As Bu Eunseol gazed at the charging Cold-Blooded Ghosts, a flash gleamed in his eyes.
Shing!
With a sword cry like a dragon’s roar, a sharp burst of energy shot from his black sword, moving so swiftly it was nearly invisible.
Slash!
With a chilling slicing sound, five of the charging Cold-Blooded Ghosts were instantly cleaved in two.
“…!” A faint light flickered in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The sensation transmitted through his hand was not light but heavy. The bodies of the Cold-Blooded Ghosts, made of flesh and blood, were far tougher than steel.
“They’ve tempered their bodies with drugs,” Bu Eunseol remarked.
It seemed they had hardened their bodies to execute devastating physical attacks in their final moments.
At that moment, the Cold-Blooded Ghosts charged at Bu Eunseol again with full force.
This time, they didn’t rush recklessly but maintained distance, attacking from different directions. Realizing Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship far exceeded their expectations, they opted for a wheel tactic, using their numerical advantage to attack and retreat repeatedly.
“A crude but wise choice!” Bu Eunseol said with a cold smirk, summoning his full inner energy.
Zing!
Black mist rose from his eyes, and a shimmering black orb formed in his left hand.
In an instant, he unleashed the ancient secret of the Wishful True Binding, capable of freely materializing immense inner energy.
Whoosh!
As he extended his left hand as if releasing a palm strike, half of the materialized energy spread out like a spider’s web. The Cold-Blooded Ghosts, previously scattered in all directions, were drawn together as if fused into one mass.
Clang!
At the same time, Bu Eunseol’s black sword unleashed peerless sword techniques.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chilling sword aura, capable of freezing the sun itself, swept through the clustered Cold-Blooded Ghosts in an instant.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Over a dozen Cold-Blooded Ghosts collapsed like straw.
‘No issues so far.’ Even without the Emotion-Severing Secret, using the Wishful True Binding didn’t cause his energy channels to surge. This change had occurred after the enraged Nangyang Pavilion Lord, Ak Muryeong, used the Spirit-Converging Divine Transformation to pierce his meridians.
Step, step.
Yet, as if oblivious to their comrades’ deaths, the Cold-Blooded Ghosts approached Bu Eunseol without hesitation.
Hum!
Bu Eunseol spread the remaining energy in his left hand like a web once more. Again, the Cold-Blooded Ghosts were drawn together.
Slash!
With an unsettling slicing sound, his black sword cut through the air, and another dozen Cold-Blooded Ghosts were cleaved in two, collapsing in a heap.
“That’s…” Hyeok Sojin, watching, clenched his fist.
He realized Bu Eunseol’s method of manipulating materialized energy was mimicking his own Dark Blood Blaze Palm.
‘So the Dark Blood Blaze Palm can be used like that.’ Hyeok Sojin had used the Dark Blood Blaze Palm for defense or counterattacks. But seeing Bu Eunseol’s method, he realized it could be used in various strategies, such as restricting enemy movements.
—Don’t be bound by techniques; adapt your martial arts to the situation.
It was as if Bu Eunseol was saying this to him.
Hiss!
Using the Wishful True Binding repeatedly caused waves of heat to radiate from Bu Eunseol’s body. Unlike before, there was no pain or sense of being consumed by inner demons. Instead, using the Wishful True Binding invigorated his inner energy, filling his spirit with exhilaration and killing intent.
Dash!
Now, Bu Eunseol charged forward, cutting down the Cold-Blooded Ghosts himself.
In a chaotic melee, stopping meant death.
There was no time to catch his breath or retreat to a safe space.
Swish! Swish!
Each time his black sword emitted a faint whistling sound, cold sword light sliced through bone. The necks of the Cold-Blooded Ghosts fell like autumn leaves or shot into the sky like fireworks.
Bu Eunseol’s body had become one with his black sword.
With each sword technique, a soul-reaping radiance surged, and as it cut through the air, an aura like the claws of a death god extended in all directions.
Hum…
When the assault briefly subsided, white steam inevitably rose from Bu Eunseol’s body. Even during combat, he circulated his energy to recover his inner strength.
“You…!” Go Geuksin bit his lip.
Already, over forty Cold-Blooded Ghosts had fallen to Bu Eunseol. At this rate, even a victory would severely cripple the Blood Sea Demon Sect’s forces.
“Join them,” Go Geuksin ordered the four Cold-Blooded Ghosts standing before him.
They were a part of the Ten Commanders, leading and directing the hundred Cold-Blooded Ghosts.
Clap.
The Commanders clasped their hands and leaped into the fray without hesitation.
Swish! Swish!
As the four Commanders unleashed eerie claw techniques and palm strikes like lightning bolts, blood sprayed from Bu Eunseol’s shoulder as he cut through the Cold-Blooded Ghosts.
“Die!” Go Geuksin shouted, approaching Bu Eunseol from behind and unleashing his Night Soul White Bone Claw.
Though his body was half-airborne, the claw’s force tore through the air, targeting Bu Eunseol’s vital points.
Pop! Pop!
As the Night Soul White Bone Claw swept through, more blood sprayed from Bu Eunseol’s body.
“Don’t give him a moment’s rest!” Go Geuksin yelled.
With Go Geuksin and the Commanders joining the fight, the tide of battle shifted instantly. They attacked individually, but when Bu Eunseol countered, they defended as one with impeccable coordination.
“Hah!” Go Geuksin roared, striking Bu Eunseol’s black sword with full force.
Clang!
With a clear metallic ring, he was pushed back a few feet, but Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship momentarily stalled.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Seizing the moment, the Commanders’ sharp claws tore in ferociously.
Flash! Swish! Swish!
At that instant, Bu Eunseol’s black sword began to writhe like a living fish, unleashing hundreds of light strands. The absolute defensive sword technique, Serpent Form Sword, was deployed.
‘Serpent Form Sword.’
Hyeok Sojin had seen Bu Eunseol’s signature Serpent Form Sword Technique multiple times.
But something was different.
Bu Eunseol’s black sword wasn’t just deflecting attacks—it sliced through the air like a living dragon, cutting down the Commanders.
‘Sword Control? No.’ Hyeok Sojin’s eyes gleamed as he watched from afar.
He realized that the moment Bu Eunseol’s black sword deflected an attack, it countered with the same technique.
Bu Eunseol had combined the fifth technique of the Supreme Heavenly Flow, Thousand Swords Return to Origin, with the Serpent Form Sword.
Whoosh!
As their own attacks were reflected back, the Cold-Blooded Ghosts retreated helplessly. Even Go Geuksin, wildly swinging his claw techniques, panicked and stepped back, unsure of what to do.
Flash!
In that moment, Bu Eunseol cut through the scattered Cold-Blooded Ghosts like straw once more.
Was he finally tiring?
Unlike before, his swordsmanship lacked precision, and his movements grew broader.
Whoosh!
As Bu Eunseol exposed a vulnerability, the Ten Commanders charged in without hesitation, unleashing a fierce assault.
But it was a trap.
Tremble.
The tip of Bu Eunseol’s sword quivered faintly, and hundreds of sword energies pierced the vital points of the Ten Commanders and Cold-Blooded Ghosts. He had deliberately exposed a flaw to draw their full force, then used the Phantom Return to Origin Technique to strike their pressure points.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As the charging Cold-Blooded Ghosts fell, Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship shifted again. Simultaneously, a purple flame sliced in a zigzag toward the Commanders’ vulnerabilities.
The killing sword technique, Unmatched Thunderboltbolt, was unleashed, cutting down enemies in any situation.
Slash!
At the same moment, crimson blood sprayed like a fountain from the carotid arteries of the Ten Commanders. It seemed like a single strike, but in reality, he had rapidly executed the Unmatched Thunderboltbolt Technique, severing all four necks at once.
Drip, drip.
The black sword, soaked in blood, spat crimson onto the ground.
“You…” Go Geuksin trembled as his gaze met Bu Eunseol’s blood-drenched figure.
He finally realized.
Bu Eunseol hadn’t killed the Beggar King with the help of an aide.
A one-man army.
Bu Eunseol possessed terrifying martial prowess, truly worthy of being called a one-man army.
“You… were the chosen one?” Go Geuksin muttered.
Throughout history, supreme masters who dominated the martial world completed earth-shattering martial feats in their youth, writing new legends.
Thus, they were called the chosen ones or divine beings.
Step, step.
As Bu Eunseol approached, Go Geuksin’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t fear or dread.
His body was frozen by the aura of an absolute being, the overwhelming presence of those who rule the world.
Step, step…
But Bu Eunseol passed by the trembling Go Geuksin.
“Are you sparing me?” Go Geuksin muttered in disbelief as Bu Eunseol walked past.
Drip, drip.
Then, seeing the blood falling to the ground, he gave a hollow smile. “Of course not.”
Spurt!
A thin line of blood formed on his lower abdomen, followed by a gush of crimson. Instead of killing him, Bu Eunseol had destroyed his dantian, nullifying his inner energy.
“Tell the Blood Sea Demon Sect Leader,” Bu Eunseol said in a low voice without looking back. “If you touch me again, the Blood Sea Demon Sect will be erased from the martial world.”
Clank.
Sheathing his black sword, Bu Eunseol added, “That’s why I let you live.”
Thud.
Go Geuksin fell to his knees.
His inner energy gone, he was a cripple, his muscles shriveling. But more than the loss of his power, he suffered from the overwhelming aura emanating from Bu Eunseol.
‘The sect made a grave mistake.’ There were two types of people in the martial world who should never be provoked.
Those supreme masters who never forgave their challengers, and madmen who didn’t even value their own lives.
And Bu Eunseol was both…
A death god who brought calamity to all who crossed him.
“I understand,” Go Geuksin said, staggering as he turned.
His inner energy gone, the middle-aged man now looked like an aged elder.
With the sunset at his back, Go Geuksin stumbled out of the plain. It was the retreating figure of a defeated man, a former overlord now reduced to a cripple.
“Phew.” Bu Eunseol exhaled deeply as Go Geuksin departed.
The prowess he displayed was not that of someone who had just entered the Supreme Heaven Realm. Thanks to his immense inner energy and the miraculous Wishful True Binding, he exhibited martial feats far beyond his actual realm.
“Let’s go,” Bu Eunseol said, returning to the carriage as if nothing had happened.
Hyeok Sojin, snapping out of his daze, took a deep breath.
“Get in. I’ll drive.” The coachman had already fled, so Hyeok Sojin took the driver’s seat.
‘Brother Bu is rewriting the history of the martial world.’ Gazing at the setting sun, a proud smile spread across Hyeok Sojin’s face.
He was proud.
Proud to live in the same era as Bu Eunseol… and to have journeyed through the martial world with him.
Even when his hair turned white with age, he would consider that fact his greatest pride.
***
Heaven and Earth Severing Sect, Mountain and River Retreat.
An elderly man in blue robes, gazing at the garden of blooming flowers beyond the window, rose from his bed. His face bore the pallor of illness, but his silver hair was neatly combed, and his eyes occasionally flashed with a purple gleam.
It was Hyeok Gongbaek, Elder Sect Leader of Heaven and Earth Severing Sect.
“Sojin is arriving soon,” he murmured.
Standing beside him, the Mad Master, Pung Yeoryang, spoke softly. “He heard you collapsed and is rushing here.”
“There was no need for that,” Hyeok Gongbaek said.
“You’ve been through a lot. Now that Sojin’s grown, you should rest,” Pung Yeoryang said, smiling as he followed Hyeok Gongbaek’s gaze to the garden. “By the way…”
“…?”
“Your choice was absolutely right. That Bu Eunseol fellow.” He spoke with a pleased expression. “He keeps his promises. Ever since he left, young people have been coming steadily to report on our faction.”
“Hohoho,” Hyeok Gongbaek chuckled, leaning back on his bed. “Indeed, the martial world is abuzz with his deeds. Not only did he kill the Beggar King, but he single-handedly crushed an entire division of the Blood Sea Demon Sect.”
The martial world was in an uproar over the tales of this unprecedented rising star.
Bu Eunseol was said to have killed one of the Seven Kings of Death through cowardly means. Yet now, he had single-handedly defeated a division of the Blood Sea Demon Sect, composed of Cold-Blooded Ghosts.
What were the Cold-Blooded Ghosts?
Killing machines trained with strange drugs and secret methods, willing to sacrifice their lives to take down superior masters. A division of Cold-Blooded Ghosts could wipe out a small faction without a trace.
And he had defeated them alone?
This feat proved Bu Eunseol had entered the Supreme Heaven Realm.
—The Beggars’ Sect played a dirty trick.
As such rumors spread, martial artists immediately condemned the Beggars’ Sect.
And they began to reconsider the nickname for this young grandmaster.
But his actions were only partially known from his time in the Ten Demon Warriors, and most who had experienced his prowess had become lost souls under his sword. Survivors like the masters of Shaolin, Wudang, and the Sword Pavilion remained silent about him.
With no techniques or feats directly witnessed, various opinions arose, but they couldn’t settle on a proper nickname for this new-generation master.
“Thanks to him, Sojin’s earned a nickname too. Something about cutting down enemies with a strange silver thread… Blood Thread, was it?” Pung Yeoryang said.
“Blood Thread Demon Shadow, they call him,” Hyeok Gongbaek said with a faint smile.
Hyeok Sojin, who had consistently aided Bu Eunseol in defeating numerous formidable foes, had now earned the nickname Blood Thread Demon Shadow.
“But things will get tough from now on,” Pung Yeoryang said with a sigh, as if recalling something. “From veteran masters to young grandmasters, everyone with some skill will come for him.”
From those just stepping into the martial world to grizzled veterans… What all martial artists desired was martial prowess and fame to dominate others.
And Bu Eunseol possessed both.
Simply put, killing him would grant that fame instantly.
“Even if the entire martial world comes for him, knowing his personality, he won’t ask for protection from Majeon or the Nangyang Pavilion…” Pung Yeoryang said, his brow furrowing deeply.
In truth, the Beggar King’s prowess was only at the entry level of the Supreme Heaven Realm, not exceptional among the martial world’s supreme masters. His place among the Seven Kings of Death came from his immense influence, controlling the Beggars’ Sect, the largest intelligence organization in the righteous factions, and his high status.
Yet a newcomer to the martial world had killed him…
To the strong, he was a fresh, tantalizing prey.
From now on, every master in the martial world would target Bu Eunseol.
“Don’t worry,” Hyeok Gongbaek said, smiling calmly. “He awakened Sojin’s potential and made him a successor-level figure of the Ten Demonic Sects in a short time.”
His eyes shone with boundless trust. “He will overcome all trials and stand at the pinnacle of the Seven Kings of Death…”
Knock, knock.
A young man’s voice sounded softly as the door was tapped. “True Guard Leader, Yun Yeop.”
“Come in,” Hyeok Gongbaek said calmly.
With a rustle, a man in dark blue robes cautiously entered.
It was Yun Yeop, the True Guard Leader responsible for Heaven and Earth Severing Sect’s outer defenses.
“The Young Lord has arrived,” he said.
Hyeok Gongbaek nodded, taking a deep breath. “Understood.”
“Are you really not going to tell him?” Yun Yeop asked in a low voice as he stepped out. “That your life hangs in the balance…?”
