Chapter 1297
'So they couldn't act properly because of the Empress Dowager.'
Having grasped the situation, Bu Eun-seol deliberately scoffed.
"Were you too afraid of the True Demon Palace to act? Or was it the Empress Dowager you feared?"
[Hohoho. Quite the opposite.]
Perhaps provoked by the mockery, the man began to speak freely.
[The late Emperor deliberately welcomed that monstrous Empress Dowager.]
With just that one remark, Bu Eun-seol could infer much.
'The Emperor deliberately took in a master from the True Demon Palace as Empress Dowager to free himself from the Azure River Realm's pressure.'
Misinterpreting Bu Eun-seol's thoughtful expression, the man curled his lips.
[That old man had always been wary of our realm.]
Those words confirmed it—the Azure River Realm had been lurking within the imperial household all along.
Bu Eun-seol's mind began spinning like lightning.
'Then there must have been some kind of clash between the Azure River Realm and the late Emperor... In the end, the Emperor brought in a woman from the True Demon Palace as the new Empress Dowager to keep the Azure River Realm in check.'
But now that he had ultimately deposed the Empress Dowager, it seemed the Azure River Realm's Restrictive Seal had been lifted.
"Regardless, aren't you all part of the Three Realms as well?"
Having finished his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"If you refuse to kneel before the True Demon Palace, then naturally, you should be stopping the Primordial Gate. That would be the right thing to do."
Then, pointing at the Key that continuously radiated immense Dragon Qi, he asked:
"So why are you tampering with the Spirit Vein?"
[Hahahaha. Now I see—you know nothing at all.]
The man laughed raucously.
[You only survived because that weakling Return to Unity Realm Lord kept covering for you. How could you possibly understand?]
'Weakling?'
That was not a remark to be taken lightly.
The Return to Unity Realm Lord was a being even the masters of the Three Realms feared enough to call a madman.
And yet, a mere subordinate of the Azure River Realm dared to call him weak?
"A mere servant of the Azure River Realm dares to call the Return to Unity Realm Lord weak?"
Bu Eun-seol's words lightly pricked the man's pride.
[A mere servant?]
A violet glint flashed in the eyes of the man gripping a folding fan.
[This Star Lord?]
"Star Lord?"
[I am none other than the Jeokmyeong Star Lord.]
Until now, none of the figures from the Three Realms had held the title of Star Lord.
As a peculiar light rose in Bu Eun-seol's eyes, the man chuckled darkly.
[It's better if you remain ignorant.]
"Star Lord or City Lord, I know well enough that you're weaker than the Return to Unity Realm Lord."
[Hohoho. He only seems strong within your narrow perspective.]
The man clucked his tongue before sneering.
[He was abruptly placed in his position due to upheavals in the Return to Unity Realm. With his original strength, he never could have risen to the rank of Realm Lord.]
"Anyone can say that."
[Is that so?]
BANG!
As the Jeokmyeong Star Lord suddenly unleashed a massive Shockwave—
RUMBLE—
The ground for dozens of jang around trembled violently, and the surrounding stones began floating into the air.
Judging by the outward surge of True Qi, it was unclear whether he was stronger than the Return to Unity Realm Lord.
But his martial prowess was undoubtedly incomparable to that of the True Demon Palace's World Master he had seen before—
And even surpassed that of the Heavenly Venerable and Supreme Emperor of the past.
[To compare this Star Lord to a weakling who became a Realm Lord and had ties to the True Demon Palace, still honing his skills in the Land of the Ultimate Void...]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord's body rose into the air.
At the same time, the ground beneath Bu Eun-seol's feet—
No, the entire Ancient Sword Forest—began to emit a faint violet glow.
He had condensed and unleashed an unknown force rivaling the Limitless Power of a Martial Extreme Realm master.
[Die.]
WHOOSH—!
Bu Eun-seol's body, engulfed by the radiance erupting from the ground, should have been instantly reduced to dust.
No—it should have been.
SCREECH—
The violet light stretching outward in all directions vanished, and the surroundings were filled with an eerie silence.
"What is..."
Even the mysteriously resonant voice, akin to the Six Harmonies Voice Transmission, had disappeared without a trace.
The violet glow that had been continuously flowing from his body had also vanished.
"...this?"
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord stared down at his own hands.
An utterly incomprehensible situation had unfolded.
The power that should have been overflowing—enough to annihilate not just the Ancient Sword Forest but the entire area in an instant—
Had suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only the equivalent of 120 Years of internal energy, as if he had become a mere rising star who had just made a name for himself in the martial world.
THUD.
He descended from the air as though dropping to the ground.
"Have you been holed up in the Imperial Palace, unable to hear the news?"
A peculiar light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he gazed at the Jeokmyeong Star Lord.
"Or perhaps you've had no contact at all with the Infinite Realm or the Return to Unity Realm."
Not only had Bu Eun-seol's martial prowess risen sharply, but his ability to block Supernatural Power was already well-known—
From the True Demon Palace's masters to the Return to Unity Realm Lord himself.
Yet this so-called Jeokmyeong Star Lord—
Seemed entirely unaware, panicking as the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation spread around him.
"Has a new realm been created in the martial world during my absence?"
Quickly assessing the situation, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord narrowed his eyes.
"So that's why the Empress Dowager ultimately refrained from resorting to force... and obediently accepted her deposition."
His words implied that had the Empress Dowager truly decided to unleash her martial might, things might have turned out very differently.
Just like Bu Eun-seol—
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord also held the Empress Dowager's martial prowess in extremely high regard.
"Now that you've roughly grasped the situation, why don't you start talking?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was low.
"What exactly does the Azure River Realm want? Why are they meddling with the Ancient Sword Forest's Key in such a manner?"
"Hahaha! It's still too early to declare victory."
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord, who had been cackling moments ago, suddenly—
Shwaak!
—drew his folding fan over his face.
Crk, crrk.
The sound of bones shifting echoed incessantly before a deep violet haze began rising from his entire body.
Astonishingly, he was recovering his strength even within the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation.
Swoosh.
As he lowered his folding fan, his voice reverberated from all directions like the Six Harmonies Voice Transmission:
[You, too, know nothing of this realm.]
Even his once alluringly bizarre features had transformed into something utterly sinister and crude.
'Dual personalities.'
Bu Eun-seol suppressed a sigh inwardly.
The Azure River Realm had long been researching dual personalities.
However, their achievements remained incomplete—limited to forcibly overlaying temporary personalities onto certain individuals to draw out immense power for short bursts.
But now, they had perfected their Great Art to such an extent that—
Not only could multiple personalities coexist fully within a single body—
They had even reached the stage of physically altering the vessel itself to unleash the full potential of those personalities.
'If even the body has changed along with the spirit and mind... then the flesh, which should be bound by the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation, has withdrawn into the Abyss's domain.'
The Domain of World and Realm Annihilation was akin to an Absolute Domain, eradicating all functions—qi, blood, internal energy, and even supernatural powers—within its spatial coordinates.
But the Azure River Realm's Great Art was not merely about creating dual personalities.
It formed an entirely independent space within a single body, sustaining a separate personality and source of power within it—
A state where, though outwardly one entity, two beings from different spatial layers overlapped in existence.
'I wondered why the Azure River Realm was so obsessed with the dual personalities that only the Baekri Clan could naturally possess... So this was their goal.'
[Hmph.]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord, now transformed into a muscular man, sneered coldly.
[Now die.]
KWA-RUNG!
As he thrust his fist forward, a violet bolt of lightning descended from the sky toward Bu Eun-seol's crown.
KWAANG!
The ground where his hand pointed caved in, forming a pit dozens of feet deep.
[Hmm.]
The man looked up.
Bu Eun-seol had already evaded the attack and was now floating midair.
Had he abandoned the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation and resorted to the Land-Flying Technique?
[Impressive. To replicate the effects of the Land-Flying Technique purely through martial principles...]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord's eyes gleamed with intrigue.
He had assumed Bu Eun-seol would dispel the domain and fight with his original power once his neutralizing technique failed.
Yet instead, Bu Eun-seol had used the very force of the Annihilating Thunder Strike he had unleashed—
To hover in the air as if employing the Land-Flying Technique.
[So it wasn't a technique to neutralize power—it was a martial realm all along.]
Not only had the Jeokmyeong Star Lord instantly discerned the nature of Bu Eun-seol's Domain of World and Realm Annihilation—
He had also pierced through the underlying principles of the Void-Severing Realm.
[To withdraw the principle of power suppression and resort to one's original strength... would be tantamount to breaking one's conviction.]
The now-ferocious Jeokmyeong Star Lord scoffed.
[No wonder you stubbornly cling to it—lest your realm crumble into the Lesser Vehicle.]
He had seen right through it.
The Void-Severing Realm was not merely a martial state—it was intertwined with Bu Eun-seol's very convictions.
Of course, there were situations where fighting without deploying the domain was acceptable.
But if he were to retract the domain solely because the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation proved ineffective?
That would mean yielding to the enemy's power—an admission of defeat in spirit.
Thus, his conviction would shatter... and with it, the Void-Severing Realm itself would waver.
Even in this desperate situation where the domain had failed—
Srrrk.
—Bu Eun-seol drew the Ink Soul Sword, his pupils leaking a bizarre madness and fervor.
'There are still so many enemies left to defeat.'
The moment he realized this battle was the most perilous, death-adjacent clash he had faced since entering the Martial World—
A thrill so intense it prickled his fingertips surged through him.
'It's also an opportunity to advance the Void-Severing Realm further.'
He was exhilarated.
Until now, he had ceaselessly unraveled the secrets entangled in the Martial World, pushing his mind to the brink of melting under the strain.
Only battles where blood and flesh burned away could serve as the sole outlet for his stifled frustration—
And as the only chance to break through the stagnant limits of his martial realm.
Zzzing!
With a metallic sound, a dense net of sword energy shot toward the Jeokmyeong Star Lord.
Bu Eun-seol had merged the Four Martial Forms of the Formless Heavenly Flow into a single, seamless assault.
Shwa-rak!
As the Jeokmyeong Star Lord opened his folding fan, a violet radiance erupted, deflecting the razor-sharp net skyward.
Simultaneously, a surge of sharp energy coalesced in the air, taking the form of a Purple Dragon that swallowed Bu Eun-seol whole.
KWA-UU!
Until now, Bu Eun-seol had weathered countless battles—
And with each sword technique he deployed, he could predict the next move to some degree.
But as the colossal Purple Dragon descended upon him, he could not fathom what would happen next.
The dragon's maw gaped wide as it lunged—its form unlike anything he had ever faced.
Even in this life-threatening moment, the dazzlingly beautiful and vivid hues of the attack were enough to seize his attention.
Because it was a combined force—a convergence of multiple tangible supernatural powers.
The instant the violet dragon surged forth—
The world itself seemed to dissolve into a dreamlike state, as if they had fallen into a mindscape.
KWAOOO!
The dragon didn't just erase Bu Eun-seol—it wiped clean the landscape for dozens of jang around him.
Whoosh!
Then, a shadow burst from the ground as if leaping back into existence.
It was Bu Eun-seol.
Clumps of dirt clung to his hair and body.
[Huhuhu... Hahahaha!]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord pointed at Bu Eun-seol with a finger and cackled.
[What a clever trick. To think you'd use Earth Escape Art in that split second to evade the Annihilating Thunder Strike.]
Bu Eun-seol had instinctively realized he couldn't withstand the Jeokmyeong Star Lord's full-powered strike within the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation, so—
He had swiftly employed Earth Escape Art, burrowing into the ground to evade the attack.
[And yet, you were once evaluated as a Grandmaster! To think you'd dive into the dirt like a mole without hesitation! Hahaha!]
Clack.
No matter what the Star Lord said, Bu Eun-seol paid no heed, silently raising Ink Soul Sword to mid-guard.
Never once in his life had he cared about maintaining a graceful stance when deploying martial arts.
In battles where life and death hung in the balance, he had never once considered dignity or appearances—nor had he ever thought of himself as a Grandmaster of martial arts.
Only survival.
Whether it was during his days as the Ten Demonic Heir, rolling hundreds of times in the filthy mud of Hell Island to stay alive...
Or now, when he was hailed as a peerless Grandmaster of the martial world—nothing had changed.
'Can martial arts not stand against supernatural power?'
Suppressing the rising doubt, Bu Eun-seol unleashed his swordplay once more.
Sssssaaa!
This time, sword blossoms bloomed endlessly in the air—
And like living spirits, they instantly blanketed the Jeokmyeong Star Lord's body.
[Hm.]
Outwardly, the Star Lord observed the sword blossoms with a leisurely expression, but inwardly, he was stunned.
Though the blossoms seemed weak enough to only split wood—
They pierced straight through the Blue Flame Profound Qi flowing in his body, making his skin tingle faintly with pain.
[You're quite the troublemaker.]
Realizing this was no ordinary attack, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord swung his Sheath Fan again.
At first, a fierce gale scattered the sword blossoms in all directions—
Then, razor-sharp wind blades coalesced into hundreds, thousands of whirlwinds, surging toward Bu Eun-seol's face.
Tumble, roll.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol threw himself to the ground—
Thud.
Then rebounded like elastic rubber, charging straight at the Star Lord once more.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
And just like deploying the Ground-Hugging Blade Art—
He spun along the ground without pause—
Releasing razor-sharp sword energy aimed at the Star Lord's ankles, cutting off his movements.
[How irritating.]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord lashed out with his Sheath Fan—
But striking Bu Eun-seol, who moved with the agility of a flying squirrel and the unpredictable trajectory of a butterfly, was far from easy.
Whoosh.
Before he knew it, Bu Eun-seol's figure had already slipped beyond his reach, and the Sheath Fan's strikes only sliced through empty air.
[Hmph!]
Frustrated, the Star Lord changed tactics.
Like swatting away a pesky mosquito, he swung his Sheath Fan—not at Bu Eun-seol, but at the very space around him, obliterating it entirely.
KWAANG!
The violent shockwave sent Bu Eun-seol's body hurtling dozens of jang away, crashing into a tree trunk.
Yet, seemingly unharmed, Bu Eun-seol swiftly righted himself mid-air—
Thwump!
And instead used the tree trunk as a springboard, launching himself back with even greater force.
Swish!
Though he only had 120 Years of internal energy—
He was still the foremost swordsman in the world.
The sophistication of his Sword Studies rivaled even the Three Demons and Three Venerables, who had dominated the martial world for decades.
Even if his techniques were simple and direct—
Their power matched that of a Martial Extreme Realm master condensing several hundred years' worth of internal energy into a single strike.
[You flit around like a damn fly!]
Finally abandoning his Sheath Fan, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord began attacking wildly with both hands.
The essence of the Azure River Realm's Secret Arts lay in—
Deploying Great Law Technique Qi, which transcended human limits through dual personalities.
With the combined martial prowess and calculative ability of his merged personas, he should have been able to dominate any situation.
But no matter how much supernatural power he poured into attacks that could obliterate dozens of jang—if they didn't land, it meant nothing.
Bu Eun-seol was too fast to catch, unleashing unpredictable, lightning-fast strikes without warning.
If anything, the Star Lord was the one being pushed back.
[Ah, I see.]
The Star Lord's eyes flashed as he realized—
Bu Eun-seol was using the subtle movements of martial arts to deflect every attack.
[Then try dodging THIS!]
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
This time, he attacked at a speed that allowed him to cross hundreds of jang in the blink of an eye.
No matter how profound Bu Eun-seol's martial arts were, no matter how many ingenious techniques he employed—
Speed was an absolute concept.
No amount of martial subtlety could bridge that gap.
Clang! Clang!
With each of the Star Lord's strikes—
A metallic sound reverberated, and Bu Eun-seol's body shuddered violently.
Even with his formidable Body Protection True Qi—
And the countless martial principles he continuously deployed to disperse the force—
His ordinary flesh and mere 120 Years of internal energy simply couldn't fully neutralize the impact.
Whoosh.
The Wind & Cloud Divine Qi within his body instinctively surged forth, once again dispersing the force to prevent fatal injuries.
'It's not yet time to use the Three Divine Powers.'
Even while maintaining the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation, Bu Eun-seol had never once resorted to the Three Divine Powers.
He forcibly suppressed the naturally manifesting Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
'I want to fight a little more fiercely.'
Paaah!
As the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi was restrained, blood and flesh began to spray with every grazing strike from the Jeokmyeong Star Lord.
[Hahaha! You're holding out like a cornered rat!]
Because Bu Eun-seol was thirsty for a battle close to death, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord—completely unaware that Bu Eun-seol was still holding back—believed he had seized the momentum.
He accelerated further, spreading a violet radiance as countless points of light erupted like a geyser, unleashing an unrelenting storm of razor-sharp force.
BOOM!
Unable to block one final strike, Bu Eun-seol was sent flying back five zhang by the explosive impact.
[Impressive.]
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord let out an admiring sigh as he observed Bu Eun-seol, now drenched in blood.
[So it wasn't just the Return to Unity Realm Lord's backing that kept you alive?]
The Azure River Realm had spent generations researching the human body and the spirit-mind.
After perfecting their Great Art, they had reached a level where even martial artists who had attained the Martial Extreme Realm dared not oppose them.
Had Bu Eun-seol countered with the Three Divine Powers, transcendent internal energy, or an absolute martial art like the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—
—he would never have drawn such admiration.
But all Bu Eun-seol wielded were the principles of martial arts and the profound subtleties devised by countless masters.
Not only did he replicate them, but with keen insight and adaptability, he applied them uniquely to the situation, unfolding them in ways never seen before.
That was why he could fight on equal footing even against the Azure River Realm's supreme techniques.
[You've chosen your own path, I see.]
As a master deeply versed in martial arts himself, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord could tell—
—that Bu Eun-seol had walked a thorny road of trials to reach an unprecedented realm.
He shook his head slowly.
[From now on, I shall fight you with everything I have.]
Whooosh.
The Jeokmyeong Star Lord slowly raised his left hand.
To eliminate Bu Eun-seol, who had earned his reluctant respect, he decided to employ—
—a final secret art he had never needed to use until now.
[Had another five years passed, there would have been no one left in this world who could stand against you.]
For him—who had even disregarded the Return to Unity Realm Lord, who ceaselessly trained in the Land of the Ultimate Void—to say such a thing meant he acknowledged that in five years, Bu Eun-seol would reach an unrivaled level.
[The Main Realm possesses a domain martial art known as the Heaven-Shattering Void Domain.]
Whooosh.
As he extended both hands—
Clang! Clink! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A black mist spread around Bu Eun-seol's body, followed by a deafening metallic cacophony.
[And a secret art capable of crushing anything within it—the Void-Press Shattering Annihilation.]
By deploying the Azure River Realm's secret technique, the Heaven-Shattering Void Domain, he seized control of the very space Bu Eun-seol stood in.
No matter how Bu Eun-seol moved, he would be struck by the Void-Press Shattering Waves.
[You were simply born at the wrong time.]
Zzzziiing, zzzziiing.
Bu Eun-seol intensified the Domain of World and Realm Annihilation, but the attacks did not cease.
'He's outside the domain's influence by switching personalities.'
The original Jeokmyeong Star Lord's personality and power had been sealed by the domain, but—
—the second personality, formed through the Azure River Realm's Great Art, existed beyond its reach.
Thus, even within the absolute domain of World and Realm Annihilation, the Jeokmyeong Star Lord could unleash his unrestrained, overwhelming supernatural power.
Clang! Clink! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like a rapid-fire barrage of steel, the metallic clamor continued relentlessly.
Bu Eun-seol's body convulsed violently, as if seized by spasms.
Swish!
He attempted to escape the Void-Press Shattering energy with movement techniques, but—
—the Heaven-Shattering Void Domain had already seized the space he occupied.
No movement, no martial subtlety, could evade it.
Zzzziiing, zzzziiing.
Trapped within the Void-Press Shattering, his body was on the verge of being torn apart.
As the situation grew dire, the immense power latent within him—including the Three Divine Powers—began to surge forth instinctively.
'I see.'
In that instant, an unexpected realization pierced Bu Eun-seol's mind.
After reaching the Void Extreme Realm, the tremendous internal energy and the Three Divine Powers within his body had become a kind of dual personality to him.
Though coexisting within his flesh, they had turned into something fundamentally opposed to his own convictions.
But the Three Divine Powers were a force that existed within his body—and within nature itself.
Just as the Jeokmyeong Star Lord had transformed into another persona, yet his original personality still lingered beneath.
'Instead of resisting that power—'
Even amidst the crushing pressure threatening to tear him apart, a gleam of exhilaration flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
'I just need to bring back his original personality.'
Since the Jeokmyeong Star Lord had inverted his persona, all Bu Eun-seol had to do was reverse it.
'Through martial arts that embody naturalness itself.'
Though he had pursued naturalness through the Void Extreme Realm, he had momentarily forgotten—
—the teachings of his father, who had painstakingly taught him the Way of Nature from the very beginning.
That great martial art.
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol took a single, natural step forward.
The space around him rippled like water in response.
When he took half a step to the side, the Void-Press Shattering force gripping the space was deflected.
The Imperial Step.
He was unfolding a footwork technique that pursued perfect harmony with nature, never opposing its flow.
Ssssshhh—
At the same time, an ethereal white mist began to rise from the Ink Soul Sword.
For the first time ever, he was attempting to execute his swordsmanship while treading the Imperial Step.