Chapter 480
Chapter 480
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 480
Chapter Title: The Blood Shaolin
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“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes.”
Tak Il-hon stared intently at Bu Eun-seol. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“Let me come with you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You won’t find a more useful person in the martial world than me.”
Tak Il-hon said solemnly, his expression utterly serious.
“My lifelong dream was to become the greatest in the demonic path. But since I couldn't achieve it, I became a master thief, stealing martial arts manuals.”
His eyes burned as hot as the sun.
“Take me with you. I will show you where the treasures and secret manuals of the world are hidden.”
“…”
“With my help, you’ll be able to achieve your dream of becoming the greatest in the demonic path much faster.”
Bu Eun-seol’s brow furrowed.
“The greatest in the demonic path?”
“That’s right. A man like you can surely stand at such a pinnacle. On the day you rise to the top of the martial world… I want to share in that glory with you.”
“You seem to be mistaken about something.”
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“My emergence into the martial world is for a simple act of vengeance.”
“Vengeance?”
“Yes.”
“Not to become the greatest in the demonic path?”
“That is correct.”
Tak Il-hon hesitated for a moment.
He had thought this was a young grandmaster burning with a warrior’s passion. But he was just a man wandering the martial world for revenge?
“Regardless… you have more than enough potential to become the greatest in the demonic path.”
“I’m not interested.”
“What?”
“What I want is revenge. Once I have it, my journey in this world will be over.”
The answer was completely unexpected.
A peerless talent with such martial prowess, a man with the clear makings of the greatest in the demonic path.
And he planned to leave the martial world without a second thought once his revenge was complete?
From Tak Il-hon’s perspective, it was utterly incomprehensible.
“Live out the rest of your days in peace.”
Seeing Tak Il-hon at a loss for words, Bu Eun-seol turned to leave.
“Farewell.”
“Wait!”
Tak Il-hon asked, as if he had made up his mind.
“For a man like you to have not yet achieved your goal, your target for revenge must be a master who overlooks the world, or a faction with immense power. Am I right?”
“You are.”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes grew profound as he thought of the Three Realms.
“Frankly, overturning the world feels like it would be an easier task.”
“Easier than overturning the world… you say.”
A fiery surge of energy rose in Tak Il-hon’s chest.
Only now did he understand the path Bu Eun-seol was walking, what kind of man he truly was.
This young grandmaster was on a path hundreds of times more difficult than becoming the greatest in the demonic path.
He was walking a road of suffering.
“Very well.”
Tak Il-hon’s eyes flashed as if he had made a great decision.
“You can treat me as a subordinate or even a slave.”
He bowed at the waist and spoke with force.
“Take me with you. I will do anything you ask.”
Tak Il-hon’s lifelong wish had been to become the greatest in the demonic path.
But before him stood a young master who considered even that goal laughable.
A grandmaster who cared nothing for power or fame… who willingly walked a path more arduous than conquering the world.
Who else could so perfectly resolve his lifelong regrets?
“You would be my subordinate?”
“Yes. I will make a blood oath if you wish.”
Realizing Tak Il-hon’s resolve was firm, Bu Eun-seol considered it for a moment.
Unfortunately, unlike the other old men, he had not been completely transformed by a virtuous nature.
In other words, the desire to make a name for himself in the martial world still lingered, and it was that desire that drove him to pledge himself as a subordinate.
‘Having one more swift-footed person will make Seo Jin-ha’s work safer.’
Bu Eun-seol had an adjutant named So-yo, but Seo Jin-ha had no one by his side to relay messages.
But what if it was Tak Il-hon, known as the Flying Demon?
He would be gaining an adjutant who could perform on par with So-yo.
But if he did that…
Another person in this world would come to know all of Bu Eun-seol’s secrets.
‘Can I trust someone based on such a brief encounter?’
Bu Eun-seol had never been one to easily trust others.
Especially not if that person was one of the world’s greatest demons.
‘Should I take this risk for Seo Jin-ha?’
Tak Il-hon still possessed the pure ambition of a young warrior.
And he wanted to leave a great mark on the martial world.
To achieve that, he was willing to pledge his loyalty to Bu Eun-seol.
“My apologies.”
Though he knew Tak Il-hon was sincere, Bu Eun-seol refused him flatly.
“Others may seek to gain even one more capable subordinate, but I do not.”
He let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
“I do not wish for the fates of others to become entangled in my personal quest for vengeance.”
“…I understand.”
Tak Il-hon lowered his head.
He had made his case and pleaded sufficiently. If the man’s mind remained unchanged, there was nothing more to be done.
“I hope you achieve all that you desire.”
Without hesitation, he pulled a sharp stone knife from his robes and plunged it toward his own neck.
He had carved the stone knife long ago and kept it hidden in his robes.
*Crack!*
Bu Eun-seol instantly shot out a finger wind, shattering the stone knife.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Don’t concern yourself with me.”
Tak Il-hon’s eyes were as dull as a dead fish’s.
Despite being confined in the Penance Cave for so long, the ambition in his heart had never died.
And when he finally met someone destined to stand tall in the martial world, he had found hope once more…
But with that hope now crushed, he had lost the will to live.
‘Is this also fate?’
Bu Eun-seol sighed.
It was merely one man’s revenge, yet another person had ended up entering the orbit of his destiny.
“Fine.”
With a deep sigh, Bu Eun-seol extended his fingers.
*Shwaek! Papapak!*
Dozens of strands of finger wind pierced Tak Il-hon’s acupoints, and a fierce surge of true qi began to course through his meridians.
*Woong!*
In that moment, Tak Il-hon’s body rose an inch into the air before settling back down.
“This is…”
Tak Il-hon’s eyes widened.
He realized that Bu Eun-seol had not infused the powerful true qi into his dantian, but had dispersed it directly into his eight extraordinary meridians.
This way, even without accumulated internal energy in his dantian, he could move like a master with internal energy for a short time.
“You are a master of movement arts, old man. I trust you can slip out of Shaolin on your own.”
*Rip.*
Bu Eun-seol tore off a piece of his sleeve and used his energy to draw the emblem of Twin Dragons Vying for a Pearl.
“Go to the Hall of the Four Shadows in the Demonic Sanctum and find the Great Lord Sang-hak, Yu Un-ryong.”
“…”
“Tell him everything that has happened here. He will summon the Medicine King Hall Master to treat you and then send you to the Nangya Pavilion.”
“The Medicine King Hall Master? The Nangya Pavilion?”
“Yes. There, your legs will be fully healed. Once your body has completely recovered, I will entrust you with a few tasks.”
“W-Wait a minute.”
Tak Il-hon’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Gyo Jung-hak, the Medicine King Hall Master of the Demonic Sanctum.
He was a man who wouldn’t lift a finger without an order from the Demonic Heavenly Emperor or the Dark King, Yeop Hyo-cheon.
And yet, with just a torn piece of cloth as a token, he was going to have Gyo Jung-hak summoned for treatment?
And what was this about the Nangya Pavilion, one of the Ten Demonic Sects?
“Who in the world are you?”
“The successor to the Nangya Pavilion. And the Martial Soul Lord of the Demonic Sanctum.”
“Successor to the Nangya Pavilion and Martial Soul Lord of the Demonic Sanctum?”
Tak Il-hon’s gaze wavered.
“Does that mean you are the successor to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor?”
“It does.”
Tak Il-hon’s mouth fell open.
He knew Bu Eun-seol’s martial arts were incredible… but he had assumed his status wasn’t very high.
If his status were high, he could command countless subordinates. He wouldn’t have needed to come to this dangerous Penance Cave himself.
But he was the next successor, destined to lead the Demonic Sanctum after the Demonic Heavenly Emperor?
“Then why did you come here yourself? Why go to such lengths?”
“Did I not tell you?”
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“I am but a wanderer, roaming the martial world for the sake of revenge. I have avoided, as much as possible, letting others risk themselves for my personal affairs.”
He then briefly explained his situation.
His grandfather’s death, the Three Realms, and the story that entangled him.
“So it was true.”
Tak Il-hon’s eyes rippled like water.
“To you, even the position of the Demonic Sanctum’s successor means nothing…”
He shook his head as if ashamed.
“And here I am, at my age, still clinging to fame and power.”
“There is nothing wrong with that.”
Bu Eun-seol snorted softly.
“Is it not the nature of a martial artist to obsess over fame and power? It is because of such people that the martial world can be maintained.”
“Yes, perhaps you’re right.”
Tak Il-hon smiled faintly, as if he had reached some sort of enlightenment.
He then clasped his hands and bowed his head to Bu Eun-seol.
“I will spend the rest of my life with you, until the very end.”
“It will not be easy.”
Bu Eun-seol said in a low voice.
“To stand by my side, you must possess the requisite skill.”
Even the exceptionally talented So-yo had taken a long time to become the vice-commander of the Soul-Annihilating Brigade.
The Flying Demon might be skilled in movement arts and martial arts, but to help Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha…
He would have to become more knowledgeable about the state of the martial world than anyone else.
He might even require a much longer training period than So-yo.
“I will do my best.”
A passion like that of a young man in his prime flowed from Tak Il-hon’s eyes.
‘This should be fine.’
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
A person’s life can change depending on when, where, and whom they meet.
In the Penance Cave, under a man named Bu Eun-seol, Tak Il-hon had found a new life and a new purpose.
Bu Eun-seol and Tak Il-hon immediately left the Penance Cave.
Using the Reverse Polarity True Qi that Bu Eun-seol had dispersed through his meridians, Tak Il-hon used his stealthy movement arts to slip out of Shaolin.
Once his body was fully recovered and his martial arts restored, the peerless master of lightness arts known as the Flying Demon would once again appear in the martial world.
After leaving the Penance Cave, Bu Eun-seol immediately headed for the secret passage of the Blood Shaolin.
Dam-jeung, the abbot of the Blood Shaolin.
It was time to find out from his lips what exactly Shaolin knew.
And what kind of person his grandfather had been to Shaolin.
*Step, step.*
Without any thought of hiding himself, Bu Eun-seol walked confidently toward the Blood Shaolin’s secret passage.
*Whoosh.*
Faint presences began to be felt from all around.
But Bu Eun-seol walked on with a blank expression, as if he hadn’t detected a thing.
When he reached the end of the passage, a massive iron door came into view.
It was the gate where the Divine Calculator had once set up various tests for Bu Eun-seol.
*Kuoong.*
As he approached the door, it opened on its own with a heavy groan.
At the same time, a wide hall came into view, where countless martial monks stood.
The appearances of the monks were all bizarre and unique.
One monk’s right arm was as thick as a log, while another’s left eye was milky white.
Another was covered in stitched scars like a patchwork quilt, and yet another had only a single finger…
Not a single one of them had an ordinary body.
It was as if, to master some martial art…
They had forsaken their bodies, their lives, everything.
*Step, step.*
Just then, a scrawny monk with only one finger walked directly toward Bu Eun-seol.
Why are you here?
Who are you?
The monk asked no such questions.
This was the main headquarters of the Blood Shaolin.
Bu Eun-seol was an intruder from the outside. No words were necessary.
*Woong.*
An incredible energy swirled from the monk’s single finger, and then,
*Flash!*
A streak of light shot toward Bu Eun-seol’s body.
The One Finger Zen Art.
It was the fastest and most powerful finger technique in Shaolin, but its weaknesses were that it was difficult to master and had a narrow range.
However, the One Finger Zen Art unleashed by the monk with only one finger left was as powerful as if a hundred monks had unleashed it at once.
Its range covered the entire stone chamber, leaving no space to evade.
But as the points of light rained down, Bu Eun-seol was already pressed flat against the ceiling of the chamber.
*Flash!*
At the same time, a glint of light flashed, and,
*Thud.*
The monk’s last remaining finger fell to the floor.
Using the stone knife he carried, Bu Eun-seol had lopped off the monk’s last finger in a single stroke.
“How…”
The now fingerless monk asked Bu Eun-seol, who had landed back on the ground.
“If your ultimate technique is a finger art, you should have hidden your finger.”
With only one finger, it was obvious his martial art would be a powerful finger technique like the One Finger Zen Art.
Moreover, by blocking his path so brazenly… Bu Eun-seol had naturally deduced that the range of his finger art would be wide.
“…”
The monk stared blankly at his severed finger, then,
*Smash!*
He struck his own celestial fontanelle and took his own life.
He had cut off nine of his fingers to master the Blood Shaolin’s One Finger Zen Art.
But now that all his fingers were gone, he could no longer remain as a monk of the Blood Shaolin.
He ended his life without a trace of regret.
‘So this is the Blood Shaolin.’
To protect Shaolin, the Blood Shaolin would do anything, and to become stronger, they would use any means necessary.
They wore the guise of Shaolin, but this place was a gathering of madmen shrouded in insanity.
*Kuoong. Kuoong.*
This time, the monk with the milky white left eye approached.
The moment their eyes met, Bu Eun-seol’s head grew dizzy, and his vision blurred as if the whole world was shaking.
It was a mysterious mind-control art, different from the Spirit-Summoning Secret Art.
*Splat!*
But blood spurted from the monk’s white eye.
Bu Eun-seol had already shot a finger wind and pierced the monk’s eye.
“I’m tired of mind-control arts.”
For Bu Eun-seol, who had already achieved the Opening of the Spiritual Aperture…
Mental attacks or psychic secret arts like the Spirit-Summoning Secret Art no longer worked.
And most importantly, an eye of a different color was a target for caution.
The moment Bu Eun-seol saw the strange color emanating from the monk’s eye, he knew he would use a mind-control art and had instantly fired a finger wind.
“It seems the monks of the Blood Shaolin have a rule about showing their special skills to the enemy in advance.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words,
*Thump, thump.*
This time, a very tall monk with his eyes covered by a black cloth walked forward.
He extended his fingers and beckoned. It was a gesture to attack first.
*Phat!*
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol swung the stone knife, unleashing a sharp point of light.
He had executed the Meteor Chasing the Moon Form using the stone knife.
*Whoosh.*
But the blindfolded monk simply twisted his body lightly and dodged the attack.
It was as if he had predicted Bu Eun-seol’s movements in advance.
*Flash! Flash!*
A massive cross-shaped sword qi erupted repeatedly, pouring down behind the blindfolded monk, and,
*Chiiik!*
At the same time, a bolt of purple lightning slashed diagonally toward the monk’s neck.
He had used the Waning Moon, Morning Star to create a massive cross-shaped sword qi, sealing all of the monk’s escape routes.
Then he had unleashed the ultimate killing sword, the Peerless Lightning Form.
*Tatak.*
But something incredible happened.
The blindfolded monk, as if predicting Bu Eun-seol’s techniques, had already moved out of the range of both the Waning Moon, Morning Star and the Peerless Lightning Form.
‘So that’s it.’
Bu Eun-seol realized that the monk was sensing the fluctuations in the air to predict his movements.
‘It seems he has further deepened the Air-Shattering Mind’s Eye.’
The Beast Sword’s Air-Shattering Mind’s Eye could also sense the flow of air to predict an enemy’s movements or the trajectory of hidden weapons.
But this monk had surpassed that, perfectly predicting the techniques Bu Eun-seol unleashed.
“Is this all the Blood Shaolin is capable of?”
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
“There are countless ways to heighten one’s senses. To go through the trouble of covering your eyes and doing something so bizarre.”
His voice was filled with contempt and ridicule.
“The martial world is full of martial arts that allow one to sense the flow of air without needing to cover their eyes.”
“Hmph.”
The blindfolded monk snorted.
At the same time, he instantly tore off the cloth covering his eyes.
But that was a fatal mistake.
Provoked by the taunt, he should not have felt a competitive urge and removed the blindfold.
That was precisely the move Bu Eun-seol had intended for him to make.
*Rip.*
The monk used his right arm to tear off the blindfold in one swift motion.
And Bu Eun-seol’s Taming the Bird, Riding the Clouds Form, which had already predicted that movement, was unleashed in sync with it.
*Thwack.*
The sword qi that cut through the air passed right through the monk’s right forearm as he was tearing off the blindfold.
The monk froze like a statue, unable to even finish removing the cloth.
*Thud.*
At the same time, the monk’s thick right arm fell to the floor.
Their martial arts were formidable, but unfortunately, to Bu Eun-seol’s eyes, they were full of flaws.
“You’re making me waste my time.”
Bu Eun-seol shouted past the monks surrounding him.
“Are you going to continue with this child’s play?”
“Child’s play, you say.”
A scrawny monk pushed through the others and walked out.
He was a short old monk, barely five feet tall, with narrow eyes.
His face was wrinkled, but his eyes held a hint of a smile, giving him a rather sly impression.
It was the abbot of the Blood Shaolin, Dam-jeung.
“The true successor of the Nangya Pavilion, a master of practical martial arts, is pointing out the flaws in the Blood Shaolin’s techniques. How could I miss such an opportunity?”
Surprisingly, he had seen through Bu Eun-seol’s disguise as Seol-so and identified him.
Not only that, but a strange glint lingered in Dam-jeung’s narrowly slitted eyes.
It was the madness of a depraved and sinister madman… one who would not hesitate to do anything to achieve his goals.
“Besides, this is a golden opportunity to study the martial arts and weaknesses of the Demonic Sanctum’s successor.”
Despite being the abbot leading the Blood Shaolin, Dam-jeung seemed to think of the monks he had painstakingly trained as nothing more than consumables.
“Still… since you are within the bounds of Shaolin, I, the Lord, was going to treat you like a human being.”
A bloody light rose in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
“But it seems you are all just vermin who don’t deserve it… I shall wipe every last one of you out.”