Chapter 1262
"Why are you doing this?"
A-wan's sharp cry pierced the air.
"You must know that laying hands on me will make you an enemy of the Iron Elephant Sect!"
"The Iron Elephant Sect?"
Nan Seong-wang chuckled darkly.
"You mean Sang Do-gang-cheon, who only pretends to protect you because of the Martial Soul Society Leader?"
Behind the Four Stars Trading Company stood the Iron Elephant King.
And behind the Iron Elephant King stood the Martial Soul Society Leader—the grandmaster of the Central Plains' martial world who founded the Martial Soul Society, a coalition between orthodox and unorthodox factions.
By chance, he had reached India and formed ties with the Four Sacred Tribes, playing a decisive role in establishing the Four Stars Trading Company.
Not only that, he had subdued even the Iron Elephant King, who had been tormenting the Four Sacred Tribes in pursuit of the Sacred Artifact, and instead forced him to protect them.
But from Sang Do-gang-cheon's perspective, it was like a robber pretending to be the homeowner's guardian.
Though he had lost to the Martial Soul Society Leader and now acted as if he were protecting the Four Stars Trading Company, that was only true as long as he remained in India.
If A-wan had recklessly ventured into the Central Plains and met with misfortune, he had no reason to take responsibility.
"Do you think the Society Leader will just stand by?"
Though he had never revealed his true face in the martial world, his ability to elevate the Martial Soul Society to one of the three great coalitions of the Central Plains and his feat of subduing even the unyielding Iron Elephant King made one thing clear:
The Martial Soul Society Leader was undoubtedly an Absolute Master who had cultivated terrifying martial prowess.
"Of course, no one would dare provoke him in the Central Plains—his own territory."
Nan Seong-wang smirked sinisterly.
"But what if I take you captive and return to India? Do you really think he would raise an army and march all the way there just to save you?"
Amara Fortress, where Nan Seong-wang resided, was a natural stronghold in every sense.
No one could mobilize a massive army to invade India just to rescue A-wan.
And if he barricaded himself inside the fortress? Even the Martial Soul Society Leader would have no way to reach her.
"Besides, A-wan, I hear the treasure you obtained this time was taken from a secret temple within my domain."
Nan Seong-wang's grin widened.
"Since you stole a treasure from a place under my rule, shouldn't you be held accountable for it?"
A-wan bit her lip.
'He's been tracking my movements for a long time.'
Just as she had suspected.
Nan Seong-wang had been coveting her for years but had never dared make a move because of the Iron Elephant King.
But now that she had left India, the situation was different.
And since she had secretly taken a treasure from Amara Fortress, even if the Martial Soul Society Leader came to confront him, Nan Seong-wang would have justification to resist.
"Nan Seong-wang."
A-wan stared at him through her veil. Her eyes burned not with fear, but with fury.
"If I return the treasure, will that be enough?"
If anything happened to her, she would have no excuse to give the Society Leader.
In the end, even if it meant abandoning the Sacred Artifact, she had to return safely to the Martial Soul Society.
"The treasure is a trivial matter."
"......"
"I've been cooped up in Nashik City for too long, unable to claim you."
Nan Seong-wang spread his arms wide.
"Resistance is pointless. If you come quietly, I'll spare your subordinates' lives."
"You mustn't trust his words!"
One of her guards shouted.
"He fears the Martial Soul Society discovering his actions! That's why he came here with only a small force, in secret—"
Pshhk!
A sudden gust of wind whistled through the air—followed by blood spraying from the guard's throat.
Nan Seong-wang had struck like lightning.
"Dare to interrupt while I'm speaking?"
The benevolent smile he had worn earlier was gone, replaced by a chilling expression brimming with killing intent.
"Just kill them all and bring her to me."
Shhhk—
Nan Seong-wang's subordinates bowed in acknowledgment and slowly advanced toward A-wan and her guards.
The ripples of True Qi emanating from their weapons made it clear—they intended to slit their throats in a single stroke.
'This is all my fault.'
A-wan clenched her teeth.
To avoid distracting Bu Eun-seol, who was safeguarding the Central Plains' martial world...
To quietly carry the Treasure Map, which must never fall into the wrong hands...
She had entered the Central Plains to help find the Sacred Artifact as a Saintess.
And so, she had earnestly pleaded with the Death Soul Squad—
Not to report her departure to India or her journey to the Central Plains...
But this had been an irreversible mistake.
The reason Bu Eun-seol had insisted she remain under the Iron Elephant King's protection in Nashik City—
The reason he had ordered her to maintain constant communication with the Death Soul Squad and report her movements—
Was because it was the only safeguard that could protect her in this den of wolves, the Eight Overlords of India.
'I was too complacent.'
Having lived safely and comfortably in India, thriving without hindrance...
She had forgotten just how dangerous the ground beneath her feet was.
Forgotten how many forces were watching her with covetous eyes.
"Call off your men."
As if resolved, A-wan drew a jewel from her robes.
"If you don't, I'll shatter this gem and take my own life."
Hwoooong—
A blue light began to glow in her palm.
If they forced her hand, she would immediately unleash the power of the Saintess and destroy the jewel hidden within her robes.
"I won't say it twice."
"Now, now."
Nan Seong-wang chuckled and nodded to his subordinates.
"Withdraw."
After exchanging glances with his men, Nan Seong-wang slowly stepped back.
Meanwhile, the injured guards staggered to their feet and approached A-wan.
"Please, retreat quickly. They'll be upon us any moment—"
In that instant, their eyes widened, mouths agape.
Their expressions twisted as if they had been stabbed in the gut.
"What's wrong?"
Startled, A-wan moved toward them—
Snap.
The guard captain's arm jerked forward on its own, and a thread of Finger Wind shot out, striking her Demon Blood Point.
Crack-crack-crack.
At the same time, their bodies contorted grotesquely, faces twisting in agony.
"Hohoho."
From behind, Nan Seong-wang and his men, who had stealthily closed in again, let out low, mocking laughter.
"You lack experience in the Martial World."
Not only had Nan Seong-wang mastered terrifying Martial Arts, but he also wielded razor-thin Steel Threads as his weapon.
Pretending to retreat, he had embedded those threads into the guards' acupoints, seizing control of their bodies.
"The Four Sacred Tribes have always survived under someone else's shadow, feeding off their protection. How could you possibly understand the cruelty of this world?"
A-wan had no retort to Nan Seong-wang's sneer.
Everything the Four Sacred Tribes and the Four Stars Trading Company had achieved had been under Bu Eun-seol's protection and planning.
Recovering the Sacred Artifact, repelling the Iron Elephant King's invasion, discovering the White Sandalwood—
Even the refining methods and distribution routes had all sprung from his mind.
Yet, unaware of this truth,
A-wan had believed it was all due to her own efforts and ability.
She had deluded herself into thinking she could dominate any situation.
"Dispose of them."
At Nan Seong-wang's command—
Schlick!
Blood gushed from the guards' bodies.
The sharp Steel Threads had severed every tendon and ligament.
Thud.
Struck in the Demon Blood Point, A-wan collapsed, tears streaming down her face.
She had lost even the will to resist.
"Good, just like that."
Nan Seong-wang nodded in satisfaction as he approached her.
"From now on, I am your master. You need only rest safely in my embrace."
Just as his massive hand reached for her—
"Ghk!"
"Ugh!"
Strange groans erupted from behind.
Nan Seong-wang turned to see his rear guards collapsing, their throats slit.
"Hmm?"
His eyes flashed as he unleashed his Extrasensory Perception, yet nothing stirred within about three hundred meters.
"Assassin Secret Arts."
He instantly recognized that a formidable assassin was hiding nearby, concealing their presence.
"An assassin from the Central Plains?"
Splurt! Splash!
This time, blood fountains erupted from the necks of his flanking subordinates.
Snap!
Nan Seong-wang immediately lashed out with his Steel Threads, but they sliced only empty air.
"Hmm..."
He let out a low hum, tilting his head briefly before—
"There!"
Abruptly, he thrust both hands skyward.
Rrrip!
Like tearing silk, his Steel Threads spread through the air—
Drip-drip-drip.
Blood began raining from nowhere.
Whoosh.
Simultaneously, a black-clad assassin slowly materialized near where A-wan stood.
Their face was masked, but their icy, sunken eyes betrayed formidable skill.
Drip-drip.
Blood streamed endlessly from the assassin's shoulder acupoint.
Though they had avoided a fatal blow, Nan Seong-wang's Steel Threads had pierced deep into their shoulder.
"Moon-Veiled Shadow Step and Silent Soul Pursuit, hm? A descendant of the vanished Life-Stealing Murder Gate?"
"Talkative for an ugly old bastard."
The assassin muttered low before—
Whoomph!
Suddenly snatching A-wan, they vanished into the earth in an instant.
"Hmph. Daring to flee before this king."
Nan Seong-wang sneered, preparing to unleash another volley of Steel Threads—
Boom-boom-boom!
Explosions erupted as the bodies of his remaining subordinates burst apart, their bone fragments shooting toward his vital points like hidden weapons.
"You wretch."
Swoosh!
Swatting the fragments aside, Nan Seong-wang's face twisted in fury.
"You took the hit on purpose."
That assassin could have easily dodged his strike.
But to escape with A-wan, they had deliberately allowed themselves to be hit—
Only to detonate the corpses of his men,
Using their flesh and bone as projectiles in the Blood-Flesh Explosive Scale Technique.
"But you won't escape my grasp."
Nan Seong-wang's lips curled as he studied the faint trail left in the dirt.
They had fled with Earth Escape Art, but not without a deep wound in their shoulder.
His men had noses keener than hunting hounds—
They would find their prey soon enough.
Kwa-oooh!
A storm of dust howled across the desolate wasteland.
Bu Eun-seol's figure, racing across the land, had already reached Jade Gate Pass.
"Am I too late?"
Upon arriving at the last known location reported by the Death Soul Squad, a thick stench of blood assaulted his nose, accompanied by a gruesome sight.
The wreckage of a shattered carriage. The corpses of the Four Stars Trading Company's escort guards, strewn about.
And among them, bodies that appeared to be Nan Seong-wang's subordinates, shattered like broken shards of ice.
"Earth Escape Art."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed as he spotted the faintly etched marks.
Someone had used the Earth Escape Art.
Which meant—this was undeniable proof of a swift escape from Nan Seong-wang's grasp.
"A-wan wasn't captured."
Following the faint trail, he noticed that the width of the disturbed earth was slightly too wide for just one person.
"They fled with someone else."
Bu Eun-seol swiftly pursued the traces left by the Earth Escape Art.
But midway, the trail abruptly vanished without a trace.
"They're skilled at evasion."
The escapee had deliberately left faint traces at first, then completely erased them to confuse pursuers.
"Three days ago."
The remaining marks were from three days prior.
Bu Eun-seol continued moving relentlessly along the lingering traces.
Everywhere he went, blood was splattered, and without fail, Nan Seong-wang's subordinates lay cold and lifeless.
And among them, scattered drops of blood that likely belonged to the fleeing party.
They were making a desperate escape.
"No way."
Someone who, despite overwhelming odds, stubbornly tore through enemies to carve a path forward.
There was only one person in the world with such skill.
"Seok U-haeng."
Had he actually listened to Wi Cheon-gyeong's words and come alone to rescue A-wan?
"Impossible."
Seok U-haeng's heart was frozen like a glacier that had endured millennia.
And Bu Eun-seol knew better than anyone that thawing it would take an eternity.
There was no way such a man would risk his life for A-wan just because of a single suggestion from Wi Cheon-gyeong.
"None of the Four Stars Trading Company's guards had martial prowess of this level."
Bu Eun-seol activated the Empty Mind Spirit Communion once more and shot forward along the trail.
Whoever stood at the end of this bloody path—there was no doubt they were stubbornly protecting A-wan.
A suffocating darkness pressed down on her entire body.
A-wan was running—no, more accurately, she was being dragged.
Her body was immobilized, the Demon Blood Point suppressed, leaving her unable to move a muscle.
The one pulling her along was a man of unknown identity, clad entirely in a black Assassin's Outfit.
He wielded a unique Earth Escape Art, parting the earth like water as he carved through the ground at an unbelievable speed.
"Who is this person?"
A-wan's pupils trembled.
To snatch her from the grasp of Nan Seong-wang—one of the Eight Overlords of India, infamous for his cruel methods—and his elite subordinates...
What kind of master would take such a risk? And for what reason?
Crack—!
Before her thoughts could fully form, the world flipped upside down.
A violent explosion of dirt erupted as A-wan's body was flung into the air.
Thud!
She crashed onto the ground like a discarded sack.
The rough texture of the earth pressed against her skin, and as the pressure point holding her paralyzed loosened, a sharp pain spread through her entire body.
"Ugh..."
A-wan staggered to her feet.
Before her stood a black silhouette, its back to the moonlight, staring down at her.
"Who... are you?" she asked in a trembling voice.
The assassin, clad in his dark outfit, gazed at her with icy eyes visible above his mask before bluntly replying:
"None of your business."
His tone was brusque, but there was no hostility or malice in it.
"Sir, you're bleeding..."
A-wan approached with concern.
"You need treatment."
At first, she had been intimidated by his murderous aura.
But even if he hadn't thrown himself into danger to save her, she instinctively sensed he wasn't an evil man.
"Unnecessary."
He sharply turned his head away, his gaze fixed on the distant sky.
"Seems we barely shook them off."
Taking a deep breath, he muttered under his breath:
"Nan Seong-wang... Truly befitting of the Eight Overlords of India. His methods are anything but ordinary..."
Drip, drip.
Blood continuously trickled from his left shoulder.
His black Assassin's Outfit was soaked through, and a sinister blue energy swirled around the wound.
Though his body was Impervious to Blades and he possessed the ability to heal most wounds in an instant—
The vile energy imbued in Nan Seong-wang's Steel Threads was slowing his recovery.
Rip.
Without hesitation, A-wan tore a strip from her sleeve.
With careful hands, she began wrapping the assassin's wound.
"Unnecessary."
"It is necessary."
"I said it's unnecessary."
"I said it IS necessary!"
A-wan stubbornly insisted as she bandaged him, and the assassin, as if resigned, lowered his hand.
"Why did you save me?"
A-wan asked cautiously as she worked.
"Do you... have some connection with the Society Leader?"
"No need to know."
"Are you perhaps his subordinate?"
"Nonsense!"
The assassin's brows furrowed sharply beneath his mask.
"Do I look like that bastard's subordinate to you?"
"Then you must be friends."
"What?"
The assassin's eyes widened.
The unexpected word left him speechless.
"The Society Leader too..."
A-wan smiled softly as she continued.
"He always refers to his friends as 'that bastard.'"
In an instant, the assassin's face burned red. He was grateful for the mask covering it.
Of course, it was Seok U-haeng.
Bu Eun-seol.
Gazing at the distant sky, he bit his lip.
I'm not becoming your subordinate. I'm just repaying the debt I owe you.
At Wi Cheon-gyeong's suggestion,
Seok U-haeng had not only grasped the entire path the Death Shadow War Unit and Death Soul Squad had walked thus far,
but he had also discerned a critical flaw in their otherwise near-perfect intelligence network.
The flow of information, judgment, and orders—every crucial link in this chain—
required Bu Eun-seol's intuition and insight to truly function.
What if Bu Eun-seol was absent? What if he made a wrong decision?
This vast, intricate web of intelligence risked instant paralysis or collapse.
"You showed me this on purpose," Seok U-haeng said coldly, staring at Wi Cheon-gyeong.
"All while hoping I'd become his dog."
"We need a leader for the Guardian Unit."
"Guardian Unit?"
"Correct."
Wi Cheon-gyeong explained calmly—
that Bu Eun-seol was planning a specialized force to eliminate threats preemptively,
and that Seok U-haeng was the most qualified candidate to lead it.
"You think I'd do it?"
Contrary to Wi Cheon-gyeong's expectations, he scoffed.
"Why should I risk my life helping others?"
"Because that's the reason you're still alive."
"What?"
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Wi Cheon-gyeong's eyes, Seok U-haeng realized he had forgotten one crucial fact.
The process of my rescue.
He had only heard fragments—that the Buddhist Venerable had taken in his half-dead body for experiments.
But the exact details of how he was saved remained unknown.
"How did Bu Eun-seol save me?"
"I'll show you."
Wi Cheon-gyeong led him to another hidden chamber within the secret room.
Shelves lined the walls, packed with books.
"Read this."
Seok U-haeng took the offered volume.
This bastard...
Only after reading it did he fully grasp what Bu Eun-seol had done to save him.
He had bowed his head to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor to learn the Mad Doctor's whereabouts.
Then, to fulfill Gwak Mu-su's conditions, he had observed and investigated the Poison Lightning Daoist and Muksung day and night—
until he completed both requests.
Why go this far?
Seok U-haeng couldn't understand.
The only thing they shared was surviving Hell Island.
The Ten Demonic Heirs weren't close. They had no common ground.
No reason to share their hearts.
Yet Bu Eun-seol had saved him with everything he had, as if he were a dear friend.
"What the hell is this guy doing?"
He grew curious.
What was Bu Eun-seol doing?
"With his martial prowess and influence, he could've just ruled the Demonic Martial World. Why keep training the Death Shadow War Unit and Death Soul Squad? Why expand the intelligence network endlessly?"
"If you learn the answer, there's no turning back."
"What?"
"Let's stop here."
At Wi Cheon-gyeong's firm refusal, Seok U-haeng smirked.
"Afraid to share information now? Is it your boss's secret?"
"It's for your sake."
"For my sake?"
"If you see the Lord's records, everything you believe will collapse."
"Speak plainly."
Wi Cheon-gyeong sighed and shook his head.
"The Lord's records... we fabricated them."
Then, staring into empty space, his expression twisted in anguish.
"At the very least, future generations should know of the Lord's sacrifices."
"I don't understand this nonsense. Explain clearly."
"If you're certain you won't regret it, follow me."
Led to yet another hidden chamber, Seok U-haeng scoffed but followed.
Without hesitation, he began reading the piled records.
Tremble.
Within moments, his fingertips shook.
Only now did he understand why Gyo Jung-hak had called Bu Eun-seol a hero.
This bastard...
Martial Soul Lord. Sword King Seon-u Jin. Martial Soul Society Leader Seol-so...
He had entered the Martial World for revenge.
To track down the murderer, he had boldly infiltrated both major factions under multiple identities.
But upon realizing the precarious state of the current martial world, he established an orthodox-and-unorthodox alliance capable of saving countless lives.
He even created the Azure Heaven Alliance to serve as the orthodox faction's beacon, installing Bukgung Ryeong as its leader.
The process had been an unending ordeal—one where death would've been unsurprising.
Yet he never stepped into the light.
Walking a thorny path alone, unrecognized by anyone, he shouldered the world's safety.
Is this what you intended?
The current martial world faced transcendent beings like the True Demon, who had existed since ancient times, and the unfathomable Abyssal Forces.
To save the world from them, Bu Eun-seol sought to bear everything—
even if it meant suffering endlessly, to the point where death would be preferable.
All to atone for the sins of the grandfather who had spent his life robbed of his soul in darkness.
Clench.
Seok U-haeng's fist tightened.
A person's life contains joy and sorrow, life and death.
But all Bu Eun-seol knew was endless agony and grief. Who would even recognize his suffering?
The martial world—no, the world itself—
owed Bu Eun-seol far too much.