Chapter 257

Gwak Seong doubted his own ears.

“What did you say?”

“I said, I refuse.”

Gwak Seong parted his lips in stunned disbelief.

“You would make an enemy of our Pavilion, all for the sake of a dying rebel?” He managed a frustrated, hollow smile. “You would be wise to calculate the ledger carefully, lest you make a decision you will regret.”

A cold glint of contempt flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes. “Is the position of Demonic Palace Successor one bought by selling out one’s comrades for profit?”

“So. Are you threatening to fight this Blood Master now?”

“If you wish.”

“Uh-hahaha.” Gwak Seong slapped his forehead, dumbfounded, and laughed aloud. “They call you the Mad Sword, and it seems you truly are insane.”

The two hundred assassins he had marshaled were the absolute elite of the Extreme Assassination Pavilion—a force capable of instantly wiping out any sect, let alone the scattered remnants of the Twelve Domains. Even if a High Master from the Seven Kings of Death arrived, they could never claim victory against such numbers.

“You dream futile dreams.”

At that moment, Seok Woo-haeng staggered back to lean against the damp sewer wall, a bitter smile playing on his lips. “I won’t die by anyone’s hand but my own.”

In his hand, a thin, faint silver thread had appeared, stretching away into the gloom to connect with the walls and floor of the waterway.

“We all go together.”

“How utterly childish, Seok Woo-haeng. Are you resorting to bluster?” Gwak Seong watched the dying man and scoffed. “To completely collapse a waterway of this scale would require an immense amount of explosive powder. That is an impossibility, even for the Twelve Domains, regardless of their ties to the bureaucracy.”

“Heeheehee… Hahahahaha!”

Seok Woo-haeng threw his head back, laughing wildly, pointing at Gwak Seong with a sense of manic vindication. Stopping abruptly, he stared into the distant void and muttered softly, “The fact that I became the Grand Chieftain of the Twelve Domains in such a short time was an impossibility to begin with, wasn’t it?”

Gwak Seong’s eyes snapped wide.

Looking back, the entire affair was absurd. Even for Seok Woo-haeng, a prodigious Demonic Successor, to swallow a force like the Twelve Domains single-handedly in such a short period was inconceivable. That implied the involvement of another faction, and therefore, the possibility of the entire waterway being transformed into a colossal trap was undeniable.

“W-wait just a moment!” Gwak Seong finally reached out, grasping instinctively that explosives had been planted throughout the sewer infrastructure. “Seok Woo-haeng! You are still a disciple of this Pavilion, aren’t you?”

He forced a desperate smile onto his face, stepping closer with trembling caution. “First, your condition is poor; let’s treat your injuries, and then we can talk.”

Gwak Seong’s expression was frantic. He had brought all his elite assassins to sweep the Twelve Domains away. If the underground waterway collapsed now, the Extreme Assassination Pavilion’s elite force would instantly evaporate.

“It’s already too late.”

Snap.

Seok Woo-haeng, without hesitation, yanked the silver thread.

Rumble.

The floor began to shake, and the groaning of stone heralded the end.

“Flee!”

Gwak Seong shrieked, darting toward the opposite direction. But no matter how quickly he unleashed his footwork, escaping a collapsing waterway of this magnitude was a gamble with poor odds.

“Aaargh!”

Assassins scrambling for the exit began to scream horribly as they were crushed beneath falling masonry. Seok Woo-haeng had indeed prepared enough explosives to bring down the vast underground network.

Crash!

A colossal boulder, the size of a house, plummeted directly toward Seok Woo-haeng. Yet, the man made no effort to evade, merely staring into the void with empty eyes.

Flash!

Just then, Bu Eunseol executed his footwork with the speed of lightning.

Boom!

He instantly met the boulder descending toward Seok Woo-haeng’s head, catching it.

“……?”

Bu Eunseol’s expression grew strange.

The colossal boulder, weighing tens of thousands of geun, froze mid-air the instant it touched his hands, as if suspended by an unseen force.

“I knew you wouldn’t let it fall,” Seok Woo-haeng muttered, giving a faint smile. “You’re only cold on the surface.”

Bu Eunseol’s brow twitched. He finally realized that the spot where Seok Woo-haeng stood was the sole safety zone in the entire collapse.

“It was the same at the Long Sword Manor. You acted utterly disinterested, yet you drew their attention so that Myo Cheon-woo and I could escape.” Seok Woo-haeng’s lips curved as he recalled Bu Eunseol’s past actions. “And you did so by continually confronting the High Masters of Justice, gambling your life away…”

“Seok Woo-haeng,” Bu Eunseol called out in a low voice.

The dying man sighed profoundly. “You want to know where I got Evil Fragrance’s hidden weapon, don’t you?” He looked at Bu Eunseol with dimming eyes before shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know that myself.”

“What did you say?”

“They merely knew you were chasing Evil Fragrance’s tail.”

“They?”

“Yes. They said that if I sent that Evil Fragrance hidden weapon… you would surely come here.”

Seok Woo-haeng smiled faintly.

“They ensured this entire place would collapse. But I created this safety zone without their knowledge.”

That was his strange form of consideration, ensuring Bu Eunseol did not lose his life needlessly. His desire was merely to defeat him once—he did not hate him.

Bu Eunseol, who had been listening silently, asked again, “Who exactly are they?”

“I don’t know. I investigated them secretly several times… but I couldn’t learn their identities. Yet, they knew much about me.” Seok Woo-haeng shook his head weaky. “They promised to enable my victory over you. They helped me seize the Twelve Domains and gave me the Heavenly Evil Demonic Art.”

Bu Eunseol clenched his fist.

For them to utilize Seok Woo-haeng’s competitive drive against him suggested they had scoured the intelligence of the Demonic Successors long ago. Furthermore, knowing he was chasing Evil Fragrance and using that organization’s hidden weapon as bait to lure him here suggested a faction with an intelligence network superior to the combined forces of the Orthodox and Demonic Murim. Or perhaps, a power that controlled Evil Fragrance itself.

Can I not reach them yet?

As the enraged Bu Eunseol bit his lip, Seok Woo-haeng bore a faint smile.

“But there was one thing they didn’t know.”

“What was that?”

“That you wouldn’t kill me.”

Bu Eunseol had stood against the elite forces of the Extreme Assassination Pavilion to protect him. Recalling that scene, an indescribable surge of complex emotions welled up in Seok Woo-haeng. In truth, he had been fond of Bu Eunseol from the start.

If not for the pride of a martial genius and the ambition to stand at the apex of the Demonic Path… Seok Woo-haeng might have been the first to offer his hand to Bu Eunseol.

“Did you not hate me?”

“…”

“From the Infernal Blood Fortress onward, I relentlessly tried to kill you…”

Gurgle.

Seok Woo-haeng suddenly vomited black-red blood. He had maximized his internal qi and intentionally severed his own cardiac meridian when he activated the trap. Yet, the tenacious wicked qi of the Heavenly Evil Demonic Art was clinging to his last thread of life.

“Seok Woo-haeng.”

“I have no regrets…” Seok Woo-haeng’s eyes, fixed on Bu Eunseol, began to lose focus. “My only grief is that I could not die by your hand…”

And then, he quietly drew his last breath.

Rumble…

At that moment, the vibration subsided, and the collapse of the underground waterway ceased. No more screams could be heard.

The Extreme Assassination Pavilion had brought all its elite assassins to eliminate the Twelve Domains. But due to the trap Seok Woo-haeng set, those elites were all killed instantly. It would take a considerably long time for the Extreme Assassination Pavilion to recover its strength.

“Seok Woo-haeng.”

Bu Eunseol gently closed the dead man’s wide-open eyes and spoke in a low voice. “I never once hated you. Instead, I continually felt a kinship with you.”

Bu Eunseol, who had fought a long and solitary battle. He had always regarded Seok Woo-haeng—a fellow Demonic Successor who shared a similar destiny—as his kindred spirit.

“Like a dear friend I’d known since long ago…”

Seok Woo-haeng, leaning against the stone wall with his last breath spent, offered no reply. But as Bu Eunseol spoke, a faint smile seemed to grace his lips.

***

Deathly Shadow Pavilion. Bu Eunseol’s Office.

Outwardly, Bu Eunseol maintained a perfectly ordinary routine. Though he had been at the site of the massacre of the Extreme Assassination Pavilion’s elite—an incident that shook the Murim—no one knew. Having used the intelligence network of the Momentless Fleet to conceal his whereabouts, it seemed the Demonic Palace could not easily track his movements either.

Flinch.

Bu Eunseol’s hand, poised mid-stroke over a dispatch, froze. The events of that day had suddenly returned to him.

The mysterious faction that had controlled and utilized Seok Woo-haeng. They were likely connected to Evil Fragrance, the organization he pursued.

Snap.

As he clenched the brush in his hand, the shaft of the pen shattered into powder. Though he appeared to be living a tranquil daily life, a furious blaze raged within his heart.

“I will surely capture their tail…”

A chilling blood-red light surfaced in Bu Eunseol’s eyes. He resolved to cleave down all those who pulled the strings of others’ fates, controlling them with their fingertips.

Knock, knock, knock.

A low, austere voice followed the rapping at the door. “Squad Captain, it’s Wi Cheon-gyeong.”

“Come in.”

The door slid open, revealing Wi Cheon-gyeong, a tall man with long bangs, respectfully holding his hands together.

“A letter from the Momentless Fleet’s Intelligence Corps for the Captain.”

Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed as he checked the contents of the sealed letter. The dispatch stated briefly and concisely that the ones who had burned down the Seong Clan Ironworks were the official governmental authorities.

“Squad Captain. Is something amiss?” Wi Cheon-gyeong asked cautiously, observing Bu Eunseol’s serious expression.

Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol offered the dispatch to him. “What are your thoughts?”

Wi Cheon-gyeong, who possessed vast experience in the Murim and a calm, brilliant intellect that rivaled Bu Eunseol’s, read the letter with composure.

“So, due to the outbreak of tuberculosis, the authorities burned an entire village,” he surmised, nodding as he connected the pieces. “Of course, it is not entirely unheard of to burn villages when people are dying en masse from an epidemic. However…”

Tuberculosis was treated as an epidemic, but the priority was usually to isolate those infected. Villages were not instantly scorched from the earth just because a few residents died.

“It is highly improbable that the authorities—who are notorious gluttons stuffing their rice bowls—would proceed with such swift efficiency.” Wi Cheon-gyeong shook his head. “If the contents of this dispatch are true, it appears there is a covert faction collaborating with the governmental authorities.”

Bu Eunseol nodded. “That aligns with my thoughts.”

In truth, fabricating an epidemic using potent poisons was not unprecedented. The unusual fact, however, was that this faction had specifically mobilized the governmental authorities. Neither the Orthodox nor the Demonic sects would typically involve the bureaucracy to burn a single village.

Does that imply the ones who orchestrated this are originally from the bureaucracy itself?

This wasn’t a stretch of the imagination. In the eyes of the Murim warriors, government officials were nothing more than leeches who sucked the lifeblood of the populace under the pretense of “inheriting the virtue of Heaven.” Furthermore, attempts by the Imperial Court to create secret organizations to manipulate the Murim were not uncommon in history.

“I understand. You may return.”

Wi Cheon-gyeong bowed his head and withdrew.

***

A few days later, a sudden announcement spread throughout the Demonic Palace.

Shin Dowoon-hwi of the Annihilating Seals Palace, who had been diligently handling his successor mission, had withdrawn his candidacy.

I hereby relinquish my position as Successor Candidate.

Bu Eunseol and Do Cheon-rin had completed their previous missions long ago. Furthermore, the influential candidate Wiji Hye-sang had resigned, and Yong Jeok-bi had met his death at Seok Woo-haeng’s hand. In this context, even if Shin Dowoon-hwi miraculously rebuilt the sects that had turned their backs on the Demonic Palace, his chances of becoming successor were non-existent.

It seems the Demonic Emperor must intervene.

Traditionally, the Demonic Palace Successor needed to secure the support of a majority of the Ten Demonic Sects and possess the highest level of martial skill and aptitude. However, Do Cheon-rin commanded the majority support, while Bu Eunseol possessed overwhelming martial power.

Due to this impasse, the Demonic Palace had yet to appoint a successor, and the selection process had dragged on far longer than anticipated.

Ultimately, only the Demonic Emperor could resolve this stalemate.

I shall bestow a mission to decide the successor of this Palace.

The Demonic Emperor finally issued the decree:

Under the command of the Blood Mist Squad, you will annihilate the Dark Union. The one who achieves the greater merit will be granted the Successor’s position.

Upon hearing this order, the Demonic Palace staff reacted with confusion.

The Dark Union? Suddenly?

The Dark Union was originally a minor alliance of bandits situated in the remote Qinghai region. Yet, over the last decade, they had grown rapidly, absorbing bandit and river pirate groups across the entire region. They even transmitted martial arts to their lowest-ranking members and established ties with intelligence organizations.

The disorganized bandit groups were slowly beginning to solidify into the structure of a formal sect. And now, they had become a respectable force in the Qinghai region.

The reason for the Demonic Palace officials’ confusion was simple: although the Dark Union was a large force, its influence as a Murim sect was negligible. While their growth trajectory suggested they would inevitably become a major Murim sect, choosing the successor through a battle that required mobilizing large forces was unusual.

Following that day, a secret rumor began to circulate among the Demonic Palace leadership:

It’s a scheme orchestrated by the Blood-Stained Blade Clan.

The rumor suggested that Do Cheon-rin, whose martial power could never rival Bu Eunseol’s, had conspired with the sect masters who supported him to arrange this mission. As if to validate this rumor, the Demonic Emperor only issued the deployment order but subsequently failed to hold any meetings or even mention the matter.

It won’t be an easy fight.

The Blood Mist Squad was one of the smaller units in the Demonic Palace, numbering only three thousand. The Dark Union, on the other hand, commanded a massive force of thirty thousand.

However, despite being taught martial arts, the lowest-ranking bandits of the Dark Union were barely above Third-Rate skill. In effect, the military power of the Blood Mist Squad, composed of regularly trained warriors, was roughly equivalent to that of the Dark Union.

Upon the return of the Blood Mist Squad Captain, the mission shall commence immediately.

Jwa Dae-baek, the Blood Mist Squad Captain, was currently returning from outside the passes, expected to arrive in approximately a month.

In one month, Bu Eunseol and Do Cheon-rin—the two successor candidates—would embark with the Blood Mist Squad to annihilate the Dark Union, simultaneously determining the fate of the Successor position.

***

Step, step.

Beneath the blazing hot sunlight, a middle-aged man walked toward the entrance of the Demonic Palace. He possessed a majestic physique and wore a pleasant, easy smile. The sword at his waist was clearly an exceptional treasure blade, reflecting a rainbow of colors.

“How may I help you?” Mo Gwang, the Gate Guardian, asked.

The man revealed his white teeth in a broad smile. “I’ve come to see Young Master Bu, the Demonic Successor of the Wolf Fang Pavilion.”

“The Demonic Successor of the Wolf Fang Pavilion…” Mo Gwang blinked, then gave a startled sound of realization. “Are you referring to Captain Bu Eunseol, the Deathly Shadow Squad Captain?”

“That is correct.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I do not.”

The guard standing next to Mo Gwang, Jang Sam, gave him a subtle cue. The position of a Demonic Palace Captain was not one that could be seen simply by asking. Furthermore, Captain Bu Eunseol, a high-ranking official who was both a successor candidate and a First-Rate Captain, could not be received without proper vetting, even if the visitor were a general-ranked figure from one of the Ten Demonic Sects.

“Do not worry,” the middle-aged man said, noticing the hesitation in their eyes. He slowly picked up the guest book resting on the table. “You simply need to deliver my name and entry.”

Scritch, scratch.

The middle-aged man wrote his name into the guest book without hesitation:

Thousand Sword Society, Yu Hwa-ryeong.