‘Something’s wrong.’
Dong Yeorip’s eyes were wide with shock.
He had expected Bu Eunseol to be consumed by rage, witnessing Seo Jinha’s dying state.
Even if he didn’t roar like a beast or lose himself to madness, Bu Eunseol had overcome countless obstacles only to find his friend fading away. At the very least, there should have been a crack in his spirit.
But Bu Eunseol’s eyes were as cold as the glaciers of the North Sea. And with rage and despair infused into his swordsmanship, he executed it with terrifying precision.
Flash!
Purple lightning flared repeatedly within the stone chamber.
Dong Yeorip quickly deployed his movement technique. But it was the Bound Asuras standing at his sides whose blood sprayed.
‘Is he unleashing killing swords in succession?’
Astonishment flickered in Dong Yeorip’s eyes.
The killing sword was a technique that infused intangible killing intent into sword strikes. It awakened the body, granting explosive power and blinding speed.
But killing intent was finite. Even the most ruthless killer would deplete their innate killing intent after consecutive kills.
—The killing sword seems to lead to boundless heights, but in truth, it’s an obstacle blocking the endless path. Abandon your killing intent henceforth.
Cheon Ungwang, who had taught Bu Eunseol the Unmatched Thunderbolt, had said this. Having created the Unmatched Thunderbolt and achieved invincibility, Cheon Ungwang still couldn’t reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
Human killing intent had its limits.
Even Cheon Ungwang, at the zenith of killing swords, could only perform the Unmatched Thunderbolt five times.
But Bu Eunseol seemed unbound by such limits.
Flash!
Another purple lightning strike felled a Bound Asura’s head. To Dong Yeorip, it was as if a demon with infinite killing intent stood before him.
‘Unbelievable!’ Dong Yeorip had been confident in facing Bu Eunseol alone.
Through the trials thus far, he had discerned that Bu Eunseol’s prowess had reached the threshold of the Extreme Heaven Realm.
Hadn’t he himself entered that realm long ago?
Moreover, he possessed the Wheel-Cleansing Eye, capable of predicting an opponent’s next move just by observing their actions.
‘I thought I could handle him with my eyes closed.’ Yet Dong Yeorip couldn’t dare confront Bu Eunseol, only dodging his strikes.
Bu Eunseol stood rooted in place, unleashing an infinite barrage of killing swords like purple lightning. Moreover, challenging an opponent whose killing intent was at its peak was suicidal.
Regardless of martial prowess, the enemy might resort to a mutual-destruction technique.
Step, step.
Bu Eunseol, halting his strikes, slowly approached Dong Yeorip.
His eyes were dyed redder than blood.
‘Now!’ Spotting a flaw in Bu Eunseol’s approaching stance, Dong Yeorip swung his Death-Cutting Razor.
Whoosh!
Another lightning-like killing sword targeted his throat.
“Ugh.” Groaning, Dong Yeorip halted his counterattack and deployed his movement technique again.
Bu Eunseol’s killing sword lacked any preparatory motion or even perceptible movement. Its speed was something Dong Yeorip, who had roamed the martial world for decades, had never witnessed.
Extreme killing intent.
Bu Eunseol was born with an immense reservoir of killing intent.
Yet he had never channeled it into his martial arts. Now, infusing that immense killing intent into the Unmatched Thunderbolt, its power was several times greater than before.
‘I can’t just keep dodging.’ Dong Yeorip swallowed hard.
Bu Eunseol’s momentum showed no signs of waning; it only grew stronger. If he continued like this, he’d be defeated without landing a single blow.
“Die!” Raising his internal energy, Dong Yeorip didn’t swing his Death-Cutting Razor but extended five fingers.
Invisible sharp energy surged toward Bu Eunseol’s body.
Finger Sword.
Swinging the Death-Cutting Razor wouldn’t counter the lightning-like killing sword. Only a master with three gapja of internal energy could perform the Finger Sword, a technique undetectable at close range, and Dong Yeorip unleashed it instantly.
Thud.
But the five Finger Swords only pierced the skin, unable to penetrate deeper. They were blocked by the killing intent enveloping Bu Eunseol’s body.
“Did you manifest killing intent like true energy?” Dong Yeorip’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Only then did he realize he had provoked a being he should never have touched.
Flash!
Purple radiance flared from Bu Eunseol’s black sword again.
It was like the invisible claws of the grim reaper.
“Ugh.” Dong Yeorip dodged swiftly, but the nearby Bound Asuras couldn’t.
Thud, thud.
In an instant, the remaining Bound Asuras’ heads rolled on the floor.
‘Is he… this strong?’ Fear rose in Dong Yeorip’s eyes as he watched.
Where had his calculations gone wrong? Where had things gone awry?
Even a master of the Extreme Heaven Realm would regress in martial prowess when consumed by rage and despair. How had Bu Eunseol sublimated his rage and killing intent into swordsmanship?
‘Could it be… he deliberately suppressed his prowess until now?’ But that was Dong Yeorip’s misconception.
Until now, Bu Eunseol’s spirit had wavered between the demonic and righteous paths.
Thus, neither his demonic martial arts, like the Emotion-Severing Secret, nor his righteous martial arts, like the Tranquil Awakening or Thirteen Guiding Energies, could manifest their full power.
They had used Seo Jinha to plunge Bu Eunseol into grief and despair, intending to shatter his spirit…
But contrary to their expectations, Bu Eunseol’s heart grew colder, and only his immense killing intent erupted. As a result, his spirit entered the demonic path, allowing his demonic martial arts to reclaim their true power.
Unaware of this, Dong Yeorip only saw Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess suddenly surging.
“Don’t move!”
Desperate, Dong Yeorip aimed his Finger Sword at Seo Jinha’s heart. Such an act was disgracefully base for a master among the Ten Demonic Heroes.
But he was terrified.
‘He won’t kill me easily.’ The pain Bu Eunseol might inflict, the methods he might use to kill him, filled Dong Yeorip with dread.
“He’s still alive! But if you take one step…”
Thud.
Before he could finish, the Finger Sword in his hand vanished. His right wrist had been severed by the black sword.
“Argh!” Shocked, Dong Yeorip clutched his wrist, groaning, dignity forgotten.
Bu Eunseol grabbed his collar, pulling his face close, and whispered, “Is it fun?”
“…”
“Peeling flesh, cutting tendons and muscles.”
“Ugh… Argh!” Dong Yeorip, dangling in the air, let out a wretched scream.
Bu Eunseol had unleashed sharp true energy, carving out a chunk of flesh from his chest.
“Laugh.”
Bu Eunseol stared at him with cold eyes.
“I won’t kill you while you’re laughing.”
“Ugh… Sob.” Each time Bu Eunseol’s sharp true energy grazed his body, Dong Yeorip screamed in agony.
The energy melted his meridians with every touch.
Sizzle.
Dong Yeorip’s hair turned white, and his skin blackened. Bu Eunseol had used his internal energy to expel all of Dong Yeorip’s internal energy from his body.
“Kill me… kill me…” Now aged instantly, Dong Yeorip muttered with vacant eyes. “Please, kill me.”
“Who orchestrated this?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Dong Yeorip stammered, “I don’t… know. I was just… from the Four Harmony Alliance…”
The Four Harmony Alliance was a coalition of unorthodox sects, like the Twelve Earth Branches, handling dirty work for the merchant and financial realms.
They had kidnapped Seo Jinha and orchestrated this?
“A mere pawn. You and the Four Harmony Alliance.” Grasping the situation instantly, Bu Eunseol, deeming him useless, lightly slashed Dong Yeorip’s throat.
Thud.
His head rolled to the floor, leaning against the wall.
That was the end of Dong Yeorip, who had tortured and killed for decades.
Thud, thud.
Breaking the chains on the wall, Bu Eunseol carefully laid Seo Jinha on the floor.
Pop, pop!
Swiftly sealing his pressure points, he took out a transparent vial from his robes.
It was the Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill, a life-saving elixir he had taken from the elixir vault before coming to Majeon.
“Eat, Seo Jinha.” But the unconscious Seo Jinha couldn’t swallow the pill.
With trembling hands, Bu Eunseol opened his mouth and inserted the pill. He infused internal energy to hasten the pill’s absorption. Seo Jinha’s pulse didn’t beat, showing no response. Yet Bu Eunseol relentlessly poured in his Ban-geuk Energy.
Hum!
For a quarter of an hour, he infused pure Ban-geuk Energy, but Seo Jinha’s pulse remained still.
“Why…” Bu Eunseol, head bowed, radiated a red haze of mingled rage and killing intent.
His spirit was plunging into uncontrollable grief.
From the moment he saw Seo Jinha’s wretched state, a crack had formed in his spirit. He had merely suppressed it with terrifying self-control and killing intent.
“Why do the people I care for always leave me!”
Boom!
The true energy erupting from Bu Eunseol shook the stone chamber.
His grandfather, Bu Zhanyang.
The Gong Twin Demons from the Yueyang Branch.
Even Seok Woohaeng, with whom he shared a bond… all had left him.
Those he opened his heart to always abandoned him.
“Why.” As he muttered lowly, a black haze began to rise from his body.
Rage, despair, grief, and killing intent.
All these negative emotions filled his spirit.
Crunch.
His body trembled with the sound of grinding bones, and the red glow radiating from him turned into an endless dark hue.
Rumble.
The stone chamber shook as if collapsing, and the black glow from his body intensified. As time passed, Bu Eunseol’s spirit was sucked into a deep, dark abyss.
Crack.
His skin flushed red, emitting a faint glow.
He resembled a great demon like Ak Muryeong, wielding the power of Crimson Flame Divine Body or Illusion Upon Illusion from the Iron Staff Peak.
Unlike the righteous sects that emphasized energy, demonic martial arts were rooted in the heart.
Bu Eunseol had mastered the Emotion-Severing Secret and Tranquil Awakening, the ultimate techniques of both demonic and righteous paths. Though his martial arts reached the Extreme Heaven, his spirit had lingered between the demonic and righteous paths.
But as deep despair and grief consumed his spirit, he fully chose the demonic path.
—If you sharpen and erase the emotions in your heart, what could stand in your way?
Yes.
Eliminate emotions, erase the heart.
Then there would be no more pain.
“Ugh… Argh!”
Boom!
As intense energy poured from Bu Eunseol’s body, the chamber’s walls collapsed, and the ground spiked upward like thorns. With his spirit set on the demonic path, the suppressed principles of the Emotion-Severing Secret swiftly dominated his heart and body.
Swirl.
Black mist spread from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
If this continued, all traces of humanity would vanish, and he would become a great demon, destroying all who opposed him.
“Ugh.” At that moment, a groan escaped Seo Jinha’s lips as he lay on the floor.
The Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill, the supreme elixir of Majeon.
The Ban-geuk Energy containing yin-yang harmony. And the powerful shockwave from Bu Eunseol’s body… had restarted Seo Jinha’s heart.
“Seo Jinha!” Snapping back to his senses, Bu Eunseol shouted like thunder and supported his body.
“Too… loud.” Opening his eyes, Seo Jinha gave a faint smile. “Why are you shouting so much? It’s not like you.”
Was it heaven’s will?
As Seo Jinha awoke, the demonic energy in Bu Eunseol’s eyes gave way to a clear light. His spirit, which had been plunging into the demonic path, returned to the middle path.
“Are you okay?”
“Does this look okay?” Seo Jinha smiled faintly. “I really came back from death.”
Thanks to the Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill, he regained consciousness, but his pulse was weak, as if it could stop any moment. Bu Eunseol relentlessly poured pure Ban-geuk Energy into his Life Gate acupoint. His breathing stabilized somewhat, but his eyes began to dim.
“I really… came back from death…” As warm energy spread through his limbs, he fell asleep.
“Don’t worry.” Looking down at the sleeping Seo Jinha, Bu Eunseol’s eyes reddened. “This won’t happen again.”
His eyes burned with killing intent that could melt steel. No longer did he care about subtly tracking the Four Harmony Alliance’s trail or why they did this.
“From now on, I’ll destroy everything.” No need to investigate the reasons or motives.
Bu Eunseol would mobilize all his authority to crush those involved, obliterating even those at the end of the chain.
***
Chirp, chirp.
Hearing birdsong, Seo Jinha opened his eyes.
The first thing he noticed was the strong scent of medicine. Looking around, he was lying on a bed, dressed in clean clothes.
“Where am I…” Scanning his surroundings, he saw a neat room with several beds.
“You’re awake.” The door opened, and an old man in a healer’s robe entered slowly.
It was Gyo Junghak, the master of the Elixir King Hall.
“Hall Master.” Recognizing him, Seo Jinha tried to rise and clasp his hands, but Gyo Junghak stopped him.
“Stay down. You might reopen your wounds.” He asked in a low voice, “How’s your body? Any discomfort?”
Dazed, Seo Jinha looked at himself.
Dong Yeorip had carved away chunks of his skin and muscles.
Even one ear had been cut off before the torture began. Yet now, his body was so fully healed that he could barely recall the injuries, and his severed ear was neatly stitched.
“I’m completely recovered. How is this possible?”
“It’s all thanks to the Clear Spirit Oil and the Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill.”
“Clear Spirit Oil and Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill?”
Clear Spirit Oil was a liquid formed from millennia of earth’s spiritual energy, capable of inducing a complete transformation with a single drop.
The Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill was Majeon’s supreme elixir, granted only to its successor, increasing internal energy by a full gapja.
To think both treasures were used on him?
“The Martial Soul Command Lord used them to heal you.”
“I see.” To save him, Bu Eunseol had poured everything he had.
Swallowing his rising emotions, Seo Jinha said, “Then the Clear Spirit Oil must have come from our Corps Leader.”
Majeon’s three corps leaders—Cheonsal, Myeonhon, and Amcheondae—each received a life-saving elixir from the Demon Emperor.
The Cheonsal Leader, Wi Muyeom, had been granted the Clear Spirit Oil, capable of healing even the most severe injuries instantly.
But Gyo Junghak’s response was unexpected.
“No, the Martial Soul Command Lord brought it.”
“The Martial Soul Command Lord?” Seo Jinha tilted his head.
Had Bu Eunseol been granted both the Dragon-Slaying Divine Pill and the Clear Spirit Oil?
“The Cheonsal Leader said a cripple can no longer be a member of his corps.” Gyo Junghak spoke with a bitter expression. “So he refused to give the Clear Spirit Oil.”
The Cheonsal Leader never reversed his decisions. How had Bu Eunseol persuaded him?
“I don’t know how our Lord convinced him.”
“Heh heh heh. Convinced?” Gyo Junghak gave a faint smile.
“It caused quite a stir.”
His eyes narrowed as he recalled the incident that had shaken Majeon.
