Chapter 791
Swish.
Fist Adept wiped away the bead of blood at the corner of his mouth, unable to conceal his shocked expression.
To think that a single, haphazardly thrown fist could contain such dense internal energy?
"Hahaha."
But then, as if realizing something, he nodded slowly.
"So you were a spy. Last time, you fought the Lord of Heaven while suppressing your true martial arts, is that it?"
As if to prove his words, a shockwave of black true qi erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body, soaring to the very ends of the sky.
He had pushed the Willful True Binding to its absolute limit.
"Good. Let's see you show your true—"
His words were cut short once again.
Because Bu Eun-seol had already—before anyone could notice—forged a massive blade dozens of feet high and brought it crashing down on Fist Adept's skull.
BOOM.
Fist Adept blocked the colossal blade of true qi with a single hand.
But the force behind it was so overwhelming that his legs sank a full foot deep into the ground.
"You... What is your connection to the Demonic Heavenly Emperor?"
Fist Adept had immediately discerned that the martial arts Bu Eun-seol was employing belonged to the Emotion Severing Secret Art of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
"Don't tell me you're his disciple?"
"How long do you plan to keep yapping?"
Bu Eun-seol's voice was icy.
"Didn't you hear? Only one of us leaves this place alive."
"You truly believe you can defeat the Lord of Heaven?"
"How amusing."
A scornful light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's crimson, burning eyes.
"Are you telling me the Incheon bastards have always fought only after calculating the odds?"
"Heh heh heh heh."
Fist Adept could feel it.
That madness was real.
This lunatic wasn't even considering the possibility of victory.
He was simply throwing everything he had into this fight with reckless abandon.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Fist Adept burst into mad laughter.
"I can't even remember the last time I received a challenge like this!"
The leaders of Incheon had long since reached martial prowess comparable to the Martial Extreme Realm, and orthodox martial arts held no interest for them.
Yet here was this greenhorn, daring to challenge him to a life-and-death duel?
"There's a reward in returning to the Murim after all."
Fist Adept raised his thumb.
"Your spirit is impressive! Very impressive!"
Grinning widely, he nodded approvingly.
"Truly, the longer you live, the more you see!"
Snap!
Fist Adept casually threw a single fist.
And suddenly, the sky began to darken.
Bu Eun-seol looked up.
Before he knew it, a rain of pitch-black fist energy, enough to drown the entire world, was pouring down.
"Do your best to entertain the Lord of Heaven to the very end!"
KWA-BOOOOOM!
As a dazzling light exploded, hundreds of sword qi rained down upon Bu Eun-seol's head.
Flash!
Drawing Ink Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol began madly slashing through the torrent of fist energy with the principles of Half Up Half Down and the Move Heaven Exchange Force.
CLANG! CRASH! BANG!
When fist energy and sword qi capable of shattering mountains collided, the deafening screech of metal tore through the heavens and earth.
But the difference in power quickly became apparent.
Fist Adept's fist techniques had reached the realm of Transcendent Mastery, meaning Bu Eun-seol needed to unleash ten strands of sword qi just to neutralize a single wave of fist energy.
Hiss! CRACK!
Bu Eun-seol spun Ink Soul Sword at blinding speed once more before unleashing an explosive burst of light.
As the fist energy continued to pour down like an unrelenting storm, he executed the Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens—a variation of the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style—that unleashed hundreds of sword strokes in a single move.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens was originally a technique meant to overwhelm a single opponent with countless sword qi, sealing their power and escape routes.
Its drawback was that its individual strikes were somewhat weaker.
But against Fist Adept's indiscriminate barrage of fist energy, it became an excellent sword form for defense.
"Hmph."
Fist Adept watched Bu Eun-seol's explosive sword form before curling his lips.
"Cheol Mu-heun's Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style."
The former Martial Alliance Leader, Cheol Mu-heun, had taken the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style—passed down through generations of the Martial Alliance—and refined it into his own unique sword art, spreading its fame throughout Murim.
A chill ran down Bu Eun-seol's spine.
'He fought the former Alliance Leader too?'
From Fist Adept's tone, it sounded like he had fought the former leader in his prime.
If so, then Fist Adept had to be at least a hundred years old.
If Incheon possessed such strength...
Just how powerful were the Four Divine Heavens and the Three Attendants?
And the Baekri Clan—
That great house said to have protected the world from the True Demon and its familiars—
Just how formidable was their might?
BAM! BAM! BAM!
All the while, sword qi and fist energy continued to clash relentlessly.
As Bu Eun-seol used the Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens to block the endless rain of fist energy, Fist Adept's expression twisted with interest.
As if testing just how long he could endure against this relentless barrage of fist energy.
Tzzzt! Kwa-rrrrum!
Bu Eun-seol's sword qi gradually began to yield under the Fist Adept's overwhelming force.
The Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens technique was a sword form that scattered countless sword qi in an instant before converging them into a single point.
But if the qi was spread too thinly like this, its power would be greatly diluted.
'Fine.'
As the Fist Adept continued pouring out fist energy, as though trying to crush him outright, Bu Eun-seol only grew more stubborn.
'Might as well use this chance to practice the Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens technique.'
Tzzzt! Shwaaaak!
The Ink Soul Sword began slicing through the air at blinding speed.
When it came to refining martial arts in actual combat and grasping their underlying principles, Bu Eun-seol had reached a level that could be called the pinnacle of the martial world.
Even if it was just a half-formed sword stroke.
The greatest advantage of the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan technique was its ability to create infinite variations.
'That old man isn't stronger than me because his internal power is superior—it's because he doesn't waste a single drop of energy when unleashing his fist techniques.'
The Fist Adept was truly a grandmaster of fist arts. Even as he unleashed hundreds of fist strikes,
not a single wisp of internal power was wasted, every ounce of true qi perfectly distributed with each movement.
'Flawless allocation.'
The moment Bu Eun-seol grasped the profound essence of the Fist Adept's techniques, he immediately applied it to his Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens form,
refining his own true qi distribution with even greater precision.
And just like that, his sword qi—which had been steadily pushed back—began to hold its ground against the Fist Adept's onslaught.
Kwoong.
Suddenly, the Fist Adept ceased his indiscriminate assault.
He had realized Bu Eun-seol was mimicking the principles of his martial arts.
"Langya Pavilion."
The Fist Adept nodded slowly, as if finally understanding.
"So it was you after all. Heh heh heh."
Bursting into loud laughter, he pointed at Bu Eun-seol's face.
"The so-called Heir of the Demon Hall was playing spy for the Martial Alliance."
Whether the Fist Adept had uncovered his identity or not, Bu Eun-seol didn't care. He simply unleashed his sword technique once more.
"Haaap!"
A battle cry—something he had never used before—exploded from his lips.
Lately, under the guise of Seon-u Jin, he had clashed with multiple superlative martial experts, never once revealing his full strength.
But today was different.
Facing a legend who had once fought the greatest warriors of the previous martial generation,
Bu Eun-seol threw all caution to the wind, resolved to fight to the death.
He could not forgive the Fist Adept for threatening his subordinates' lives.
If left unchecked, this man would always remain a threat to them.
After today,
either the young grandmaster of the demonic path, the Martial Soul Lord, would vanish from the martial world—
or one of the Servants of the True Demon would disappear forever.
'Whether he dies or I die, this ends here.'
As Bu Eun-seol unleashed his full power against this superlative opponent,
it felt as though the stagnant True Martial Scripture within him had suddenly broken through another barrier.
Swish! Flash!
The Formless Heavenly Flow technique unfolded, followed immediately by another wave of Heavenly Immortal Beyond the Heavens.
His left hand unleashed the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon, infused with both Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang energies,
while his entire body cycled between the Willful True Binding and the Thirteenfold Qi Induction.
"You brat."
The Fist Adept, forced to block every attack, was nearly driven to madness.
He was a man who had reached the absolute peak of fist arts, well-versed in countless martial techniques scattered across the martial world.
But never—not even in jest—had he heard of someone as young as Bu Eun-seol
wielding such an absurd variety of martial arts.
Not to mention simultaneously executing techniques imbued with the deepest secrets of both orthodox and unorthodox paths—
forces that should never coexist—
alongside Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang Qi!
"Just what did Langya Pavilion teach you?"
By all martial logic, harboring such opposing energies within one's body
should have left him a cripple—or worse, torn him apart.
Yet this young man only grew stronger as the battle raged on.
'What the hell is this?'
Moreover, the longer they clashed, the more the Fist Adept's insides twisted from the immense internal energy collisions.
'This bastard has mastered some bizarre poison art.'
Though he couldn't even remember when he had attained his Myriad-Poison-Immunity Body,
a strange toxin kept seeping through his skin, gnawing away at his internal energy.
'Why isn't he using it deliberately?'
The terrifying poison qi that occasionally rose from Bu Eun-seol was potent enough to unsettle even him.
If wielded properly, it could turn the tide of battle.
Yet the young man showed no intention of exploiting it, releasing only faint traces of poison qi when channeling his most powerful internal energy.
'He obtained a fortuitous encounter, but hasn't learned to control it yet.'
Instantly deducing Bu Eun-seol's condition, the Fist Adept allowed himself a faint smirk.
This young man hadn't been spouting empty boasts after all—he truly possessed the skill to fight on equal footing with him.
"Shall we stop playing around now?"
Kwoong.
As the Fist Adept roared like thunder, he thrust both hands forward.
Kwoong.
With a sound as if the entire world were collapsing, Bu Eun-seol was sent flying dozens of yards away.
He had finally unleashed his Limitless Power.
Chiii—
White smoke rose from Bu Eun-seol's body as he was embedded into the rock.
"Hardening Force, was it?"
A thread-like smile curled at the corner of the Fist Adept's lips.
"Once that power latches on, there's no shaking it off."
The Fist Adept's Limitless Power.
Under the effect of Hardening Force, Bu Eun-seol's body was being completely shattered.
"No matter what martial arts you've learned, it doesn't matter."
The Fist Adept glanced down at his own fist, radiating a blazing brilliance.
"Once exposed to Hardening Force, your body will inevitably crumble."
Then, he turned away.
Bu Eun-seol would have drawn his last breath by now—naturally, the Boundary Formation should have collapsed.
But something was strange.
Even after a long moment had passed, the formation surrounding them remained intact.
"Did you think there was no one in this world who could oppose you?"
Bu Eun-seol, still collapsed with his head bowed, muttered in a low voice.
"Did you truly believe yourself invincible, that no one in Murim could stand against you?"
The Fist Adept whirled around, his eyes widening.
Bu Eun-seol was rising to his feet—completely unharmed.
"Your body wasn't shattered?"
Once exposed to Hardening Force, no matter how high one's Internal Power was, no matter what martial arts were used to defend—it was meaningless.
The body would be instantly destroyed, reduced to death.
Yet the white smoke that had been rising from Bu Eun-seol's body was gradually fading, replaced now by a five-colored radiance.
"What did you do?"
"Harmonization," Bu Eun-seol replied calmly.
"The name of the secret that aligns all forces into perfect order."
The moment the Fist Adept unleashed Hardening Force, Bu Eun-seol had immediately wrapped his entire body in Harmonization.
"You blocked Limitless Power without even reaching the Martial Extreme Realm?"
The Fist Adept's eyes bulged in disbelief.
In the current martial world, there were clear stages of progression.
Martial artists climbed step by step, striving to reach their desired Realm.
But this young man before him—
He was completely disregarding those stages, ascending as he pleased.
At first, he had assumed Bu Eun-seol had naturally reached the Extreme Heaven Realm by extending time.
Yet now, he was displaying a bizarre martial art capable of opposing the transcendent destructive force of Limitless Power.
Just what was this ability, this Realm, supposed to be called?
"There is no Realm."
Chak.
Bu Eun-seol abruptly sheathed the Ink Soul Sword into its scabbard.
"While you all were strutting about atop the Martial Extreme Realm, the martial artists of Murim never rested a single day in their training..."
Hwiiing—
At the same time, his fists began to emit a light as brilliant as the solar radiance.
"Murim's martial arts have continued to evolve, ever more dazzlingly."
Ptui.
Spitting out the blood pooled in his mouth, Bu Eun-seol assumed a stance for Fist Techniques.
"Now, let's have a proper fistfight."
Because the Prajna Great Power had merged with him—
Bu Eun-seol could not only rapidly emit Harmonization, but the duration he could maintain it had also lengthened.
'A quarter-hour.'
Within the span of a quarter of an hour—
Bu Eun-seol intended to keep Harmonization wrapped around his body and bring down the terrifying Fist Adept with his fists.
'To others, it may be a brief moment—but to me, it's a full quarter hour.'
Until now, Bu Eun-seol had only been able to emit Harmonization for extremely short bursts.
Even when he could maintain it, the duration was still pitifully brief.
But now, he could sustain it for a full quarter of an hour.
From his perspective, that was more than enough time to settle things with the Fist Adept.
"You talk too much!"
Kwawoong!
The Fist Adept unleashed Hardening Force in rapid succession.
It was an absolute force—neither visible nor blockable.
Chiik—
Yet every time that power touched Bu Eun-seol's body, it vanished in an instant.
Harmonization.
Originally, it was a term that signified the Natural Order of martial arts, capable of perfectly aligning even countless conflicting techniques.
But for Bu Eun-seol, it had become a martial technique—one that could oppose Limitless Power.
Without ascending to the Martial Extreme Realm.
Because in the end, he still had to face a Master of that realm.
Kwaang! Kwaang!
Bu Eun-seol's Harmonization possessed a mysterious Internal Power.
Though it was a martial principle and technique—
Against Limitless Power, which completely transcended even the Natural Order of martial arts, it displayed overwhelming might without yielding an inch.
This was only possible because of the mystical martial principle of Harmonization—and the fusion of the disparate forces within his body into one.
CRACKLE—
The Fist Adept unleashed his Hardening Force, annihilating everything around him with ruthless precision.
Yet, Bu Eun-seol's body, wrapped in Harmonization, remained untouched—not a single hair disturbed.
"Is this all the so-called Limitless Power amounts to?"
Bu Eun-seol, shrouded in Harmonization, charged at the Fist Adept.
WHOOSH.
Hundreds of fist shadows erupted around his rushing form.
Ever since their first clash, Bu Eun-seol had kept the fist shadows coiled around his body.
Now, he unleashed them—an endless torrent of fist energy against his enemy.
the No-Beginning, No-End Form
"You bastard!"
The Fist Adept, pride wounded, met him with the same opening move.
"Let's see how long you last!"
The Fist Adept's fist shadows outnumbered Bu Eun-seol's, their might far greater.
But before long, the number of fist shadows pouring from both sides began to even out.
In the midst of battle, Bu Eun-seol grasped the essence of the No-Beginning, No-End Form—
"Not Wasting a Drop" —the principle of precise energy distribution.
"Use Nothing in Vain" —the principle of conserving power without waste.
He fused these principles, embodying the same martial logic as the Fist Adept's technique.
BOOM! CRASH!
When the two supreme Masters collided head-on, the heavens dimmed, and the earth crumbled.
Fist techniques were not merely about striking with one's hands.
They were the pinnacle of martial expression—using the body's most refined and powerful parts to reach the highest realm of martial arts.
Bu Eun-seol, mimicking the Fist Adept's techniques, manifested a style as boundless as the cosmos, as fluid as water—natural yet devastating.
"You're copying the subtleties of Heaven's Fist Techniques on the spot?"
The Fist Adept's face twisted in disbelief.
The Fist Demon's Seven Forms consisted of seven stages. To lift the Restrictive Seal, he had deliberately left the first four forms scattered in the Murim world.
He had assumed Bu Eun-seol had learned those four forms.
But the techniques he was using now—
Even if one mastered those four forms to the level of Transcendent Mastery, they should be impossible to replicate.
These were techniques from another dimension—fist arts that had reached the absolute apex of martial learning.
So how was this monstrous brat copying their essence instantly?
"Fine. I'll show you that there are heavens beyond the heavens!"
BAM! BAM!
In that instant, countless overlapping fist principles converged, hammering relentlessly into Bu Eun-seol's face.
Yet he did not dodge.
He countered with the Fist Demon's Seven Forms—
No, by now, he had even forgotten the Fist Demon's Seven Forms.
What Bu Eun-seol unleashed now was the culmination of every martial principle he had ever grasped—
A desperate, brutal struggle to withstand the Fist Adept's overwhelming fist techniques, which had reached unfathomable heights.
CRASH! THUD!
Bu Eun-seol's body was sent flying again and again. He lost count of how many times he spat out blood like arrows.
But even as he was battered beyond recognition, even as he suffered internal injuries so severe he shouldn't have been able to stand—
His chest burned, swelling with something indescribable.
—So this is what a real fight is like.
Toppling mountains, reversing rivers—
Exchanging inhuman blows—what kind of fight was that?
This—where blood flowed, flesh split, and the enemy's breath brushed against his skin—
Where life clashed against life at point-blank range—
This was a true fight.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
With deafening explosions, the fists of the two Masters collided again and again.
In the time it took to draw a single breath, they had already exchanged over a hundred exchanges.
The Fist Adept poured everything into his attacks.
Bu Eun-seol poured everything into his defense.
Though Bu Eun-seol was the one taking the hits, it was the Fist Adept's expression that twisted further.
He could feel it—Bu Eun-seol was still mimicking the subtleties of his fist techniques.
"You—!"
With a furious roar, the Fist Adept unleashed a strike Bu Eun-seol couldn't block.
BAM!
Another explosion, another crash as Bu Eun-seol was sent flying.
"Pah."
But as if he hadn't just been knocked down, he spat out a mouthful of blood and charged again.
The Fist Adept's face contorted.
How long had it been since he'd last fought in such a messy, desperate brawl?
Ever since mastering the Hardening Force, he had been like a god of destruction—capable of annihilating anything.
Yet now, he couldn't even put down this brat. He had to keep moving, his body aching, his breath ragged.
"Hahaha!"
The Fist Adept burst into laughter.
He had to laugh. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to endure this absurd situation.
"Exhilarating. Truly exhilarating. I can't remember the last time I fought like this."
He laughed heartily, feigning composure—but his eyes held no trace of leisure.
He had fought against the supreme martial experts of the Martial World, always standing as their equal.
And now here he was, drenched in sweat, locked in combat with some greenhorn?
This humiliation was unbearable.
"Got time to flap your gums?"
CRACK!THUD-THUD-THUD!
Bu Eun-seol paid no heed to the Fist Adept's chatter and unleashed another forty strikes. Some were heavy, some light, some unpredictably fluid—each one swift and elusive.
"Hmph."
The Fist Adept countered with his own fist technique.
The exchange continued relentlessly, Bu Eun-seol taking blow after blow yet rising again like a stubborn roly-poly doll.
The Hardening Force could shatter anything.
But not only had Bu Eun-seol's internal energy reached the level of ten cycles—
His body was also wrapped in that bizarre power, Harmonization, making it impossible to destroy.
"Grrr..."
With each passing moment, the Fist Adept's frustration grew unbearable.
"Fine! Since you love fist techniques so much, I'll crush you with them!"
The Fist Adept's body swelled to nearly twice its size in an instant, veins bulging across his skin.
To engage in a battle of pure physical might—
For the first time since entering the Rivers and Lakes, he drew out his full strength.
BOOM!
The Fist Adept's fists began spinning violently.
At the same time, a fist technique so profound that even calling it "mystical" felt insufficient poured down upon Bu Eun-seol.
This was the original form—
The fist technique of the Fist Adept Heaven unfolding before him.
'So this is the fist art of the Fist Adept Heaven...'
Bu Eun-seol stared blankly at the explosive display of the Fist Adept's technique before—
WHOOSH!
—instantly conjuring hundreds of fist shadows in response.
He was replicating the Fist Adept's movements in real time.
CRACK!
With a thunderous roar, all of Bu Eun-seol's fist shadows shattered.
The technique being unleashed now didn't just encompass every variation of fist techniques from all sects under heaven—
Its purpose wasn't merely to defeat the enemy.
It focused on intercepting the opponent's attacks and disrupting the very principles of their martial arts midway through their execution.
'A unique fist technique.'
As Bu Eun-seol observed the onslaught, an expression of ecstasy flickered across his face.
All martial arts under heaven were created to defeat enemies.
Thus, they were composed of swift, efficient movements.
But the fist art of the Fist Adept now raining down upon him—
It thwarted the enemy's attacks, severed their flow midway through their execution, and—
Using the resulting counterforce—struck not just the opponent's body but their very mental power.
It embodied a martial principle never before seen in the Martial World.
'Are hands not the most delicate weapons in the world?'
There was one reason fist techniques could be far more profound than any other martial art:
They utilized the most precise weapons under heaven—human hands.
The reason the Fist Adept could unleash techniques in perfect sync with his movements—
The reason he could effortlessly adapt to any martial variation, moving faster and more precisely than any weapon—
Was because he wielded two hands.
'Exquisite and unfathomable.'
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol began mimicking the Fist Adept's technique again.
But unlike before, it wasn't so easily replicated.
Even his attempts were blocked midway through the move, inflicting severe internal injuries.
An ordinary martial artist would have been crushed by despair at this point—but Bu Eun-seol was different.
'The natural order of the world ends only to begin anew.'
The principle behind Langya Pavilion's martial arts—learning an opponent's techniques mid-battle—
Was rooted in the concept of endings birthing new beginnings.
It was built upon the profound truth of nature's perpetuity and cyclicality: "Ever-present, never exhausted."
Thus, when the Fist Adept repeatedly severed Bu Eun-seol's martial forms mid-execution—
Bu Eun-seol instead attained a great realization and began merging Langya Pavilion's martial principles with the Fist Adept's.
'Rather than injuring the enemy by disrupting their flow, wouldn't it be more perfect to chain counterattacks from that disruption?'
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol grasped the essence of the Fist Adept's technique—cutting off an opponent's martial flow midway through the move to counterattack.
'Deflecting Flow Eternal Return.'
He named this fist technique Deflecting Flow Eternal Return.
"Guh—!"
But in that same moment, every one of Bu Eun-seol's attacks was intercepted by the Fist Adept, the backlash inflicting yet another grievous internal injury as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Fist Adept seized the opportunity, crossing his arms.
"Now die!"
With a roar that shook heaven and earth, a brilliant white comet streaked across the Milky Way—
—and crashed straight into Bu Eun-seol's face.
This was a fist technique surpassing all others under heaven.
'Discard the old... and spread the new.'
The Fist Adept's ultimate art.
The technique now unfolding before him—
Was showing Bu Eun-seol a world beyond anything he had ever imagined. A complete, new world.
The obsessions, ignorance, and desires buried in his heart.
The rigid doctrines of martial secrets passed down through generations.
'To empty and sever all of that... in the end, one must discard the old and spread the new.'
Bu Eun-seol named the enlightenment he gained from the Fist Adept's supreme fist art—
Discard the Old and Spread the New.
The Seven Forms of the Fist Demon.
At last, Bu Eun-seol—
Had fully obtained—
The Last Three Styles of the supreme fist art of the Martial World.