Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: A Fellow Feeling
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Han Yeong-baek roared, but no one stepped forward.
Bu Eun-seol had fought a fair duel; he had simply defended himself against a combined assault that was tantamount to a sneak attack.
“Lord Han.”
Finally, unable to watch any longer, Gu Cheong-gak, a master from the Yanggwang Martial Alliance, stepped forward.
“The Righteous Masters broke the code of honor and attacked together. If we now swarm and slaughter that man… how would we be any different from the heretics of the evil path?”
“What are you talking about! My son is dead!”
“Lord Han.”
As Gu Cheong-gak shook his head,
“Grand Hero Gu.”
Yang In-cheong, an old fist master from the Zhengzhou Fist Sect and a friend of Han Yeong-baek, supported him.
“What you say makes sense, Grand Hero Gu. But weren't they the ones who secretly infiltrated the Longsword Manor to assassinate us? How can you speak of honor and chivalry to assassins?”
Gu Cheong-gak shook his head in response.
“Wasn't this Golden Basin Ceremony itself a trap for the Ten Demonic Disciples? My point is, if we resort to any means necessary to capture them, how are we any different from the evil sects?”
“Grand Hero Gu.”
“Besides, I am trying to stop this for your sake, Lord Han.”
As Yang In-cheong tried to argue again, Gu Cheong-gak continued.
“Young Lord Han and Heroine Cheong interfered in a fair duel and launched a joint attack. If the righteous guests draw their swords to avenge that… the Longsword Manor's reputation will be dragged through the mud.”
For a moment, Han Yeong-baek was speechless.
The Longsword Manor had always been known as a prestigious sword family of the martial world.
But his son had died while executing a cheap, combined attack, not in a fair duel. If, on top of that, he mobilized hundreds of guests for a slaughter in the name of revenge?
The Longsword Manor would no longer be able to hold its head high in the martial world.
“This is…”
Han Yeong-baek gasped for breath.
No matter how he looked at it, his son had done something a hero should never do.
If the combined attack had succeeded and killed them all, it would have been a clean finish. But there they were, alive and staring right back at him.
In the end, there was nothing he could do.
But then,
“You did not face our sect's disciple, Pyeong Seo-un, in a fair duel. You ambushed him.”
Gang Jung-ryang, the leader of the Kongtong Sect's Daoists, stepped forward and spoke solemnly.
“Do you admit it?”
“I do. I ambushed him.”
As Seok U-haeng stepped forward to answer, Gang Jung-ryang bit his lip.
“We should take this opportunity to deal with all of you, but we will not. For we are disciples of the Kongtong Sect.”
“Putting on a sudden act of righteousness?”
Seok U-haeng said with a cold smile.
“You swarmed us for a joint attack from the start. Now that it's awkward to do so, you're just looking for an excuse to retreat.”
The only remaining option was a war of attrition, overwhelming the enemy with superior numbers.
But since the Righteous Masters had already died while attempting a joint attack… the Kongtong Sect couldn't resort to such a cheap tactic again.
“An assassin like you could never comprehend the mind of this humble Daoist.”
“Is that so.”
“Hmph. How could a sparrow understand the will of a phoenix?”
Leaving that remark, Gang Jung-ryang shot them a contemptuous glare and turned away.
Then, Du Ak of the Zhongnan Sect stared intently at Bu Eun-seol and opened his mouth.
“Are you the one who killed our sect's disciple?”
“I am.”
This time, Bu Eun-seol stepped forward.
“I challenged him, and we fought a fair duel.”
“Our sect's elders did not believe that.”
Du Ak sighed deeply and shook his head.
“But seeing you today… I have no choice but to admit it.”
The Zhongnan Sect had examined Yeo Hwan-jin's wounds and determined that he had fought one of the Ten Demonic Disciples one-on-one.
However, most of the elders insisted that none of the Ten Demonic Disciples could kill Yeo Hwan-jin in a fair fight and that it must have been a cowardly ambush.
That was why the Zhongnan Sect had sent men into the martial world to hunt down the one responsible for Yeo Hwan-jin's death.
“But the fact that you killed a disciple of our sect remains.”
Du Ak said, biting his lip.
“This humble Daoist lacks the ability to face you now, but I will challenge you one day.”
“Anytime.”
At the composed reply, Du Ak bit his lip and turned away abruptly.
*He's just trying to save face.*
Bu Eun-seol knew.
Du Ak was keenly aware of the difference in their skills and would never actually challenge him.
If he truly intended to hone his skills and challenge him later, he would have at least demanded that he remove his mask.
“Well then.”
Bu Eun-seol was about to turn away impassively when Han Yeong-baek and about a hundred guests suddenly surrounded him.
“I can't let this go! I may let the others leave, but not you!”
Han Yeong-baek stared at Bu Eun-seol, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.
“How can I just let the man who killed my son walk away! Even if it means closing the gates of the Longsword Manor for good, I will kill you today!”
With that cry, Han Yeong-baek and the hundred or so masters who sided with him drew their weapons.
“Seok U-haeng. It looks like we can't avoid a melee.”
Myo Cheon-u turned to speak to Seok U-haeng, and his jaw dropped.
Seok U-haeng, who had been standing beside him, had vanished without a trace.
“That son of a bitch!”
Seok U-haeng had used the chaos to slip away from the Longsword Manor unnoticed.
“Dammit. I'll help you, Bu Eun-seol.”
Myo Cheon-u was a man of honor.
Seeing Bu Eun-seol about to face a hundred martial artists alone, he stepped to his side without hesitation.
“We'll probably die, but still, we…”
Myo Cheon-u, who had been grinning at Bu Eun-seol, felt his expression stiffen once more.
*Whooosh.*
A fierce wind of true energy erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body, and a crimson light began to coalesce in his hands.
“What are you trying to…”
“Seventh Style of the Demonic Fist…”
As Bu Eun-seol drew a semicircle with his hands, a red mist seeped from his eyes.
*Krakoom!*
At the same time, a terrifying aura shot up his back and spread into the sky.
Bu Eun-seol had already reached the initial stage of the fifth level of the Reverse-Polarity Divine Art.
When he drew upon his full internal energy, the power that had been subtly hidden within the realm of *ban-bak-gwi-jin*…
…that terrifying internal energy manifested, becoming so tangible it was clearly visible to the naked eye.
“Strike him down!”
Han Yeong-baek shouted, sensing the ominous nature of Bu Eun-seol's aura.
But at that very moment, Bu Eun-seol thrust both his palms forward.
“Heavenly—Hand's—Sky—Breaker—!”
*Fwoooosh!*
A tremendous gale of true energy swept past the hundred martial artists with their weapons drawn.
*Crack. Crackle.*
Instantly, the walls and pavilions beside them began to crack.
*Krrrrrumble!*
With a deafening roar, they shattered and began to collapse.
*Rumble, krrrrrumble.*
The pavilions and walls crumbled one after another like crackers.
Witnessing a sight they could scarcely believe, Han Yeong-baek and the other martial artists stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape.
“Is this… the power of a fist technique a human can unleash…?”
Bu Eun-seol's outstretched palms were aimed slightly to their left, not directly at them.
What if he had unleashed that strike upon them?
At least several dozen would have been severely injured or killed.
*Hmph.*
Bu Eun-seol inwardly swallowed the blood rising in his throat.
*As I thought, it was too much.*
The Heavenly Hand's Sky Breaker was an unprecedented fist technique that poured out all of one's internal energy in a single blow.
By using a technique he had not yet fully mastered, he had sustained a significant internal injury.
But without showing any sign of it, Bu Eun-seol calmly regulated his breathing and spoke to Myo Cheon-u.
“Let's go.”
And without a backward glance, he walked impassively toward the collapsed wall.
Myo Cheon-u, who had been frozen in place, finally came to his senses and followed Bu Eun-seol out through the wall.
Many martial artists stood there, but none dared to block his path.
***
“What in the world was that fist technique? It seemed similar to my palace's ultimate palm art, the Annihilating Seal, Breaking Wall.”
“…”
“And what about that sword art you used to deal with Han Seong and Cheong Cho-hyeon? Is that a supreme technique from Nang-ya-gak?”
Following behind Bu Eun-seol, Myo Cheon-u fired off a relentless barrage of questions.
But Bu Eun-seol walked on in silence, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
“Seok U-haeng. That jackal has no loyalty.”
Myo Cheon-u ground his teeth as he pictured Seok U-haeng's face.
“That bastard. He could have run away much earlier, but he stuck around to watch your fight with the Righteous Masters. Then, as soon as things got serious, he snuck off by himself.”
Bu Eun-seol simply kept walking, his lips sealed.
“What the. You're internally injured!”
Myo Cheon-u had only just noticed Bu Eun-seol's slightly unsteady gait and the thin trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Take my hand.”
Myo Cheon-u said, hastily extending his hand.
“We need to use a movement technique and get out of the Longsword Manor's territory. If they find out you're injured, they'll immediately give chase…”
Myo Cheon-u tried to support Bu Eun-seol and quickly prepare a movement technique.
But wasn't that a faint vapor rising from Bu Eun-seol's body as he walked?
He now realized that Bu Eun-seol was circulating his energy to heal himself even as he walked.
“You're… circulating energy while walking?”
Myo Cheon-u looked as if he had seen a ghost.
He, too, was one of the Ten Demonic Disciples, an inheritor of the ultimate arts of the Ten Demonic Schools.
But Bu Eun-seol's martial arts were unlike anything he had ever seen, and his level had already surpassed the limits of a Demonic Disciple.
*So that's how it was.*
Myo Cheon-u could now understand, just a little, what Seok U-haeng must have felt.
Bu Eun-seol was a wall that grew ever higher.
He had thought that one day he could surely scale it… but before he knew it, the wall had grown so tall he couldn't even see the top.
From Seok U-haeng's perspective, it was impossible not to despise that impossibly high wall.
“Go on ahead.”
Bu Eun-seol spoke, seemingly pausing his energy circulation.
“Get out of this area quickly and treat your arm. Otherwise, you might lose the use of your left arm.”
His indifferent voice held a hint of concern.
Seeing Bu Eun-seol standing there calmly, unconcerned with his own injuries, Myo Cheon-u's gaze softened.
“Bu Eun-seol.”
Myo Cheon-u spoke as if he couldn't understand.
“Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“You weren't always like this. You.”
Bu Eun-seol, the most indifferent and cold person on Hell Island.
He never associated with anyone, nor did he care about anyone.
He always kept to himself in the darkness, intending to survive alone until the very end.
“Seok U-haeng and I… we had no real connection with you. So why did you save us?”
“I didn't save you.”
“Don't lie. If you didn't intend to help us from the start, you wouldn't have needed to wear a mask, right?”
Myo Cheon-u wore a look of incomprehension.
“Rumor has it the Demonic Heavenly Emperor is returning from his seclusion. If you hadn't helped us this time, you could have easily become a candidate to be his successor.”
When Bu Eun-seol remained silent, Myo Cheon-u asked again.
“Even on Hell Island, we joined forces to try and kill you and Seo Jin-ha. Don't you hate us?”
“Everyone was just doing what they had to do.”
Bu Eun-seol said with an unfazed expression.
“I was just trying to survive, too.”
Bu Eun-seol felt nothing towards the other Ten Demonic Disciples.
No hatred, envy, or jealousy. Not even the desire to surpass them all.
There was only the will to survive and become stronger.
“Really… you feel nothing for us?”
Myo Cheon-u furrowed his brow, and Bu Eun-seol fell silent for a moment.
Then, after some deep thought, he slowly opened his mouth.
“It's not that there's nothing at all.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We were in the same hell, and we survived it.”
It was a frank admission.
In the past, he couldn't feel anything for others.
But after coming out into the martial world, experiencing many things, and making friends he connected with, a sliver of emotion had begun to grow within him.
It was a sense of kinship for the Ten Demonic Disciples, who shared the same fate as him.
“So that's what it was.”
Myo Cheon-u could finally understand Bu Eun-seol's heart.
Amidst the bleak and merciless storms of the martial world, there were others of his kind, who shared his destiny.
It stirred a subtle emotion that was hard to put into words.
“To be honest… I helped Seok U-haeng for the same reason.”
Myo Cheon-u confessed openly.
“I knew he was just trying to use me… but I couldn't bring myself to hate him for it.”
“…”
“Frankly, I've always wanted to be friends with you. You're a bit gloomy and strange, but you also seemed lonely somehow.”
As Bu Eun-seol stared at him, Myo Cheon-u rubbed his nose, looking embarrassed.
“I'm just saying.”
“I see.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded. Seemingly recovered enough to use a movement technique, he spoke briefly and then launched himself into the air.
“Then I'll be going.”
With a *fwat*, Bu Eun-seol shot into the air in an instant.
“I won't forget the debt I owe you today!”
Watching Bu Eun-seol's receding back, Myo Cheon-u nodded as if he had made up his mind about something.
“Bu Eun-seol.”
Staring blankly in the direction Bu Eun-seol had disappeared, he muttered under his breath.
“We'll meet again soon.”