Chapter 537
"You're truly impossible to keep up with, Commander."
Tae Mu-ryong and all the unit members gazed at Bu Eun-seol with satisfied smiles.
The fact that they served under such an outstanding commander, that they were members of the Peak Realm Unit—it filled them with immense pride.
"Our Commander will undoubtedly rise to the top."
The unit members now believed it wholeheartedly.
That Bu Eun-seol would inevitably ascend to the very apex of the Martial Alliance.
And if so, they too needed to cultivate abilities worthy of standing by his side.
"Let's follow the Commander and go restore another village!"
Their morale soaring, the unit members shouted enthusiastically as they trailed after him.
Just as they were reforming their ranks to move to the next village—
Vmm.
A low vibration pulsed from his chest.
It was the faint tremor of the Extreme Darkness Demonic Sword hidden within his robes.
Turning his head, he spotted a distant procession of Martial Alliance warriors moving in formation.
Specifically, the Golden Demon Unit—a first-grade unit—and the Iron Serpent Unit, a third-grade unit.
The Iron Serpent Unit was following the Golden Demon Unit's procession to another village.
As a third-grade unit, they couldn't undertake missions independently and thus operated under the command of a higher-ranked unit.
'This is...'
Bu Eun-seol, carrying the demon sword against his chest, sensed something peculiar.
It wasn't the Golden Demon Unit's commander or the Iron Serpent Unit's leader that had drawn his attention.
No—he realized the demon sword was resonating with the energy emanating from an unremarkable unit member at the very rear of the Iron Serpent Unit's procession.
Focusing his Enhanced Vision, Bu Eun-seol scrutinized the Iron Serpent Unit member.
The man was gaunt, with utterly plain features, and a shoddy iron sword hung at his waist.
Yet the Demonic Energy wasn't coming from that iron sword—it was seeping from the area around his waist.
Undoubtedly, he was concealing a dagger-shaped demon sword similar to the Extreme Darkness Demonic Sword.
Thud. Thud.
As the Golden Demon Unit's procession drew nearer, an even lower Sword Resonance hummed from the demon sword hidden against Bu Eun-seol's chest.
Suppressing the resonance, Bu Eun-seol directed the Peak Realm Unit to clear the path.
"Commander Seon-u."
"Commander Yeo."
"You've been working hard."
"Think nothing of it. Carry on."
After exchanging brief greetings with Bu Eun-seol, Yeo Su-gi, commander of the Golden Demon Unit, led his troops past the Peak Realm Unit at a measured pace.
Then, just as the Iron Serpent Unit's procession brushed by Bu Eun-seol—
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind flowed from the body of the unit member at the very rear, grazing Bu Eun-seol's frame.
It carried a Killing Intent akin to a predator sinking its fangs into prey.
Tsk.
When their gazes met, the unit member offered a faint smile.
But his pupils burned crimson, and his tongue flicked out like he'd found fresh prey.
The meaning was unmistakable.
—Let's meet alone soon.
That Iron Serpent Unit member had marked Bu Eun-seol as his quarry.
'A third-grade sword unit member wielding a demon sword?'
Bu Eun-seol couldn't comprehend it.
That a low-ranking Iron Serpent Unit member could possess a demon sword.
If so, then anyone—whether a beggar or an official—could obtain one, provided they had an Empty-Spirit Body.
'How amusing.'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed faintly.
What kind of ability did that demon sword possess, that a mere third-grade unit member would dare treat a first-grade commander of the Martial Alliance as prey?
He intended to find out.
Bu Eun-seol proceeded to another village and continued restoration work.
By the time deep night fell, the Peak Realm Unit members were fast asleep in an abandoned house.
The structure was so dilapidated that it barely shielded them from the evening dew, its roof full of gaping holes—yet the unit members slept soundly regardless.
After days of relentless restoration work, they had no choice but to sleep deeply or risk collapsing from exhaustion.
But they pressed on without complaint, laboring diligently.
All so the name "Seon-u Jin" might spread just a little further.
They devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the restoration efforts.
Under the radiant glow of the moonlight—
Shhh.
Confirming all his unit members were asleep, Bu Eun-seol slipped silently out of the barracks.
Gazing at the distant moon, he activated his Lightness Skill and left the village undetected.
'It can only be that place.'
The Iron Serpent Unit member had treated Bu Eun-seol as prey.
And he would have assumed Bu Eun-seol wouldn't avoid the confrontation.
Thus, he would be waiting in a location where they could duel freely—once all unit members were asleep.
And in these outskirts, there was only one such place.
Rooooar!
Venturing deep into the forest, he arrived at a valley where a waterfall cascaded endlessly.
Here, the thunderous roar of the falls would mask the clashing of weapons.
Reaching the waterfall with his Lightness Skill, Bu Eun-seol drew the Extreme Darkness Demonic Sword.
'After tonight, I shouldn't carry this around anymore.'
Every demon sword's ability was unique.
Someone might detect its Demonic Energy and ambush him, or he could be attacked unpredictably at any moment.
In his current identity as Seon-u Jin, he couldn't wield his martial arts freely—which made carrying a demon sword like this far too risky.
A situation that warranted taking such risks.
'It seems they haven't arrived yet.'
Bu Eun-seol, waiting for the Iron Serpent Unit member, gazed up at the distant sky.
Countless stars in the night sky flickered, pouring down their beautiful light.
'But something's strange.'
A few doubts suddenly arose in his mind.
The Heavenly Human Cult had offered sacrifices to awaken the demon swords, and Bu Eun-seol himself had obtained the Slaughter Demon Sword there.
But Wang Cheol and the Iron Serpent Unit member hadn't acquired their swords from the Sword Tomb—they had stumbled upon them while wandering the Martial World.
'Does that mean they scattered awakened demon swords throughout the entire Martial World?'
It was possible.
Most of the demon swords in the Sword Tomb had been empty, after all.
But to spread demon swords across the entire Martial World just to find an Empty-Spirit Body whose whereabouts and actions were unknown?
That was an absurd plan.
'Then did they create demon swords that only an Empty-Spirit Body could find?'
Bu Eun-seol, deep in thought, shook his head.
If such a technique for crafting weapons existed, the Martial World would have already mass-produced arms tailored to specific constitutions.
Whoosh.
Just then, a white figure landed before Bu Eun-seol with the Sound of Breaking Air.
It was the Iron Serpent Unit member he had locked eyes with earlier.
"You came, as expected."
The unit member smiled leisurely and clasped his hands together toward Bu Eun-seol.
"Iron Serpent Unit, Gok Jeong."
"Seon-u Jin."
As Bu Eun-seol returned the courtesy, Gok Jeong gave a faint smile.
"So it was like this after all."
It was a sneer dripping with contempt.
"All that grand talk about the 'Dragon of Commerce'—just a fraud, nothing more."
"A fraud?"
"Hahaha. Don't play dumb."
Gok Jeong curled his lips and snorted.
"Wasn't it the demon sword's power that let you save the Chief and the Universal Sword Guard members?"
He shook his head as if it were ridiculous.
"Bold, aren't you? Using a demon sword's strength to climb the ranks."
Gok Jeong had mistakenly assumed that Bu Eun-seol had been relying on the demon sword's abilities to earn his merits.
From the perspective of a Martial Alliance member, it was an easy mistake to make.
After all, someone who had started as a third-grade commander had risen to first-grade commander in less than a year.
'He's quite composed.'
If Bu Eun-seol had truly ascended to first-grade commander status through a demon sword, that alone would be proof of his capabilities.
Yet Gok Jeong was treating him with the relaxed confidence of a predator toying with its prey.
That meant Gok Jeong was that confident in his martial prowess.
'I need to extract as much information as possible.'
Bu Eun-seol maintained a calm, non-hostile expression.
Cutting him down would be fine, but first, he needed to gather as much intel as he could.
"Has the messenger come to you?"
"Messenger?"
Gok Jeong's eyes filled with bewilderment.
"What messenger are you talking about?"
"The Messenger of the Three Realms."
"Three Realms?"
Gok Jeong furrowed his brow and muttered in a low voice.
"I have no idea what you're saying."
Hearing his answer, Bu Eun-seol was certain of one thing.
Owning a demon sword did not guarantee that the Messenger of the Three Realms would seek you out to explain its nature.
'Then that means Wang Cheol possessed some extraordinary ability.'
The Messenger had said that Wang Cheol carried an immense energy within him, which was why he had been given that explanation.
At the time, Bu Eun-seol had assumed it was a lie—after all, his own senses hadn't detected anything extraordinary about Wang Cheol.
But what if it had been the truth?
'Could it be because of the energy I released in the warehouse?'
As Bu Eun-seol pondered deeply, Gok Jeong spoke.
"Enough talk. Let's begin."
"Wait."
Bu Eun-seol frowned slightly.
"Why do you want to fight me?"
"What a strange question."
"I'm genuinely curious."
"Then why did you come here to wait for me?"
Bu Eun-seol answered swiftly.
"I've never crossed blades with someone like you—someone who obtained a demon sword. That's why I came. I wanted to know."
At that, an icy glint flashed in Gok Jeong's eyes.
"So that's how you've survived until now."
Shhk.
He drew a small dagger from his waist.
Though called a demon sword, it looked like an ordinary blade—nothing out of the ordinary.
But the moment it left its scabbard—
Groooan.
It felt as though the area for over a hundred feet around them had become a vacuum, and Gok Jeong’s entire demeanor shifted.
No longer was he just a rank-and-file member of a third-grade corps—now, he exuded the aura of a peerless swordsman who had dominated the Martial World for decades.
'Is this also the demon sword's power?'
It was incomprehensible.
How could merely drawing a sword alter one's presence so drastically?
'Or has he been hiding his true strength all along, thanks to his Empty-Spirit Body?'
Those with an Empty-Spirit Body possessed talent that allowed them to excel in any field.
But that raised another question.
How had Gok Jeong, with such a constitution, remained a mere foot soldier in a third-grade corps?
"Let's finish this quickly."
A crimson killing intent poured from Gok Jeong's eyes.
Hwararak!
In an instant, sword flowers bloomed like scattered petals, swiftly enveloping Bu Eun-seol's body.
Tak!
Bu Eun-seol immediately activated his footwork technique, twisting his body to evade—
Shu-shu-shuk!
The sword flowers, fluttering like petals, pierced through the rocks and trees they touched, riddling them with holes.
Bu Eun-seol's pupils dilated as he observed the marks left behind by the sword flowers.
The sword technique Gok Jeong had unleashed—
Wasn't this the Dividing Form Sword Technique, the very art that had once shaken the martial world two hundred years ago, created by the legendary master In Ho-jeong, the Mute Swordsman?
'Did a swordsman who couldn't even read leave behind a sword manual?'
The Mute Swordsman, In Ho-jeong.
Abandoned in the wilderness as a child, he had been discovered and raised by In Baek-ryang, a swordsman of the Single Snow Sect, who found him living like a beast.
Having spent too long in the wild, In Ho-jeong never properly learned to speak, let alone read.
Yet, his beast-like instincts and keen observation of nature allowed him to combine the sword techniques taught by In Baek-ryang with the forms he saw in the wild, ultimately creating the Dividing Form Sword Technique.
However, the technique's power was unexpectedly weak at first.
Then, when In Baek-ryang died of an unknown illness, In Ho-jeong was left to wander the martial world alone.
Unable to speak properly and retaining his feral nature, he faced scorn and ridicule from many martial artists.
As the mockery worsened, In Ho-jeong gradually became a ruthless figure.
Once his beast-like killing intent and cruelty emerged, his Dividing Form Sword Technique suddenly unleashed its true might.
This was a sword art born from the wildness of beasts—it required ferocity and brutality to reach its full potential.
With a technique no one could withstand, he became a demonkin, slaughtering and committing sexual misconduct without hesitation.
Eventually branded a Public Enemy of the Martial World, he was hunted—yet he slaughtered his pursuers and escaped unscathed.
The Dividing Form Sword Technique was so vicious and cruel that even the greatest masters could not defend against it.
After wreaking havoc for years, In Ho-jeong was found dead in a Deep Mountain Secluded Valley.
Many martial artists analyzed his cause of death, but no signs of external injury were found.
People claimed he had been struck down by Heaven's Punishment.
The Mute Swordsman, who had briefly reigned invincible, leaving no disciples behind—
And now, Gok Jeong was suddenly wielding his technique?
FSSSH-ek!
Sword flowers scattered around Bu Eun-seol once more, this time not in the shape of petals but swaying reeds.
The Dividing Form Sword Technique mimicked natural forms, so most of its manifestations resembled common plants.
Paaat! Paaaah!
But its power was anything but ordinary.
Despite its seemingly gentle appearance, the technique's force was enough to shatter the boundary between heaven and earth.
Even a mere graze tore through Bu Eun-seol's clothes, and the very ground trembled.
"Your movement technique is quick, I'll give you that."
Gok Jeong smirked as Bu Eun-seol narrowly escaped the technique's range.
"Then let's try this."
Chwararak!
As he swung his sword, circular sword flowers bloomed ceaselessly within roughly sixty feet of him.
He was sealing off all escape routes, trapping Bu Eun-seol in an inescapable cage of sword energy—forcing him into a direct confrontation.
'Good.'
Shuk.
Bu Eun-seol drew the Extreme Darkness Demonic Sword.
Without hesitation, he unleashed the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms—First Stroke: Wooden Rain Stone Man.
Sak-sak!
The Iron Sword Thirteen Forms, created by Master Unhindered, specialized in counterattacks.
When used as an opening move, its sword trajectory was so smooth it lacked any sharpness.
"Hmph. Some worthless sword technique."
Gok Jeong, recognizing the lack of lethality in Bu Eun-seol's strike, spoke leisurely.
"No need to drag this out. Let's end it in one strike."
Swish-swish-swish!
He shifted the Dividing Form Sword Technique, blocking Bu Eun-seol's opening move while conjuring more sword flowers in the air.
Hwiririk!
The sword flowers embroidering the sky began to engulf Bu Eun-seol's entire body like a storm.
As countless sword flowers coiled around him, Gok Jeong smiled.
'This is the end.'
Hwirik—
But then, a whirlwind erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body—
And the dozens of sword flowers that had swallowed him were hurled back at Gok Jeong.
The Iron Sword Thirteen Forms' counterattack had begun reversing every sword stroke.
SWISH!
The rebounding sword strokes were several times more powerful than the techniques Gok Jeong had unleashed.
"An unusual sword technique."
Yet, Gok Jeong showed no panic—instead, he clashed head-on against the returning strikes.
The Dividing Form Sword Technique was not merely capable of manifesting the forms of nature—it also embodied the natural order of life's creation and destruction.
That was why he could tirelessly generate endless sword flowers.
"Let's see how much you can send back!"
With a thunderous shout, Gok Jeong unleashed an unrelenting storm of sword strokes.
SWISH! SHWIIING!
Bu Eun-seol's deflected strikes and Gok Jeong's relentless onslaught collided again and again.
The Dividing Form Sword Technique could endlessly produce sword flowers, while the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms ceaselessly redirected the enemy's force.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol let out a short, contemplative hum.
The straight, unyielding sword techniques clashing against the wide, arcing counterattacks inevitably created a rhythm—one where the curved returning strikes were always a beat slower.
'Seon-u Jin's limits.'
Bu Eun-seol had too many martial arts to use as disposable tools, and Seon-u Jin still lacked a true signature sword art.
Fortunately, the variant forms of Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan he had recently acquired were comparable to the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—but they were incomplete sword strokes, and their overwhelming power carried the drawback of backlash.
'For now, there's no helping it.'
In truth, this was a setting crafted by the Divine Calculator—and a natural one at that.
If he suddenly appeared like a figure fallen from the heavens, wielding overwhelming martial prowess, the identity of Seon-u Jin could never be perfect.
The Divine Calculator had ensured that even if Seon-u Jin became a powerhouse capable of shaking the Martial Alliance, there would be no loose ends—his growth had been meticulously woven into his backstory.
SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
Finally, the encroaching sword flowers began drawing blood from Bu Eun-seol's body.
A mere graze from the Dividing Form Sword Technique's blossoms could tear flesh, and their sharp energy burrowed into his meridians.
BOOM!
When the Extreme Darkness Demonic Sword clashed against the sword flowers, the explosive impact sent Bu Eun-seol skidding back several paces.
"That took too long!"
Seizing the moment Bu Eun-seol's stance faltered, Gok Jeong unleashed his decisive strike—Returning Yellow Turning Green.
WHOOSH!
Like autumn leaves scattered by the wind, hundreds of sword flowers filled the sky, blotting out even the blue expanse above.
As the overwhelming sword qi poured down, Bu Eun-seol seemed frozen in time.
'Similar.'
In that instant, the variations of Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan flashed through his mind.
No matter how dazzling and relentless the Dividing Form Sword Technique's strokes were, they couldn't compare to the transformations within Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan.
'But is there any need to use such a technique?'
Bu Eun-seol realized he had been too constrained by orthodox sword studies.
It was the dissonance between his original sword art—the Formless Heavenly Flow, practiced by Bu Eun-seol, a master of demonic sword arts—and the orthodox techniques that still fell short.
'What does it matter if it's orthodox or demonic?'
SPLAT! FWOOOSH—!
The moment Bu Eun-seol unleashed his sword technique wildly, every last one of the Dividing Form Sword Technique's strokes vanished as if washed away.
It was like a sudden clearing of the skies after a downpour, sunlight breaking through the clouds.
Unconsciously, he had executed something neither orthodox nor demonic.
"You—!"
Gok Jeong's eyes widened as Bu Eun-seol dissolved his attacks with that bizarre sword technique.
"You were hiding another sword art!"
Then, abruptly, he drew a second dagger from his robes.
"But I have more too!"
FLASH!
As he swung the dagger, a transparent shadow lunged at Bu Eun-seol's face.
In truth, it was an invisible phantom—only detectable through the heightened senses of the Beast Path.
Like an unseen sword qi taking human form, it rushed toward him.
'This is—?'
SLASH!
Bu Eun-seol narrowly dodged, and the great tree beside him split cleanly in half.
But the sword qi didn't dissipate—it turned and charged at him again.
Astonishingly, Gok Jeong had created a sword qi that chased Bu Eun-seol like a living creature.
"How do you like it?!"
Gok Jeong grinned triumphantly.
"How long can you keep dodging?"
Bu Eun-seol weaved through the attacks with movement techniques.
An invisible, razor-sharp something pursued him like a living being—but since it wasn't sword qi or energy, he couldn't deflect it.
SWOOSH!
As Gok Jeong madly swung his dagger, the ghostly form accelerated, twisting into complex curves as it tailed Bu Eun-seol's movements.
"So that's it."
Yet his expression remained unbothered, evading leisurely—even speaking mid-dodge.
"Every demon sword has a unique ability—and you're after them."
Finally, Bu Eun-seol understood.
The reason Gok Jeong had targeted him.
Each demon sword possessed its own extraordinary power—and those with an Empty-Spirit Body could wield them all simultaneously.
In essence, acquiring a demon sword was like obtaining a terrifying martial arts manual—
For a martial artist craving strength, it was an irresistible temptation.