Chapter 597
So-jeon waved his hand dismissively as he spoke.
"Baek Yeon has gone to Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying Sanctuary to reorganize the Wind and Cloud Corps. You should go directly to the Deputy Pavilion Master."
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol bowed politely before striding briskly toward Clear Breeze Studio where Dan Cheong resided.
Following an attendant's guidance into the office, he found Dan Cheong leisurely seated while drinking tea.
With the General Council Hall having expanded significantly—now swarming with disciples assisting his duties—Dan Cheong was enjoying a life of leisure comparable to Wang Geol's.
"What brings you here?"
Dan Cheong's expression turned grave the moment he recognized Bu Eun-seol's face.
He was the one who had personally brought Bu Eun-seol to Langya Pavilion after his survival on Hell Island.
Having watched over Bu Eun-seol since childhood, he immediately detected the subtle shadows beneath the young man's eyes.
"I wish to see the Pavilion Lord."
"The Pavilion Lord?"
Dan Cheong furrowed his brow.
Pavilion Lord Ak Mu-ryeong had long since delegated all responsibilities to him and remained in closed-door training.
Unless extraordinary circumstances arose, he never emerged.
"What's the matter?"
"I've uncovered the objectives of the final realm among the Three Realms—the Return to Oneness Realm."
Bu Eun-seol recounted in detail everything he had experienced during this period.
"I believe we must inform the Pavilion Lord of this and seek his counsel."
The Infinite Realm had been disrupting the martial world by researching bizarre creations like Human Blossoms and Demon-Binding Jade Men.
Though these were formidable and terrifying, they weren't insurmountable threats.
But the Return to Oneness Realm operated differently.
What if they used their grotesque Great Art to create clones of superlative martial experts?
Couldn't they kill even current members of the Three Demons or Four Gods and Seven Kings, then resurrect them as puppets?
Moreover, if they acquired precious artifacts like the Black Divine Weapon? Conventional martial arts would become utterly useless against them.
More frightening still—the Return to Oneness Realm had already gathered the One Hundred and Eight Stars that Yang Seol's faction had been monitoring.
If their plan succeeded?
They would essentially seize control of the entire martial world.
"Hmm."
Dan Cheong stroked his chin.
Truthfully, Langya Pavilion pursued only the ultimate Martial Way, exacting bloody vengeance solely against those who provoked them.
They were among those sects that never intervened in worldly affairs—no matter what cataclysms occurred.
Their inclusion among the Demonic Path Ten Gates stemmed solely from their fearsome martial arts.
Having consistently avoided expanding their territory, sustaining themselves self-sufficiently on Sword Brow Mountain—
They wouldn't have cared even if it were a hundred realms or a thousand realms instead of the Three Realms.
But since Bu Eun-seol's arrival, they'd become a core sect leading the Demonic Path.
Dan Cheong didn't consider this development unfavorable.
However, Pavilion Lord Ak Mu-ryeong differed.
As the sect's influence grew, he grew increasingly irritated by the resulting commotion.
"Let me speak frankly."
Dan Cheong's voice dropped low.
"To aid you, I could mobilize Langya Pavilion's full strength. That's how it's always been."
"..."
"But the Pavilion Lord is different. He won't care about the Three Realms or anything else."
"I understand."
Bu Eun-seol's voice was equally quiet.
"To be honest, I also have no interest in the Three Realms."
"What do you mean?"
"As successor to the Demon Hall, I didn't clash with them for Demonic Hegemony or the Demonic Path's political landscape."
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
"It was solely for revenge."
His eyes flashed sharply.
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade Bu Jan-yang. He was my grandfather."
"The Seven Fingers Demonic Blade Bu Jan-yang..."
"Correct."
After another deep breath, Bu Eun-seol stared intently at Dan Cheong.
"I wanted to tell you from the beginning... but this entire matter stems from my personal vengeance. I didn't wish to harm our sect. That's why I remained silent."
Then calmly, he recounted everything from his childhood to the present.
"Likely, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, Chief Doctrine Commander, Secret Shadow Pavilion's master—or other leaders of the Demonic Path Ten Gates—are already aware of my circumstances."
"Hmm."
"Perhaps even the Pavilion Lord knows."
"Our sect belongs to the Demonic Path Ten Gates, yet we've consistently remained indifferent to the Demon Hall or the Demonic Path's affairs. The Pavilion Lord shares this disposition."
Dan Cheong inhaled deeply and shook his head.
Even he couldn't guarantee whether Ak Mu-ryeong knew these facts.
"Very well."
Exhaling turbid air, Dan Cheong nodded.
"The Pavilion Lord currently resides at Spirit Mountain Peak. You may see him there. However... you must handle the aftermath yourself."
When summoning Ak Mu-ryeong in the past, Dan Cheong and Baek Yeon had pleaded with their lives on the line.
But now—
He was telling Bu Eun-seol to do it himself.
"Deputy Pavilion Lord, right now—"
Recognizing Bu Eun-seol's unspoken thoughts, Dan Cheong waved him off.
"No, I'm busy."
The table before him was piled high with teacups of various shapes and mounds of tea leaves.
"Selecting fine tea leaves is also part of this deputy's duties."
Unable to withstand Bu Eun-seol's scorching gaze, Dan Cheong cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Shouldn't we serve proper tea to guests who visit our pavilion? Otherwise, those bastards will just brew wild tea leaves and call it a day."
The only guests who would ever visit Langya Pavilion were the occasional messengers from the Demon Hall.
And Dan Cheong had never once served them tea.
As Bu Eun-seol recalled this fact and made a sour face, Dan Cheong swiftly changed the subject.
"Aren't you the successor of this pavilion? You should get along better with the Pavilion Lord now."
"Understood."
When Bu Eun-seol replied as if he had no choice, Dan Cheong nodded in relief.
"Go safely."
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together.
As he watched Bu Eun-seol walk away, Dan Cheong's expression darkened endlessly.
It was a deep, shadowed gaze—one he had never shown before.
The main peak of Sword Brow Mountain, Spirit Mountain Peak, was so high it seemed to touch the heavens.
When Bu Eun-seol reached the summit, a fog thick as clouds had already risen in all directions.
At the edge of the sheer cliff stood a towering, muscular man over seven feet tall.
"Pavilion Lord."
Bu Eun-seol bowed in greeting.
"Forgive me for interrupting your training."
The man, who had been gazing at the vast, boundless scenery, slowly turned his body.
His long hair was haphazardly tied up, and his slightly darkened skin stretched over taut muscles, making his age impossible to guess.
His eyes shimmered with an unceasing light, devoid of any trace of joy or anger—as if he had captured the endless horizon of Spirit Mountain Peak within his pupils.
This was none other than the Great Demon who shook the world, the Pavilion Lord of Langya Pavilion—the Human Demon, Ak Mu-ryeong.
[So you dared to crawl up here, knowing full well you were disturbing my seclusion?]
A sickly yellow light poured from Ak Mu-ryeong's eyes as he looked down at Bu Eun-seol.
Even the bravest of men would have pissed themselves under that ghastly gaze.
But Bu Eun-seol was unfazed. He knew that light was the manifestation of the Langya Mind's Eye at its pinnacle.
After all, though still weak, he too could activate the Langya Mind's Eye.
"I believe the time has come for you to know, Pavilion Lord..."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together, his voice utterly calm.
"I came despite knowing I would be a disturbance."
[A time for me to know?]
"Yes."
Ak Mu-ryeong snorted.
[You mean the fact that you're the orphan raised by the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang?]
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
[Sado Mu-myeong visited me not long ago.]
Bu Eun-seol couldn't hide his shock.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor, who had remained in seclusion without revealing his whereabouts, had come to see Ak Mu-ryeong?
That meant Sado Mu-myeong had known since his time as the Ten Demonic Heir that Bu Eun-seol was Bu Jan-yang's grandson.
'Was that why he chose me as the successor of the Demon Hall?'
BAM!
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol felt as if a massive iron hammer had struck the back of his skull.
CRACK.
A splitting pain shot through the back of his head, forcing him to stagger back a step.
[You, who guarded your Spirit and Mind so fiercely, drop all defenses just because someone mentioned your past?]
The thunderous rebuke jolted Bu Eun-seol back to his senses.
The moment his mental defenses had cracked, Ak Mu-ryeong had immediately unleashed Phantom Restoration, striking directly at his Spirit and Mind.
[Or did you think the martial world would seem easy just because you made some meager progress?]
Shame washed over Bu Eun-seol at Ak Mu-ryeong's scolding.
'I grew too arrogant.'
He wasn't the only one advancing in martial arts.
In that short time, Ak Mu-ryeong had also made another great leap, ascending to an unfathomable realm.
"I have realized my mistake, Master."
Bu Eun-seol bowed his head in shame.
The martial world was a place where life and death were decided in an instant. One could never let their guard down, not even for a moment.
"But today, I must hear everything from you, Pavilion Lord."
BOOM.
The space around Bu Eun-seol turned pitch-black in an instant.
Before he knew it, Ak Mu-ryeong had become a colossal mountain, casting an enormous shadow over him.
[Fine.]
The moment Ak Mu-ryeong spoke, Bu Eun-seol felt a pressure as if the sky itself were collapsing onto his head.
[Ask.]
CRACK—CRACKLE.
As Ak Mu-ryeong opened his mouth, the ground around Bu Eun-seol began to split apart.
With every word he uttered, a terrifying pressure bore down on Bu Eun-seol's body.
The problem was—this was not something that could be endured through Internal Power or even the strength of the Two Spirit Energies.
[I'll answer you as long as you can still hear me.]
'The Pavilion Lord planted the seed of Phantom Restoration in me the moment my Spirit and Mind showed a single crack.'
Bu Eun-seol grasped the situation immediately.
The instant the topic of his grandfather came up, his mental barrier had wavered—and in that split second, Ak Mu-ryeong had sown the seed of Phantom Restoration deep within his Spirit and Mind.
"Pavilion Lord, by any chance... do you know the identities of those who killed my grandfather?"
Focusing his spirit, Bu Eun-seol resisted the power of Phantom Restoration Return with all his might.
Even if his body were to burst apart—
There were answers he absolutely had to extract from Ak Mu-ryeong.
[I do not know.]
"Then how did the Demonic Heavenly Emperor know I was Grandfather's grandson?"
[He had been searching for the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade for a long time.]
With each word Ak Mu-ryeong uttered, it felt as though heaven and earth were collapsing and Bu Eun-seol's skull was splitting in two.
[But the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade had left numerous clones scattered throughout the Martial World, making it difficult to locate the real one.]
Ak Mu-ryeong continued, gazing at Bu Eun-seol's bloodshot eyes.
[And when he finally found him... he was performing funeral rites with some child.]
Thick, worm-like veins bulged across Bu Eun-seol's entire body, his eyes flooding crimson.
"Then—"
[Indeed. He said the child he saw back then has now become the Ten Demonic Heir, standing before him.]
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened.
That meant—
Before the Three Realms, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had been the first to locate Grandfather?
'Then why has the Demonic Heavenly Emperor been feigning ignorance of me?'
But this was a question Ak Mu-ryeong couldn't answer.
Gathering his spirit again, Bu Eun-seol spoke.
"The truth is... I entered the Martial World to avenge Grandfather."
Drip.
As he opened his mouth, the blood he'd been forcibly swallowing finally trickled from the corner of his lips.
"And I've discovered that those who killed Grandfather belong to the Three Realms."
One small mercy—
Speaking didn't intensify the pressure of Phantom Restoration Return.
"Moreover... the Return-to-One Realm stole Grandfather's corpse."
Bu Eun-seol recounted everything he'd experienced thus far.
However, he omitted any mention of Baekri Mu-ha potentially being his father.
Not only was it still uncertain—
But Baekri Mu-ha was known to walk the path of the Righteous Faction. There was no telling what grudges might exist between him and Ak Mu-ryeong.
"Also, unlike the other factions of the Three Realms... the Return-to-One Realm's purpose cannot be ignored."
He explained how the Return-to-One Realm sought to recreate the abilities of the Absolute Ones who had existed since ancient times.
[So they harvest the corpses of past masters... to forge new Superlative Martial Experts...]
Gush.
As Ak Mu-ryeong spoke slowly, Bu Eun-seol's vision turned red with flowing blood.
Each uttered word felt like his body was being split in two.
[Then isn't this rather... an entertaining development?]
Wasn't Ak Mu-ryeong actually baring his fangs in delight?
'Of course the Pavilion Lord would think so.'
Ak Mu-ryeong had spent his entire life battling the Martial World's greatest experts, honing his martial prowess through combat.
And now, Superlative Martial Experts perfectly inheriting the martial prowess of past masters were to emerge?
To Ak Mu-ryeong, this was no different than being presented with an entirely new feast to devour.
[Hahahaha!]
Thud.
As Ak Mu-ryeong's laughter erupted, Bu Eun-seol finally collapsed to one knee.
Kneeling before the patriarch of his sect wasn't shameful.
Only his own pathetic martial inadequacy humiliated him.
'I must focus harder.'
Little time remained before Bu Eun-seol would break.
Gritting his teeth, he asked again:
"Pavilion Lord... do you have no intention of opposing the Three Realms?"
This was why Bu Eun-seol had come—
To learn how much Ak Mu-ryeong knew about the Three Realms, and what he thought of them.
[The Three Realms have existed since the dawn of time.]
With each word Ak Mu-ryeong spoke, an unbearable pressure crashed down upon Bu Eun-seol's head.
His vision now burned completely crimson.
Ak Mu-ryeong's Phantom Restoration Return didn't merely attack the spirit and mind.
When the spirit collapsed, the physical body inevitably followed suit.
Bu Eun-seol felt as though he'd been plunged into the ocean's depths, his body buckling under crushing pressure.
Yet Ak Mu-ryeong paid no heed to Bu Eun-seol's agonized expression—
Continuing slowly, languidly.
[Some know of their existence... others do not. Regardless, the Three Realms have always existed... always reigned.]
Bu Eun-seol couldn't even respond.
His body felt infinitely compressed, as if trapped inside a tiny bottle.
[Because only with factions like the Three Realms... can the Murim continue to endure.]
Bu Eun-seol's pupils flashed.
These words aligned perfectly with what Do Mu-jeok, head of the Bloodflame Blade Family, had said—
That the Three Realms' existence was inevitable, ineradicable.
"Then... Pavilion Lord, you mean to say you've known not just about the Three Realms... but also the forces hidden in the Abyss?"
[From the beginning, the Martial World has been where countless sects and factions rise and fall. Even if their lineages continue through generations... the people change.]
Ak Mu-ryeong spoke with palpable disdain.
["Why should this Pavilion Lord concern himself with such trifles? Why must they even occupy his thoughts?"]
Ak Mu-ryeong had long been aware not only of the Three Realms' existence but also of the forces lurking within the Abyss.
Yet he held no interest whatsoever in their schemes or hidden motives.
Because they had not touched Langya Pavilion.
Because they had not touched him.
His focus was solely consumed by the goal he sought to attain.
["Crush them if you wish."]
An overwhelming energy, potent enough to overturn the heavens, surged from Ak Mu-ryeong's body.
["Mingle with them if you desire. That is this Pavilion Lord's answer."]
"This disciple..."
Bu Eun-seol swallowed the blood rising in his throat and spoke with unshaken dignity.
"—intends to destroy every last faction of the Three Realms that dared lay hands upon my grandfather."
His bones felt as though they would shatter, his blood as though it would burst from his body.
Yet even amidst that excruciating pain, Bu Eun-seol met Ak Mu-ryeong's gaze without flinching.
The look in Ak Mu-ryeong's eyes shifted as he observed the young man enduring the torment in silence.
For the first time, his gaze held something human—not the cold regard of a demon.
["Then do not borrow another's hand. They are everywhere."]
His voice carried a humanity Bu Eun-seol had never sensed before.
For a fleeting moment, a strange thought crossed Bu Eun-seol's mind.
'Is it not that the Pavilion Lord pays them no mind... but that he deliberately severs his awareness of them?'
There was no place in the current Murim untouched by the Three Realms.
Perhaps Ak Mu-ryeong's repeated secluded training was not merely for self-cultivation—
but to single-handedly annihilate the Three Realms without sacrificing Langya Pavilion's disciples.
He was led to that thought.
For Ak Mu-ryeong was Ak Mu-ryeong. He would never forgive those who presumed to rule over him.
"Could it be... that even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor and the Righteous Heavenly Emperor undergo repeated secluded training because of the Three Realms...?"
This was not a question meant for Ak Mu-ryeong.
It was a murmur that slipped unbidden from his lips, echoing the turmoil in his heart.
["Hmph. That one?"]
Yet, unexpectedly, Ak Mu-ryeong answered—with a revelation more shocking than Bu Eun-seol could have imagined.
["The Righteous Heavenly Emperor, I cannot say. But the Demonic Heavenly Emperor has already transcended the boundaries of the Martial Extreme Realm."]
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened instantly.
The impact of those words struck him harder than the first blow of Phantom Restoration he had suffered from Ak Mu-ryeong.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had surpassed the Martial Extreme Realm? Did that mean he had reached the Heavenly Will Realm?
["The Heavenly Will Realm is merely a theoretical construct. None can confirm whether anyone has ever ascended to it. However..."]
From Ak Mu-ryeong's pupils bloomed Calamity Flames—conflagrations capable of reducing the world to ruin.
["It was a state beyond words. If it was not power transcending the Martial Extreme Realm... then what?"]
He paused briefly before shaking his head.
["Perhaps he forged an entirely new martial art, one even this Pavilion Lord does not recognize."]
"Pfft—"
At last, Bu Eun-seol spat out a bloody arrow from his lips.
Unable to withstand the crushing pressure emanating from Ak Mu-ryeong's words, he had sustained severe internal injuries.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Though blood trickled from the corner of Bu Eun-seol's mouth, Ak Mu-ryeong merely observed him with an icy gaze.
'The most erudite master of martial arts in the world stands before me.'
Dizziness threatened to consume Bu Eun-seol, his meridians screaming as though torn apart. Yet he paid the agony no mind, lost in profound thought.
Even Ak Mu-ryeong could not measure the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's martial prowess.
That alone suggested an overwhelming probability that he had reached a new realm.
'Or... could it be a Black Divine Artifact?'
According to the Demon Swordsmith, Baekri Mu-ha had once wielded power akin to a Martial God, altering the course of rivers with the might of a Black Divine Artifact.
'But even that is mere speculation.'
Shaking his head, Bu Eun-seol looked up at Ak Mu-ryeong once more.
His endless secluded training must stem from his defiance against the Twin Heavenly Emperors of Righteous and Demonic—those unfathomable superhumans.
Perhaps, in a way, it was no different from the vengeance Bu Eun-seol himself sought.
After all, each person's purpose was their own.
"I apologize for disturbing the Pavilion Lord's Secluded Closed-Door Cultivation."
Though his body was battered beyond recognition, a satisfied smile curled at Bu Eun-seol's lips.
He had endured the pressure of Phantom Restoration without losing consciousness and had even received Ak Mu-ryeong's answers.
["Hmph."]
Ak Mu-ryeong snorted coldly, looking down at him.
In his eyes burned the indomitable spirit of an absolute sovereign—one who cared not for the laws of the world.
'The Pavilion Lord is just like me.'
Both of them ran ceaselessly toward their goals, united in their unwavering love for Langya Pavilion.
That was why they sought to achieve their aims through their own strength alone, refusing to rely on others.
"I will protect Langya Pavilion."
At Bu Eun-seol's oath, a human-like hue flickered once more in Ak Mu-ryeong's eyes.
But it was swiftly replaced by another cold snort.
["This Pavilion is not a place that needs protecting."]
Langya Pavilion was a gathering of those who pursued the Martial Way.
Even if Langya Pavilion were to vanish—
another by a different name would inevitably rise in its place.
"I see."
Bu Eun-seol smiled.
Langya Pavilion was Langya Pavilion.
Ak Mu-ryeong was Ak Mu-ryeong.
Bu Eun-seol was Bu Eun-seol.
All they needed to do was fulfill the roles they had taken upon themselves.
"Then."
With a lighter smile, Bu Eun-seol bowed in farewell.
Was it an illusion?
As he turned away—
he thought he glimpsed the faintest trace of a smile gracing Ak Mu-ryeong's lips.