“Martial Soul Command Lord.”
At that moment, Gongsun Dana looked at Bu Eunseol and spoke.
“You’re the successor of Majeon, aren’t you?”
Bu Eunseol touched his face.
Only then did he realize the mask he had been wearing had flown off somewhere.
“Who recognizes you by your face? I knew from your martial arts,” Gongsun Dana said with a prim expression. “What’s so great about your status that you’d hide it?”
“My path is different, so I had no choice but to conceal it,” he replied.
It was a feeble excuse, unbecoming of Majeon’s successor.
As Bu Eunseol fumbled to tear a piece of his sleeve to cover his face, Gongsun Dana burst into laughter.
“The Command Lord is far too wary of others.”
“…”
“You’re called ‘Righteous Within Demonic’ for your honorable deeds, aren’t you? There’s no need to be so guarded.”
“Being wary of others—is that based on your own experience?” Bu Eunseol asked.
“What did you say?” Gongsun Dana hesitated for a moment, then burst into laughter again. “The successor of Majeon, the Martial Soul Command Lord, is supposed to be cold and ruthless. But now I see you’ve got quite a sense of humor.”
She laughed deeply, a sound she hadn’t made in ages.
“How’s your body feeling now?” she asked.
Bu Eunseol circulated his inner energy.
Unlike before, the chaotic and tangled energy in his body had largely dissipated. A faint, unfamiliar energy was now flowing within him—the Water God Energy that Gongsun Dana had infused.
“This Water God Energy… does it stay in the body without dissipating?” he asked.
“The human body is mostly water, so the Water God Energy naturally integrates into it. It’ll take quite a while to be expelled,” she explained.
In truth, this was a kind lie from Gongsun Dana, meant to reassure him.
“Thank you,” Bu Eunseol said, unaware of her deception, clasping his hands calmly.
Gongsun Dana waved her hands dismissively. “You saved me too, Command Lord. We’re even now.”
Though she spoke lightly, her eyes were filled with deep affection.
When Bu Eunseol had collapsed, bleeding, she had shed tears and unhesitatingly infused him with Water God Energy to restore him.
Unbeknownst to herself, she had developed a strong fondness for him.
The feeling was mutual.
‘She’s quite different from the women I’ve met before,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
Until now, every woman who saw his face had blushed or been shocked.
But Gongsun Dana, despite seeing his true appearance, wasn’t fazed and instead looked at him with the ease of an old friend.
Like Bu Eunseol, she was someone who didn’t care much about appearances.
“By the way, once we leave this place, you must seek guidance from our Palace Master,” Gongsun Dana said calmly. “The four energies in your body can’t be removed or expelled on their own.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Most likely… to suppress or harmonize the energies within you, you’ll need the power of all Four Divine Gods.”
Having checked his pulse, Gongsun Dana had discerned that the conflicting energies in his body were those of the righteous, unorthodox, demonic, and Buddhist paths.
She believed that the power of the Four Divine Gods was necessary to subdue them.
“All Four Divine Energies?” Bu Eunseol asked.
“Yes. Each of the energies within you is so powerful that harmonizing them is nearly impossible,” she said, shaking her head. “But if you can acquire the power of all Four Divine Gods, it might be possible. That’s just my guess, though.”
She handed him a piece of paper inscribed with a mantra.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“It’s a technique derived from the Five Animal Frolics of the Medical Sage Hua Tuo and the core principles of the Quanzhen Sect’s Taoist arts,” she explained calmly.
“Technically, it was created by a Quanzhen Taoist, so it’s more accurate to call it the Quanzhen Taoist Secret.”
“You’re giving this to me?”
“It sounds impressive, but it’s really just a method to keep the body healthy and regulate internal energy. It’s not a grand secret for martial artists. However…” She paused, lowering her voice to a whisper. “If, by fate, the Palace Master grants you the Divine Water Spirit Energy in the future, this technique could help you fully master the extreme yin energy.”
Bu Eunseol was slightly moved.
She had recognized the imbalance in his body and devised a way to treat it.
“Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind,” he said.
Coming from someone whose medical skills rivaled the divine physicians of the martial world, her advice was trustworthy. However, Bu Eunseol had no intention of seeking the Divine Water Spirit Energy.
Acquiring the martial arts of all Four Divine Gods simultaneously was not only impossible but also impractical given his time and resources.
“You must visit our palace. The Palace Master will find a way to help you,” Gongsun Dana insisted.
“Alright. I’ll stop by sometime,” he replied.
“Promise me,” she said firmly, sensing his half-hearted response. “You must gather the power of the Four Divine Gods.”
Her tone was almost like a wife scolding her husband.
Perhaps it was the sharp pull of fate, but Bu Eunseol flinched and nodded. “Alright. I promise.”
Finally escaping the underground cave, Bu Eunseol opened the iron door leading outside.
Creak.
As the rusty door opened, both of them widened their eyes.
A small village-like scene unfolded, with square buildings scattered about. They weren’t in the typical Central Plains architectural style, and there were no visible windows or doors.
At the center was a wide clearing with a towering black building.
Its color and size suggested it was connected to the exit and likely hid a great secret.
Bu Eunseol and Gongsun Dana cautiously approached the black building.
“…!”
Upon entering, their eyes widened again.
Human Flowers.
The remnants of burned Human Flowers littered the area, along with shattered glass containers.
Inside, grotesque byproducts of puppets were burning. Some containers held only body parts like arms or legs, unnaturally large in size.
‘Enhancement.’
A glint flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he walked through.
Judging by the charred remains of the Human Flowers, they were far larger than any he had seen before. The burning puppet byproducts in the glass containers were also larger than those he’d encountered.
“It’s a laboratory,” Gongsun Dana said, quickly grasping the situation.
This place was cultivating Human Flowers and enhancing puppets.
“It seems so,” Bu Eunseol agreed.
“What’s their goal? Why cultivate Human Flowers and modify puppets bodies?” she asked.
“It’s an organization called the Three Realms,” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “They’ve already taken control of the martial world and are conducting various schemes. Creating puppets and artificial inner cores is just one of them.”
“The Three Realms?”
“Yes. Your Palace Master likely knows of them.”
Most martial world leaders were aware of the Three Realms’s existence.
However, they either couldn’t pinpoint their origins or power or were secretly cooperating with them, so they stayed silent.
Only Bu Eunseol relentlessly destroyed their forces, heedless of the consequences.
“Compared to you, I feel like a novice in the martial world,” Gongsun Dana said with a wry smile.
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
As Majeon’s successor, Bu Eunseol had risen to the rank of one of the Four Gods and Seven Kings at a young age. He was a powerhouse with immense influence in the martial world, his prowess reaching a level beyond grandmaster.
“They must’ve evacuated in a hurry. These were destroyed recently,” she noted.
“They probably activated the final mechanism and fled,” Bu Eunseol said.
“That door looks like the exit,” Gongsun Dana pointed out.
Passing through the massive laboratory, they saw a wide door that appeared to be the exit.
A large, enclosed clearing came into view, with dried blood and various byproducts scattered on the ground, as if a massacre had occurred.
Thud. Thud.
A ground-shaking roar echoed from all directions.
At the same time, a grotesque shadow slowly approached from the opposite side. It was a figure over eight feet tall, clad in black metal fragments instead of clothes. Its skin was ashen, like that of a long-dead corpse, and its eyes were filled with only the whites.
It resembled not a human but a massive weapon made of flesh and muscle.
“Step back,” Bu Eunseol said.
A black haze, like the aura of death, emanated from the figure.
It seemed intentionally left behind to delay or eliminate intruders.
“You just recovered. Let’s fight together,” Gongsun Dana said, her face full of concern.
Bu Eunseol’s energy channels had only just stabilized, and his torn skin and muscles would cause significant pain when moving.
“I’m fine,” he said softly but firmly.
Gongsun Dana nodded reluctantly. “Be careful.”
Bu Eunseol drew his Ice Soul Sword and stepped forward.
Thud, thud. Thud-thud-thud!
As he brandished his sword, the figure’s eyes twisted, and it charged, shaking the ground.
Swish!
Bu Eunseol dashed forward, unleashing the Meteor Chasing the Moon Technique.
Flash!
In an instant, he severed its neck and stood at its diagonal.
Tap.
But something astonishing happened.
Despite using the Meteor Chasing the Moon Technique, only the skin was cut, and barely a few drops of blood emerged.
The blood that fell was clotted, as if solidified.
‘A Bound Asura.’
Bu Eunseol realized this figure was an enhanced version of the Bound Asura, like the one he’d seen in the underground city of Sichuan, similar to Gu Juhon.
Living creatures’ blood shouldn’t clot like that.
Glance.
The figure looked down at the blood dripping from its neck and slowly turned.
Clank.
The metal fragments it wore clattered, and a massive broadsword emerged from its back. Gripping the sword, it approached cautiously, as if realizing it couldn’t face Bu Eunseol barehanded.
‘No consciousness,’ Bu Eunseol noted.
Its eyes were white, and it didn’t utter a word, moving like a pre-programmed metal weapon.
Flash!
The figure’s broadsword vanished, striking at Bu Eunseol’s side in an instant.
Clang!
Bu Eunseol deflected it without moving.
Due to the vast gap in power, the massive figure was pushed back three steps.
But it flipped its body and swung at his head.
The broadsword trembled, splitting into three blade paths to cleave his body.
‘It’s using the techniques of the Scattered Sword School,’ Bu Eunseol observed.
Standing firm, he slashed through the three blade shadows with a single, powerful strike.
Like Gu Juhon, he assumed the broadsword held the vital blood sustaining its life.
Slash.
The Ice Soul Sword, infused with fierce energy, cut off the tip of the broadsword.
But there was nothing inside.
Swish!
As the sword was cut, the figure shifted its technique, creating twelve blade shadows in an instant. Despite its appearance suggesting brute force, it was using intricate martial arts.
‘Interesting,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
Clang!
The fiercely swinging broadsword clashed with his sword.
Whirl!
It spun back toward the figure.
As the figure used its intricate techniques, Bu Eunseol countered with the subtleties of the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms, redirecting the attack.
Boom!
The eight-foot figure was flung back, crashing into a square glass container.
Crash.
Amid the collapsing glass debris, the figure slowly rose.
Given the speed and force, its body should’ve been shattered, but it stood as if nothing had happened.
Thud. Thud.
Its eyes glowed with white energy as it swung the broadsword through the air.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Bu Eunseol moved like lightning, spinning his Ice Soul Sword like a windmill to block the incoming blade energy.
The figure closed in, throwing a lightning-fast punch.
Bu Eunseol countered with the Fist Demon Manifestation Technique.
Boom!
The clash of fists shook the world, sending waves of energy in all directions.
Hiss.
The figure slid back eight steps.
Yet it remained expressionless, as if unharmed, with white smoke rising from its fist. Astonishingly, its punch faintly carried the power of the Flame Emperor’s Force.
‘So that’s it,’ Bu Eunseol thought, now certain of what experiments were conducted here. ‘Let’s confirm once more.’
Wooong.
He lightly used the Swift Beyond Shadow, closing in on the figure instantly.
Swish!
His Ice Soul Sword condensed, unleashing a flurry of chaotic sword techniques.
The figure condensed its broadsword, pouring out immense blade energy. But its powerful techniques left it unable to counter close-range attacks.
‘Blood-Scattering Death Blade… So that’s what it was.’
The figure’s technique was the Blood-Scattering Death Blade, used by Yeo Bulheum, a master of the Scattered Blade School. With a deformedly large right arm and innate divine strength, Yeo Bulheum had overcome the Scattered Blade Technique’s weakness: dividing power along with the blade paths.
‘It can’t adapt,’ Bu Eunseol noted.
A normal martial artist, even without chaotic sword skills, would naturally adjust their blade techniques for close combat.
But despite mastering the supreme Blood-Scattering Death Blade, the figure couldn’t adapt, mechanically repeating its moves.
‘Its body wasn’t enlarged for nothing,’ he thought.
Switching his sword techniques, he used heavy sword methods to pressure the figure’s arms gripping the broadsword.
Crack!
The figure suddenly created a massive foot shadow, aiming to crush Bu Eunseol’s neck.
It was the Iron Leg Flying Kick, a technique of the leg master Yeon Sogeol.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bu Eunseol lightly dodged with footwork, evading the aerial kicks.
‘It’s definitely repeating pre-planted martial arts.’
The Three Realms’s experiments in this secret place involved implanting the techniques of great masters into Bound Asuras. These puppets didn’t die unless their necks were severed, and their power was several times greater than in life.
Gu Juhon had used this trait to employ life-risking techniques, maximizing the puppet’s strengths.
But this enhanced Bound Asura wielded multiple masters’ techniques simultaneously: the Flame Emperor’s Force in its left arm, the Blood-Scattering Death Blade in its right, and the Iron Leg Flying Kick in its legs.
These were supreme techniques no prodigy could master in a short time.
They were likely forcibly implanted, exploiting the puppet’s nature.
Step.
Bu Eunseol stepped back, creating distance, and sighed. “Why does the Three Realms, despite dominating the martial world, do such things?”
It was incomprehensible.
The Three Realms was the shadowy force controlling the martial world.
What was lacking that drove them to repeat such experiments?
[Hoo!]
Unable to kill Bu Eunseol instantly, the figure’s eyes blazed with white light.
Wooong.
Its broadsword trembled, creating faint shadows.
At the pinnacle of the Scattered Sword School, slight movements could produce endless afterimages. The figure unleashed the ultimate Blood-Scattering Death Blade technique to cut Bu Eunseol down.
Clank.
Bu Eunseol sheathed his Ice Soul Sword.
It was the preparatory stance of his killing sword technique, meant to end it quickly and painlessly. The figure’s abilities were impressive, but it was no match for Bu Eunseol. Having grown far stronger since fighting Gu Juhon, an enhanced Bound Asura was merely a tenacious puppet to him.
Rooar!
With a tidal wave-like sound, the figure unleashed hundreds of blade shadows.
Bu Eunseol calmly drew his sword.
Flash!
A brilliant light erupted, and purple lightning erased the figure’s blade shadows.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The lightning zigzagged three times in the air.
Nine Dragons Flashing Thunder.
The pinnacle of the killing sword art, created by Cheon Un-gwang, was unleashed once more by Bu Eunseol.
Slash. Thud.
The figure dropped its broadsword.
It stood motionless, like a halted machine.
The ultra-fast killing sword left no visible wounds.
Clank.
Bu Eunseol sheathed his sword and turned.
Slice.
A red line appeared on the figure’s neck, and with a thud, it collapsed like a felled log.
Gongsun Dana, watching from afar, blinked. “It’s over?”
“Yes,” Bu Eunseol replied.
She tilted her head, puzzled. “It didn’t seem like much despite its appearance.”
Though a talented physician, her knowledge and insight into martial arts were limited. To her, it looked like Bu Eunseol effortlessly dodged and dispatched it with a swift strike, making the figure’s skills seem unimpressive.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Unconcerned with her misconception, he moved past the area.
Finally, the exit door came into view.
“This must be the last one,” Bu Eunseol said, catching his breath and opening the door.
A massive stone chamber, about thirty paces wide, appeared, brightly lit as if it were daylight.
The two stopped in their tracks.
An outcast, chained to the wall, came into view.
