Chapter 333
It was nothing short of a shocking revelation.
To think that all the brutal Blood Calamities that had stained the history of the Murim were their doing?
How could such a thing even be possible?
So Ok-rim, who had been alternating her gaze between Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha, spoke again in a solemn voice.
"Those bastards have been orchestrating such deeds from the shadows, acting as if they were gods themselves."
"Evidence?"
"You don't need to look far into the past for proof. Just consider the current state of the Murim."
She spoke gravely.
"Annihilating an entire sect in an instant, or perfectly rebuilding a destroyed sect from scratch—do you think ordinary factions are capable of such things?"
Bu Eun-seol found himself nodding unconsciously.
They had colluded with the Government Office to cultivate Human Blossoms and rebuilt annihilated sects overnight to use as their pawns.
In short, they could either erase a perfectly intact sect without a trace or discreetly eliminate those who displeased them.
Such feats were far beyond the capabilities of any ordinary Murim faction.
"There's one thing I'm curious about."
It was Seo Jin-ha who spoke up then.
"Are you saying that in the four hundred years since then, you're the only one who has mastered the Star Emperor's martial arts?"
"That's right."
So Ok-rim clicked her tongue before continuing.
"It's a martial art I mastered only after dying and coming back to life several times. Powerful, yes, but incredibly difficult to learn."
"Then how on earth do you plan to track down the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars who committed such atrocities?"
The fact that these truths had remained hidden in the Murim for so long proved how deeply entrenched their roots were.
But what method could So Ok-rim possibly use to find them?
"That's why I sought out the Divine Calculator as soon as I mastered the martial art."
So Ok-rim shrugged nonchalantly.
"That old Copyist known as the Foremost Sage of the Murim would surely know the situation well."
"And what did he say?"
As Seo Jin-ha fired off questions in rapid succession, So Ok-rim snapped in irritation.
"Who are you interrogating here? Why are you only questioning me?"
But Seo Jin-ha responded with unshaken composure.
"Can you blame me? The things you've said are far too shocking to accept at face value. I have no choice but to ask to verify their truth."
He glanced subtly at Bu Eun-seol and winked before continuing politely.
"However, once all my questions are answered, I promise he will speak honestly about what he knows. You have my word."
In truth, Seo Jin-ha was asking these questions on Bu Eun-seol's behalf.
If the blunt-speaking Bu Eun-seol had interrogated her directly, she would have thrown a fit.
Instead, he had secured a promise from Bu Eun-seol to speak honestly to her in return.
"Hmph."
As she crossed her arms with a resigned expression, Seo Jin-ha pressed on.
"So. Did you find the descendants?"
"Only one of their hiding places."
"Why just one?"
"Because I only had one Gratitude Coin."
The Divine Calculator, known as the Foremost Sage of the Murim and the Copyist.
For the past thirty years, he had only answered questions for those who brought him the Gratitude Coins he had distributed.
Without one, even if you held a blade to his throat, you would get no answers.
"So the Gratitude Coins were real after all."
Seo Jin-ha had only heard rumors of them until now.
"But how did you obtain one?"
So Ok-rim replied casually.
"Twenty years ago, the Divine Calculator traveled through the Murim and tracked down all the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars. He gave each of them a Gratitude Coin."
"The Divine Calculator did? Why?"
Seo Jin-ha couldn't comprehend it.
Why would the man known as the Foremost Sage of the Murim seek out every descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars?
And why would he give them the means to obtain answers from him?
"Why would the Divine Calculator personally seek them out to deliver Gratitude Coins?"
"How should I know?"
As So Ok-rim brushed it off, Seo Jin-ha pressed further.
"Fine. Then where is this hiding place of the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars you learned about through the Gratitude Coin?"
"That... I can't tell you."
"A sect beyond the frontier."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening silently, nodded as if realizing something.
"You came to Tibet after hearing the Divine Calculator's words to find the sect sheltering the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars."
Stroking his chin, he gave a faint nod.
"He likely didn't name the sect directly but described its characteristics instead. That's why you followed us here—to verify it."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
So Ok-rim scoffed, but Bu Eun-seol continued impassively.
"Didn't you say it yourself earlier? That you sought out the Divine Calculator as soon as you mastered the martial art to find the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars."
"Well—"
"You wouldn't have come all the way to Tibet just to meet some so-called 'destined partner.' If the Divine Calculator really said that, it must have been incidental."
So Ok-rim let out a "Hmph" at Bu Eun-seol's deduction.
To infer so much from just a few words? Truly, the Martial Soul Lord's reputation for shaking the heavens was not unfounded.
"You're quite the storyteller."
So Ok-rim thoroughly denied his claims and tried to wriggle out of it.
Having someone peer into her thoughts was unbearable for someone of her temperament.
"Hmm."
A flash of insight flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he sank deep into thought.
"The Cloud Sea Azure Spirit Palace... So that's it."
"What is?"
At Seo Jin-ha's question, Bu Eun-seol curled his lips into a smile while looking at So Ok-rim.
"The Divine Calculator probably told you this: that the sect lies beyond the frontier, surrounded by ice on all sides."
As So Ok-rim's eyebrows twitched, Bu Eun-seol bared his white teeth in a grin.
"Your next destination must be the North Sea Ice Palace."
"Hey! Fine! You're so clever!"
As Bu Eun-seol laid out everything as if he had stepped into her mind, So Ok-rim exploded in frustration.
"Now it's your turn to answer! I've told you everything."
"Before that, let me ask one thing."
"What now?"
"North Sea Ice Palace is a sect that absolutely forbids outsiders. How exactly do you plan to investigate such a place?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I need to know if I'm to help you."
Bu Eun-seol faintly smiled.
"If you'd only asked why I inherited the Martial Emperor's legacy, I wouldn't have needed to say this much."
"..."
"From the moment you started talking, you revealed information about the Eight Emperors and Three Stars without me even asking. From your position, those should have been secrets you absolutely needed to keep."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze was filled with certainty as he spoke.
"Which means you're considering asking for help in finding the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, aren't you?"
"Oh my. Looks like another Divine Calculator has appeared in the murim."
So Ok-rim's forehead bulged with veins as she glared down at Bu Eun-seol with bloodshot eyes.
"The palace lord and my main house have enough connections—no need to worry. Frankly, the help I wanted was for the problem after North Sea Ice Palace. Got it? Huh?"
She huffed before demanding:
"Now, answer me. How did you inherit the Martial Emperor's legacy?"
"Fine."
Bu Eun-seol nodded without hesitation.
"I happened to encounter the Bullet King and discovered the Martial Emperor Secret Vault. And then..."
After hearing the details, So Ok-rim narrowed her eyes skeptically.
"That doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?"
"If that were true, why bother learning the Martial Emperor's martial arts in the first place? If you were aiming to become the leader of the Demon Hall, you should never have trained in the Righteous Faction's Mind-Training Formula!"
To reach the pinnacle of Demonic Path Martial Arts, one must never internalize the Mind-Training Formula of the orthodox factions.
Because the probability of all the demonic arts you've painstakingly mastered regressing is far too high.
"And judging by your level, you've polished it meticulously for a very long time?"
In fact, So Ok-rim had immediately deduced that he had never neglected his training of the Thirteenfold Qi Induction.
"I can answer that."
Seo Jin-ha, who had grasped the entire situation, shrugged his shoulders.
"He only sought to become the Heir of the Demon Hall to utilize its intelligence network. He never had any ambition to become its master in the first place."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"He became the successor solely to wield the Demon Hall's formidable information network."
"Information network?"
"Exactly."
Seo Jin-ha grinned.
"He has no interest in status. He only seeks the information he desires."
"What kind of information is that?"
"Seo Jin-ha."
At Bu Eun-seol's low warning, Seo Jin-ha shrugged again.
"Can't tell you that far. It's a personal matter, you see."
"Hmph."
So Ok-rim studied Bu Eun-seol with suspicion-filled eyes.
Any warrior of the Demonic Path would naturally dream of seizing the chance to stand at its apex.
But truly, there was not a trace of ambition or aspiration in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"Fine. Let's say it's all true."
So Ok-rim rubbed her temples and declared:
"Then from now on, you'll help me track down the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars. What I want from you is the power of that intelligence network, after all."
"Why should I do that?"
"Why? Because you're the Martial Emperor's inheritor too."
The reason So Ok-rim had revealed all her secrets to Bu Eun-seol—it was because he was the Martial Emperor's inheritor.
Unlike others, the Martial Emperor had devoted his life to the murim's stability.
Anyone who had mastered the essence of his martial arts couldn't possibly be wicked. They would surely strive to protect the martial world.
"Just because I'm his inheritor, I'm obligated to help you?"
"Is that even a question? The Martial Emperor was framed by those bastards and forced to leave the murim in disgrace! Don't you think he deserves vengeance?"
"I merely happened to learn his martial arts. I can't be called his inheritor."
"Wha—?"
So Ok-rim's jaw dropped at the unexpected response.
The inheritor of a peerless grandmaster was a role decreed by heaven.
Yet this cold, heartless bastard was the Martial Emperor's inheritor?
"Hey, then I just blabbed everything to you for nothing?"
So Ok-rim bared her gums, crudely expressing that she had spilled all her secrets.
"Or are you planning to just walk away after getting this priceless information for free?"
"..."
"Those bastards are twisting murim history as they please, creating all sorts of monstrosities!"
But Bu Eun-seol remained unmoved.
As if resentful for having revealed everything, So Ok-rim pressed on:
"You must have seen it too, right? They kidnap children, commit atrocities, kill people indiscriminately and bury them like trash."
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol let out a thoughtful hum.
Other things aside, he could never condone kidnapping orphans for experiments or turning them into assassins.
However, he had to prioritize finding his grandfather's murderer. That alone was overwhelming as it was.
He had no time to spare hunting down some hidden mastermind manipulating the murim.
"I'll help you once."
"Once?"
"Correct. I'll devote my full strength to assisting you in investigating North Sea Ice Palace. I'll mobilize every resource I have."
"Weren't you listening? I don't need that. I told you, I have connections with the palace lord!"
"If that were truly enough, you wouldn't care whether I was the Demon Hall's heir or the Martial Emperor's inheritor. You'd have gone your own way."
At Bu Eun-seol's sharp observation, So Ok-rim let out a deep sigh.
"Petty! So damn petty! What kind of man is this stingy?!"
"I have many things to do. North Sea Ice Palace is the most powerful sect beyond the frontier, isn't it? A single favor shouldn't disappoint you too much."
Bu Eun-seol spoke calmly.
"As soon as I return to the Demon Hall, I'll mobilize the intelligence network to scout them out. Top priority."
"Ugh...!"
In the end, So Ok-rim gnashed her teeth, baring pink gums in frustration.
"Oh my, thank you ever so much."
She then hunched over like a shrimp and stuck out her lips, bowing obsequiously right in Bu Eun-seol's face.
"Such boundless grace from the great lord leaves this humble one at a loss for how to repay it. Ptooey!"
Though she didn't actually spit on the floor, Bu Eun-seol wrinkled his nose in disgust and waved her off.
"Disgusting."
"Oh my, is that so? Does the great lord find spit disgusting but not pettiness?"
Seo Jin-ha nearly burst out laughing at the sight.
Who would have thought there'd be someone bold enough to shove their face into that of Bu Eun-seol—the Heir of the Demon Hall, a man with a temperament as frigid and lethal as a blade—and mock him so openly?
'A maiden from a renowned clan, who has cultivated such formidable martial arts, could be even more frivolous than a bearded mountain bandit?'
The murim was full of eccentric masters, but he had never even heard of someone as brazen as her, not even in jest.
"That aside," Seo Jin-ha managed to swallow his laughter and nodded.
"If we follow the lady's words, we should first seek out the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, who is likely the mastermind's leader."
So Ok-rim nodded in agreement.
"Exactly."
"Do you have any leads?"
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade."
Gazing at the distant sky, So Ok-rim dropped a bombshell.
"They say the one who wields the great blade of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade—who vanished mysteriously—is most likely the mastermind's leader."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
The hilt of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's weapon, Journey Path, was in his possession. Yet the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars supposedly had the great blade?
"Who said that?"
At Bu Eun-seol's question, So Ok-rim scratched her cheek and replied,
"The Divine Calculator, that old man."
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade was the former Deputy Hall Lord who disappeared over thirty years ago—a man whose fate remains unknown. How, then, could a descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars possess his blade?"
"If a master like the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade vanished without a trace, it was likely his own doing. In that case, he would have hidden his signature weapon somewhere secret."
So Ok-rim spoke as if it were obvious.
"And if there's a faction powerful enough to manipulate the murim, they could have easily uncovered that hidden weapon, no?"
Her reasoning was sound.
After all, Bu Eun-seol himself had obtained the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's beloved weapon, Journey Path, through a similar process.
"How did the Divine Calculator come by such information?"
"How should I know?"
Despite So Ok-rim's nonchalant reply, Bu Eun-seol's gaze grew sharper.
"What's the basis for claiming the wielder of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's weapon is the mastermind's leader?"
"Because the Divine Calculator said so."
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
In the end, everything circled back to "Because the Divine Calculator said so."
Just then, Seo Jin-ha, who had been listening intently, spoke to So Ok-rim.
"If someone possesses the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's weapon, the mastermind could very well be a descendant of the Blade Emperor—the most enigmatic among the Eight Emperors and Three Stars."
"Well, that's possible too."
Bu Eun-seol, arms crossed and deep in thought, asked again,
"Then where is the Divine Calculator now?"
"I don't know. It took me two years just to barely track him down."
So Ok-rim stretched her lips into a thin line.
"Well, the Divine Calculator said it was fate that I found him. Even if you had a Gratitude Coin, if the timing wasn't right, you wouldn't meet him."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled slowly.
Eccentrics like the Divine Calculator not only rarely revealed themselves in the murim but also possessed the ability to effortlessly evade pursuit.
If the Divine Calculator had met So Ok-rim, it was likely because he had wanted it.
'Either obtain a Gratitude Coin or track him down myself—there's no other way.'
The fact that the Divine Calculator had mentioned the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade Bu Jan-yang's weapon...
Meant he must know something about Bu Jan-yang's whereabouts or secrets that Bu Eun-seol was unaware of.
If all leads on the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade went cold... finding the Divine Calculator could be a way forward.
"Let's cooperate."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"In finding the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars—the mastermind behind this murim faction."
"Hmm."
So Ok-rim studied Bu Eun-seol's eyes, which now gleamed with an unusual sharpness, and nodded.
"Oh? Seems like something's piqued your interest, huh?"
Her perception was uncanny.
The moment she realized Bu Eun-seol's cooperation wasn't just voluntary but something he desperately needed, her attitude shifted instantly.
"But I have a condition."
"A condition?"
"You're going back to the Demon Hall to handle things anyway, right?"
"Correct."
"You'll have plenty of subordinates there, no?"
"A few."
So Ok-rim nodded as if she'd expected as much.
"Like you just said, we're cooperating now. That means we should be equals, right?"
"Get to the point."
"Give me a position where your subordinates won't interfere with me. That way, I can move freely in the Demon Hall too, no?"
"Hm."
Bu Eun-seol stroked his chin, deep in thought.
If he were to formally grant her a position, he'd have to ask the Supreme Cult Commander for a favor.
"You want an official appointment?"
"Official? Pfft, I'm not staying long anyway."
So Ok-rim waved her hand dismissively.
"Let's keep it simple."
Then, lowering her voice, she added,
"But you are the Heir, so you can grant temporary positions, right? Like, say... a temporary martial arts instructor?"
Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
If she were a martial arts instructor temporarily hired to enhance the Death Shadow War Unit's prowess...
No one in the Demon Hall would dare question it.
'She's sharper than she looks.'
Despite her simple speech and demeanor, So Ok-rim was far from foolish.
Her seemingly crude and reckless attitude was clearly a facade.
Which meant...
Even their earlier exchange might have been deliberately steered toward the outcome she wanted.
'No matter.'
Whether So Ok-rim was clever or had some hidden motive—it didn't matter.
Bu Eun-seol only needed to assist her and extract whatever information he could. That was all.
"Fine. Let's proceed like that."
When Bu Eun-seol gave a slight nod, So Ok-rim smiled and replied.
"Great."
Then, baring her white teeth, she grinned brightly.
"Let's work well together from now on."