Chapter 387
Whoosh.
As the gates of the Demon Hall swung open, an Eight Horse Carriage dyed in black swiftly raced down the official road.
Inside the carriage, a man clad in gray martial robes gazed out the window, lost in thought.
It was none other than Bu Eun-seol.
'The rumors must have already spread by now.'
It had been a long time since he had traveled the martial world alone without concealing his identity.
And this fact would have undoubtedly reached every intelligence network of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions.
'And those who oppose me won't let this opportunity slip by.'
If safety had been his top priority, he would have arranged for escorts right up until his arrival at Southern Peace Prefecture.
But Bu Eun-seol wanted to use this chance to find out—
Who were the enemies targeting him?
And just how extensive their intelligence and martial prowess truly were.
'There's also the possibility that the Divine Calculator isn't actually in Grave Village.'
Truthfully, Bu Eun-seol didn't hold particularly high expectations for this journey.
Of course, the intelligence network of the Fleeting Moment Boat was unparalleled among the Demonic Path Ten Gates.
But his target was none other than the Divine Calculator—a man hailed as the foremost sage of the martial world.
The probability of instantly locating someone who had earned the title of the greatest hidden sage—one who could not be found unless he chose to reveal himself—was nearly nonexistent.
'Of course, tracking a person's movements isn't solely dependent on intelligence networks. Sometimes, a mere coincidence or a small slip-up can lead to an easy discovery...'
Yet, he found it hard to believe that a figure revered as a sage would make such a mistake or reveal his whereabouts by chance.
'Then, there's only one conclusion.'
If the Divine Calculator truly was in Grave Village—
He must have intentionally exposed his location.
To summon Bu Eun-seol, the bearer of the Gratitude Coin.
Rumble, rumble...
The carriage raced on without rest, day and night.
Before long, it had left the Demon Hall's sphere of influence and continued its relentless journey for several more days, eventually arriving at a bustling village near Southern Peace.
"I'll take it from here."
At Bu Eun-seol's words as he stepped down from the carriage, the young coachman bowed respectfully.
Tap, tap.
Without disguising himself, Bu Eun-seol strode into the crowded marketplace.
From all directions, he could feel the sharp gazes of onlookers—filled with curiosity, admiration, and wariness.
But their stares soon landed on the gleaming Ink Sword at his waist.
And just like that, the lingering gazes gradually withdrew.
To ordinary civilians, martial artists were akin to fierce gods of slaughter.
If they carelessly lingered around such figures, they could easily be dragged into a fight—and the resulting injuries or losses would be unbearable.
'Hmm.'
As Bu Eun-seol headed toward a distant guest inn, a flash of light flickered across his vision.
The moment he entered the market district, his extrasensory perception began sounding an alarm.
Narrow alleyways were lined with merchants setting up their stalls, while countless people bustled between them.
A woman carrying a child on her back while steaming dumplings. An elderly man haggling over vegetables. A middle-aged man raising his voice to attract customers. A group of tourists hurriedly passing by...
Amid this sea of people, a sharp killing intent suddenly bloomed.
Yet Bu Eun-seol continued walking forward as if he had noticed nothing.
Then, in an instant—
Flick!
It was an almost imperceptible Sound of Breaking Air.
But to Bu Eun-seol's ears, it was as loud as thunder.
Swish!
He tilted his head swiftly, and a razor-sharp dagger embedded itself into the wall behind him.
A small child, who had just been passing by, had thrown it at him—using the Soundless and Voiceless assassination technique.
Shink!
At the same time, an elderly man who had been walking past drew a sword hidden within his cane and thrust it toward Bu Eun-seol.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, the woman carrying the child lowered her head—and a rain of nearly invisible poison needles scattered toward him.
Crash!
At that very moment, Qi-Scattering Powder descended from above like mist.
As it turned out, assassins had been lying in wait among the crowd in this marketplace, lying in ambush for Bu Eun-seol.
And the moment he passed by, they unleashed their killing moves without hesitation—utterly disregarding the potential harm to innocent civilians.
'They hid themselves well.'
Bu Eun-seol was slightly surprised by this ambush.
The Way of the Beast, Langya Pavilion's martial foundation that could detect even the slightest disturbance in the air's flow, was considered the Grand Perfection of assassin martial arts—specializing in ambushes.
Yet, there had been no warning signs from these assassins.
Not even the faintest Sound of Breaking Air could be detected until their attacks were inches from his body.
Most strikingly, they had blended seamlessly into the crowd of ordinary civilians.
This meant these assassins were Special-Grade Assassins—those who had mastered Hidden Stealth Secret Arts like the Art of Rooster Calls and Dog Thieves.
'They've done extensive research on me.'
If he carelessly unleashed his martial arts here, innocent civilians could easily be caught in the crossfire.
They had perfectly analyzed even his tendencies.
'If I hadn't mastered the Glacier Thousand Streams Art, countering them would've been difficult.'
A white chill had already begun emanating from Bu Eun-seol's left hand.
He had drawn upon the Glacier Great Emperor's Ultimate Ice Art, the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
Whooosh!
In an instant, something astonishing occurred.
The moment Bu Eun-seol extended his left hand, the barrage of hidden weapons and Qi-Scattering Powder froze solid in midair, shattering into countless ice fragments that rained down upon the ground.
Simultaneously, the assassins who had ambushed him abruptly halted in their tracks.
They had already anticipated that this ambush might fail.
Their plan had been simple—if Bu Eun-seol retaliated, they would use the passing civilians as human shields, turning the surroundings into chaos.
But not only had their concealed weapons and poisons turned to ice dust, their own bodies had been instantly frozen.
—To think such an Ice Art exists.
Moreover, the overwhelming Cold Ice True Qi, potent enough to freeze the very sky itself, had been precisely directed only at the assassins who had attacked him.
Even if there were many Masters of ice-based martial arts in Murim, such a divine technique was not something just anyone could wield.
Clang!
The frozen assassins forcibly circulated their Internal Power to resist the Cold Ice True Qi, shattering the ice encasing them in an instant.
But in that brief moment, Bu Eun-seol's left hand flicked outward repeatedly.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Razor-sharp shards of ice shot forth, piercing straight through their hearts.
Thud. Thud.
The assassins disguised as civilians collapsed like felled logs, their bodies impaled by ice.
The passersby could only stare in shock.
To their eyes, it seemed as though perfectly healthy people had suddenly collapsed to the ground for no reason.
'This should suffice.'
Bu Eun-seol glanced over the assassins' bodies and gave a slight nod.
The thin, needle-like ice had left no visible wounds or marks upon their bodies.
And since the ice that had pierced them melted away almost instantly, no matter how closely one examined them, it would be impossible to determine how they had died.
'They must have intended to analyze my martial arts through this ambush.'
The assassins' motives were obvious—even knowing they couldn't kill him, they had attacked to meticulously observe the level and methods of his martial arts.
'But they won't find a single trace.'
When the Glacier Thousand Streams Art was employed, all moisture within the body froze solid.
As a result, the tissues would be damaged and destroyed... making it impossible for even the greatest Master to discern any remnants of martial techniques.
Step. Step.
Bu Eun-seol calmly walked past the fallen assassins and the bewildered pedestrians, ascending the steps of the guest inn before him.
Even upon reaching the third floor, the inn was packed to the brim, with not a single empty seat in sight.
"Guest, there are no available seats—would you mind sharing a table...?"
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol retrieved a hefty silver tael and placed it in the waiter's hand.
"...If there are no seats, we'll simply make one! Please wait just a moment!"
The waiter rolled up his sleeves, eyes widening, before rushing inside to whisper urgently with the chief steward.
In no time at all, a vacant seat was prepared for him on the third floor.
"Please, right this way, honored guest."
Once seated, Bu Eun-seol ordered five bottles of yellow rice wine and three dishes.
Then, without a word, he silently poured himself a cup of wine.
The reason he had chosen this bustling inn was simple—it was the easiest place to gather news and information naturally.
...
Just as Bu Eun-seol brought the wine cup to his lips, his brow furrowed slightly.
The moment the wine touched his stomach, an uncomfortable surge of energy gathered in his dantian.
The wine had been poisoned.
'How amusing.'
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the wine bottle, now filled with poison.
In large inns like this, it was easy to lace food and drink with toxins.
The kitchen could have mixed poison into the dishes during preparation, or the waiter could have slipped it in while serving.
Alternatively, someone could have stealthily approached while the waiter carried the dishes and poisoned them mid-transit.
Gulp.
Despite knowing the wine was poisoned, Bu Eun-seol deliberately took another slow sip, savoring it.
A bitter, metallic aftertaste lingered on his tongue.
'The fact they openly used Blood Scorpion Powder suggests they're actually from the Righteous Path.'
The Righteous Path primarily used poisons extracted from plants—toxic herbs, mushrooms, and the like—while the Demonic Path favored venoms derived from creatures like scorpions and snakes.
Moreover, the poisons employed by the Righteous Path typically acted slowly, whereas those of the Demonic Path were fast-acting and lethal.
And this Blood Scorpion Powder, extracted from the venom of deadly scorpions, was a signature poison of the Demonic Path...
Ironically, it was also the poison most frequently used by the Righteous Path when disguising themselves as members of the Demonic Path.
'I should find out which sect they're from.'
As the Heir of the Demon Hall, being targeted by the Righteous Faction wasn't particularly unusual.
Yet until now, he had almost never made enemies of the Orthodox Sects.
If anything, he'd been in constant conflict with the Demonic Path, making an attack from the Orthodox Sects downright perplexing.
Swish!
In that moment, a sharp dagger came flying toward Bu Eun-seol.
It had been thrown by an assassin disguised as a merchant sitting far across the room.
Clang!
But with a clear metallic sound, the dagger instead embedded itself in the merchant's own throat.
Bu Eun-seol had used the chopsticks in his hand to execute the Phantom Return to Origin technique, sending the dagger right back.
Swish!
At the same time, an elderly couple seated behind him simultaneously swung their venomous blades.
Flash!
A streak of light split through the air, and blood gushed from the necks of the charging couple.
Again, with the same chopsticks, he had employed the Meteor Chasing Moon technique, cleanly severing their throats.
Thud. Thud.
By then, all the guests on the third floor of the guest inn had fled.
The moment blades were drawn, they had scrambled to escape.
Swish!
Those who remained on the third floor were all assassins targeting Bu Eun-seol.
Without the slightest trace of fear, they brandished their poisoned swords and rushed at him.
Boom! Crash!
Not long after, a deafening explosion tore through the inn, and the entire third floor shattered outward, sending dozens of frozen corpses flying through the windows.
Though their skills were formidable, none were a match for Bu Eun-seol.
"Oh dear..."
The chief steward, staring at the wrecked interior and the gaping hole in the roof, dropped to his knees, sniffling.
"We're ruined..."
It was rare for martial artists to pay for damages after a fight in an inn.
In that regard, the innkeeper had stumbled upon great fortune.
"Take this."
Bu Eun-seol extended a thick stack of banknotes to the kneeling steward.
"This should be more than enough to rebuild."
The steward's eyes bulged as he took the bundle.
"Y-You're giving this to us?"
The amount Bu Eun-seol handed over wasn't just enough to reconstruct the building—it could also fully compensate for the losses incurred during the closure.
"Th-Thank you, sir!"
The steward and all the servants bowed deeply as Bu Eun-seol departed.
Among martial artists, he was likely the first to receive such gratitude after demolishing an inn.
From then on, Bu Eun-seol faced relentless attacks from assassins.
They showed no hesitation in ambushing him in broad daylight, often striking in crowded marketplaces or inns.
At first, he assumed they chose these locations for easy escape and concealment.
—Ugh.
But when they resorted to firearms, indiscriminately firing and dragging civilians and merchants into the chaos, it became clear.
No—in fact, they weren't even aiming for him. They were recklessly showering the area with bullets, as if deliberately targeting the civilians.
Crackle.
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol froze the assassins solid, then gazed down at them with icy eyes.
"So that's how it is."
Finally understanding their intent, he muttered in a low voice.
"You should've just said it outright. Then none of this would've happened."
A bloody light flickered in his pupils as he surveyed the fallen civilians around the marketplace.
"All you had to do was tell me to stick to deserted roads."
But the frozen assassins could no longer answer.
Their relentless attacks in crowded places—
The attacks were silent pressure to make him avoid Chengdu and take only secluded paths.
"Fine."
If they kept sending assassins like this?
Destroyed buildings could be compensated with money. But if civilians kept getting caught in the crossfire—
Beyond reputation or honor, that was something Bu Eun-seol could never accept.
"This journey just got longer."
Heaving a deep sigh, he looked up at the distant sky.
Now he would have to avoid Chengdu and villages, sleeping rough on his way to Grave Village.
Crunch. Crunch.
Standing in the marketplace, still reeking of gunpowder, he slowly turned. Then, with deliberate steps, he walked out of town.
Making sure the assassins trailing him could see him clearly.
Patter...
Rain began to fall from the sky.
As he walked through the fields, Bu Eun-seol gazed up at the gray-drenched heavens.
The raindrops were as thick as beans—this wouldn't be a brief shower.
Bu Eun-seol, who had been surveying his surroundings, spotted flickering lights swaying between the trees in the distance.
Tsu-chut!
In an instant, he activated his movement technique and swiftly passed through the forest, revealing a dilapidated temple on the mountainside, barely standing.
Passing through the mountain gate, he entered to find a Dharma Hall enshrining a large Buddhist statue.
Inside, atop the altar, sat a gilded Buddha statue with its gold peeling away, while a single candle flickered nearby.
And beneath the altar, a gaunt shadow crouched with its back turned to the statue.
A young girl, her hair tied up in a single braid that reached her shoulders.
Her body was pitifully small and thin, with a silver shortbow gleaming on her back.
She must have trained in martial arts to some degree—how else could she sit alone in such a remote mountain temple?
"So there was a guest here."
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice, careful not to startle her.
"I'll just take shelter from the rain for a while."
The girl with the shortbow gave no reply, sitting motionless as if carved from stone.
Shooaaah...
Bu Eun-seol turned his gaze to the sky, where rain poured down as if through holes in the heavens.
How much time had passed?
Chirp-chirp-chirp!
With the sound of birdsong, the heavily overcast sky cleared as if it had never been dark, revealing the bright sun once more.
"Just a passing shower."
Muttering to himself, Bu Eun-seol quietly stepped out of the Dharma Hall.
Whoosh—!
But then—the sound of breaking air reverberated, and in the next moment, over fifty martial artists clad in black assassin outfits descended from the sky, landing before the temple entrance.
'So it begins now.'
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
By taking deserted paths, he had finally drawn out all the assassins into the open.
'Their skills are formidable.'
No matter how much the rain had masked their presence, to not sense their approach until they were within roughly three hundred meters?
These fifty assassins were all of exceptional skill—enough to make a name for themselves in the martial world.
Moreover, an overwhelming shockwave radiated from their bodies, suggesting they were not the type of assassins who relied on ambushes, but rather those who annihilated their enemies head-on with True Void techniques.
Srrring—
As the assassins displayed their formidable martial prowess, Bu Eun-seol, instead of tensing, drew his Ink Sword with an eager expression.
If the enemy was strong, then this would be a life-or-death struggle—an opportunity to further refine his martial skills.
Swish.
Just then, the gaunt girl inside the Dharma Hall turned and stepped forward.
Emerging from the dim temple, her appearance was strikingly unique.
Her skin was deathly pale, her irises a dull gray.
And her hair, illuminated by the sunlight, was not pure black but tinged with a faint blue hue.
'Not from the Central Plains.'
So this gaunt girl was one of the Semu people.
"Stay back."
As Bu Eun-seol spoke,
"This is my business."
the girl cut him off curtly, stepping past him to face the assassins.
The leader among them stepped forward and spoke.
"Xiao Yao. How far did you think you could run?"
"If you hand it over now, we might spare your life."
'Little demon.'
Listening to their exchange, Bu Eun-seol unconsciously nodded.
Xiao Yao.
The name suited the gaunt girl with those silver-gray eyes all too well.
"No."
At her short refusal, killing intent swirled in the assassin's eyes.
"Then we have nothing left to discuss."
Clack.
In unison, the assassins drew black shortbows.
Their shape and size were identical to the silver shortbow the gaunt girl carried.
Meaning—she, too, was unmistakably from the same sect as them: the Killing Sect.
Thwung!
Fifty assassins split their volleys—half aimed at the girl, the other half fired diagonally into the sky.
Pat!
The dozens of arrows split midair into hundreds of sharp, needle-like projectiles, raining down from above and straight ahead.
'Baekryeol Bolts. So they're from the White Rank Assassination Sect.'
Watching a single arrow fracture into a hundred needles, Bu Eun-seol instantly recognized them—assassins of the legendary Western Regions sect, the White Rank Assassination Sect.
'Why have they come to the Central Plains?'
The White Rank Assassination Sect was a grand lineage within the Art of Killing, one of the Demonic Path Ten Gates, rivaling even the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion.
They specialized in exceptional shortbow techniques and possessed peerless movement skills.
Each one was of Special-Grade Assassin caliber, yet they were known to operate only in the Western Regions.
So why had assassins of such a unique sect ventured all the way to the Central Plains?