Chapter 1042
Thud.
The form of the Supreme Command Token—crafted from mysterious metals symbolizing the immortality of the Demonic Path—vanished without a trace.
Like the remnants of a dying star, shimmering crimson particles scattered like powdered gemstones.
The absolute symbol that once commanded the Demonic Martial World had now, in this era, disappeared forever.
"As of today, there is no longer a successor in this hall."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's expression was infinitely serene, not even sparing a glance at the drifting fragments.
There was not a trace of lingering attachment or regret—only the indifference of a child who had finally shattered a tedious toy. Mixed within it was a contemptuous relief, as though he had cast off an old shackle that had long bound him.
Since when had the Demonic Path ever passed down power and authority to a successor?
For generations, the strong had seized everything in the Demonic Path, and the Number One of the Demonic Path had always grasped the world by his own will.
Authority inherited, strength reliant on a name—
Weakness dependent on symbols.
The Supreme Command Token had never been suited for an absolute ruler as ruthless as the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
'The reason he bestowed the Martial Soul Order upon me...'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed as realization struck.
'It wasn't to pass down the Hall Master’s throne... but to drench the air with the scent of blood and lure the wolves.'
The Martial Soul Order was far too powerful a seat for the Heir of the Demon Hall to occupy.
It had never been anything more than bait—reeking of blood—to draw out the starving jackals.
Silence lingered for a long while.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor, who had been gazing at the distant sky with his hands clasped behind his back, turned his head and stared straight at Bu Eun-seol.
"Crush them all. Devour them. Take everything."
The moment their eyes met, Bu Eun-seol felt as though hundreds of mountains had merged into one, pressing down upon his soul with overwhelming weight.
"If you can still stand before me after that... then I will accept your challenge."
It meant that only by drawing out all the factions of the martial world, piercing through their hearts, and beheading the ravenous beasts among the strong—
Only then would he be permitted to challenge the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
"I acknowledge it."
He had no choice but to acknowledge it.
That he currently lacked the qualifications to challenge the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
Too many enemies still remained in the martial world.
The Three Realms, the Three Clans, the Same Heart Society, the bloodline and followers of the True Demon...
He would wield the authority of the Martial Soul Lord, exploit the shadow of the Demon Hall, and eliminate the factions that could harm those around him first.
Only after forging the Martial Soul Society into an unshakable alliance of orthodox and unorthodox factions—one that none could dare touch—
Only then could he strike at the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
That way...
Even if he were to die, his comrades and subordinates would survive.
"There is no such thing as justice in the martial world—only the goals each pursues."
A deep crimson light erupted in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"So... after I deal with them all, I will challenge you once more."
Excluding those who were inherently wicked—bandits, lust demons, the Killing Ghost—
The martial world was not a place where people killed each other over right and wrong.
It was simply that, driven by their own beliefs and goals, they became enemies—sometimes forced to draw their swords.
Every action had its cause, and from it, consequences followed.
If the path he and the Demonic Heavenly Emperor walked was the same, and if they could be of use to each other along that path—
Then now was not the time for them to clash.
He acknowledged that clearly.
"Then prove it."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor spoke solemnly.
"Prove that you walk the same path as I."
Had he said, "Show me your loyalty,"
Bu Eun-seol would have refused to bow his head even if it meant death.
But he said, "Prove that you walk the same path."
Meaning—he acknowledged standing side by side.
Understanding the implication, Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together.
"I will bring you the head of the Golden Vajra Demon Ancestor."
A united front with a rival.
Just as his grandfather had once done.
Bu Eun-seol, too, had decided to temporarily turn his blade away and face their common enemy first.
"However, you will no longer be able to use Jin of the Upper Blossom."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor smiled faintly.
"Do as you will."
"Then."
Bu Eun-seol bowed slightly and turned to leave.
"There was once a fine sword."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's quiet voice came from behind.
"But it was tempered too fiercely—and slipped from my grasp."
'The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's disciple.'
Bu Eun-seol sensed it immediately.
The "fine sword" he spoke of—
It referred to the disciple the superlative martial experts of the Abyssal Forces had so often mentioned.
"You should be wary."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor turned away indifferently.
"The only thing that one has ever longed for... was the seat of the Martial Soul Lord."
Bu Eun-seol gave no further reply and strode out through the western gate.
When he had entered the Holy Demon Pavilion, he had slain the Divine Guardians of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
In the past, even if he had been forgiven now, he would have worried about future retribution.
For one never knew when he might turn on them again.
But now was different.
He knew the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's goal, and he knew it aligned with his own path.
There was nothing left to hold him back.
'From now on, I can kill them all.'
Whether they belonged to the Demonic Path or the Righteous Path—
From the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's perspective, slaughtering more would only be to his advantage.
Now, it didn't matter who he struck down.
—To know the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's objective.
He realized just how much of a boon that was.
And just how terrifying.
As long as he remained in the Demon Hall, it no longer mattered who he killed or what schemes he unfolded.
The more he slaughtered, the more he would secure the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's absolute support.
'But don't you dare dream of my waiting until the final moment to challenge you, after I've handled everything.'
A man who vowed to eradicate all who existed since antiquity—
Would never place a mere tool like a blade on equal footing with himself.
There must be some layered conspiracy at play.
Bu Eun-seol's acceptance of this alliance with the Demonic Heavenly Emperor was nothing more than a single move in his own grand design.
'Because you are more dangerous than even the Abyssal Forces that seek to overturn the world.'
From this day forth, he resolved—
That he would never coexist with the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
After all, the moment the time came, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor would surely try to strike him down first.
For he alone had glimpsed the true nature of the Great Demon, something no one else in the world knew.
"Before that, I must crush the Golden Vajra Demon Ancestor."
What the Demonic Heavenly Emperor desired now was the annihilation of the Seven Great Demon Ancestors.
Bu Eun-seol, too, had intended to cleanse the martial world by sweeping them away.
So from now on, he could churn the world as he pleased.
Neither the verdant blues of Mount Jangbaeksan nor the eternal spring of Evergreen Valley could seep into Ja Su-ryeon's heart today.
Only a frigid silence and a sorrow that sank deep into the earth had settled over the valley.
Her once-straight back had imperceptibly curved, and before her lay the cold coffin of her daughter, Jin Seol, returned to her as a corpse after twenty years.
She had never learned the rites of encoffinement, but it made no difference.
She could simply do as she had twenty years ago—
Washing her child, dressing her in pretty clothes with those same hands.
Only, the warmth of those days had turned to icy chill.
And in place of a voice that once whined and pleaded, there was only eternal silence.
Struggling to hold back her tears, Ja Su-ryeon combed her daughter's hair and changed her into fine silk robes, the kind her child would have loved in life.
Then, with trembling hands, she gently applied powder to that pale, lifeless face.
A face that looked as if peacefully asleep—yet it was a slumber from which she would never wake.
Though she had witnessed countless deaths in her years as a heroine of the martial world—
Nothing was as cruel as preparing her own flesh and blood for their final journey.
"My child."
The name that tore from her cracked lips was a shattered lament.
A call carrying twenty years of longing, years she had never been able to speak it in life.
Carefully, she laid her daughter's body into the coffin. Now, it was truly time to bury her.
The dug-up earth was as raw as a mother's exposed flesh, and the coffin placed within it looked pitifully small and frail.
Ja Su-ryeon scooped up a handful of soil.
The moment she realized she had to cover her child, who had once lived and breathed with this cold earth, it felt as though a dagger had pierced her heart.
"My child... my baby."
She swallowed the sobs rising in her throat, again and again.
She had always prided herself on an iron will, unshakable as a fortress—
Yet before this parting, that pride crumbled like a sandcastle, meaningless and frail.
All strength left her body, as if she, too, would collapse into the earth.
At last, the coffin lid was lowered.
The thud of it split her heart in two.
It was the sound of complete severance—an eternal wall between mother and daughter.
For a fleeting moment, Ja Su-ryeon was seized by the urge to throw herself upon the lid and scream her daughter's name—but she barely held back.
Her daughter, cradled in her heart—
Because So-yo was gripping her hand tightly.
Ja Su-ryeon stood rigid, staring at the coffin where nothing could be seen anymore.
Not even tears fell.
Sometimes, grief too vast dries even the well of tears.
Yet her soul, collapsing within, was darker and deeper than the valleys of Evergreen Valley.
"She was the daughter I searched for, lost for twenty years."
Ja Su-ryeon looked at So-yo with a sorrowful smile.
"Had I known we would meet like this... would it have been better never to find her at all?"
"Master..."
"Or perhaps... since I saw her face at last... should I be content that I, her mother, could send her off with my own hands?"
Su-ryeon stroked the cold coffin.
It almost felt as if warmth still lingered.
But that was nothing more than a mother's futile longing, conjured by her own breaking heart.
A merciless wind blew through Evergreen Valley.
Low and mournful, like the weeping of a mother burying the daughter who had returned to her after twenty years.
"I had forgotten about this."
Just as she was about to cover the grave, Ja Su-ryeon's hand froze.
Was this the last ember of longing, still unextinguished even in the barren wasteland of her grief?
She reached deep into her robes and pulled out a small object she had kept hidden all this time.
It was the necklace her husband had shyly given her twenty years ago.
Bathed in a soft glow as if holding moonlight within, it bore a small but radiant gemstone.
"When our child is born, you must give this to them."
Her lover's voice lingered faintly in her ears.
What use was it now, when death had already torn her daughter away?
Yet a mother's heart did not follow such logic.
"My child."
Ja Su-ryeon opened the coffin once more.
With trembling hands, she gently placed the necklace around her daughter's cold neck.
"It's late, but... this is the love of both your parents."
Her voice crumbled like ashes, yet she smiled brighter than ever.
And just as she was about to close the lid again—
Ziiing.
The moment the jade bead of the necklace touched Jin Seol's skin, a faint thread of light bloomed.
Like a slumbering star whispering, the glow was soft and warm.
Paaah!
In an instant, the light spread across the entire necklace before seeping into Jin Seol's body.
Ja Su-ryeon held her breath. Was grief making her see illusions?
But the light did not fade.
Instead, it grew clearer, spreading across Jin Seol's pallid face.
Ssshh—
Then, astonishingly, a faint flush of color began to rise on her bloodless cheeks.
Her tightly sealed lips trembled slightly—
"Haa, huu."
—and then, like dry reeds rustling, a thin breath escaped.
"M-my child—!"
Ja Su-ryeon's eyes widened in disbelief.
Her frozen heart began to pound wildly.
Without thinking, she reached into the coffin and touched Jin Seol's cheek.
It was warm.
Just moments ago, her skin had been icy to the touch—yet now, warmth pulsed beneath it.
"M-my child—!"
Her voice choked, unable to form words.
Ja Su-ryeon clutched Jin Seol's hand desperately.
Frrrr.
Then, as if by miracle, Jin Seol's eyelashes fluttered—before slowly opening her eyes.
Her unfocused gaze wandered through the air before faintly settling on Ja Su-ryeon's face.
"Who...?"
Her voice was dry and cracked, but it was unmistakably the voice of the living.
Unable to hold back her tears, Ja Su-ryeon cried out.
It was her daughter's voice—one she had longed to hear even in dreams for twenty years.
"My child—!"
A cry of joy, born from the depths of despair, echoed through Jangchun Valley.
To hold her daughter again, returned from the threshold of death—could there be any greater happiness in this world?
"......"
Jin Seol blinked her large eyes at the sobbing Ja Su-ryeon.
Something seemed to stir in her mind, but she could remember nothing.
Yet as she looked at the beautiful middle-aged woman before her,
her heart grew warm—and then sorrowful.
"I am your mother."
Ja Su-ryeon embraced Jin Seol, tears of joy streaming down her face.
Jin Seol blinked repeatedly, unable to comprehend the situation.
"Mo...ther?"
She couldn't even recall her own name, yet she could feel that Ja Su-ryeon was truly her mother.
That she had never forgotten her, had searched for her all this time—had endured with that aching longing.
Drip, drip.
Watching the mother and daughter reunite across the vast expanse of time,
even So-yo, who had been silently observing, wiped away her tears.
In an instant, Jangchun Valley became an ocean of tears.
'So it was the power of the Sacred Realm.'
From a distance, Bu Eun-seol nodded quietly.
Just as the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had said, Jin Seol had returned to life.
No—she had never truly died.
The backlash of that mysterious power had merely caused all her organs to temporarily cease.
'That is the power of the Sacred Realm.'
Bu Eun-seol could sense the mystical energy radiating from Jin Seol's body.
It was not the shockwave of True Qi wielded by martial artists, nor the force of a Supernatural Power.
It was a primordial force of nature—one that even he, bearer of the Three Divine Powers, could barely perceive.
'Young Lady Jin must now leave the Martial World and find happiness.'
When the time came, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor would undoubtedly seek to use Jin Seol's power for some scheme.
Even though Bu Eun-seol had sworn to destroy those plans, the Emperor had not even batted an eye.
'Which means even my actions are part of his calculations.'
Just as the Demonic Heavenly Emperor knew Bu Eun-seol well,
Bu Eun-seol also knew the Emperor all too well.
'Hall Master Sado. Nothing will go as you intend.'
Having finished his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol stepped deeper into the forest and sent a Voice Transmission to So-yo.
[It seems the time has come for us to return.]
At that moment, So-yo—who had been quietly wiping her tears—smiled brightly.
She quietly used her movement technique to head toward the source of Bu Eun-seol’s voice transmission.
After crossing a stretch of forest, she reached a small pond fed by a waterfall. A striking man dressed in black was waiting there.
"Eun-seol!"
So-yo sprinted forward and seized him in a fierce embrace.
When he had left her behind to challenge the Demonic Heavenly Emperor,
she had been terrified.
And heartbroken.
The thought of not being able to stand by his side in his final moments—
But now, he had returned unharmed.
"I'm fine."
Bu Eun-seol patted her back gently.
The shadows beneath her eyes told him everything—just how much anguish she had endured in his absence.
"Did you win?"
Even So-yo, who rarely showed surprise at anything, couldn't hide her astonishment this time.
Bu Eun-seol had gone to confront the Demonic Heavenly Emperor—how could he return completely unscathed?
She pinched her cheeks several times, half-convinced she was dreaming.
"No. We didn't fight."
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath before speaking.
"He already knew Jin Seol was alive."
"Then... it must be the power of the Sacred Realm?"
So-yo shared most of the information Bu Eun-seol possessed, so she vaguely suspected Jin Seol's lineage traced back to the Sacred Realm.
"Correct."
His expression darkened as he continued.
"The Demonic Heavenly Emperor said he orchestrated all of this deliberately—to push Jin Seol toward a breakthrough."
"Because he needed the Sacred Realm's power?"
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"But I don't know what he intends to use it for. As he is now, he lacks nothing."
Then, he recounted the entirety of his conversation with the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
So-yo listened silently, her brow furrowing repeatedly.
It wasn't surprising that a man like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor desired the unification of the martial world.
But his declaration—that he would eradicate both the Seven Great Demon Ancestors and the Ten Great Immortals—
And his bold claim that he would even dispose of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon—
That was harder to believe.
"We can't take his words at face value."
"I agree. But his plan to eliminate the Abyssal Forces—that much is sincere."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor was the strongest martial artist in the current era.
Yet even he was constrained by the Abyssal Forces, unable to act as freely as he wished.
From the moment he resolved to destroy the Demonic Path alongside his grandfather, he must have planned to annihilate them entirely.
"Until the factions threatening the martial world are dealt with, I intend to walk alongside him."
He met So-yo's gaze as he spoke.
"For now, Jin Seol should stay with her mother and regain stability. It's time for us to return."
"Mm."
So-yo nodded eagerly, and Bu Eun-seol continued.
"I'll head to the Azure Heaven Alliance to discuss matters regarding the Golden Vajra Demon Ancestor."
Then, he produced two books.
They contained condensed reports of all the intelligence Bu Eun-seol had gathered—to be delivered to the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit and the core members of the Martial Soul Society for deliberation.
"Deliver these to them. The Death Shadow War Unit and the Martial Soul Society must convene."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's ultimate goal remained unknown.
But simply understanding his convictions—
That alone would allow them to solidify their next steps.
"Understood."
"And give this to Senior Ja."
What Bu Eun-seol handed over next was a map to one of the secret hideouts he had prepared.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor likely already knew Jin Seol would reside there—
And when the time came, he would undoubtedly seek to use her.
This was Bu Eun-seol's way of ensuring the two could live freely, beyond the reach of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's influence.
"Even this won't be enough to evade his grasp entirely."
"No. We're not evading."
Bu Eun-seol spoke with unwavering confidence.
"Even if he comes for Jin Seol when the time comes, I'll make sure she's never used by him."
Understanding his meaning, So-yo nodded.
"But... Master won't leave Everbloom Valley."
"In the past, perhaps. But now that she's regained her beloved daughter... she won't act recklessly."
Having recovered her precious child—
Her future actions would be measured, her caution heightened.
"Alright. I'll try to persuade her."
"Then I'll take my leave first. Don't tell Senior Ja or Jin Seol that I came."
"Mm. And—"
So-yo stared into Bu Eun-seol's exhausted, shadowed eyes—then offered him a serene yet radiant smile.
"Take care of yourself."
Just those few words—yet they struck deep, tightening his chest.
He could feel the depth of her worry, her care for him.
'From now on... I'll be a little more honest with my feelings.'
When Jin Seol, even in the face of death, refused to abandon her love and confessed to him with burning sincerity—
Bu Eun-seol had regretted it.
Regretted turning away from the hearts of women who loved him, all because he believed his fate was to live a fleeting life.
Life was unpredictable—no one could see even an inch ahead.
If that was the case, then at the very least—
He should be honest with his own emotions.
"I will."
Bu Eun-seol smiled brightly.
Seeing that smile, So-yo felt a cold pang in her chest—nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
That radiance was warm as dazzling sunlight—
Yet it felt like gazing upon a dreamscape, forever out of reach.
"Mm."
But she didn't let it show. Instead, she curved her eyes into crescents and beamed back.
"I'll go ahead."
With that, she unfolded her movement technique and vanished into the distant sky.
Watching her figure disappear, Bu Eun-seol unleashed Swift Shadowless in a single breath and departed Everbloom Valley.
Now—as promised to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor—
He would hunt down the Golden Vajra Demon Ancestor, the source of chaos plaguing the martial world, and cut them down.