Chapter 17
The moment the shabby thatched cottage came into view, Bu Eun-seol stopped running.
By the time he arrived near Langya Pavilion's martial arts hall, the shadows that had been persistently clinging to him had already vanished.
"So they were trainees of the Fire Rain Sword Sect."
The fact that he had learned Langya Pavilion's Way of the Beast was known only to the trainees gathered in the Fire Rain Sword Sect's Intermediate Hall.
When such a person suddenly bolted toward Langya Pavilion's martial arts hall, the pursuers must have felt something unsettling and immediately abandoned the chase.
"As expected, he's not here."
The thatched cottage was completely empty, and the spot where Sa-u had driven his body into the ground had been packed flat again.
Judging by its condition, it seemed he had left this place long ago.
"First, I need to recover my stamina."
Having repeated training and exploration of the island without a single day of rest until now, his stamina and mind were somewhat fatigued.
Bu Eun-seol stared blankly at the area where Sa-u had buried his body into the ground.
"What's this?"
When he brushed away the surface soil with his hand, a cloth with clumps of dirt clinging to it came into view.
Patter patter.
When he pulled the cloth aside, a space wide enough for one person to lie down comfortably was revealed.
Sa-u, who knew how to use the Earth Escape Art, had hollowed out an empty space beneath the ground and covered it with cloth above, creating a hiding place.
"Surely, for me..."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes wavered like ripples on water.
On Hell Island, Bu Eun-seol was the only one who had come to learn Langya Pavilion's martial arts. Could it be that the man who had found even teaching martial arts bothersome had shown him such consideration?
Sssssk.
As he entered beneath the earth, a deep and vast space revealed itself, like the inside of a grave before a coffin is buried.
"Mm."
As he laid his body on the ground, a warmth and comfort he had never felt before enveloped him.
"...!"
Bu Eun-seol, who had closed his eyes and settled his body comfortably, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
"My senses..."
Upon entering the earth, the senses of the Way of the Beast expanded.
The sound of feet kicking off the ground, the sound of someone taking large strides while executing sword techniques, and so on...
Through the vibrations, it was conveying vivid information, as if he were seeing his surroundings with his own eyes.
"So it wasn't a hiding place he made—he was trying to teach me how to apply the Way of the Beast."
The Way of the Beast, the domain of heightened senses capable of detecting even the flow of air.
That mysterious art could also expand the domain of heightened senses by using the earth as a medium.
Clang.
At that moment, he felt a vibration as if the ground were shaking. Someone hundreds of feet away had struck a large boulder with something.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's heart leaped.
The vibrations and ripples created by impacting something also expanded the domain of heightened senses.
"I see."
Having gained this realization, Bu Eun-seol felt an illusion as though his vision were brightening.
The Way of the Beast could expand the senses using not only the earth but all surrounding objects.
Wooong. Kooong.
Even in the meantime, the vibrations continued.
Thanks to the vibrations transmitted through the ground, Bu Eun-seol could clearly perceive the situation within three hundred feet of his surroundings.
The deeper his mastery of the Way of the Beast grew, the wider that domain would become.
"But..."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes, which had been continuously detecting the vibrations coming through the earth, grew dim.
As he perceived his surroundings through the ceaseless vibrations, his stamina plummeted and fatigue swept over him like clouds.
"The drawbacks are clear as well."
When expanding the domain of his senses through vibrations and ripples, his stamina and mental power were consumed at a rapid rate.
"Mm."
Bu Eun-seol, gradually closing off his acute heightened senses, shut his eyes.
For once he left this place, he did not know when he would be able to rest again.
How much time had passed?
Sssss.
Bu Eun-seol, opening his eyes, slowly emerged from beneath the earth.
"Hoo."
As he stood tall, gazing at the distant sky, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
Having rested comfortably deep underground, he had completely recovered his stamina and mental power.
"I only ever thought of it as a resting place for the dead... but it seems the underground has become the safest and most comfortable place for me as well."
Bu Eun-seol, who had mastered the Way of the Beast.
For him, the deep underground had become not only a place where he could expand his senses, but also a place where he could rapidly recover his exhausted body and mind.
Flutter.
Just then, a sound like something flapping in the wind reached his ears.
The sound heard when one unleashes the Lightness Skill at the Peak Realm.
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed, and he gripped the hilt of his iron sword.
This is a perfect opportunity to gauge the skills of those participating in the Third Trial.
Judging by the sound and the presence, there was only one enemy.
Moreover, this was the Langya Pavilion's martial arts hall, a place familiar to Bu Eun-seol. It was an ideal place to fight someone.
Hm.
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
The shadow rushing toward him, kicking up a fierce wind, was a beautiful boy whose features were distinct even from a distance.
"Ah!"
The beautiful boy, who had been running with the Lightness Skill, spotted Bu Eun-seol and, far from drawing a weapon, his face lit up with relief.
"Please save me!"
Trickle.
The boy had apparently been cut near the thigh, and blood was seeping through his torn martial uniform.
As Bu Eun-seol stood still with an indifferent gaze, the boy pointed behind him and cried out urgently.
"A mob of people trying to kill me is swarming this way!"
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
Those chasing the boy were certainly a group.
A fight of one against many.
Bu Eun-seol, who had been deep in thought, shook his head.
Right now, Bu Eun-seol knew neither the participants' skills nor the extent of his own martial prowess.
It was too early to engage in a melee.
"It's none of my business."
Bu Eun-seol turned his body in the opposite direction.
He had no intention of killing an injured person, but he also did not want to get entangled in a situation where he would be pursued by a group.
"Wait!"
But suddenly, the boy grabbed his sleeve.
"Take me with you!"
The boy's eyes, drenched in sweat, were desperately earnest.
With fine strands of hair clinging to his face, his appearance was so pure and beautiful that he could have been mistaken for a woman.
Was it because that appearance was so captivating?
Bu Eun-seol abruptly stared intently at the boy's face and waist.
"Wh-why?"
After silently gazing at the boy, Bu Eun-seol suddenly walked over to the front of the Thatched Cottage and revealed a hiding place concealed beneath a cloth.
"There's a place like this here!"
The boy let out a cheer and entered the underground space.
Once Bu Eun-seol entered the underground and covered them again with the dirt-caked cloth, the two of them appeared to have vanished without a trace.
They're coming.
As Bu Eun-seol raised the Way of the Beast to its maximum, his pupils dilated, and the scene above ground became visible as if drawn before his eyes.
Thud. Flutter.
Along with the vibration of feet kicking off the ground, he sensed the footsteps of three people rapidly approaching.
"Damn it! He definitely went this way!"
Someone among those who had arrived at the Thatched Cottage shouted.
"Could he have already left this area?"
After the sound of someone thoroughly scanning the surroundings of the Thatched Cottage, another person shouted.
"How could he? He couldn't have fled that quickly. He must be hiding somewhere nearby."
"That bastard! I'll kill him for sure!"
Flutter.
Once again unleashing their Lightness Skill, they exited the martial arts hall.
"..."
Once their presences disappeared, Bu Eun-seol pulled back the cloth and slowly climbed up to the surface.
"Hoo."
The boy, having come up to the surface, let out a long sigh and bowed his head toward Bu Eun-seol.
"Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you."
When the boy smiled, it seemed as if the whole world brightened.
"How on earth did you set up a hiding place like this here? Could it be that you trained at Langya Pavilion's martial arts hall?"
When Bu Eun-seol said nothing, the boy scratched his head and shook it.
"I'm sorry. What a pointless question... Ah, I'm Geum Cheol-yeong from the Blood Gate."
The boy with a smile as pure as the morning sun, Geum Cheol-yeong, put on a gloomy expression.
"As soon as the Third Trial began, I fled into the forest... and that mob suddenly attacked me."
Geum Cheol-yeong not only had outstanding features, but even his voice was as clear and bright as a bird's chirping.
"I ran away because I didn't want to fight... but they chased me relentlessly, as if I were their sworn enemy."
Letting out a deep sigh, Geum Cheol-yeong hung his head.
"If I had known the Third Trial would be like this, I would never have come here."
Geum Cheol-yeong chattered on without pause.
But Bu Eun-seol was utterly indifferent, like an old man listening to someone else brag about their grandson from his sickbed.
"Though, I suppose the fewer people there are... the higher the probability of becoming a candidate for the Ten Demonic Heirs."
When Geum Cheol-yeong's long, drawn-out chatter showed no sign of ending, Bu Eun-seol's lips finally parted.
"So then..."
Pausing briefly, Bu Eun-seol wore a smile that was unlike him.
"How many have you killed?"
"What?"
As Geum Cheol-yeong tilted his head with a puzzled expression, Bu Eun-seol pointed at his waist.
"I asked how many you've killed with that hidden weapon at your waist."
Phat.
It was a thin sound of breaking air, barely reaching his ears.
At the same moment, hundreds of needles poured down on Bu Eun-seol's front like heavy rain.
"No?"
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had fired the hidden weapon device strapped to his waist, burst out in disbelief.
For Bu Eun-seol had already shifted his body to the left, as if he had never been there in the first place.
"You..."
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had attempted an ambush with the cruel hidden weapon, could not hide his surprise.
Bu Eun-seol's evasive movement seemed as though he had perfectly predicted his technique from the very start.
"Don't make me laugh!"
Geum Cheol-yeong threw his body back and placed both hands on his waist.
Paaaaaa!
Just as the swarm of black needles poured out like a hive of bees and was about to cover Bu Eun-seol's body,
Shing.
Like the tolling of a grim reaper's funeral bell, the sound of an iron sword being drawn rang out.
Chik.
The sharp tip of the sword fiercely tore through the air, thrusting simultaneously at Geum Cheol-yeong's throat and chest.
"Kuk."
Geum Cheol-yeong was also a prodigy of martial arts who had trained in the martial halls of Hell Island.
As the unexpected fast sword poured in, he evaded the strike with a movement as agile as a tiger.
Hwiririk.
In that interval, the sword stroke Bu Eun-seol extended changed once more in the air.
The blade, turned sideways, spun like a whirlwind, then swept down with terrifying momentum toward the spot where Geum Cheol-yeong had dodged.
Swae swae swae!
Unable to avoid the fiercely rotating blade, Geum Cheol-yeong had already drawn a sharp dagger.
CLANG CLANG! Clang!
The keen dagger and the old iron sword clashed rapidly in the air.
Geum Cheol-yeong swung his blade with all his combat power, but he could not predict the direction of the pouring iron sword at all.
Clank.
As if there had never been a fierce exchange, Bu Eun-seol sheathed his iron sword.
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had been holding his blade in a reverse grip and maintaining a defensive stance, spoke flatly.
"...How did you know?"
Geum Cheol-yeong's once-bright eyes sharpened like a viper's.
"No one has ever noticed these Shadow Punishment Needles until now."
"When you wear something near the waist, the movement of the spine stiffens."
"Were you from Haengrim?"
Bu Eun-seol shook his head and said in an indifferent voice.
"I did work sending the dead on their way peacefully."
"I... see."
Urk.
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had been murmuring quietly, spat out blood from his mouth.
"If I had been as strong as you... I wouldn't have secretly brought a hidden weapon like this."
Weak in martial arts, he had never been able to rise above the Intermediate Hall no matter which martial hall he went to.
In the end, he had secretly brought the Shadow Punishment Needles, one of the hidden weapon devices that his sect had forbidden its students from carrying.
"Don't flatter yourself."
Bu Eun-seol looked at Geum Cheol-yeong with cold eyes.
"It is because you brought such a hidden weapon that you could not become strong."
"Because I brought a hidden weapon... I couldn't become strong?"
Geum Cheol-yeong, having discovered Bu Eun-seol's terrifyingly burning persistence, nodded.
"Is that so. Because I brought a hidden weapon that could easily kill even a peak master."
After catching his breath for a moment, he wore a hollow smile.
"Because I possessed a hidden weapon that could easily dispose of others at any time, I neglected my training..."
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had been murmuring ruefully,
Kung.
Collapsed to the floor like a log and breathed his last.
Fwoosh!
In the meantime, the sound of another group moving toward this place could be heard.
'Staying in one place for long is dangerous.'
With blood light flashing in his eyes, Bu Eun-seol swiftly left Sa-u's martial hall.
Solely to survive, to become one of the Ten Demonic Heirs... the fight on Hell Island, where they had to kill and be killed, had begun.