“Brother Bu, why… didn’t you even allow him to take his own life?”
Hyeok Sojin spoke with regret, but Bu Eunseol responded with a cold expression.
“If he had been seen taking his own life, the remaining Flame Soul Corps warriors would have fought to the death.”
Only then did Hyeok Sojin let out an “Ah.”
If Yo Bulbeom had laughed heartily, displaying unyielding spirit as he ended his life? The Flame Soul Corps’s morale would have soared, and they would have resisted with desperate ferocity.
“Thank you.” At that moment, Geuk Hyeryeong stepped forward from among the lined-up disciples of the Affectionate Blossom Sect.
“Supporting you was a choice I’ll never regret.” When a great enemy invaded, Bu Eunseol willingly stepped forward alone to protect the Affectionate Blossom Sect.
It was akin to showing trust as precious as life itself.
“Whether you become the successor of Majeon or not… this Pavilion will stand by your side forever.”
Instead of responding, Bu Eunseol gave a light bow. His dignified and solemn posture alone conveyed deeper trust than a hundred oaths and exuded the majesty of a future martial arts grandmaster. Standing tall, Bu Eunseol surveyed his surroundings before slowly turning away.
Having fulfilled all the commands of the Demon Emperor, he was ready to return to Majeon.
***
Leaving Gyerim, Bu Eunseol rested at a nearby inn before boarding a boat.
He planned to travel north along the Three Rivers to reach Changsha, where Majeon was located.
In truth, both Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin had sustained significant injuries during their battle with the Flame Soul Corps. Especially Hyeok Sojin, who had fought at full strength with his Divine Rift Demon Energy, had suffered considerable internal injuries.
After three days of recovery at the inn with Bu Eunseol, his energy gradually returned. But to avoid rushing their full recovery, they opted to travel leisurely by boat.
Buzz buzz.
The village near the dock, where boats came and went, was bustling with people from all over.
As they entered the marketplace, Bu Eunseol used Face and Bone Shifting Art to slightly alter his appearance. His striking features were too conspicuous, and most of the armed martial artists filling the marketplace were from orthodox sects.
Crack.
With a faint sound, Bu Eunseol transformed into the face of an ordinary, mature man.
“I’m not changing mine,” Hyeok Sojin said, grimacing as he watched. “I haven’t been active in the martial world, and I’ve been stuck with old folks all this time. No one will recognize me.”
“Do as you wish.” Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin wandered around, searching for an inn with vacant rooms.
But all they saw through the windows were inns packed with guests.
“No vacancies,” Hyeok Sojin sighed, scanning the surroundings.
“Let’s go there,” Bu Eunseol said, pointing to an alley slightly off the marketplace.
A small tavern stood there. It looked shabby, likely serving cheap food, but they weren’t in a position to be picky.
“Hmm.” Hyeok Sojin groaned, eyeing the empty window seat.
Not only was he particular about food, but he also valued the ambiance of dining places. In the past, he would have insisted on finding a high-class inn, but now he shrugged resignedly.
“Fine.” Entering the single-story tavern, they found a mix of merchants with bundles and martial artists armed with weapons.
As soon as they sat, Hyeok Sojin called over a server.
“Bring the best liquor and all the dishes you can serve.” It was a bold, straightforward order for such a humble tavern.
The young server bowed and soon returned with plates, setting food and liquor on Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin’s table.
“Huh?” A disgruntled voice came from a nearby table. “Hey, didn’t we order first?”
Hyeok Sojin turned to see two twin youths, a frail, pale young man, and a refined young woman sitting there. None were particularly striking in appearance, but their features were refined, and their eyes sparkled with vitality.
Their attire and demeanor suggested they were scions of a prestigious family.
“Look at the dishes; those are what we ordered,” one of the twin youths said, frowning again.
The server, scratching his head, cautiously explained, “My apologies, sir. You did arrive first, but these guests placed their order earlier.”
Though Bu Eunseol’s group arrived later, Hyeok Sojin had ordered immediately upon sitting. The other group, after much deliberation, had also ordered “all the dishes and liquor available,” leading to the mix-up.
“I see,” the youth said, smacking his lips as he grasped the situation.
He hadn’t considered that the crowded inn would delay their order. With many guests still waiting, it would likely take a while for their food to arrive. ‘They must have traveled a long way,’ Bu Eunseol noted, observing their exhaustion and hunger.
“We’re in no rush, so serve them first,” he said.
Bu Eunseol had come to the inn not to sate his hunger but to gather rumors from the martial world. At his concession, the server and the young group at the table waved their hands in surprise.
“No, there’s no need to go that far…”
“It’s fine. We’re not in a hurry.” As Bu Eunseol casually waved his hand, the youths all gave light bows to express their gratitude.
“Thank you.” Nodding calmly, Bu Eunseol turned his gaze back to the window.
At that moment, snippets of conversation from martial artists sitting farther away reached his ears.
“Did you hear the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The ‘Mad Soul Physician,’ Gongsun Guryeong. They say that lunatic has reappeared in the martial world.”
Mad Soul Physician, Gongsun Guryeong.
A mad killer who dressed like a physician but dissected living people. Over three hundred commoners had died by his hand alone. As his actions grew more extreme, he began attacking and slaughtering young martial artists. At that point, both orthodox and demonic sects issued kill orders.
Yet he effortlessly evaded pursuit from various factions, continuing to wreak havoc in the martial world. When signs emerged that Majeon and the Martial Alliance might intervene, he vanished ten years ago.
And now, this mad killer had reappeared?
‘Mad Soul Physician.’
Recalling the records of past martial artists from the Nine Deaths Squad branch, Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes. The Mad Soul Physician was known for dissecting healthy young people for no apparent reason.
‘But he wasn’t mad for slaughter—he was mad for martial arts.’
The truth was different.
According to Nine Deaths Squad’s intelligence, Gongsun Guryeong didn’t dissect people out of sadistic pleasure. He did it to study the principles of martial arts and the weaknesses of the human body. Much like Bu Zhanyang and Bu Eunseol, who studied causes of death by examining scars on corpses.
“We should be careful too,” Hyeok Sojin said with a smirk, overhearing the martial artists. “They say that lunatic loves dissecting the bodies of young martial masters.”
The decisive reason Gongsun Guryeong became a public enemy was his habit of capturing and dissecting young talents from both orthodox and demonic sects. Likely, studying martial artists’ bodies was far more useful for his martial arts research.
“Indeed,” Bu Eunseol nodded, listening silently to the conversations.
But aside from the Mad Soul Physician’s reappearance, there were no other significant rumors.
‘Mad Soul Physician. The Mad Soul Physician…’ Bu Eunseol narrowed his eyes.
A mad killer who dissected young people to advance his martial arts.
Though his skill was said to fall short of the supreme level, Nine Deaths Squad intelligence indicated he had reached that realm long ago. Moreover, with his elusive movement techniques and ability to vanish without a trace…
He was not only a master of martial arts but also an expert in evasion.
‘Why is he smiling?’ Hyeok Sojin tilted his head, noticing Bu Eunseol’s faint smile as he sank into deep thought. ‘What’s he planning now?’ By now, Hyeok Sojin considered himself an expert on Bu Eunseol. He knew that when the usually stoic Bu Eunseol smiled faintly, something unpredictable was about to happen.
After finishing their meal, Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin arrived at the dock and boarded a boat. The cargo-passenger ship, designed for trade, was large enough to carry over a hundred passengers with room to spare.
With clear weather, most passengers were on the deck, enjoying the scenery.
“…” Bu Eunseol gazed endlessly at the flowing river.
The bloody battle with the Flame Soul Corps Corps Leader had granted him profound insights, and he reflected on it whenever he had time.
‘The Death Spirit Sect wasn’t bound by the framework of the spear as a weapon.’
Like Bu Eunseol’s Supreme Heavenly Flow, Yo Bulbeom of the Death Spirit Sect was unrestrained by weapon limitations or techniques. This had posed a significant crisis, unlike anything Bu Eunseol had felt from previous enemies.
‘Perhaps I’ve been underestimating the martial arts of the Ten Demonic Sects.’ The White Horse Temple and Hell’s Blood Fortress had distinct traits—unorthodox methods and poison techniques.
For Bu Eunseol, who excelled at finding weaknesses in battle, they were ideal prey. But the Death Spirit Sect’s spear techniques made him realize he had misjudged the Ten Demonic Sects’s martial arts.
‘If our internal energy had been equal, I wouldn’t have won so easily.’ Yo Bulbeom had far more experience in the martial world and had honed the fearsome Evil Spirit Jade Blood Spear for over twenty years.
His seasoned expertise and combat tactics were a gap that Bu Eunseol, barely past his twenties, couldn’t bridge quickly.
Night fell.
As the wind calmed, a thick fog settled over the river. The towering mist surrounding them made the world feel like a distant dream.
“Brother Bu,” Hyeok Sojin spoke up from beside him. “The river flows endlessly, never stopping. Why can’t people advance endlessly like that?”
It was an abrupt question.
To an ordinary person, it might have prompted laughter or bewilderment. But Bu Eunseol’s expression grew serious as he pondered. Hyeok Sojin’s question touched on a profound aspect of martial arts.
“If one could advance limitlessly, they would no longer be human but part of nature itself,” Bu Eunseol said, lowering his voice after a moment of thought. “Humans are born with imperfect minds and bodies. Thus, they strive to overcome those imperfections.”
His gaze followed the ripples of the river below the railing.
“Of course, a river cannot become a person. But a person can transform into anything—rivers, or anything else.” Hyeok Sojin furrowed his brow, deep in thought, then shook his head. “I don’t understand. How can a person transform into anything else?”
“Everything you see passes through your mind,” Bu Eunseol explained calmly.
“If you’re obsessed with martial arts, the river will appear as a form of martial arts. If you’re fixated on a beautiful woman, the river might look like her body.” Each of Bu Eunseol’s words carried meaning. “Those who master advanced martial arts sometimes fall into frustration, despair, or fear. Do you know why?”
When Hyeok Sojin shook his head, Bu Eunseol answered.
“Because, though their bodies may have reached their limits, their minds have not yet attained that state.” His voice was utterly calm.
But his sharp gaze, fixed on Hyeok Sojin, seemed to pierce through to his very core.
“You’ve honed exceptional martial arts, perfecting your body. But the strength of your mind still lags behind.”
“…!”
“To reach a stable state at the threshold of the supreme level, you must temper not only your martial arts but also your mind.” In that moment, Hyeok Sojin trembled as if struck by a realization.
Bu Eunseol was strong.
Not only because of his exceptional martial arts but because his mind was unyieldingly resolute, unmatched by anyone. ‘Brother Bu has tempered not just his martial arts but his mind to an extreme degree.’ Without such mental fortitude, even a strong body couldn’t achieve such rapid martial progress.
“Thank you, Brother Bu.” Hyeok Sojin bowed deeply.
Though he had learned from great martial arts masters like Phantom Demon, he had only studied techniques and principles. He had yet to be taught the deeper subtleties of martial arts. But through their journey, Bu Eunseol was teaching Hyeok Sojin to interpret all phenomena through the lens of martial arts principles.
This was also a process to help Hyeok Sojin one day grasp the ultimate truths of martial arts on his own.
“Oh?” At that moment, the young group from the tavern, stepping out of the cabin, spotted Bu Eunseol and Hyeok Sojin and approached with warm smiles.
“We meet again.”
