Chapter 508
Chapter 508
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 508
Chapter Title: A Madman's Experiment
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"Hmm."
Resting his chin on the armrest, he looked down at Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon with an intrigued expression.
"Interesting. To think the Spirit Lord of the Martial Hall and the Thunder God were in cahoots."
He nodded as if he had finally understood everything.
"So, you used the Five Tiger Blades to kill two birds with one stone. You incited that fool Paeng Mun-cheon to destroy the main family and came to kill this old man."
"Why..."
Before beginning his revenge, Noe Bi-heon asked one thing.
"Why did you kill my wife and son?"
"Did I not tell you? Or have you forgotten after all this time spent in madness?"
Flash!
A pure white bolt of lightning struck down above Paeng Ak's head.
An enraged Noe Bi-heon had unleashed his Divine Thunder Annihilation.
But Paeng Ak was already standing tall before him, no longer in the grandmaster's chair.
*Crumble.*
The chair Paeng Ak had been sitting in collapsed into black charcoal.
Turning to glance at it, Paeng Ak wore a faint smile.
"Your Thunder Spirit Energy has reached its peak."
"..."
"Tsk, why didn't you reach this state sooner?"
Paeng Ak clicked his tongue and sighed with a look of pity at Noe Bi-heon.
"If you had, I would have extracted your spinal cord... not your son's."
*Crackle!*
Noe Bi-heon's eyes turned white.
There was no need, and no way, to hold back any longer. He was channeling his Thunder Spirit Energy to the twelfth stage, intending to incinerate Paeng Ak in an instant.
But then, the unexpected happened.
*Shwaaa!*
Suddenly, a torrent of black blade aura rained down on Noe Bi-heon's head.
It was the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura, which Paeng Ak had always used.
How could such a blade aura pour down from above when Paeng Ak was standing still with his hands clasped behind his back?
*Zzzzzzt!*
Noe Bi-heon immediately converted his surging Thunder Spirit Energy into the Divine Thunder Annihilation, pushing back the downpour of the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
*Thud.*
At the same time, another shadow landed beside Paeng Ak.
It was another Paeng Ak.
"Just as I thought."
Noe Bi-heon wasn't particularly surprised to see him.
"I considered the possibility of a twin. Otherwise, none of your past actions would make sense."
It wasn't that shocking.
In the families of the Unorthodox or Demonic Factions, it was common for the elder of a set of twins to be raised to protect the family.
The younger would become a shadow or a sword to defend the clan.
"Strange."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been watching the two, spoke to them.
"Can perfectly identical twins really exist in this world?"
No matter how similar twins may appear, there are always subtle differences.
But the Paeng Aks were different.
From their appearance—their features, gaze, and expressions—to the faint aura they exuded and the level of their internal energy.
They were, without a shadow of a doubt, perfectly identical.
"Completely identical?"
Muttering softly, Noe Bi-heon sharpened his vision.
He didn't have Bu Eun-seol's extrasensory perception, but he had mastered the Art of Retrospective Observation, a technique similar to Empty Mind Communication that allowed him to trace the past.
*Vwong.*
As he activated the art, Noe Bi-heon was slightly startled.
"They deliberately sculpted their faces. To become identical."
Observing them with his technique, he could see traces of blades on both Paeng Aks' faces, signs of their features having been altered.
The marks were minuscule and perfectly healed, invisible to the naked eye.
But the Art of Retrospective Observation revealed them clearly.
"Then there's only one possibility,"
Bu Eun-seol said, looking at the two Paeng Aks.
"To achieve a certain result. They were deliberately made identical... from their appearance to their speech and personality."
"Hahahaha. Astounding."
Paeng Ak burst into laughter.
"There was a reason you survived all your clashes with the Main Branch."
He then looked at his younger brother, Paeng Ryun, who had descended from the air, and said.
"That's right. My brother and I were born twins."
Taking a deep breath, he began to speak with a reminiscent expression.
"And from a young age, the Mugunggye invested immense resources and manpower to make us thoroughly identical, down to our appearance and personality."
"Why would they do that?"
"They wanted to see if twins who were made perfectly identical in thought and personality would also have identical levels of martial arts."
Paeng Ak spoke as if it were someone else's story.
"At the time, the family head had joined hands with the Main Branch and was engrossed in research to modify and strengthen the human body."
Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon's eyes widened.
Not only had they never heard of such experiments being performed on twins, but he was spilling what should be their secrets so freely?
"You look intrigued. Care to listen?"
Paeng Ak began to tell Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon an old story.
***
At the time, the Paeng family head, Paeng Seong, worried about the clan's declining power.
This was because mastering the family's ultimate technique, the Five Tiger Single Gate Blade Arts, required innate physical strength and a special constitution.
Paeng Seong improved and refined the Five Tiger Single Gate Blade Arts.
He sought to make it easier and faster to master.
But in the end, he reached a single conclusion.
Rather than changing the blade art, a faster solution was to transform the human body into a special constitution.
—To think of artificially creating a Heavenly Martial Physique. And you've even made considerable progress. Truly brilliant.
Then, as if out of nowhere, a man called the Heavenly Honored One of the Mugunggye approached Paeng Seong.
—I will lend you the power and martial arts of the Main Branch. Research to your heart's content.
In the end, Paeng Seong joined hands with the Heavenly Honored One and became the Pure Spirit Master of the Mugunggye, continuing his research to artificially create the Heavenly Martial Physique.
But the research, while seeming on the verge of success, was met with constant setbacks.
As time passed, he eventually began to dabble in the forbidden methods of artificially modifying and strengthening the body.
—*Waaah! Waaah!*
In the midst of this, his pregnant wife gave birth to twins.
But by then, Paeng Seong had already become a half-madman obsessed with body modification.
—With twins, couldn't I make not just their bodies, but their thoughts and talents identical?
—Could I control those things artificially?
—If that's possible, would their martial talent also be identical?
What if this experiment succeeded?
He was driven by the thought that he could discover the qualities and factors that allow martial artists to learn or master martial arts quickly.
And that he could control them artificially.
Eventually, Paeng Seong sent his two children to the Three Realms.
And as a result.
The Mugunggye produced a master of body modification who could complete the Demonic Purgatory Being, a Soulless Being into which immense life force and even martial power could be injected.
And a blademaster who could master the ultimate arts of the Blade Emperor, said to be impossible to learn without an innate gift for the blade.
***
Having told the entire story, Paeng Ak smiled bitterly.
"I should have thrown that fool Paeng Mun-cheon into the Mugunggye as well."
Paeng Ak considered himself nothing more than an experimental subject, artificially created by his father's obsession and madness.
That was why he had kept his son, Paeng Mun-cheon, from getting involved with the Three Realms and had not subjected him to body modification.
Was that the reason?
When Paeng Mun-cheon learned the truth, he did not forgive his father and constantly rebelled.
He eventually escaped from the Meditation Cave, gathered the Paeng family's forces, and raised a revolt...
He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, wondering what might have been if he had sent his son to the Three Realms from the beginning and raised him as thoroughly as he had been.
"The Mugunggye went to such great lengths for so long, just to create something like a Heavenly Martial Physique?"
As Bu Eun-seol muttered mockingly, Paeng Ak smirked.
"Not at all. The Heavenly Martial Physique was merely what the family head was researching at the time. What the Main Branch wanted was something else."
"And what was that?"
Paeng Ak gave a mysterious smile and addressed Noe Bi-heon.
"Noe Bi-heon. You asked earlier why I killed your son."
Noe Bi-heon's eyes flashed, but he said nothing.
Normally, even if flowers had bloomed from Paeng Ak's mouth,
even if he had spouted the secrets to becoming an immortal, Noe Bi-heon would have struck immediately.
—Brother Noe. Even if you are angry, you must endure and first learn what they know.
But from the moment Paeng Ak appeared, Bu Eun-seol had sent him a telepathic message.
—The roots of the Mugunggye are unimaginably deep. We must determine whether Paeng Ak is merely a subordinate or the mastermind who orchestrated these events.
Sensing the validity of Bu Eun-seol's advice, Noe Bi-heon was exercising every ounce of his patience.
"The Main Branch has long been studying lucky ones like you."
"Lucky ones?"
"That's right. Those fortunate enough to be born with bodies like the Thunder Spirit Physique or the Water Spirit Physique, allowing them to wield the mighty powers of nature."
Hearing those words, something clicked in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
"Is that why you created the Artificial Internal Core?"
"Precisely."
Paeng Ak gave a faint nod.
"The reason the Main Branch began to create Artificial Internal Cores in earnest. It was to artificially generate the Four Divine Energies."
"The Four Divine Energies..."
"Indeed."
Paeng Ak looked down at Noe Bi-heon with intrigued eyes.
"It is the purest power in the world... and something the Main Branch desperately needs."
Bu Eun-seol spat out his words.
"So you're saying you annihilated Brother Noe's family to obtain the Four Divine Energies. It was your doing."
"That's right."
Paeng Ak said, as if explaining.
"I, the Grand Patriarch, was the one who killed Noe Bi-heon's family and attacked him at Mount Daehong."
Paeng Ak smiled faintly.
It was as if he were deliberately satisfying Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon's curiosity.
"So, in the end, you are not the Heavenly Honored One and the Supreme Emperor."
According to Do Song-baek.
Although uncertain, it was likely that the Heavenly Honored One and the Supreme Emperor held the highest positions in the Mugunggye.
But it was rare for an organization to have two leaders.
Therefore, Bu Eun-seol had suspected that Paeng Ak and Paeng Ryun might be the current Heavenly Honored One and Supreme Emperor of the Mugunggye.
"Hahaha. You knew that much."
Paeng Ak stroked his chin.
"We have merely attained the rank of Enlightened Blade Master. We are hardly comparable to the Heavenly Honored One and the Supreme Emperor."
Then he spoke, as if bored.
"Anything else to ask?"
With that one phrase, Paeng Ak.
was subtly revealing that he was answering Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon's questions under someone else's command.
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
In truth, there was still much he wanted to know about the Three Realms.
But Noe Bi-heon's patience must be at its limit by now.
They had come here for Noe Bi-heon's revenge, not to dig for information on the Three Realms.
So, Bu Eun-seol asked his final question.
"Then the one I encountered at Mount Cheon was your brother?"
At that, not Paeng Ak, but his brother Paeng Ryun snorted and laughed slyly.
"That's right."
"Excellent."
*Shing.*
Bu Eun-seol immediately drew his Ice Soul Sword.
"Let's finish the fight we started."
"Hehehe."
Paeng Ryun laughed as if it were absurd.
"Weren't you the one who ran away with your tail between your legs? Did you learn some new ultimate technique in the meantime?"
Paeng Ak and Paeng Ryun.
Both had mastered the mysterious ultimate arts of the Blade Emperor, which transcended the limitations of martial arts.
And they had each defeated Bu Eun-seol and Noe Bi-heon without much difficulty.
"Now that you're here, you won't be able to escape."
*Rumble.*
As soon as Paeng Ryun finished speaking, the sound of machinery was heard, and the gate they had entered through slammed shut.
"We will make this place your grave."
*Shweek!*
A black blade aura erupted from Paeng Ryun's hand as well.
The ultimate art of the Blade Emperor. He had once again summoned the Black Blood Demonic Blade.
"Come this way. Let's have a one-on-one match."
Paeng Ryun beckoned with his finger, pointing to another door connected to the grand hall.
It led to another grand hall, almost identical to the one they were in now.
It seemed that Paeng Ak and Paeng Ryun each had their own separate halls.
"Very well."
*Thump, thump.*
Meanwhile, Noe Bi-heon walked toward Paeng Ak.
He was the one who had killed his family, and Paeng Ryun was the fiend who had killed the Great Hero of the Southern Heavens.
There was nothing more to ask them, nothing more he wanted to hear. From now on, he would begin his revenge.
*Zzzzt.*
His hair turned white, and Thunder Spirit Energy constantly rose from his entire body.
"To obtain the power of the Four Divine Energies. For such a pathetic reason..."
Muttering lowly, Noe Bi-heon extended his hand.
"Did you open the head of a child who had not even fully grown, pull out his spinal cord, and conduct all sorts of experiments!"
*Kwa-jijijik!*
At that moment, a pure white Divine Thunder Annihilation swirled around Paeng Ak in a circle before instantly engulfing him.
*Hwoong!*
In that instant, with a sound like a demon's laugh, the Divine Thunder Annihilation surrounding Paeng Ak completely vanished.
He had drawn his Black Blood Demonic Blade and unleashed the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
"Impressive."
Paeng Ak's lips curled upwards as he let out a sound of admiration.
"Now you're using proper martial arts."
In the past, Noe Bi-heon had only used the tactic of endlessly pouring out the Divine Thunder Annihilation with his limitless Thunder Spirit Energy.
But now that his madness was cured and he had fully regained his sanity, Noe Bi-heon was unsparingly using the subtleties of the Thunder Spirit Sect's martial arts.
*Shwaaak! Zzzzzzt!*
The blade arts unleashed by Paeng Ak and the Divine Thunder Annihilation unleashed by Noe Bi-heon clashed endlessly in mid-air.
It was as if a blackened demon god and a whitened thunder god were clashing with all their might, their very existence on the line.
"The power isn't as strong as I expected. It seems you were better off when you were charging blindly with rage."
Despite Paeng Ak's provocation, Noe Bi-heon smiled coldly and continued to pour out the Divine Thunder Annihilation.
They shot out in various speeds and forms, like exquisite sword techniques.
He had overcome countless frustrations and trials to achieve this day of revenge.
And knowing he couldn't win if he lost his reason, he was endlessly composing his mind and executing his techniques.
"Hmm."
Paeng Ryun, who had entered the other grand hall, looked at Bu Eun-seol and held out his hand.
"Time for you to put on a little show."
*Vwoooom.*
The Black Blood Demonic Blade, the blade of true energy that could unleash the Blade Emperor's secret art, the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
It hummed in Paeng Ryun's hand like a real sword.
"I'll grant you three moves."
He was treating Bu Eun-seol, who had made a name for himself throughout the world, like a child.
Among the arts of the Eight Desolations, Three Stars, the Blade Emperor's arts wielded the most mysterious power.
In particular, the blade aura extending from the Black Blood Demonic Blade, the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura, nullified the power of all martial arts.
No matter how great a martial art one used, it couldn't display its proper power against the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
"If you're going to do it, show me the blade arts of the Seven-Branch Demonic Blade."
Paeng Ryun said, spinning the Black Blood Demonic Blade.
"After three moves, your head might fall off before you even get the chance."
"Is that because you know the Seven Styles of Blood Tears well?"
The nameless old man who died in the Blood Forest had said that the Three Realms had stolen five of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears.
And it was highly likely that Paeng Ak and Paeng Ryun had learned them. After all, they had mastered the ultimate arts of the Blade Emperor, said to be peerless in the way of the blade.
"Hahaha. The Seven Styles of Blood Tears might seem like a great blade art to you, but in my eyes, it's nothing special."
As Paeng Ak's shadow, Paeng Ryun had roamed the martial world and done many things.
Thus, his purity in the blade arts was higher than Paeng Ak's, and he yearned to deal with stronger opponents.
Having finally mastered the Blade Emperor's arts, Paeng Ryun wanted to face the Seven-Branch Demonic Blade.
But when he was in the martial world, the Mugunggye forbade it, and afterward, Bu Jan-yang had vanished without a trace, so he never had the chance.
However, while handling matters for the Mugunggye, he discovered there were others in the martial world who had learned the Seven-Branch Demonic Blade.
And, regardless of the Mugunggye's affairs, he began to eliminate them one by one.
It gave him a pleasure and thrill that nothing else could match.
But among them, a man named Gwan Hae-geum was not easily killed.
His blade arts were outstanding, and he had reinterpreted the Seven Styles of Blood Tears, mastering it in his own unique way.
He was strong enough to rival the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
Around the time their pursuit and battles were ongoing, the Mugunggye passed on the secrets of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears.
It wasn't the complete version, but he no longer had to fear Gwan Hae-geum's Seven Styles of Blood Tears.
However, Gwan Hae-geum, realizing he was no match, stopped facing him head-on and repeatedly fled and clashed.
In the end, he did appear and fight honorably, but he wasn't as strong as expected.
But now, with someone who had mastered the complete secrets of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears before him, he couldn't hide his excitement.
Finally, he could compare the complete Seven-Branch Demonic Blade arts with his own.
"Three moves, that sounds good."
Bu Eun-seol extended his hand instead of the Ice Soul Sword he was holding.
*Crack.*
A transparent current poured out, and Paeng Ryun's body instantly froze over.
*Shatter!*
Paeng Ryun immediately raised his internal energy and broke the ice.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The cold of the Glacial River Art was so intense that even after shattering the ice with his internal energy, water dripped from the tip of his nose.
"Didn't you say you'd grant me three moves?"
"Use your sword arts."
"That's for me to decide."
This time, Bu Eun-seol opened his right hand.
*Fwoooosh!*
An intense heat poured out, beginning to cook his internal organs. He had unleashed the Great Scorching River True Energy.
*Fwaaah!*
Feeling like he was about to be turned to charcoal, Paeng Ryun spun the Black Blood Demonic Blade like a windmill, blocking the sun-like torrent of extreme yang energy.
'I see. No matter how it's used, the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura nullifies all martial arts that use true energy.'
That meant not only the Glacial River Art and the Great Scorching River True Energy but also the As-You-Will True Art and the Thirteen Nights Aura would be ineffective.
In other words, the only way to defeat Paeng Ryun was through direct strikes or by cutting him with a weapon.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
Hiding his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol clapped his hands nonchalantly and nodded.
"Indeed, they say the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura nullifies all power. It's truly remarkable."
Despite his praise, Paeng Ryun's expression twisted.
He had expected sword arts, but instead, Bu Eun-seol had toyed with him by unleashing bizarre extreme yin and yang energies?
"Unleash your final move."
Though he had lived his life as Paeng Ak's shadow, he was a grandmaster of the blade who had mastered the ultimate arts of the Blade Emperor.
Even though his anger was rising, he intended to keep his promise.
"Very well."
*Click.*
Bu Eun-seol sheathed his Ice Soul Sword completely and extended both hands.
*Whoooosh!*
A formidable power swirled from both his hands. It was the greatest power Bu Eun-seol could wield.
It was 'Harmony'.
*Hwoong!*
At that moment, Paeng Ryun's eyes widened like saucers.
He instinctively knew that if he gave Bu Eun-seol time to gather such power, he would never be able to block it, not even with the Dark Blood Blade Emperor's Aura.
*Hwoong!*
He immediately swung the Black Blood Demonic Blade to cut down Bu Eun-seol's body.
*Tssst!*
But the blade aura cut through empty air. Bu Eun-seol had been waiting for it and unleashed his Extreme Speed Formless Steps.
"Were you a petty man who can't even keep his word?"
Bu Eun-seol hadn't developed the power of Harmony enough to use it in actual combat.
It took a considerable amount of time to draw up and align all the power within his body.
But when Paeng Ryun offered him three moves, he immediately used it to make him break his promise.
"How could such a narrow-minded person ever hope to reach the pinnacle of the blade's path?"
Paeng Ryun glared at Bu Eun-seol in silence.
In truth, the offer of three moves was also a high-level psychological tactic.
What if the enemy attacked with all their might for three moves and failed to inflict a fatal wound?
Not only would the gap in their martial skills feel immense, but they would also become psychologically intimidated.
But Bu Eun-seol had shattered that psychological tactic by unleashing Harmony, thus winning the battle of wills.
"I heard you were a man of few words, but you're quite talkative."
"At your age, you still believe the rumors of the martial world?"
Bu Eun-seol was certainly different from his usual self.
It was because he was faithfully following the advice of Wang Geol of the Iron Sand Clan, who had once fought a descendant of the Blade Emperor.
—Forget this pavilion's fighting style and martial arts. Then you will be able to win.
That was the advice Wang Geol had given Bu Eun-seol when he heard he was going to fight a descendant of the Blade Emperor.