Chapter 1206
No—the Empress Dowager didn't even have grounds to raise an objection.
The position of Dragon Scale Guard Commander was, after all, a special post somewhat detached from the existing bureaucratic hierarchy.
'There's no helping it.'
Bu Eun-seol had anticipated that the Emperor would bestow an official position after this incident.
However, contrary to expectations, the rank was far higher than he had imagined.
He simply hadn't foreseen being appointed as the commander of the Emperor's direct secret organization.
'This means he intends to make full use of me.'
In the current situation, whether it was the Dragon Scale Guard Commander or the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, he had no choice but to accept the position.
In the end, Bu Eun-seol knelt on one knee and bowed in acknowledgment.
"This humble subject, Bu Eun-seol, accepts His Majesty's decree."
Having accepted the official post, Bu Eun-seol referred to himself as a "humble subject," yet he did not fully prostrate himself or shout "Long live the Emperor."
The Emperor felt somewhat displeased, but he was well aware that martial artists did not shout such praises.
So he merely nodded indifferently.
Moreover, though young, Bu Eun-seol was a grandmaster currently overseeing the martial world.
Though unofficial, the moment he accepted the position, the Emperor felt as though he had gained an invincible army.
"Our expectations of you are exceedingly high."
The Emperor spoke in a low voice.
"With the same spirit with which you governed the martial world, now devote yourself to the peace of the realm."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands and bowed his head.
"I shall engrave Your Majesty's will deep in my heart."
Though temporary, his plans had shifted—he was now sharing the same boat as the Emperor.
From this moment on, he would have to weed out the poisonous threats lurking in the unseen darkness, safeguarding the imperial household's security.
After his private audience with the Emperor, Bu Eun-seol exited the palace through the same path he had entered.
Then, a eunuch clad in silk robes approached like a shadow and bowed deeply at the waist.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager summons you."
Bu Eun-seol's eyebrows twitched faintly.
'If the Emperor knows, then naturally, the Empress Dowager does as well.'
Though the audience had been conducted in secret, the Empress Dowager had already pierced through every movement with perfect clarity.
"Very well."
The place Bu Eun-seol was led to by the eunuch was Cining Palace, nestled deep in the western part of the imperial palace.
The interior was opulent, yet an inexplicable aura of desolation and gloom lingered in the air.
As he stepped into the hall, the thick scent of agarwood seeped deep into his lungs.
Contrary to expectations, the Empress Dowager did not conceal herself behind a screen or lowered curtains.
Instead, like a wealthy household's madam entertaining a young nephew, she sat casually at a table laid with refreshments, free from formalities.
'This is the Empress Dowager?'
Though he rarely batted an eye at most things, he couldn't conceal his surprise.
The Empress Dowager bore almost no trace of age on her face, appearing as a beautiful middle-aged woman of noble grace.
Her cool, sharp eyes were like plum blossoms blooming atop ice, and her fair, delicate skin was so immaculate it seemed untouched by even a speck of dust.
Her unpainted lips exuded authority without uttering a single word.
Her elegance was incomparable, carrying an air of both cruelty and mystery.
'She resembles someone.'
She clearly resembled someone, yet for some reason, he couldn't recall who.
Perhaps it was the unusually dark shadows beneath her eyes and the eerie glint flickering within them.
Like a thousand-year-old serpent wearing human skin, she radiated a sinister energy—so much so that his memory failed him.
"This lowly martial artist, Bu Eun-seol, pays his respects to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Just as with the Emperor, he did not perform the full prostration of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times.
But his words to the Empress Dowager were even more deferential.
"Indeed. I heard you refused the Dragon-Phoenix Ring bestowed by the princess?"
Her voice was gentle, yet a chill shot up Bu Eun-seol's spine.
His unshakable resolve, which hadn't wavered even before the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, was now trembling before a mere old crone of the imperial family?
"How could a mere martial artist from the martial world dare to bear the weight of such an esteemed imperial bond?"
"Hehehe. You speak so prettily."
The Empress Dowager's eyes, which had been smiling warmly, flashed with a cold glint.
"Yet you still wear it."
Though the Dragon-Phoenix Ring had lost its dazzling appearance and now resembled a simple wrist guard,
astonishingly, she recognized it at once.
"I decided to keep it temporarily, as he will allow the bond to continue after I complete a few tasks."
"Hmm."
The Empress Dowager did not press further and shifted the topic.
"I truly wonder where and how you met the princess for her to give away her treasure so readily."
A strange hue spread through her eyes as she spoke.
"It was something she cherished so deeply that she never once took it off her body."
"I have an acquaintance with the abbot of the Temple of Resting Clouds..."
Following the script Yu Jeong-pung had provided, Bu Eun-seol recounted the fabricated connection with Princess Hui-jeong.
"Hmm."
As she listened, the Empress Dowager repeatedly nodded along, murmuring, "I see."
All the while, her gaze swept over Bu Eun-seol's entire body as if scrutinizing prey.
'She's even piercing through my heartbeat and blood flow.'
The Empress Dowager wasn't listening to the story.
She was terrifyingly precise in reading Bu Eun-seol's physiological reactions as he spoke aloud.
Zing.
Moreover, when his gaze collided with the Empress Dowager's razor-sharp eyes mid-sentence, Bu Eun-seol realized something astonishing.
Her martial prowess was shockingly—
—her true level had never once been revealed in the Martial World.
She had reached the pinnacle of martial arts in this era.
A supreme master comparable to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor himself.
'To think such a terrifying powerhouse had been lurking in the deepest recesses of the Imperial Palace...'
Bu Eun-seol barely suppressed the pounding of his heart.
Perhaps the reason the Empress Dowager had been able to command countless martial masters all this time—
—was not by leveraging her overwhelming authority.
But because she possessed absolute power capable of subduing them all.
"There's no need to be tense."
As if reading his wariness, the Empress Dowager offered a faint smile.
"I merely summoned you out of curiosity about what kind of person would receive an heirloom from the princess."
She leisurely lifted her teacup.
"Who could have foreseen the Imperial Son-in-Law appearing in the Martial World?"
That unhurried gesture abruptly resurrected a memory in Bu Eun-seol's mind.
His early days in the Martial World, when he had been suddenly summoned for a private audience with the Blood Demon Jeok Bung, Hall Master of the Demon Hall's Elders' Hall.
To him back then,
Jeok Bung had been a transcendent being of absolute martial prowess, his depths unfathomable.
And now,
he felt that same overwhelming pressure of the unknown emanating from the Empress Dowager.
"How do you find the tea?"
Strangely enough, the Empress Dowager,
just as Jeok Bung had done to him, inquired about the tea's flavor.
In the past, he might have earnestly pondered the taste before answering.
But now he understood.
She wasn't truly curious about the tea's flavor.
She sought to extract volumes of information from that single response.
'Empress Dowager, do you mean to gauge me with mere words?'
Having discerned her scheme, Bu Eun-seol quietly concealed the icy smile threatening to surface.
Those with profound internal energy and unshakable resolve
would describe the tea's taste plainly and essentially, without embellishment.
But the inexperienced
would mix unnecessary exclamations, emotions, or affectations into their answer.
Moreover, by observing the order in which one perceived and expressed elements—
—the tea's temperature, aroma, water quality, or the cup's warmth—
—one could measure their insight and discernment.
In other words, what they noticed first and last revealed their thought processes.
'And she deliberately revealed her martial prowess too.'
The Empress Dowager was intentionally displaying her full might without restraint.
If her power unsettled him or made him tense... he'd either fail to properly taste the tea or overreact.
Ultimately, through this question about the tea's flavor,
she was testing his psychological composure and emotional control.
'If you're curious, I'll show you exactly who I am.'
The Empress Dowager was an adversary he'd have to defeat regardless.
There was no need to grovel—nor to conceal his capabilities.
"Plain upon the tongue, yet lingering in the heart."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was low.
"Had it cooled further, I imagine its fragrance would have deepened."
The Empress Dowager's brows arched momentarily.
This was no mere critique.
'Cooled tea' symbolized bygone eras or faded authority,
while 'lingering fragrance' represented desires still smoldering beneath.
In essence, he'd implied that the Empress Dowager's era had waned—
—and had she withdrawn quietly,
a more exquisite fragrance might have remained.
"Indeed. How perceptive."
She nodded as if oblivious to the subtext.
Then asked nothing further.
No attempts to coax or warn him.
"It's been long since I forgot my boredom."
She simply drank her tea,
exchanged a few pleasantries, and dismissed him.
"When was the last time I felt this entertained?"
Those were her parting words.
"Even this one forgot to drink tea for a moment."
Bu Eun-seol's brows lifted slightly.
'This unworthy one' was a self-deprecating form of address used by emperors, implying that the speaker lacked virtue.
The only period the Empress Dowager had officially used this term was during her regency for the child emperor.
Acknowledging herself as not the true sovereign,
but a temporary ruler demonstrating humility.
Yet here she was, in an era where a grown emperor ruled unimpeded,
still referring to herself as 'this one'?
This could only mean
she was boldly declaring that the emperor remained firmly in her grasp.
"I'm glad you found it enjoyable."
As Bu Eun-seol bowed with perfect decorum, the Empress Dowager nodded with an elegant smile.
Outwardly, the atmosphere couldn't have been more serene.
Yet with every clashing glance, it felt as if thunderbolts struck and storms raged.
Both had finally recognized
that the other was not just a rival who could dismantle their plans—
—but an irreconcilable, formidable enemy.
As Bu Eun-seol stepped out of the pavilion, the Empress Dowager murmured in an almost inaudible voice:
"For him to praise you so extravagantly... You exceed even the rumors."
Bu Eun-seol had shaken the world while still in his youth, and now governed the Martial World itself.
Moreover, his true internal power
ran deeper than she'd anticipated, and his wisdom and stratagems were beyond measure.
"Though he is still young, he might yet be persuaded. Shall we test him?"
The Empress Dowager spoke in a low voice.
"But if you deem it impossible, eliminate him immediately."
As her words ended, a presence within the palace vanished in an instant—gone to carry out her whispered command without delay.
"Martial Soul Lord..."
The Empress Dowager's gaze deepened.
Until now, everything had been within her grasp, predictable and under control.
At this critical juncture, when everything was nearing completion, a variable like him could not be allowed to exist.
Having left the Imperial Palace, Bu Eun-seol was returning to the Demon Hall by carriage.
After traveling for some time, the carriage abruptly halted at a secluded outskirts of Chengdu.
Click.
The door opened, and as Bu Eun-seol stepped out, the carriage sped away like the wind.
Standing alone in the silent clearing, Bu Eun-seol closed his eyes.
At some point, the flow of the air twisted, and the surrounding space seemed to thicken like a viscous swamp.
Ssshh—
Then, from all directions, an inky darkness rose like mist, swiftly enclosing him in an instant.
This darkness, spreading rapidly and cutting off all connection to the outside world, was neither martial arts, battle formations, nor the Art of Spells—it was a unique power never before seen in the martial world.
"I was wondering why you took so long."
Bu Eun-seol, standing with his hands behind his back, spoke indifferently as he observed the black shadow before him.
"You must have been sent by the Empress Dowager."
The conclusion was all too obvious.
A figure like the Empress Dowager would never invite him for tea just to idly observe an enemy's movements.
She had summoned him to gauge his abilities—either to sway him or to kill him.
[Hmm.]
The shadow stared intently at Bu Eun-seol.
After observing the clear, radiant energy flowing from his eyes, it slowly drew a dagger from its waist.
"So, you intend to strike without a single word?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, the shadow replied in a low voice:
[Someone with eyes like yours can never be persuaded.]
"You seem to know a thing or two about physiognomy."
Bu Eun-seol spoke leisurely.
"Unfortunately, it seems you can't read your own fate."
Swish!
Instead of answering, the black shadow lunged forward like lightning from within the darkness.
The strangely shaped dagger in its hand pulsed with a sinister energy, as if it could devour souls.
Sinister.
As Bu Eun-seol lightly dodged the attack, the blade's trajectory sliced through the air, extending far beyond to a distant tree.
Ssskkt!
In an instant, the thick tree trunk was severed as smoothly as a vegetable root.
Shiik!
But the attack he thought he had evaded suddenly curved back toward his neck.
Like the Martial Venerable of the past, the shadow had deliberately used an easily avoidable martial form—only to layer a vicious killing move beneath it.
Clang!
When their weapons clashed, the shockwave rippled outward.
The force transmitted through the Ink Soul Sword was beyond imagination.
Crackle—
A sound like splitting metal echoed as light erupted from the sword, and at the same time, an agony as if his bones and muscles were being twisted spread throughout his body.
This isn't martial arts.
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol caught sight of the colossal black Demon God Statue looming behind the shadow.
And at last, he understood.
The Empress Dowager.
That a mere assassin sent by the Empress Dowager could wield such overwhelming Soul-Demon Magic Energy—
If that was the case, there was only one possible identity for her.
She's from the True Demon Palace.
Only now did he realize why the Empress Dowager was so powerful.
And why, despite that, she had not overthrown the Imperial Palace but instead maintained a stalemate.
But why?
Neither the Baekri Clan nor the True Demon Palace's bloodline openly revealed themselves in the martial world.
Of course, there might be some kind of Restrictive Seal or constraint at play.
But if one thought differently—
Perhaps they simply had no interest in the affairs of the martial world or the Imperial Palace, continuing only their own ancient conflict.
If the two great forces, said to have fought since antiquity, had truly decided to reveal their power to the world—
They would have seized control of not just the martial world but the Imperial Palace long ago.
So why had the True Demon Palace gone to the trouble of making her the Empress Dowager?
And no matter how confident she was—
Why would she so carelessly send just one assassin without even concealing the truth?
[Farewell.]
By then, the Demon God Statue behind the middle-aged man had fully materialized, its form now vividly clear.
Its two eyes burned crimson, and its hands were pressed together in prayer.
Fwoosh—!
In an instant, millions of points of light coiled around Bu Eun-seol's body.
Soul-Demon Magic Energy—its absolute power sought to annihilate him.
Whoooosh—
But then, something astonishing happened.
The Demon God Statue vanished instantly.
The shadowy figure that had appeared as nothing more than a black silhouette gradually melted away.
Before he knew it, the darkness lifted—and in its place stood a middle-aged man with a hooked nose.
"What in the...?"
The man's voice, which had resonated in all directions like the Six Harmonies Voice Transmission, now emerged as ordinary speech from his mouth.
"What is this?"
He looked around in confusion.
No battle formation or Great Art had been activated, and the surroundings remained unchanged—
Yet both the Soul-Demon Magic Energy and the supernatural power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars had vanished in an instant.
Clank.
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol raised the Ink Soul Sword and spoke.
"This is normal."
"What?"
"Literally, the proper state of things."
Bu Eun-seol murmured calmly.
"Without those wretched magic energies or whatever they were."
At last, Bu Eun-seol—
Thanks to the Nine Heavens Radiant Cloud, had attained a new realm of martial arts...
The World and Realm Annihilation of the Void Extreme Realm.