His mind grew chaotic.
The sparkling light in Bu Eunseol’s eyes sank low, like iron filings settling.
“Is the ‘Great One’ referring to the True Demon?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, the Elephant King answered in a low voice.
“I heard that’s what people call him in the Central Plains.”
“Did the other members of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants besides the Poison King also submit to him?”
“I don’t know that. However…” The Elephant King added, “This king did not submit to him. We formed a cooperation.”
“What difference does that make?”
As Bu Eunseol let out a sneer, the Elephant King twitched his thick eyebrows and said,
“It is only because he told me about this place—Millenia Qi Condensation Land, where one can reach the eighth level of the Eight Iron Arts—that I follow him.”
He spoke with a solemn and majestic expression.
“I intended to ascend to the Limitless Realm and even surpass that to dominate the world.”
It was an empty ambition he could only harbor because he did not truly understand what kind of being the True Demon was.
Bu Eunseol, who had been lost in thought while ignoring the Elephant King’s boasting, furrowed his brows.
In the end, the reason people like the Elephant King and the Poison King followed the True Demon was simply because of the enormous benefits he provided.
‘His methods are exactly like those of the Three Realms.’
The hidden masters and powerhouses of the martial world usually subdue others through force or by seizing their weaknesses.
But the Three Realms are different.
They always dangle what their opponent desires most as bait and manipulate them like puppets. This method could easily buy people regardless of status, and it was far more effective than simple threats or brute force.
And the True Demon, too, had chosen this very approach.
“Have you met the True Demon in person?”
The Elephant King shook his head.
“A person who acts on his behalf came. He looked somewhat soulless, but… he was an extraordinary expert against whom the Eight Iron Arts had no effect at all.”
‘The Holy One.’
The True Demon had used the Holy One to win the Elephant King over.
“Anyway… this king stands right before the completion of the Eight Iron Arts, a height no one has reached in thousands of years.”
The Elephant King stared straight into Bu Eunseol’s eyes and continued,
“In just three hundred days, I will be the first to reach that realm.”
A brilliant light shone in his eyes, and the elephant-shaped energy rising from his body grew even denser.
Madness and obsession toward martial arts.
That was precisely the driving force that had elevated the Elephant King to the throne of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants.
‘If I want to save the Four Holy Clans, I will eventually have to kill this man and every disciple of the Elephant Sect.’
Bu Eunseol had no interest whatsoever in whether the Elephant King reached the Limitless Realm or became an immortal. He was only weighing whether it was truly right to annihilate the Ten Great Elephant Generals and the ninety thousand disciples for the sake of saving the Four Holy Clans.
‘From what I’ve heard, most of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants are highly likely to follow the True Demon’s orders.’
In that case, they would need a shield to protect the Four Holy Clans until they could build up their own strength.
After pondering for a long time, Bu Eunseol finally nodded.
He had concluded that keeping the Elephant King alive would bring far greater benefits than killing him.
“Three hundred days from now, once you complete the Eight Iron Arts, come find this Society Lord quietly.”
“Truly?”
“There is only one condition.”
“Speak.”
“Send your subordinates immediately along this path to help restore the damages suffered by the Four Holy Clans and compensate them for their losses.”
Deep wrinkles formed on the Elephant King’s forehead.
After attacking the Four Holy Clans, now he was to help with their recovery and even offer compensation?
It was no different from prostrating himself and begging for forgiveness. It would severely damage the dignity of the ruler of Napsageukseong.
“Fine.”
Yet, having made up his mind, the Elephant King showed a fierce smile.
“I will carry it out at once.”
After all, once he completed the Eight Iron Arts in three hundred days, he could simply kill Bu Eunseol, discard all pretense, and wipe out the Four Holy Clans.
He had even gone so far as to accept Bu Eunseol’s proposal.
“If you want, I can stamp a blood oath and make it into an official document.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring intently at the Elephant King’s chest area, shook his head.
“I think there’s something better.”
Chwaak!
As he reached out with his left hand, a small, dark iron statue flew out from the Elephant King’s bosom and landed in Bu Eunseol’s grasp.
It was none other than the sacred relic of the Elephant Sect—Heavenly Iron Elephant Tusk.
“I will hold onto this until then.”
The Elephant King’s eyes widened in shock.
With a single casual gesture, he had instantly snatched the holy object that had been inside his own clothes?
This was clear proof that Bu Eunseol’s internal energy had already reached the Limitless realm, making it impossible to resist with ordinary inner power, and that his martial arts level was several stages above his own.
“Give it back! That is a sacred object passed down through generations in our sect!”
But at this moment, he had no time to care about the gap in martial prowess.
Having a sect’s sacred object stolen was equivalent to having one’s pride and honor trampled upon entirely.
It was a humiliation far worse than losing one’s life.
“I will keep the promise, so return the sacred object.”
The Elephant King pleaded with a desperate expression.
A sect’s sacred object was the very embodiment of its pride. Moreover, in the Cheonchuk, such treasures were treated with extreme reverence. In the past, even if a sacred object had been stolen, whoever possessed it would be recognized as the rightful leader of the sect.
“Don’t worry.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with a relaxed expression.
“Three hundred days from now, when you come to find this Society Lord, I will return it.”
‘If his obsession with martial arts is genuine, he should be able to endure even this humiliation.’
The Elephant King lowered his head.
Would he endure this humiliation for the sake of completing the Eight Iron Arts?
Or would he uphold his pride as a martial artist and perish gloriously?
The choice stood before him.
“Your answer is slow.”
When Bu Eunseol applied force to Heavenly Iron Elephant Tusk, a cracking sound rang out.
“I understand. Take it.”
Though he said so, murderous intent blazed in the Elephant King’s eyes, hot enough to melt steel, and the surrounding air seemed to evaporate from his rage.
“But three hundred days from now…”
The Elephant King spoke with a face covered in suffocating killing intent.
“I will cut off your head and take back the sacred object without fail.”
Bu Eunseol calmly tucked Heavenly Iron Elephant Tusk into his robes with a relaxed expression.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
And he smiled.
That smile was eerie, as if foretelling the end of the world.
The moment their eyes met, it felt as though chaotic darkness would surge forth, shatter the boundaries of reality, and summon nightmares.
For a moment, the Elephant King’s expression froze rigidly.
Even if he were to complete the Eight Iron Arts and reach the Limitless Realm—a feat no one in history had achieved—he might still be unable to defeat this man.
A sinister premonition rose within him.
Grip.
The Elephant King clenched his fist tightly.
If he let him leave like this, the sense of defeat from being overwhelmed by the man’s momentum would be burned deep into his soul like a brand. If that happened, even after reaching the Limitless Realm, he would never dare to stand against him.
‘In the end, I have already lost the battle of momentum.’
The Elephant King saw through Bu Eunseol’s seemingly endlessly calm heart.
He realized that a terrifying madness lurked beneath it.
Against such a person, recovering once-broken momentum was extremely difficult.
‘In that case.’
Having made up his mind, the Elephant King called out to Bu Eunseol, who had turned his back.
“Are you planning to go to the Poison King?”
When Bu Eunseol turned around, the Elephant King twisted the corner of his mouth upward.
“Blood will be the key. He worships blood, after all.”
“Blood?”
Instead of answering, the Elephant King suddenly gathered all the energy in his body. Then, with his face twisted as if trying to spit out something stuck in his throat, he violently struck his left shoulder with his right hand!
Paa!
Blood spurted out, and his left arm fell limply to the ground.
Saaaaah.
The arm that had fallen to the floor instantly had its flesh and blood evaporate, leaving only a bare, skeletal remnant.
‘A restriction?’
Bu Eunseol immediately understood the situation.
The Elephant King had been under a prohibition placed by the True Demon that prevented him from revealing certain information.
He had sacrificed his own arm to temporarily defy that restriction using the power of the Eight Iron Arts.
And it was not mere goodwill.
It was a means to convert the terror that had nearly been branded deep into his soul into a ‘debt.’
‘By making me owe him, he has restored the momentum that had been broken.’
Realizing the intention, a faint gleam flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Indeed, the Elephant King’s previously rigid expression now looked much more relaxed.
“I’ll be waiting eagerly.”
Bu Eunseol smiled faintly.
He had a hunch that the Elephant King would use today as a stepping stone and return as a true formidable rival.
“Until our next confrontation.”
With his cold expression restored, he left the cavern without delay.
* * *
The people of the Four Holy Clans gathered at the entrance of Samana Valley could not understand the scene before their eyes.
Just a few days ago, these were the warriors of the Elephant Sect who had tried to annihilate them and steal their sacred object.
Yet now, they had suddenly mobilized laborers to restore the ruined village and even piled up a massive amount of gold, silver, and treasures at the entrance as compensation for the horrific massacre before leaving?
―What on earth is going on?
The Elephant King was a cold-blooded man who had never shown mercy even to his own subordinates, and helping others was the last thing he would do.
―Even if the Wind Cloud Young Master had killed the Elephant King, there’s no way his subordinates would do something like this.
The Elephant Sect possessed the Ten Great Elephant Generals, experts as terrifying as Sangdo Gangcheon. They worshiped only the Elephant King and were cruel beings who treated all other humans like insects. Even if the Elephant King were dead, they would have massacred the remaining Four Holy Clans rather than show such goodwill.
―I have no idea what kind of ghostly trick this is.
The people of the Four Holy Clans stared at the piles of gold and silver left behind by the now-departed Elephant Sect warriors, wearing expressions as if they had just woken from a terribly unpleasant dream.
Kwarung.
At that moment, multicolored clouds flashed in the distant sky, and a tall figure landed gracefully on the ground.
It was a man wearing the attire of the Bayura tribe— a robe that gently wrapped his head and rose into a peak, with feathers and ornaments adorning his entire body.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Young Master.”
From afar, Ahwan came running desperately.
During his absence, her face had grown somewhat thin.
She had refused to eat or drink until Bu Eunseol returned, staring endlessly at the sky in longing.
“Wind Cloud Young Master.”
Following her, about forty people—including Anan Geuk and the clan leaders and key figures of the Four Holy Clans—rushed out in a group.
“What exactly happened?”
When Anan Geuk approached and asked, Bu Eunseol calmly opened his mouth.
“It turns out that even if we killed the Elephant King, the other Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants could still invade.”
“What do you mean…”
“It seems most of the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants have been drawn into the evil faction.”
Bu Eunseol explained calmly.
“Therefore, I judged that it would be better to keep him alive and use him as a shield, buying time for the Four Holy Clans to build the strength to face external enemies on their own.”
He then took out Heavenly Iron Elephant Tusk from his robes and showed it to them.
“You will be safe for three hundred days. During this time, use the sacred object to strengthen the tribe and build powerful connections so that strong enemies cannot easily invade.”
After listening to Bu Eunseol’s explanation for a long time, Anan Geuk’s eyes widened in shock.
He had known that Bu Eunseol’s decision to confront the Elephant King was not mere display of force or arrogance. But he never imagined the young man had planned so far ahead, even considering the distant future for the tribe’s survival.
“Thank you, Wind Cloud Young Master.”
“It seems my work here is done.”
Bu Eunseol gave a light, relieved smile to Anan Geuk and Ahwan.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
“Young Master.”
Ahwan stepped forward urgently.
“I have something to say.”
“Speak.”
“I will also go to the Central Plains to serve you.”
Her shocking declaration left the surrounding tribespeople—especially those of the Yona tribe—greatly astonished.
The woman who was supposed to become the tribe’s Saintess wanted to serve the Wind Cloud Young Master?
But the most surprised of all was Bu Eunseol himself.
“What are you suddenly saying?”
Ahwan, with firm resolve, spoke in a clear voice.
“I will follow and serve you for the rest of my life.”
Seeing her cheeks flushed red, Bu Eunseol finally understood the meaning and shook his head.
“Were you not meant to become the Saintess of the Yona tribe?”
“After this incident, we decided to open the sacred object to all tribes. So now someone else can take on the role of Saintess.”
Ahwan spoke with earnest eyes.
“Only after going through this did I realize… staying by your side for the rest of my life is what I truly desire.”
“It is nothing but a momentary impulse.”
Bu Eunseol calmly tried to persuade her.
“Right now, because you are young, my appearance may seem impressive to you.”
“Young Master.”
“But as you grow older and live your life, you will come to understand that these feelings are merely fleeting.”
Instead, Ahwan clasped her hands together even more desperately.
“Even if it is an impulse, it is fine. If I cannot follow you to the Central Plains, I would rather die.”
Bu Eunseol began desperately searching for reasons to dissuade her.
“I must now go to the Ajanta Caves.”
“Of course I won’t be a burden. Please go. I will wait.”
“You are still just a childish little girl. What exactly are you planning to wait for?”
“Am I going to remain a child forever?”
Ahwan spoke firmly, refusing to back down.
“Then I will go to the Central Plains and stay by your side until I become an adult. That should be fine, right?”
Her bold and audacious declaration left Bu Eunseol momentarily speechless.
“I… I have trouble taking care of even myself.”
“Then I will take care of you.”
“What?”
“I am good at speaking the Central Plains language, cooking, housework, and I am skilled with my hands. I can easily make a living with needlework as well.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Then something unexpected happened.
When Ahwan stubbornly insisted on going to the Central Plains with him, Anan Geuk suddenly knelt and began pleading as well.
“Wind Cloud Young Master. Please lead our tribe as well.”
“What do you mean by ‘lead’?”
“If you do not lead us, our tribe will eventually perish.”
“There is still time. Build your strength and connections.”
“It is not because time is lacking.”
Anan Geuk wore an ashamed expression.
“In truth, I have committed one sin. I hid the prophecy that you, Wind Cloud Young Master, would become the leader who guides all of our Four Holy Clans.”
“Leader?”
“Yes. But I thought it did not literally mean you would lead our tribe. Moreover, since you are from the Central Plains, I believed such a thing was impossible.”
Anan Geuk soon shook his head.
“Even so, I was confident that if we could just retrieve the sacred object, we would be able to manage on our own.”
With a deep sigh, he continued,
“But only now have I realized… even if we had three thousand days instead of three hundred, without your guidance, our tribe will eventually collapse.”
The Divine Priestess’s prophecies had all come true so far.
No matter how much strength they built or how well they defended against the Elephant King’s invasion, the prophecy that the tribe would perish without the Wind Cloud Young Master’s leadership would also come to pass.
“In the past, our tribe ruled over the Cheonchuk. But now our power is weak, and a new power structure has formed.”
Anan Geuk lowered his head.
“If you do not lead us, we will once again walk the path of destruction.”
“I refuse.”
At that moment, Ahwan spoke.
“I will follow you even if I die, Young Master.”
Anan Geuk bowed deeply once more.
“Wind Cloud Young Master. Please do not abandon us.”
With both sides kneeling and pleading desperately, Bu Eunseol felt his head begin to throb painfully.
This was exactly like saving someone only to have them demand your entire fortune in return.
“I’m sorry.”
As Bu Eunseol turned to leave,
“If you are going to abandon us, then cut my throat and go!”
Anan Geuk suddenly drew a short blade and pressed it against his own neck.
Beside him, Ahwan’s eyes sparkled as she began rummaging through her clothes, clearly intending to pull out a blade as well.
Clang!
At that moment, a clear sound rang out, and Anan Geuk’s short blade turned to powder and vanished.
“The adult who leads the tribe is showing such disregard for life? What are the children supposed to learn from this?”
At Bu Eunseol’s stern rebuke, Anan Geuk bowed his head as if prostrating himself.
“I am ashamed. You are right. Please continue to guide us properly as you have done.”
And he pleaded earnestly,
“Please do not abandon us, Wind Cloud Young Master.”
They were truly like leeches.
Yet their desperation and urgency were genuine.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
Due to the recent attack by the Elephant Sect, not only Anan Geuk but the entire Four Holy Clans were in a state of chaos and fear. If left in this condition, they would likely make wrong choices or eventually walk the path of destruction as the Saintess had prophesied.
‘If it were Grandfather…’
After pondering for a while, Bu Eunseol recalled the kind face of his grandfather.
The conclusion came easily.
‘He would never have turned his back on those who truly needed help.’
The Four Holy Clans were, after all, good people.
And his grandfather had never once ignored the pleas of those in distress.
‘If Grandfather were still alive… the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants would not have dared raise their heads.’
“Please, Wind Cloud Young Master.”
At that moment, Anan Geuk pressed his forehead fully to the ground.
Then the key figures of the tribe and Ahwan beside him also prostrated themselves toward Bu Eunseol.
‘The people of Cheonchuk are a little different.’
No matter how much they believed in the prophecy and in Bu Eunseol’s abilities, if this were a sect from the Central Plains martial world, they would never have asked an outsider to lead their entire faction.
But the people of the Four Holy Clans were entrusting the fate of their tribe to him, whose true identity they did not even know.
“Rise.”
Sensing rejection in Bu Eunseol’s words, Anan Geuk spoke while still prostrated.
“I will not rise until you give permission…”
Whoosh.
At that moment, the bodies of Anan Geuk and the forty or so prostrated tribespeople rose upright by themselves.
Bu Eunseol had exerted his inner power to lift them all at once.
“Th-this…”
Anan Geuk opened his mouth in astonishment, as if possessed.
He had seen Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess with his own eyes.
However, because he was young, Anan Geuk had assumed his internal energy was not that remarkable.
Yet he had lifted more than forty people without even lifting a finger?
How could someone so young possess such terrifying internal energy?
“Wind Cloud Young Master… what exactly is your true identity?”
Only then did Anan Geuk realize that Bu Eunseol was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also no ordinary person.
‘True identity.’
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
In the past, he would have revealed his identity as the Martial Soul Command Lord to reassure them. But Majeon would eventually leave, and the Demon Emperor was also an enemy.
Fortunately, however, he had one more identity that was both truthful and dignified.
And from now on, he needed to spread that name widely.
To gather his subordinates and confront powerful experts in the future.
“I am the Martial Soul Society Lord.”
Anan Geuk’s eyes widened.
Since the Four Holy Clans were no ordinary tribe, they naturally kept their ears open to news not only from the Cheonchuk but also from the Central Plains.
The Martial Soul Society.
Rumor had it that a neutral alliance had emerged in the Central Plains martial world, where only the righteous and demonic factions had previously existed.
At first, everyone had mocked it.
But before long, it had rapidly grown into a major power alongside Majeon and the martial world Alliance.
However, the identity of its Society Lord had never been revealed, and his true face remained shrouded in mystery.
And yet, this young Wind Cloud Young Master was the Martial Soul Society Lord?
“…So the Wind Cloud Young Master was the Martial Soul Society Lord.”
Anan Geuk stretched his philtrum and smiled with pride.
No matter what the Divine Priestess’s prophecy said, there had been doubt about how such a young man could protect them from the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants and lead the tribe. But if he was the leader of the Martial Soul Society—a Central Plains alliance that even broadly recruited experts from beyond the borders—then he would certainly be capable of protecting them from the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants and leading the Four Holy Clans.
“That is unacceptable.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man beside Anan Geuk stepped forward. It was Jebasa, the chief of the Bimara tribe.
“Our tribe has taken root and lived on this land for generations. How could we abandon our home just to save our lives?”
“Is that petty pride more important than life?”
As Anan Geuk and Jebasa began to argue, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“If you accept the method this Society Lord proposes, there will be no need to abandon your homeland.”
Jebasa’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“Is that possible?”
“Of course. Though you will have to abandon something else.”
“Something else…?”
“You must abandon the name of the Four Holy Clans.”
At the surprising statement, not only Jebasa but everyone present opened their mouths in shock.
Abandon the name of the Four Holy Clans?
“Does that mean you intend to rename our tribe as the Cheonchuk Branch of the Martial Soul Society?”
Jebasa shook his head firmly.
“If that happens, it will only give the Cheonchuk Eight Tyrants justification to attack us. They will say that an ancient tribe of the Cheonchuk has become the running dog of the Central Plains martial world.”
“I have a plan.”
“What kind of plan?”
When Jebasa asked with a pout, Bu Eunseol spoke differently.
“Wasn’t it the sandalwood that grows in this land that allowed the Four Holy Clans to continue their lineage for generations?”
Sandalwood was called the King of Trees or the King of Fragrances, so precious that it took decades for its heartwood to fully form.
And in Samana Valley, the homeland of the Four Holy Clans, sandalwood was planted in abundance.
Bu Eunseol stared directly at Jebasa and said, “The reason you said you could never leave this land is precisely because of this sandalwood.”
Jebasa averted his gaze, unable to refute him.
He did not care much about the name Four Holy Clans but he could never abandon the vibrant sandalwood planted here.
“So what do you suggest?”
Having had his inner thoughts exposed, Jebasa asked. Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
“The Four Holy Clans will now become the great merchants of the Cheonchuk and trade with the Martial Soul Society.”
“Great merchants?”
“There is plenty of sandalwood here, but you do not store or age it well. If we bring in the drying and aging techniques from the Central Plains, you will be able to produce the highest quality sandalwood from now on.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“If you monopolize the production of the highest quality sandalwood under the protection of the Elephant King, not only the imperial family but countless nobles and merchants will have no choice but to protect this place.”
He smiled.
“Because you will become an indispensable force both economically and politically.”
The tribespeople listening to the story opened their mouths in a daze.
“But that is nothing more than a dreamlike plan.”
Jebasa shook his head.
“Even if we age and process the sandalwood ourselves and sell it… the amount in Samana Valley is not enough to trade with the merchant guilds of the Central Plains.”
“Do not worry about that. I know a place with hundreds of times more sandalwood than here.”
“Where is that?”
“When I went with Ahwan to find the sacred object, I happened to see it in Daramil Valley. The legendary Illusion Forest.”
At that moment, Ahwan made a strange expression.
The forest actually made of sandalwood was not in Daramil Valley but in the illusory lands.
―Is there anywhere you would like to visit? Since you have come to Napsageukseong, you must have come to see Daramil Valley, right? The place where the legendary Illusion Forest is hidden…
That was what Ahwan had chattered about when she first met Bu Eunseol.
Moreover, the two of them had never even gone to Illusion Forest.
So why was he telling such a lie?
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