Chapter 1285
The armed man stared fixedly at Bu Eun-seol as he slowly approached.
Yet he showed no intention of attacking—his greatsword remained sheathed.
"Due to His Late Majesty's sudden passing, he was unable to reveal the secrets of the Primordial Gate."
Having closed the distance to within one zhang's distance, the man continued speaking.
"And the remaining individuals who could have disclosed this information were purged long ago by the Empress Dowager."
Bu Eun-seol frowned, as if unable to comprehend.
"If you knew that all along, why didn't you inform the Emperor?"
"Because I had no authority to do so."
The man lowered his head.
There seemed to be some deep, unspoken story behind his words.
"Aren't you the successor of the Sacred Domain?"
"The Sacred Domain's successor?"
The man shook his head.
"You keep mentioning this 'Sacred Domain'—what exactly is that supposed to be?"
"You wield the Sacred Domain's Absolute Boundary, yet you don't even know what the Sacred Domain is?"
"The Sacred Domain..."
For a moment, the man's gaze grew distant.
It was as if he were trying to recall something long forgotten.
'Has he lost his memories?'
Bu Eun-seol cautiously pressed further.
"Do you remember Senior Ja Su-ryeon?"
"Ja Su-ryeon?"
"She gave birth to twins, but her lover took the children away. In the end, she lost her mind, half-mad with grief."
Bu Eun-seol looked at him with a pained expression.
"One of those twin daughters was adopted by Hall Master Sado—only to nearly die."
"Hall Master Sado... You mean Sado Mu-myeong?"
"That's right."
The man tilted his head slightly before uttering something strange.
"If he took her in, she wouldn't die. On the contrary, he would have forced her talent to bloom."
"You knew?"
Surprisingly, he was aware that the Demonic Heavenly Emperor forcibly awakened people's latent abilities.
"Don't tell me... you received the location of the Secret Vault from the Mad Doctor?"
"The Secret Vault?"
The man's previously unfocused eyes sharpened. Narrowing his gaze, he spoke in a low voice.
"I was the one who uncovered Sado Mu-myeong's Secret Vault."
His tone was matter-of-fact.
"The Mad Doctor desperately sought someone who could defeat Sado Mu-myeong—and in the end, he came to me."
As if lost in recollection.
Staring into the man's sunken eyes, Bu Eun-seol felt an inexplicable dissonance.
The Absolute Boundary of the Sacred Domain he had deployed—
was executed with a skill and perfection that rivaled even the Old Man of the Sacred Domain.
Even if he wasn't the Sacred Domain's successor,
he must have at least been a disciple of that place, or at the very least, someone who had studied under a master connected to it.
So why didn't he even recognize the term?
Could it be that the one who taught him the Absolute Boundary had concealed their identity?
"I owed him my life in the past. That's why I wanted to help. But I lacked the power to kill Sado Mu-myeong... The most I could do was reveal the Secret Vault."
'His memories of the past are perfectly clear.'
If that was the case, then like Bu Eun-seol himself,
this man had somehow obtained such power despite having no connection to the Sacred Domain?
'No—perhaps it's partial amnesia.'
Bu Eun-seol had experienced the same.
His memories of his parents and Saha Manor had been completely erased, while everything else remained intact.
Perhaps this man, too,
remembered everything except for Ja Su-ryeon and the children.
"If you discovered Hall Master Sado's Secret Vault, then you must also know his goal?"
Bu Eun-seol cautiously probed further.
"Why does Hall Master Sado impose the trial of loss—and why does he use it to forcibly awaken people's abilities?"
"That is one of the reasons I guard this gate."
The man took a deep breath before answering in a subdued voice.
"Because Sado Mu-myeong's schemes must be stopped."
"What do you mean?"
"He continuously exploits people like you—all to break through the Gate of Primordial Beginning."
Thud.
The moment those words landed, Bu Eun-seol's mind reeled as though turned inside out.
"You're saying he cultivates people... to open the Gate of Primordial Beginning?"
"Correct."
The man's voice dropped even lower.
"The only ones who can undergo the trial of the Primordial Gate are those who bear wounds in their hearts—yet transcend that grief and sorrow through supreme achievement."
Bu Eun-seol could barely process the shocking revelation.
The reason the Demonic Heavenly Emperor forced people to awaken through loss—
Only those with wounds in their hearts
could transmute the agony of loss into strength and enter that gate.
The pain of loss.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor would never understand such suffering."
"But why?"
Bu Eun-seol couldn't comprehend.
"Why would the Demonic Heavenly Emperor need to open that gate? Wasn't this place meant for contracting with the Primordial Dragon—no, the Creation-Era Martial Artists...?"
Mid-sentence, he finally realized something terrifying.
"Are you saying the Demonic Heavenly Emperor intended to enter and seize the True Demon Knowledge they possess?"
"That, I cannot say. But someone like him... must never come into contact with the Creation-Era Martial Artists."
Thud.
A splitting pain erupted in the back of his skull.
Only now did he finally understand
what the Demonic Heavenly Emperor truly sought.
"Do you honestly believe Hall Master Sado could defeat the Creation-Era Martial Artists—those referred to as ancient martial artists?"
"You still don't understand Sado Mu-myeong."
The martial elder smiled faintly.
"Would someone like him even concern himself with trivial matters like victory or defeat?"
Bu Eun-seol found himself at a loss for words.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor—Sado Mu-myeong.
He had simply never declared himself the foremost under heaven.
But in the current martial world, there was no one who could oppose or resist him... In truth, he was the unrivaled supreme.
And his true terror lay not in the realm of martial arts,
but in the unfathomable, incomprehensible ability to seep into another's heart with a single word, or manipulate an enemy at will with a mere gesture.
"Do you now understand why you must not enter?"
"However... I must renew my contract with the Primordial Dragon here."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled heavily as he spoke.
"Only then can I enter the Baekri Clan and deal with the impostor residing there."
"The Baekri Clan? The affairs of the Baekri Clan are but a trivial matter."
The martial elder shook his head.
"If you open the Gate of Primordial Beginning, you may give rise to a Demon King beyond your ability to—"
His words abruptly cut off.
He had just sensed the energy radiating from Bu Eun-seol's body—and belatedly remembered that the young man had absorbed the chains.
After scrutinizing him intently for a long moment, the elder stepped aside.
"You wouldn't pass the trial anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll know when you enter."
The elder's voice was cold.
"Not that I could stop you—your strength already surpasses mine."
The words were cryptic.
Bu Eun-seol wanted to press further, but the elder sealed his lips.
'I'll find out once I enter.'
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol strode toward the massive iron gate.
Though the towering door before him appeared cold and unyielding, he had already pierced through the essence of this space.
'Just like before I entered.'
The iron gate was merely a form—it did not truly exist.
Just like when he had stepped into this hidden pavilion.
This gate was nothing more than a fragment of perception, a boundary marker signaling the transition to another realm.
Even the icy texture that seemed within reach was an illusion conjured by his mind.
The only key to passage was the clear recognition that because it was a gate, it could be opened and entered.
'A gate that exists only in my mind.'
The moment Bu Eun-seol thought of entering—
His body instantly touched the iron gate, and—
Whoooosh!
A bizarre sensation, as if plunging underwater, enveloped his entire being.
The gravity of reality vanished, and a dizzying vertigo seized him, as though his body were being violently sucked into some unknown abyss.
Fwip.
Before he knew it, his vision inverted.
This time, an endless expanse of radiant nebulae unfurled within pitch-black darkness.
Stars exploded, scattering brilliant flashes—and from their remnants, new life burst forth.
The birth and death of the cosmos,
the cycle of vitality compressed as if spanning eons—all flashed before his eyes like a fleeting dream.
The sight was both majestic and profoundly distant, and Bu Eun-seol found himself entranced, unable to look away.
A moment that felt like eternity passed—
Tap.
The soles of his feet, which had been floating in the void, touched solid earth.
The distorted space righted itself, and the unnatural sense of weightlessness vanished as though it had never been.
At the same time, an unbelievable landscape unfolded before his eyes.
"The Saha Manor Garden."
The cosmic chaos he had just witnessed was nowhere to be found.
Instead, a tranquil path bathed in warm sunlight stretched before him—the very same garden path he had once walked with his father.
The rustling of leaves in the wind, the earthy scent brushing his nose—
Everything was so peaceful that it felt unreal.
For an instant, the tension coiled within him melted away, replaced by a deep, rising calm.
Zzzziiing.
A low, space-rending vibration shattered that serenity.
At the far end of the path, the air rippled black, forming a gate of ink-dark energy.
And from within it emerged a single figure—a child with a youthful face.
The bright-eyed boy spotted Bu Eun-seol and began walking toward him.
Step. Step.
Something strange happened.
With each step the child took, the flow of time through his body accelerated uncontrollably.
By the first step, he shed his childishness.
By the second, he had grown into a robust young man.
By the third, the bearing of a dignified middle-aged man emanated from him.
By the time the distance between them narrowed to a little over two zhang away,
the being standing there was no longer a child.
Before he knew it, the figure had become a white-haired old man—his back bent, his face carved with deep wrinkles.
The old man did not step closer. No—it seemed he couldn't.
As if an invisible, transparent wall barred his way, the old man's feet halted precisely at some unseen boundary.
"No further."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke in a low voice.
"I must not go beyond this point?"
His tone was composed, as though he had already grasped the entire situation.
The old man did not answer. He simply stared at Bu Eun-seol with hollow eyes.
"I am of the Baekri Clan's bloodline."
Bu Eun-seol continued in a polite yet resolute tone.
"Is this truly the path leading to where the Creation-Era Martial Artists—those called the Primordial Dragons—reside?"
After all, the old man before him must also be—
A descendant of those Creation-Era Martial Artists who had descended underground, bearing a curse to save the world from the True Demon's evil karma.
When the old man remained silent, Bu Eun-seol pressed again.
"Has the curse not yet lifted, preventing you from emerging into the world?"
"You are mistaken."
The old man shook his head.
"This is not the path to the Primordial Gate. It is a place that determines whether one is qualified to enter it."
A trial ground.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol understood.
The Empress Dowager was mistaken.
The reason she had obsessively sought to seize control of the Imperial Palace—
Was because she believed the Primordial Gate, leading to where the Creation-Era Martial Artists dwelled, existed here.
But it was not so.
This was not the Primordial Gate itself, merely a checkpoint to determine if one could enter it.
The Baekri Clan had imitated it.
In the past, the Baekri Clan had also spoken of trial overseers before allowing entry.
They must have modeled their own system after this gate.
"I suppose congratulations are in order."
The old man chuckled dryly.
"At such a young age, you've uncovered the greatest secret of the martial world."
Then, with deliberate weight, he added:
"The perfect hybrid of two bloodlines—one that has never appeared before."
The old man had discerned at a glance that Bu Eun-seol carried the lineage of both clans.
But Bu Eun-seol was not particularly surprised.
If this man was a descendant of the Creation-Era Martial Artists who had founded the Baekri Clan, such insight was only natural.
"I had no desire to learn the secrets of the martial world."
Bu Eun-seol spoke respectfully, yet bluntly.
"My only wish was vengeance for my grandfather."
"Vengeance?"
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply, his gaze drifting into the void.
"But the karmic burden of the blood within me... has led me here regardless."
"Tsk."
The old man clicked his tongue.
"So you came here with such petty intentions?"
He shook his head sternly.
"You dare speak of personal vengeance, knowing full well what it means to have opened this gate?"
When Bu Eun-seol's expression remained unchanged despite the reprimand, the old man tilted his head and asked:
"If you wish to pass the trial, you must abandon your thirst for revenge."
Abandon vengeance.
Bu Eun-seol repeated the words silently.
For Grandfather?
The sole reason he had drawn breath and continued living until now was for one purpose—
To avenge the one who had brutally slain his grandfather.
And my parents' vengeance as well?
During his travels through the martial world,
He had not only uncovered his grandfather's hidden past but also gradually regained fragments of his erased memories of his parents.
And he had learned that they, too, had been murdered by someone.
And now he was to discard all of that?
"I would sooner die."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was unyielding.
"Abandoning vengeance is impossible."
"Then turn back."
"I cannot."
"Why not?"
"I must have my vengeance—and I must set right the affairs of the Baekri Clan."
Rectifying the wrongs of the Baekri Clan was the wish of his father, Baekri Mu-ha.
Moreover, even now—
It was the only way to save Baekri Ye-ha, who was fighting alone against the false Baekri Geom-ha.
"Hmm."
The old man shook his head regretfully.
"I thought, at last, a worthy candidate had arrived. But I was wrong."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Leave. You are not even qualified to take the trial—"
"That won't do."
"What did you say?"
"Tell me how to enter the Baekri Clan."
According to Baekri Ye-ha, one could enter through renegotiating a contract with the Primordial Dragons—the Creation-Era Martial Artists.
But now, an easier method stood before him.
"Hahaha!"
The old man burst into laughter.
"That's the most amusing joke I've heard in all my years."
"If it's a trial, does passing through that gate suffice?"
"What—?"
Whoosh!
Without waiting for an answer, Bu Eun-seol unleashed Swift Shadowless, darting through the old man in an instant and charging toward the gate beyond.
Shwip!
But something bizarre occurred.
In the blink of an eye, the distance to the gate he should have crossed in a single breath—
Was stretching impossibly wide.
"Your Lightness Art is remarkable."
Somehow, the old man was now running alongside Bu Eun-seol, marveling.
"In all of martial history, no one your age has ever refined Lightness Study to this degree."
A brief remark—
But Bu Eun-seol grasped its meaning immediately.
It's not that my Movement Technique is lacking—this is a place Movement Technique cannot traverse to begin with.
Zzzing—
At that moment, the scenery dozens of zhang around them began to blur and melt away.
The Domain of World and Realm Annihilation had unfolded.
Crash!
In the next instant, both Bu Eun-seol and the old man tumbled gracelessly to the ground.
The vast landscape that had stretched endlessly before them was an illusion.
Bu Eun-seol had been a single step from the gate—
And the old man, too, had been standing just a step away from it.
"You—"
The old man's head jerked up as he surveyed their surroundings.
"You've reached the Heavenly Will Realm?"
Bu Eun-seol frowned.
The Heavenly Will Realm—a legendary state beyond the Boundless Extreme—
Was said to be a stage of Union of Heaven and Earth, where one could even fathom the will of heaven itself.
Yet the old man claimed the Void Extreme Realm was the Heavenly Will Realm?
"Just what kind of monster are you—?"
The old man's expression twisted strangely mid-sentence.
"Wait, this is—"
As if realizing something, he checked his own body, then pointed at Bu Eun-seol and unleashed a Great Roar:
"YOU LUNATIC!"