Chapter 696
Gongson Dan-gyeong blinked her eyes.
How could the Martial Venerable grant a private audience so easily?
"So there's something I don't know after all."
After the messenger sent by the Martial Venerable left, Gongson Dan-gyeong sighed and shook her head.
She could sense it.
That there was some unknown matter between Bu Eun-seol and the Martial Venerable—something she wasn't privy to.
"Even if I ask, you won't tell me, will you?"
Bu Eun-seol hesitated for a moment.
Would it be alright to reveal that the Martial Venerable held the dual identity of the Divine Calculator? That thought crossed his mind.
But he soon shook his head.
After all, the Martial Venerable had been meticulously protecting his identity.
If he were to expose the Martial Venerable's shadow to her, then the Martial Venerable might also reveal Bu Eun-seol's personal information in return.
"I only realized it after arriving at Seolhwamun."
Instead, he offered an explanation that Gongson Dan-gyeong could accept.
Without at least a minimal explanation,
the solid relationship they had built until now might crumble.
"That the mission to retrieve the Ice Spirit Jade was actually a test set by the Martial Venerable to evaluate me."
"A test?"
"Yes. He likely wanted to confirm whether I was worthy of a private audience."
Bu Eun-seol elaborated in detail.
The Martial Venerable had informed Seolhwamun of his visit in advance,
and he had already known about the gates set up there and the nature of the Restrictive Seals.
"So, His Excellency tested Commander Seon-u's martial arts through the Seolhwamun mission?"
"I'm not certain if it was purely to test my martial arts. But the Heavenly Yin Hall was structured in such a way that one could never pass through its gates without reaching a certain level of martial prowess."
If one wanted to craft a perfect lie,
they only needed to mix in a spoonful of 'prediction' or 'thought' into the truth.
That way, even if the inside story were exposed, it would simply be dismissed as an incorrect prediction.
"Why would the Martial Venerable test Commander Seon-u's martial arts?"
"I don't know. Perhaps he wanted to verify my martial foundation... or maybe it was a preliminary check for a future mission."
Gongson Dan-gyeong, who had been deep in thought, nodded.
"That could be the case."
In the past, she too had tested Bu Eun-seol separately before assigning him a mission to ensure he was suitable.
There was nothing unusual about the Martial Venerable doing the same.
"Hmm."
Gongson Dan-gyeong swallowed a sigh.
But everything was merely speculation—there was no definitive conclusion... Her mind remained as hazy as if shrouded in fog.
"Alright. In any case, once Commander Seon-u meets His Excellency, all the reasons will become clear."
She took a deep breath and spoke.
"He said within a meal’s time, so His Excellency's messenger will likely visit your office within that time. Please deliver this wooden box to Commander Seon-u personally as well."
"Understood."
"You may go now."
Bu Eun-seol respectfully clasped his hands together.
"Then."
Just as he turned to leave, her voice called out again.
"Commander Seon-u."
"Do you have further orders?"
When Bu Eun-seol turned back, a faint glimmer of emotion flickered in Gongson Dan-gyeong's clear, large eyes.
"Be careful."
Her words carried genuine concern and worry.
Gongson Dan-gyeong.
Originally, wasn't she a ruthless woman with cold blood—one who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals?
But now, emotions she had never shown before were visible in her eyes.
"I will."
Bu Eun-seol swallowed the rising embarrassment in his chest and clasped his hands again.
'I must not waver.'
Gongson Dan-gyeong was a person whose wisdom and composure were in no way inferior to his own.
For all he knew, even this display might have been part of her calculations.
At the Hour of the Dog, just as Gongson Dan-gyeong had said, a visitor arrived at the office.
'It's not Mu-gyeol.'
Naturally, he had expected Mu-gyeol to be sent.
Instead, it was a young martial artist dressed in the uniform of the Wind Earl Hall, an organization that handled all sorts of miscellaneous tasks.
"His Excellency has sent this letter."
But the martial artist's gaze and demeanor were unmistakably not those of a Wind Earl Hall member.
"Hmm."
Unfolding the letter, Bu Eun-seol found a brief message instructing him to come to a small village far from the Martial Alliance as quickly as possible.
"Thank you."
Taking the letter, Bu Eun-seol immediately left the Martial Alliance and headed for the village mentioned.
However, upon arriving at the village outskirts, he found the same Wind Earl Hall martial artist standing motionless, waiting for him.
"Please receive this letter."
When Bu Eun-seol unfolded the letter again, this time it contained the location of a lake even farther away from the village.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol once again deployed his Lightness Skill and headed for the lakeside.
After traveling for quite some time, Bu Eun-seol arrived at the lakeshore only to find another man dressed in Wind Earl Hall attire standing there, holding a letter.
And so, the same sequence repeated several more times.
'Why go through all this trouble?'
After all, with Bu Eun-seol's information network, tracking the Martial Venerable's movements or whereabouts was impossible.
So why resort to such a convoluted method? It served no real purpose.
'Ah, I see.'
But soon, he grasped the Martial Venerable's intention.
Because he had just witnessed the Wind Earl Hall operative—disguised in attire similar to his own—unleashing a Movement Technique.
'He's trying to shake off any tails following me.'
The Martial Venerable wasn't playing a prank on Bu Eun-seol.
If the Martial Alliance—or worse, the Three Realms—were tracking Seon-u Jin's movements, then the Martial Venerable's own actions might be exposed.
This was a precautionary measure to sever any potential pursuers.
Whoosh.
Bu Eun-seol, continuously employing his Lightness Skill, soon left Henan and entered Hubei Province.
Upon arriving at a secluded waterfall deep in the mountains, he spotted yet another young man clad in Wind Earl Hall garb.
'...He wants me to go through the secret passage beneath the Pratyekabuddha Hall?'
As Bu Eun-seol read the letter, he drew a deep breath.
'Chief Strategist Gongson.'
Only now did he realize that even Chief Strategist Gongson was among those keeping tabs on him.
'Of course.'
Gongson Dan-gyeong was within the Martial Alliance.
And perhaps, more than anyone else, she was the one who most desperately wanted to know the Martial Venerable's whereabouts.
Despite having followed his orders for so long, she still had no idea where he was or what he was doing.
If Gongson Dan-gyeong heard that Bu Eun-seol was meeting the Martial Venerable, she would undoubtedly mobilize her intelligence network to track his movements.
No—she must have already done so.
Which was why the Martial Venerable was trying to shake off all tails, including hers.
Whoosh.
Bu Eun-seol returned to the Martial Alliance.
The night had deepened, and the third watch had long since passed.
Immediately entering the western supply warehouse of the Martial Alliance, he headed toward the underground area of the Pratyekabuddha Hall via a secret passage.
'...Nothing here, as expected.'
Unlike before, the passage beneath the Pratyekabuddha Hall no longer contained the stone chamber where the corpse of the True Heaven Emperor had been stored.
Chief Strategist Gongson's claim that she had seen nothing here was no lie.
'So the only way to see the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin was through the Pratyekabuddha Hall's secret passage.'
Previously, Bu Eun-seol had discovered a hidden passage on the first floor of the Pratyekabuddha Hall, allowing him to glimpse the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin containing the True Heaven Emperor's corpse.
But now, entering through the supply warehouse,
not even a trace of the stone chamber remained.
'...Is this the final test?'
The Martial Venerable had clearly stated he would be waiting in the underground mechanism beneath the Pratyekabuddha Hall.
Yet he wasn't in this passage.
Which meant he must be waiting in the stone chamber where the True Heaven Emperor's corpse was kept.
'Sneaking back into the first floor of the Pratyekabuddha Hall is impossible.'
The security of the Pratyekabuddha Hall was beyond imagination, and above all, it was the domain of the terrifying Hidden Forest Pavilion Master, Daoist Mok.
Even Bu Eun-seol couldn't evade Daoist Mok's extrasensory perception and infiltrate unnoticed.
'...It reacted to Harmonization.'
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol remembered.
When he had drawn upon the Power of Harmony to escape the stone chamber,
a new mechanism had opened in response.
'Let's try it.'
Hummm.
Bu Eun-seol summoned every ounce of power within his body.
Just as his flesh threatened to collapse under the strain,
Zzziiing—
the Prajna Great Power finally surged forth, realigning his internal forces.
Clunk.
A hidden door materialized on the opposite wall.
Without hesitation, Bu Eun-seol stepped inside.
'As I thought.'
Before him lay the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade Coffin, radiating an icy aura.
And against the shadowed wall where the coffin stood, the silhouette of a man was visible.
His face remained obscured in darkness, but he wore plain, worn-out gray robes.
"Divine Calculator, is that you?"
Then, from the darkness, a pair of eyes flashed before their owner slowly stepped into the light.
His presence was as sharp as a blade one moment, then as boundless and empty as the vast sky the next.
His gaze shimmered with an eerie glow, and every exposed inch of his skin was covered in spiderweb-like scars.
"For now, I am the Martial Venerable."
The man known as the Foremost Sage of the Murim—the Divine Calculator.
The one who stood in place of Shin Do-mu-bi, the True Heaven Emperor and Number One of the Righteous Path...
The current supreme master of the orthodox factions.
Danmok Gi, the Martial Venerable—reputed as the strongest among the Three Demons and Three Venerables—had finally revealed his true self.
'They say he has engaged in more secret martial duels than anyone else in the world—enough to rival the Pavilion Lord.'
Bu Eun-seol studied the Martial Venerable's appearance intently.
He was much like the Human Demon Ak Mu-ryeong.
From his youth, it was said he had staked his life on countless martial duels.
As if to prove it, there wasn't a single unscathed place on his entire body.
His shoulders and forearms bore unnatural protrusions—bones that had broken and healed improperly without timely treatment.
'But why is he now the Martial Venerable?'
Just then, as if piercing through Bu Eun-seol's inner thoughts, the Martial Venerable murmured softly.
"A wandering sage has no place in a position like this."
Thud-thud. Thud-thud.
His heartbeat raced uncontrollably.
Bu Eun-seol was clearly looking at the Martial Venerable.
Yet his senses were perceiving something entirely different.
He couldn't detect the Martial Venerable's martial prowess at all. Worse, every time he blinked—
It felt as though about a meal's worth of time was slipping past in an instant.
Moreover, the face he had seen earlier had vanished. Now, standing before him was an indistinct figure of unknown origin.
'Is this man on par with the Demonic Heavenly Emperor?'
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor concealed the extraordinary within the ordinary, capable of shaking or shattering one's spirit and mind with a single word.
And at times, from the guise of an unremarkable old man—
He would suddenly exude the overwhelming presence of a Demon God descending upon the world.
But the Martial Venerable was different.
Merely facing him had rendered Bu Eun-seol's five senses and extrasensory perception utterly useless.
What he saw was no longer the Martial Venerable—but an empty world, nature itself.
And after a brief moment... it had transformed into something that defied all definition.
'Will I lose my mind like this?'
Fortunately, Bu Eun-seol had once experienced the martial prowess of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, that Absolute Demonic Lord. To escape the attack that had plunged his spirit and mind into the abyss in an instant—
He had used the Langya Mind's Eye to convert that force into a physical strike, and through the Martial Emperor's Enlightenment, he had endured the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's assault.
And now, to reclaim the senses stolen by the Martial Venerable—
He did the opposite. He deliberately sank his own spirit and mind into the endless abyss, unleashing the principles of the Emotion Severing Secret Art to annihilate all emotion.
Ssssshhh—
Black fog seeped from Bu Eun-seol's entire body.
With his physical senses severed, he activated the Willful True Binding.
And astonishingly, that fog—
Began to replace all the senses he had lost.
The Martial Venerable's face became clear again. He could even perceive the kind of power the man was exerting.
The Heavenly Robe Mind Art.
Now he understood. The Martial Venerable had applied Jeong Cheon-je's Heavenly Robe Mind Art to disrupt all the energy within Bu Eun-seol's body—
Rendering him senseless.
"Hoh."
A soft exclamation escaped the Martial Venerable's lips.
"Unbelievable."
Whoosh.
At the same time, the energy that had blocked Bu Eun-seol's senses began to fade.
The Martial Venerable had withdrawn the Heavenly Robe Mind Art.
"Sado Mu-myeong... wasn't he a heartless man?"
The Martial Venerable's voice carried a tangle of emotions.
"If he truly did not intend to nip it in the bud... how could he have poured such deep affection into you...?"
His voice grew so faint that Bu Eun-seol could no longer make out his words.
As Bu Eun-seol stood dumbfounded, the Martial Venerable spoke in a calm tone.
"If you have something to say, speak. That's why you sought me out, isn't it?"
Bu Eun-seol hesitated.
—Why did you use the Divine Calculator's authority to manipulate certain sects and individuals?
—Did Jeong Cheon-je truly kill my parents?
—They say Jeong Cheon-je is still alive—where is he?
—Your ultimate goal isn't protecting the Righteous Faction, so why are you playing the role of Jeong Cheon-je?
Countless questions flooded his mind, but he couldn't recklessly voice them.
This man had manipulated countless sects and people under the guise of the Foremost Sage of the Murim.
What if he chose to lie or obscure the truth?
The path to answers would only grow longer and more tangled.
"Cautious, aren't you?"
The Martial Venerable nodded slowly, observing Bu Eun-seol's heavy silence.
"At your age, such patience and prudence are rare."
Then, with a gaze that seemed to see through everything, he spoke again.
"If you have nothing to say, then we're done here."
Bu Eun-seol felt an odd sensation.
The image he had held of the Martial Venerable until now—
Was that of a scheming figure who had exploited the Divine Calculator's status to manipulate sect members, a man of extreme selfishness and unfathomable hidden motives.
But now, he exuded an air of transcendence—
Wasn't this the same aura as that of a renowned hero of the martial world?
"If I ask... will you answer?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was calm.
"I no longer have any Gratitude Coins to offer."
"Hohoh."
The Martial Venerable chuckled lowly, as if Bu Eun-seol's words amused him greatly.
"I already told you. I came here in my capacity as the Martial Venerable."
In other words, he had no need for a Gratitude Coin.
"I brought the Ice Crystal Jade. In exchange, I'll answer whatever questions you have."
After a brief pause, he continued in a low voice.
"As the Martial Venerable."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned peculiar.
He'll answer as the Martial Venerable.
Ultimately, that meant he wouldn't answer anything he had learned in his capacity as the Divine Calculator, didn't it?
But Bu Eun-seol had no choice.
"Then shouldn't you properly verify who I am?"
In the current murim, there were many who concealed their identities while infiltrating various factions.
The Martial Venerable had known this for a long time and had been eliminating them.
Naturally, it was only reasonable that he would confirm Bu Eun-seol's identity as well.
"There's no need for verification."
The Martial Venerable shook his head.
"Merely entering this place is proof enough of your identity."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Only those who have set foot into the Martial Extreme Realm can enter this mechanism."
An unfathomably mysterious light flickered once more in his pupils.
"It only responds to Limitless Power."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
He had suppressed the occurrence of Limitless Equal Enlightenment, and the path leading to the Martial Extreme Realm had vanished.
But the power of Harmonization—
In the end, it was closer to the Limitless Power that masters of the Martial Extreme Realm could wield.
'If I could use Harmonization at will...'
Bu Eun-seol forcibly suppressed the excitement rising in his chest.
'I could immediately stand toe-to-toe with the Martial Extreme Realm masters who dominate the world.'
If he could wield Harmonization freely, not by forcibly drawing and aligning power but as naturally as his will dictated—
Wouldn't that be no different from reaching a realm where he could freely contend with Martial Extreme Realm masters?
"But I haven't reached the Martial Extreme Realm."
Even at those words, the Martial Venerable's expression remained unchanged.
"Of course not."
Then, as if peering into the depths of Bu Eun-seol's martial arts, he spoke leisurely.
"But Limitless Equal Enlightenment must have already manifested in you."
'Is this the difference between the Demonic Path and orthodox martial arts?'
The essence of orthodox martial arts lay in a single word: qi.
Unlike the Demonic Path, orthodox practitioners prioritized refining their Internal Energy from the very beginning of their training.
Though the Martial Venerable hadn't scrutinized Bu Eun-seol's martial realm as thoroughly as the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had—
He had sensed the occurrence of Limitless Equal Enlightenment in Bu Eun-seol simply from the energy flowing within his body.
'There's no need to elaborate on my martial realm.'
Bu Eun-seol didn't press further and shifted the topic.
"Why did you give me the identity of Seon-u Jin?"
The questions he had for the Martial Venerable were piled up like a mountain.
But first, he needed to determine whether the man would answer truthfully—and how far he would go in his capacity as the Martial Venerable.
So Bu Eun-seol started with a lighter question.
"I'm a member of the Demonic Path, after all."
"Shouldn't you ask the Divine Calculator that?"
The identity of Seon-u Jin had been given by the Divine Calculator.
Since he was now acting as the Martial Venerable, he couldn't give the answer the Divine Calculator would have given.
"Then let me rephrase."
Bu Eun-seol spoke again.
"Why did you permit a fabricated figure like Seon-u Jin to run rampant through the Martial Alliance?"
By reframing the question, he ensured it was one the Martial Venerable—not the Divine Calculator—could answer.
"Hohoho."
The Martial Venerable laughed with amusement before replying.
"We needed someone who could adapt to any situation with perfect improvisation."
The corners of his lips curled as he twitched an eyebrow.
"That's why, even when the plan changed abruptly, we allowed it."
The way he spoke made it seem as though he and the Divine Calculator were entirely separate individuals.
"So you're saying I was a far more suitable candidate than the original person."
"Correct."
"And you trusted the Divine Calculator's decision to test me with just two gates?"
Once again, Bu Eun-seol reworded his question—
So that it was one the Martial Venerable, not the Divine Calculator, could answer.
"The Divine Calculator deployed those two gates only to confirm that your Spirit and Mind had entered the Middle Path. It had nothing to do with trust."
As he continued, the Martial Venerable's gaze sharpened.
"He was merely verifying something else."
"The Heavenly Darkness Star?"
"You knew?"
The Martial Venerable's eyes narrowed.
From that single remark, he had inferred much.
"You've met Dam-jeung."
'I can't admit to that.'
Dam-jeung had said that Jeong Cheon-je was still alive.
If so, the Martial Venerable was hiding something.
He couldn't acknowledge having met Dam-jeung now.
"A man called the Heavenly Venerable told me."
Bu Eun-seol spoke firmly.
"That I am the Heavenly Darkness Star."
"The Heavenly Venerable... you say."
A mysterious light flickered in the Martial Venerable's eyes.
"How strange. If that's true, then the Heavenly Venerable must have witnessed you display power worthy of such suspicion."
His gaze swept over Bu Eun-seol before he murmured in a low voice.
"Did he push your Spirit and Mind into the Abyss—and did you escape it?"
Bu Eun-seol felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Only now did he realize—
He couldn't afford to utter even a single careless word in front of the Martial Venerable.
If the Demonic Heavenly Emperor could destroy an enemy's Spirit and Mind without a single word...
Then the Martial Venerable could deduce hundreds of truths from a single sentence.
His shadow was that of the Foremost Sage of the Murim.
Bu Eun-seol absolutely could not afford to misspeak.