Chapter 1000
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow.
Could there possibly have been a rebellion within Blood God Heaven?
"So you're saying you're the next Blood God Heaven Lord?"
"Well, you could say that."
Myeong-myeol smacked his lips and stroked his chin.
"But becoming the official Heaven Lord comes with too many headaches. You've seen it yourself, haven't you? Even if you dominate those packs of dogs—the Blood Spirits and Blood Gods—you'll just end up being called the 'Lord of the Evil Spirit Valley.'"
It was impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.
Moreover, his expression was so natural and his tone so friendly that it was hard to believe he was the Blood God Heaven Lord.
'If what he's saying is true...'
That grotesquely large old man.
Myeong-myeol... was a terrifying master who surpassed even the Blood God Heaven Lord.
"No need to be afraid."
As if sensing Bu Eun-seol's tense physiological response, Myeong-myeol smiled faintly.
"It'll be over soon anyway."
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, Bu Eun-seol suddenly shot up over a hundred feet into the air before landing back on the ground.
"Not bad."
Myeong-myeol nodded approvingly, his hands clasped behind his back.
"With skills like that, no wonder you were able to overturn Immortal Valley all by yourself."
He extended his palm again.
Glug-glug.
A crimson orb slowly emerged.
Swish!
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol launched a preemptive strike.
Clang!
But the moment his Ink Soul Sword thrust forward—
As if waiting for this very moment, the crimson orb clung to the blade like a magnet.
Sizzle-sizzle.
In an instant, the Ink Soul Sword turned red-hot.
Hiss—
At the same time, Bu Eun-seol staggered back three steps.
Drip-drip.
Before he knew it, a trail of crimson blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.
A single move from Myeong-myeol had inflicted internal injuries.
"Oh? Well, well. To think you survived even a single move from this old man?"
His bulbous eyes gleamed as he clapped his hands.
"The Demonic Path has truly produced an extraordinary prodigy. Indeed, you must be the greatest talent under heaven!"
Still wagging his thumb, Myeong-myeol continued,
"Martial Soul Lord, Bu Eun-seol. You certainly have the skills to kill Human Heaven Lords."
Having instantly discerned Bu Eun-seol's identity, he cackled.
"Since such a precious toy has appeared, I shouldn't break you carelessly."
"Toy?"
"Indeed."
Myeong-myeol smacked his lips again.
"Most things in this world shatter after just one move from me. Where else could I find a toy like you?"
His expression and tone were so cheerful—
He looked like a child genuinely delighted to have obtained a rare plaything.
Could it be that this man's martial prowess had broken through even the Heavenly Human Domain, reaching the Heavenly Will Realm?
'This confidence isn't unfounded.'
Bu Eun-seol felt as though he had returned to his early days in the martial world, encountering a powerhouse who dominated all under heaven.
'Just like that old man from before.'
When Bu Eun-seol first emerged into the martial world as the Ten Demonic Heir, he had met the Blood Demon Jeok Bung at the Demon Hall.
Back then, the masters who stood guard among the Three Demons—
They were like stars in the night sky, so distant that even meeting their gaze was daunting.
Time had passed.
Now, he could confidently say he had grown strong enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world's greatest experts.
But this man, Myeong-myeol—
He was showing a realm of power Bu Eun-seol had never encountered before.
"If I get serious, you'll die too quickly to be any fun, won't you?"
Like a child biting his thumb, Myeong-myeol suddenly clapped his hands.
"Ah, I know!"
Snap.
With a flick of his finger—
A masked man, short in stature and wielding a chain sickle, appeared before Myeong-myeol and prostrated himself.
"Elder."
"You play with him."
Myeong-myeol pointed at Bu Eun-seol with a grin.
"Not only has he awakened the true essence of Langya Pavilion's martial arts, but he's also reached the Martial Extreme Realm at such a young age."
His smile widened creepily.
"If you can kill him, I'll entrust Blood God Heaven to you."
"Understood."
The masked man bowed respectfully to Myeong-myeol before approaching Bu Eun-seol.
Whoosh.
With a sound so faint it was almost imperceptible, a sharp glint shot toward Bu Eun-seol's throat.
The chain sickle had pierced through at a speed that defied extrasensory perception.
Whoosh!
Bu Eun-seol activated Swift Shadowless, narrowly evading the ambush—
Flash!
—and unleashed the Transcendent Meteor Chasing Moon Form in a burst of intense crimson light.
But then, something bizarre happened.
Clang!
With a metallic clang, the Transcendent Meteor Chasing Moon Form was abruptly halted.
The chain sickle had magnetically latched onto the Ink Soul Sword.
Splat!
Simultaneously, blood sprayed from Bu Eun-seol's shoulder and back.
'Fascinating.'
Even if the masked man could use clone techniques, Bu Eun-seol had been confident he could block the attack.
So how was this possible?
"Let's try again."
Whoosh!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Thirty-Six Swords upon the masked man.
This was no reckless flurry of slashes.
Each strike was calculated—seizing every possible retreat path so that even if the masked man moved at blinding speed, he would have no room to evade.
Clang!
But it was futile.
Once more, the chain scythe collided with Ink Soul Sword mid-air, halting the technique.
Hiss.
Worse, with every clash, two strange currents of energy burrowed into Bu Eun-seol's meridians as if seeking to melt them from within.
His internal energy was peerless in the world.
Even if the masked man had mastered martial arts capable of shaking the heavens, his internal power alone should never have been enough to inflict internal injuries.
Yet, with every weapon clash—
How was this force penetrating so deeply into his meridians, shaking even his heart meridian?
Clang! Clang!
Bu Eun-seol continued pressing forward, relentlessly executing the Formless Heavenly Flow techniques, but each time, the chain scythe intercepted them, cutting his attacks short.
And with every failed strike, that bizarre energy wormed deeper into his meridians—or worse, the undetectable chain scythe grazed his body.
Before he knew it, over forty fierce exchanges had passed.
At a glance, the masked man's techniques seemed simple, even mundane.
But like a dragon lurking beneath the surface of a stream, beneath that plainness lay something extraordinary.
Clang!
Every attack he unleashed was met with the same metallic resistance.
Yet, no matter how he tried, he couldn't discern the method—or even the principle—behind the masked man's defense.
If Bu Eun-seol were an ordinary martial artist—
The sheer despair and frustration would have made him hurl his sword aside and surrender.
"I can't avoid the weapon clashes... and countering is outright impossible."
But instead of despair, a calm confidence settled over Bu Eun-seol's expression, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
The essence of Langya Pavilion Martial Arts was Seizing the Essence, Transforming the Origin—Taking the Enemy's Techniques, Making Them Your Own.
By deliberately allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the masked man's martial arts, Bu Eun-seol had already deduced that the old man, Myeong-myeol, stood on a higher plane than himself.
And so, he feigned helplessness—
All to thoroughly analyze the intricacies of this martial art and secure victory in the inevitable battle to come.
"Hm."
Had the masked man sensed it too?
His pride wounded, his gaze turned icy as he spat out,
"From now on, use Limitless Power."
Then, in a voice devoid of emotion, he added,
"What I'm using is also Limitless Power."
No matter what weapon or martial art the masked man employed—whenever he exerted force or launched an attack—
He used the moment of collision to inject an unstoppable energy into his opponent's meridians.
And the reason it worked every single time was because his ability ensured that clashes were inevitable—
A manifestation of Limitless Power.
"Heh..."
Bu Eun-seol suddenly laughed.
"Hahaha!"
Snap.
As his laughter faded, the eerie yellow glow in his pupils slowly dimmed.
He had been activating Langya Mind's Eye this entire time.
Which meant he hadn't just seen through the masked man's lie about Limitless Power—
He had also pierced Myeong-myeol's hidden intentions.
"Were you curious?"
Bu Eun-seol's gaze shifted past the masked man, locking onto Myeong-myeol instead.
"So curious about what kind of Limitless Power I wield... that you'd send your subordinate first?"
Limitless Power was a force that transcended human limits—a manifestation of will itself.
To oppose it, one had to precisely understand the nature of the enemy's ability.
For example, if an opponent's Limitless Power created endless illusions—
No matter how devastating one's own power was, it would be useless unless it could shatter illusions—
Or prevent them from forming in the first place.
Myeong-myeol, despite his overwhelming strength, had not underestimated Bu Eun-seol's potential—the same potential that had felled the Human Heaven Lord.
And so, he had sent the masked man ahead—
To confirm exactly what kind of Limitless Power Bu Eun-seol possessed.
Grin.
Even with his scheme exposed, Myeong-myeol remained unshaken, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit."
"Fine. I'll show you."
Bu Eun-seol's lips curled.
Click.
He sheathed Ink Soul Sword and clenched his fist.
"My Limitless Power."
Then, with a light motion, he threw a single punch.
A gentle force, like a breeze, flowed toward the masked man's face.
Clang.
That force, too, materialized in mid-air—only to be halted by the chain scythe.
But this time, no damage reached Bu Eun-seol's body.
The world's greatest fist art—
Using the principles of the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon, he had simultaneously unleashed the power of Release and the art of Absorption, countering the masked man's martial logic.
"Hmph. Did you think switching to fist techniques would change anything?"
The masked man sneered.
"Clashing contradictory principles is an outdated martial concept."
He had faced countless opponents who tried to mix conflicting martial principles to block the collision of forces.
That's why he could clearly guess what kind of technique Bu Eun-seol was attempting to employ.
"I'll shatter it in one go!"
This time, the Masked Man took the initiative to attack.
Swiish!
The chain sickle he gripped shot toward Bu Eun-seol's head in an instant, aiming to split it open.
Bu Eun-seol immediately moved to evade, but the Masked Man was already waiting behind him.
Thud.
He barely twisted his body in time, but a shallow gash still appeared near his shoulder.
"..."
The Masked Man's gaze sharpened.
He had realized—Bu Eun-seol had deliberately exposed his shoulder, and with an extremely minute movement, allowed only the slightest graze of the sickle against his skin.
"What, is dodging all you can do?!"
The Masked Man, who had been momentarily dazed, quickly regained his composure and deliberately raised his voice.
"What will you do now?"
"This."
As Bu Eun-seol withdrew his hand—
A tremendous force suddenly surged toward the Masked Man's face.
"Huh—?!"
Startled, he instantly retreated backward, but Bu Eun-seol had already appeared behind him.
Snap!
The Masked Man reflexively swung his chain sickle—
Clang!
—only for it to clash midair with Bu Eun-seol's fist.
Guh—!
At the same time, the Masked Man staggered back, vomiting a fountain of blood so violently that his mask turned crimson.
Shudder...
His body trembled uncontrollably.
The truth was, he hadn't unleashed Limitless Power.
Nor had the Masked Man exploited a flaw to induce a collision.
Instead, the Masked Man had used a mysterious Supernatural Power—distorting space and layering his attacks across different moments in time, converging them all at once.
In other words, while it appeared to be a single strike—
It was actually multiple attacks, launched at different times, all arriving at the same point simultaneously.
"Before you even attacked, hundreds—no, thousands—of sickle strikes had already been unleashed across this space."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze swept over the surrounding area as he spoke.
"In short, they were launched at different times, but all arrived at the same moment."
Hundreds of sickle strikes had already been layered around the space where the Masked Man stood.
And the moment Bu Eun-seol attacked—
The pre-positioned strikes converged onto the point of impact, amplifying the force exponentially.
That was why what seemed like a mere clash of weapons had actually inflicted severe internal damage.
"How... did you know...?"
"I've fought the One Hundred and Eight Stars until I was sick of them."
He had battled the One Hundred and Eight Stars, who dominated their Domains, to the point of exhaustion.
Having discerned that the Masked Man was bluffing—passing off his Domain as Limitless Power—Bu Eun-seol deliberately spread Water Essence Divine Qi and allowed a single slash to graze his shoulder.
Doing so let him perceive the hundreds—no, thousands—of attacks dispersed across the space.
Then, in one motion, he shattered them all and forced a direct clash of weapons.
Unable to layer his attacks and instead meeting Bu Eun-seol's fist head-on—
The Masked Man, unable to withstand the overwhelming force behind it, suffered devastating internal injuries.
"How dull."
A Supernatural Power may seem flawless in itself, but in truth, it harbors deep instability.
Because it is an innate, preordained force—one that is difficult to train.
In contrast, Martial Arts begin with instability but ultimately strive for perfection.
They start imperfect, so perfection is the only path forward.
And the true completion of martial arts lies in elevating what is already whole to an even more flawless state.
"If you've got any other tricks, spill them now."
As Bu Eun-seol spoke to Myeong-myeol—
"Don't get cocky just because you've mastered a single Martial Form. Against me...!"
—the Masked Man's furious shouting abruptly twisted into something grotesque.
His expression contorted, and his head suddenly dropped as if he had been struck hard in the gut.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Gasping for breath, he frantically tore off his mask, revealing a face with protruding cheekbones and wild, bloodshot eyes.
"Ghh—kuh!"
His jaw fell slack, his eyes bulging as if they might burst from their sockets.
"GRAAAAAH—!"
Splaaash!
A mist of blood erupted from the Masked Man's seven apertures.
What Bu Eun-seol had unleashed seemed like nothing more than a casually thrown punch—
But in truth, it was the Fist Demon Seven Forms, the Seventh Form.
A technique that shattered all preexisting systems—Discard the Old and Spread the New.
Whooosh...
The Masked Man had forged a Blood-Flame Golden Body, rivaling even the physique of a Dharma Heaven Golden Immortal—
Yet without even a final word, his internal organs ruptured, and he collapsed in a gruesome death.
Bu Eun-seol had already ascended to the realm of the Fist Demon—
The very pinnacle that Domyeong, chief of the Eastern Drifters, Western Wanderers, had sought to reach, even at the cost of betraying the Langya Pavilion.
"This is... unexpected."
At that moment, Myeong-myeol strode forward, his face twisted in disappointment.
"This is the problem with the One Hundred and Eight Stars. Once their tricks are exposed or broken, they become utterly useless, don't they?"
"To think they treated you as the successor to the Blood God Heaven. And you don't even seem disappointed."
"There are plenty of fools like this. The Blood God Heaven never had any intention of establishing a successor in the first place."
"What a mess."
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow.
"With the True Demon gone and the Three Attendants in disarray, the underlings are running wild, is that it?"
"Heh heh heh. Were you hoping to pry some information from this old man? Best give up now."
As if seeing straight through Bu Eun-seol's thoughts, Myeong-myeol bared his teeth in a wide grin.
"I never paid any attention to those trivial matters to begin with."
Then, twisting his bare body and cracking his joints, he slowly approached Bu Eun-seol with a satisfied smile.
"Now, shall we savor this properly?"
He licked his lips as if about to enjoy a long-awaited meal, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Thud.
And then, he took a single step forward.
Literally, just one step.
Drip.
Yet blood trickled from the corner of Bu Eun-seol's mouth.
Merely from the force of that step, he had suffered internal injuries, unable to withstand the pressure.
The sheer force pressing down on him was dozens of times greater than the Formless Qi emitted by a swordsman who had reached the Reaching the Summit realm.
'He's stronger than the Blood God Heaven Lord.'
The Divine Heavens' rulers existed beyond the known Martial Extreme Realm of the martial world.
So much so that one might suspect they had already transcended into the legendary Heavenly Will Realm.
And Myeong-myeol's martial prowess surpassed even those rulers.
Thud.
Myeong-myeol took another step.
Pop.
A thick vein bulged on Bu Eun-seol's forehead.
In the ordinary martial world, a body would have exploded by now, or at the very least, the victim's skull would have been ripped out without any resistance.
But all it did to Bu Eun-seol was make a single thick vein protrude from his forehead.
Grrk.
As if his pride had been wounded, Myeong-myeol tilted his head slightly, eyes flashing.
Then, an unimaginable pressure—far beyond what had come before—surged forth like a colossal wave.
Whoooom.
As the crushing force intensified, a faint golden aura began to rise from Bu Eun-seol's body.
Paradoxically, the overwhelming pressure Myeong-myeol unleashed had stirred even the deepest dormant energies within Bu Eun-seol's hidden meridians, spreading like a tidal wave.
Hwiiing.
The fiercer the pressure grew, the more his entire body became enveloped in a radiant, mystical glow.
The Counter-Polar Internal Art he had cultivated had already reached the Sixth Layer.
And now, he stood before the threshold of the Seventh Layer—a realm said to unite one with nature itself.
But the Seventh Layer was a legendary state beyond human limits, one no one had ever reached.
Because of this, no method or path to break through the Sixth Layer and ascend to the Seventh had ever been recorded.
Yet, as Bu Eun-seol endured the hundreds-fold pressure unleashed by a transcendent master like Myeong-myeol, his mastery of the Counter-Polar Internal Art deepened further.
"You—!"
Seeing Bu Eun-seol's internal energy growing fiercer, Myeong-myeol took another step.
This time, it wasn't just pressure—a bizarre force capable of melting meridians in an instant seeped into Bu Eun-seol's body.
'He can unleash varied attacks just by walking.'
Realizing Myeong-myeol was deploying an esoteric assault, Bu Eun-seol—
Kiiing.
—drew upon the Heavenly Light Endless Art, unifying the Three Divine Powers, while layering Harmonization thickly around his body.
At the same time, a mysterious pattern began to bloom from the scabbard of the Ink Soul Sword.
CRACK!
With a thunderous roar, Bu Eun-seol shot forward.
Myeong-myeol, startled, swiftly extended his hand.
Crrrrk.
With a grotesque sound, the Harmonization wrapped around Bu Eun-seol's body was instantly torn away.
But the Harmonization infused into the sword still remained.
Having discerned that Myeong-myeol launched an attack with each step, Bu Eun-seol had divided his Harmonization accordingly.
Thud thud thud.
Myeong-myeol, greatly alarmed, hastily took three steps back.
And with that, the Harmonization imbued in the Ink Soul Sword finally dissipated.
BOOM!
With a deafening blast, Bu Eun-seol's head snapped back violently.
An invisible martial form, unleashed through Myeong-myeol's footwork, had struck his jaw.
"Heh heh heh heh."
Myeong-myeol wore a triumphant smile.
Even if it didn't kill him instantly, he expected Bu Eun-seol's shattered jaw to leave him disfigured.
But as Bu Eun-seol slowly lowered his head—
Sssk.
—he smirked coldly, wiping the blood from his lips.
Even a strike capable of breaking Vajra Indestructibility had left nothing more than a faint mark beneath his jaw.
Flash!
As Bu Eun-seol's gaze locked onto Myeong-myeol, a divine light capable of shaking heaven and earth erupted from his eyes.
"So that's what it was."
In truth, every single exchange up until now had been nothing more than an attempt to detect Myeong-myeol's invisible force—something that couldn't be seen, nor could its method of emission be discerned.
'The power of the Ancient Sword Forest. That's what I need right now.'
Eyes capable of instantly grasping the nature of the enemy's unleashed power. That was what Bu Eun-seol had desperately desired.
Fortunately, that power had now activated.
'A wave.'
In Bu Eun-seol's mind, the nature and principle of the force Myeong-myeol had unleashed flashed by.
'Then I must create a counter-wave and make it collide with that old man's destructive wave in the exact same space, at the exact same moment.'
Zzzzt—!
A brilliant light spread across Bu Eun-seol's hands.
In that brief instant, he had forged a new Divine Thunder Annihilation by combining the Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy—which emitted a formidable wave—with the Thunder Essence Divine Qi, which shared a similar nature.
To analyze an enemy's power like this and instantly create an entirely new martial art that had never existed before—this was something that bordered on a new Limitless Power, surpassing even the highest principles of martial arts.
But Bu Eun-seol had no time to even realize it.
KWAANG—!
As another shockwave erupted,
Chiii—!
Myeong-myeol stood there, his body blackened, white smoke rising from him.
Not a single movement. No signs of life.
The counter-wave Bu Eun-seol had created had caused all the power Myeong-myeol had unleashed to explode around his own body.
"Heh heh heh."
Then, a low laugh burst forth.
"Hahahaha!"
Despite his entire body's skin being charred black, Myeong-myeol remained standing, completely unharmed.
"Truly remarkable. To instantly create a martial principle that never existed before."
Having discerned that Bu Eun-seol had instantly devised a new martial art, he instead laughed brightly, licking his large tongue with what seemed like delight.
"Delicious. Absolutely delicious. To block Limitless Power without even using Limitless Power?"
With his unnaturally long limbs, deeply wrinkled face, and white smoke billowing from him as he laughed, Myeong-myeol looked like a flesh-eating demon that devoured people alive.
"When has such a prodigy ever appeared in Murim before?!"
He was genuinely impressed.
The wave Myeong-myeol had created was Limitless Power.
Yet Bu Eun-seol had countered it without even deploying Limitless Power—instead instantly adapting and forging a corresponding force.
This was, in essence, a new technique that transcended the very concept of Limitless Power.
"There was someone like you in the past, too."
Myeong-myeol spoke with an expression so gleeful it seemed he might dance at any moment.
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang."
Shockingly, even his grandfather had been capable of instantly creating martial arts.
"You survived an encounter with my grandfather, then."
"I wouldn't call him 'grandfather.'"
Myeong-myeol replied flatly.
"He was only about your age when he displayed that ability."
An astonishing statement.
If true, then this old man, Myeong-myeol, was not only over a hundred and fifty years old—but had also seen his grandfather in his youth.
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade was not only a subject of the Covenant from his youth but also someone countless factions coveted."
Muttering low, Myeong-myeol shook his head.
"I've spoken too much."
His thick tongue moistened his lips as he spoke in a hushed voice.
"Now, I'll devour you to my heart's content."
FWOOSH—!
Myeong-myeol closed the distance in an instant.
With it came a destructive wave incomparable to before—an oppressive force as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.
It was a footwork technique akin to the legendary Ruling Step, capable of subduing enemies merely by walking.
'If only I could deploy Father's Imperial Step, it would have been a perfect counter.'
Myeong-myeol could exert infinite pressure on an opponent's body just by moving.
His father, Baekri Mu-ha's footwork, had the ability to deflect all force—but unfortunately, Bu Eun-seol neither knew the exact method of its execution nor could he deploy it, as it was a profound secret art requiring an unshakable, righteous character.
KWAANG! KWA-RUNG!
In the end, Bu Eun-seol unleashed another counter-wave by merging Thunder Essence Divine Qi and Ultimate Fire Wheel Energy while simultaneously deploying Swift Shadowless to escape the oppressive domain.
'I can't break free.'
But Myeong-myeol's attack was incomparably stronger than before.
'Then—'
Instinctively, Bu Eun-seol mimicked Myeong-myeol's gait.
Of course, merely copying the footsteps wouldn't allow him to replicate the power of Limitless Power.
But by doing so, he could rapidly analyze the nature of this force with his body.
"Foolish effort."
Myeong-myeol scoffed as he watched.
"Do you really think copying it will let you—?"
Zzzt, zzzt—!
But then, something bizarre happened.
Bu Eun-seol's body shimmered like a star... and gradually, wasn't he beginning to replicate Myeong-myeol's footwork?
The Imperial Step.
The perfected form of the Way of Nature, containing the most profound and ultimate principles of martial arts—unconsciously, he had been deploying it all along.
Thus, even Myeong-myeol's bizarre footwork could be mimicked in an instant.
Was this fate? Or divine providence?
An unseen, colossal hand seemed to be guiding him—leading him to Immortal Valley, driving him into relentless, extreme battles as if preparing him to stand equal against the transcendent being that would soon appear before him.