Chapter 1202
With Bu Eun-seol's vision, he should have been able to see right through the deep shadows cast by the cloth draped over the man's head.
Yet strangely, he couldn't clearly make out the man's features hidden within the darkness.
Swish.
The man, who had been staring at Bu Eun-seol, slowly extended his hand into the empty air.
In an instant, an invisible ripple spread from his fingertips like a wave, and the scenery across dozens of li around them was dyed a dull gray in the blink of an eye.
Absolute Boundary.
With nothing more than a flick of his hand.
He had cleaved apart and severed a space spanning dozens of li.
"Don't worry."
Bu Eun-seol, calmly surveying the gray-stained surroundings, spoke in a low voice.
"I won't run away."
Instead, he stepped closer to the man and spoke again.
"True Demon... is it really you?"
The one who had forged Pa Hon, burning with vengeance, into the king of Spirit Beasts, making him tear fallen humans apart and kill them.
The only being capable of such power was the True Demon.
[How foolish, this blood of yours.]
Unintelligible words flowed from the man's mouth.
[Still, you fail to awaken.]
"Blood?"
Bu Eun-seol frowned.
He had always believed he hadn't traveled to the past—
That he was merely experiencing the life of a bygone era through someone else's memories.
So what was he supposed to awaken to here?
"Are you speaking of a past life?"
According to Moon Wheel Saint King of Ratna City in the past, he had no past life.
Then why was this man saying such things?
"Why did you corrupt Pa Hon?"
Bu Eun-seol asked in a low voice.
"In your eyes, aren't humans nothing more than insignificant beings?"
[Awaken for yourself.]
The man uttered another cryptic phrase and slowly stretched out his hand once more.
Then, from his fingertips, an unseen wave of malice surged forth like a tide—
Drawing out the deepest darkness within Bu Eun-seol's heart, along with his killing intent and fighting spirit.
'So he means to fight without further words.'
But it was strange.
This man possessed the power to turn Pa Hon into the king of Spirit Beasts with nothing more than a touch to the head.
If he wanted Bu Eun-seol dead, a mere snap of his fingers would suffice.
Why go through the trouble of engaging in battle?
Swish.
Then, the man's shadowed eyes flickered strangely.
As Bu Eun-seol met that gaze, bizarre thoughts flashed through his mind.
'Don't tell me...'
The True Demon's Corpse, the Dragon-Phoenix Ring, the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud...
Alongside the image of the three treasures merging, a grotesque hypothesis surfaced.
'No, thinking can wait.'
Right now, the greatest enemy in history stood before him, radiating hostility.
He had to focus his entire mind and strength to face him.
Swoosh— Whirr!
Hundreds of points of light began to scatter from the drawn Ink Soul Sword.
Using Water Essence Divine Qi, he had condensed countless droplets of sword aura along the blade's surface like water.
'I'll go all out.'
The Four Symbols Spirit Energy, passed down through generations in the Central Plains, each had its own secrets and martial arts for control.
But Bu Eun-seol had obtained this power through sheer coincidence, so rather than deeply refining each individually,
He had devised the Heavenly Light Endless Art, merging their forces to explosively amplify his martial prowess.
Yet in a previous battle, Divine Beast Palace Lord Neung-gyeong had single-handedly defeated the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit,
And by examining their wounds, Bu Eun-seol had indirectly grasped the boundless variations and power of Water Essence Divine Qi.
Each spirit energy possessed infinite unique functions and applications, and the more meticulously one wielded it, the greater its power became.
And now, to defeat the formidable foe before him—
Rather than using the Heavenly Light Endless Art, he intended to wield a single spirit energy with absolute precision.
Pat! Pat!
As the Ink Soul Sword traced an arc, countless ripples spread through the air.
When martial artists draw their swords and unleash their techniques,
They can somewhat predict what sword strokes will unfold and what techniques will be employed.
But the swordplay Bu Eun-seol displayed—
Made it utterly impossible to anticipate what would come next.
Because after swirling the shattered sword aura like a whirlwind of raindrops,
He split them apart again directly, creating a downpour of blade-light.
This was an improvised sword stroke, utilizing the ever-changing nature of water inherent to Water Essence Divine Qi—
Each point of light contained profound martial principles.
Flicker.
For an instant, the left eye of the man veiled in cloth flashed.
The light it emitted was so beautiful and vivid, so captivating to the soul,
That it was hard to believe it belonged to the gaze of the True Demon, the origin of all demons.
Zing, zing.
Suddenly, a beautiful form of light appeared before Bu Eun-seol's eyes, dancing and blossoming into a dazzling flower bud.
Fssht.
The moment his gaze was stolen by that mysterious spectacle, the power of the sword strokes he had unleashed weakened instantly.
The man had weakened Bu Eun-seol's most desperate sword stroke in a way he could never have imagined.
Falararat. Purururuk.
The vivid shapes of light had already begun clinging to Bu Eun-seol without pause, dancing in mesmerizing beauty.
Sssik!
Bu Eun-seol unleashed his Water Essence Divine Qi once more, using the Ink Soul Sword to repel the luminous manifestations conjured by the True Demon.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks scattered in all directions with the sound of steel.
Buruuruk.
Though he shattered all the surrounding light constructs, the tip of the Ink Soul Sword trembled faintly.
He hadn't deflected them—they had been absorbed into his body.
Kkikikikik.
A dazzling, starlit radiance flickered before his eyes, and then—
Endless patterns of light bloomed, growing and devouring one another, forming bizarre new shapes.
'This is a wicked power.'
Clack.
Regaining his focus, Bu Eun-seol raised the Ink Soul Sword to a middle guard.
But the figure before him kept splitting apart, rapidly transforming into something entirely different.
The sky inverted. The earth beneath his feet pulsed like a beating heart. The air turned sickly sweet, and a strange euphoria clawed through his lungs.
"You think... I'll fall for this?!"
KWAOOONG!
A thunderous explosion split the heavens.
In an instant, dozens of jang of land were dyed violet as hundreds of lightning bolts tore through the sky and struck the earth.
Each bolt writhed like a living dragon, rending the very fabric of space.
He had unleashed his Thunder Essence Divine Qi at full force, burning away the invasive energy seeping into his body.
Zzzzzzt!
The violet energy surging from his entire body—
Wrapped around him like armor, repelling the corrupting force trying to penetrate him.
With even his irises dyed violet, Bu Eun-seol looked no different from the Thunder God descended from myth.
His hair stood on end, and countless tiny violet sparks crackled across his skin.
The earth beneath him blackened from the lightning, and the stench of scorched air filled the surroundings.
Grrrrrr.
The man watching this overwhelming spectacle tilted his head slightly.
No emotion could be read from his shadowed face.
Bu Eun-seol closed the distance in an instant and unleashed the full might of the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms.
'I must sever that hand.'
Though the man seemed to wield omnipotent power, he always extended his hand to manifest it.
Puruk! Papapapap!
The Ink Soul Sword's razor-sharp sword energy relentlessly pierced the man's wrist.
Unable to freely extend his hand now, the man instead writhed his fingers ceaselessly.
Shoooooo.
Strands of eerie energy poured from his fingertips.
Black and viscous, they coiled like serpents, wrapping around Bu Eun-seol's body.
Sssssik!
In a single motion, Bu Eun-seol shot skyward—
KWA-RUNG!
Then descended like lightning once more, propelled by his Thunder Essence Divine Qi.
The force wielded by the man invaded the body upon contact.
It couldn't be deflected or blocked—only avoided.
Pururuk! Sssssik!
Bu Eun-seol vanished, leaving afterimages in the air, only to reappear in an entirely different position.
Whenever the eerie energy tried to ensnare him, he scattered like mist before reforming to strike again.
"Wind Parts All Barriers. Wind Pierces the Narrowest Gap."
Wind could pass unhindered through any obstacle, slip through even the finest hairline crack.
Using the pinnacle of the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, he evaded the man's attacks while relentlessly pressing his swordplay.
'Faster!'
He kicked off the ground, pushed through the air, tore through space—never stopping.
Sword light embroidered the surroundings, wind howled in vortices, and lightning crashed down once more.
As Bu Eun-seol rained down attacks, always targeting the wrist, a sudden flash erupted from the man's shadowed eyes.
Then, something astonishing happened.
Countless lights poured forth—not to resist his swordplay, but to take the form of human figures opposing him.
Startled, Bu Eun-seol instantly switched to the Limitless Infinite, the thirteenth form of the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms, aiming to sever the neck—
Sssik!
But a shadow abruptly swung a fist at him.
The attack had shifted from intangible to physical.
Paaaa!
The shadow's fist, in that briefest of distances, underwent endless transformations—
And in an instant, dissolved the Limitless Infinite.
Bu Eun-seol simultaneously unleashed the Turning Child Four Seas and the Mystery Upon Mystery stance of the Fire Rain Sword.
But the shadow's fist technique was truly elusive as a ghost.
A punch aimed at his gut suddenly struck his philtrum; when it seemed to head left, it had already shifted right.
'This is neither Central Plains fist technique nor any martial art ever devised before.'
The force surged skyward before transforming into a low strike, then shifted into a piercing thrust aimed at his eyes before abruptly withdrawing.
Whoosh—
Finally, seizing the inevitable moment, the shadow unleashed a decisive blow.
'Dangerous.'
If that strike landed, there would be no escaping death.
Before such power, no martial art—no ability—could stand a chance.
Yet Bu Eun-seol did not retreat.
With the Sword Sovereign dead and the Profound Demon vanished from the martial world,
Bu Eun-seol was now the greatest swordsman under heaven.
The essence of their sword studies was etched deep into his right hand.
Swish—!
His swordplay shifted spontaneously, weaving a slow, fluid motion as if unfolding in a dream.
And with each movement,
it gradually dissolved the shadow's absolute fist technique.
Drip.
Though he hadn't blocked it perfectly, it didn't matter. As long as he lived, he could always overturn the outcome.
Slash! Hiss—!
Bu Eun-seol poured his entire being into his swordplay, attacking the shadow relentlessly.
With every exchange, life and death, victory and defeat, brushed past him.
But something was strange.
As this perilous clash of techniques continued endlessly, a peculiar dissonance flickered through his mind.
'Why?'
Soul-Demon Magic Energy was a transcendent force beyond the reach of martial arts.
Yet this man deliberately took human form,
attempting to suppress him using martial techniques alone?
'Moreover, these forms...'
At first glance, the shadow's fist techniques seemed like lethal strikes meant to sever his breath.
But after hundreds of exchanges, he realized they held an unexpected nature.
The shadow's fist studies perfectly countered his swordplay,
and within each trajectory lay an intricate flow, converging into a vast cycle.
Like a river.
No—like life itself.
When Bu Eun-seol attacked, it bent, scattered, and reformed—
shifting into new configurations.
'It's answering my martial arts.'
This wasn't a battle—it was a dialogue, questioning and responding to each other's paths.
By opposing his swordplay with an antithetical fist technique, it revealed the profound principles of martial arts.
It questioned, denied, and at times even embraced the martial path Bu Eun-seol pursued.
The shadow was change itself—cycle, ceaseless creation and destruction, the very principle of existence.
'I see.'
At last, Bu Eun-seol understood.
The onslaught of attacks was a martial arts manual containing the principles of the world, a scripture explaining the source of power.
The reason this man had manifested the shadow was—
to impart enlightenment, insight, experience.
To unfold profound martial realms Bu Eun-seol had never encountered, never felt, never even dared imagine—
testing him, teaching him.
Thanks to that, he absorbed the profound truths embedded within, as if meticulously studying a martial scripture word by word.
And those realizations—
They illuminated a path no one had ever reached, so faint its existence was uncertain.
A destination he could not even perceive before was now coming into focus.
'My martial realm is not the Martial Extreme Realm.'
When Limitless Equal Enlightenment had manifested,
he suppressed it, refusing to be shackled by the concept of Limitless Power, pursuing his own martial path.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already stepped beyond the framework of conventional martial arts, reaching the threshold of a new path—
yet he had never truly arrived.
No, he couldn't.
Because defining the nature of a new martial realm was something no one in the history of the martial world had ever accomplished.
Even after stepping into it, he had been groping blindly in the dark.
—"I claimed to have abandoned everything, yet in truth, I was still clinging to so much?"
A shudder ran through him like lightning.
Contrary to what he sought,
he had been carrying too much power within his body, trying to harmonize and merge them all.
Now, having grasped the principles of a new martial path,
Shuu—
Bu Eun-seol discarded even the Three Divine Powers, attacking the shadow with pure swordplay.
Hiss!
Channeling his full strength through his physical body alone, he unleashed a force akin to the Nature Sword—
Ziiing—
And the miraculous power the shadow had been wielding began to fade.
What he had longed for—
A realm where no one could wield supernatural power, where only pure human combat existed—
he had partially manifested.
'The landscape of the Utmost Void.'
Thanks to his battle with the shadow—
No, because that man had defined it for him—
Bu Eun-seol finally understood where he had arrived.
The Utmost Void Realm.
A state attainable only by those who pursued pure martial arts,
a stage where supernatural and aberrant powers dissolved—
He had stepped into the World and Realm Annihilation.