Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: The Bullet King
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Bu Eun-seol forwent the carriage, using his movement technique to leave Nanju in a single bound.
Though he turned away with a composed expression, his heart felt a little empty.
Hyeok So-jin had been his colleague, a loyal subordinate, and like a disciple who had inherited his very martial spirit.
He wished they could roam the martial world together for the rest of their lives, but Hyeok So-jin was the next leader of Jeok-cheon-mak-ji.
He had the responsibility to care for the aging demon folk, and to research and advance the numerous demonic martial arts he had acquired there.
‘Did I spend more time here than I thought?’
The unexpected appearance of Yu Hyeok-sim.
And above all, he had needed to confirm whether the Blue Flame Jade he possessed could completely cure Hyeok Gong-baek’s illness.
What if it hadn't worked?
He would have truly had to invade the Hell Blood Fortress to get what he needed.
‘I owe her one.’
Bu Eun-seol looked at the now-transparent jade necklace and gave a bitter smile.
When he created the Ruby Divine Water, all the spiritual energy within the Blue Flame Jade was drained, leaving it transparent.
In other words, it was now just a worthless stone.
‘I’ll have to repay it.’
At the time, Dan So-ok had only lent him the necklace. But now he had used up all of its efficacy…
He would have to repay that debt, no matter what.
‘It is a bit worrying.’
Bu Eun-seol wore a bitter smile.
Having used the priceless Blue Flame Jade, the question of how to repay the debt was a problem in itself.
Moreover, thinking of the affection brimming in Dan So-ok’s eyes made his heart feel heavy.
For what she desired was surely not money or material possessions.
‘I’ll think about it later.’
Just as Bu Eun-seol, his mind in turmoil, was about to draw upon more of his internal energy and kick off the ground,
—Agh!
A faint scream brushed past his ears from somewhere.
It was a cry so faint that he never would have detected it had he not mastered the Beast Arts.
‘A hundred zhang away—the brief scream of a woman, her mouth muffled.’
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the deep forest in the distance.
A woman's scream, echoing in the depths of a mountain so remote it was devoid of human presence.
He didn't need to see it to paint a clear picture of the situation.
‘She’s been abducted.’
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes darkened.
—This is not your place!
He recalled Bu Jan-yang’s solemn, dark gaze as he had examined a corpse in the past.
Of all the bodies he prepared for burial, the most gruesome were always those of women who had been sexually assaulted.
The horrific marks of violence.
The traces of pain and agony were vividly left all over their bodies, a result of the vicious acts committed for the sake of pleasure.
Even Bu Jan-yang, who had prepared all sorts of gruesome corpses with Bu Eun-seol, never allowed him to even look upon the bodies of such women.
*Pang!*
Bu Eun-seol’s form, which had been cutting through the air, instantly changed direction and shot into the forest where the scream had originated.
*Whoooosh!*
Soaring into the air in a single leap, Bu Eun-seol generated an intense sonic boom.
By making such a loud noise, he could perhaps prevent the evil act from progressing any further.
*Paaat!*
As he instantly entered the depths of the forest, he found a small pond. In front of it, a lewd-looking man and a woman with torn clothes were entangled.
The scream from a moment ago seemed to have come from the woman pinned beneath the man.
“Who are you!”
The man, his eyes bloodshot, seemed to have only just heard the sonic boom from Bu Eun-seol’s approach and was now grabbing the clothes he had cast aside.
“You bastard…”
“You’re disgusting. Put your clothes on first.”
A chilling sharpness, never before seen, glinted in the eyes of Bu Eun-seol as he descended from the sky like a celestial being.
If a mere gaze held power, the man’s neck would have already been severed by Bu Eun-seol’s stare.
“If you don’t want to die naked.”
The man hastily picked up his clothes and drew a sharp blade from his waist.
“Mind your own business and get lost!”
He immediately unleashed a vicious killing technique at Bu Eun-seol.
*Swish!*
Five strands of sharp blade energy rained down like a net, keenly enveloping Bu Eun-seol’s body.
The man’s saber technique was not only sharp but also incredibly powerful, clearly surpassing the level of a peak master.
“The Blood Serpent Saber Art of the Black Robe Sect.”
Bu Eun-seol instantly recognized the technique unleashed by the lewd man as the ultimate saber art of the Black Robe Sect, the Blood Serpent Saber Art.
“If he’s a vile scoundrel from the Unorthodox Faction, then there’s nothing more to say.”
*Woooong!*
A faint light gathered in Bu Eun-seol’s left fist as he watched the saber techniques pour down.
*Thud.*
A vibration shook the entire forest.
At the same time, the web-like blade energy that had been raining down vanished in an instant…
And the lewd man who had been unleashing the technique disappeared completely.
*Flutter.*
Simultaneously, birds took flight from a tree thirty zhang away, and leaves showered down.
He had used the First Form of the Fist Demon to send the man flying over thirty zhang away, where his body had burst apart.
*Splat. Splat.*
Around the large tree, red fragments and bodily fluids were scattered in every direction.
The body of the man struck by the First Form of the Fist Demon had exploded, scattering in all directions.
*Shiver.*
The woman, watching Bu Eun-seol, clutched her torn clothes and trembled.
Perhaps because he had used his power in a state of rage, a bloody, crimson light had formed in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
Red points of light even began to bloom all over his body.
To an ordinary commoner, he looked not like a human, but like a god of death descended upon the mortal world.
“Ah, ahh…”
The woman’s eyes were filled with fear, as if she had suffered a great shock, and her lips were turning blue.
“Don’t worry.”
Reassuring the woman, Bu Eun-seol slowly took off the long robe he was wearing.
He intended to cover her body, where her bare skin was exposed due to her torn clothes.
But at that moment,
Time seemed to stop, and the heavens and earth grew still.
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol’s mind began to spin dozens of times faster, and his sharp hyper-senses split the fleeting moment that divided the world into ever smaller fractions.
*Paaat!*
He sensed a small object flying fiercely toward him from somewhere.
As if defying the constraints of time and space, the object moving at super-speed was aimed at the spot between Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
*Swish!*
As Bu Eun-seol swiftly twisted his body,
*BOOM!*
An explosive sound erupted from the huge rock behind him.
“Hah! To think you’d dodge that.”
An aged voice echoed all around, and a small shadow slowly descended to the ground.
It was an old man in white robes with a refined appearance, deep-set eyes, and a high nose bridge.
Though his body was thin and full of wrinkles, his face suggested he would have boasted considerable looks in his youth.
“Hmph.”
The old man looked Bu Eun-seol up and down, taking in his handsome features, before letting out a deep sigh.
“With looks like that, you could have any woman you wanted. What more could you possibly desire to commit such a lewd act?”
Bu Eun-seol frowned.
It was now clear that this old man was mistaken, thinking he was the one trying to rape the woman.
“It wasn’t me.”
“Heh heh. Not you? Then who was it?”
The old man rashly accused Bu Eun-seol without considering the circumstances.
“…”
Bu Eun-seol frowned.
It was too much trouble to even point at the man’s corpse, which lay shattered and scattered thirty zhang away.
“You must be blind.”
He was rebuking the old man for not calmly assessing the situation.
But the white-robed old man thought Bu Eun-seol was mocking him in the way martial artists often did,
—You have eyes, but you cannot recognize a person.
Thinking this, his expression changed drastically.
“Judging by your martial arts and your looks, you don’t seem to be an ordinary fellow…”
Then he shouted with a solemn expression.
“It doesn’t matter if you are of royal blood. If you have committed an evil act, you must be punished accordingly!”
An intense shimmer of killing intent rose from the white-robed old man’s entire body.
At this point, even the most arrogant person would have explained that this was all a misunderstanding.
But Bu Eun-seol utterly despised those who used their powerful martial arts to oppress others or show off their might.
Despite knowing that the old man’s presence was great enough to swallow the heavens and earth, he let out a cold smirk.
“I see now. Not only blind but deaf as well.”
“You madman. Do you know who I am?”
“I have no interest.”
“Hahahaha!”
The old man threw his head back and laughed, then slowly moved his gaunt fingers to point at Bu Eun-seol.
“You’ve got some nerve, I’ll give you that.”
At the same time, an indescribably powerful energy began to gather at the tip of the old man’s finger.
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes widened as he watched.
He could finally guess the white-robed old man’s identity.
“The Bullet King…”
The Bullet King. Bukgung Ryeong.
One of the Four Gods and Seven Kings, who freely wielded the Internal Energy Projection technique, fueled by his immense inner power.
A man who could throw a single small leaf with the force of a cannonball…
A peerless grandmaster of the Supreme Heaven Realm, said to be able to shatter a house made of solid iron in a single blow, if he so chose.
A supreme expert of the Orthodox Faction had appeared before him.
“Yes, I am Bukgung Ryeong.”
When Bu Eun-seol recognized his identity, the white-robed old man, Bukgung Ryeong, raised the corners of his mouth.
“When you get to the underworld, be sure to tell the King of Hell exactly who sent you.”
Bukgung Ryeong took a short breath, and a small pebble on the ground floated into the air.
Then, he lightly flicked his finger, where an intense power was gathered.
*Whoooooosh!*
A bolt of lightning shot through Bu Eun-seol. Or rather, it looked as if it had.
*Tzzz.*
Unleashing his Extreme Speed Formless Art, Bu Eun-seol’s body became a faint shadow and moved to the left.
*Swish!*
The stone that grazed Bu Eun-seol’s cheek,
*BOOM!*
struck the massive rock behind him with a deafening explosion.
*Rumble.*
The surface of the massive rock cracked, and the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
‘So this is his power.’
This time, even Bu Eun-seol couldn’t hide his surprise.
To strike a rock dozens of zhang high with a single small pebble and make the very mountains and rivers tremble?
His reputation preceded him.
The name “Bullet King” was by no means an empty one.
“Hah, you dodged that too?”
Bukgung Ryeong was also unable to hide his surprise when Bu Eun-seol dodged his attack.
He had sensed from Bu Eun-seol’s movements that he had vaguely crossed the threshold of the Transcendent Realm.
“The vile scoundrel must have diligently trained his martial arts.”
Only then did Bukgung Ryeong realize that his martial prowess was no ordinary matter, and he clicked his tongue.
“What a shame. A man with such looks and outstanding martial arts… to become a lecher who commits such wicked acts.”
As the old man kept calling him a lecher, Bu Eun-seol’s gaze grew sharper.
“You can’t be a nobody. What is your name?”
Bu Eun-seol was in a situation where he absolutely could not reveal his identity.
Because Bukgung Ryeong was the sworn brother of the Beggar King, Gu Hong-cheong.
But he was not a man who knew fear, nor one who would hide his identity to beg pathetically for his life.
“Bu Eun-seol, a disciple of Nang-ya-gak.”
“Nang-ya-gak… Bu Eun-seol?”
Bukgung Ryeong’s eyes darted around for a long moment before they widened.
“Were you the brat who killed that old man, Gu Hong-cheong, a while ago?”
“I was.”
*Ruuuumble!*
In that instant, a storm of energy raged from Bukgung Ryeong’s body.
“So, you’re the one!”
Bukgung Ryeong’s eyes overflowed with killing intent.
The demonic scoundrel who had harmed his sworn brother of several decades stood before him.
What’s more, he had just returned to the martial world after a long absence, so he hadn't heard the recent rumors.
Therefore, he still believed that Bu Eun-seol had assassinated the Beggar King through despicable means.
“You’d better be prepared.”
“Let’s fight later.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You will not escape.”
“What a truly perverse villain you are.”
“What? A villain?”
“Or do you have a perversion where you feel pleasure whenever you see others tremble in fear?”
Bu Eun-seol exclaimed in annoyance and draped his long robe, which he had been holding all this time, over the trembling woman’s body.
“Because you kept picking a fight, she has been trembling in fear this whole time.”
In that moment, Bukgung Ryeong’s eyes wavered.
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes were full of righteous spirit, and he felt no hostility or fear from the woman’s gaze.
‘Damn it. I have made a mistake.’
Only then did he realize that Bu Eun-seol had not been trying to rape the woman, but had saved her.
But that was a separate matter from what happened with Gu Hong-cheong.
He could never let the demonic scoundrel who had cowardly ambushed his dear friend live.
“Hmph, it’s no use even if you’re not a lecher. I’ve already decided to kill you.”
“I’m sure you have.”
Bu Eun-seol pointed to the still-trembling woman and said.
“Hurry up and take her to the nearest village.”
“A cheap trick. Why should I be the one to do that?”
“Because the martial world is full of people who are blind and deaf.”
Bu Eun-seol smiled coldly.
“If I were to carry her to the village, would I not be attacked again by fools as blind and deaf as you?”
Bukgung Ryeong’s face turned red.
Bu Eun-seol was mocking his rash actions, his failure to calmly investigate the situation.
“Fine. I’ll be back in a flash, so don’t you dare run away.”
Bukgung Ryeong said with a confident expression as he lifted the woman into his arms.
“And even if you do run, it’s useless. You will never be able to escape my pursuit.”
*Pang!*
Then, he shot off at an incredible speed, carrying the woman.
“Hoo.”
After Bukgung Ryeong left, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and wiped away his sweat.
He had maintained a composed expression, but in truth, he had been extremely tense.
Bukgung Ryeong was an expert on a completely different level from Gu Hong-cheong, the Beggar King.
He was a master who had reached the Supreme Heaven Realm long ago, and his skills were among the top tier of the Four Gods and Seven Kings.
If they were to fight now, it would be a certain defeat.
He couldn't hope for a lucky break.
“The Bullet King…”
But Bu Eun-seol’s gaze was unwavering.
He had never once fought with the certainty of victory. He had always found a path to survival, even in the face of death.
He believed that even if he had to fight a bloody battle with the Bullet King, there would surely be a way.
*Crack.*
At that moment, the sound of something breaking came from behind Bu Eun-seol.
He turned his head to see black lines spreading like a spiderweb across the massive rock.
After taking two impacts from the pebbles thrown by Bukgung Ryeong, the surface of the giant rock was crumbling and cracking.
*Tududuk. Rrrrumble.*
Finally, fragments of the rock cascaded down like a waterfall, and dust rose in all directions.
*Plink.*
When the dust settled, a faint light could be seen near the rock.
Sensing something strange, Bu Eun-seol approached the shattered rock.
“This is.”
From within the collapsed rock, a smooth, metal door was visible.
*BOOM!*
When Bu Eun-seol struck the rock once more, its surface completely shattered, fully revealing the door within.
Martial Emperor.
Only those two words were carved upon the iron door.