Chapter 378
Chapter 378
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 378
Chapter Title: The Traitor's End
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Namgung Pung doubted his own eyes.
How could any human possibly survive an explosion like that and remain unscathed?
“That bastard is…”
Bu Eun-seol, having created a black sphere similar to Reversing Polarity Ki, no longer had his disguise.
The Art of Alteration had been undone when he had drawn upon his full internal energy to block the Heavenly Collapse Explosive Pill.
“So it was you!”
Namgung Pung’s eyes widened as Bu Eun-seol’s true face was revealed.
The young member of the Nine Kills Squad who had stood in his way during the assassination mission to eliminate Dan So-ok long ago.
And now, that same man had reportedly become the successor who would rule the Demonic Palace.
The Martial Soul Lord, Bu Eun-seol.
A new-generation master of the demonic path, shaking the martial world. To think he was Seol So all along.
“So you’ve been stirring up the martial world this whole time under the guise of a wanderer named Seol So!”
Bu Eun-seol nodded candidly at Namgung Pung’s words.
There was no need to keep secrets from a man who was about to die.
“You can report that to the King of Hell in the afterlife.”
*Fwoosh.*
Meeting Bu Eun-seol’s blazing red eyes, Namgung Pung unwittingly took a step back.
‘Hmm.’
The young Nine Kills Squad member he could have crushed in the past was gone.
The man before him was a young grandmaster, on par with himself.
“An unavoidable battle, it seems.”
Though Bu Eun-seol was strong, Namgung Pung was confident.
For he possessed a trump card that could instantly deal with masters even a level above him.
*Flick.*
He took something from his robes and put it in his mouth.
An invisible whirlwind of true ki swirled around his body, and his hair shot up toward the sky.
A Demonic Seed. He had consumed the seed that could not only multiply his power several times over but also create an artificial inner core in his body.
“You’ve taken a Demonic Seed.”
“Hehehe. You know quite a lot.”
Namgung Pung briefly closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of elation flowing through him.
Consuming this Demonic Seed caused a dramatic surge in his physical abilities and internal energy.
He had long been stuck at the very edge of the Transcendent Realm. By taking this Demonic Seed, he had instantly reached the Apex Realm.
“It is indeed a useful medicine for one who has reached the Transcendent Realm.”
Namgung Pung gave a cold smile at Bu Eun-seol’s remark.
“Don’t be arrogant!”
*Kwoong!*
He instantly unleashed the Emperor’s Sword Form.
An immense, invisible pressure cascaded down like a waterfall, filling the space around Bu Eun-seol.
*Swish!*
Bu Eun-seol instantly shook off the pressure and simultaneously executed the Flowing Fish Fist and the Thirteen Breaker Arts.
He had unleashed the Thirteen Night Arts without even needing to draw his sword.
*Shhhk! Shhhk!*
As five sharp streams of energy circled Bu Eun-seol’s body, the pressure of the Emperor’s Sword Form gradually dissipated.
*Kwoong!*
Namgung Pung changed the path of his sword, pouring the Emperor’s Sword Form not at Bu Eun-seol himself, but in the direction he was moving.
This was one of the most profound techniques of the Emperor’s Sword Form, predicting an enemy’s movement and unleashing a heavy sword strike to inflict internal injuries.
“Well learned.”
Bu Eun-seol continued to use the Thirteen Night Arts, still not drawing his sword.
*Shhhk! Shhhk!*
Each time the sharp energy wrapped around his body, the cascading pressure vanished like melting snow.
The energy of the Thirteen Night Arts, imbued with the profound principles of martial arts, continuously circled Bu Eun-seol’s body, neutralizing the pressure of the Emperor’s Sword Form.
‘Is he using some kind of sorcery?’
Namgung Pung was bewildered.
How could he neutralize the pressure of the Emperor’s Sword Form with such lightly released energy?
‘I see. He’s imitating the Sword Sovereign.’
Namgung Pung finally sensed that while Bu Eun-seol was unleashing his energy, he was also changing the properties of the incoming force, much like the Sword Sovereign’s Myriad Forms, One Style.
‘This man will be a great threat.’
Namgung Pung bit his lip.
He couldn’t drag this out any longer.
A strange light began to flow from his broken Golden Needle Sword.
He was about to unleash not a Namgung Clan sword art, but the Flying Severing Sword Strike he had been taught by Elder Pung.
‘No, that won’t be enough.’
Suddenly, Namgung Pung’s instincts screamed a warning.
The moment he unleashed the Flying Severing Sword Strike, the energy Bu Eun-seol had released would surely sever his own neck.
‘I have no choice.’
Namgung Pung bit his lip.
He then unleashed a secret demonic sword art that he had been forbidden from using until he had perfected it.
*Shhhk!*
As Namgung Pung swung his Golden Needle Sword, it made a whistling sound.
Simultaneously, hundreds of low, sharp streaks of sword ki shot through the air, targeting Bu Eun-seol’s lower body.
Greatly surprised, Bu Eun-seol moved to block the numerous streams of sword ki.
*Swish!*
But the hundreds of sword ki streaks vanished in an instant, and two streaks of light that seemed alive leaped up from the ground.
‘This is!’
Bu Eun-seol cried out in his mind.
The sword move Namgung Pung had just unleashed.
Wasn’t it a sword style similar to the bizarre demonic sword art whose traces remained on his grandfather Bu Jan-yang’s body?
With a lightning-fast motion, Bu Eun-seol drew his Ink Sword and covered his eyes.
*Clang!*
At the same moment, a clear metallic sound echoed high into the sky.
*Vmmmm.*
The power of the two soaring streaks of sword ki was so immense that it caused the blade of the Ink Sword to vibrate for a long time.
“……”
Bu Eun-seol looked down at the faintly trembling Ink Sword.
What if he hadn’t seen the traces of the sword move carved into Bu Jan-yang’s body? He would have been blinded instantly by that single strike.
The sword move Namgung Pung had unleashed was that unpredictable and swift, its variations rivaling the Seven Forms of Blood and Tears.
‘He blocked it?!’
Namgung Pung was so shocked he could have fainted.
He had been confident that this move, even before he had taken the Demonic Seed, could blind a master of the Apex Realm.
Namgung Pung had trained for three long years to master this single sword move.
Even Elder Pung had assured him that although he hadn’t perfected it, no master in the Apex Realm would be able to block it.
Yet Bu Eun-seol had blocked it with such ease?
‘I can’t win.’
For a moment, Namgung Pung felt fear.
‘I must escape this place and bide my time.’
Namgung Pung threw his Golden Needle Sword at Bu Eun-seol’s neck like a dagger.
It was the Namgung Clan’s ultimate life-saving technique, guaranteed to force any enemy within thirty feet to either evade or retreat.
*Chaang!*
The moment Bu Eun-seol deflected the Golden Needle Sword, Namgung Pung seized the opportunity and executed a movement technique with all his might.
*Tzzt!*
But Bu Eun-seol’s movement technique was several times faster than Namgung Pung had anticipated.
In the instant he turned, Bu Eun-seol was already standing there, blocking his escape route.
“Who taught you that last sword move?”
Bu Eun-seol’s voice was cold, yet laced with desperation.
Namgung Pung perceived this and a smile formed on his lips.
“Let me leave, and I’ll tell you.”
Outside, there were the soulless puppets and a chance to escape.
Namgung Pung had to get out, no matter what.
“What will it be? Make your decision.”
Bu Eun-seol turned and walked toward the end of the passage.
Namgung Pung, inwardly celebrating, followed him into the passage.
As the exit came into view, Bu Eun-seol turned around.
“Move.”
Namgung Pung said, but Bu Eun-seol simply looked down at him in silence.
A crimson light flickered in his eyes, and Namgung Pung, unable to meet his gaze, spoke in a trembling voice.
“If you kill me… you won’t be able to find anything out.”
*Crack.*
But with the sound of bones, Namgung Pung’s body grew progressively heavier.
Simultaneously, his vision blurred, and suddenly Bu Eun-seol seemed much taller.
‘Wh-what is this?’
Only then did Namgung Pung realize that he was on his knees and that blood was streaming from his eyes.
“Ugh.”
The blood flowing from Namgung Pung’s eyes increased, and a constricting pain spread through his entire body.
The whole world turned red, and he felt as if he had already fallen into the fiery pits of hell.
Bu Eun-seol was exerting his immense internal energy, crushing him like an insect.
“Elder… Elder Pung… he taught me this sword art.”
*C-crack.*
Namgung Pung’s vision could now only see up to Bu Eun-seol’s knees, not his face.
“Really… that’s all I know, really…”
It was likely the truth.
There wasn’t a shred of falsehood in the eyes of the dying man, mixed with terror as they were.
“Elder Pung, you say.”
Muttering briefly, Bu Eun-seol exerted his full internal energy.
*Crunch.*
With the sound of shattering bones, Namgung Pung’s vision went completely black.
As he realized he was close to death, the events of his life flashed before his eyes like a spinning lantern.
And he finally understood how much Namgung Jeong, though not his biological father, had loved and cherished him.
“Please tell the Clan Head… I was sorry…”
*CRACK.*
That was the end of Namgung Pung… who had sided with an external force and betrayed Namgung Jeong and the Namgung Clan that had loved him.
***
Around the time Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Pung emerged from the passage, Namgung Jeong managed to regain consciousness.
‘Indeed… his martial arts are magnificent.’
Namgung Pung, after consuming the Demonic Seed, was displaying the prowess of a supreme master of the martial world.
But Bu Eun-seol was parrying his attacks with ease. The skills of the Demonic Palace’s successor, who had shaken the martial world on numerous occasions, were far greater than what was known.
“Clan Head.”
Namgung Un quietly called to Namgung Jeong.
He was still in a protective posture, holding his father in his arms.
“Hmph.”
Namgung Jeong cleared his throat and relaxed his body.
He tried to stand immediately, but the sword still embedded in his Sinju point made it difficult to move.
“Please bear with it for a moment.”
Namgung Un carefully pressed the pressure points on his back.
Then he gripped the hilt of the embedded dagger.
‘It’s too deep.’
If he pulled out the dagger carelessly, his father’s life could be in danger.
As Namgung Un hesitated, a low voice spoke.
“Pull it out. This father’s Profound Gate’s Adamantine Ki won’t crumble from something like this.”
“I understand.”
He gripped the dagger again, but a sense of foreboding welled up.
He had a feeling that Namgung Jeong might die if he pulled this dagger out.
“Clan Head.”
As fear took hold, a thought flashed through Namgung Un’s mind.
He felt that if not now, he would never be able to say the words he had kept in his heart.
“Speak.”
“You say you cherish me, so why… why did you treat me so coldly?”
Namgung Jeong’s body flinched for a moment.
Normally, he would never have answered such a question.
But now, his life was on the line.
After a brief silence, Namgung Jeong opened his mouth.
“You are the only gift your beloved wife left behind. I could never raise you as an ordinary child.”
“……”
“You inherited the talents of both your mother and me. Thanks to that, you not only have a talent for martial arts but also a rich sensitivity… you were more than qualified to be the next Clan Head.”
Namgung Jeong spoke in a low voice.
“But your personality is too free-spirited and unrestrained. That is not the character of a Clan Head.”
“So… you treated me so coldly to make me the Clan Head?”
“That is correct.”
“You’re lying.”
Namgung Un bit his lip.
“You’ve always treated me coldly and distantly, and now you say it was to raise me as the Clan Head?”
“……”
“Clan Head, you scolded me for three days for breaking a single vase in your study. Not only that, you had the Hall Master of Punishments lock me in the dungeons. Don’t you remember?”
“I know. That was the day you began to resent your father. And why you started acting even more like a ruffian.”
Namgung Jeong said calmly.
“But I believed that when you grew older, you would understand your father’s heart.”
“How could a ten-year-old child understand the heart of a father who would punish him so severely for breaking a vase?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Namgung Jeong spoke with a pained and lonely expression.
“That vase… all of them were left by your mother.”
Namgung Un’s body trembled slightly.
As a child, when he had snuck into the Clan Head’s quarters and broken a vase… he had seen his father’s anger for the first time.
It was better than his father’s usual cold and distant demeanor.
So, as a child, under the pretext of mischief, he would enter Namgung Jeong’s quarters and break the vases one by one.
But to think they were mementos left by his mother…
“Why that…”
Namgung Un bit his lip, swallowing the tears that threatened to fall.
“And I, not knowing, broke the vases… just to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? That they belonged to Mother.”
Namgung Jeong smiled faintly.
“If you knew they were things your mother left behind, wouldn’t your heart have hurt even more?”
In that moment, the hot tears Namgung Un had been holding back finally fell.
He now knew that all the vases he had broken were left by his deceased mother.
But Namgung Jeong, while scolding him harshly, had never told him the truth.
He feared it would cause his beloved son even more pain. He thought it was better for his son to resent and hate him.
“Your mother, too, had a playful and cheerful personality in her youth. You resemble her a great deal.”
“Then those things…”
“Do not worry. I pieced them all back together, one by one.”
Namgung Un covered his face.
Whenever he broke a vase, Namgung Jeong would lock himself in his office and not come out. He had been painstakingly putting the vases Namgung Un had shattered back together.
Remembering his beloved wife.
“When I sent your mother off, I made a vow. That I would raise you, at least, to be a fine man.”
“……”
“But to keep that promise, to make you the Clan Head in my lifetime… I raised you a bit more strictly and coldly… and now I regret it.”
“Father.”
For the first time, Namgung Un called him Father, not Clan Head.
It was a cry of bitter regret.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sor…”
Namgung Un, who was sobbing, suddenly widened his eyes.
Namgung Jeong’s face had already turned deathly pale.
He had lost too much blood and passed out.
“Father! Father!”
Namgung Un cried out, pouring his internal energy into him.
But his pulse was so weak it felt like it could stop at any moment.
“F-Father!”
Tears streamed like a waterfall from Namgung Un’s eyes.
He couldn’t let his father go. There were still so many things he hadn’t said… he absolutely could not let him go like this.
“Brother—Bu!”
*Rumble.*
At that moment, with a sound like thunder, a grayish shadow tinged with blood appeared in the stone chamber again.
It was Bu Eun-seol.
His expression was grave and dark.
After hearing the culprit’s name from Namgung Pung, Bu Eun-seol had intended to rush to the Namgung Clan immediately to find Elder Pung.
But then he heard Namgung Un’s desperate cry.
—Father!
It was like the heart-wrenching wail of a child who had lost a parent.
Namgung Jeong’s life was clearly hanging by a thread.
Bu Eun-seol gritted his teeth.
If he delayed to save Namgung Jeong, Elder Pung might disappear without a trace.
No, perhaps by now, he had realized that his plans had gone awry and was hastily fleeing.
—Father… Father! Brother Bu!
Then he heard Namgung Un’s desperate cry once more.
In this moment of crisis, Namgung Un was calling out to him, pleading for help.
‘How can I let him lose his father?’
His grandfather was gone from this world.
And he could not pass that same sorrow on to Namgung Un.
*Kwaang!*
There was no more time to hesitate.
In the end, Bu Eun-seol gave up on chasing Elder Pung and used his movement technique to return to Namgung Un.
“Brother Bu! Brother Bu!”
Namgung Un cried out upon seeing Bu Eun-seol.
“Please save my father! My father!”
Namgung Jeong’s complexion was ashen, like a corpse.
The dagger embedded in his Sinju point. If it wasn’t dealt with quickly, he would lose his life instantly.
*Papak!*
Bu Eun-seol shot out a series of finger strikes, instantly sealing Namgung Jeong’s pressure points from the Yeomcheon point to the Subun point above his navel.
Then he took a Purple Essence Pill from his robes and placed it in his mouth.
*Hooo.*
Bu Eun-seol stretched out both hands, placing them on the Daechu and Myeongmun points on his back and injecting his Reversing Polarity Ki.
Was it because of Namgung Un’s desperate prayers?
Or was it because of Bu Eun-seol’s determination to save Namgung Jeong?
*Hwiiiing.*
Suddenly, a wave of golden true ki began to emanate from Bu Eun-seol’s body.
Along with the Reversing Polarity Ki, which possessed both yin and yang energies… the power of the Great Prajna had naturally manifested as well.
At that, Namgung Jeong’s fading life force began to slowly revive.
“Umm.”
Color gradually returned to Namgung Jeong’s face, and he let out a low groan.
“Father! Father!”
Namgung Un wept with joy, holding Namgung Jeong’s hand.
Then, Namgung Jeong, whose eyes had fluttered open, spoke in a low voice.
“You’re being loud.”
“Yes, yes.”
“That child… what happened to him?”
As soon as he regained consciousness, Namgung Jeong asked Bu Eun-seol.
By ‘that child,’ he surely meant Namgung Pung.
“He paid the price for his sins.”
“I see.”
Namgung Jeong closed his eyes.
Though he was his brother’s child, he had never once thought of him as anything but his own son.
He had thought the boy had grown up bright and cheerful… but to think he had fallen for the schemes of wicked people and committed such an irreversible act.
“You were right.”
Namgung Jeong was finally filled with regret.
It’s not enough to just have children. He should have watched over them closely, talked with them… and helped them express the thoughts in their hearts.
If he had, perhaps Namgung Pung would not have met such an end.
“I truly regret…”
Namgung Jeong tried to continue, but the warm true ki flowing from his back made his eyes heavy.
His body felt as if it were floating on a cloud, and soon, he drifted off to sleep.
***
The hidden forces within the Namgung Clan were cleanly dealt with.
Their intentions and movements had already been identified. When they learned that Namgung Pung was dead and their plan had failed, they all severed their own heart meridians and committed suicide.
Even after mobilizing all of its intelligence networks, the Namgung Clan could not determine where they had come from or what their intentions were.
Furthermore, Elder Pung, who had secretly orchestrated everything, including Namgung Pung, had vanished without a trace.
The Namgung Clan was in shock.
To think that an elder who had served the Namgung Clan with loyalty for generations was a pawn of an external force.
Namgung Jeong reported this to various intelligence organizations and the Martial Alliance, and began to track Elder Pung’s whereabouts.
As for Namgung Pung, the official story was that he had died fighting valiantly against the forces that attacked the Namgung Clan.
This was not for the sake of the Namgung Clan’s honor, but a consideration from Namgung Jeong, who had always thought of him as a son.
“So in the end, even the Namgung Clan doesn’t know his true identity.”
Bu Eun-seol sighed heavily after hearing the whole story from Namgung Un.
Elder Pung, Namgung Pung’s master, had originally been a guest who came during the time of the previous Clan Head, Namgung Seong.
He had made significant contributions in the past battle between the Namgung Clan and the Blood Heaven Demonic Palace, eventually becoming an elder.
Originally a master of the swift sword, he learned the Namgung Clan’s advanced sword arts and achieved astonishing martial prowess, becoming Namgung Pung’s master.
However, whether Elder Pung was a demonic figure, or a descendant of the Three Sages of the Eight Desolations, was unknown.
Nor was it clear if he was a sleeper agent planted to control the Namgung Clan from the start, like No Bong.
‘The sword style Namgung Pung used at the end resembled the demonic sword style that killed my grandfather.’
That meant that either Elder Pung killed his grandfather, or he was from the same school as the killer.
Bu Eun-seol had finally caught the trail of his grandfather’s killer… but he had been unable to pursue him immediately in order to save Namgung Jeong.
‘Is this also the will of the heavens?’
If he had gone to the Namgung Clan immediately after hearing Namgung Pung’s words?
Would he have been able to catch Elder Pung?
That was something only the gods could know.
‘Let’s not regret the past.’
Even if he had gone to the Namgung Clan right away, there was a chance Elder Pung had already fled.
Bu Eun-seol did not dwell on past regrets. He had saved Namgung Jeong and witnessed the Namgung family become harmonious.
What more could he ask for?
“Stay well.”
Bu Eun-seol bid a brief farewell to Namgung Un and quietly departed.
Instead of a reply, Namgung Un pulled Bu Eun-seol into a tight embrace.
‘I will definitely become someone who can be a strength to Brother Bu.’
Namgung Un made a firm resolve in his heart.
If he could not stay by the side of this man who was like the heavens themselves, then he would become the Head of the Namgung Clan…
And become someone who could be of even the slightest help to him on his path.
“Take care.”
Namgung Un bowed his head deeply.
His solemn and dignified appearance was no longer that of the frivolous and light-hearted Namgung Un, but showed the bearing of a proud Young Lord who would one day be responsible for the Namgung Clan.
After leaving the Namgung Clan, Bu Eun-seol walked slowly.
For some reason, he neither took a carriage nor used his lightness art.
After walking for some time, as Bu Eun-seol finally entered a small path,
*Ssk.*
A refined-looking middle-aged man appeared from behind a tree on the opposite side.
It was Namgung Jeong.
“My clan has always walked the path of righteousness and has not associated with the demonic path.”
“……”
“Although this Clan Head cannot walk the same path as you, should you ever face hardship, I will never turn my back on you.”
He knew.
He knew that Namgung Un’s dramatic improvement was all thanks to Bu Eun-seol. He also knew that Bu Eun-seol had thrown himself into harm’s way without hesitation to prevent a terrible tragedy from befalling the Namgung Clan.
*Thud.*
Namgung Jeong bent his waist toward Bu Eun-seol, offering a formal and respectful bow.
“May your path be blessed with fortune.”
It was a show of reverence and admiration that transcended paths and generations… for the grandmaster of the demonic path who was forging his own way.
But Bu Eun-seol walked on as if he had seen nothing.
He moved quickly, so as not to see Namgung Jeong bowing.
So as not to see the head of one of the Eight Great Families, the Lord of the Namgung Clan, bowing to him.
He passed by quickly, a gesture filled with respect for Namgung Jeong.
‘The road ahead is long.’
Bu Eun-seol looked up at the distant sky.
Now that he had obtained the Hall of Gratitude, he had to find the Divine Calculator. And he had to find the pawns of the shadowy forces within the various orthodox and unorthodox sects and crush their conspiracies.
‘In that case.’
Bu Eun-seol turned his head.
He finally remembered the sanctuary he had forgotten until now, the one that gave him the greatest strength.
Wolf Fang Pavilion.
Bu Eun-seol was going to return to Wolf Fang Pavilion.