Chapter 801
"You bastard!"
Yong Hoe immediately unleashed a swirling torrent of Wind & Cloud Divine Qi toward Bu Eun-seol.
It was an attack that devoured everything in all directions—impossible to evade.
Crash!
Bu Eun-seol swiftly swung the Ink Soul Sword to deploy a defensive stance, but his insufficient internal energy prevented the Sword Curtain from manifesting.
In the end, the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi slipped through the gaps in his Sword Strokes, carving bloody lines across his body.
Splat! Splat!
Bu Eun-seol moved rapidly, while Yong Hoe remained rooted in place, continuously pouring out Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
Yet, despite his leisurely attacks, Yong Hoe's expression gradually hardened.
At every critical moment, Bu Eun-seol's figure would blur, allowing him to evade the divine energy.
"What a bizarre technique you're using, you insect."
Wind & Cloud Divine Qi was an intangible force that defied physical resistance, moving at imperceptible speeds.
Not only that, but it could also predict an opponent's movements through the wind, making evasion nearly impossible.
And yet, Bu Eun-seol was somehow dodging and blocking it with nothing but a single sword.
Infuriated, Yong Hoe concealed lethally sharp attacks within a storm-like gale, stabbing and slashing at Bu Eun-seol dozens of times.
But the strikes failed to pierce his body, merely tearing his skin before dissipating.
'Is this bastard a ghost?'
As Bu Eun-seol stubbornly endured with his uncanny techniques, Yong Hoe's eyes flashed.
"Let's see you withstand this!"
Whoosh.
Yong Hoe floated about thirty feet into the air—
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
—and hundreds of wind blades began raining down on Bu Eun-seol like a storm.
He was bombarding him with Wind & Cloud Divine Qi like hidden weapons, ensuring Bu Eun-seol couldn't even attempt a counterattack.
'Wind & Cloud Divine Qi...'
Even as he resisted the onslaught, Bu Eun-seol felt something peculiar.
Yong Hoe's Wind & Cloud Divine Qi was... wrong.
He couldn't explain why, but—
He instinctively sensed that Yong Hoe wasn't wielding the true form of this divine energy.
'It's as if he can't merge it with his Original True Qi.'
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Despite being lost in thought,
Bu Eun-seol could still evade Yong Hoe's attacks with ease.
The incoming divine energy actually sharpened his nerves, compensating for the lost senses of the Way of the Beast.
"You bastard!"
Perhaps out of sheer frustration,
Yong Hoe descended back to the ground, swinging his sword wildly as he unleashed another torrent of divine energy.
The overwhelming power of the Wind God disrupted Bu Eun-seol's movements, forcing him in the direction Yong Hoe desired.
Not only that, but Yong Hoe vanished into the wind, reappearing in blind spots to unleash devastating strikes.
Yet, at every decisive moment, Bu Eun-seol slipped out of the divine energy's range of influence.
In fact, wasn't he even using the very force of the attacks to aid his evasion?
'This bastard is completely unpredictable.'
Only now did Yong Hoe understand why the high command of the Three Realms had praised Bu Eun-seol so highly—
And why they feared him so much.
Because even in the midst of battle, he grew stronger, wielding techniques and abilities that defied all expectations.
"You're impressive, I'll give you that."
Yong Hoe's eyes flashed as he clenched his fist.
"But that won't be enough!"
No matter how much he dodged, it was pointless.
If he destroyed the very space he could evade into, that would be the end.
With a sharp whistle, an enormous gale gathered above Yong Hoe's head.
It was as if the Wind God had seized control of every gust of wind in the world, condensing it into a force capable of annihilating everything.
Rooooar!
Before anyone realized it, the wind had taken the form of a colossal White Dragon and White Tiger.
He was unleashing the full might of Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, intending to erase the very space Bu Eun-seol occupied in an instant.
"Perish!"
The Wind God's power knew no bounds of distance.
The moment Yong Hoe roared like thunder, a devastating wave of wind instantly swallowed Bu Eun-seol whole.
Kwaaaaah!
Unpredictable and infused with the might of nature itself, the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi transformed into millions of wind blades, tearing apart the earth and reducing even the grand martial platform to dust.
As the gale, powerful enough to sweep away the entire world, slowly expanded in all directions—
Whoosh.
—the wind dissipated, leaving behind nothing but an empty plain where the martial platform once stood.
At that moment, Hyeok So-jin and Jegal Seo-un's eyes widened in shock.
Because even Bu Eun-seol had vanished without a trace.
"Brother Bu!"
"Hahahaha!"
As Bu Eun-seol completely disappeared, Yong Hoe burst into uproarious laughter.
"Reduced to nothing but dust, I see."
The corners of Jegal Seo-un's eyes, who had been watching the battle with an expressionless face, twitched faintly.
There was no doubt—the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi Yong Hoe had just unleashed possessed power that transcended the boundaries of martial arts.
The Four Divine Energies.
This mystical force passed down through generations in the murim was such that merely possessing it elevated one's martial prowess beyond even the Extreme Heaven Realm.
"Huuu..."
Yong Hoe, his face wreathed in smiles, turned his head to gaze coldly at Hyeok So-jin and Jegal Seo-un as he spoke.
"I'll sweep you both away in one go."
Murmur murmur.
But something was strange.
Why were all the disciples of the Wind God Palace in the distance gaping at the sky with their mouths hanging open?
"What? What are you looking at?"
When Yong Hoe followed their gaze and raised his head—
"...!"
He too found himself unable to close his mouth, his eyes widening in shock.
Before he knew it, Bu Eun-seol was floating hundreds of feet high in the sky, looking down at him.
Bu Eun-seol, suspended in midair,
stared blankly downward with a dazed expression.
'What is this?'
What was enveloping his body—
Wasn't it the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi that Yong Hoe had unleashed?
'Why is the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi on me?'
In that instant, flashing through Bu Eun-seol's mind were
the forms of wind carved into the passageway of the Wind God's Path, along with their whispered secrets.
"The Wind & Cloud Divine Qi takes the perfect form of nature, making it undetectable to anyone..."
Whoosh.
The moment he unconsciously murmured the scripture absorbed into his subconscious, Bu Eun-seol's figure instantly turned transparent.
"...and allows any force to pass through it unhindered..."
Kwawooo.
The winds of the divine energy wrapped around his body swept past him in an instant, vanishing into the distant sky.
"...becoming a blade that can sever the principles of all creation."
Bu Eun-seol lightly traced a line downward with one hand.
Shiiing!
A single streak split the heavens and earth, cleaving the ground in two.
Grrrrumble!
The bisected earth, as though sliced by a blade, stopped precisely at the tips of Yong Hoe's toes.
"So that's it."
Bu Eun-seol finally understood why the path filled with accumulated poison was named the Wind God's Path—
why mysterious winds had blown through it.
That place was none other than a secret ground
where one could receive the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, transform their body into the Wind Spirit Constitution, and become the next Wind God.
'To wield the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi requires vast internal energy.'
Just now, by unleashing a single sword wind that split the earth, Bu Eun-seol had instantly exhausted the sixty years of internal energy remaining in his body.
To freely employ such techniques, one must reach a realm where their internal energy is limitless and inexhaustible.
But since the Internal Energy Method and elixirs alone have limits in amplifying one's energy,
the previous Wind Gods had ultimately resorted to using the secret of drawing immense power from poison.
'I want to come back down now...'
Bu Eun-seol stared awkwardly at his floating body.
Though he had obtained the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi through the Wind God's Path,
the scriptures on how to wield it
had been imprinted into his subconscious while passing through the gate of the path,
making it impossible to use at will just because he desired it.
"How dare you—!"
At that moment, Yong Hoe spread the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi around his body.
Goooooo!
A deafening roar shook heaven and earth as a razor-sharp gust coiled around Bu Eun-seol.
'Ah, so that's how it's done.'
Watching Yong Hoe's movements, Bu Eun-seol instantly grasped the method of wielding the divine energy.
'It's not about controlling the energy within the body—it's through the winds outside.'
Whoosh.
As he descended back to the ground, a mysterious wind blew around him.
He was now cloaked in the very Wind & Cloud Divine Qi Yong Hoe had unleashed moments ago.
"How did you—!"
Realizing Bu Eun-seol had obtained the divine energy, Yong Hoe shouted at Elder Hyang.
"What is the meaning of this? Why has that bastard been imbued with the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi?!"
Elder Hyang, equally baffled, waved her hands in denial.
"Our palace's secret technique has never once been exposed to outsiders!"
"Lies! So his participation in the Groom Selection Tournament was all part of this scheme?!"
Yong Hoe mistakenly believed Elder Hyang had deliberately summoned Bu Eun-seol to ruin their plans.
"The Wind God's Path."
Then Bu Eun-seol spoke.
"The death trap you thought you were pushing me into—that was precisely where one obtains the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi."
"What nonsense—"
"As a disciple of the Wind God Palace, shouldn't you know this?"
Yong Hoe glared at Elder Hyang and demanded,
"Is this true?"
"There are such legends, but over a hundred years ago—"
"Even better."
Clenching his teeth, Yong Hoe seemed to reach a decision.
"If that place holds the secret to obtaining the divine energy, then I've just accomplished the greatest achievement in this realm."
"That won't happen."
Bu Eun-seol stated flatly.
"Because you're going to die here."
Whooosh.
Simultaneously, Bu Eun-seol recalled one of the scriptures inscribed along the Wind God's Path.
Bu Eun-seol employed the profound principles of Gathering Wind and Purifying Qi and Wind Gathering and Purification.
Zzzzt—crackle.
In an instant, the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi within Yong Hoe's body began rapidly absorbing into Bu Eun-seol.
Yong Hoe had only obtained the divine energy through the Sun-Moon Harmony—he had never truly attained the Wind God's physical form.
But Bu Eun-seol, having traversed the Wind God's Path, had surpassed even the Wind Spirit Constitution.
He had become the Wind God itself—a being capable of commanding the wind without the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
Thus, the divine energy naturally began returning to its original master.
Fwoosh! KWA—AAAH!
In that moment, veins burst from Bu Eun-seol's body as a pure white energy shot into the distant sky.
And as the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi finally settled within him... the Hardening Force that had been gnawing at his body all this time instantly dissipated.
Crk—
Simultaneously, his senses and internal energy began to recover.
With a faint zzzt, his skin split slightly, and a radiant white light spilled forth.
Reaching the Martial Extreme Realm was said to grant one the Heavenly Law Golden Body.
But Bu Eun-seol's transformation was unlike anything previously recorded—or even named—in the martial world.
As the Three Divine Powers harmonized within him, his body metamorphosed into something entirely new.
KWAOONG. KWA-UUUNG.
When Bu Eun-seol extended a single finger, an eerie Sound of Breaking Air reverberated, chilling to the bone.
Sssshhk—CHIIIIK!
A metallic screech, like steel being torn apart, echoed—
KABOOM!
—followed by a hurricane-force gale that blew behind Yong Hoe and Elder Hyang.
BOOM. KU-WOONG. KU-WOONG.
Simultaneously, the deafening crashes of massive trees collapsing resounded one after another.
When Yong Hoe turned to look—
Every single elite soldier of the Three Realms, standing in formation, had been decapitated, their bodies slumped in pools of blood.
This wasn't the result of the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi sweeping them away in a single blow.
No—Bu Eun-seol had individually manifested razor-sharp blades of wind beneath each masked assassin's feet, severing their necks in perfect unison.
Thud-thud.
As bones cracked, Yong Hoe's head whipped around, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
The masked operatives he had brought were no ordinary fighters—their bodies had been reforged through a Great Art, granting them diamond-like durability.
Yet in a single move, all of them had been beheaded? How was such a thing even possible?
Gulp.
Yong Hoe swallowed dryly.
As a Heartless Shadow of the Unity Faction, he had carried out countless missions and assassinated numerous martial masters.
But he could say with absolute certainty—no one in the martial world could unleash wind with such devastating precision.
"Elder Hyang!"
Yong Hoe suddenly shouted, as if struck by realization.
"Call the disciples!"
Though the Wind God Palace's influence had waned since the Wind God's disappearance, it was still a major sect—its numbers three to four times that of any prominent Central Plains faction.
Pointing at Bu Eun-seol, he bellowed:
"Kill him—NOW!"
No matter what, Yong Hoe was now the Grand Duke of the Wind God Palace, betrothed to the Young Palace Lord.
If Bu Eun-seol tried to kill him?
He had to stop him, even if it cost him his own life.
'There's no other choice.'
Elder Hyang bit her lip and roared:
"Disciples of the palace—LISTEN WELL!"
Then, jabbing a finger at Bu Eun-seol, she declared:
"That man has STOLEN the Grand Duke's power! Execute him WITHOUT MERCY!"
At her command, white-clad figures surged from the distant sky as disciples of the Wind God Palace swarmed in, surrounding Bu Eun-seol.
Once the order was given, they had no choice but to fight to the death.
And so, because of Yong Hoe and Elder Hyang's treachery, Bu Eun-seol now had to cut down innocent disciples of the very sect he once belonged to.
"HAAAP!"
Just as the disciples bravely lunged at him—
CLANG!
The mechanisms of the Grand Martial Training Ground abruptly activated once more.
KWA-UUUUNG!
A colossal gust of wind erupted, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.
At the same time, a spherical force spun violently, repelling the charging disciples—
Fwoosh.
—and from the sky, a woman clad in bloodstained robes slowly descended.
Wasn't she the beauty Bu Eun-seol had seen inside the Crystal Coffin at the final mechanism of the Wind God's Path?
"That... that's—?!"
Elder Hyang's eyes widened in shock.
"Palace Lord Hae-yeon?!"
To her astonishment, the woman was none other than the master she had served in her youth—
The former Palace Lord of the Wind God Palace, Hae-yeon, who had vanished after entering the Wind God's Path nearly a century ago.
"You... are Gun-byeong."
Hae-yeon spoke in the exact same tone and expression as she had in the past, causing Elder Hyang's mouth to fall open.
'It's really her.'
Nearly a hundred years had passed since Palace Lord Hae-yeon's disappearance.
So why... did she still look twenty years old?
"Palace Lord."
Elder Hyang asked in astonishment.
"How on earth—"
"Are you ordering your disciples to attack this Palace Lord now?"
At Hae-yeon's words, Elder Hyang shouted loudly to the disciples holding their weapons.
"All of you, lower your weapons! That is the 46th Palace Lord, Palace Lord Hae-yeon!"
The disciples wore dazed expressions.
How could a Palace Lord from two generations ago appear in the form of a twenty-year-old girl?
Too shocked to move, the disciples stood frozen like statues.
"Stubborn brats. Still aiming your weapons at me?"
As Hae-yeon lightly flicked her hand—
Whoosh! Thunk-thunk-thunk!
The weapons held by over a hundred disciples all embedded themselves into the ground.
It was truly astonishing Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
"Elder Hyang. Why have you joined hands with outsiders to commit such wicked acts?"
Faced with Hae-yeon's question after grasping the entire situation, Elder Hyang hastily replied.
"After Your Excellency entered the Wind God's Path, our palace completely lost the flow of Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, did we not?"
At this, Hae-yeon shook her head with a devastated expression.
"Did this Palace Lord have any other choice at the time?"
Back then, the previous Wind God Palace Lord couple had been mysteriously murdered, and the young Palace Lord Hae-yeon ascended to the throne.
Having not inherited the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi from the former Palace Lord, with the lineage of the Wind Spirit Constitution severed... Hae-yeon had no choice but to enter the Wind God's Path.
But ultimately, she failed to break through the Path, and the disciples who entered to rescue her were all massacred.
The Wind God Palace mobilized large forces to enter the Wind God's Path, but instead, they mishandled the mechanisms—
Permanently sealing the exit.
The only way in was through the secret mechanism of the Secret Cave.
Some senior members mustered their courage to re-enter, only to meet gruesome deaths once more.
In the end, the Wind God Palace had no choice but to completely seal off the Wind God's Path.
"It was all for the sake of our palace!"
Elder Hyang pointed at Bu Eun-seol as if wronged.
"The previous Palace Lord was brutally murdered by that vile Number One of the Demonic Path of that era, Sado Mu-myeong! And this man is his disciple!"
"You're saying this man is a figure of the Demonic Path?"
"Correct."
Hae-yeon furrowed her brow as she studied Bu Eun-seol.
"His internal energy is highly complex, containing multiple types of energy within his body... yet his spirit and mind have not tread the Demonic Path."
Then she tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Moreover, if a disciple of the Number One of the Demonic Path is a Poison Person, does that mean this Demonic Heavenly Emperor is a Sage Among Poisons?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"He saved this Palace Lord. By absorbing all the poison in my body."
'I see.'
Listening to her words, Bu Eun-seol gave a faint nod.
Though he had desperately drawn out the poison, he'd thought she had died when her heart stopped.
Fortunately, her pulse had returned, and she had come back as a perfected Wind God.
Step. Step.
As the situation took an odd turn, Yong Hoe had been stealthily trying to escape during the commotion.
Skreech—!
With the Sound of Breaking Air scraping against the earth—
"Gahh!"
Yong Hoe let out a wretched scream.
Before anyone realized, Bu Eun-seol had unleashed a gale from the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, severing the meridians in both his legs.
"That man is not only a disruptor of the Wind God Palace but also a lackey of the wicked faction sowing chaos throughout Murim."
Bu Eun-seol spoke, having grasped that Hae-yeon had been trapped in the Crystal Coffin by poison for a hundred years and was the Wind God Palace Lord from two generations ago.
"And Elder Hyang has joined hands with a vile faction called the Three Realms. Investigate thoroughly, and the truth will emerge."
Elder Hyang screamed as if coughing up blood.
"Yes, it's true! But all of this is because of your master, Sado Mu-myeong! He's the one who killed our palace's Palace Lord and Grand Duke!"
Hae-yeon narrowed her eyes.
"Is that the truth?"
"I don't know whether the Demonic Heavenly Emperor harmed the previous Palace Lord. To be precise, we don't even have a formal master-disciple relationship."
Bu Eun-seol declared firmly.
"But I am the Heir of the Demon Hall who commands the Million Demon Blades. If responsibility must be taken, then I will naturally assume it."
"You speak too lightly! What exactly do you intend to take responsibility for?"
Elder Hyang's shouting abruptly cut off.
Suddenly, a mysterious radiance had begun emanating from Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
Just meeting his gaze made her heart clench as if gripped by an invisible hand, pounding uncontrollably.
An icy sensation, as if her entire body had been submerged in freezing water, trickled down her spine.
'W-what is this?'
Elder Hyang felt her breath stifle.
Bu Eun-seol's piercing gaze seemed to infiltrate her very bones, as if something were being torn out from the deepest marrow of her being.
"I'll offer my life if necessary."
"What did you say?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke calmly.
"Let us now examine the facts clearly. If it's truly confirmed that the Demonic Heavenly Emperor killed the Palace Lord, then I will take responsibility."
Even Hyeok So-jin, hearing this, was startled and tried to stop Bu Eun-seol.
"Brother Bu."
No matter that he was the Heir of the Demon Hall, Bu Eun-seol and the Demonic Heavenly Emperor were effectively adversaries.
So why would he suddenly—
Why would he declare he'd stake his very life to prove the man's innocence?