[Groan.]
As Bu Eunseol dodged the finger strike, the strange figure let out a groan, his eyes beginning to radiate a blood-red glow.
Swish.
The figure pointed at Bu Eunseol again with his middle and index fingers extended, resembling the stance of a master swordsman facing an opponent with a peerless sword technique.
‘Perfect,’ Bu Eunseol thought, awestruck.
The figure’s posture was flawless, without a single gap, and an infinite force seemed to gather at the tips of his fingers.
If Bu Eunseol showed even the slightest opening, the figure’s finger strike would sever his neck in an instant.
‘Conversation can wait,’ he decided.
He had come to speak with the figure, but in this state, not only was conversation impossible, but even approaching was out of the question.
“I apologize for my rudeness,” Bu Eunseol said, forming a finger strike by pressing his middle and index fingers together.
Though he used no inner strength, his stance exuded a sharp aura rivaling a keen blade.
Chik!
Suddenly, the figure’s finger strike lunged toward Bu Eunseol’s chest. Though the technique was not fully unleashed, the hem of his robe near his chest was already tearing.
‘So fast,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
The figure’s movements outpaced even the sound of the air splitting.
Not daring to meet the attack head-on, Bu Eunseol redirected its flow diagonally to the right with a flick of his fingers. But in that moment, the technique transformed, now aiming for his lower abdomen.
Chik!
The speed of the technique’s shift was lightning-fast.
Bu Eunseol immediately employed his movement technique to retreat, but the figure closed in swiftly, targeting the Zhongfu acupoint near his chest.
‘I can’t dodge it,’ Bu Eunseol realized.
Unable to counter the technique, he had no choice but to clash his fingers against the figure’s incoming strike.
Hwaaa!
As their fingers collided, a whirlwind erupted, scattering the hair covering the figure’s face.
For the first time, Bu Eunseol could see his features clearly: sharp, righteous eyes like blades, a prominent nose, and tightly pressed lips.
[Growl.]
The old man, glaring at Bu Eunseol with murderous intent dripping from his eyes, suddenly began to emit a dark, frenzied aura.
Wooong.
A black, cloud-like energy surged from the old man’s body, spreading outward. His finger strike technique abruptly changed.
Kiiii!
An ear-splitting sound echoed through the cave, and a dark force enveloped the space in an instant.
Bu Eunseol felt a sharp pain as if his eardrums were tearing.
[Kah!]
With a hoarse shout from the old man, a sound like tearing silk accompanied a torrent of dark energy, transforming into a massive blade aura that crashed down on Bu Eunseol’s head.
‘The Seven Blood Tear Forms?’ Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
The blade technique the old man unleashed was the Seven Blood Tear Forms, manifested as a blade aura derived from its phantom blade.
‘The Seven-Finger Demon Blade!’ Bu Eunseol’s heart pounded. ‘I’ve finally found him.’
His heart raced wildly.
To wield such perfect and terrifying power without inner strength was proof of complete mastery over the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
Shwaek!
While Bu Eunseol was briefly lost in thought, the sharp blade aura was already splitting toward his head.
‘I can’t dodge it,’ he realized once again.
The old man’s blade aura dominated time and space, leaving no room for escape, no matter what method Bu Eunseol employed.
Clang!
As the blade aura struck, a clear sound rang out, and Bu Eunseol was pushed back. Unable to evade, he had used the Great Ice Seal technique from the Heavenly Glacial Secret to freeze his head solid, protecting it.
‘Thanks to the Water God Energy,’ he thought.
The Water God Energy, infused by Gongsun Dana, lingered in his body, allowing him to use the Heavenly Glacial Secret at its maximum without strain. The Water God Energy and Heavenly Glacial Secret seemed to resonate, protecting his meridians.
Swish.
Frowning, Bu Eunseol stepped toward the old man again.
‘His inner strength is sealed. How can he unleash a blade aura?’ Pondering, he nodded as realization dawned. ‘I see. He’s mastered the Seven Blood Tear Forms to the realm of embodiment.’
The black blade aura wasn’t infused with inner strength but was a natural manifestation of the blade path traced by the Seven Blood Tear Forms’ techniques.
Throb, throb.
Despite being struck by a technique devoid of inner strength, Bu Eunseol’s skull ached.
If the old man hadn’t lost his inner strength, even the Diamond Indestructible Body technique, let alone the Great Ice Seal, wouldn’t have saved him—his head would have been split in two.
Shwaa!
Another black blade aura shot through the dark energy, curving like a whip to cleave Bu Eunseol’s waist in half, another manifestation of the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
‘I still can’t dodge it,’ he thought.
Clang!
Bu Eunseol used the Great Ice Seal again to block the blade aura striking his side. Though the technique numbed his pain, he felt as if his ribs had cracked.
‘This is the Seven Blood Tear Forms,’ he marveled. Despite the old man repeating the same technique, it transformed into an unavoidable supreme move, piercing Bu Eunseol’s body.
The Way of the Blade—this old man had reached a realm of blade mastery that even Bu Eunseol couldn’t match.
[Wooo!] The old man let out a roar that seemed to shake the Repentance Cave.
Enraged that Bu Eunseol hadn’t died despite repeated finger strikes, he was consumed by madness.
‘His mind is broken,’ Bu Eunseol realized, seeing the old man’s frenzied eyes.
His spirit was damaged beyond repair.
‘What should I do?’ he wondered. The old man was already forming another finger strike, preparing to unleash more blade aura.
In this situation, Bu Eunseol had no choice but to fully unleash his inner strength to subdue him by force.
‘I’d rather offer my neck than do that,’ he thought, his pride wounded. To think he couldn’t overcome an old man’s techniques without resorting to his full inner strength?
Click.
Lowering his finger strike, Bu Eunseol clasped his hands and shouted, “Old man!”
The old man instinctively halted his attack at Bu Eunseol’s booming voice.
“I can’t match you now, so I’ll think on your techniques and return for more guidance!”
Conversation could wait. Bu Eunseol wanted to analyze and counter the old man’s techniques, defeating him without using inner strength.
“Wait for me,” he said, turning to leave.
Shwak!
Two streams of black blade aura simultaneously blocked Bu Eunseol’s front and retreat, a variation of the Seven Blood Tear Forms’ second technique, Seeking Life in Death Form.
As the blade aura closed in, Bu Eunseol’s body turned translucent, creating ninety-nine shadows in the air.
Chik!
His form became invisible, and the old man’s blade aura scraped the cave wall and vanished.
“I used inner strength to dodge this time, but… wait for me,” Bu Eunseol muttered in a low voice without turning back, calmly walking out of the cave.
As he disappeared, the chained old man howled in frustration, his cries echoing through the prison.
When Bu Eunseol emerged, the demons resting in the cave rushed out. “What happened?” Tak Ilhon asked, eyes wide.
“Did you fight that man?”
“Just had a brief physical conversation,” Bu Eunseol replied.
“A physical conversation?”
At that moment, a stout old man stepped forward from the crowd of demons. “I see. Your inner strength is intact.”
Perhaps due to fully unleashing his Swift Beyond Shadow technique, a faint haze of true energy emanated from Bu Eunseol’s body. Moreover, having repeatedly used the Great Ice Seal, a chill still lingered around him.
“That’s right,” Bu Eunseol admitted readily.
“How?” the stout old man asked, his eyebrows rising.
“I hid my inner strength beforehand.”
“Hid it?”
“Before entering Shaolin, I dispersed about half my inner strength into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and minor channels.”
The stout old man and the demons exchanged glances. Storing inner strength accumulated in the dantian across the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and minor channels was theoretically possible but required an unimaginable level of inner strength.
“With that level of power, you could have subdued the old man in that prison in an instant,” the stout old man said suspiciously.
Bu Eunseol, passing him with a weary expression, muttered, “Doesn’t that wound your pride?”
“Hm?”
“Does it make sense for a vigorous young man to overpower an old man with brute force?” Bu Eunseol’s eyes glinted as he bit his lip. “I intend to fight and subdue him without using inner strength.”
“What does that mean…?” The stout old man’s mouth gaped like a fish.
The old man in the stone prison was a terrifying figure, a veritable god of death, whom even these demons, with intact inner strength, wouldn’t dare face. Yet this young man looked as if he’d been unlucky in a sparring match, wearing a chagrined expression.
“Then, I’ll rest,” Bu Eunseol said wearily, walking off.
As he disappeared into the cave, the demons blinked at each other. These demons, too, had been martial geniuses in their youth, shaking the world.
In their later years, they became great demons who dominated the martial world. Yet even they couldn’t imagine reaching Bu Eunseol’s level at his age.
“What… is that guy?” the stout old man asked.
“Just a thief,” Tak Ilhon replied calmly.
“A thief? Him?” The old men shook their heads.
“If he’s a thief, I’m an immortal sage,” one said.
“He said it himself,” Tak Ilhon muttered, smacking his lips.
The old men let out soft groans and returned to their caves.
“That guy…” Tak Ilhon stared blankly at where Bu Eunseol had gone.
From the start, he knew Bu Eunseol wasn’t just a thief but a young martial arts grandmaster. But why was he risking his life to spar with the one called “death” in that prison?
‘Doesn’t that wound your pride?’ Bu Eunseol’s stubborn gaze and voice flashed in Tak Ilhon’s mind.
“Ha, haha!” Tak Ilhon burst into incredulous laughter.
Snap.
Stopping his laughter, he muttered with a grimace, “A martial arts maniac.”
Meanwhile, Bu Eunseol, back in the cave, began reviewing the fight.
‘He’s strong. Among all the masters I’ve seen, he’s overwhelmingly dominant.’
The old man in the prison had subdued him in an instant without using inner strength, thanks to mastering the Seven Blood Tear Forms to the realm of embodiment.
‘If one could freely adapt and unleash the Seven Blood Tear Forms, they’d reach an invincible state,’ Bu Eunseol thought.
Mastering the Seven Blood Tear Forms to that level could counter even the “phenomena” unleashed by a master of the Limitless Realm.
‘But the Seven-Finger Demon Blade likely reached the Limitless Realm too,’ he mused.
The Seven-Finger Demon Blade had dominated the demonic path and stood at its pinnacle, though his active period in the martial world was short. Martial artists speculated he had at least entered the early stages of the Limitless Realm, given his unparalleled achievements, rivaling even the Twin Heavenly Emperors of the orthodox and demonic paths.
‘But…’ Bu Eunseol shook his head, stroking his chin.
Something felt off about the old man’s Seven Blood Tear Forms.
‘Could the Seven Blood Tear Forms have been created to fight someone two or three levels stronger?’
The Seven Blood Tear Forms lacked defensive techniques.
Bu Eunseol had thought this was because the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang, craved his own death. But the old man’s Seven Blood Tear Forms didn’t seem to seek only self-destruction.
It was as if they were designed to perish together with an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, with blade momentum narrowly focused inward and each technique laced with self-destructive variations, as if aiming to bring death to both self and enemy.
‘That can’t be,’ Bu Eunseol thought, shaking his head.
The old man’s mind was broken, possibly distorting the original blade path of the Seven Blood Tear Forms. Yet something else was strange—his appearance.
‘His face is too different,’ Bu Eunseol reflected.
He had seen a portrait of the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, Bu Zhanyang, in his middle years at the Shadow Pavilion.
His features were not merely handsome but exuded a fierce spirit and wild charisma.
Yet this old man, even with his face contorted in rage, had strikingly refined features.
‘I can’t figure it out,’ Bu Eunseol thought, lying down in a corner of the cave.
There was nothing he could discern in this situation. He couldn’t have a leisurely chat with a terrifying old man who unleashed the Seven Blood Tear Forms at the slightest eye contact.
All he could do now was refine his martial arts and match the old man in a contest of techniques.
***
From that day, Bu Eunseol stayed in the cave, relentlessly fighting the old man in the prison. But the old man’s Seven Blood Tear Forms were ever-changing, and without inner strength, Bu Eunseol couldn’t even defend, let alone compete in techniques.
‘Perhaps it’s because I’m reassured I can use inner strength?’ he wondered.
With five hundred years of immense inner strength flowing through him, he fought without fear, knowing he wouldn’t die from the old man’s techniques.
‘That safety net is why I’m not progressing in these extreme fights.’ His inner strength was too vast, automatically activating in dangerous situations, preventing him from truly risking his life in combat. ‘It’s fine to retreat mid-fight, but if I keep fighting with inner strength, I won’t win even in a year.’
Finally, Bu Eunseol stopped visiting the prison and secluded himself in the cave, meditating and researching ways to suppress his inner strength to its limit, aiming to fight the old man on equal terms—without inner strength. But it was no easy task. In life-or-death situations, humans instinctively unleash all their abilities, and suppressing five hundred years of inner strength temporarily was nearly impossible.
‘Is it impossible?’ Frustrated, Bu Eunseol lightly struck the cave wall while reviewing inner strength techniques.
Boom.
Unconsciously using inner strength, the impact shook the cave ceiling.
Thud.
A piece of rock fell from the ceiling, coincidentally shaped like a round pill.
‘Hua Tuo, the Medical Sage, with his Five Animal Frolics, and the Quanzhen Sect, the origin of Daoism…’
Suddenly, Bu Eunseol recalled the Daoist secrets given by Gongsun Dana in the underground city of Mount Jiuqu. The text, five thousand tiny characters, he had memorized out of respect for her sincerity before burning it.
At the end was an absurd technique called the Elixir Refining Secret.
‘—The dantian, being empty, can be filled. Even if full, it can be made deep and round like an abyss. Refine fierce power, release sticky power, and become one with the universe…’
It was a method to condense overflowing inner strength and store it elsewhere, away from the Sea of Qi acupoint.
‘—What fool would master such a technique?’
Bu Eunseol had scoffed while memorizing it. For martial artists, deeper and denser inner strength was ideal. No one would bother condensing and dispersing it to weaken their power.
‘But now I need it,’ he thought, faintly smiling as he recited the Elixir Refining Secret.
Its first stage involved imagining two spaces in the dantian and temporarily storing inner strength in one.
Of course, physically dividing the dantian or condensing intangible inner strength was impossible. But inner strength techniques relied on the mind’s function, with the body responding accordingly. Unlike the body, the mind had no clear limits, allowing infinite expansion or contraction.
‘It’s working,’ Bu Eunseol realized. In one go, he divided his dantian into two spaces, condensing his inner strength into one. ‘Was it this easy?’
In truth, even with deep inner strength, mastering the Elixir Refining Secret took ten years. But Bu Eunseol, able to freely wield yin-yang energy and possessing unparalleled inner strength, had unknowingly surpassed a decade’s effort.
‘This is…’ he thought, noticing something strange.
As he condensed his inner strength, it formed a deep, smooth, round shape, like an abyss. ‘It’s like nurturing an egg.’
Creating a separate space in the body to condense inner strength was the method grandmasters used to fully control vast power and form an inner elixir.
Unaware of this, Bu Eunseol focused solely on facing the old man fairly, silently accumulating inner strength in this new space.
