Chapter 181
The Soul-Flame Corps.
One of the Six Great Corps of the Death Command Gate, composed of first-rate masters or higher who have honed the Evil Spirit Azure Blood Spear to at least five stars.
Originally, they roamed the murim independently, eliminating those who threatened the Death Command Gate's influence...
But now, tasked with escorting the sect's successor on his journey through the martial world, they have become his personal corps.
Whoosh.
A dry wind swept past the ranks of the Soul-Flame Corps standing in formation.
Three hundred corps members clad in blood-red uniforms stood solemnly in a triangular formation, their spear shafts held rigidly upright as they faced the entrance of the Fleeting Moment Boat.
The sight resembled a massive, blood-stained spear blade.
Just then, Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin emerged from the entrance.
Shhhk.
At once, the assembled corps members moved with disciplined precision, parting to either side to clear a path.
Simultaneously, a middle-aged man stepped forward, a long spear split into two sections strapped diagonally across his back.
He stood well over six feet tall, his body lean and his eyes long and slit-like. From a distance, he looked like a scarecrow draped in crimson robes.
This was Yo Bul-beom, leader of the Soul-Flame Corps.
His epithet was Blood Flower Chaotic Shadow.
Wherever he passed, blood-soaked flower shadows bloomed in disarray—meaning that wherever Yo Bul-beom appeared, the battlefield would inevitably be drenched in blood.
"So you're Bu Eun-seol, the inheritor of Langya Pavilion."
His voice was the kind a hissing viper might produce if it could speak—low, hoarse, and so chilling it made the hairs on one's neck stand on end.
"That's right."
But Bu Eun-seol met Yo Bul-beom's gaze without the slightest flicker of unease, his expression perfectly composed.
"Have you come to capture me?"
"Heh-heh-heh. Capture you?"
Yo Bul-beom sounded almost amused.
"Even if you are Langya Pavilion's successor, to my eyes, you're nothing more than a half-baked brat whose stem hasn't fully hardened yet."
Thin lips curling upward, he deliberately lowered his voice further.
"Give up on securing the Fleeting Moment Boat as your supporter."
"Give up?"
"From the beginning, Pavilion Master Geuk had already promised to aid our sect in exchange for the Extreme Flame Ghost Blaze Pill."
Pausing briefly, he continued.
"But then you suddenly stuck your nose in and ruined everything."
Jong Wol-hon, the Death Command Gate's successor, had left satisfied after successful negotiations with Geuk Hye-ryeong.
But the ever-cautious Yo Bul-beom had lingered in Guilin, observing the aftermath.
And just as he'd anticipated, Geuk Hye-ryeong abruptly invested funds into Langya Pavilion and the Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying Sect.
Upon hearing the news, he immediately mobilized the Soul-Flame Corps and marched here.
"There's no need for the Fleeting Moment Boat to suffer losses because of you."
Yo Bul-beom stared unblinkingly at Bu Eun-seol through his slit-like eyes.
"Give up on securing the pavilion's support. If you simply make that promise, my corps will withdraw quietly."
Technically, it was Geuk Hye-ryeong who had broken the initial agreement.
Moreover, Yo Bul-beom wasn't demanding the pavilion's renewed support—only that they remain neutral.
At a glance, his proposal seemed reasonable, hardly an unreasonable demand.
"How amusing."
But Bu Eun-seol let out a soft, derisive breath through his nose.
"You set up camp outside someone's doorstep, lie in wait, and then demand they stay neutral?"
His smile was cold as he looked down at Yo Bul-beom.
"If they yield to this threat, the Fleeting Moment Boat would have no choice but to support the Death Command Gate no matter who comes knocking. Because you'd just camp here indefinitely, blocking any other faction from entering."
"..."
"In the end, what you're doing isn't holding a blade to their throat—it's no different from brandishing it while making threats."
"Kah-kah-kah."
Yo Bul-beom let out a bizarre laugh before speaking again.
"So then."
A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes as he paused.
"What does the inheritor of Langya Pavilion intend to do about it?"
Then, sweeping a glance over the assembled Soul-Flame Corps, he added,
"Do you plan to fight us two against three hundred? Oh, of course not. You must be counting on the pavilion master's aid."
Chuckling darkly, he pointed toward the Fleeting Moment Boat's entrance.
"But the pavilion master will never intervene. The Fleeting Moment Boat has always abhorred bloodshed—"
"Is that why you use spears as your weapon of choice?"
Bu Eun-seol exhaled a weary sigh, his expression bored.
"You really do love the sound of your own voice."
Twitch.
At that moment, a thick vein bulged on Yo Bul-beom's forehead. Glaring at Bu Eun-seol with murderous intent, he thrust both arms forward.
Clank!
In that instant, the assembled members of the Soul-Flame Corps combined the spear shafts they had been carrying on their backs, splitting left and right.
The sheer precision with which they synchronized the assembly of their spears—without a single beat of hesitation—was enough to demonstrate just how terrifying the Soul-Flame Corps' martial prowess truly was.
"So you have a death wish."
Yo Bul-beom's eyes, bloodshot to the brim, seethed with a chilling killing intent.
"No need for lengthy words. Kill!"
With that short command, the three hundred-strong unit encircled Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
Whoosh!
There was truly no need for further discussion.
The First Formation—thirty or so elite soldiers—swung their spear shafts chaotically toward Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
Shring! Clang!
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol's Ink Sword and Hyeok So-jin's Treasured Sword were drawn.
The barrage of spear shadows was so dense that not even a single ray of light could pass through.
The surrounding area, spanning dozens of feet, was completely engulfed in the overlapping shadows of spear shafts, to the point where even the figures of Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin seemed to vanish.
Clash! Clang! Clatter!
Yet, Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin precisely intercepted the cascading spear shadows, defending without leaving a single gap.
Swish! Slash!
Not only that—as if they had planned it—they alternated between left and right, unleashing sword strokes that covered each other's blind spots.
Even when attacking face-to-face, their movements didn't tangle. Instead, their strikes flowed as if they were a single, seamless force.
"The successors of the Demonic Path Ten Gates... have trained in a Combined Attack Art?"
A flicker of bewilderment rose in Yo Bul-beom's pupils as he observed them.
Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin. The two moved as if they had become one, executing flawless offense and defense in perfect harmony.
When spear tips lunged forward, Hyeok So-jin's Divine-Rending Demonic Qi surged out, scattering the formation and disrupting their force.
The moment that happened, Bu Eun-seol's Ink Sword unleashed razor-sharp killing moves as if he had been waiting for it.
Their shoulders nearly brushed as they moved past each other with hair's breadth precision, pouring out swords, palm energy, and fist techniques—yet there was not the slightest hesitation, as if they were a single entity.
This wasn't just simple, ordinary martial arts. These were exquisite Superior Martial Arts from different sects, blending together in perfect synchrony.
It was as if they had foreseen this exact situation and trained specifically in a Combined Attack Art.
"Aaaagh!"
Screams erupted endlessly from the mouths of the Soul-Flame Corps members who had charged at Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin in the First Formation.
What's more, Bu Eun-seol was wielding the demonic arts of Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying with the same mastery as Hyeok So-jin.
At times, he used different ultimate arts, and at others, he unleashed the same demonic ultimate arts as if they had made a pact. Yo Bul-beom's eyes widened in shock.
'A Langya Pavilion brat... using Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying's demonic ultimate arts?!'
Crash!
By then, the First Formation's ranks had completely collapsed, revealing the blood-soaked figures of Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
"Is this all the Spectral Sect's previous generation has to offer?"
Bu Eun-seol looked down at the Soul-Flame Corps members staggering backward.
Drenched in blood, he exuded the majesty of a Martial God dominating the battlefield.
"Hmph, don't get cocky just because you broke through the First Formation of the main force."
Yet Yo Bul-beom remained unshaken, a venomous smirk curling on his lips.
No matter how formidable Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin's martial arts were, the Soul-Flame Corps numbered three hundred.
Even if they died and came back to life, those two alone could never overcome them.
Clank! Clank!
Finally, the Second and Third Formations of the Soul-Flame Corps were deployed simultaneously.
The chaotic movements of the elite soldiers tightened like two overlapping rings, adjusting their distance as they pressed down on Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
Whoosh! Clatter! Clang!
The sounds of weapons clashing wildly rang out in rapid succession.
By the time about seven or eight minutes had passed, nearly half of the Second and Third Formation members had already fallen.
But wounds were gradually appearing on Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin's bodies as well.
The Evil Spirit Azure Blood Spear—the most bizarre and profound spear technique of the Demonic Path. The elite masters who had mastered this art were relentless, and eventually, the two began to falter under the pressure.
The many were overpowering the few.
Just as Yo Bul-beom had boasted, two people alone could never defeat three hundred members of the Soul-Flame Corps.
"Tch."
Hyeok So-jin, who had been pouring out Divine-Rending Demonic Qi, gritted his teeth.
No matter how many he cut down, the enemies kept coming endlessly.
In the past, he would have already sought an escape route or prepared to retreat.
'But...'
Beside him, Bu Eun-seol was still fighting without taking a single step back.
Wounds—both large and small—continued to accumulate on their bodies, and their breaths grew ragged.
But the more they were drenched in blood, the longer the battle raged on...
Bu Eun-seol's pupils burned with feverish intensity, and his entire body seemed to blaze with crimson battle aura.
This was the life of a martial artist.
This was the fight of a warrior.
A life-or-death duel was not a contest of martial prowess alone. It was a collision of life against life, will against will.
Watching Bu Eun-seol, Hyeok So-jin felt something scalding surge within his chest.
'Winning or losing doesn't matter anymore!'
There were battles a martial artist could never retreat from. Even if it meant death at the hands of the enemy.
What mattered was how they fought.
If they cowered just to survive, even if they lived, there would be no growth.
But if they poured everything they had into the fight, if they survived that way...
Their martial arts would undoubtedly advance to the next level.
Whoosh.
At that moment, flames just as fierce as Bu Eun-seol's erupted from Hyeok So-jin's body.
At last, he too had plunged into the true battle of a martial artist.
BOOM!
When he unleashed his Divine-Rending Demonic Qi, an explosive force unlike anything before erupted forth.
This was not mere internal energy—it was the fusion of his strength and blazing will.
'I don't care if I die!'
Hyeok So-jin poured everything into his Divine-Rending Demonic Qi, wishing for every last ounce of his being to be consumed in this fight.
"Th-that...!"
The masters of the Soul-Flame Corps staggered back once more, overwhelmed by the sheer force radiating from Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
The longer the battle raged, the fiercer their energy became.
Though their movements slowed slightly, their spirit and determination only grew sharper.
Even though this was a fight they should have won, a fight they could not lose even if they died and came back to life...
The Soul-Flame Corps members were the ones being forced to retreat.
Then, in that moment—
"Ahh, how fiery."
A man of refined appearance, a fan tucked at his waist, slowly emerged at the entrance of the Fleeting Moment Boat.
"I can't remember the last time I saw a fight like this."
Behind him stood over a dozen martial artists, each wielding a different weapon.
They were none other than the special guests residing in the pavilion—Jeong Rip, the Breaking-Line Divine Bow, and his fellow warriors.
"This must be what we freeloaders are meant to do," Jeong Rip remarked.
The guests behind him drew their weapons and chuckled darkly.
"Well said."
"Might as well earn our keep and enjoy a longer stay at the pavilion, no?"
"Good. Then let's begin!"
As Jeong Rip drew the bow from his chest—
THWOOOM!
An enormous Sound of Breaking Air tore through the battlefield, and his arrow pierced through two Soul-Flame Corps members in a single shot.
At the same time—
"RAAAAH!"
With a thunderous war cry, the pavilion's guests joined the fray.
"So the parasitic guests of the Fleeting Moment Boat have come out to play."
Yet even as he watched, Yo Bul-beom didn't so much as flinch.
No matter how skilled those dozen masters were, there was no way they could reach Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin, trapped at the heart of the encirclement.
"The martial world is full of fools who rush to their deaths."
Just as Yo Bul-beom sneered and turned his attention back to the battle—
"We'll lend our aid as well!"
Another group—thirty-some women—burst forth from the entrance.
They were none other than the Hundred Flowers Ladies, the martial artists whom Hyeok So-jin had personally trained.
SHING!
The Hundred Flowers Ladies unsheathed their swords and immediately charged the Soul-Flame Corps.
Though they lacked real combat experience and couldn't turn the tide alone, their desperate assault loosened the encirclement around Bu Eun-seol and Hyeok So-jin.
"What is this?"
Even Yo Bul-beom, who had remained composed until now, finally showed bewilderment.
"Are the disciples of the Fleeting Moment Boat joining the melee?"
The pavilion had almost no history of engaging in martial combat.
Hadn't the reports from their spies confirmed as much?
They had assured him the pavilion had almost no forces capable of joining a chaotic battle—and even if they did, Geuk Hye-ryeong would never permit it.
Yet here they were—not just guests, but the pavilion's own disciples—charging onto the battlefield?
Yo Bul-beom rubbed his eyes.
"That calculating old crone actually sent her disciples to interfere in another faction's succession struggle...?"
The Fleeting Moment Boat had at least eight thousand disciples.
If Geuk Hye-ryeong fully committed to the fight, the Soul-Flame Corps would have no choice but to retreat immediately.
"That cannot happen."
Yo Bul-beom clenched his fists.
No matter how unfavorable the battle turned, there was one thing he had to accomplish.
That pale bastard—the inheritor of Langya Pavilion—had to die.