Won Pung’s expression showed slight surprise when Bu Eunseol saw through the secret, but he soon spoke with dignity.
“The reason I can freely open and use Black Divine Energy is because I offered my life for it.”
“Are you satisfied? With this kind of life?” Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice. “At most three years. Perhaps not even one year.”
“If I can achieve a great cause, what is there to regret about my life?”
As Won Pung continued speaking with dignity, a light of pain and regret flashed across his eyes.
“The Ancient Sword Forest must disappear. Turning living humans into ancient weapons, and becoming undying specters for that purpose—both are unacceptable.”
Bu Eunseol could faintly sense it.
That Won Pung was not an evil person, and that he had been relentlessly racing forward with his own beliefs.
That he had willingly offered his life to achieve a great cause.
“So that was it.”
Clack.
As Bu Eunseol sheathed the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, pure white mist began to rise from his entire body. No further conversation was necessary. He had already obtained all the information he could from the man.
Now, it was time to begin a fight that would decide life and death.
Boom!
Won Pung, who had soared into the sky, swung his greatsword at the speed of light.
Countless flashes of light burst from the tip of the greatsword and swallowed Bu Eunseol.
It was an ultra-speed attack that could not be avoided by any evasive maneuver.
Slash!
In that moment, a wall of darkness swallowed the flashes as if absorbing them.
He had unfolded Wishful True Binding.
‘A demonic true energy martial art?’
Won Pung instantly saw through Bu Eunseol’s identity.
“So you are the Martial Soul Command Lord!”
He then struck the massive barrier created by the Wishful True Binding with his greatsword.
Crash.
The impact caused the surrounding ground to explode inward, and dark red light spread in all directions.
Crash!
In the meantime, Bu Eunseol closed the distance and unleashed sharp sword strikes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every time sword met sword, flashes split the sky, and the shockwaves spread dozens of meters.
Each collision of the forces contained within the weapons turned the earth into black glass and shattered trees into sand.
This was not a fight between humans.
It resembled a battle between a heavenly god descending from the sky and a demon rising from the earth.
Hiss. Hiss.
But something was strange.
Bu Eunseol, who had been pouring out terrifying destructive power without retreating even an inch against Won Pung’s attacks, gradually began to weaken. His sword technique started to resemble that of an ordinary martial artist.
Compared to Won Pung’s attacks—which shattered the earth and evaporated the air in an instant, turning the surroundings into a wasteland—Bu Eunseol’s strikes now looked rather shabby and insignificant.
“Hahaha!”
The fiercer the battle became, the louder Won Pung’s manic laughter rang out as he unleashed storms of sword energy.
In contrast, Bu Eunseol was like a small boat facing raging waves, precariously dodging the attacks.
It seemed as though his body would soon be torn to pieces.
Yet even after some time passed, Bu Eunseol did not fall.
Instead, as time went on, Won Pung was gradually losing strength.
“This is…”
Only then did Won Pung’s eyes flash as he looked around.
At some point, currents resembling white mist had completely filled the surroundings.
Martial Mist and Waves form.
The tenth form of the Supreme Heavenly Flow, which contained the power of nature’s will, had been deployed without him noticing.
Crackle.
Every time the natural energy of the Martial Mist and Waves form, spreading like mist, touched his body, the brilliant light flashing from Won Pung’s form dimmed little by little.
“You applied Great Natural Qi.”
Won Pung raised his greatsword high.
“But it’s useless!”
Swish.
In a single breath, he leaped more than ten meters into the air, escaping the mist of the Martial Mist and Waves form, and unleashed the Thirteen Swords toward Bu Eunseol.
Shiiiing!
Each sword strike Won Pung poured out contained the power of Black Divine Energy, which no human strength could block.
Vrrr.
Faint afterimages spread around the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, and then—
Papapapa!
One hundred and eighty-one variations of sword energy, carrying countless changes, rained down on Won Pung.
It was the Heon Won Bright Sword.
In an instant, sword light flashing like sunlight covered the entire sky, and sharp metallic sounds rang out one after another.
Trees caught in the fierce currents were uprooted and flung away, while stone dust and dirt scattered in all directions.
Bu Eunseol and Won Pung stood tall in the exact postures from which they had unleashed their techniques. The power of the Heon Won Bright Sword and Black Divine Energy had been perfectly equal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Once again, the two engaged in endless close-quarters exchanges.
The forms of the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and the greatsword could no longer be seen. Only dark, transparent currents filled the air.
Because the exchanges were happening at ultra-high speed, the weapons themselves were invisible; only blurred currents covered everything.
Clang!
Won Pung forcefully pushed Bu Eunseol back with his greatsword and gritted his teeth.
Only then did he sense that the power of his Black Divine Energy was not activating properly.
“What is going on?”
He looked down at his own body.
He had clearly achieved a perfect Black Divine Artifact form. So why was this happening?
“The Martial Mist and Waves form is not meant to kill the enemy. It is meant to return all unnatural things the enemy possesses to their original state.”
Bu Eunseol spoke to Won Pung, who was examining his body with an expression of disbelief.
“And this sword can destroy Black Divine Energy.”
“It can destroy Black Divine Energy?”
Won Pung’s eyes widened.
Although he felt no energy from the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, mysterious patterns were continuously flashing on its sheath.
“I have broken the power of Black Divine Energy and temporarily suppressed the Sealed Demon Fragments embedded in your body with the Martial Mist and Waves form.”
“What?”
“You have now become an ordinary martial artist.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“What remains is the martial power you have built up over time… so display it without reservation.”
He then gazed at Won Pung with an infinitely lonely expression.
“So that the short life you chose does not become vain—without regret.”
Won Pung’s eyes widened.
Only then did he understand Bu Eunseol’s consideration.
He was giving him the chance to shine by clashing with all the power he possessed.
“Yes… that’s right.”
All martial artists are like moths chasing brilliant light, like shooting stars that live for a single moment of brilliance.
In truth, if Bu Eunseol had unfolded Harmony from the beginning, he could have easily shattered Won Pung’s Black Divine Artifact body and claimed victory.
And Won Pung, too, had not used the prepared Omnipotent Men.
He must have instinctively sensed it.
That this was the final opportunity to pour out everything.
The last chance to shine as brightly as possible.
“I offered my life for a great cause, and now only the final battle remains…”
Clack.
Won Pung gripped the greatsword with both hands.
Then, letting out a thunderous battle cry, he shouted loudly.
“There is no regret in my life!”
The battle in which he poured out his life force was melting everything away.
The dreams, ambitions, and obsessions he had cherished until now turned into a handful of ash and vanished.
What remained in their place was only one thing.
The single will that a true martial artist carries within.
―I want to pour out everything without a single lingering regret.
Freed from the power of Black Divine Energy, Won Pung instead broke free from the shackles and restrictions of the flesh. He could now move freely between time and space.
The martial arts he had learned by mortgaging his life force poured out power capable of annihilating the world.
He did not seek victory.
He was simply clashing as one martial artist, staking his life in a contest of strength.
Clang!
When sword met sword, a tremendous metallic sound rang out.
It was merely the clash of two blades, yet the strike carrying the life and soul of both martial artists looked like two massive dragons colliding. A powerful current surged all the way to the ends of the sky.
The endlessly continuing sword strikes flowed like waves, becoming streams of hot light that erased every shadow on the ground.
Neither of them showed any sign of trying to obtain victory.
They were simply pouring out every martial art they had learned with all their heart and soul.
‘The Command Lord made this choice for me.’
Black Leopard, who was watching the fight, felt tears welling up.
Only now could he understand what goal Bu Eunseol was pursuing and why he had grown so strong in such a short time.
“To overcome one’s limits and cross the boundary is the true entry into the path of martial arts…”
Black Leopard clenched his fists tightly as he watched the martial arts Bu Eunseol displayed.
“The stronger the enemy, the stronger I become.”
Bu Eunseol’s attacks did not carry the will to shatter or destroy the opponent.
A mountain does not move, yet stands firm in its place. A river bends and flows, yet never stops.
The truly strong rise by themselves amidst any ordeal.
The truly strong martial art is the one that can maintain its most natural form.
Witnessing the clash between the absolute grandmaster of martial arts—who had reached the pinnacle at a young age—and the frenzied warrior of tenacity who had poured his entire life force into achieving the martial path, Black Leopard continuously gained profound insights.
Hiss…
Before long, the heat of life had completely dissipated, and the battle came to an end.
When the two masters stopped moving, the leaves that had been swirling in the gale slowly drifted down to the ground.
“If you try to become strong, you cannot become strong… Only those who can let go can truly become strong.”
Clang.
Won Pung dropped the greatsword that had been stuck to his hand onto the ground and stared into empty space with a hollow expression.
Thud.
As he fell to his knees, blood gushed like springs from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Unable to withstand the pressure of the martial arts Bu Eunseol had unleashed, his internal body had completely burst apart.
“Are you satisfied?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Won Pung wore a dazed expression for a moment.
“No.”
Then he showed a smile that had never been seen on his face before.
“…If I become satisfied, I cannot progress any further.”
Although he said that, Won Pung wore an incomparably satisfied smile.
In his entire life, he had shone most brilliantly and burned most fiercely and his opponent had been the future strongest under the heavens.
“…As a martial artist who lives by the sword, this is the most grand and splendid death.”
Slump.
Smiling, he closed his eyes as if falling asleep.
That was the final sight of Won Pung, the warrior of the United Heart Society, who had offered his long life and life force—in a single instant—for a great cause and the completion of martial arts.
Clack.
After sheathing the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, Bu Eunseol bowed respectfully toward Won Pung’s corpse.
Although they had been enemies from opposing forces that could not coexist, he paid homage to the man’s passionate martial soul.
He then slowly turned around.
He did not know how long it had been since he had engaged in such a desperate fight.
The opponents he had fought until now had mostly tried to seal or suppress his power to claim victory but Won Pung had made no such attempt. He had tried to overwhelm his enemy solely with strength.
And the source of that strength had been his life force itself.
In this battle, Bu Eunseol had faced no restrictions whatsoever. He had fought with full power as one martial artist against another—as a strong river with a martial soul.
“Thank you.”
Black Leopard, who had wiped away the hot tears that flowed naturally, approached and bowed respectfully.
“For enlightening me.”
The battle between Bu Eunseol and Won Pung had not been merely a contest of martial arts. It had also been a confrontation that showed the path a martial artist must walk and the life that came with it.
“And for risking danger in battle for my sake.”
Black Leopard knew.
Bu Eunseol could have easily defeated Won Pung… yet he had deliberately chosen a difficult and dangerous fight for his sake.
“It was for me as well.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“I needed an opportunity to gauge the level of the United Heart Society, which has become a gathering place of the strong.”
Won Pung had displayed tremendous power by combining the profundities of martial arts with the abilities of Black Divine Energy.
If that level had been beyond what Bu Eunseol’s martial arts could handle, he could not allow any of his subordinates to be exposed to the United Heart Society.
He himself would have had to enter closed-door training again until he reached a new level of martial arts.
“In the end, because they gained power by mortgaging their life force, such a weakness was exposed.”
The warriors of the United Heart Society could become human Black Divine Artifacts by using Sealed Demon Fragments and life force as collateral, but it was like a child wielding a massive eighty-pound crescent blade.
Uncontrolled power ultimately destroys its wielder.
Through this battle, Bu Eunseol had proven exactly that.
“I see. I have truly learned a great deal.”
Black Leopard’s expression brightened considerably after realizing the profound principles of martial arts that Bu Eunseol had personally demonstrated.
He had not walked the wrong path.
If he tried a little harder… he would surely be able to follow in the footsteps of that great martial arts master…
Such conviction and confidence took root within him.
Crack.
As the formation broke, the transparent interior of the Ancient Sword Forest was revealed once again.
“Let us take another look.”
Bu Eunseol examined the ruined Ancient Sword Forest together with Black Leopard.
Inside the buildings were corpses everywhere.
All of them wore iron masks, making it clear they were originally members of the Ancient Sword Forest.
Moreover, there was not a single elderly person among them. It seemed these people, like Biyeon who had led the Ancient Sword Forest, had become undying specters for a long time in order to create Black Divine Artifacts.
“It seems there are no living people.”
At Black Leopard’s words, Bu Eunseol gazed at the distant black tower.
A strange sentiment suddenly surged within him.
In the past, Biyeon had passed on the principles of martial arts to him through the mechanism in the black tower, and there, she had ended her long life with her own sword.
‘She said she lived an undying life for a long time in order to create Black Divine Energy.’
―Because I thought you could do it.
At the time, Biyeon had spoken with a sad smile.
―Because I thought you could truly destroy a world like this.
‘She must have understood the situation of the current martial world.’
Back then, he could not understand her words.
But after clashing with the Baekri Family, the True Demon’s kin, the United Heart Society, and all kinds of abyssal forces such as the covenantors in the Sacred Domain and the Executioners, he finally understood.
The martial artists, the people of the Ancient Sword Forest.
They were living while being swept up in their battles.
Biyeon must have felt that such a world was wrong and she must have wished for all of it to be destroyed.
‘Moreover, she was greatly shocked when she saw my real face.’
Biyeon had been greatly startled when she looked at Bu Eunseol’s face after he released his disguise at the moment of her death.
He had not understood the reason at the time but now he could faintly sense why.
Because he resembled his father, Baekri Muha—the patriarch of the Baekri Family and the master of Saha Manor.
She must have seen his father’s face and been startled by it.
“It is completely destroyed.”
Black Leopard, who had quickly investigated the area and returned, shook his head.
“It seems there are no living people here either.”
Bu Eunseol closed his eyes for a moment.
After Biyeon, who had supported the Ancient Sword Forest, died, the sect had slowly collapsed.
But this place still maintained its form.
That meant the Forest Lord in charge of this Ancient Sword Forest was still alive.
‘Something is hidden.’
Won Pung had been relentlessly searching the ruined Ancient Sword Forest.
That meant he, too, had been looking for something here.
Growl.
Bu Eunseol entered the black tower in the center—the one Won Pung had entered and exited—but he still could not find anything.
‘It is definitely here.’
In the past he might not have known, but now he possessed the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi, and the greatest ability of the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi was to find what was hidden.
Shuuu…
When he spread the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi widely, his super senses expanded rapidly, and he detected a strange movement he had not been able to sense before.
‘This is…’
It was mysterious.
When he spread the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi, the collapsed tower itself felt like a living creature.
“Command Lord.”
“Wait a moment.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring at the collapsed debris, closed his eyes.
‘If this is a large living being, how can I make it show what is inside?’
After pondering for a long time, he began to inject the natural power of the Three Divine Energies one by one.
He gently caressed it with the Crystal Divine Energy, then dug into the gaps with the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
Finally, he prodded whatever was inside with the intense Thunder Spirit Energy.
Gurgle. Gurrrr…
Suddenly, the collapsed debris softened in texture, and the inner parts of the debris began to wriggle like the tentacles of a mollusk.
As Bu Eunseol walked forward, the debris naturally parted left and right, revealing a large space.
“Command Lord.”
“Stay there for a moment. We don’t know what might be inside.”
Bu Eunseol slowly walked inside.
After walking for a long time along the winding path, he saw a small boy covered in blood, leaning against the wall.
“I expected it, but it is still surprising.”
The boy looked up at Bu Eunseol.
His face appeared to be that of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old, but his eyes and expression were filled with the wisdom and composure of an old man at twilight.
“It is impossible to hold so many different powers in the body at once.”
The boy’s abdomen had a horrific wound, as if it had been torn apart by sharp sword energy.
Bu Eunseol quickly approached and reached out his hand.
“I will examine your condition.”
“It’s alright.”
The boy shook his head and looked at Bu Eunseol with an extremely calm expression.
“This Small Forest Lord who leads the small Ancient Sword Forests scattered across the world possesses an ability comparable to Black Divine Energy. And I… have the extremely limited ability to see the future.”
The boy smiled.
“As you may have heard, the metal humans who protected this Forest are called Omnipotent Men. They can all be considered human-type Black Divine Artifacts.”
“…”
“This Forest was artificially refining Black Divine Energy. We achieved some results and managed to create incomplete Omnipotent Men.”
The boy continued calmly.
“Some organizations of the United Heart Society are searching for the small Forests scattered across the world and are trying to fully seize our power.”
Bu Eunseol wore a puzzled expression.
Why was the boy pouring out all this information to a complete stranger?
“I saw it in a dream. That you tried to help me, and the questions you wanted to ask me.”
As if he had looked into Bu Eunseol’s heart, the boy continued calmly.
“You endure endless sorrow and grief, yet maintain a kind and clear heart… so you will be able to subdue darkness and make it your own power.”
The boy who could see the future—the Forest Lord of this place—spoke enigmatic words, then extended his hand to Bu Eunseol.
In his palm, a mysterious orb shining with light had already appeared.
“What they want is this. With this, they can find the Great Forest Lord of this Forest.”
“The Great Forest Lord.”
“He is the one who manages the Ancient Sword Forests in various regions.”
Only now did Bu Eunseol realize that Won Pung had been aiming for the orb the boy possessed.
Although Bu Eunseol said nothing, the boy continued speaking as if he knew everything.
“Please save the Forest Lord. If you do, you will naturally come to know everything you want to know.”
“The one who destroyed this place seemed to be affiliated with the United Heart Society, but also appeared to be related to the Ancient Sword Forest…”
As if he already knew all of Bu Eunseol’s questions, the boy answered in advance.
“That’s correct. His original identity was a young boy who had newly entered this Forest. However, once one enters this Forest, they become part of it and can never leave. He found that unbearably unfair and painful.”
The boy continued.
“And in the martial world, is it not said that possessing a treasure is a sin?”
Red blood flowed from the corner of the boy’s mouth.
“The United Heart Society has been dominating this Forest using the Infinite Realm from the beginning. Now that they have collapsed, other forces will inevitably covet it.”
The United Heart Society could not be seen as a single unified entity; each organization operated independently.
“In short, now that the Infinite Realm that controlled the Ancient Sword Forest has fallen, other forces within the United Heart Society are trying to seize it.”
“Clear water stagnates and eventually rots. In any case, this Forest had to collapse.”
The boy stared into empty space with fading eyes.
“We have endured for a very long time. An exceedingly long time…”
Muttering softly, he frowned as if speaking was difficult.
“You will experience one short ordeal in the future, and eventually you will unlock the power of the orb.”
Then he spoke words that were utterly shocking.
“And after that, you will obtain the legacies and power you inherited from your mother.”
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