Flick!
The man drew a fan from his robes and snapped it open.
It was no ordinary folding fan, but an iron fan forged entirely of metal.
Whirr!
As he swept the iron fan, a profound and mysterious technique unfurled like waves, instantly deflecting every sword strike Bu Eunseol had unleashed.
Shrrk!
Bu Eunseol changed his sword form once more, sending a dozen sword qi spiraling to coil around Mu Gyeol’s body.
He was probing Mu Gyeol’s level without using vacuum force, relying solely on the subtleties of formless victory over form.
“You seem quite relaxed.” As though reading Bu Eunseol’s intent, Mu Gyeol lightly flicked his iron fan.
With that single fan he effortlessly redirected every strike, flowing like water.
It was as if he were performing a new version of the Thirteen Iron Sword Forms with the fan alone.
‘As expected of the Divine Mountain Sage’s disciple.’
The Thirteen Iron Sword Forms had also been refined by the Divine Mountain Sage, so it was only natural he had passed them on to his successor.
When it came to the wonders of Grafting Flowers onto Jade, even Bu Eunseol could not match him.
Whish! Shaa!
Every time the iron fan moved, all of Bu Eunseol’s attacks dissolved into nothingness.
Shrrrieeek!
The Demon-Killer Sword sang a shrill cry.
At last, Bu Eunseol began unleashing the Supreme Heavenly Flow Form.
Yet Mu Gyeol’s fan art was like an unbreakable, supple shield that nothing could destroy.
Defend, defend, defend.
He turned aside and blocked everything.
No matter how great Bu Eunseol’s prowess, it was useless.
“Good.”
Such a defensive style might hold against countless masters, but not against Bu Eunseol.
He possessed many arts that could render any defense meaningless.
‘There is no need to drag this out or hide my power.’
While he had worn the identity of Seon Woojin, he could not freely unleash vacuum force and had been forced to restrain his inner power.
Now, there was no such need.
Wuuuung!
White light and crimson light began swirling around both of Bu Eunseol’s hands.
He had simultaneously drawn forth the Heavenly Glacial Secret and the Yeolha Great True Energy.
Whoooosh!
In an instant the white light shifted to azure, while the crimson mingled with violet.
As he poured his full strength into arts of extreme yin and extreme yang, the Crystal Divine Energy and Thunder Spirit Energy activated on their own to protect his body.
Paaaaaaa!
When Bu Eunseol released both extreme yin and extreme yang at once, Mu Gyeol’s eyes widened.
Not only was there no one else in the martial world who could wield such arts simultaneously, but the sheer range of the power now blanketed the entire area around the Temple of Guan.
Wuuung!
With no way to evade, Mu Gyeol formed a massive wall of qi to block the onslaught.
The mere creation of such a wall proved his inner power exceeded three hundred years.
Unfortunately, it was still far from matching Bu Eunseol’s.
“Ugh.” Moreover, as perfectly harmonized extreme yin and extreme yang poured forth, the qi wall was pierced without resistance.
Ziiing.
When his body seemed about to burn away, white light suddenly poured from Mu Gyeol’s eyes.
At the same instant, he pressed himself right against Bu Eunseol’s body.
Then, instead of continuing the exchange of force, he drew the torrent of power into himself, deliberately turning it into a contest of pure inner strength.
‘Interesting.’ Bu Eunseol smiled, realizing Mu Gyeol had intentionally provoked an inner-strength clash.
‘Very well, I’ll give you what you want.’
Wuuung!
The moment the contest began, Bu Eunseol’s overwhelming inner power began crushing Mu Gyeol.
Yet the difference in inner power is not mere numbers.
The higher one climbs, the wider even a small gap becomes.
Mu Gyeol’s power far surpassed three hundred years, but Bu Eunseol’s exceeded five hundred.
From Bu Eunseol’s perspective, it was like a confident child pushing against him with all its might.
Then something strange happened.
Crack.
Suddenly, from Mu Gyeol’s body surged true qi almost identical to Bu Eunseol’s Ban-Geuk Method.
Bu Eunseol’s own inner qi vanished without a trace, like a stone dropped into the boundless ocean.
Because the qi Mu Gyeol released embraced and contained Bu Eunseol’s, as though it were the very source of the Ban-Geuk Method.
‘So he truly is the Heavenly Emperor’s disciple.’
Mu Gyeol had deliberately induced the inner-strength contest, then used the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra to produce qi nearly identical to the Ban-Geuk Method. When inner qi shares the same origin, it is difficult for either side to harm the other; superiority in depth becomes meaningless.
‘So the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra can be used this way too.’
Bu Eunseol had thought it merely allowed one to discern another’s inner-energy secrets. Yet it could also imitate the origin of a stronger opponent’s inner power, thereby nullifying any advantage in depth.
‘Why on earth did the Heavenly Emperor teach the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra so freely?’
The Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra, created by the Heavenly Emperor, was said to have never been transmitted to anyone. Yet his grandfather had mastered it, and now the man before him, Mu Gyeol, wielded it with perfect ease.
‘Moreover, no one in the martial world has ever heard of a person named Mu Gyeol.’
Even while claiming to be the Divine Mountain Sage’s disciple, Mu Gyeol was completely unknown to the martial world.
‘That means…’
A chill ran down Bu Eunseol’s spine.
Mu Gyeol.
Perhaps this man was not the Heavenly Emperor’s formal disciple at all—perhaps he was someone who could never be officially acknowledged.
Like the blue-eyed man he had once seen at the Martial Alliance, perhaps he was merely a disposable tool.
Shik!
At that moment Mu Gyeol’s technique changed.
Since the inner-strength contest had lost meaning, he shifted to close-quarters strikes that could overwhelm Bu Eunseol at arm’s length.
Because the fan was operated like a short dagger, it held the advantage in extreme close combat over a long sword.
Shaa! Shaa!
Each flutter of the fan created hundreds of afterimages like butterflies, coiling around Bu Eunseol’s body.
While parrying the bewildering iron fan, Bu Eunseol felt a strange thought arise.
The way Mu Gyeol neutralized the inner-strength clash and seamlessly transitioned into close combat was clearly not improvised; it had been honed over countless years.
Then the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra…
Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor had devised it specifically to face opponents whose inner power surpassed his own?
‘Is there anyone in the current martial world whose inner power exceeds the Heavenly Emperor’s?’
When judged solely by depth, orthodox heart methods surpass demonic ones.
The Heavenly Emperor especially was known to have perfectly mastered an immeasurable number of supreme orthodox arts. By depth alone, he could be called the greatest under heaven.
Yet why had such a man devised this style and passed it to his disciple?
Was it not for himself, but for the disciple’s safety?
Then why did he not take Mu Gyeol as a formal disciple?
Pat!
In that brief lapse of attention, the wind from the iron fan grazed Bu Eunseol’s cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
“Was I such an easy opponent that you could let your mind wander?” Mu Gyeol’s expression hardened as he taunted.
Yet Bu Eunseol was the one smiling.
His eyes blazed crimson, his face that of a predator that had cornered its prey.
“Let me show you.”
Shiiing!
Bu Eunseol swung the Demon-Killer Sword once more.
“The greatness of this awakening.”
Shhhh!
He began wielding the sword with formless strokes.
He was now executing with the sword the Sayou Sect’s White Rainbow Thirty-Six Hands that Mu Gyeol himself used.
The Sayou Sect’s arts, like Lingering Wave Micro Steps, were meant solely to deflect all attacks. Yet the assault Bu Eunseol now unleashed was formless, and moreover, it reversed the very principles of Mu Gyeol’s counter-forms.
If the opponent tried to redirect, he withdrew; the moment the opponent tried to return the force, he shifted elsewhere.
When the opponent retreated, he retreated with him; when the opponent advanced, he clung like a vengeful ghost.
“Urgh.” A stifled groan escaped Mu Gyeol’s lips.
Bu Eunseol had instantly grasped the essence of the White Rainbow Thirty-Six Hands and was using Mu Gyeol’s own art against him.
It became impossible to fully redirect the force.
Shaa! Shaa!
Left with no choice, Mu Gyeol abandoned defense, focusing on offense and clashing head-on with Bu Eunseol’s sword.
Clang! Claaang!
Whenever the Demon-Killer Sword met the iron fan, clear metallic rings resounded.
The iron fan was sturdy as any treasured blade, but it could not compare to the Demon-Killer Sword.
Each block chipped away at the fan, teeth falling from its ribs.
“So this is the martial learning of Nangyang Pavilion.”
Pat.
Mu Gyeol suddenly unfolded his movement art and retreated.
His footwork was astonishingly fast and in an instant he had withdrawn thirty zhang.
Tstst!
Yet Bu Eunseol pursued the retreating shadow.
“Did you think your movement art surpassed mine?” Having caught up in the blink of an eye, Bu Eunseol gave a cold smile.
“Not at all.” Mu Gyeol grinned and extended both hands. “This is what I intended to use.”
Shaaaa!
At his gesture, dozens of swords burst from the ground around the Temple of Guan.
Myriad Sword Ancestor.
The name was both a sword technique and the supreme art of controlling countless blades with hand gestures and inner power—akin to Hand-Guided Sword.
In this moment of crisis, Mu Gyeol had hidden dozens of swords around the temple in advance to unleash Myriad Sword Ancestor.
Shshshshsh!
As he waved his hands chaotically through the air, forty treasured swords shot toward Bu Eunseol.
They did not merely fly in straight lines; each traveled at different speeds and angles, carrying profound forms and killing intent.
‘Impressive.’
This single move felt like forty supreme sword masters attacking Bu Eunseol simultaneously. To block such a technique, one either had to counter with sword qi of equal might or escape the range of the hand-guided swords.
Bu Eunseol chose the former.
Paaaaa!
In that instant, around Bu Eunseol’s body appeared the exact same number of sword images as the incoming blades. All were dyed black, brimming with power that seemed capable of destroying everything in existence.
Using the Wishful True Binding, he had manifested his overflowing inner power into tangible swords of true qi.
Clangclangclangclang!
When the swords born of the Wishful True Binding clashed with Mu Gyeol’s Myriad Sword Ancestor, endless metallic clashes rang out.
No matter how formidable the Wishful True Binding, it could not match the power of real swords infused with inner force.
Thud thud thud!
In the end, the hand-guided swords shattered the manifested blades and lined up to pierce straight through Bu Eunseol’s Jeon-jung acupoint.
Shrrrieek!
There was no dodging this; Bu Eunseol faced imminent perforation by dozens of blades.
Wuuuung!
Yet the aligned swords could advance no further.
The moment their tips were about to touch his skin, the power controlling Myriad Sword Ancestor had shifted toward Bu Eunseol’s body.
The Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra.
By applying this unparalleled secret art that could synchronize with an enemy’s inner power, and using the chain of swords as a medium, Bu Eunseol had disrupted Mu Gyeol’s control.
“How…?” Mu Gyeol’s eyes bulged in shock.
Could Bu Eunseol have already perfected the Nangyang Heart Technique like Ak Muryeong and instantly stolen even the Heavenly Mirror Heart Sutra?
Thud thud.
With the controlling force severed,
Clatter, clang!
All the treasured swords that had been lined up against Bu Eunseol’s chest fell to the ground at once.
Whish!
Seizing the opening, Bu Eunseol closed the distance in a flash and thrust at Mu Gyeol’s throat.
Rip.
Even before the tip touched, its sheer sharpness split Mu Gyeol’s face veil in two. At the same moment, the clear, upright face of a man in his prime was revealed.
Shockingly, the shape of his eyes bore a striking resemblance to Bu Eunseol’s.
Only his face was more angular and his ears larger, emphasizing his masculine features.
Clack.
Instead of piercing the face, Bu Eunseol halted the Demon-Killer Sword at the philtrum.
“Do you acknowledge defeat?”
Mu Gyeol looked at the blade pointed at him and shook his head.
“At this level, you won’t kill me.”
“What did you say?”
“Master told me that if anyone ever broke my Myriad Sword Ancestor, I should tell them this.”
“What nonsense is this.”
“Mount Hoiryong, Ten Thousand Immortals Peak.” Mu Gyeol spoke calmly. “The Sword Venerable is in seclusion there. And… he possesses one Boeun Coin.”
In that instant, flames erupted in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“So you’re saying I must bring a Boeun Coin to meet the Divine Mountain Sage.”
“Exactly. Isn’t the reason you wish to see Master to ask him something?”
Mu Gyeol shrugged.
“One token, one question. That is the rule.”
“You’ll have to answer again.”
Cold killing intent flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“Unless you want those words to be your last.”
“It cannot be helped.” Mu Gyeol shrugged once more. “Just as sects have sect rules, the Boeun Coin is the rule Master set. If an outsider tries to break it, I can only guard it with my life.”
Every sect has absolute rules it defends with life itself; to break them is to shatter the sect’s prestige and pride.
“So without a Boeun Coin, I can never meet the Divine Mountain Sage.”
“That is correct.”
Crrk.
Bu Eunseol gripped the Demon-Killer Sword tightly.
Martial artists are prideful and guard sect rules like their own lives. A man like Mu Gyeol would never open his mouth, no matter the torture.
“Fine.”
Clack.
Sheathing the Demon-Killer Sword, Bu Eunseol’s eyes overflowed with killing intent fierce enough to tear the heavens.
“But if I bring the token and you still spout nonsense…” His voice and gaze were no less than the final ultimatum of the King of Hell.
“I will surely take your head.”
“How bloodthirsty.” Mu Gyeol replied with a bold smile. “Forget such worries and just find the token.”
He met Bu Eunseol’s stare calmly and continued,
“Once you have it, come to the Heavenly Escape Command. I’ll be waiting.”
“Very well. But if you play games again…”
Crimson light rose in Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he looked at Mu Gyeol.
“You may look forward to it.”
With that, he turned away.
Mu Gyeol merely smiled serenely, offering no reply.
As if to say such a thing could never happen.
***
The gorge of Mount Hoi-ryong in Shaanxi Province stretches over seventy li.
Having arrived at the mountain, Bu Eunseol did not slow his movement art and headed straight for Ten Thousand Immortals Peak.
After climbing for some time, a sheer red cliff over a hundred zhang high came into view. He halted briefly to gaze at the cliff, then resumed ascending.
Finally, at a height that seemed to touch the edge of the sky, a flat plateau appeared.
On that level ground dotted with wildflowers and bizarre rocks stood a small vegetable patch, and before it, a thatched hut.
The air carried the atmosphere of an immortal’s abode.
If Mu Gyeol’s words were true, the greatest swordsman of the martial world dwelt here.
Creak.
As Bu Eunseol approached the hut, the door opened and an elderly man with hands clasped behind his back stepped out.
The Sword Venerable, Heonwon Damcheong.
The peerless swordsman who had once placed the entire martial world beneath his feet with Myriad Phenomena Sword Style now lived quietly in seclusion, far from the world.
“Elder.” Bu Eunseol brought his hands together toward the Sword Venerable.
Though their past encounter had not been entirely amicable, he bore no ill will toward Heonwon Damcheong.
True, the man had once attacked him in petty revenge for the Heavenly Sword, yet upon realizing his own fault and shame, he had tried to sever only one of his own arms.
Moreover, the moment he learned of Bu Eunseol’s connection to the Seven-Finger Demon Blade, he immediately ceased his vengeance and departed.
Others might call that petty as well.
But Bu Eunseol, who himself raced down the path of revenge, understood how much self-control that had required. Thanks to that fight, he had learned the profound principles of Myriad Phenomena Sword Style and used them to great effect in moments of crisis.
From Bu Eunseol’s perspective, it had not been a bad connection at all.
“You…” Heonwon Damcheong frowned upon seeing Bu Eunseol clasp his hands. “Why have you come here?”
“I came to pay my respects, Elder.”
“This old man has already left the martial world.” Without even asking the reason for the visit, he issued an order to leave. “I no longer concern myself with worldly affairs. Go.”
“I heard the Elder possesses a Boeun Coin.”
“A Boeun Coin?”
At the unexpected words, Heonwon Damcheong repeated with a puzzled look.
“And?”
“I need it urgently.”
“Hah!” He burst into incredulous laughter. “So you came to take it from this old man’s hands by force?”
“Of course not. It is simply that I must have it to…”
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to try explaining the situation. That he needed the token to learn the truth of his own origins.
But Heonwon Damcheong waved him off without listening.
“Whatever your circumstances, they have nothing to do with this old man.”
“Elder.”
“Leave.”
Bu Eunseol let out a deep sigh.
He could not forcibly seize something from the man called the Sword Venerable nor was Heonwon Damcheong the type to hand it over just because someone begged.
That left only the final method Bu Eunseol had prepared on the way here.
“In the past, I heard the Elder created a new sword art, and to perfect it, you wandered the martial world seeking someone who could break your forms.” Bu Eunseol continued quickly. “Yet you never found such a master of the sword, and in the end someone shattered that art, allowing you to create Myriad Phenomena Sword Style anew.”
“That was merely a journey of my youth.” The Sword Venerable replied coldly, seeing through Bu Eunseol’s intent. “This old man has left the martial world. I feel no need to perfect arts I created long ago.”
“Are you afraid?”
Bu Eunseol stared straight into Heonwon Damcheong’s eyes.
“That I might be the one to break those forms.”
“A clumsy provocation.” Heonwon Damcheong gave a frosty smile. “Did you think such words would make this old man accept?”
“You once spared my life because of my connection to the Seven-Finger Demon Blade.”
Bu Eunseol appealed to that bond.
“For the sake of my grandfather’s ties with you, could you not reconsider?”
“Your grandfather?”
When Heonwon Damcheong blinked, Bu Eunseol nodded.
“I am his grandson.”
