Chapter 1005
By nature, sword arts were created to defeat enemies.
No matter how slowly one executed them, the martial forms inevitably carried a certain sharpness.
Yet Bu Eun-seol's sword strokes were as sluggish as a snail crawling—not only that, but the innate sharpness embedded in each stroke had completely vanished.
It resembled less a sword art and more a qi cultivation exercise performed by retired elders for health.
Whoosh. Sssk.
The Ink Soul Sword, which had been slowly tracing a circle, shot forward like an arrow.
At last, he had executed the thirteenth stroke of the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms—Limitless Infinite.
Sssshhh.
Click.
Sheathing the Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol looked down at his own hands.
Though only six days had passed,
his hands had grown rough, covered in wounds just as they had been when he first learned swordplay.
'I have no regrets.'
Day by day—no, every single moment—he had honed his martial arts with his life on the line.
Yet, despite that, he felt no change.
If anything, the qi emanating from his body had grown incomparably more ordinary than before.
If it had once felt like he was concealing something extraordinary, now he appeared no different from a farmer tilling fields in a remote mountain village.
The only differences from before entering this place were:
Breathing was no longer difficult, the crushing pressure was barely noticeable, and the ceaseless torrent of worldly desires and distracting thoughts had all vanished.
Moreover, all he had refined during this time was the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms, which contained the essential principles of sword techniques—the very foundation of sword arts.
—I've neglected my fundamentals for far too long.
As Bu Eun-seol spent a day in seated meditation, adapting to the air and pressure of this place,
he pondered deeply why he had been unable to execute the Formless Heavenly Flow or the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
And at last, he realized the reason.
His foundation in martial arts had been far too shallow.
Because his martial prowess had advanced so rapidly,
he had skipped over the fundamental processes he should have undergone.
Of course, it was only possible because of his bone-grinding effort—
but as a result, there had been an implicit limitation in fully mastering either the Formless Heavenly Flow, which contained all the subtleties of Langya Pavilion's Sword Studies,
or the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, capable of breaking through all forces scattered across the world.
—Had I trained the Bloody Tears Seven Forms or Formless Heavenly Flow to the Great Origin Realm...
I could have executed them flawlessly even in an environment hundreds of times more extreme than this.
Neither the Formless Heavenly Flow nor the Bloody Tears Seven Forms were yet complete.
Thus, he couldn't freely control the speed of their execution, and there were limits to expressing their inherent profundity.
And when he tried to forcibly unleash such supreme martial arts under this overwhelming pressure,
he had instead suffered severe internal injuries.
—...Truthfully, those sword strokes are only passed down to formal disciples of the Fire Rain Sword Sect.
Suddenly, Instructor Jin Gak's benevolent voice echoed in his ears.
—Burdened by conscience, I did not teach you the last two techniques. So receive the remaining two sword strokes from the Sect Leader.
His relationship with the Fire Rain Sword Sect was far from amicable.
Then why had Instructor Jin Gak assured him that Sect Leader Wi Ji-mua would teach him the sword strokes of the Fire Rain Sword?
—In that case, why not take this opportunity to refine the fundamentals of the Fire Rain Sword?
His deficiency lay in his martial foundation, and he had already resolved to solidify the depth and basics of his swordplay.
Rather than advancing the Bloody Tears Seven Forms or Formless Heavenly Flow,
Bu Eun-seol chose the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms—
the first sword art he had ever learned,
the one Instructor Jin Gak had drilled into him so thoroughly that even the Profound Demon, Wi Ji-mua, had acknowledged it...
the very foundation embedded within the Fire Rain Sword.
"......."
Bu Eun-seol stared down at his hands.
He didn't know if this had been the right choice.
He had simply given it his all.
"A pity, but I must go."
The once-wide-open door now had only a palm's width of space remaining.
It had narrowed to the point where not even a head could pass through—even a martial artist skilled in Yoga Art wouldn't dare attempt to leave.
But Bu Eun-seol possessed the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
Zzziiing.
As he drew upon the divine energy, his body turned transparent in an instant, and even the form of the Ink Soul Sword blurred.
'Fascinating.'
Despite only refining foundational sword studies, his Wind & Cloud Divine Qi had deepened further.
Shwip.
In one swift motion, Bu Eun-seol passed through the door of light and emerged outside.
Unlike when entering, there were no restrictions when leaving.
The moment he shot through the long passageway, bright light finally came into view.
Pat!
"This is—"
Stepping outside the Golden Summit Platform, Bu Eun-seol's expression stiffened in shock.
The massive Divine Jade Pavilion, which should have stood beside it,
had turned into a pitch-black stone as if having fulfilled its purpose, its white hue and radiance completely gone.
And around it, lush vegetation had grown wildly.
Even the entrance emitted a faint glow—but even that was slowly fading away.
"Could this place truly have been the Land of the Ultimate Void?"
Only now did Bu Eun-seol finally grasp where he had been.
The hidden space concealed between the Golden Summit Platform's divine jade stones was none other than—
The Land of the Ultimate Void, said to be imbued with the energy of all creation.
Legends spoke of how, when humans entered and exited the Land of the Ultimate Void, inexplicable changes would occur in the surrounding area—changes that defied natural explanation.
Just like now.
Then...
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed to slits.
In the end, the Return-to-One Realm Lord had deliberately revealed the Land of the Ultimate Void to him, orchestrating this so that his martial prowess could be elevated.
"Does the Three Realms have the ability to detect where the Land of the Ultimate Void manifests?"
The Land of the Ultimate Void, where the energy of all creation condensed and pooled—
It was said to manifest in an extremely random form.
And because it was governed by nature's principle of returning to its original state—
It would eventually fade away.
Thus, it was known that only a sage capable of reading the will of heaven could locate it.
Yet the Return-to-One Realm Lord not only discerned its location—he had intentionally guided Bu Eun-seol to it?
"He wants me to grow stronger."
The reason he had revealed the Land of the Ultimate Void, hidden away by the Great Art of the Return-to-One Realm—
It was simple.
"To use me."
He could say this with certainty.
There was no way the Return-to-One Realm Lord had done this out of mere goodwill.
He was undoubtedly scheming something—
And to make use of Bu Eun-seol, he had deliberately elevated his martial prowess.
"Most likely, he showed me this place because my skills fell short of his expectations."
When they had clashed before, the Return-to-One Realm Lord had seemed deeply disappointed in Bu Eun-seol's abilities.
He must have anticipated that the Death Soul Squad would track his movements—
And exploited that to expose the Land of the Ultimate Void, hoping Bu Eun-seol would enhance his martial arts here.
"If only I'd had a little more time..."
The thought brought forth a surge of bitter regret.
Had he been able to train just a little longer—he would have undoubtedly achieved a true breakthrough.
"Just how strong are the Realm Lords, then?"
The leaders of the Three Realms must know of places like the Land of the Ultimate Void—spaces severed from the world.
Of course, even if one lingered endlessly in the Land of the Ultimate Void, limitless advancement wouldn't be possible.
But even so, within a short time, one could attain martial prowess beyond imagination.
Just how powerful were they?
"I'll drag them down."
Bu Eun-seol clenched his fist, his pupils burning with a fighting spirit as fierce as the sun.
An ordinary martial artist might have declared, I'll catch up to them.
But Bu Eun-seol had no intention of competing with the strong, nor any desire to climb to greater heights of power.
"Even if they've ascended to a realm like gods—it doesn't matter."
All he had to do was pull them down.
Bu Eun-seol didn't seek to rise to where they stood—
He sought to drag them down to where he stood.
Swoosh.
But suddenly, the sky darkened, and black shadows began gathering around Bu Eun-seol.
They took the form of specters, tinged with blood-red.
Were these not the Blood Spirits and Blood Gods he had seen in Immortal Valley?
Rustle, rustle.
Black mist billowed up—
And from it emerged a massive old man, clad in white cloth that barely covered his vital areas.
It was Myeong-myeol—the one who had supposedly been killed by the Return-to-One Realm Lord.
"You don't seem surprised."
Myeong-myeol tilted his head, looking down at Bu Eun-seol.
"Did you already know this old man wasn't dead?"
"I've run into plenty of fake bodies before."
When Bu Eun-seol had fought him earlier, he had clashed Harmonization against the Bloody Tears Seven Forms, triggering an explosion that instantly obliterated Myeong-myeol's arm.
And the traces left by that severed arm had been strikingly similar to those of In Bi-in, who had also possessed a fake body.
Moreover, no matter how formidable the Return-to-One Realm Lord's Bloody Tears Seven Forms were, no matter how profound his martial arts—
Killing the Death God Heaven Lord in a single strike was too excessive.
Bu Eun-seol had deduced that Myeong-myeol, knowing he would lose to the Return-to-One Realm Lord regardless, had discarded his body without hesitation and fled.
"Were you training your martial arts in this remote place?"
Myeong-myeol smiled coldly, his gaze fixed on Bu Eun-seol.
"No matter where you hide, you cannot escape this old man's grasp."
The Return-to-One Realm Lord exposed me.
Bu Eun-seol let out a quiet sigh.
No matter how vast Myeong-myeol's intelligence network was, there was no way he could have tracked Bu Eun-seol's movements this quickly.
The Return-to-One Realm Lord hadn't just given Bu Eun-seol a chance to develop his martial prowess—
He had deliberately leaked his location to Myeong-myeol, ensuring that Bu Eun-seol would test and prove his newfound strength.
No helping it.
Regardless of the intent, Myeong-myeol's appearance was something Bu Eun-seol had wanted as well.
After all, their last battle had ended inconclusively.
Strictly speaking, it had been no different from a defeat.
"Hoh."
When Bu Eun-seol maintained his composed expression, Myeong-myeol let out a sigh, as if puzzled.
He had expected the boy to either flee like a madman the moment he was discovered,
or at least adopt a tense expression in preparation for a decisive battle.
Yet here he stood with the utterly indifferent demeanor of an elderly neighbor out for a casual stroll—was this some kind of joke?
"This isn't an act, is it?"
Myeong-myeol found himself genuinely puzzled.
Bu Eun-seol's physiological responses indicated he truly was relaxed and at ease.
"Something's changed."
As someone who had roamed the martial world for decades, confronting its most superlative experts,
he immediately discerned the subtle shift in Bu Eun-seol's qi and tilted his head in confusion.
"Did you learn some kind of Daoist sorcery in the meantime?"
Such rapid growth in such a short time was impossible.
Moreover, Bu Eun-seol stood with the tranquil posture of a Daoist priest—
an aura of profound emptiness radiating from his entire body.
"Let's deal with those crimson nuisances first."
Bu Eun-seol frowned at the Blood God puppets encircling the area.
"Leaving them around would just endanger civilians."
"Hahaha—"
Myeong-myeol burst into disbelieving laughter.
"Right now, you—"
His mocking words froze mid-sentence as his face hardened.
The Blood God puppets surrounding Bu Eun-seol were disintegrating into dust before his eyes.
Clack.
The inky-black Ink Soul Sword now rested in Bu Eun-seol's hand.
In that instant, Myeong-myeol doubted his own vision.
Even if the boy had unleashed Limitless Power, it shouldn't be possible to deceive his Dharma Eye.
When had he even drawn his sword to attack?
"You've gained something interesting in the meantime."
Swallowing his shock, Myeong-myeol stepped forward with an approving nod.
His grotesque form—skin like charred bark barely covered by tattered hemp cloth—remained as horrifying as ever.
"Show me what tricks you've learned."
As Myeong-myeol extended his hand, terrifying energies began coalescing.
Anticipating a powerful strike, he prepared to preemptively seal all possible angles of attack—
a foundational move to completely neutralize any offensive.
Swish.
Then the impossible happened.
Bu Eun-seol had closed the five-zhang distance in an instant, the Ink Soul Sword's tip already piercing toward his throat.
"Tch—!"
Myeong-myeol hissed as he arched backward.
But the single thrust contained countless layered follow-up techniques.
Swish-swish-swish!
With each effortless flick of the black blade, Myeong-myeol found himself forced into continuous retreat.
Though just simple Sword Strokes, his instincts screamed that taking even one would be disastrous.
This kind of defensive retreat—unable to block basic forms—only happened in battles between martial artists who hadn't reached the Transcendence Realm.
A superlative expert who could neutralize Limitless Power being forced back by mere swordplay?
"Is this also Limitless Power?"
Myeong-myeol's mocking words came slower now as he attempted to gather energy again.
Yet every time he moved to execute a technique, the Ink Soul Sword materialized precisely where his fingers would be—as if aiming to sever them mid-motion.
"Fine then."
Any martial technique could be obliterated in a single strike.
Channeling his Internal Power, Myeong-myeol prepared to annihilate the entire area where Bu Eun-seol stood.
Or rather, he tried to.
Tssk.
A pitch-black sword tip had already pierced through his palm at the exact moment he released his Palm Energy.
"Humph!"
Myeong-myeol had no choice but to withdraw his hand—
unless he fancied impaling his own palm on the blade.
"Enough of these absurd tricks!"
Frustrated, he closed the distance to unleash destructive force directly into Bu Eun-seol's body.
But the boy flickered like a ghost around him,
the black blade always appearing precisely at his vital points whenever he tried to attack.
"Persistent little nuisance!"
Having reached the Martial Extreme Realm, Myeong-myeol's Blood-Essence Steel Body rendered him impervious to ordinary blades.
He deliberately allowed a sword strike to land, simultaneously preparing to deliver a palm strike that would shatter Bu Eun-seol's physique.
Zzzzing!
When the Ink Soul Sword touched his shoulder, a metallic resonance shook heaven and earth.
The impact sent Myeong-myeol's vision reeling as if struck by a colossal force.
A single shoulder stab shouldn't have scattered his Internal Power and cracked his Blood-Essence Steel Body.
"You—!"
As incomprehensible scenarios piled up, Myeong-myeol finally whipped both hands like windmill blades.
He unleashed his true hidden power—Devouring—spreading it wide.
Limitless Power that consumed other Limitless Power.
This was the unique absolute art that had slain the Blood God Heaven Lord,
a Heavenly Outer Absolute Art only he could wield.
'What?'
But Devouring didn't work.
No—it didn't even activate.
That brat wasn't unleashing Limitless Power.
He was simply pouring out sword techniques.
And not just any techniques—he was using the most basic, universally known principles of swordsmanship.
Zzzzing!
At that moment, Myeong-myeol conjured a crimson sword in one hand.
Using his Supernatural Power, he intended to unleash countless preemptive strikes, then concentrate their force upon collision to inflict internal injuries—an esoteric technique.
This was the same method the masked man with the chain sickle, his former subordinate, had used in Immortal Valley to gauge Bu Eun-seol's Limitless Power beforehand.
Huuuuum.
This method bordered on an absolute, unavoidable technique.
Eventually, the Ink Soul Sword was drawn toward the Blood Sword as if sucked in.
Fwoosh.
But then, Bu Eun-seol momentarily floated in midair and conjured foot shadows.
He had executed Langya Pavilion's foot technique—the Twelve Iron Pillars.
Bam bam bam bam!
No matter how fast a foot technique was unleashed, it could never be faster than hand techniques.
Yet when Bu Eun-seol executed it, it was as swift as a rapid sword strike—no, even faster.
And wasn't the entire space around them now filled with foot shadows?
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
As the Blood Sword clashed with the foot technique, explosive echoes reverberated.
He had blocked Myeong-myeol's devastating Sword Studies with nothing but a foot technique.
'Ordinary? No.'
A foot technique that unleashed thirty-six foot shadows in a single move could no longer be called ordinary.
Whoooosh!
But then, something bizarre happened again.
Weren't the Twelve Iron Pillars he had just executed now pouring down like rain?
And this time, the number of foot shadows had increased to a staggering forty-eight.
BOOM!
With another explosion, Myeong-myeol was forced back, unable to withstand the pressure of Bu Eun-seol's foot technique.
"The foot shadows were a feint."
The cascading foot shadows were nothing more than numbers—only a single strike actually landed.
"So you've learned to grasp techniques in the meantime."
Myeong-myeol smirked.
"Well, those Langya Pavilion bastards do master all sorts of martial arts."
"Proud of copying your subordinate's techniques?"
"Hohoho, quite the opposite. The one who taught me this method was none other than this old man himself."
"Fine, try it."
Bu Eun-seol raised the Ink Soul Sword to mid-stance and spoke flatly.
"The clash of weapons."
"Gladly."
As Bu Eun-seol took the bait, Myeong-myeol laughed heartily and swung the Blood Sword.
Unlike the masked man who wielded the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars, his weapon clashes were rooted in Soul-Demon Magic Energy—untouchable by any external force.
Even if Limitless Power or some wondrous esoteric ritual arts were unleashed,
Devouring would absorb it all, ensuring that brat would be the one to fall in the end.
Snap!
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol unleashed seven sword strikes.
Some were fluid, others razor-sharp—seemingly intricate, yet
they were, in truth, the most fundamental and honest Sword Strokes, the very foundation of swordsmanship.
He had executed the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms.
CRAAASH!
With a deafening explosion, Bu Eun-seol's weapon clashed with Myeong-myeol's Blood Sword.
No—it should have clashed.
Shink!
But the explosion came solely from Myeong-myeol's weapon—the Ink Soul Sword slipped effortlessly through the clash and drove into his neck.
"What?!"
Myeong-myeol jerked his head back in shock, retreating hastily.
His martial arts and Movement Technique were extraordinary, allowing him to traverse dozens of yards in a single breath.
Yet he couldn't shake off Bu Eun-seol, who clung to him like a ghost.
Not because his Movement Technique was faster—but because the Sword Strokes had already sealed off all escape routes.
Thud!
The Sword Strokes blocking his retreat shifted so swiftly that Myeong-myeol was stabbed in the back before he could react.
"GAAAH!"
Myeong-myeol screamed in agony as he staggered back.
Though it seemed like a shallow wound, the pain was excruciating—as if his spine had been gouged out.
"Ugh...!"
Thick veins bulged on his forehead as he endured the torment.
For a martial artist to be stabbed in the back was a disgrace—something that only happened during a shameful retreat.
The only other time it occurred mid-battle was when the gap in skill was as vast as heaven and earth.
So how could this be happening?
"Ultimate Transcendence?!"
Realizing something, Myeong-myeol's eyes widened as he sucked in a sharp breath.
The foot and sword techniques Bu Eun-seol had displayed weren't extraordinary.
No—they were simple forms, composed of the most basic techniques.
But they were perfect—flawless stances that not even the greatest grandmasters of the martial world could exploit.
Devoid of any weakness, they had reached the realm of Ultimate Transcendence—a state of absolute balance and Harmonization.
That was why they couldn't be blocked or evaded.
"How is this possible?!"
Myeong-myeol roared in fury.
"What kind of absurd nonsense is this?!"
He bellowed like a madman.
"I can't believe it! This—this is impossible——!"
Just moments ago,
this had been nothing more than a nuisance—an opponent he could crush effortlessly if he truly exerted himself.
Yet in mere days, he had surpassed him and reached such a realm?