Chapter 882
As Dong Wol-hyeon remained silent, Bu Eun-seol's gaze sharpened.
"The reason you refused my proposal must be the same."
"..."
"If not, is it because the murderer is connected to the Three Realms or the Same Heart Society?"
Finally, Dong Wol-hyeon broke his silence.
"No. If that were the case, the Buddhist Venerable wouldn't have stayed idle."
Then he continued.
"It's simply that the conditions you're demanding are things our society cannot grant."
"Why is that?"
"We don't even know who the murderer is, and above all, the Return-to-One faction would rather die than return the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's corpse."
He went on.
"Truth be told, I sought you out not to recruit you into our society, but to propose a ceasefire."
"..."
"With the Baekri Clan and the True Demon Forces dominating the martial world, there's no need for us to clash with you."
Dong Wol-hyeon paused briefly, then shook his head.
"But it was futile."
"..."
"Because revenge is your priority. You would never accept a ceasefire."
"You know me well."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
"If the Same Heart Society were righteous, you would have no reason to clash with this lord."
Then, in an utterly icy voice, he said:
"Let us each follow our convictions. History will prove who is right."
"I see."
Suddenly, Dong Wol-hyeon's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"So it's confirmed—your mind cannot be swayed. What a pity."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes narrowed sharply as he sensed Dong Wol-hyeon stalling.
"All your talk of goodwill was just to lure me here and attack me with ease."
"Don't misunderstand."
Dong Wol-hyeon shrugged.
"It's merely that your unfathomable abilities, Martial Soul Lord, align closely with our society's goals."
"Goals?"
"At such a young age, your strength is extraordinary, yet almost nothing is known about the martial prowess you've cultivated."
Rumble.
At the same time, the surrounding scenery began shifting once more.
"I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to gauge it. So, please understand."
In the end, the Same Heart Society had anticipated Bu Eun-seol's refusal.
They had orchestrated this situation to uncover the depths of his martial prowess and secrets.
"How absurd."
Bu Eun-seol was incredulous.
"You claim to save the world while harboring such rotten intentions?"
Still, he had held some hope.
Given that the Same Heart Society was a coalition of diverse factions, he had assumed some among them upheld righteous ideals.
But like the Three Realms, they were prepared to do anything to achieve their goals.
In the end, the martial world had gone mad, and only those of sound mind suffered the consequences.
"No need for further words."
Shhink.
As the Ink Soul Sword was drawn, a low vibration rippled outward, spreading a deathly momentum as sharp as the Grim Reaper's blade.
Thud. Thud.
Then, from behind Dong Wol-hyeon, a young man and woman slowly approached.
Their auras rose like spearheads, razor-sharp and unwavering, their gazes fixed solely on Bu Eun-seol.
"I've brought disciples nurtured with utmost devotion—ones you cannot possibly defeat."
Dong Wol-hyeon smiled as he looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"I wish you the best of luck."
Swish.
Instead of answering, Bu Eun-seol unleashed a lightning-fast sword stroke, severing Dong Wol-hyeon's head.
Flutter.
But the moment the blade struck, Dong Wol-hyeon's body turned into white paper, scattering in all directions.
His true form was no longer here.
He had been conversing from afar through a paper effigy, using Taoist arts.
"Not a chance."
If he unleashed the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, he could instantly trace the trajectory of Dong Wol-hyeon's escape.
Crash!
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol burst out of the guest inn and soared into the sky with the Qi-Piercing Ascent.
But before he knew it, the two youths had also taken to the air with the Land-Flying Technique, blocking his path.
Zzzzing.
A strange force spread, cutting off his connection to the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
Their immense internal energy was interfering with his extrasensory perception.
"Move."
He saw no reason to engage them.
Bang!
Using the Ultimate Speed Shadowless, he evaded the two and immediately tried to pursue Dong Wol-hyeon's energy.
Zzzzzzing.
But then, a transparent energy rippled outward, distorting the scenery dozens of yards around like waves.
Unbeknownst to him, a mysterious boundary formation had been laid around the guest inn, trapping him.
Thud.
As Bu Eun-seol landed back on the ground, the two youths simultaneously drew their treasured swords from their waists.
"Cease this pointless endeavor."
Bu Eun-seol extended his left hand, issuing a warning in advance.
"I have no intention of fighting you. I will simply break this formation and leave."
Flash!
He unleashed the Waning Moon Morning Star, sending a massive cross-shaped sword qi surging outward in an attempt to shatter the bizarre battle formation sealing the heavens and earth.
Whoosh—
Yet the moment his sword energy struck the air, it shattered into countless fragments, scattering in all directions.
What enveloped this place was less a battle formation and more akin to an eerie art of spells that nullified all force.
Zzzing.
Resorting to Water Essence Divine Qi, Bu Eun-seol attempted to dismantle the spellwork permeating the surroundings.
Zzzing.
It was futile.
Even with the destructive power of Water Essence Divine Qi, the spell here could not be undone.
'If this drags on, I'll lose track of him.'
Reluctantly, Bu Eun-seol began drawing upon the forces within his body to activate Harmonization.
But then—
A faint glimmer flickered in the eyes of the man and woman before him.
'Something's off.'
—"I've brought disciples I've painstakingly raised... ones you can never defeat."
Dong Wol-hyeon's words flashed through his mind.
'Never defeat...?'
Perhaps their goal wasn't to fight and overpower him... but to observe and analyze his martial arts.
'They're definitely scheming something.'
The glow in their eyes was mystifying—and unsettling.
Bu Eun-seol immediately halted Harmonization and addressed them.
"Dispel the spell laid upon this place."
The man replied flatly,
"I cannot dispel it."
Beside him, the woman added coldly,
"Defeat me. Then it will lift."
"I have no desire to fight."
"You have no choice."
Swish!
In unison, the two formed sword seals and lunged at Bu Eun-seol.
Slash! Crack-crack-crack!
Their sword techniques were intricate, but to Bu Eun-seol's eyes, they were nothing.
He could have severed their necks in an instant.
Yet, for some reason, he instead deployed the Dragon-Slaying Demon Sword Form, an advanced sword study of the Demonic Path.
Shhk—shhk—
Though not an extraordinary sword study, under Bu Eun-seol's execution, it became a devastating art capable of shaking the world.
Clang-clang!
The two blocked his strikes with swift counters.
Then, from their translucent gazes, an even denser white light began to flow.
Flash!
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's sword technique shifted abruptly—
A violet sword energy carved a zigzagging "of" shape through the air.
The Peerless Thunderbolt had been unleashed.
The man had no time to react—a wound split open across his throat.
Yet, as if it had never happened, a faint light seeped from the torn flesh, and the injury healed in an instant.
'Hm.'
Ordinary martial artists wouldn't be able to perceive the energy enveloping their bodies.
But Bu Eun-seol, wielder of the Three Divine Powers, could see it clearly—
Every time the man was wounded, light flowed from the woman's body.
Flash! Flash!
This time, Bu Eun-seol targeted the woman.
Her wounds also healed instantly—but now, the light flowed from the man instead.
'They've employed a Great Art utilizing Yin-Yang Union.'
The martial world was rife with esoteric Great Arts, and among them were those that allowed a man and woman to amplify or merge their yin and yang energies.
Undoubtedly, these two had perfectly synchronized their opposing forces, unifying their life force into one.
'Meaning they won't take damage unless both are killed simultaneously.'
But striking down two masters in motion, without the slightest error in timing, was an immensely difficult feat.
The Same Heart Society had turned these two into nigh-invincible warriors through this bizarre method.
'How vile.'
To those unaware of the truth, this Great Art might seem romantic—
The kind of technique perfect for lovers.
But Bu Eun-seol knew better. He understood just how cruel it truly was.
No matter how deeply two lovers cared for each other, perfectly merging the energies of separate bodies was impossible.
To complete such an art, they had no choice but to employ a method that split their very essence in half and fused it as one.
In other words, to wield this Great Art... they had sacrificed half their lifespan.
"Is there truly anything worth sacrificing your entire existence for?"
The man answered impassively,
"For the sake of Greater Righteousness, what is one life worth clinging to?"
"And just what is this Greater Righteousness—"
As Bu Eun-seol began to speak, the woman seized the opening—
Her Silent and Soundless Sword Art lashed toward his flank.
But for Bu Eun-seol, who had mastered the Way of the Beast and could be called the Wind God, a mere covert ambush was meaningless.
The moment she reached out to attack—
Instead, the Ink Soul Sword severed her wrist in a single stroke.
Splat!
Blood sprayed instantly, but the wound closed in the blink of an eye, as if mended by light.
A truly astonishing speed of regeneration.
"If you don't release the Boundary Formation, I will cut you down for real."
Whoosh.
Despite Bu Eun-seol's warning, the man and woman only tightened their stances.
Their will was clear—they would not let him pass.
"Fine."
CRACK!
Bu Eun-seol channeled his Internal Power and immediately unleashed the Fading Moon and Dawn Stars.
A massive cross-shaped Sword Qi cleanly split the two apart.
SHWING!
The Sword Qi swept past, and their bodies should have vanished without a trace.
Fzzzt.
But instead, they regenerated from their bloodied forms back to pristine condition in an instant.
'So I have to kill them simultaneously, in a perfect moment.'
Unless they stood side by side, unmoving,
it would be nearly impossible to strike them both down at the exact same time without the slightest error.
Moreover, their martial prowess was exceptional, and they had trained specifically in evasion techniques.
No matter how swiftly he executed his Sword Techniques, there would inevitably be a minuscule delay between their deaths.
SHWING!
In the end, Bu Eun-seol chose the simplest method.
He activated the Willful True Binding, aiming to sever their lifelines simultaneously.
SHOOOM!
Dozens of razor-sharp strands of True Qi surrounded them both at once.
SHWING!
The instant the blades slashed toward their necks—
Zzzziiing!
The two abruptly merged into one.
At the same time, a mysterious light began to spread,
PA-PA-PA-PA! SHWARARAK!
as the sharpened True Qi blades pierced deep into their luminous forms.
Zzzziiing, zzzziiing.
But then, something strange happened.
From their torn bodies, blades of True Qi—eerily similar to the Willful True Binding—manifested,
and in the next moment, they completely nullified the True Qi blades Bu Eun-seol had unleashed.
SHWAK.
The man and woman, who had merged into a single light, split apart again and took their stances, gazing arrogantly at Bu Eun-seol.
"No matter what Martial Arts you use, you cannot cut us down at the same time."
At the man's murmur, Bu Eun-seol unleashed his Sword Techniques once more.
This time, he alternated between the Soul Annihilation Sword Method and the Myriad Thunder Blood Sword, two Ultimate Arts passed down through the generations of Heaven-Severing Earth-Ending Sanctuary.
FLASH! FLASH!
Neither technique was particularly refined or overwhelmingly powerful in itself,
but when wielded by Bu Eun-seol's mastery, they carried the force to split mountains and sunder the earth.
Unable to find a way to block his attacks, the two merged again, releasing a surge of light.
CHANG-CHANG-CHANG-CHANG!
As the light faded, they stood shoulder to shoulder,
spinning a single Long Sword like a windmill as they rapidly deployed defensive techniques.
Once more, they seemed to split Bu Eun-seol's Sword Techniques in two, mimicking them.
After pouring out thirty or so moves of relentless assault without breaking their defense, Bu Eun-seol suddenly thrust forward with a devastating One Fist.
BOOOOM!
A violent gale erupted, carrying enough pressure to rupture their organs.
Yet again, the two merged, emitted light, and countered with a similar One Fist, neutralizing the attack.
'Just as I thought.'
Bu Eun-seol gave a faint nod.
They were solely focused on defense—
hardly attacking at all, only pretending to counter when he left an opening.
'Their goal isn't to defeat me...'
Moreover, each time they were struck, the transparent light flowing from their pupils grew denser.
And whenever cornered, they merged, using the mysterious power from that place to block his attacks.
'...They're absorbing my Martial Arts.'
Now Bu Eun-seol understood why Dong Wol-hyeon had sent these two with such confidence.
The Same Heart Society.
Unlike the Three Realms, which experimented on countless martial artists and civilians,
they had chosen themselves as the test subjects.
'Which means they can instantly decipher my Martial Arts principles.'
Langya Pavilion was optimized for analyzing the subtleties of an enemy's Martial Arts.
But even so, it could only comprehend the principles—not replicate the techniques outright.
Because Martial Arts contained secret doctrines devised by each sect—
methods to amplify power or unleash profound mysteries, passed down separately from the techniques themselves.
"If they don't know these secret principles?"
"No matter how closely they mimic the movements, they could never replicate the same martial forms."
Yet through this battle, these two individuals—
Not only were they instantly comprehending the foundational techniques of Bu Eun-seol's martial arts,
But also grasping the underlying principles embedded within,
Mastering them in an instant and executing identical techniques.
'To think they can immediately replicate even my slapdash Willful True Binding...'
A faint smile curled at the corners of Bu Eun-seol's lips.
Had he truly intended to unleash the Willful True Binding in earnest,
He would have conjured a massive sword spanning ten zhang in width,
Or freely morphed its shape at will.
But the version he had just displayed was not the genuine Emotion Severing Secret Art—
Merely a crude application of the Shaping Qi into Form principle,
Solidifying his true qi into the shape of a blade.
And yet, the man and woman before him—
They too emitted true qi nearly identical to his botched Willful True Binding,
Effortlessly deflecting his attacks.
'They must be probing for the secrets of the Willful True Binding, Bloody Tears Seven Forms, Harmonization, or even the Three Divine Powers.'
Truthfully, Bu Eun-seol had multiple means to swiftly eliminate them or dismantle their battle formation.
He could seize an opening to unleash Harmonization,
Or employ the life-severing lethality of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Beyond that, he could mimic the Bullet King's Inner Energy Bullet Art—
Piercing through their skulls in an instant.
And then there was poison—
The simplest and most convenient method of all.
Were he to deploy poison within this confined space—
Not even the Ghost King could withstand the toxins of the Saint Among Poisons,
Let alone these two.
Yet Bu Eun-seol deliberately prolonged the engagement,
Observing them with meticulous intent.
He had to decipher the mechanics of their martial absorption.
If they could freely and instantaneously assimilate every martial art he displayed—
Then he would have no choice but to either mobilize all forces to annihilate the Same Heart Society that very day,
Or abandon all thought of resistance entirely.
With such an ability, they would inevitably plunder every martial art in existence—
And the murim's hegemony would fall to the Same Heart Society.
'When their bodies overlap, they emit light and absorb martial techniques...'
Bu Eun-seol intentionally executed a basic advanced martial art of the Demonic Path,
And through careful observation, gradually unraveled the duo's methods.
'In the end, it's not martial arts—but the Art of Spells.'
What they employed bore no relation to the subtleties of martial principles.
Rather, it resembled the esoteric arts of the Mount Mao Sect—
A mystical technique that received cascading martial principles in the form of light.
Otherwise, they could never simultaneously neutralize his onslaught and retaliate with identical techniques.
'Which means—the Same Heart Society is utilizing long-extinct spellcraft to achieve martial augmentation.'
Shwaaak—
Abruptly, the man halted his movements, his expression twisting into something venomous.
"Martial Sister. This man is deliberately stalling to decipher our abilities."
"Pointless."
The woman's murmur was icy.
"He can't escape regardless. In the end, he'll surrender all his martial principles to us."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
The word "surrender" suggested—
That every martial principle they extracted from him was being transmitted elsewhere in real time.
'Thank heavens I held back the True Void.'
Had he recklessly unleashed it upon them—
Not only would his trump card have been exposed,
But he'd have effectively delivered his martial secrets directly into the hands of the members of the Same Heart Society.
" he seems versed in Poison Art too. The Dispersing White Soul Powder we've been scattering has no effect."
Having already stepped into the realm of the Saint Among Poisons,
Bu Eun-seol might as well have been dusted with flour for all the poison affected him.
So negligible was the damage that he hadn't even registered its presence.
Then the woman spoke, her voice glacial:
"Stall all you like. Unless you kill us, you're not leaving."
Her next words brimmed with conviction:
"Go ahead—attack however you wish. Even Limitless Power is fine with me."
A staggering claim.
Did this mean they could assimilate even transcendent forces equivalent to Limitless Power?
"Overconfidence is your undoing."
Bu Eun-seol's smile deepened.
"And it's just revealed your fatal flaw."
Suddenly—
A prismatic surge erupted from Bu Eun-seol's pupils,
Rippling outward like a radiant tide.
As his eyelids slowly lifted,
An overwhelming pulse of energy radiated forth—
A light that seemed to pierce the boundaries of all matter,
Seeing through everything.
Once again, Bu Eun-seol activated his preternatural ability.
Just as he had with Han Sang-ja before.
A single word, a fleeting expression—
And he penetrated the abyss of his enemy's psyche.
His insight and perception were terrifying—
Rivaling even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's.
But beyond that—
Much like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's Limitless Power or Nature Shattering—
Through gaze, voice, pulse, the faintest fluctuations in body temperature—
Even the flow and undulations of qi—
In the briefest sliver of an instant—
He saw through not just their physiological responses,
But their psychological state—
Their very hearts.