Chapter 542
When they first encountered each other, Hyeokryeon Eung had said this:
—I thought you'd make use of the Kill-Seeking Unit Leader, but instead you entrusted the intelligence relay to some random female assassin.
"It was during the process of dealing with Unit Leader So that I arrived earlier than expected."
Only then did Bu Eun-seol's eyes flash as he grasped the situation before his arrival.
"To kill me, they had to take out the eyes and ears first."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What Hyeokryeon Eung discovered was So-yo. She immediately activated the emergency communication system, and Unit Leader So was the first to arrive at the scene."
Piiii!
A faint flute sound echoed from somewhere.
It was as quiet as the footsteps of an ant, but to Bu Eun-seol's ears, it rang out clear as day.
'So-yo!'
Bu Eun-seol instinctively knew it was the emergency signal sent by So-yo.
Bang!
Leaping into mid-air in an instant, he unleashed his Movement Technique at full power toward the source of the flute sound.
Following his lead, the other Unit Leaders—including Yu Un-ryong, who had been blinking rapidly—immediately took flight after him.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh... CRACK!
Gritting his teeth, Bu Eun-seol doubled the speed of his Movement Technique with his full Internal Power.
From his soundless, traceless form cutting through the air, continuous thunderous roars erupted.
After running for what felt like an eternity, he finally arrived at a dense bamboo forest.
There, a gray-clad figure lay collapsed, bleeding, while a black shadow pressed down on his abdomen as if trying to treat him.
They were none other than Kill-Seeking Unit Leader So Ja-myeong and So-yo.
"So-yo."
"We have to save the Unit Leader first!"
So-yo, who was pressing down on So Ja-myeong's abdomen, spoke urgently.
"Hurry, quickly."
The area around So Ja-myeong's abdomen was brutally slashed, drenched in blood, with his intestines spilling out.
"He tried to protect me... The Unit Leader tried to protect me."
Tears streamed from the eyes of So-yo, who had always been frozen like the north wind.
Bu Eun-seol took out a Spirit Pill from his pocket, fed it into So Ja-myeong's mouth, and immediately infused him with Reverse Polarity True Qi.
But there was no response.
He had lost too much blood to regain consciousness.
"Unit Leader So."
Bu Eun-seol's heart grew frantic.
Once more, he mustered all his strength to channel his Internal Energy.
Then, a transparent energy surged from his body and began merging with his True Qi.
The Water Essence Divine Qi, brimming with aqueous force, had combined with the Reverse Polarity True Qi.
Huuung.
As the pure Reverse Polarity True Qi and Water Essence Divine Qi were infused, a faint glow flickered across So Ja-myeong's body.
"Ugh..."
With a low groan, So Ja-myeong opened his eyes.
But it was only a brief moment of clarity granted by the Reverse Polarity True Qi and Water Essence Divine Qi.
The massive blood loss and the fatal sword wound in his lower abdomen were beyond recovery.
Even if Hua Tuo or the Great Immortal were to arrive, reviving him would be impossible.
"Lord."
So Ja-myeong, having regained a faint glimmer of consciousness, smiled weakly upon seeing Bu Eun-seol.
"It's been a long time."
"Unit Leader So."
Suppressing the sorrow and grief welling up inside him, Bu Eun-seol poured every ounce of his strength into infusing more Water Essence Divine Qi.
"It's alright."
But So Ja-myeong gently grasped Bu Eun-seol's hand and shook his head.
"I'm already beyond saving. Don't waste your precious True Qi."
"Unit Leader So."
Bu Eun-seol clenched his teeth.
He didn't want to lose any more of the people he cherished. He didn't want to sacrifice anyone else around him.
Yet, one by one, they continued to leave his side as time passed.
"Lord."
So Ja-myeong, gazing at Bu Eun-seol's pain-filled eyes, offered a threadlike smile.
"It seems I can no longer serve you, my Lord."
"Unit Leader So."
Bu Eun-seol gripped his hand tightly and spoke.
"The three years we promised haven't even passed yet, have they?"
Bu Eun-seol had made a promise to So Ja-myeong.
That within three years, he would surely bring the entire Kill-Seeking Unit into the light.
That he would no longer let them live as nameless operatives.
"Don't leave me."
Bu Eun-seol bowed his head and pleaded, his voice almost begging.
"I still need you. So please... don't leave me."
Deep compassion flowed from So Ja-myeong's eyes.
The successor of the Demonic Path—with nothing in the world able to stand against him, unrivaled in wisdom and martial talent, ruthless and indifferent, seemingly devoid of any interest in worldly affairs...
In truth, he was merely a young man with an endless capacity for affection.
"Hyeokryeon Eung... I believe he has grown impatient from repeated failures. He must have thought you were still utilizing the Kill-Seeking Unit..."
Gurgle—
Before he could finish his words, So Ja-myeong coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood.
"I already know. Say no more."
"Please take care of the unit members, Lord."
So Ja-myeong's eyes grew dim, as though his life force had finally drained away.
"And once the Grand Endeavor is complete... please send them into the light. So they no longer have to die as nameless operatives."
Even in his final moments, So Ja-myeong was worried about the unit members who risked their lives to carry out their missions.
"Understood. I promise."
"Still... I'm glad I got to see your face one last time, Lord."
"Unit Leader So."
"Even in the Nine Heavens... I will watch as you shake the world, Lord."
So Ja-myeong gazed at Bu Eun-seol with a bright smile.
As if blessing Bu Eun-seol's future.
Slowly...
Then, he gently closed his eyes.
So Ja-myeong's funeral was conducted with the highest honors of the Demon Hall.
Though he had been the leader of the Kill-Seeking Unit—a covert unit the Demon Hall never officially acknowledged...
His memorial tablet bore the title of Deputy Leader of the Shadow Spirit Hall, the Demon Hall's highest authority and investigative body.
So Ja-myeong, who had never been formally recorded in the Demon Hall's records...
Was finally able to leave his name as a distinguished member of the Shadow Spirit Hall.
Whoooosh—
As if mourning his death, the heavens wept with a desolate, bone-chilling autumn rain.
Bu Eun-seol stood like a wooden post before the grave mound, staring at So Ja-myeong's burial site.
Originally, he had been a master from the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion.
But to save his lover, who suffered from Severed Meridians, he had joined the Kill-Seeking Unit—where the pay was high.
He completed missions like a madman, gathering the fortune he needed within three years... but in the end, he couldn't save her.
After that, he lost all will to live and tried to leave the Murim behind.
Yet before he knew it, he had grown accustomed to the life of the Kill-Seeking Unit, where he risked his life on every mission.
In the end, he returned and continued his duties.
As time passed, he had somehow become the leader responsible for all the unit members.
I wanted to let them all retire...
Most warriors who joined the Kill-Seeking Unit were like So Ja-myeong in the past—desperate for money.
Among martial artists, those who lived without financial worries...
Were only the rarest of the rare, those chosen by the heavens to stand at the pinnacle of the Murim.
Those with middling skills would live and die without ever laying hands on a fortune.
Among the Kill-Seeking Unit, there were some who joined—
For wealth and glory, or simply to kill without restraint.
But most...
Joined to support their impoverished families, to send money back to the slums where they once lived...
Or, like him, to save a loved one or family member suffering from illness.
And So Ja-myeong, who understood their hearts better than anyone, wanted to earn them enough to retire as soon as possible.
But only a handful achieved that goal and left. Most died in the line of duty.
In the end, they die without even a name?
Watching his unit members perish under codenames, leaving no trace of their true identities, So Ja-myeong made a resolution.
He would give them an affiliation—a place to belong.
For the Kill-Seeking Unit operatives who threw themselves into the flames like moths, chasing only money... he would at least secure them a registry.
"Were you in such a hurry?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice as he stared at So Ja-myeong's grave.
"You said you'd give them a registry... so why did you go ahead and claim a spot first?"
—My apologies, Unit Leader. Somehow, I ended up reserving a place before the others!
Somewhere, it almost sounded like So Ja-myeong's cheerful joke echoed across the gravesite.
"I'm sorry."
Soyo, standing beside Bu Eun-seol, spoke quietly.
"If only my Movement Technique had been faster... if only I hadn't let him catch up to me..."
Hyeokryeon Eung had believed Bu Eun-seol's covert unit was still the Kill-Seeking Unit.
And he had assumed So Ja-myeong was the one constantly stationed near Bu Eun-seol, carrying out missions.
But that role had been Soyo's.
In the end, Hyeokryeon Eung had hunted Soyo down to kill her, and So Ja-myeong—who had detected her distress signal first—
Fought Hyeokryeon Eung relentlessly to buy time.
But he couldn't withstand his martial arts and suffered fatal wounds.
"It wasn't your fault."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was low.
"He cared deeply for the unit members. And he found happiness in teaching them."
After No Trace took charge of the Death Soul Squad, So Ja-myeong voluntarily stepped down to become an instructor, training the unit members.
It was thanks to his teachings that Soyo could serve as the Death Soul Squad's Deputy Unit Leader.
And So Ja-myeong would have been immensely proud to have given his life to save her.
"Enough. Return now."
Bu Eun-seol gazed at the Death Shadow Squad members standing in the distance.
They, too, were seething with rage over So Ja-myeong's death.
If this vengeance was not carried out, they would storm out of the Demon Hall itself to hunt down Hyeokryeon Eung.
Just wait a little longer, Squad Leader So.
Bu Eun-seol turned away, howling inwardly.
I will return soon, bearing Hyeokryeon Eung's head.
Though his body turned coldly, a scorching energy blazed fiercely within him.
Every plan for the future was now abandoned. His sole purpose—to sever Hyeokryeon Eung's head from his shoulders.
Universal Aid Pavilion
Once, this place had been a sanctuary for martial artists left crippled or with nowhere else to go.
But as time passed, the world grew harsher, and the philanthropists willing to aid the martial world vanished.
In the end, the Universal Aid Pavilion fell into ruin, becoming a forgotten relic—a "Vanished Sect" exuding an air of desolation.
Creak...
Yet now, from beneath the pavilion, a hidden passage opened, and a black shadow emerged.
A towering old man with the build of a bear, the waist of a tiger, and the fierce eyes of a lion.
Hyeokryeon Eung himself.
"Hmm."
His sharp, piercing gaze narrowed as he watched the pouring rain.
"He's grown too much."
Staring at the raindrops falling from the murky sky, he recalled the sword techniques Bu Eun-seol had unleashed.
They had reached the threshold of the Extreme Heaven Realm, flawless to the finest degree.
Not only were they devastating in power, but they were also still incomplete.
If given time...
Like a lesser dragon coiled in wait, meeting the rain and clouds—
That sword art would undoubtedly ascend endlessly, just as a dragon rises to the heavens.
"No choice, then."
Hyeokryeon Eung sighed.
Stripped of his title as the Dharma Demon Master, he could no longer mobilize the Infinite Realm's forces or mobilize its messengers.
"And since I've already made my move within the Demon Hall, there's no room left to employ the Mind-Seizing Secret Art."
In truth, his plan to capture Bu Eun-seol's subordinates and drive him to self-destruction had been his best possible strategy—one that should have been impossible to fail.
Yet, astonishingly, Bu Eun-seol had anticipated his schemes and even devised a method for his Death Shadow War Unit to break free from the Mind-Seizing Art.
If he were to step back into the Demon Hall now, he would undoubtedly leave a trail to be followed.
"Then I'll have to start by tearing down that precious authority of his first."
Hyeokryeon Eung had been a pillar of the Demon Hall long before Bu Eun-seol was even born.
Though he had since left, he knew the organization's structure and systems inside out.
"That brat has plenty of enemies within the Demon Hall itself."
A sinister smile curled on his lips.
"If I can't sever his limbs directly, I'll start by cutting off his power."
No matter how exceptional Bu Eun-seol was, devouring the colossal alliance that was the Demon Hall would take time.
And those with unyielding personalities—those who would bend but never break—always amassed enemies.
Hyeokryeon Eung intended to shatter the staff of authority Bu Eun-seol wielded.
"You can look forward to this one, Bu Eun-seol."
A blazing light flickered in Hyeokryeon Eung's eyes as he muttered under his breath.
"I'll deal with you and return to the Infinite Realm."
For decades, he had stood as a central pillar of the Demon Hall, as the Royal Tutor of Prince Wei's Residence, and as the Dharma Demon Master of the Infinite Realm—shaping the world itself.
Even if Bu Eun-seol had restructured the Death Shadow War Unit and established a covert intelligence network...
Even if he held the title of Martial Soul Lord...
He could never escape the system of the Demon Hall.
He would have to submit to its laws.
And Hyeokryeon Eung knew that all too well.
Rumors Spread in the Demon Hall
Suddenly, strange whispers began circulating within the Demon Hall.
—The Martial Soul Lord has been secretly mobilizing covert units, surveilling not just the Righteous Path but even the Demon Hall and the Demonic Path Ten Gates.
Yet that, in itself, was hardly surprising.
As the head of the Demon Hall's inspection bureau, it was his duty to monitor both the Demon Hall and the Ten Gates.
To not do so would be negligence.
—Shockingly, the Martial Soul Lord has ties to the Martial Alliance. His constant surveillance of the Ten Gates was precisely because of this connection.
But the rumors didn't stop there.
Something even more absurd began spreading.
—Ever since he arrived, hasn't the influence of the Ten Gates weakened? Haven't their forces crumbled?
It was a ridiculous claim.
True, Bu Eun-seol had somewhat diminished the Ten Gates' power.
But that was merely the result of the struggle for dominance in the process of solidifying his position as successor.
Or, it was because they had walked the path to their own destruction.
And in time, Bu Eun-seol would naturally become the master of the Demon Hall.
What could he possibly lack that would make him seek a secret alliance with the Martial Alliance?
—It must be false rumors.
Most members of the Demonic Path didn't even believe the rumors.
After all, it was an absurd notion from the start.
But then, something shocking happened.
The bizarre rumors circulating within the Demon Hall became reality.
Hidden Demon Pavilion, Bu Eun-seol's office.
There, the Disciplinary Hall Leader Yang Gu-eung and his subordinates had surrounded Bu Eun-seol.
"Martial Soul Lord. Do you admit to leaking this hall's information after contacting the Martial Alliance Leader and weakening our faction's strength?"
Yang Gu-eung, the Disciplinary Hall Leader who never acted without irrefutable evidence, had come to detain Bu Eun-seol.
Without even waiting for Bu Eun-seol's answer, he immediately ordered his subordinates:
"Confiscate all documents from the Death Shadow War Unit!"
"What is the meaning of this?"
"The Martial Alliance Leader? What nonsense is this about the Martial Alliance Leader?"
The squad leaders of the Death Shadow War Unit, who had been silently observing Yang Gu-eung's actions, rose to their feet.
"Hall Leader Yang. You should observe proper decorum and follow procedure when addressing the Lord."
Wi Cheon-gyeong stepped forward, speaking sternly.
"Otherwise, we squad leaders will not stand idly by."
If they dared to conduct an unauthorized search, he was prepared to use force without hesitation.
But the strange thing was Bu Eun-seol himself.
He simply stared blankly at Yang Gu-eung's actions, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.
"Lord! Will you just let them do as they please?"
"We'll drive them out immediately!"
As Won Se-mun and Jo Nam-cheon flared up in agitation, Yang Gu-eung pressed again:
"Lord, do you admit to these charges?"
Bu Eun-seol, who had been watching with a languid expression, slowly opened his mouth.
"Even if I deny it, I doubt you would believe me."
"Of course not."
"Then you must have solid evidence."
"Otherwise, would I dare to barge into the Hidden Demon Pavilion where the Death Shadow War Unit resides?"
Yang Gu-eung coldly replied as he pulled out a sheet of paper from his sleeve.
"Based on evidence obtained by the Disciplinary Hall, the Supreme Cult Commander has issued an arrest and detention order for the Martial Soul Lord."
Placing the document on the table, he added in a subdued voice:
"Out of respect for the Lord's dignity, we will refrain from restraints. But if you resist, we will have no choice but to resort to unsightly measures."
If the Supreme Cult Commander had authorized the detention, it meant they had undeniable proof.
When Bu Eun-seol remained silent, Yang Gu-eung turned to his subordinates and spoke in a grave tone:
"Escort the Lord to the Bottomless Prison at once."
"Enough of this nonsense!"
Shing!
The hot-tempered Won Se-mun drew his twin swords.
"You dare to escort the Lord? I'll send you to the underworld first!"
Just as he seemed about to charge, Jo Nam-cheon stopped him.
"Calm down! They have an arrest warrant! If you act recklessly, you'll only make things worse for the Lord!"
"Calm down? You expect me to just stand by and watch this?!"
Thud. Thud.
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat and followed the Disciplinary Hall members outside.
"It's nothing serious. Don't dwell on it and carry on with your duties."
That was all he left behind.
The squad leaders could only stare in stunned silence.
Finally, Jo Nam-cheon quietly turned to Yu Un-ryong, who stood composed.
"Squad Leader Yu. The Lord must be scheming something again, right?"
They all knew.
That Bu Eun-seol had long stopped holding meetings with the squad leaders and instead consulted privately with Yu Un-ryong.
The squad leaders weren't fools.
They were aware of Myo Cheon-u's sudden departure on leave without returning—how he had been a spy leaking the Death Shadow War Unit's intelligence all along.
Fearing another incident like that, or that critical information might slip due to their own mistakes...
The important matters were now discussed solely with Yu Un-ryong.
"Perhaps."
"'Perhaps'? What kind of answer is that?"
Yu Un-ryong let out a deep sigh.
"What's certain is that there was no discussion."
"No discussion?!"
Jo Nam-cheon's face paled in an instant.
"It's fine, Squad Leader Yu. You can tell us. Isn't it something we should know too?"
"That's right. Just tell us this was all part of the Lord's plan."
As Won Se-mun also pressed him, Yu Un-ryong shook his head with a pained expression.
"It wasn't planned."
His expression was heavier than ever as he continued:
"And in this situation, even if the Demonic Heavenly Emperor himself intervened, punishment would be unavoidable."
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that an arrest warrant was issued means the Supreme Cult Commander and the entire High Command have irrefutable evidence."
Yu Un-ryong lowered his head as he watched the horrified expressions of the Death Shadow War Unit's warriors.
"Right now, there isn't a single person in the entire Murim who can save the Lord."