Whirrr-whoosh!
Tendrils of black true qi erupted, stretching out with ferocious intent to crush the assassins as if grinding them into dust.
“Dodge!”
The assassins scattered, but the black energy pursued them like a living predator.
Shhh-clack!
With the area already ensnared, the assassins had no choice but to raise their swords in a desperate bid for survival. It was futile. Though the black-dyed true qi resembled writhing tentacles, its substance was closer to sharpened sword radiance. The moment it made contact, flesh burst and bone shattered.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Screams echoed in a grotesque harmony. Those capable of screaming were the lucky ones; those whose heads were crushed first by the True Knot of Will Manifestation merely trembled in silence, denied even a final cry.
Bu Eunseol’s True Knot of Will Manifestation, having entered the Way of the Demonic, was exerting power that seemed to brush against the realm of the Great Origin. It was a phenomenon that completely defied the common sense of the martial arts world. Unless one had fully embraced the Way of the Demonic, no matter how vast their internal energy, such dominion over matter should have been impossible.
But Evil Fragrance was a place stained with the blood of his grandfather, Bu Jan-nyang.
Bu Eunseol’s anger and killing intent split the sky. As his spirit, now flirting with the Way of the Demonic, combined with the Secret Art of Severing Emotions, he created tens of thousands of weapons at will.
Divine Demonic Emperor.
This Grandmaster of the Way of the Demonic, known to have reached the edge of the Limitless Realm, had created a heavenly supreme art capable of materializing true qi into any form solely through spirit and mental cultivation, pouring out power with thunderous might.
—Aaaah!
The screams were endless.
Bu Eunseol had entered Evil Fragrance alone, seeking only a private audience with Master Mun Dae. He had not planned to exterminate the sect. But as his spirit slid into the Way of the Demonic, his rage peaked, and his infinite killing intent fueled the Secret Art of Severing Emotions, turning him into a force of nature worthy of the title of the second Divine Demonic Emperor.
Drip-drip.
As blood sprayed from all directions, raining down upon the carnage, Bu Eunseol closed his eyes.
“Haa.”
He inhaled deeply, savoring the thick, metallic scent of blood spreading through the air.
Was blood always this fragrant? This sweet? Did it always stabilize the mind so profoundly?
He felt he could finally understand why the Great Demons of legend, those who bathed in slaughter, drank blood so deeply.
…!
In an instant, Bu Eunseol realized his spirit had wandered into a perilous abyss. If he continued to fuel the Secret Art of Severing Emotions with this unchecked malice, he intuitively sensed he would fall into a place from which there was no return.
Crack.
He forcibly suppressed the killing intent. The sound of bones realigning echoed from his body as his eyes gradually regained their clear light. Sensing the desperate danger, his spirit instinctively recoiled from the Way of the Demonic, snapping back to the Heteredox Way.
“…”
Only silence and terror remained within Evil Fragrance.
This sect, which hadn’t revealed its true face to the Murim for generations and possessed special grade assassins as numerous as clouds, had been silenced. He had exterminated a fortress that could have blocked an invading army—alone.
Thud, thud.
Opening his eyes, Bu Eunseol walked toward the sole survivor: Master Mun Dae.
“Y-You are a demon.”
Master Mun Dae gritted his teeth. Bu Eunseol had ground hundreds of elite assassins into paste without lifting a finger, and worse, his eyes had sparkled with delight at the sight of the blood.
He didn’t just enter the Way of the Demonic; he is a Demon incarnate.
In Mun Dae’s eyes, the young man was closer to a black calamity than a human being.
“Demon?”
Bu Eunseol looked down at Master Mun Dae, his eyes still swimming with residual darkness.
“Taking an ignorant young boy hostage, cutting the ligaments and pulling the tendons of one who didn’t resist…”
“…”
“…severing both arms, blinding the eyes, and letting the whole body rot with poison.”
A streak of red light flared within Bu Eunseol’s black-dyed pupils.
“And ensuring the breath wouldn’t be cut off immediately… shouldn’t one do all that to truly be called a demon?”
He stepped closer.
“Don’t come.”
Mun Dae trembled. He did not fear death; as an assassin who had governed the life and death of countless others, he knew his end would be miserable. But Bu Eunseol did not intend to grant him the mercy of death. He intended to bestow pain deeper than the grave, the extreme terror only a human could feel.
“I said don’t come closer!” Master Mun Dae screamed. “I am not Master Mun Dae! In fact…!”
Twitch.
Suddenly, Master Mun Dae’s body stiffened like a sheet of ice. His head tilted unnaturally and he collapsed, burying his face in the dirt. It was as if an invisible hand had snapped his neck.
“Strange.”
Watching this, Bu Eunseol stared straight ahead, his gaze empty.
“There is only one martial art in the world that uses Qi with such intense, invisible power.”
As he raised his head, a faint shadow materialized at the village entrance. It was Master Mun Dae—the same man who had collapsed before him just moments ago. The man Bu Eunseol had been tormenting was a double.
“Shaolin.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
Although cleverly concealed beneath other techniques, what the newly appeared Master Mun Dae unfolded was none other than Shaolin’s Great Prajna Ability. Having entered the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault, Bu Eunseol could clearly distinguish Orthodox martial arts. Furthermore, he had experienced the Buddhist Venerable Hong Hyeon’s usage of the technique directly at the Martial Righteous Alliance.
He discerned instantly that this technique was a variation of that same holy power.
“Fascinating.” Master Mun Dae tilted his head. “How does the successor of the Demonic Palace see through the secret supreme art of our temple at a glance?”
Surprisingly, he readily admitted his affiliation.
Evil Fragrance.
That an assassin sect with such a long history was led by a disciple of Shaolin was a scandal far more shocking than a Shaolin high monk turning to banditry.
“I didn’t know you would admit it so easily.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway.” Master Mun Dae spoke calmly. “Because the dead cannot open their mouths.”
Hummm!
In an instant, an invisible, sharp power snatched at Bu Eunseol’s neck.
Thud.
Bu Eunseol retreated three jang in a blur of motion. He stared at Master Mun Dae, surprise etching his features. His internal energy and martial arts, having entered Deviation, had surged beyond their original limits. To be forced back in a single move?
“Your martial arts are formidable!” Master Mun Dae nodded in genuine exclamation. “With this level, even if you rose to the rank of the Four Gods and Seven Kings, no one would dispute it. I don’t know why strange rumors like ‘Mad Sword’ spread.”
Hummm!
Master Mun Dae unfolded the Great Prajna Ability again.
But this time, Bu Eunseol stood his ground. He intended to oppose the formless art head-on.
Overconfident.
A smile touched Master Mun Dae’s lips. The Great Prajna Ability was a formless force that could not be grasped or blocked by physical means. To stand still, knowing it was unfolding?
Boom!
At that moment, black true qi exploded from Bu Eunseol’s body, creating a massive, tangible wall. When the invisible force of the Great Prajna Ability struck that barrier, it failed to penetrate. He had neutralized the formless power with the True Knot of Will Manifestation.
“This is truly… amazing.” Master Mun Dae burst into admiration. “To block formless power with materialized true qi.”
Spreading materialized energy to forcibly give shape to the formless? It was proof that Bu Eunseol’s technique had reached the rank of a Grandmaster.
“Hah.” Master Mun Dae sighed deeply. “To think such an outstanding peerless genius flowed into the Way of the Demonic.”
His attitude remained confident, certain he could claim Bu Eunseol’s life at any moment.
“I am sorry.”
He extended his hand with a regretful expression. Then, Bu Eunseol’s black true qi began to dissipate. Surprisingly, the monk possessed the ability to change the nature of martial arts, just like the Buddhist Venerable Hong Hyeon.
Flash.
Startled, Bu Eunseol doubled his output of true qi. But there was a fact he did not yet know.
The True Knot of Will Manifestation was a supreme martial art of the Way of the Demonic that materialized qi through the Secret Art of Severing Emotions. Conversely, the Great Prajna Ability maximized the unique dharma power of Buddhism. It possessed a nature diametrically opposed to the spirit-warping effects of the Secret Art of Severing Emotions.
Whoosh.
As the black walls vanished, Bu Eunseol felt his strength draining away.
Thud.
Staggering, he fell to one knee.
Step, step.
Master Mun Dae approached slowly, looking down at the young man’s bowed head.
“Farewell.”
He raised a hand sharpened like a blade. Just as he was about to sever Bu Eunseol’s head—
Swish!
Sharp energy poured from Bu Eunseol’s right hand. As the monk closed the distance, Eunseol drew the Dark Sword and unfolded the Meteor Chasing the Moon Form with every ounce of his remaining strength.
Clang!
But the Dark Sword halted inches from Master Mun Dae’s neck. The sticky, overwhelming force of the Great Prajna Ability had caught the blade.
“Did you think this method would work?”
However, Master Mun Dae’s expression stiffened. Blade-like internal energy was extending from the blocked Dark Sword, digging into his meridians.
As expected.
Bu Eunseol had tasted this power before. He knew he couldn’t perfectly block the Great Prajna Ability—which transcended standard martial arts—with brute force. So he had intentionally revealed a gap, feigning total collapse. He baited the close-range execution to force a contest of internal energy.
What is happening?
Thick drops of sweat beaded on Master Mun Dae’s forehead. Bu Eunseol’s internal energy was mighty, yes, but the Great Prajna Ability he was pouring out continuously was being… absorbed?
Great Art of Absorption? No.
If it were a forceful absorption technique, the monk would have collapsed instantly. This was different. The energy was flowing naturally along the source, like a stream returning to a great river.
It’s happening again.
As the Buddhist energy entered his meridians, Bu Eunseol frowned. He had experienced this whilst enduring the Eighteen Arhats’ Heart Suffering Bell technique—Shaolin internal energy naturally joining his own.
It must be because the source is the same.
Whoosh.
But this time, the influx wasn’t merely riding the meridians. Pure and profound power flooded his Sea of Qi acupoint like a tidal wave, then turned into a fierce current, soaring along his Governor Vessel.
Boom!
The energy struck the back of his head, dug into the center of his mind, and descended along the front Conception Vessel.
Rumble!
Penetrating both vessels with fierce momentum, the power finally returned to Bu Eunseol’s Danjeon, dispersing into his meridians to be stored, vanishing without a trace before he knew it.
“Ugh.”
Conversely, Master Mun Dae’s skin turned ashen, his hair whitening in seconds. As the Great Prajna Ability accumulated over a lifetime was drained, he aged rapidly, his vitality stripped away.
I can’t die like this!
Pouring out his dying strength, Master Mun Dae grasped the blade of the Dark Sword. Blood flowed, but his fingers were not severed. He unfolded Shaolin’s supreme art, the Dragon Claw Hand.
Swish!
The claw dug in, aiming to carve out Bu Eunseol’s chest.
Thud.
Only a dull sound followed. It couldn’t even pierce the fabric of his clothes. The monk’s internal energy had already vanished; the supreme technique was now merely a hollow posture.
“Ugh.”
The withered Master Mun Dae collapsed, clutching Bu Eunseol’s collar, too weak to keep his eyes open.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol looked around, his vision hazy as if waking from a dream. The spirit that had been teetering on the edge of demonic madness suddenly calmed, his gaze turning serene.
Was this also the will of heaven?
As the pure Great Prajna Ability was absorbed, his spirit, which had been spanning the Heteredox Way, shifted slightly toward the Righteous Way. He had returned to the state he possessed before Seo Jin-ha was injured. He could no longer unfold the mighty True Knot of Will Manifestation of the Divine Demonic Emperor, but knowing that this was a great fortune was a realization for another time.
Why this phenomenon?
The energy was gone, dispersed into his body. There was no change in the quantity of his internal energy, yet a mighty power now wriggled deep within his meridians.
“Ugh.”
Master Mun Dae groaned, his breath rattling in his throat. Bu Eunseol looked down at him.
“Answer.”
He forced the collapsed man upright, infusing internal energy into his Myeongmun acupoint to buy a few moments of clarity.
“Who is the one who coated Evil Fragrance’s hidden weapon with Rotting Flesh Decaying Blood Poison and used it?”
“This temple… protects the Murim…”
Was it the loss of energy? Master Mun Dae began to mutter nonsense, his eyes glassy.
“This old man also abandoned his identity… returned to the secular world… to save countless sentient beings…”
“Speak!” Bu Eunseol commanded. “The one who learned the Tianzhu Flexibility Art, enjoyed using Rotting Flesh Decaying Blood Poison, and is versed in Demonic Sword Arts. Who is that person?”
“Tianzhu Flexibility Art… Rotting Flesh Blood Bursting.”
A strange light flickered in the dying monk’s eyes.
“You are looking for him… who took the Blood Essence Poison Needle.”
“Who is it?”
As Bu Eunseol asked urgently, a single word flowed from Master Mun Dae’s lips.
“Star (星)…”
His body went cold and stiff.
“Star? What does that mean!”
Bu Eunseol shouted, but it was too late.
Thud.
Master Mun Dae glared with wide, unseeing eyes, his life extinguished.
Bu Eunseol felt dizzy.
Star (星)?
Did it mean the person who killed his grandfather was a star? Or a Diviner who reads them?
Boom!
Enraged, Bu Eunseol struck the floor. He had finally found Evil Fragrance, thought he had caught the tail of the mastermind… but Evil Fragrance was not the body, merely a pawn.
“Ugh.”
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
“To think I couldn’t find the culprit even after coming this far!”
It was certain that Evil Fragrance held a clue. Since the killer used their hidden weapons, the Pavilion Master must have known him. But Master Mun Dae had met a vain death.
“Master Mun Dae.”
Bu Eunseol stared at the corpse. Suddenly, one fact crystallized in his mind.
“Shaolin.”