Chapter 22
'Fast!'
The Killing Ghost's pursuit speed was several times faster than Bu Eun-seol had anticipated.
At this rate, he would be attacked from behind without even getting a chance to lift a finger, and he would lose his life.
'I have no choice but to fight now!'
If he could not shake off the pursuit, then he had no choice but to stand his ground, come what may.
Tap-tap.
Bu Eun-seol, who had leaped out through the wide-open red doors of the Martial Arts Pavilion, drew his black sword with a movement like lightning.
Clang!
But the Killing Ghost, as if it had been pursuing him all along, stood tall before the great gate of the pavilion.
"..."
With a single red-painted great gate between them, Bu Eun-seol and the Killing Ghost stared at each other.
As the standoff continued under tension that seemed ready to burst, beads of sweat trickled down Bu Eun-seol's forehead.
But even after holding his stance for half a quarter, the Killing Ghost showed no reaction whatsoever.
'So that's how it is.'
Only then, sensing something, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flew wide open.
'The Killing Ghost cannot leave the restricted zone!'
Once he stepped outside the pavilion, the sound announcing that he was in a restricted area could no longer be heard.
In other words, it was certain that the restricted zone extended only as far as the inside of the Fire Rain Sword Sect's pavilion.
"..."
Even though Bu Eun-seol was staring directly at it, the Killing Ghost did not even spare him a glance.
The eyes revealed above its mask seemed to be gazing at somewhere far, far away.
Ssss.
Bu Eun-seol, who had been carefully stepping backward, soon fled that place with all his might.
'All I could do was dodge with every ounce of strength I had.'
Since learning the Way of the Beast, this was the first time he had been unable to find even a trace of an attack.
He could not even guess what kind of weapon had been used. Perhaps the Killing Ghost's skill exceeded even that of the instructors.
Whoosh. Tap-tap.
The place where Bu Eun-seol, running like a madman, finally arrived was the southern shore of Hell Island.
The Black Boat was anchored before the Contemplation Stone, and beyond the horizon, the setting sun was sinking.
"Hoo."
Bu Eun-seol's back, now that he had stopped running, was drenched in sweat.
Patter.
When he came to a halt, a few strands of hair fell to the ground.
Part of the hair that had been severed by the Killing Ghost's attack had fallen loose again.
"I am a frog in a well..."
As he picked up the fallen strands of hair, a dazed light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"No—a frog that could not even make it out of the well."
The Killing Ghost's martial arts had reached a realm that Bu Eun-seol could not even begin to fathom.
And yet, the severed cross-section of his hair was rough.
"But that person..."
The murderer who killed his grandfather had sliced through the two arms of a living, bleeding human being as smoothly as glass.
A realm that even masters who had honed the sword for decades would struggle to reach... truly a boundless realm.
Bu Eun-seol could only achieve his revenge by surpassing that realm.
Ssss.
At that moment, from the opposite direction, a shadow was walking toward him with the sunset at its back.
A stalwart figure, with a large blade slung over one shoulder.
"Bu Eun-seol."
Astonishingly, the boy carrying the blade called out Bu Eun-seol's name in a flat, calm voice.
"I have been searching for you for a long time."
Bu Eun-seol stood rooted to the spot, not moving so much as a finger.
'Similar.'
It was a feeling similar to the Killing Ghost he had just encountered.
If he moved recklessly, that heavy blade seemed as though it would cleave his body in two.
"My name is Paeng Ak. Here, I have trained in the Bloodflame Blade Art."
Having introduced himself in that same flat tone, Paeng Ak's eyes flashed toward Bu Eun-seol.
"I hear you have learned the Way of the Beast. Is that true?"
A trainee of the Bloodflame Blade Family knew of his circumstances?
But Bu Eun-seol was not particularly surprised.
There were many who formed factions in this place. If Paeng Ak's group included a comrade from the Fire Rain Sword Sect, then knowing his information was nothing remarkable.
"There's no need for further words, is there?"
Watching Bu Eun-seol press his lips together, Paeng Ak slowly drew the great saber slung over his shoulder.
Sssk.
A strange stance.
Paeng Ak raised the massive blade above his head as if he were splitting firewood. It was the distinctive Starting Stance of the Bloodflame Blade Art.
But Bu Eun-seol stood still without even drawing his sword.
He had instinctively sensed that the moment he tried to draw his sword, a blade strike like a thunderbolt would come flying at him.
"So you had already grasped the Blood Dye Blade Stance."
The terrifying thing about the Blood Dye Blade Stance was that it struck at the exact moment the opponent moved.
"No, that's not it."
Paeng Ak, who had been watching Bu Eun-seol's posture, drew a deep breath and nodded.
"He's already grasped the path of the blade stance with beast-like senses. Through the Way of the Beast."
In that instant, a strange thought crossed Bu Eun-seol's mind.
What faction did this man belong to? Was he with the masked man he had encountered earlier?
How could he know not only his appearance but even the functions of the Way of the Beast in such detail?
Just as his thoughts began to spiral, Paeng Ak suddenly started speaking of something strange.
"As I thought, you... are certain to become one of the Ten Demonic Heirs."
Swish.
Suddenly, Paeng Ak's stance shifted.
From the Blood Dye Blade Stance that seemed poised to unleash the Heaven Collapsing Strike, he abruptly assumed a bizarre posture, as if spreading out a net.
"A demonic seed must be cut down before it can sprout!"
'A demonic seed?'
In that moment, a thought flashed through Bu Eun-seol's mind like lightning.
—Hah, do you think everyone gathered here wants to become a Ten Demonic Heir?
Those were the words of Seo Jin-ha, the trainee from the Upper-Level Hall who had displayed astonishing sword techniques comparable to his own.
Through that single remark, Bu Eun-seol had inferred that on this island, there were not only prodigies of the Demonic Path, but also spies who had infiltrated from the Righteous Faction.
'This Paeng Ak, too...'
Clang!
At that moment, a blue blade came to a stop before Bu Eun-seol's forehead.
In the instant his attention had wandered, Paeng Ak's swift blade had come crashing down, and his body had reacted before his head, blocking the form.
Had he not trained in the Way of the Beast, Bu Eun-seol would have lost his life to that single strike.
'I must cast aside these idle thoughts!'
Bu Eun-seol, crying out in his mind, gripped the Black Sword with both hands.
Just now, Paeng Ak had used not the Bloodflame Blade Art, but another blade technique. In other words, it was proof that he had mastered a blade art even more powerful than the Bloodflame Blade Art he had just learned.
"Bu Eun-seol, you die here!"
Clang!
Once again, the Black Sword and the blade collided.
In that instant, a powerful internal force traveled along the sword and into Bu Eun-seol's wrist.
"Kh."
It was as if sharp needles were burrowing into his wrist and piercing every corner of his body.
The blade art Paeng Ak was employing not only possessed a powerful suction force, but with every clash of weapons, a mighty internal force bored into his body.
Crunch.
Each time, Bu Eun-seol received a shock that rattled not only his wrist but the bones of his entire body.
'Hebei Paeng Clan...?'
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol recalled a time years ago, when he had been preparing a body with his grandfather.
—Oh dear, this one was killed by a master of the Hebei Paeng Clan.
His grandfather, Bu Jan-yang, had looked at the corpse laid out on the shrouding table and shaken his head.
—How can you tell?
—There's not a single external injury, yet the bones of his entire body are riddled with hairline fractures, are they not?
This is the mark left when one is struck by the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Blade of the Hebei Paeng Clan.
Bu Jan-yang, clicking his tongue, had sighed as he spoke.
—Masters of the Hebei Paeng Clan rarely show themselves in the martial world... this one must have committed quite a grave sin.
Picking up a clean cloth and dipping it into a basin of warm water, Bu Jan-yang had murmured in a low voice.
—When fighting a master of the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Blade, you should have used the pouring Suction Principle against him and counterattacked. Because he met the attacks head-on so straightforwardly, his body ended up in this state.
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed as he finished his recollection.
In the past, those words had been utterly incomprehensible, but thanks to the Sword Studies he had learned in the Upper-Level Hall, he could now grasp their meaning.
'Use the Suction Principle against him and counterattack...'
Swish!
In that instant, Paeng Ak's great blade came splitting down toward Bu Eun-seol's shoulder once more.
"Haap!"
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol drove the Black Sword into the ground with all his might.
The Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Blade Method.
The secret blade art of the Paeng Clan that dominated Hebei Province, possessing might heavier than Mount Tai.
Not only that, but each form had the effect of pulling in the opponent's weapon, because it unleashed tremendous internal force in the instant the weapons clashed.
'What?'
Paeng Ak, who had been bringing his swift blade art down upon Bu Eun-seol's shoulder, widened his eyes.
Bu Eun-seol, who he had naturally expected to raise his sword and defend his shoulder area, was instead driving his sword into the ground.
Swoosh.
As the black sword, wrapped in the Suction Principle, moved in an unexpected direction, Paeng Ak's great saber, descending vertically, was slightly thrown off course.
"You bastard!"
When his attack missed, Paeng Ak spun his great saber again and swept it toward Bu Eun-seol's waist.
Shing.
But Bu Eun-seol paid it no mind and moved his sword in an unexpected direction.
As his strokes missed time and again, Paeng Ak let out a scoff.
"You're resorting to petty tricks!"
He called it petty, but Bu Eun-seol's actions were nothing short of audacious.
With an enemy's blade flying at him, how many in the murim would have the nerve to forgo blocking and instead take an unexpected action?
This alone won't be enough.
He had used the Suction Principle to render the attacks futile, but that was all.
With this method, far from bringing down Paeng Ak, it was clear that his stamina would only be fiercely drained as time went on.
Whoosh!
The great saber poured down at his head like a meteor, but Bu Eun-seol instead spread both hands as if welcoming a welcome guest.
However, because of the Suction Principle's power, which was more intense than he had thought, Bu Eun-seol's black sword moved toward Paeng Ak's body.
—I will teach you a way to unfold the subtle principle of Striking Later to Control the Opponent in sword techniques.
As the black sword moved on its own, the voice of Dan Cheon-yang, who had interpreted the martial formulas in the Upper-Level Hall, suddenly surfaced in his mind.
—Speed is relative. In short, I do not need to be very fast; I only need to be half a beat faster than the enemy.
I will use the Suction Principle to unfold my sword techniques faster than the Overbearing Saber.
Flash!
A gleam of light flashed in Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he attained realization.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Paeng Ak's great saber, fiercely tearing through the empty air, slashed toward Bu Eun-seol's torso.
But Bu Eun-seol paid it no mind and quickly extended his sword, thrusting it toward Paeng Ak's throat.
Swoosh.
Bu Eun-seol's movement was slow, but his black sword touched Paeng Ak's throat in the blink of an eye.
"What?"
Greatly startled, Paeng Ak halted his saber technique and stepped backward.
How can that sluggish sword technique be faster than my saber technique?
Clenching his teeth, he unfolded his saber technique once more.
Rumble.
With a faint sound of thunder, dozens of blade shadows split apart and coiled around Bu Eun-seol.
Whoosh!
But once again, as Bu Eun-seol slowly extended his sword, it pierced through the blade shadows and dug toward Paeng Ak's throat.
"Ugh!"
Leaning his body back, Paeng Ak narrowly avoided the black sword digging into his Celestial Rush Point by a hair's breadth.
Bu Eun-seol had unfolded his sword technique slowly, so how could it be faster than his own saber technique, which fiercely tore through the air?
"Hap!"
Raising the internal power of his entire body, Paeng Ak unfolded his saber technique once more.
And using the intense Suction Principle, he attempted to force Bu Eun-seol's black sword to collide with his great saber.
"What?"
But the black sword, which seemed about to strike the great saber, suddenly changed direction and attacked his throat.
Could this ghost-like bastard be using the power of the Suction Principle to unfold a fast sword?
The Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Saber Method, which destroyed the enemy's interior by clashing weapons.
To use that secret art, he had to unfold an intense Suction Principle with every stroke.
And Bu Eun-seol, using the pulling force to quickly unfold his sword, had at the last moment simply changed the direction of the force slightly to attack Paeng Ak.
That's impossible!
The Suction Principle of the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Saber Method could pull in boulders from three jang away.
To skillfully use such an intense force was not a feat that even masters of sword techniques could easily perform.
Slash, slash!
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol once again slowly unfolded his sword technique.
His movements were slow and his sword strokes were simple, yet they were slightly faster than Paeng Ak's saber technique, which unfolded while tearing through the air.
"Good!"
Paeng Ak shouted angrily and twisted his grip on the great saber. Then, as if swinging chopsticks, he unfolded his saber technique with the large great saber at high speed.
Whirr!
A sound like the snorting of an enraged beast rang out, and along with a fierce wind, sharp saber strokes poured down like a rain shower.
Whoooosh!
As the saber strokes unfolded, an intense suction force coiled around Bu Eun-seol's black sword.
Tremble.
The black sword in his grip shook like a leaf in the wind, but Bu Eun-seol's eyes held not a glimmer of agitation.
The stronger the Suction Principle becomes, the faster my sword becomes.
The Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Saber Method was not a profound saber technique, but rather a saber technique that poured out powerful internal energy to injure the enemy.
Since the weapons did not clash, it could not display its original might.