Nine Palaces Mountain was named after the nine palaces built long ago by the Taoist master Zhang Daoqing as a place to cultivate Dao.
Its layered peaks stretched over a hundred li, adorned with scenic wonders like the Tiger-Prostrating Heavenly Gate and the Spring-Cliff Gushing Snow. Lush forests cloaked deep gorges, hidden caves, and cascading waterfalls in breathtaking beauty.
Shhhk—shhk—shhk.
Deep within the forest of Nine Palaces Mountain, dozens of shadows darted silently toward the sky-piercing peaks. Their movement arts were exquisite; not even the faintest whistle of displaced air or the rustle of branches betrayed their passage through the dense woods.
They were elite assassins of the Flying Killer Hall, renowned even within Majeon for their unparalleled lightness skill and stealth.
‘I will grant you the chance to achieve great merit.’
As Geum Jangcheon, Lord of the Flying Killer Hall, led his subordinates, a voice from a recent clandestine meeting echoed in his mind.
Hwa Uk—once a close confidant of the traitor Hyeok Ryeon-eung, a former executive of Majeon—had approached him in secret and delivered priceless intelligence.
‘I have discovered the exact time and place where the Martial Soul Command Lord is meeting someone from the upper echelons of the Martial Alliance.’ Hwa Uk had whispered the information with utmost caution.
‘If you expose this, you will rise not merely to Hall Lord, but to the rank of Command Lord.’
Geum Jangcheon had hesitated.
At some point within Majeon, an unspoken rule had taken root: one could pluck the beard of the King of Hell himself, but none must ever touch the Martial Soul Command Lord. The man was known to be ruthlessly cold, visiting certain retribution upon any who dared oppose him.
Had the offer come from anyone else, Geum Jangcheon would have refused without a second thought.
But Hyeok Ryeon-eung? That man was no ordinary figure. Though he revealed almost nothing of his true power, he was the hidden core of the shadowy force that quietly ruled the demonic path from behind the scenes. Geum Jangcheon had maintained good relations with him precisely because he had felt, to the marrow of his bones, just how terrifying Hyeok Ryeon-eung truly was.
‘I must choose one or the other.’
Treason was the gravest crime in Majeon. Even the Martial Soul Command Lord, if proven to have held secret talks with the orthodox faction’s leadership, would be stripped of all position and authority.
‘The Martial Soul Command Lord may be formidable, but in the end… he cannot compare to Hyeok Ryeon-eung.’
No matter how extraordinary the Martial Soul Command Lord might be, he was still young and lacking in experience. Hyeok Ryeon-eung, on the other hand, was a supreme master who had reigned over the demonic path for decades and had once served as the Hyeok Lord.
If intelligence personally guaranteed by such a man was accurate, Geum Jangcheon would suffer no loss by acting upon it.
‘Remain here and wait.’
Ending his recollection, Geum Jangcheon sent a silent transmission to his men.
The one he had come to monitor was Majeon’s most prestigious successor, the young grandmaster of the demonic path—Bu Eunseol, Martial Soul Command Lord himself.
And the other party was surely a high-ranking member of the Martial Alliance.
He could not afford the slightest mistake.
In the silent forest, only the occasional rustle of leaves and chirping of insects broke the stillness.
The assassins deployed the Black Ghost Phantom Stalking Art, a technique known as the Turtle Breath Grand Method. It was said to turn a living man into a breathing corpse—utterly undetectable even to the greatest masters.
Sssss.
The moment they activated it, every trace of the Flying Killer Hall experts vanished completely.
Roughly half an hour later—
Swish.
Two figures emerged from a distant cave. Both were over six che (approximately 180 cm) tall and wore masks, making their faces impossible to discern.
Yet when Geum Jangcheon spotted the ice-soul sword slung across the left figure’s back—an artifact bestowed by the Demon Emperor himself—his eyes flashed.
‘Then the one on the right must be from the Martial Alliance.’
“At ease.”
To Geum Jangcheon’s astonishment, the Martial Soul Command Lord bowed politely to the masked man.
‘He bows that deeply to a member of the orthodox faction…?’
Something felt profoundly wrong.
Given Bu Eunseol’s status as the next Lord of Majeon, he had no need to lower his head to anyone short of the absolute pinnacle of the righteous sects. Yet here he was, showing such deference to a Martial Alliance figure?
Tzzzt.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol vanished with a display of movement art.
The masked man remained before the cave, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the distant sky.
[Hm.]
A low hum escaped him, yet the sound resonated not in Geum Jangcheon’s ears but directly inside his mind, sending strange ripples through his chest.
‘Incredible inner power.’
Geum Jangcheon drew a deep breath. He instinctively knew this masked man was a master far beyond his ability to oppose.
[Come out.]
Fwoosh.
At those quiet words, Geum Jangcheon’s concealed body rose involuntarily into the air.
Such overwhelming internal energy!
‘Danger!’
He immediately unleashed the Three Annihilation Forms, striking at the masked man.
Yet before he could complete even the first stance, his body froze rigid as a log.
“Protect the Hall Lord!”
Panicking, the assassins of the Flying Killer Hall released their concealment and surged forward—
Thud, thud, thud.
—only to collapse again instantly. Thirty elite masters lay dead, hearts pierced by an unseen hand.
“Ugh…” Floating in mid-air, Geum Jangcheon’s face twisted in terror.
No matter how he struggled, he could not move a muscle.
Fwoosh.
Suddenly he drifted forward until he hovered directly before the masked man.
Meeting those profound, abyss-like eyes, Geum Jangcheon could only tremble silently.
Weng.
A chilling energy abruptly invaded his meridians, threading through them like icy needles.
[So you are from the Qi Gate sect. A demonic swordsman who has secretly learned the Smoke Screen Great Art of the fallen Na Bu sect.]
Geum Jangcheon’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
The Smoke Screen Great Art.
It was a lost Taoist art of the Na Bu sect that could multiply one’s inner power several times over.
Long ago, when he was merely an ordinary assassin, he had stumbled upon a manual beside a grave at West Lake. Though practitioners of demonic arts could never learn orthodox heart methods, the Smoke Screen Great Art was less an orthodox cultivation technique and more a pure amplification art. It had no special traits or side effects beyond temporarily magnifying one’s power.
He had secretly mastered it, and thanks to that, he had risen to become Hall Lord of the Flying Killer Hall.
Never once had he breathed a word of it to anyone.
How had this masked man seen through him in an instant?
[I cannot allow a demonic practitioner to amplify wicked power with an orthodox grand method.]
At those aged yet resonant words, a single name flashed through Geum Jangcheon’s mind.
A transcendent genius so extraordinary that ordinary eyes could not even gauge his abilities. The supreme master of the righteous path who had created a heart method capable of instantly reading an opponent’s energy flow just by making contact.
The Heavenly Emperor.
[Since this meeting must remain secret… I cannot let you live.]
The masked man extended a hand.
Crack, crack.
Geum Jangcheon’s body twisted with the sound of bones grinding.
The masked man had forcibly reversed his true qi circulation.
“Arghhh!” A scream of agony tore from Geum Jangcheon’s throat.
He had undergone torture-resistance training and mastered every secret assassination art, yet the pain of reversed qi flow was something no living human could endure.
Hiss…
In the end, the reversed qi shattered his Smoke Amplification Grand Method, scattering all the cultivation he had accumulated over decades.
Thud.
Geum Jangcheon dropped from the air like a lifeless sack.
By reversing his qi and severing the eight extraordinary meridians in a single stroke, the masked man had claimed his life.
Thump.
Confirming the complete absence of vitality, the masked man vanished like a ghost.
Only heavy silence remained before the limestone cave.
Shhhk.
Then, from the darkness, a black shadow rose from the ground as though sprouting from the earth itself.
It was Hwa Uk, Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s lieutenant.
From the very beginning, when he had passed on the meeting’s location, he had already dug deep into the earth here and concealed himself with the Turtle Breath Grand Method.
“Killed in a single strike. Magnificent skill.”
Hwa Uk examined Geum Jangcheon’s corpse, eyes gleaming.
“This wound…”
There were no external injuries—only forcibly reversed qi.
In the entire martial world, only one man could read another’s qi flow and reverse it in an instant.
“Urgh…”
A faint groan reached Hwa Uk’s ears.
“He’s still breathing!”
Joy lit up his face.
“He must have trained some life-saving rebirth art.”
He hastily hoisted Geum Jangcheon onto his back.
If he could revive Geum Jangcheon and have him testify while still alive, not even the Martial Soul Command Lord could escape ruin—no matter how high he flew.
***
Ending his recollection, Bu Eunseol slowly surveyed the assembly hall.
Most of the Hall Lords could not meet his gaze and lowered their heads.
“Hmph.” At that moment, Yang Geung snorted derisively.
“A pathetic excuse.”
He continued with an expression of disbelief.
“You claim the one who attacked Hall Lord Geum was the Martial Soul Command Lord? Why would he attack him?”
“At that time, this Command Lord was meeting the Master of the Blood Dragon Pavilion, an intelligence organization I had long operated in complete secrecy to expand our network.”
“Blood Dragon Pavilion? You’re saying that masked man was the Blood Dragon Pavilion Master?”
“Precisely. Yet certain individuals had secretly tracked my movements.” Bu Eunseol spoke calmly. “Naturally, they were orthodox spies. Should this Command Lord have simply let them be?”
“Let them be? The Flying Killer Hall belongs to Majeon!”
“They wore strange clothing and even used reverse disguise techniques. How could this Command Lord have recognized them?”
Yang Geung momentarily lost his words, then forced a hollow laugh.
“Then are you claiming to be a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor himself?” He glared at Bu Eunseol with a sinister smile. “Otherwise, how exactly did you read Hall Lord Geum’s qi circulation and reverse his cultivation?”
He fell silent, waiting for an answer.
“Normally I would not deign to explain, but circumstances leave me no choice.”
Bu Eunseol regarded Yang Geung with icy eyes.
“Illusion Upon Illusion.”
“The Pavilion Master of our Nangyang Pavilion once clashed with the Heavenly Emperor and learned that he possesses a technique for peering into others’ qi flow.”
“…”
“He then fused the profound principles of that technique into Illusion Upon Illusion, completing a secret art that achieves similar effects through the gaps in one’s soul and spirit.”
Human Demon Ak Muryeong.
The entire martial world knew he was obsessed with martial arts.
It was common knowledge that he had fought the Demon Emperor, the Three Demons, and the Three Venerables.
Yet he had also fought the Heavenly Emperor… and used the mysteries of the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra to evolve Illusion Upon Illusion even further?
“Nonsense!” Yang Geung roared in fury. “Can you prove those words?”
“As much as needed. Though with your level, you would not be able to tell the difference.”
Bu Eunseol turned to Chief Instructor Yeop Hyocheon.
“I will have the Chief Instructor verify the truth.”
Yang Geung shut his mouth.
Yeop Hyocheon was Majeon’s second-in-command and the foremost of the Four Death Kings.
To boldly ask him to judge the authenticity of a martial art?
Even if the Nangyang Pavilion Master had not truly created such a technique… Bu Eunseol was confident he could convince Yeop Hyocheon of his ability.
“I refuse to believe it. Convince me, not the Chief Instructor!”
Bu Eunseol gave a contemptuous snort and asked Yeop Hyocheon, “Chief Instructor, do I have your permission?”
Yeop Hyocheon nodded lightly.
“Permission granted.”
The instant the words left his mouth, blood-red light flared in Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he turned.
Fwoosh.
Yang Geung’s body rose into the air.
Such terrifying inner power!
“You have cultivated the Blood Sand Escaping Qi Technique of the Single Monster of Rushing Blood.”
“How…!” Yang Geung’s eyes widened in shock.
He was known to the world as a martial artist of the Ghost Flame Palace who had trained the Blood-Sealed Ghost Flame Technique his entire life.
Yet seven years ago, in exchange for secretly aiding Protector Hall Lord Hyeok Ryeon-eung with a personal matter, he had received the exclusive manual of the Blood Sand Escaping Qi Technique and had been mastering it in utmost secrecy.
“To think such a secret art truly exists in Nangyang Pavilion…”
Yang Geung could no longer speak.
This meant Bu Eunseol had not only perfectly mastered the Nangyang Pavilion Master’s Illusion Upon Illusion, but had also acquired the ability to infiltrate an enemy’s spirit and discern every martial art they practiced.
“I… I…” As Yang Geung stammered, Bu Eunseol flung him to the ground as though discarding trash.
Thud.
He fell ignobly and could not rise, too shocked even to gather strength.
“Now it is this Martial Soul Command Lord’s turn.”
Bu Eunseol swept his cold smile across the assembly.
“No matter how bold Hall Lord Yang may be, trying to drag this Command Lord into the brain prison and strip me of authority over something like this is absurd.”
He scanned the room once more and spoke in an icy voice.
“So I conducted my own investigation.”
This time he named not only Yang Geung but every Hall Lord who had supported or abetted his downfall during the disciplinary hearing.
“Jeokyang Hall Lord, you have received thirty thousand taels of silver each year from unknown sources. The same goes for Blood Wind Hall Lord. And Heukcheon Hall… has openly contacted the Martial Alliance.”
He continued calling out names without pause.
Finally, fixing his gaze upon Punishment Hall Lord Yang Geung, he declared solemnly,
“And Hall Lord Yang—you have been in contact with the traitor Hyeok Ryeon-eung.”
“Lies!”
Yang Geung, collapsed and unfocused, screamed like a cornered animal.
“Do not slander others with baseless accusations!”
If even that were proven, not only his position but his very life would be forfeit.
“Slander?” Bu Eunseol drew a thin booklet from his robes and placed it before Yeop Hyocheon.
“All evidence of the suspicions I have raised is contained here—including proof that Hall Lord Yang contacted the traitor Hyeok Ryeon-eung.”
Yeop Hyocheon flipped through the pages with an impassive expression.
With each turn, his eyes grew more solemn, and eventually he began glaring murderously at Yang Geung.
The evidence was ironclad—impossible to refute.
“Chief Instructor, this is all fabricated…!”
Yang Geung’s final plea died in his throat.
Yeop Hyocheon’s eyes had frozen like ten-thousand-year ice, and black haze rose from his entire body like the aura of a death god.
“You filthy bastards! I told you it wasn’t me!”
At that moment, Won Semun bellowed in outrage.
“You sons of bitches schemed together to stab the Martial Soul Command Lord in the back!”
The faces of the hall lords paled instantly.
Of course the “sons of bitches” referred to Yang Geung and his faction, but since Yeop Hyocheon had just verified the evidence and approved imprisonment… strictly speaking, the Chief Inspector himself fell under that curse as well.
“So this is the disgraceful spectacle you dragged me into, Hall Lord Yang.”
“C-Chief Instructor…”
Yeop Hyocheon sighed, rose from his seat, and addressed the assembly.
“By my direct authority as Chief Instructor, I hereby declare this disciplinary hearing regarding the Martial Soul Command Lord null and void.”
Without looking back, he strode out of the hall.
Whoooosh.
The atmosphere inside froze solid.
Those who had come to witness Bu Eunseol’s downfall wore faces twisted in despair.
“Release the Captains of our Majeon.”
At Bu Eunseol’s command, the warriors trembled as though struck by lightning and hurriedly unlocked the bindings.
Unlike Bu Eunseol, the captains had all had their cultivation sealed.
Crack, crack, crack!
Yoo Unryong personally unsealed his own pressure points, and the other captains of the Death Shadow Corps followed suit, circulating their energy to free themselves.
“Did you truly believe such petty techniques could restrain us?”
Shockingly, Yoo Unryong and the others had possessed the power to break free all along—yet they had silently endured torture and interrogation.
Faith.
It was possible only because they believed without doubt that Bu Eunseol would resolve everything.
Tremble, tremble.
Now it was Yang Geung and every Hall Lord who had supported him who shook uncontrollably.
They had eagerly accepted Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s proposal because they were certain of victory.
Only now did they realize that instead of triumph, they had thrown away everything.
“Martial Soul Command Lord! This Hall Lord was foolish!”
Finally Yang Geung screamed and threw himself to his knees before Bu Eunseol, smashing his forehead against the floor.
Thud, thud, thud.
“Forgive me, Command Lord!”
Blood poured from his head as he wailed.
“I acted without personal motive! There was irrefutable proof that the Command Lord was colluding with a high-ranking member of the Martial Alliance—I had no choice but to believe it!”
The Hall Lords who had sided with him scurried forward and knelt as well.
“Yes, we were merely deceived by that dog Hyeok Ryeon-eung!”
Seeing no rage on Bu Eunseol’s face, faint hope flickered in their eyes.
The Martial Soul Command Lord wielded authority equivalent to the combined Enforcement, Punishment, and Protector Halls—yet he had never once abused that power against the Ten Demonic Sects for personal reasons.
Recalling that fact kindled hope that he might yet spare them.
“Captain Yoo.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly to Yoo Unryong.
“Arrest every individual connected to the traitor Hyeok Ryeon-eung.”
Relief briefly flashed across the kneeling Hall Lords’ faces.
Arrest meant there was still a chance of survival if they confessed fully.
But Bu Eunseol’s next words turned their faces ashen.
“Once guilt is proven, behead them immediately and display the heads publicly. Let the entire martial world clearly see what happens to traitors who betray Majeon henceforth.”
Sweeping his gaze over Yang Geung, he added, “For this incident, all complicated procedures may be omitted.”
“Understood.”
Thud.
As Yoo Unryong bowed, the Hall Lords collapsed where they knelt.
Treason was the gravest crime in Majeon.
They had colluded with the traitor Hyeok Ryeon-eung to bring down Majeon’s designated successor.
By conspiring with a traitor to betray Majeon and topple its heir, not even their deaths could atone for the sin—their families, relatives, and close friends would all lose their heads as well.
Rumble.
At the same moment, two figures frantically fled from one corner of the assembly hall.
Gong Yageuk and Gang Yang-cheon.
They had confidently come to the Solitary Light Pavilion to witness Bu Eunseol’s downfall.
Instead, they had once again earned his ire.
From this day forward, their sects would suffer endlessly under the Martial Soul Command Lord’s wrath.
