Chapter 459
Having immediately departed from Yeogyeong, the Peak Squad swiftly left Guizhou and arrived at the Hong River bordering Hunan.
Though they were returning empty-handed, the footsteps of the Peak Squad were light.
After all, the events in Yeogyeong had once again demonstrated the unit's intelligence network and foresight to the high command.
Moreover, they sensed that they would continue to be highly valued as the Information Warfare Unit.
Whoosh—!
With spirits as light as the wind, the Peak Squad members moved in perfect unison, swiftly deploying their Lightness Art.
No matter how elite they were as a Martial Alliance unit, this was still Guizhou territory—a land where the Demonic Path Murim, including Hell Blood Citadel, held sway. They needed to leave quickly.
"..."
But then Bu Eun-seol, who had been leading the charge, suddenly halted his Lightness Art.
After scanning their surroundings with a grave expression, he addressed the unit members.
"Deploy the Heavenly Dipper Sword Formation."
The Heavenly Dipper Sword Formation was a defensive sword array used by the Martial Alliance when vastly outnumbered by enemies.
Without a moment's hesitation, the members drew their swords and immediately took formation.
Swish, swish, swish!
In that instant, hidden weapons began raining down from all directions like a storm.
But the formation was already flawlessly executed. The barrage of projectiles was effortlessly deflected with mere flicks of the Peak Squad members' swords.
When the hidden weapons proved ineffective, black shadows emerged from the bushes, surrounding the unit in a tight circle.
They wore masks, and their sickly yellow eyes gleamed even from a distance.
They were the Poison People of Hell Blood Citadel.
"The Ghost-Effigy Hall of Hell Blood Citadel, I presume."
Bu Eun-seol, who had been studying the eyes of the encircling Poison People, addressed the one who appeared to be their leader.
"Our unit and Hell Blood Citadel have no particular grudge between us."
In response, the Ghost-Effigy Hall's leader, Ak Gu-cheon, glared with pitch-black eyes and spoke.
"Because of you meddling in Guizhou's factions, our castle's sphere of influence has weakened even further."
Though Dan So-ok had claimed the Jeoksu River region as her territory, strictly speaking, it now belonged to the Demon Hall's domain.
Hell Blood Citadel had trusted the Demon Hall's negotiations and waited—only to find themselves stripped of their influence in the Yeogyeong region.
For Hell Blood Citadel, this was nothing short of humiliating.
Coincidentally, when the Ghost-Effigy Hall detected the Martial Alliance's Second-grade Unit returning alone, they decided to vent all their pent-up rage.
"Reckless of you. Acting like this will only complicate matters for the Demon Hall."
"We'll just clean this up neatly, leaving no trace—like before."
"Like before...?"
Only then did something click for Bu Eun-seol.
"So it was the Ghost-Effigy Hall who murdered the Iron Shield Squad's leader, No Dok-cheong."
"Heh heh heh. Sharp, aren't you?"
Ak Gu-cheon's resentful gaze drifted toward the distant sky.
"Since the Saint Lord stepped down, our castle's influence has dwindled endlessly."
Hell Blood Citadel, one of the Demonic Path Ten Gates that once ruled Guizhou.
But because of the Demon Hall's heir, their power had diminished, and they found themselves on an unending decline.
Ak Gu-cheon could no longer endure it.
Yet he couldn't possibly strike at the rising sun—the Unholy Spirit Lord.
So, to vent his accumulated frustration, he had secretly killed every orthodox faction member he encountered while roaming Guizhou.
Among them was the Iron Shield Squad's leader, No Dok-cheong.
"The moment our castle's influence waned, the Martial Alliance started sending scouts one after another. As if mocking us."
Ak Gu-cheon gnashed his teeth as he spoke.
"So I killed every last one I saw."
His pitch-black eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
"Last time, some meddlers prevented us from disposing of the bodies cleanly, but this time..."
Then, Ak Gu-cheon's expression twisted strangely.
The Second-grade Commander—who should have been trembling in fear—was instead smiling faintly at the corner of his lips.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just never expected to catch such a big fish."
Bu Eun-seol's final plan.
It had been to deliberately leak the Peak Squad's return route to Hell Blood Citadel's intelligence network through So-yo.
Gongson Dan-gyeong was a figure of exceptional wisdom, worthy of her epithet, the Star of Great Wisdom.
To completely dispel her suspicions, something as simple as this wouldn't have sufficed.
The Peak Squad had to be attacked by Hell Blood Citadel.
Only that method... could completely absolve them of suspicion of being the Demonic Path's spies.
Yet, in the process, they had uncovered something entirely unexpected—the true culprit behind the Iron Shield Squad leader's murder.
From Bu Eun-seol's perspective, it was as if he had merely yawned while lifting his head—only for a delicious persimmon to fall right into his mouth.
"You're insane."
Ak Gu-cheon snorted as he stared at Bu Eun-seol.
"Did you really think our hall would need a whole group to kill No Dok-cheong?"
"Judging by how you act independently without worrying about higher-ups... you must not only enjoy considerable trust but also possess remarkable skill."
Bu Eun-seol nodded indifferently.
"And I suppose you were confident you could slaughter every last one of us without missing a single one?"
"Correct."
Ak Gu-cheon bared a smile laced with killing intent.
"In my eyes, you lot are nothing more than corpses still clinging to a bit of warmth."
Then, without hesitation, he barked an order to his subordinates.
"Kill them."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
At the same moment, another barrage of poisoned projectiles rained down upon Bu Eun-seol and the Peak Squad members.
These fighters, despite mastering formidable Poison Techniques, deliberately unleashed wave after wave of poisoned projectiles.
Because not a single one could be allowed to escape.
Their plan was simple: maintain the encirclement, shower them with poisoned weapons to ensure they were thoroughly intoxicated—
Then unleash their most lethal Poison Techniques to sever their lifelines in an instant.
"What the—?"
But Ak Gu-cheon's expression twisted in disbelief.
The Peak Squad members, now forming a battle formation, had all wrapped thick, coarse cloth around their faces—wasn't that the menpo (face cloth) favored by wandering mercenaries to shield their noses and mouths from toxic fumes?
Not only that, but they must have ingested powerful antidotes beforehand, as the projectiles grazing them seemed to have little effect.
Clang clang clang!
Bu Eun-seol's gaze turned icy as he deflected the incoming projectiles with his iron sword.
'Many of the unit members will suffer severe injuries from this fight. But because of it, they'll grow stronger.'
What Bu Eun-seol had prepared for them in advance was none other than potent antidotes and toxin-blocking face cloths.
'If they survive this ambush...'
Bu Eun-seol had devised this plan not only to shake off Gongson Dan-gyeong's suspicions but also to push the Peak Squad members to another level of growth.
The Peak Squad was never meant to be just an Information Warfare Unit—its goal was to become a versatile combat force capable of excelling in battle.
And for them to truly grow stronger, they needed to evolve endlessly through life-or-death struggles.
"Ugh..."
As the poisoned projectiles continued to pour down, groans escaped the lips of the Peak Squad members.
Despite the strong antidotes and the menpo shielding their noses and mouths, they still couldn't completely neutralize the barrage of poisoned weapons unleashed by the Ghost-Effigy Hall.
"They'll start dropping soon."
Ak Gu-cheon, having noticed the slowing movements of the unit members maintaining their formation, issued another command.
"They're already poisoned. Keep up the barrage for another half-quarter, and the moment their movements dull—rip their heads off and dispose of the bodies."
The Peak Squad members drew their weapons and attacked the poison warriors of the Ghost-Effigy Hall who had surrounded them and were raining down concealed weapons. But the poison warriors kept darting away, maintaining their distance as they hurled more projectiles.
If this continued, not a single one of the Peak Squad members would survive.
Click. Sshhk!
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol sheathed his iron sword—only to draw it again with full force.
Swoosh!
A brilliant flash erupted, slicing through the incoming projectiles like paper.
Iron Sword Thirteen Forms
A sword technique embodying the lifelong insights of Master Unhindered, each stance containing profound Sword Principles.
Though Master Unhindered was renowned as an Adept of the Flying Dagger Art and Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade, his true mastery lay in swordplay.
It was just that his Flying Dagger Art was so overwhelmingly effective that he rarely needed to deploy the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms.
Bu Eun-seol had planned to use this opportunity to showcase Master Unhindered's technique—while also elevating the martial reputation of his alias, Seon-u Jin.
"I'll carve a path! Maintain formation and follow me!"
Swoosh!
The second stance of the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms—Dragon-Encircling Heavenly Horn—unleashed, and the Ghost-Effigy Hall's projectiles split apart like fragile parchment.
Seizing the opening, Bu Eun-seol closed in on the Poison People, executing a relentless chain of sword techniques.
Flash! Whish!
While the raw might of the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms wasn't overwhelming, its precision was exquisite—
Each strike unerringly targeting the vital points of the charging Poison People.
With Bu Eun-seol's onslaught breaking one side of the encirclement, the unit members could now deflect the remaining projectiles with ease.
"Impressive, for a second-rate corps."
Ak Gu-cheon, observing the shifting tide of battle, nodded in reluctant acknowledgment.
"For an Information Warfare Unit... their skills are nearly on par with a proper sword battalion."
Yet his admiration held only mild surprise. The tide of battle would not turn so easily.
The Poison People under his Ghost-Effigy Hall outnumbered the twenty Peak Squad members by more than threefold.
Moreover, their bodies were as hard as steel, their pain receptors dulled to near numbness.
Whether their vitals were struck or their arms severed, they fought on unhindered, unleashing Poison Arts and hidden weapons without pause.
This was no level an ordinary Second-grade Unit could withstand.
Flash! Flash!
Amidst the chaos, Bu Eun-seol alone remained a relentless force.
With every swing of his sword, streaks of light carved through the Poison People, cutting them down in all directions.
"Take that bastard out first."
Ak Gu-cheon pointed at Bu Eun-seol, who weaved through the battlefield untouched by hidden weapons or poison energy.
He had realized—this man was dismantling their encirclement, deflecting volleys of projectiles, single-handedly keeping the Peak Squad members from collapsing.
'Good.'
As every attack now converged on him, Bu Eun-seol allowed himself a faint smile.
With the Poison People swirling around him, redirecting their assault, the pressure on the Peak Squad members eased considerably.
At last, the beleaguered Unit Members could catch their breath.
'This brat...?'
Ak Gu-cheon's eyes flashed as he watched.
Was this young man's martial prowess truly surpassing the level of a Second-grade Commander?
'I'll crush him first.'
Silently, Ak Gu-cheon activated his Movement Technique, slipping behind Bu Eun-seol as the latter continued his relentless swordplay.
Crack.
Simultaneously, his hands darkened, brimming with potent Poison Arts.
"Die!"
Ak Gu-cheon swung his palm, thick with condensed poison energy, straight at Bu Eun-seol's back.
Boom!
"Ugh—!"
Yet the explosive impact was followed not by Bu Eun-seol's cry, but by Ak Gu-cheon's own choked groan.
"To think his body could be this hard," Ak Gu-cheon muttered.
His hand, reinforced by the Poison-Flame Poison Palm Art, could shatter stone in a single strike.
But when it collided with Bu Eun-seol's back, his own palm swelled grotesquely instead.
"You've trained in an external art like the Iron Cloth Stance, I see."
Ak Gu-cheon sneered, never once considering that Bu Eun-seol's entire body might be sheathed in an impervious protective qi.
He assumed only crude external hardening techniques were at play.
"Fine!"
Ak Gu-cheon spread his arms wide, summoning his Internal Power.
Huum—
A low vibration hummed as inky poison energy surged from his palms, coalescing into a dense sphere of poison essence.
Once fully formed, he hurled it at Bu Eun-seol.
Swish!
Bu Eun-seol twisted aside, evading the projectile—then shot his left hand forward.
Flash!
A gleaming dagger streaked toward Ak Gu-cheon's uvula. Or at least, it should have.
Clang!
Instead, the blade clattered to the ground with a metallic ring, the skin where it had struck now blackened.
"You've mastered the Poison Demon Body Art."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed.
The darkened flesh confirmed it—Ak Gu-cheon had learned the same technique Yangmyeong, the former Hall Leader of the Blood Ghost Hall, had used during the Martial Refinement Tournament.
"Hah. Comparing me to some has-been like Yangmyeong?"
Ak Gu-cheon conjured another sphere of poison essence and launched it.
The Poison Demon Body Art not only reinforced his body to steel-like hardness—
It also allowed him to materialize and hurl condensed poison energy as if it were a hidden weapon.
Whish! Crack!
As their duel raged, the Ghost-Effigy Hall's Poison People ignored the fight, maintaining formation as they pressed the Peak Squad members.
'Truly, the Hell Blood Citadel.'
Bu Eun-seol inwardly marveled as Ak Gu-cheon rained down poison essence like arrows.
His admiration wasn't for Ak Gu-cheon's skill—but for the sheer versatility of the Hell Blood Citadel's Poison Technique.
'A single Poison Art, yet capable of endless variations.'
He had clashed with many masters of the Hell Blood Citadel before.
But their techniques had never struck him as particularly remarkable.
His own overflowing Internal Energy had always repelled their toxins effortlessly.
Now, however—deliberately suppressing his strength to maintain the guise of Seon-u Jin—
He finally understood.
Why the Hell Blood Citadel stood proudly among the Demonic Path Ten Gates.
The Poison Arts of Hell Blood Citadel were not only diverse but could also be transformed into personalized Poison Studies tailored to each individual's inclinations.
Thus, unless one reached a level where they no longer feared poison—like Bu Eun-seol—
the Poison Arts of Hell Blood Citadel would always hold the advantage against martial artists of the Rivers and Lakes.
Crack! Whish! Thud-thud-thud!
As Ak Gu-cheon, his body impervious to blades, relentlessly unleashed waves of venomous energy, pressing Bu Eun-seol back—
"Ugh..."
Groans began escaping the lips of the Peak Squad members.
The longer Bu Eun-seol and Ak Gu-cheon fought, the more the remaining members of the unit lost their ability to withstand the Poison People of Ghost-Effigy Hall.
Eventually, several unit members succumbed to the venomous energy, collapsing with pained moans.
Though Tae Mu-ryong and Jeong Jong-do, both skilled in martial arts, stepped forward to deflect the barrage of poison darts and protect their comrades—
even they wouldn't last much longer.
'They must endure.'
Yet Bu Eun-seol did not cut down the Poison People to save the unit members. Instead, he only occasionally flung hidden blades to slow their offensive.
Because the unit members, still locked in a desperate struggle against death, had yet to fully merge their physical bodies with their spirit and mind.
"You're holding out quite well!"
Meanwhile, Ak Gu-cheon continued his assault, hurling palm strikes infused with lethal poison.
Bu Eun-seol struck vital points with the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms and slashed at limbs, yet—Ak Gu-cheon, clad in the Poison Demon Body Art, stood unfazed.
'How should I handle this?'
Bu Eun-seol briefly pondered.
Ak Gu-cheon's Poison Demon Body Art was akin to Vajra Indestructibility—no weapon could pierce it.
Of course, if he channeled overwhelming internal energy into his strikes or unleashed techniques like the Willful True Binding, a technique that generated true void force—he could easily cleave through.
But his current identity was Seon-u Jin.
He absolutely could not display martial arts or internal energy that defied explanation.
Doing so wouldn't dispel suspicion—it would only invite more.
'In that case, I'll have to raise Seon-u Jin's reputation and martial prowess slightly beyond the original plan.'
If Seon-u Jin continued to be perceived as weak? It would create immense obstacles in handling future missions.
Originally, Bu Eun-seol had only intended for Seon-u Jin to be recognized as having surpassed the threshold of the Transcendent Realm—
and to earn modest fame for defeating a Hall Leader of Hell Blood Citadel after a fierce battle. But his mind had changed.
He would use this opportunity to announce to the Martial Alliance that Seon-u Jin had reached the Seasoned Realm of the Transcendent Realm—
and possessed martial prowess that stood out even among the Young Heroes.
'Then I'll have to modify the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms.'
Master Unhindered's Iron Sword Thirteen Forms were exquisite, but they lacked truly lethal techniques.
Because against most opponents, simply manifesting hidden blades was enough to kill.
Thus, the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms were merely an expression of his spiritual refinement through swordplay—
rarely ever used in real combat, making them ill-suited for the blood-soaked brutality of a life-and-death battle.
"Die!"
Before he knew it, Ak Gu-cheon unleashed another venomous strike aimed straight at Bu Eun-seol's brow.
Though the technique was swift as lightning, to Bu Eun-seol's eyes, it moved as slowly as a pebble lazily arcing through the air.
'It's like a perfectly round sphere.'
As he observed the venomous strike, Bu Eun-seol unconsciously applied the subtleties of Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade into his swordplay.
Swish!
The venomous energy, instead of piercing his body, settled atop his iron sword like a spinning sphere.
Whirr.
The venomous strike, though retaining its form, was not a solid object.
Yet as Bu Eun-seol applied the principles of Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade, balancing it atop his blade—
it spun ceaselessly, its nature shifting as though embodying the Move Heaven Exchange Force.
Shhh—CRACK!
Without thinking, Bu Eun-seol violently spun the venomous sphere and hurled it back at Ak Gu-cheon.
Thwack!
Something astonishing happened.
The venomous strike pierced Ak Gu-cheon's body, which even the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms couldn't pierce through.
"Ghk—!"
Clearly in agony, Ak Gu-cheon staggered back with a pained groan.
As if executing the Transformation Realm of Taiji Fist—
by spinning the venomous energy at extreme speeds and redirecting it—
not only had its soft nature hardened, but its destructive power had multiplied several times over.
'So it can be used like this.'
A strange thought crossed Bu Eun-seol's mind.
The Iron Sword Thirteen Forms, infused with Master Unhindered's spiritual refinement, and Deflect Flowers and Receive Jade, which effortlessly diverted any external force—
when the subtleties of these two martial arts were combined, they naturally formed a devastating counterattack.
'Divine Calculator.'
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
The secret manual the Divine Calculator had given him was not the original authored by Master Unhindered.
It was a reimagining of Master Unhindered's martial arts—crafted to seamlessly link into natural counterattacks.
All so that Seon-u Jin, this fabricated persona, could rise as a renowned Master within the martial world.
So that this identity could secure a high-ranking position within the Martial Alliance.
Why?
Why had the Divine Calculator shaped Seon-u Jin—this fictional figure—into someone capable of standing tall in the Orthodox Murim, wielding both martial prowess and status?