his words, Dan Cheong, Baek Yeon, and So Jeon exchanged puzzled glances. Bu Eunseol had reached the highest level of the Supreme Heavenly Realm and was ready to master Nangyang Pavilion’s highest secrets. Why hadn’t Ak Muryeong taught him?
“The truth is, my condition…” Bu Eunseol explained honestly.
He had learned the Martial Emperor’s martial arts from his secret vault, absorbed the energy of Prajna Great Power while defeating the Sahyang Clan masters, and mastered the supreme techniques of the North Sea Ice Palace and the Yeolha Holy Palace—Heavenly Glacial Secret and Yeolha Great True Energy.
The group’s expressions grew grave. Never in martial history had someone mastered the pinnacle techniques of righteous, demonic, and Buddhist paths simultaneously. They realized Bu Eunseol’s condition was far more serious than they had thought.
“You have no intention of discarding them,” Dan Cheong said, nodding. “The Pavilion Master knew this and chose not to teach you.”
The others nodded in agreement. Bu Eunseol was someone who faced all trials head-on, walking a path others wouldn’t dare. Ak Muryeong, recognizing this, chose to let him forge his own path rather than mold him into the second Human Demon.
“That seems to be the case,” Bu Eunseol replied.
Baek Yeon nodded. “That’s a path worthy of a Nangyang Pavilion disciple.”
So Jeon snorted. “Damn it. I thought the Pavilion Master would teach you, and we’d have a spar. Once you’re fully recovered, we’ll have to fight.”
They continued talking at length. Until now, aside from Baek Yeon, the members of Nangyang Pavilion had paid little attention to the martial world’s affairs or the Three Realms. But Bu Eunseol had changed everything. They began closely monitoring the martial world, wholeheartedly supporting the path he was forging and lending him their strength.
***
Leaving Nangyang Pavilion, Bu Eunseol, now as Seon Woojin, summoned Soyo.
[Contact the Death Spirit Corps and activate the entire intelligence network. Search for any manor destroyed between twenty and thirty years ago with the character ‘Ha (霞)’ in its name.]
If his dream was accurate, though the exact time was unclear, given his age, it would have been between twenty and thirty years ago. The manor he saw in his dream must have existed, and he must have lived there happily.
[Got it. I’ll make contact.]
As Soyo left, Bu Eunseol switched places with Seo Jinha, who had been acting as Seon Woojin. Seo Jinha had tracked the Blood-Burning Yin Demon to Cheoljeong Valley.
Now that Bu Eunseol had returned, they needed to swap identities again.
“You’ve prepared quite thoroughly,” Bu Eunseol, as Seon Woojin, said, clicking his tongue at the various traps set around Cheoljeong Valley.
“Since you couldn’t escape pursuit, you planned to make your last stand here.”
This must be one of the Blood-Burning Yin Demon’s prepared hideouts. No one could set up such intricate formations while evading pursuit.
Breaking through the formations with ease, Bu Eunseol entered Cheoljeong Valley and immediately located the hiding the Blood-Burning Yin Demon. With the chaotic energies in his body fully resolved, he could have struck the Blood-Burning Yin Demon’s neck from a hundred zhang away if he wished. But as Seon Woojin, he had to use techniques befitting his assumed skill level.
“You prepared your escape routes diligently,” Bu Eunseol said, frowning as he approached the Blood-Burning Yin Demon. “You should’ve put that effort into training your martial arts.”
The Blood-Burning Yin Demon gritted his teeth, his face pale and eyes shadowed from relentless pursuit. “Fine! I knew you were tracking me all along!”
Bu Eunseol sighed, glancing around. “Are you relying on the explosive traps and poisons set here?”
“I already took care of them,” Soyo said in a low voice.
“You!” the Blood-Burning Yin Demon snarled, realizing he couldn’t shake off his pursuers no matter what he tried.
“Die!” he shouted, charging forward.
Bu Eunseol lightly flicked his sleeve.
Flash!
A light gleamed in the air, and the Blood-Burning Yin Demon collapsed backward, a dagger piercing his throat in an instant.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol looked at the lifeless Blood-Burning Yin Demon, then at his own hand. Fortunately, since meeting Ak Muryeong, his qi channels no longer twisted or caused pain when using Heavenly Glacial Secret or Yeolha Great True Energy. Still, he had to remain cautious. His body wasn’t fully healed, and using those techniques as Seon Woojin could reveal his true identity.
‘I need to master the Martial Emperor Tranquil Awakening more thoroughly,’ he thought.
The Martial Emperor Tranquil Awakening, the supreme technique of the Martial Emperor, amplified martial prowess by evoking powerful emotions. Bu Eunseol had avoided delving deeply into both the Emotion-Severing Secret and the Martial Emperor Tranquil Awakening to maintain a balanced path. But to sustain his dual identity as Seon Woojin, he needed to master the Martial Emperor Tranquil Awakening to minimize mistakes.
“Are you alright?” Soyo asked, emerging from her concealment, concerned by Bu Eunseol’s dazed stare at his hand.
“I was just thinking,” he replied.
“Hmm.” Her gaze shifted to the Blood-Burning Yin Demon’s body, the dagger still lodged in his throat. To prove his death, they needed to take his head to the Martial Alliance.
“I’ll handle it,” Soyo said, calmly drawing a dagger, her actions resembling a caring older sister looking after a younger sibling.
Bu Eunseol shook his head. “Soyo, from now on, don’t reveal yourself unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“It’s fine. No one’s around.”
Clank.
A metallic sound came from the Blood-Burning Yin Demon’s belt, followed by a pop as invisible powder scattered in all directions.
Rustle!
Soyo dodged like lightning but inhaled a small amount of the powder.
“Even in death, he resorts to vile tricks,” Bu Eunseol said, frowning.
The Blood-Burning Yin Demon had known a massive bounty was on his head and anticipated someone would take his head after his death. He had rigged a cunning hidden mechanism in his belt as a final act of revenge.
“It’s nothing,” Soyo said calmly. “I’m resistant to most poisons.”
Assassins, trained to handle various poisons, built up resistance, though not to the level of poison masters.
“Sahyang’s hidden weapons are still circulating,” Bu Eunseol remarked, clicking his tongue as he examined the device on the belt. A slightly protruding button, when pressed, triggered a spring and gear mechanism to release the hidden weapon after a delay.
“Huh?” Soyo suddenly gasped, sniffing the powder on her. Her face flushed red.
“Joyful Revelry Powder,” Bu Eunseol realized.
The powder wasn’t poison but the most notorious aphrodisiac in the martial world, with no antidote except through physical intimacy.
With his powerful inner energy and mastery of Heavenly Glacial Secret and Yeolha Great True Energy, Bu Eunseol could easily suppress or burn away such a drug. But Soyo couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” Soyo said, her face flushed as she lowered her head. “I’ll rest for a bit and come back.”
“Soyo,” Bu Eunseol called.
“It’s fine. I just need to endure until the effects wear off.” Despite her words, ripples stirred in her silver eyes, usually as still as a frozen lake, and her small, glossy pink lips trembled. Though her voice was calm, she was clearly in great pain.
“Soyo,” Bu Eunseol called again.
She turned, her eyes unfocused. Soyo wasn’t a conventional beauty, but her slender frame, mystical eyes, and harmonious features exuded a poignant, protective allure.
‘It’ll take at least five hours for Joyful Revelry Powder to leave her system,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
She would writhe in agony, as if her body were melting, for the entire time. He couldn’t stand by and watch.
‘I can burn away the drug’s energy with Yeolha Great True Energy in an instant,’ he thought.
[Especially those extreme yin and yang powers—avoid using them if possible.]
Ak Muryeong’s warning flashed through his mind. Using extreme yin and yang techniques could damage his body again. But seeing Soyo in pain, Bu Eunseol decided without hesitation to use them.
“You don’t need to endure such pain for hours. I can detoxify you,” he said.
“Detoxify?” Soyo asked.
“Yes,” he nodded confidently.
Blushing deeply, Soyo averted her gaze and mumbled, “Pervert.”
“No! Wait, hear me out!” Bu Eunseol exclaimed, eyes wide as if he’d seen a ghost. “By injecting Yeolha Great True Energy, I can burn away the drug’s energy instantly. That’s what I meant by detoxification.”
It was likely the fastest he’d ever spoken in his life.
“Alright,” Soyo said, smiling faintly and nodding. She closed her eyes and spread her arms. “Do as you wish.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Bu Eunseol asked.
“I heard you,” she replied.
“Then there’s no need to spread your arms. I just need to inject the true energy.”
“Alright.”
Bu Eunseol took her wrist and infused the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Roar.
As the powerful heat surged through her meridians, the Joyful Revelry Powder absorbed into her body was completely eradicated.
“I’m sorry,” Soyo said, looking apologetic. “I won’t act recklessly from now on.”
“Good,” Bu Eunseol replied calmly. “I’ll handle things here. Did you find the manor?”
“Oh, yes,” Soyo said in a low voice. “In the past thirty years, the only manor with ‘Ha (霞)’ in its name that suddenly vanished is Saha Manor in Gilan.”
“Gilan,” Bu Eunseol repeated.
“Yes. There might be others we haven’t found, but that’s what we know so far.”
‘I need to go there,’ Bu Eunseol thought, his heart racing.
He had never acted hastily or impulsively, but finding a manor tied to his origins stirred an unfamiliar urgency.
“Soyo, I have to go there,” he said.
“But you’re currently acting as a Martial Alliance commander.”
“It doesn’t matter what identity I’m using. I just need to check briefly.”
“Alright,” Soyo nodded, sensing the desperation and urgency in his voice. She understood he would use extreme lightness skills to rush to Gilan.
“Come back safely.”
“You don’t need to follow me.”
Whoosh!
With those words, Bu Eunseol shot into the sky like a meteor, heading straight for Gilan to see Saha Manor with his own eyes.
