In the reed field, only desolation and a bleak wind passed through, accompanied by silence.
Hyeok Sojin, standing dazed, felt not just bewilderment but something eerie.
“I don’t understand. Take your head?” he said.
“Exactly as it sounds. I’ll give you ten days to kill me,” Bu Eunseol replied, pointing to himself calmly. “Use any means necessary. Poison, hidden weapons, ambushes—it doesn’t matter.”
He gazed at Hyeok Sojin, whose eyes were wide with shock, and continued in a steady voice, “Employ every method at your disposal. If you can inflict even the slightest harm on me within ten days…” Pausing briefly, he spoke with conviction, “I’ll allow you to travel with me.”
“Are you serious?” Hyeok Sojin asked.
“Of course,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“If I don’t hold back, I might actually kill you,” Hyeok Sojin warned.
A martial artist’s fight isn’t always decided by martial skills alone. As the legitimate successor of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, the cradle of ten thousand demons, if Hyeok Sojin truly used every means at his disposal, no one could predict the outcome.
“That’s why I said it. If you can kill me, make sure to take my head,” Bu Eunseol said.
A fierce glint flickered in Hyeok Sojin’s eyes. “Not to boast, but my mind holds three hundred and thirty-one demonic technique manuals, aside from Divine Rift Demon Energy.”
A genius who could master practical applications just by reading manuals, Hyeok Sojin had absorbed a vast array of demonic techniques from Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s archives since childhood, despite not training seriously.
“You’re telling me, with all that, to attack you without restraint? That sounds awfully arrogant,” he said.
“This is tiresome. Are you in or out?” Bu Eunseol asked.
“Fine,” Hyeok Sojin said, cracking his knuckles lightly and nodding with a relaxed expression. “You said no limits, so I’ll follow through!”
Tap.
Before the words fully left his mouth, Hyeok Sojin lightly touched the ground, instantly closing the distance to Bu Eunseol. Forming tiger claws, he unleashed twenty-four hand shadows in a single breath.
It was a technique from the Dark Heaven Demon Dragon Palm, one of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s demonic arts.
“Not bad,” Bu Eunseol remarked.
Instead of facing it head-on, he used footwork to evade each move of the Dark Heaven Demon Dragon Palm.
Whoosh.
But Hyeok Sojin, as if anticipating Bu Eunseol’s evasion, released three sharp finger winds with a thudding sound. It was the Mysterious Roar Demon Finger, known as the demonic path’s divine finger technique.
Pop, pop, pop.
However, as Bu Eunseol executed Swift Beyond Shadow, the three finger winds passed harmlessly by.
Boom.
At the same time, Hyeok Sojin, closing the distance for another attack, was thrown back as if hitting an invisible wall. Bu Eunseol had unleashed the Fist Demon Manifestation Technique silently.
“Damn it,” Hyeok Sojin cursed.
Though the fist’s force only grazed him, his chest stung as if burned.
As he staggered back, Bu Eunseol muttered to himself, “Martial arts aren’t a tool for venting emotions.”
“What do you mean?” Hyeok Sojin asked.
“When you decide to attack, you must adapt your moves to your opponent’s movements,” Bu Eunseol said, looking down at him coldly. “Don’t charge recklessly like a boar fleeing a wildfire.”
“I see,” Hyeok Sojin said, clasping his hands and bowing. “Thank you for the lesson…”
His words trailed off. While feigning a bow, he unleashed a purple radiance from both hands. It was Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s ultimate technique, Divine Rift Demon Energy.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, an intangible current surged toward Bu Eunseol’s face. But as if anticipating everything, Bu Eunseol darted to the left like lightning, unleashing another fist. Startled, Hyeok Sojin tried to deflect the attack with his Divine Rift Demon Energy. Yet the five streams of fist energy, surging with terrifying force, pierced through the glue-like Divine Rift Demon Energy and struck his body.
It was the second form of the Seven Fist Demon Forms, Extreme Chaos Roar Technique.
‘It’s different from before!’ Hyeok Sojin’s eyes widened as he watched the incoming fist energy. Though it was the same technique used at Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, its precision and power were far greater.
Bang, bang, bang!
Using Divine Rift Demon Energy, Hyeok Sojin barely deflected two of the streams, but three struck his shoulder squarely.
‘He’s holding back. Then and now…’ Clutching his shoulder, Hyeok Sojin gritted his teeth, realizing that if Bu Eunseol had used full force, his shoulder would have been shattered.
“Too many unnecessary movements,” Bu Eunseol said, staring down at the staggering Hyeok Sojin. “Study how to execute your moves more concisely.” In a cold voice, he added, “If you don’t want to die.”
Hyeok Sojin glared at Bu Eunseol with burning eyes. Normally, he would have felt anger, humiliation, or defeat. But now, none of that was present. Instead, a fierce, unfamiliar obsession coursed through his entire body.
“Let’s do this. Gladly,” he said.
“…”
“Within ten days, I’ll make sure your neck is drenched in blood.”
Despite the grim warning, Bu Eunseol gave a satisfied smile. “I’ll look forward to it.”
With that, he turned calmly and walked away.
***
At the inn, when the world was steeped in silence.
Even the sound of crickets had faded, and in the annex of Silver Blossom Pavilion, the moonlight itself seemed to hold its breath, shimmering quietly.
Rustle.
Was it a faint breeze? The leaves on the small path leading to Silver Blossom Pavilion trembled faintly.
Swish.
The gentle breeze paused at the annex behind the pavilion. A few grains of sand on the annex’s floor shifted ever so slightly.
Beneath the annex, underground.
Using the Earth Escape Technique, Hyeok Sojin, who had arrived near Bu Eunseol’s annex, glinted his eyes from below the ground.
The Lightning Rat Earth Escape Technique.
A supreme art from two hundred years ago, belonging to the great thief and assassin Black Net Ghost, it allowed movement through three jang of earth in a single breath. The Lightning Rat Earth Escape Technique was stealthier than a mole’s movements. Using it, Hyeok Sojin had approached the annex undetected by Bu Eunseol.
‘He couldn’t have anticipated this, right?’ Initially, he thought the gap between them was merely in combat experience, not martial prowess.
But after crossing hands, he realized Bu Eunseol’s skill far exceeded his expectations. The gap was too vast to bridge quickly.
“Use any means necessary. Poison, hidden weapons, ambushes—it doesn’t matter.”
Bu Eunseol had arrogantly permitted any method. Hyeok Sojin intended to use every trick to bring him down.
Swish.
Carefully extending one arm above ground, he began placing shimmering objects around the annex with stealthy movements. He subtly adjusted the positions and orientations of stones, trees, and everything within the annex.
He was setting up the Four Calamities Ghost Formation, a technique passed down from Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s archives.
‘This formation will completely block the senses of the Beast Way.’ Nangyang Pavilion’s extraordinary art, Beast Way, not only heightened human senses to their limits but also granted lightning-fast reflexes. Hyeok Sojin had deduced that Bu Eunseol used Beast Way to read his movements and dodge attacks effortlessly.
‘Moreover, the Four Calamities Ghost Formation will completely conceal my presence and appearance.’ Peeking just his head above ground, Hyeok Sojin gazed at the garden with a triumphant smile.
Swish.
Continuing to move underground, he meticulously set up the formation while suppressing his presence. But because he moved with such care to avoid detection, it took a long time to complete.
‘Phew.’ By the time the formation was finished, dawn was breaking. Scanning the surroundings, Hyeok Sojin buried himself fully underground again, suppressing his presence.
Creak.
Soon after, the annex’s gate opened, and Bu Eunseol slowly emerged. Having finished his meditation, he was heading to the inn for breakfast. Though he could have maids prepare meals in the annex, Bu Eunseol always went to the inn to gather rumors and information.
‘Here he comes.’ From underground, Hyeok Sojin slowly surfaced as Bu Eunseol walked into the garden.
Step, step.
Even with Hyeok Sojin standing directly at the end of the path to the inn, Bu Eunseol walked forward calmly.
‘It’s working!’ Hyeok Sojin inwardly cheered.
The moment Bu Eunseol entered the garden, the Four Calamities Ghost Formation had activated.
Despite Hyeok Sojin standing right in front of him, Bu Eunseol walked on, completely unaware.
‘I need to be cautious.’ In the past, he would have attacked recklessly. But recalling Bu Eunseol’s advice, he maintained caution and composure with every move.
‘Hup.’ Raising his inner energy, Hyeok Sojin unleashed a ferocious strike at the approaching Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh!
A purple flame surged toward Bu Eunseol’s face—the Demon Twilight Hell Fist, Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s ultimate fist technique.
As the jagged, hedgehog-like fist energy bore down on Bu Eunseol’s face—
Swish.
Bu Eunseol took a single step to the left, effortlessly dodging the Demon Twilight Hell Fist.
‘What?’ Hyeok Sojin’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
Had Bu Eunseol broken the formation and seen his attack in such a short time?
Step, step.
But something was off. Bu Eunseol’s gaze was fixed not on him but on the inn’s entrance.
Despite the formation dulling his senses and concealing Hyeok Sojin’s presence, Bu Eunseol had dodged every attack.
‘Unbelievable!’ Raising his hand, Hyeok Sojin unleashed the Elder Demon Blood Hand, enveloping Bu Eunseol’s upper body.
Though the moves were fierce enough to produce explosive sounds, the formation silenced them completely.
Swish.
Yet Bu Eunseol, hands behind his back, moved like a ghost again.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Even unable to see or hear, Bu Eunseol dodged every move of the Elder Demon Blood Hand.
‘How can he evade attacks within the Four Calamities Ghost Formation?’ Bu Eunseol’s Beast Way had surpassed Void-Breaking Mind’s Eye, reaching Void Heart Command.
Moreover, he had mastered the Changsin Unit’s Harmony Technique, the pinnacle of the Psychic Sword Art, which allowed him to control and sense killing intent. Even if the Phantom Demon Hyeok Gongbaek set up an illusion formation, it couldn’t fully deceive Bu Eunseol’s senses.
‘Is this guy a demon, not a human?’ Unaware of this, Hyeok Sojin felt not just shock but an eerie chill.
“Disappointing,” Bu Eunseol said, stopping and shaking his head as if talking to himself. “I told you to use any means, and all you did was set up a formation?” Sighing, he looked at the sky and shook his head again. “It’s like serving a feast and only drinking water.”
‘What does that mean?’ Hidden within the formation, Hyeok Sojin blinked, staring at Bu Eunseol. ‘A feast? What…’ Pondering, Hyeok Sojin’s eyes suddenly lit up as if he’d realized something.
He instantly raised his inner energy.
Crack.
With his century’s worth of inner energy unleashed at full force, the silver shadow stones beneath him shattered. The peaceful surroundings fell away like paper, revealing Hyeok Sojin before Bu Eunseol.
“Sorry,” Hyeok Sojin said, briefly clasping his hands with an embarrassed expression before his eyes flashed with purple light. “Let’s do this properly.”
He finally understood. The order to use any means to inflict harm meant to come at him with everything, with intent to kill.
“Here I come for real!”
Flash! Drawing the sword at his waist, Hyeok Sojin’s eyes blazed with intense killing intent.
‘I’ll kill him!’ He had never set out to kill anyone before, nor had he ever harbored killing intent.
But now, Hyeok Sojin was pouring his all into cutting Bu Eunseol’s throat, driven by killing intent. He knew that without such effort, he couldn’t even touch a hair on Bu Eunseol’s head.
Rumble!
From his hands, Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s demonic arts poured forth relentlessly. His sword unleashed the Ten Thousand Thunder Blood Sword’s killing moves like a hailstorm, while his left hand shot out the Dark Blood Blaze Palm like a fierce arrow.
As Bu Eunseol evaded, the sword traced a semicircle in the air. This time, the Dragon-Slaying Demon Sword Technique and Soul-Annihilating Hand, cloaked in Divine Rift Demon Energy, surged like a tidal wave.
A genius.
Those with exceptional talent and aptitude reach astonishing realms in a short time. In that sense, Hyeok Sojin was undeniably a genius.
Realizing no single technique could match Bu Eunseol, he unleashed all the demonic arts he had learned from Heaven and Earth Severing Sect in a single torrent.
