Chapter 1031
Bu Eun-seol spoke with a bored expression.
"Do you get more talkative when you grow old?"
"......"
"Or did being stuck in that mold-infested abyss make your mouth itch?"
In an instant, a murderous intent so cold it seemed to freeze blood surged from Wi Ji-hon's pupils.
Click.
Wi Ji-hon, whose frozen eyes had been pouring out hostility, silently thrust his sword forward.
He was unleashing the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword once again.
Flash.
Suddenly, a brilliant light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Was he activating Harmonization to annihilate himself?
Or was he about to deploy the Bloody Tears Seven Forms to drag that sword energy into the domain of death?
Swish—!
Abruptly, a low vibration spread from Ink Soul Sword.
As if wielding a soft sword, he began to shake Ink Soul Sword ever so slightly.
Then, the tip of the blade writhed like a living serpent, tracing ripples in the air.
And the explosive light that had been enveloping his body slowly—yet unmistakably—began to fade.
As if his very existence was being denied, the dazzling sword energy was disappearing.
"What is this?"
Wi Ji-hon doubted his own eyes.
Once struck by the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword, which had reached the pinnacle of mental swordsmanship, there was no hope of survival.
Because it severed not just the flesh but the spirit itself, making it impossible to counter or evade at all.
Yet how had he defended against it by merely shaking his sword rapidly?
"Is this Limitless Power?"
Frowning, Wi Ji-hon unleashed another Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword, this time even more refined.
Instead of bursting forth with light or roaring like thunder, this one manifested as nothing more than a subtle vibration, barely perceptible as it unfolded.
But the result was the same.
Bzzzt.
Every time Ink Soul Sword trembled as if possessed, the momentum of the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword dissipated, and Bu Eun-seol charged toward him.
Swish!
Before he knew it, Bu Eun-seol had closed the distance to about ten feet and unleashed his sword technique.
At such close range, the sword energy poured forth relentlessly, forcing Wi Ji-hon to—
Deploy the Fire Rain Sword Technique, deflecting the strikes and countering in turn.
"Did you think you could win by fighting with standardized techniques?"
Wi Ji-hon's Fire Rain Sword had undergone multiple refinements over the years.
It was even more advanced than the Myriad Forms One Style, the supreme sword art of the Sword Sovereign, renowned for its profound and exquisite mastery.
Moreover, it dominated space itself, allowing him to instantly sever an opponent's flesh.
Even if the Sword Sovereign Heonwon Dam-cheong were to return from the dead, he wouldn't be able to block it easily.
Yet Bu Eun-seol precisely pinpointed the collision points between spaces, guiding the clash of their weapons—
And like a vengeful ghost, he clung relentlessly, persistently aiming for Wi Ji-hon's throat.
"Hah!"
Letting out an exclamation, Wi Ji-hon abandoned his standardized techniques and alternated between the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword and the Fire Rain Sword Technique.
But the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword never reached Bu Eun-seol's body, and while the Fire Rain Sword Technique could wound him, it was insufficient to behead him.
Even when Wi Ji-hon deliberately tried to create distance—
Bu Eun-seol clung to him like a specter, stubbornly maintaining a gap of barely a foot.
Moreover, was he using some kind of sorcery?
Every time he was wounded, light shimmered across his skin, and the injuries closed in an instant.
—The Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword isn't working.
A look of bewilderment, as if he were facing an unknown creature, surfaced in Wi Ji-hon's eyes.
No matter how profound his Internal Energy was—
No matter how many different forces coexisted within his body—
No matter how thick the barriers of his Spirit and Mind were—
The Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword had an inherent property: unless one had reached the same level of swordsmanship cultivation as him, it was impossible to block.
So why wasn't this bastard collapsing?
Wi Ji-hon's eyes flashed sharply as he scrutinized Bu Eun-seol from head to toe.
This wasn't just an ordinary gaze—it was an ancient Secret Art long lost to the martial world.
The Mind's Eye Diagrammatic Perception Technique, capable of piercing through an opponent's Spirit and Mind, physical condition, and everything else.
"So that's it."
Wi Ji-hon finally understood the reason.
Bu Eun-seol had been shaking Ink Soul Sword like a soft sword, generating minute wave oscillations.
"You accurately grasped the oscillations of the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword?"
Wave oscillations were more varied than human faces, possessing unique characteristics that only the wielder could fully comprehend.
No matter how exceptional one's Martial Arts were, perfectly replicating the unique oscillations emitted by an opponent was impossible.
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"Not long ago, I fought someone who used a similar method."
Myeong-myeol, one of the Four Blood Lords of the Blood God Heaven, who had slain the Blood God Heaven Lord by exploiting the weakened state of the Death God Heaven Lord's signature ability, Domination.
He had unleashed attacks that could neither be sensed nor blocked, using wave oscillations.
For a time, Bu Eun-seol had been unable to defend against them, suffering severe injuries.
Thus, when he realized that the attack pattern of the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword closely resembled Myeong-myeol's oscillations—
He created counter-oscillations to neutralize it.
"No, even so, it shouldn't be possible."
Wi Ji-hon shook his head.
Crude oscillations alone couldn't block the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword.
Only perfect resonance with the wielder's Spirit and Mind could achieve such a feat.
Zing.
He once again summoned the Mind's Eye Profound Insight Technique at full power.
At that moment, Wi Ji-hon's gaze froze on Bu Eun-seol's right pupil.
A mysterious gleam, as if it could pierce through everything.
When he saw the radiance shimmering there, a sense of déjà vu surged through him, and a long-buried memory from the depths of the Abyss resurfaced.
Ancient Sword Forest.
As fragments of a forgotten past flashed through his mind, Wi Ji-hon involuntarily exclaimed aloud:
"You—you're the current master of the Ancient Sword Forest!"
In his youth, Wi Ji-hon had been recognized by the Wi Clan elders for his exceptional talent and ruthless disposition.
He was chosen as the successor to rule the Fire Rain Sword Sect—an honor most would covet, yet Wi Ji-hon found it nothing but a nuisance.
"Even if the personality is preserved, it won't truly be me."
The Great Art, derived from the secret techniques of the Baekri Clan, could perfectly transfer memories, emotions, thought patterns, habits, and even martial prowess to a new vessel.
But Wi Ji-hon refused to consider that vessel himself.
"Even the Baekri Clan's Great Art cannot transfer the spirit and mind."
Just as a blacksmith could replicate the form of a divine sword but not its inherent power, this technique had always failed. Countless masters had died attempting it—personalities rarely lasted more than three years, often vanishing within one.
This time, they claimed to have obtained the Baekri Clan's true secret, one that could endure for centuries. But Wi Ji-hon wanted no part of it.
"If you must do it, wait until I'm dead. I've only just manifested Limitless Equal Enlightenment."
Yet the Great Art had a fatal flaw.
"It cannot be performed past the age of forty. Ideally, it should be done in one's thirties."
This was why the Wi Clan had seen so many young sect leaders meet untimely ends—they perished in the process.
"There's still time."
If he could master the Fire Rain Sword's secret arts that dominate the martial world and leave behind his own legacy, perhaps the Great Art would no longer be necessary.
Confident, he left the Fire Rain Sword Sect to train, venturing beyond the Central Plains to challenge a reclusive master and hone his Sword Studies.
Then, one day in Tibet, he suffered a defeat he would never forget.
On a sheer cliff, he witnessed an old man draped in tattered robes meditating in midair, three jang above the ground.
With every breath the old man took, the earth trembled faintly.
From his right eye spilled a divine light so intense it seemed to warp space itself.
"To think such a master existed even in Tibet."
Driven by competitive fervor, Wi Ji-hon challenged him.
"I seek your instruction."
But the old man gave no response.
Sensing his profound strength, Wi Ji-hon immediately unleashed the unfamiliar Limitless Power he had gained from his Limitless Equal Enlightenment—launching a surprise attack.
Yet his power sliced uselessly through empty air.
Without so much as twitching a finger, the old man had perfectly discerned the essence of Limitless Power and nullified it.
Even Wi Ji-hon's killing move—the still-unperfected Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword—was effortlessly blocked.
But the old man did not counterattack. He remained suspended, unmoved.
Swallowed by despair, Wi Ji-hon demanded:
"Why won't you kill me? Do you mean to humiliate me?"
"Humiliate you?"
The old man shook his head.
Then, he parted his robes.
What Wi Ji-hon saw made even his battle-hardened breath catch in his throat.
Where skin and muscle should have been, there was only writhing viscera, fully exposed.
"How can a man live without skin?"
"I was defeated by the True Demon and made his plaything. I lack even the strength to harm another."
The old man was the leader of the Ancient Sword Forest—a mysterious sect tasked with opposing the ancient entity known as the True Demon.
But their martial arts no longer worked against him.
Generation after generation, the masters of the Ancient Sword Forest had become his tormented playthings, living in pain.
"You, of all people, should understand."
The old man's smile was bleak, as if he had seen straight through the energy flowing in Wi Ji-hon's body.
"There is no 'True Demon Family.' They are all merely puppets."
Wi Ji-hon—no, the Wi Clan—
As descendants of a bloodline forged by the True Demon through countless cycles of reincarnation, they knew something of the Ancient Sword Forest.
Within the so-called True Demon Family, some pledged loyalty to him, while others despised being treated as chess pieces and sought to resist.
And now, the master of the Ancient Sword Forest was making one thing clear:
No one in this world can escape the True Demon's grasp.
In truth, Wi Ji-hon had always harbored defiance toward the True Demon.
What's so great about a hidden hand pulling the world's strings? One day, I'll surpass the Martial Extreme Realm and crush him.
But seeing the Ancient Sword Forest master's wretched state forced a realization upon him.
This man, who could neutralize his attacks without lifting a finger—
This man, who could perceive the nature of all power in the world—
If even he could be reduced to a flayed plaything, neither dead nor alive...
If he was nothing but the True Demon's toy...
Then what hope did he have?
That no matter how much he trained in this lifetime, he would never even reach the tip of that man's toes.
'In the end, we are nothing more than puppets bound by bloodline—a fate we cannot escape.'
Even if he led the foremost sect of the Demonic Path.
Even if he were called one of the pillars upholding the Demonic Path.
In truth, he was nothing more than an illusion trapped in the True Demon's grasp—neither greater nor lesser than that.
"Then I shall become the most perfect illusion of all."
Wi Ji-hon made his decision.
No longer would he resist the Great Art. He would seize control of the Fire Rain Sword Sect in accordance with their will.
Even if it meant taking the form of another's personality, he would survive—and surpass the True Demon.
Thud!
Wi Ji-hon's sword pierced through the hunched back of the Lord of Ancient Sword Forest.
"No matter how thoroughly you grasp the attributes of all forces, you cannot perceive a simple, meaningless attack, can you?"
Having identified the old man's weakness, Wi Ji-hon—
Thud! Thud!
—stabbed his back dozens of times before calmly walking away as if nothing had happened.
"You're right."
Bu Eun-seol readily admitted it.
"This Lord is indeed the current master of Ancient Sword Forest."
"Hahaha."
Wi Ji-hon chuckled darkly.
"You must think yourself capable of changing the world, don't you? That you're something extraordinary."
His voice dripped with mockery.
"But it's pointless. The outcome won't change."
Then he added,
"In fact, it's only because our bloodline took control of the Fire Rain Sword Sect that you were able to live in peace within the martial world."
"Spare me the excuses."
Bu Eun-seol let out a derisive snort.
"You were simply too afraid to resist, so you surrendered to the darkness."
"What did you say?"
"You'd already convinced yourself of defeat. Like a dog with a collar, you accepted the Great Art and ended up like this."
At Bu Eun-seol's scathing words—
"What do you know, you insolent brat?!"
CRACK!
Wi Ji-hon unleashed a devastating palm strike with his left hand.
The distance was too close, and the force of that palm carried the essence of the Transcendent Mind Sword.
Bu Eun-seol couldn't evade in time—his body was sent flying like a severed kite, crashing into a boulder.
Thud!
Yet almost immediately, he burst through the swirling dust and lunged at Wi Ji-hon again.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Another fierce exchange erupted.
Wi Ji-hon relentlessly wove together the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword and the Fire Rain Sword, but—
Each time, Bu Eun-seol countered with the Ink Soul Sword, creating waves of neutralizing force.
And when it came to the Fire Rain Sword, he blocked it with the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms.
"The Fire Rain Thirteen Forms?"
Wi Ji-hon's brow furrowed.
"No, that alone shouldn't be enough."
Even if Bu Eun-seol had refined his skills to the realm of Ultimate Transcendence, it should have been impossible to perfectly defend against his Fire Rain Sword like this.
"This is...?"
Amid the relentless clash, realization struck Wi Ji-hon—his eyes widening in shock.
"That's not your Fire Rain Sword—it's Wi Ji-mua's, isn't it?"
Only now did he understand.
Bu Eun-seol had inherited the subtleties of the Fire Rain Sword from his battle with Wi Ji-mua.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As Bu Eun-seol silently dismantled his sword strokes, Wi Ji-hon's expression gradually froze.
If he could hold his own against him with only a brief insight passed down from another—
Then didn't that mean Wi Ji-mua's Fire Rain Sword had surpassed his own by one—no, several—levels?
Grit.
The unease he had felt earlier was now reality.
His spirit and mind, once as unshakable as diamond, began to waver.
"How long do you think you can keep blocking?!"
Frustrated by Bu Eun-seol's flawless defense, Wi Ji-hon unleashed an unrelenting storm of sword strikes.
Bu Eun-seol's body was instantly drenched in blood, swallowed by the tempest of blades.
Even the mystical power of the Heavenly Light Endless Art failed to manifest against Wi Ji-hon's Fire Rain Sword.
Yet Bu Eun-seol's gaze remained ice-cold.
'Something's off.'
As Wi Ji-hon's spirit wavered, Bu Eun-seol sensed something strange.
If he could unleash the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword—a technique said to have reached the limits of mental swordsmanship—so perfectly, shouldn't he also be able to continuously release terrifying Limitless Power?
Then why was he only alternating between the Fire Rain Sword and the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword?
'That's it.'
A light of realization spread through Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
At the same time, a faint yellow glow flickered in his pupils—
Like Ak Mu-ryeong's.
The more intense the battle grew, the more his irises took on an amber hue.
Screech— Screech—
In that moment, his spirit and mind reached an unknown realm—one where he could perceive everything.
How Wi Ji-hon's personality had been passed down through a hundred and fifty years to Wi Ji-hye-sang.
And how the martial arts honed by the warrior Wi Ji-hon a century and a half ago had been imprinted onto Wi Ji-hye-sang's body.
Hummm...
A mysterious light radiated from Bu Eun-seol once more, its vibrations spreading endlessly, engulfing their surroundings.
"What an odd trick."
Wi Ji-hon let out a bored sigh.
"Let's end this now."
His voice carried the authority of an absolute sovereign.
In that instant, every hair on Bu Eun-seol's body stood on end.
Though his eyes couldn't see it, his senses vividly perceived everything.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Swords had already been deployed in the void surrounding him.
"Playing with you until now was merely for my own amusement."
Wi Ji-hon whispered with a wicked smile.
"I was... simply bored for so long."
He could have unleashed all thousands of the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Swords at once, yet he had deliberately prolonged the battle for enjoyment.
Thousands of spirit swords.
That was a feat only a being worthy of being called a Martial God could achieve.
Even if Bu Eun-seol were to grow dozens of times stronger than he was now, he wouldn't be able to block these sword strikes.
Zzzzzzt.
But at that moment, something unbelievable happened.
Spirit swords began gradually forming around Bu Eun-seol's body as well.
And unlike Wi Ji-hon's Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Swords, these spirit swords manifested in clear, tangible forms.
"You...?"
Wi Ji-hon stretched out his hand in disbelief.
"Impossible!"
As he unleashed thousands of Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Swords at once,
Bu Eun-seol also released his own spirit swords in response.
BOOM! BOOM!
When thousands of intangible spirit swords clashed against the materialized ones, a strange resonance rippled outward.
With each collision, Wi Ji-hon's vision wavered, and his head spun.
'Why?'
This was merely a clash of spirit swords.
Yet the tremors and shockwaves transmitted through his body were greater than if physical weapons had collided.
Why was his Spirit and Mind being shaken so violently? Why was his strength draining from his body?
"Is this the power of the Ancient Sword Forest?"
If this was the power of the Ancient Sword Forest—the faction that had long opposed the True Demon since ancient times—
Then could they discern the weakness of the Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Sword so easily?
BOOM! BOOM!
As the weapons clashed, the vibrations spread endlessly, gradually forcing Wi Ji-hon backward.
Until now, he had maintained the upper hand in their exchanges. Yet in an instant, the tide of battle had turned.
"It is not the power of the Ancient Sword Forest."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"Sect Leader Wi, you have not only stepped beyond the boundaries of the Martial Extreme Realm—you also foresaw this situation."
"What are you talking about?"
"From the very beginning of our duel, you deliberately expanded your Mindscape."
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"And when you realized your Mindscape had no effect on me, you seemed... delighted."
"......"
"Then a thought occurred to me. Even though there are masters in the Fire Rain Sword Sect superior to you, they have not stepped forward openly. The reason is..."
A flash of light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's pupils as he gazed at Wi Ji-hon.
"Perhaps because, in this body, you cannot properly wield a proper ultimate technique. Isn't that right?"
In truth, it was an obvious conclusion.
If one could perfectly transfer a personality and replicate the martial arts and achievements of a predecessor,
Then why bother installing Wi Ji-mua as the sect leader and manipulating the Fire Rain Sword Sect from the shadows?
Wi Ji-hon could have easily dominated the martial world under the guise of Wi Ji-hye-sang.
Yet even after obtaining Wi Ji-hye-sang's body, Wi Ji-hon had not stepped forward openly.
He only operated externally through Fake Bodies.
Meaning—even if the personality existed,
There must be a critical flaw in manifesting martial arts.
"Truly, your Mindscape is extraordinary."
Bu Eun-seol glanced around.
"There is no opening for an external force to interfere."
He possessed the ability to reconstruct Mindscapes.
Yet he couldn't detect even the slightest trace of Wi Ji-hon's Mindscape.
"There were never any spirit swords to begin with."
The Mind's Eye Severing Shadow Swords Wi Ji-hon wielded were not real—they were merely spirit swords projected within the Mindscape.
But because this was a Mindscape where the boundary between illusion and reality was indistinguishable,
He could deploy the Severing Shadow Swords, which continuously fractured both body and mind.
"The secret of the Wi Clan's generational personality succession..."
A mysterious glint flashed in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"Was manifesting personalities within a transcendent Mindscape."
The Baekri bloodline all possessed dual personalities, having perfected a method where independent personalities could interact with one another.
But since martial artists found it impossible to separate personalities in such a way,
They devised a method to construct independent personalities within a Mindscape.
"Knowing changes nothing."
Even though his technique had been exposed, Wi Ji-hon spoke boldly.
"From the Sixth Layer of the Phase Integers, the boundary between illusion and reality disappears entirely. Even if you realize it, you can never escape."
"I never intended to escape."
Bu Eun-seol replied indifferently.
"The reason I continued exchanging blows with your illusory spirit swords and stalled for time... was simply to awaken Wi Ji-hye-sang's consciousness."
Wi Ji-hon's expression twisted in disbelief.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You said it yourself. From the Sixth Layer of the Phase Integers, once deployed, no one else can interfere with it."
"So?"
Bu Eun-seol answered calmly.
"I tried waking Wi Ji-hye-sang in my own way."
"What?"
"The reason your spirit swords and sword techniques weakened over time... was because Wi Ji-hye-sang, trapped in the Abyss, had awakened."
"How?"
"Phantom Restoration."
Bu Eun-seol had learned a fragment of the Phantom Restoration technique from Ak Mu-ryeong.
Through it, he could summon Baekri Geom-ha from within himself and converse with him in reality.
For someone like him, pulling Wi Ji-hye-sang—who was curled up within this Mindscape—was not difficult.
"I met him several times. And once, we fought to the death."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at Wi Ji-hon with serene eyes.
"Because I know Wi Ji-hye-sang's ingrained habits and behaviors, stimulating him within the Abyss was not hard."
The waves Bu Eun-seol had been continuously emitting moments ago—
They were meant to draw Wi Ji-hye-sang's submerged personality back to the surface.