Chapter 648
Yet Bing Han-pung had come here knowing full well what awaited him.
There was only one reason.
"This palace lord shall stand as your sworn friend through all trials, sharing your burdens and hardships!"
He had made this promise to Bu Eun-seol, who had once aided the North Sea Ice Palace.
To keep that vow—
Bing Han-pung had immediately relinquished his position as palace lord to his son and willingly led his Ice River Vanguard here.
The same was true for Dae Gu-hwi.
Trusting Bu Eun-seol, he had come to the Central Plains without hesitation, abandoning his claim as the next lord of the Beast Palace to offer his aid.
"There is no need for concern."
Bu Eun-seol explained calmly.
"I have already made all the necessary arrangements regarding that matter."
"By using those so-called Ghost Children?"
At Noe Bi-hon's question, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"Correct. The reason the Infinite Realm went to such lengths to cultivate Human Blossoms and create Soulless Ones was precisely to deal with those Ghost Children."
"But the Martial Alliance is currently devoting considerable effort to investigating this as well."
Noe Bi-hon stroked his chin.
"Rumors say it was the Martial Alliance's side that escalated this incident to such a scale... If they resolve everything, won't that be the end of it?"
"The Martial Alliance is only conducting a superficial investigation."
Bu Eun-seol's voice remained composed.
"Within the Martial Alliance, there are scarcely any figures who genuinely seek to protect the martial world or aid the suffering. Most are merely pursuing their own interests."
Then, a faint smile touched his lips.
"In fact, the only reason the Martial Alliance even began investigating this massacre was because I personally requested it from their high command."
Noe Bi-hon and Bing Han-pung were stunned.
Bu Eun-seol, the Heir of the Demon Hall, had such close ties to the Martial Alliance's leadership that he could make direct requests?
"You have connections?"
"Indeed."
At that moment, Bing Han-pung stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Even if we were to sweep away those Ghost Children, the martial world of the Central Plains would never willingly make room for us."
The level of wariness martial artists held toward those from Beyond the Frontier was beyond imagination.
No matter how noble their intentions, the Central Plains would never permit them to remain.
"That is not a concern."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"By the time we resolve this matter, they will have no choice but to acknowledge our association."
"Our association?"
"I have named it the Soulless Assembly."
Dae Gu-hwi clapped his hands in realization.
"Ah! So you intend to establish a new vanguard under your command and deploy it within the Demon Hall?"
"No. The Soulless Assembly will be an independent coalition, unaffiliated with either the Demon Hall or the Martial Alliance—one that stands between the Orthodox and Heterodox paths."
"A coalition between Orthodox and Heterodox?"
Only Bing Han-pung, who had received the details in advance via letter, and Dam Yu-yeon, who had taken on the role of strategist, were privy to Bu Eun-seol's plan.
The others could only exchange bewildered glances.
They had assumed the Soulless Assembly would be a new demonic vanguard under Bu Eun-seol's command—yet now he spoke of a coalition that belonged to neither the Demonic Path nor the Righteous Path?
"Is such a thing even possible?"
Noe Bi-hon blinked rapidly.
"If you establish a coalition between the Orthodox and Heterodox, wouldn't that be considered an act of rebellion?"
"I will not be its leader."
Bu Eun-seol pointed at Dae Gu-hwi.
"Gu-hwi will serve as the first assembly leader."
Then, he gestured toward Noe Bi-hon.
"Once the foundation is firmly established, the Thunder Spirit Gate will join the assembly, and you, Brother Noe, will take over leadership."
The gathered figures could not hide their incredulous expressions.
The term Mu-hon (Soulless) had become synonymous with Bu Eun-seol himself.
Yet now he was naming this coalition the Soulless Assembly and installing Dae Gu-hwi as its leader?
"Even so, it's impossible."
Do Cheon-rin, who had been listening silently, shook his head.
"Every faction from Beyond the Frontier came here at your invitation. Even the name 'Soulless Assembly'... No matter how much you insist it's unrelated, the Demon Hall will never believe it."
The others nodded in agreement.
Especially if Bu Eun-seol sought to command such a massive force—
Even if the Demonic Heavenly Emperor might dismiss it as insignificant, the Chief Doctrine Commander would immediately move to behead Bu Eun-seol.
"I have already resolved that issue."
"How?"
"Regardless of the truth, I will officially have no connection to the Soulless Assembly. Since it does not violate the Demon Hall's rules, even the Chief Doctrine Commander cannot touch me."
Bu Eun-seol had already discerned, through his prior private meeting with the Chief Doctrine Commander, that the man walked a different path from the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
Yet the others felt not just disbelief but outright grotesqueness at the idea.
Naming it the Soulless Assembly, installing the Beast Palace's heir as its leader, and creating a coalition between Orthodox and Heterodox that the Central Plains would not oppose?
Wasn't this utterly absurd?
"But with just that—"
"Of course, the real reason lies elsewhere."
Bu Eun-seol's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Though we call it an alliance between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths, until the Soulless Society grows into a formidable force... we will inevitably clash repeatedly with the Martial Alliance."
"With the Martial Alliance?"
"Correct. The Demon Hall will remain seated quietly, reaping enormous benefits. That's precisely why they'll never lay a hand on our society."
Bu Eun-seol spoke with absolute conviction.
"By the time the Demon Hall senses something amiss and attempts to impose sanctions... our society will have already grown powerful enough to threaten them."
Finally grasping the situation, Noe Bi-hon nodded slowly.
"So you intend to divide the world into three."
Bu Eun-seol nodded in response to Noe Bi-hon's words.
"That is indeed the goal, though it won't be easy. Ultimately, when the Demon Hall bares its fangs, we must carefully navigate the confrontation between both the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions while expanding our influence."
The assembled warriors listening to this discussion felt their chests swell with excitement.
If Bu Eun-seol's grand plan succeeded? Another mighty alliance would be born in the martial world.
"Then what about you? Are you the deputy leader?"
"No. As I mentioned earlier, officially, I have no connection whatsoever to the Soulless Society."
The warriors exchanged faint smiles.
Bu Eun-seol was unrelated to the Soulless Society. But under a different identity? He could come here anytime.
"Fair enough."
Noe Bi-hon stroked his chin and asked, "Then the deputy leader must be Brother Bing?"
"Palace Lord Bing is the vanguard leader of our society's Ice River Vanguard. Do Cheon-rin leads the Rogue Vanguard."
"Then what role do I play? Surely you don't expect me to be the deputy leader?"
Bu Eun-seol smiled.
"Brother Noe, aren't you the sect leader of the Thunder Spirit Gate, a faction aligned with the Righteous Path? We can't assign you a position just yet."
Noe Bi-hon was, after all, the sect leader of the Thunder Spirit Gate and a grandmaster of the Central Plains.
The Soulless Society was an alliance belonging to the space between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Paths. For now, he couldn't be part of it yet.
At present, the Soulless Society was merely a temporary coalition of sects from Beyond the Frontier.
"When the Soulless Society rises to a position where it can absorb Righteous Path factions—that is when we will need Brother Noe to take the role of leader."
"So for now, we'll establish Gu Hui as the public leader while you secretly manage things behind the scenes."
"Precisely."
Noe Bi-hon pressed further.
"And what of this place? What becomes of the Red Sky Curtain Branch?"
"This place will also undergo restructuring."
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol turned his gaze to Dam Yu-yeon.
"The rest will be explained by our strategist."
At that, Dam Yu-yeon rose from her seat.
Having long led wandering warriors, her mastery of military strategy and mercenary arts was on par with Bu Eun-seol's.
Had it not been for her ghostly tactical brilliance when the Black Banner Society attacked, they would have been overrun in an instant.
"According to our investigations, there are four suspected locations where Ghost Children may appear next."
Unfolding a large map, she continued.
"We cannot eliminate the Neither-Human-Nor-Beast faction in one stroke. Their base remains unknown, and they intermittently dispatch subordinates wielding bizarre powers into the martial world."
She exhaled deeply.
"That's why even the Infinite Realm, a colossal faction, has failed to uproot them completely."
The assembled warriors swallowed hard.
Having toppled one pillar of the Three Realms, they were now stepping into the role that faction had once held.
"The Ghost Children that have appeared this time also possess strength incomparable to ordinary martial artists. They are beings inherently powerful by nature."
The listeners wore tense expressions.
After all, if the Infinite Realm had cultivated Human Blossoms to enhance their strength and created Soulless Ones to combat them—
This was no easy foe.
They might even have to stake their lives on it.
"So we must be prepared for that, then."
At Bing Han-pung's words, Dam Yu-yeon shook her head.
"No. There's no need."
"Huh?"
"From the very beginning, Lord's plan was never for our society to confront them directly—but to ensure other allied factions face them instead."
Dam Yu-yeon's eyes gleamed.
"At least until our society grows strong enough to eradicate them root and stem."
The assembly nodded in understanding.
The forces that had dominated the martial world until now had failed to eliminate them.
With the Soulless Society's current combat power, they stood no chance.
"So in the initial stages, we'll only dip our toes in. Capture just a few of these Ghost Children, is that it?"
At Noe Bi-hon's question, Dam Yu-yeon nodded.
"Correct. But even afterward, our troops won't need to risk their lives for such tasks. Because—"
As she relayed Bu Eun-seol's plan, Noe Bi-hon and Bing Han-pung's eyes gradually widened.
Profound stratagems, far-reaching schemes.
Bu Eun-seol was thinking with unfathomable depth, his gaze fixed on the distant future.
"I suppose it's better to just follow along without thinking too much."
Dae Gu-hwi scratched his head and muttered, prompting faint smiles from the others.
From the perspective of an outsider, it was impossible to even guess at his schemes. In that case, it was far easier on the mind to simply follow his lead.
"Then, I suppose it's time we begin."
At Bu Eun-seol's words, everyone took a deep breath.
For the Martial Soul Society to safely take root as a proper faction within the murim...
First, they needed to be recognized by the existing allied factions as a legitimate coalition.
—From now on, we will hunt down the culprits who slaughtered innocent civilians.
The Ice River Vanguard, led by Bing Han-pung, and the Beast Division, led by Dae Gu-hwi, headed for Namung Prefecture, while Do Cheon-rin's Rogue Vanguard and Bu Eun-seol's Death Shadow War Unit moved toward Gyeongwon Prefecture.
Though the massive forces from Beyond the Frontier advanced unhindered, no faction dared stand in their way.
After all, Bu Eun-seol had already uprooted countless factions, and none who had opposed his movements had escaped ruin.
Moreover, since they were resolving the murim's most troublesome massacre cases, there was no real reason to oppose them.
—We've found the culprits!
With the intelligence network of the Death Soul Squad and the Peak Realm Pavilion...
And the thousands of troops from Beyond the Frontier swiftly surrounding the area and tracking down the perpetrators...
They were able to quickly capture the murderers who had been roaming the villages, committing brutal slaughter.
As reported, those who had killed civilians and vagrants were all boys barely ten years old.
Children who should have just begun forming their sense of self, who should have been growing up loved by their parents...
Yet they had wandered from place to place, indiscriminately slaughtering vagrants, the sick, and the disabled.
—These are no ordinary boys.
Investigations revealed that they possessed highly unusual physical bodies.
Their muscles were thin but incredibly dense, granting them superhuman strength more than ten times that of an average person.
Their intelligence was also remarkably high.
They were as swift and fierce as veteran martial artists who had lived by the sword, as cunning as wolves, and as enduring as camels.
And their ability to evade pursuit was terrifying.
To capture just a few of these Ghost Children, the North Sea Ice Palace and the Beast Palace had each mobilized three thousand troops.
"This is truly a difficult matter."
"Indeed."
Bing Han-pung and Dae Gu-hwi, who had finally captured the boys sent by the Neither-Human-Nor-Beast, let out weary sighs.
To subdue even a single boy who had never formally trained in martial arts, one would need to be at least at the very peak of the Peak Realm in terms of martial prowess.
In other words, only a master who had refined their martial techniques to the Seasoned Realm and broken past the limits of their physical body...
Could stand against them.
To put it bluntly, even if an average murim practitioner trained their entire life, they would never be able to match these boys.
"A child barely ten years old, strong enough to rival a martial artist at the Peak Realm..."
Bing Han-pung couldn't help but shudder.
"Why did you target only the pitifully weak?"
At Bing Han-pung's question, the bloodied boy answered calmly.
"Because they were weak."
"What?"
"We have to let them be reborn as strong humans."
The boy's gaze was pure.
"That is our mission."
Far from feeling guilt, he truly believed he was performing a noble duty.
"You sound just like the Demonic Cult."
As Bing Han-pung shook his head, the boy spoke again.
"There are a few more over there."
The boy pointed precisely at several individuals among the martial artists lined up behind Bing Han-pung.
They were those with chronic illnesses or injuries.
Though they couldn't strictly be called weak...
To the boy, they were nothing more than targets whose lives needed to be swiftly ended.
'These things are not human.'
Bing Han-pung's eyes sharpened.
If a mere ten-year-old boy was already this strong...
What would happen when they became adults? Just how powerful would they grow?
By then, it seemed unlikely that anyone in the murim could easily stop them.
—Now I understand why the Infinite Realm did what they did.
Bing Han-pung and Dae Gu-hwi exchanged glances and sighed.
They had thought the Infinite Realm was merely a gathering of madmen, creating Human Blossoms and repeating cruel experiments.
But in truth, they had been devising their own methods to deal with such formidable existences.
"I'll handle this."
At Dae Gu-hwi's words, Bing Han-pung shook his head.
"No, this old man will do it."
Whoosh—
Bing Han-pung summoned the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
Having already reached the Extreme Realm, no blue or white cold energy visibly radiated from him.
"Even the weak have their uses and their roles. If only the strong like us remained, the world would cease to function."
Despite Bing Han-pung's solemn words, the boy remained unshaken.
"You're mistaken."
"Mistaken?"
"There's no point in dividing the strong from the weak. What we must do is change this world."
"Change this world...?"
"Yes. Completely. All of it."
Bing Han-pung let out a sigh.
These children were neither bloodthirsty madmen nor tainted by malice.
They had simply been brainwashed by the Demonic Cult's doctrine, believing they were doing the right thing.
"If the world is filled only with the strong, it will no longer be incomplete."
A terrifying killing intent radiated from the boy's eyes.
If given the chance? They would unleash another indiscriminate slaughter.
Targeting the powerless commoners, the innocent vagrants.
There's no other way.
Bing Han-pung extended his hand.
Such beings were a grave threat.
Left unchecked, countless weaklings would suffer the consequences.
Am I no different from the Three Realms?
He bit his lip.
Then, closing his eyes, he prepared to unleash the Glacier Thousand Streams Art.
"No."
Bing Han-pung shook his head.
"There must be a way to undo their brainwashing."
In the end, he made a different choice.
"I'll subdue these boys thoroughly and take them back to headquarters."
The same was true for Bu Eun-seol and Do Cheon-rin in Gyeongwon Prefecture.
He, too, had found the boys sent by the Neither-Human-Nor-Beast, witnessing them indiscriminately slaughter the weak and the disabled.
If they were left alone?
Countless innocent lives would be lost.
"There seems to be no other way."
Wi Cheon-gyeong, gazing at the captured boy, shook his head.
He was covered in blood.
The boys' movements were like streaks of meteors, their cruelty akin to starving beasts.
Had it not been for the Death Shadow War Unit's masters surrounding them,
even the elite forces of any other sect would have found capture impossible.
Yet Bu Eun-seol remained silent, staring down at the boy as if lost in thought.
"My Lord, if we let these children go, the powerless commoners and vagrants won't survive."
Beside him, Do Cheon-rin nodded in agreement.
"If there had been a way to rehabilitate them, the Infinite Realm would have tried it long ago."
The Infinite Realm had developed Human Blossoms and enhanced martial arts through Body Modification.
Had there been a way to reform the Neither-Human-Nor-Beast's followers, they wouldn't have repeated such experiments.
But why did the Infinite Realm take charge of them?
A strange thought crossed Bu Eun-seol's mind.
Why had the Infinite Realm been responsible for them? What about the Azure River Realm? The Ghost Sun Realm?
Had they, like the Infinite Realm, obsessed over creating formidable power through grotesque experiments and Great Arts?
Could it be that each realm was assigned a different role?
Perhaps the Infinite Realm had manufactured Human Blossoms and Soulless Ones solely to suppress those with overwhelming power.
Then what of the Azure River Realm? Had they defended against attacks from beings wielding the enigmatic Mind-Seizing Secret Art through Split Personality?
And the Ghost Sun Realm—were they meant to handle those only the Superlative Martial Experts of past generations could oppose?
"My Lord."
Wi Cheon-gyeong cautiously broke the silence.
"What shall we do?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
"As Leader Do said. The Infinite Realm must have researched this for a long time and concluded their rehabilitation was impossible."
They couldn't spare the boys just because they were young. If they did, countless innocents would die again.
Whoosh.
Finally, Bu Eun-seol summoned his Internal Power.
Thud!
Flicking his middle finger, a golden radiance burst forth.
The malice-filled glint in the boy's eyes dimmed, and his body slumped.
Prajna Great Power.
With the gentle force of the Buddhist School, he had subdued the boy, whose physique surpassed that of an ordinary human.
"We'll try first. We can't slaughter them indiscriminately without even attempting."
"It won't last long."
Do Cheon-rin shook his head.
At Bu Eun-seol's full strength, he could have sealed the boy's blood circuits so fiercely they wouldn't break free for decades.
But these boys had bodies like wild beasts.
Undoubtedly, they would break through the Prajna Great Power's seal in less than a few years.
"True. Three years at most."
Bu Eun-seol exhaled deeply.
"I'll find a solution within that time."
Even the Infinite Realm, which had dominated the Murim for centuries, had failed.
Yet Bu Eun-seol was declaring he would accomplish it in this short span.
"Trying won't hurt."
Do Cheon-rin, Wi Cheon-gyeong, and the other leaders nodded with unwavering trust.
Thus far, Bu Eun-seol had accomplished every impossible task, never shirking from the trials that came his way.
Even now, though an easier path lay before him, he chose the thorny one.
To save these boys. To avoid killing innocent lives.
—Our leader is a Divine Being. He can do it.
No matter what anyone said, Bu Eun-seol was walking the righteous path.
If Heaven existed, it would surely support his will and provide a way.
The leaders all nodded, smiles gracing their lips.
They believed without a doubt—Bu Eun-seol would resolve this too.