Chapter 1215
At a distance where the Azure Heaven Alliance appeared as a mere speck on the horizon.
Atop a sheer cliff of a towering mountain that seemed to reject human footsteps, a brilliantly bright moon hung close, as if illuminating the entire world.
Beneath the moonlight, the vast expanse of blue-green forest stretched endlessly.
It was a breathtaking sight, like the furious waves of an ocean frozen in a single moment—a boundless sea of emerald.
The cold night breeze gently rustled the robes of the two men.
At their feet, a wine jar large enough to fit a child glimmered under the moonlight.
Bu Eun-seol and Bukgung Ryeong.
The two had spent the entire night drinking, using the scenery as their companion.
Before they knew it, the veil of night had lifted, and the crisp dawn air brushed against their skin—yet their conversation, rare as this meeting was, showed no sign of stopping.
Their friendship transcended age.
Though they bickered like children, they had forged a bond as unbreakable as gold and orchids—a pledge to entrust their backs to one another.
After a night of unreserved drinking, pouring out their hearts, it felt as though the fatigue that had accumulated over time had been thoroughly washed away.
By the time sunlight began to spill over the land, the wine jar had been completely emptied.
A brief silence settled between them.
"Lately..."
Bukgung Ryeong was the first to break the silence.
For a while, he hesitated, stroking his beard absentmindedly.
"I've been working on creating a new martial art, all on my own."
"That's something to celebrate."
"Is it? But..."
His voice carried an inexplicable self-deprecation and loneliness.
"Ever since becoming the Alliance Leader, I haven't had as many chances to fight as I did when I wandered the Martial World."
"Now that you stand at the peak... you must fight your own shadow, no?"
"Well, that's true."
Bukgung Ryeong nodded, but his expression soured slightly.
"But how can I know if this martial art will truly stand against the masters of this era... or if it's just something to boast about in the comfort of my own home?"
Hearing this, Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
'That's a relief.'
The dark, heavy shadow that had lingered in Bukgung Ryeong's eyes had been weighing on his mind.
He had even wondered if it was the burden and isolation of leading the Azure Heaven Alliance—Sichuan's foremost coalition.
But to think the root of his concern was simply the creation of a new martial art?
"You should've said so sooner."
Bu Eun-seol chuckled as he rose to his feet.
"You've been so gloomy, I thought you'd met and been rejected by a beautiful senior master."
Brushing the dirt off his robes, he grinned and stretched his hand toward the sky.
Whoosh.
Large and small stones around the cliff suddenly sprang into the air as if alive.
Pop pop pop pop!
They began forming a transparent barrier, encircling the two men across dozens of yards.
Huuuuum.
The air trembled faintly—
And in an instant, the mountaintop became a world completely isolated from the outside.
If the aftermath of their martial arts were to run rampant here, the entire mountain could crumble.
Bu Eun-seol had deployed an ancient arcane technique, akin to the Absolute Boundary, separating space itself to contain the destructive force.
"Go on, show me."
"Be careful."
Bukgung Ryeong's gaze shifted instantly.
The playful glint in his eyes vanished, replaced by the solemn focus of a martial seeker devoted solely to the Way of Might.
He slowly looked down at his palm and spoke softly.
"This isn't the kind of technique where power is adjusted by the strength of one's Internal Energy... Even I can't gauge how far this force will reach."
"Enough worrying. Unleash it."
Though Bu Eun-seol appeared to be standing at ease—
In truth, his stance was as immovable as if he could hold up the heavens and earth.
Seeing his unshakable posture, Bukgung Ryeong nodded gravely.
"Very well."
Flash!
In that instant, all color vanished from the world. Sound died.
Only a blinding white light, bright enough to sear the eyes, filled the space.
In that fleeting moment, Bu Eun-seol witnessed the pinnacle of projectile force.
What is projectile force?
It is the power to rebound, to launch.
Then what is its ultimate principle?
What form does its extreme limit take?
Only after seeing that cascading light could he understand.
An instant.
It governed an instant shorter even than the blink of an eye.
'So this is projectile force.'
Bukgung Ryeong had reached the apex of projectile force.
This was not merely the release of his Inner Energy Bullet Art.
He had pierced through all space, all time in the vicinity of this cliff—with nothing but the profound essence of projectile force.
'There's no dodging this.'
Bukgung Ryeong's Inner Energy Bullet Art had become light itself—
Perceiving Bu Eun-seol's body as a single space and mercilessly penetrating through it.
'Limitless Power? No, not quite.'
Through the profound essence of projectile force, Bukgung Ryeong had unleashed a transcendent power—one that overturned the very principles and extremes of martial arts.
A force akin to Limitless Power.
CRACKOOOONG!
A bizarre yet majestic metallic sound reverberated through the air, as if a massive temple bell had been struck with a hammer—emanating from Bu Eun-seol's body, which had just been struck by the force of the bullet.
FLASH!
At the same time, a dazzling five-color flash erupted from his body like an explosion.
Bu Eun-seol had instinctively sensed that Bukgung Ryeong's martial arts transcended the bounds of common sense.
So he had wrapped himself in the energy of Harmonization, using it like Protective Astral Energy to shield his body completely.
CRACKLE—CRACKLE—
Spiderweb-like fissures spread across the transparent battle formation that had sealed the sky before shattering into fragments like glass.
WHOOSH—!
Simultaneously, as if countless shooting stars had plummeted straight down, hundreds—no, thousands—of perfectly round holes were punched into the ground around where Bu Eun-seol stood.
Hiiiiisssss...
Smoke curled up from his chest area.
Even with Harmonization shielding him, a single strand of that terrifying force had pierced through his clothing.
Fortunately, thanks to his protective clothing, the fabric remained undamaged—but the pale smoke continued to rise ceaselessly into the air.
"Haa..."
Cold sweat trickled down Bu Eun-seol's spine as he stared at his singed sleeve.
Had he been overconfident in his own abilities?
Had he underestimated Bukgung Ryeong's strength and neglected to envelop himself in Harmonization?
By now, his body would have been just like the ground beneath him—riddled with hundreds of holes, a cold corpse standing in place.
"Congratulations."
With a pleased expression, Bu Eun-seol raised his thumb toward Bukgung Ryeong.
"You've achieved Limitless Power without even reaching the Martial Extreme Realm."
Bukgung Ryeong, too, had abandoned the path to Limitless Equal Enlightenment, forging a new one alongside Bu Eun-seol.
As a result, he had created a martial art comparable in might to the Limitless Power unleashed by masters of the Martial Extreme Realm.
"What is the name of this martial art?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, Bukgung Ryeong shook his head.
"I haven't named it yet."
"Hmm..."
Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin in thought.
"'All things merge into the ultimate one'... 'All transformations return to nothingness'... Everything blends into a single pinnacle, where even the variations of martial arts dissolve back into pure nothingness..."
His voice was low as he muttered, staring at the marks left on his sleeve.
"Between heaven and earth, only I remain."
His eyes gleamed as he surveyed the scars scattered across the ground.
"How about 'Heaven and Earth Only Me'?"
"'Heaven and Earth Only Me'..."
Bukgung Ryeong repeated the words softly before smiling.
The name fit too perfectly to dislike.
"An excellent choice."
Heaven and Earth Only Me.
The Limitless Power born from the pinnacle of the bullet's principle.
A martial art that would later be recorded in the annals of murim history as the most formidable Finger Flick Art of all time.
"Well, now that we've seen what we needed to, you should go."
Bukgung Ryeong chuckled and nodded.
"You must be busy. Thank you for humoring this old man."
The smile vanished from Bu Eun-seol's lips in an instant.
Paradoxically, among all his friends, he was the least formal with the elderly Bukgung Ryeong.
As if they had been childhood friends since infancy—able to read each other's thoughts with just a glance.
Bukgung Ryeong hadn't called him here to drink.
Nor to test his martial arts.
He called me to pass down the principles of the bullet's martial art.
The moment Bu Eun-seol realized that Bukgung Ryeong had summoned him to impart the bullet's newly grasped principle, his face stiffened.
"What's really going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't even think of lying to me."
If nothing was wrong—
Why would Bukgung Ryeong feel the need to urgently pass down a martial principle he had painstakingly grasped through countless trials, right now?
"Tell me. Everything."
Bu Eun-seol's expression darkened.
"If you don't speak honestly, I'll never see you again."
Bukgung Ryeong's chest tightened.
A threat like this... only worked between friends who valued each other more than life itself.
"Why so angry?"
Bukgung Ryeong shook his head.
"Even the closest of friends are allowed one or two secrets, aren't they?"
"If it's a secret about you living well and eating hearty, I don't care."
"......"
"Whether you're secretly in love or fleeing because you hate being the Azure Heaven Alliance's leader—say it outright."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was firm.
"But if it concerns your life—that's an exception."
"You're not a god."
Bukgung Ryeong shook his head.
"You can't protect and save everyone around you."
"Who said anything about protecting or saving?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was icy.
"I simply do my best with what I'm given. But the heavens never granted me even a single chance."
That single chance he spoke of—
Was about his grandfather, Bu Jan-yang.
His grandfather had hidden everything about his own fate from him.
Had Bu Eun-seol known the truth—
He would never have allowed his grandfather to die so suddenly, so wretchedly.
"I've been wandering the martial world for so long, digging for the truth."
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"And now you intend to inflict the same pain on me again?"
Bukgung Ryeong could say nothing in response.
Because those words meant that he was someone as precious to Bu Eun-seol as his grandfather had been.
"I knew full well I couldn't deceive your eyes."
After a long silence, Bukgung Ryeong finally voiced the thoughts he had kept buried in his heart.
"But as an elder of the martial world, even if I couldn't shield you or stand as your protector... I didn't want to burden you."
"From now on,"
Bu Eun-seol said with a furious expression,
"never say such things again."
For a moment, Bukgung Ryeong's vision blurred—
as if the image of a young Bu Eun-seol, weeping inconsolably, had superimposed itself over the present.
'So that's how it is.'
At last, he realized his mistake.
Bu Eun-seol was someone who gave his all in everything.
If he hid the truth from him because he didn't want to burden him—
wouldn't that just rob him of the chance to do his best? Wouldn't it only plunge him into regret and suffering?
"I'm sorry."
Bukgung Ryeong sniffed before speaking.
"I prided myself on knowing you well, but it seems I didn't understand you at all."
Then, in a quieter voice, he added,
"I am a man of the Righteous Faction, and I intended to remain so."
The words were somewhat abrupt, and Bukgung Ryeong let out a deep sigh.
"Though the Baekri Clan may be righteous, I never thought it was a place for me to belong."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
As Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow, Bukgung Ryeong shook his head.
"Whether it's the Baekri Clan or the True Demon Palace, I have no desire to align with such factions. I've decided to leave the Covenant."
He smiled faintly as he spoke.
"I'll go far away, to a place where no one is. As for the Alliance's affairs, I've already discussed arrangements with Chief Strategist Gongson via a messenger hawk."
Finally, Bu Eun-seol understood what Bukgung Ryeong was saying.
The Covenantors.
The figures from the Sacred Realm had come for him at last.
"There's no need for you to leave."
Bu Eun-seol answered without hesitation.
"I'll resolve this matter myself."
"Enough."
Bukgung Ryeong shook his head firmly.
"The Sacred Realm is still the Sacred Realm."
Thanks to the information Bu Eun-seol had shared thus far—
Bukgung Ryeong was well aware of the details regarding the Covenantors and the Sacred Realm.
The Sacred Realm.
They were, above all else, neutral observers of the martial factions.
But if Bu Eun-seol intervened on his behalf and things went awry—
wouldn't the Sacred Realm instantly become an enemy?
Considering the plans they had yet to carry out—
the Sacred Realm was the one force they absolutely could not afford to make an enemy.
"It's fine. This was one of the contingencies I've long prepared for."
One of the schemes he had been advancing—
was finding a way to dismantle the Covenant enforced by the Sacred Realm.
His close allies had already stabilized their footing in the Extreme Heaven Realm—
and warriors like Noe Bi-hon had even reached the state of Limitless Equal Enlightenment, just like Bukgung Ryeong.
It was only a matter of time before the Covenantors came for them, so they had to be ready.
Originally, he had planned to extract information through Baek Jeon-cheon, a figure connected to the Sacred Realm.
By discreetly informing the Myriad Learning Society that the Forest Pavilion's chief within the Martial Alliance had been secretly replaced, he hoped to open a dialogue.
Yet Baek Jeon-cheon had flatly refused a private meeting.
Only then did he realize the truth—
that Baek Jeon-cheon would never share any information regarding the Sacred Realm with him.
That he was pursuing his own independent plans, separate from the Sacred Realm's movements, and could not discuss their affairs.
"You've been preparing for this long? Why?"
At Bukgung Ryeong's question, Bu Eun-seol answered firmly.
"Because I detest the Sacred Realm's very methods—forcing the Covenant upon others."
Neither the True Demon Palace nor the Baekri Clan could be called righteous.
So could the Sacred Realm, which mediated between them, truly be righteous either?
Above all, they were the ones who enforced a cruel, nonsensical rule—
that those who defied their will would lose their loved ones and be exiled from the martial world.
"Truth be told, if you had firmly opposed me, I had already resolved to make a choice."
Bukgung Ryeong spoke decisively.
"I would have chosen to side with the Baekri Clan."
He grinned faintly, as if joking.
"After all, helping your family would be the same as helping you, wouldn't it?"
In the past, Bu Eun-seol might have agreed.
Better to serve the Baekri Clan and do righteous deeds than become a Servant of the True Demon.
But now, that was impossible.
"The Baekri Clan isn't an option either."
"...What? What do you mean?"
"They, too, are not righteous."
"Excuse me?"
"I was going to share this information with you anyway."
Calmly, Bu Eun-seol relayed everything he had uncovered about the Baekri Clan—
their true nature, and the True Demon Knowledge hidden within their Secret Vault.
Bukgung Ryeong listened in silence, then gaped, utterly speechless.
The things he had just heard—
were beyond anything Bu Eun-seol had shared before, so absurd they defied belief.
"So... that's how it is, then."
"I can't help but believe it."
Because the information Bu Eun-seol provided had always been the truth.
"So wait a little longer. We still have some time."
There was still time before the Covenant would be decided.
Since the Covenant envoy had come to Bukgung Ryeong, others would soon follow.
Bu Eun-seol spoke firmly.
"I will discuss it with my comrades and resolve the matter without fail."
"How?"
"First, I intend to meet the Covenant envoy."
"Is that even possible?"
"I've made it possible. A long time ago."
Bukgung Ryeong blinked.
"Then why didn't you try that method with me?"
"You're the leader of the Righteous Faction Alliance, aren't you? How could I use such surveillance measures on you?"
No matter how close they were.
No matter how bluntly they spoke.
Bu Eun-seol never forgot that Bukgung Ryeong was the head of the Righteous Faction Alliance and treated him with the proper respect.
'This kid.'
When it came to relationships—
More than sweet words, more than any kind of help—respecting the other person came first.
No matter how close they became.
Only those who upheld these principles could maintain a friendship for a long time.
"And as for you, old man... I had at least enough faith that you would contact me if something like this happened."
Faith.
It was a power akin to magic, the very foundation upon which friendship was built.
Because of faith, friendship was born.
And it became a treasure more valuable than anything else.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Bukgung Ryeong let his shoulders slump helplessly.
Rather than expanding the Azure Heaven Alliance's forces to aid Bu Eun-seol, he had focused on strict training, preparing for the future.
That was the only thing he could do.
But far from being able to help—
He was still the one receiving help.
"Of course."
Because he understood Bukgung Ryeong's feelings—
Bu Eun-seol smiled gently.
Bu Eun-seol headed toward the Martial Soul Society to discuss countermeasures against the Covenant envoy.
In the past, the Four Great Unit Leaders had once mobilized together to eliminate the forces that had invaded the Beast Palace.
At that time, Noe Bi-hon and Bing Han-pung had manifested the Limitless Equal Enlightenment.
If that was the case, then Do Cheon-rin—the most outstanding among the Ten Demonic Heirs—
Would soon reach that realm as well.
The ones who needed protection from the Covenant envoy's threat above all else were none other than the Martial Soul Society's Unit Leaders.
'It won't be long before it begins.'
Ever since learning of the Covenant—
Bu Eun-seol had sought to unravel the enigma of the Covenant envoys' power and the secrets of the Sacred Realm.
Still, just in case—
He had also probed Baek Jeon-cheon about the Covenant envoy issue and, this time, managed to secure a private meeting.
—What the Lord promised me was pure Demonic Path.
If you intend to discuss matters unrelated to that... our mutual trust will be broken.
It was the expected response.
In the end, Bu Eun-seol had continuously devised a system to detect the Covenant envoy in advance.
—Since the Martial Soul Society has already been recognized as a mid-heaven power, the likelihood of the Covenant being enacted within it is slim.
There were two ways the Covenant envoy could approach.
First, by appearing directly.
In this case, time around them would seem to freeze, and an eerie silence would descend—rendering their presence undetectable by anyone.
In other words, the sign was the sudden, unexplained disappearance of their presence.
The second method was to dominate the Spirit and Mind of those around the target and deliver the Covenant's intent through their mouths.
Well aware of this, Bu Eun-seol—
Had ordered the Unit Leaders' trusted subordinates to guard them at all times, monitoring them across the Twelve Double-Hours.
If any sudden disappearance of a Unit Leader's presence or form was detected—
They were to immediately send an emergency signal.
'Even a slim chance is better than doing nothing.'
No matter how much Baek Yeon's assistance had refined the Death Soul Squad's intelligence network—
And no matter how much faster emergency signals could now spread across the Central Plains—
Unless Bu Eun-seol personally guarded the Four Great Unit Leaders at all times—
It was practically impossible for him to arrive before the Covenant envoy vanished after the emergency signal was triggered.
Yet he neither gave up nor hesitated.
Because doing something was better than sitting idle.
No matter how slim the odds, he would keep trying.
Flash!
But then—a brilliant light erupted in the distant sky.
It was beyond the range of human vision, but Bu Eun-seol saw it clearly.
The Death Soul Squad's emergency signal.
And not just any signal—it was the one indicating that the Covenant envoy had appeared before Noe Bi-hon.
Boom!
Drawing upon the Heavenly Light Endless Art, Bu Eun-seol transformed into a streak of light, shooting across the sky.
'This is fortunate!'
He inwardly cheered.
By sheer luck, the Covenant had been invoked while he was on his way to the Martial Soul Society.
Since Noe Bi-hon's location was also near the Martial Soul Society, he could swiftly reach the point indicated by the emergency signal.
Wasn't it said that Heaven helps those who help themselves?
Because he had prepared for even the slimmest possibility without giving up, this stroke of luck had come to him.
'Is this also Heaven's will?'
No sooner had the Covenant envoy appeared before Bukgung Ryeong than they sought out Noe Bi-hon?
'It could be because of the conflict between the Baekri Clan and the True Demon Palace.'
Currently, the two factions were secretly clashing, waging a covert war.
The once-delicate balance may have collapsed, causing a seismic shift in the martial world's power structure.
Whoosh.
As he activated his movement technique, Bu Eun-seol used the Darkness Secret Arts to alter his appearance to that of Seol-so, the Martial Soul Society Leader.
'There.'
Upon arriving in the Rakcheon area—
He spotted a barrier, similar to the Absolute Boundary, rising some distance away from where the Swift Thunder Corps trained.
However, unlike the Absolute Boundary, which was transparent, this one was a gray, hemispherical dome—impossible to see through.
The Sacred Realm's Absolute Boundary.
Undoubtedly, it was a barrier created by the Covenant envoy.