Chapter 909
The already slit-like eyes of the Martial God Heaven Lord narrowed even further.
He had discerned that not only had Bu Eun-seol's martial arts already reached the Heaven-Shocking Realm,
but his spirit and mind had also attained an unshakably solid state.
"Well, I suppose that explains why you dare wag your tongue so boldly before this Heaven Lord."
The Martial God Heaven Lord sneered as he observed Bu Eun-seol raising his sword to mid-guard, his expression one of utmost caution.
"No need to be so frightened. This Heaven Lord has lost nine-tenths of his power after selecting a successor."
"Nine-tenths."
Bu Eun-seol felt not just disbelief but utter absurdity.
The energy emanating from the Martial God Heaven Lord was so profound it evoked the Heavenly Will Realm—a state both mystical and boundless.
And yet, he claimed only a tenth of that power remained?
"I can't remember the last time I've felt this emotion."
The Martial God Heaven Lord licked his lips like a man about to savor a long-awaited delicacy.
"It's been far too long."
Whether he was bluffing or truly only possessed a tenth of his power was unclear.
But one thing was certain—there was no escape from this place.
The only option was to stake his life on a fight to the death.
Sssshhk!
A crimson line split heaven and earth.
Bu Eun-seol dodged instantly, but the fabric near where the attack grazed burst into flames in the blink of an eye.
"You're dividing time into extremely fine increments. At this level, it seems you've already broken through the Extreme Heaven Realm."
"Even a figure from the Divine Heavens is fixated on martial realms?"
"Not fixation—confirmation. All the boundaries and systems of martial arts you speak of were established by our Heaven."
The Martial God Heaven Lord was declaring that Martial God Heaven had defined the very stages and structures of martial attainment.
"Do you know how the vast array of martial arts came to be? It was because our Heaven implanted those very concepts into the minds of the martial world."
Sssshhk!
Simultaneously, another crimson line tore toward Bu Eun-seol's body.
It was neither a tangible force nor a martial technique.
Rather, it was something akin to the unified principles of all martial arts under heaven, unleashed in a way that made evasion impossible.
Tsk-tsk!
Bu Eun-seol deployed Swift Shadowless, shifting his position endlessly in midair—but to no avail.
The Martial God Heaven Lord had predicted every movement, seizing upon the precise moment and angle where evasion was impossible before releasing the crimson line.
Even if he somehow managed to dodge by sheer luck,
the Heaven Lord would immediately craft and unleash another martial principle to perfectly block his escape.
'Forget martial arts—overwhelm him with raw power.'
The Martial God Heaven Lord's martial attainment was incomparably higher than his own.
That meant he couldn't oppose him with the same martial principles—he had to crush him with sheer, overwhelming force.
Crack. Crrrrunch.
As Bu Eun-seol unleashed his immense internal energy, fissures began splitting the ground beneath the Martial God Heaven Lord's feet.
He was pouring out the accumulated internal energy of ten sixty-year cycles.
"So you've mastered the power of the Orthodox, Unorthodox, Demonic, and Buddhist Arts. Even your internal energy is a fusion of Shaolin, Tibet, and the Demonic Path?"
Astonishingly, simply by sensing Bu Eun-seol's unleashed energy,
the Martial God Heaven Lord instantly grasped its nature and origins.
"You really must be Bu Jan-yang's grandson."
Upon discerning the multiple formidable forces coexisting within Bu Eun-seol's body, the Heaven Lord let out a delighted, rasping laugh.
"It would be a waste to kill you in one go. Show me everything you've got."
As the Martial God Heaven Lord smiled leisurely, Bu Eun-seol's gaze turned icy.
'A preemptive strike with everything I have!'
Whenever he faced a powerful foe, he would first analyze their martial principles or exploit their weaknesses to bring them down.
But the Martial God Heaven Lord was not an opponent such tactics would work on.
He was a superlative martial expert who could only be fought by unleashing every ounce of strength.
BOOM!
Bu Eun-seol immediately deployed the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon.
At first, it had been an incomplete fist technique, limited to only the first four forms—but later, he combined it with the Azure Heaven Seven Forms of Seok Chi-haeng, the Fist King, who shared its lineage.
Moreover, after countless battles with Fist Adepts, he had finally completed the remaining three forms.
Now a fully realized fist art, the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon had grown so powerful that even Bu Eun-seol struggled to control it.
BOOM!
The fist energy, surging forth like lightning,
Whirrrr!
spun endlessly before abruptly converging around the Martial God Heaven Lord's body.
The fifth form of the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon—Endless Annihilation—had been unleashed.
'With this, I'll gauge the difference and relationship between the Human Heavens and the Divine Heavens.'
The Eight Heavenly Servants were the True Demon's subordinates under the Four Divine Heavens.
So would the Martial God Heaven Lord recognize the Fist Adept's techniques? Or would he employ conventional counters?
Even in the midst of a life-or-death battle,
Bu Eun-seol deliberately used the Fist Adept's martial arts to test the connection between the Divine Heavens and the Eight Heavenly Servants.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, he cycled through the forms repeatedly, from the first to the eighth.
However, given the Martial God Heaven Lord's supreme martial prowess,
he avoided using the ninth form, Discard the Old and Spread the New, which required large, exposing movements to exploit weaknesses.
"So, the Fist Adept's techniques."
The Martial God Heaven Lord recognized the fist art immediately.
"You've refined a fist art steeped in killing intent into a stable, developed form. Impressive."
Fwoosh.
He then released crimson lines, dismantling the fist energy one by one.
'He's deliberately using martial arts to dismantle my attacks, and every movement carries an energy reminiscent of the Sealed Demon's fragments...'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
It was clear that the Divine Heavens and the Eight Heavenly Servants had a general understanding of each other's martial arts and powers.
After all, he had countered the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon using only conventional martial principles.
Meaning—he had neither mastered the Fist Adept's techniques nor fully grasped their essence.
'Their hierarchy is clearly defined, but they don't share martial arts.'
If the Martial God Heaven Lord had fully mastered the Fist Adept's fist techniques, he wouldn't have needed to use those red threads to neutralize the fist energy.
'Then, is the difference between the Human Heavens and the Divine Heavens that the latter wield martial arts or powers based on Soul-Demon Magic Energy?'
The Fist Adept and the Spear Master employed martial arts and Limitless Power, while the Deathly One manifested supernatural abilities like the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
The Wind Person wielded martial principles rooted in wind, but even that leaned closer to supernatural power.
Yet, despite the Martial God Heaven Lord employing martial arts, Bu Eun-seol could faintly sense Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
Moreover, whether he had truly lost nine-tenths of his power or not, he was blocking fist techniques with ordinary attacks, just like a common martial artist.
In other words, the most probable distinction between the Human Heavens and the Divine Heavens was the presence or absence of Soul-Demon Magic Energy.
"Impressive. Even in the midst of all this, you're still trying to dissect everything."
The Martial God Heaven Lord let out an admiring sigh as he discerned that Bu Eun-seol was continuously analyzing him even in a life-or-death battle.
"Good. Then this Heaven Lord will strip you bare and expose all your tricks."
Snap!
With a pleased expression, the Martial God Heaven Lord fired another red thread, this time coiling it around Bu Eun-seol's surroundings.
It was a technique that outright severed all possible fist trajectories, preventing him from even deploying the Fist Demon Seven Forms.
True to his title as the Martial God Heaven Lord, he instantly grasped the nature of all martial arts and exploited their weaknesses.
'In the past, I would've been helpless against such a move.'
The more intricate the martial principles poured forth, the more Bu Eun-seol's competitive spirit flared.
Sssk—sssk—
In an instant, the positioning of his feet shifted subtly—he had forged a new fist trajectory to counter the Martial God Heaven Lord's technique.
"To dare challenge this Heaven Lord with martial principles..."
The Martial God Heaven Lord curled his lips into an enigmatic smile as Bu Eun-seol instantly deciphered his martial principles and improvised an evolved fist technique on the spot.
"You. You're a disciple of Langya Pavilion."
As if recalling a distant memory, he faintly nodded.
"Fifty years ago, I once crossed blades with the Pavilion Lord."
Fifty years ago would have been when Ak Mu-ryeong was barely ten years old.
That meant the Martial God Heaven Lord was not only well over a hundred years old but had also once sparred with the masters of the previous generation.
"Then entertain this Heaven Lord even more."
He fired another red thread.
This time, instead of a single strike, he shaped the red thread into an exact replica of Bu Eun-seol's silhouette, matching his movements.
Like the Sword Laughs at Xuanyuan style.
He had conjured an imaginary adversary capable of dismantling Bu Eun-seol's martial arts on the spot.
Swish! Hiss!
The shadow, woven from razor-sharp red threads, was not only as keen as a blade all over its body—
It moved even more nimbly than Bu Eun-seol and began raining down exquisitely precise attacks.
Whoosh!
Finally, Bu Eun-seol swung the Moonshadow Sword he had kept drawn all along against the red-thread shadow.
Clang! Clang!
Every time the blade clashed with the red-thread shadow, sparks of crimson fire scattered, and the sword's edge glowed red-hot.
'What more could you possibly hide?'
Not only was the Martial God Heaven Lord's martial prowess far beyond his own—
He was freely wielding the underlying principles of all martial arts under heaven as if plucking them from thin air.
If Bu Eun-seol didn't resort to the True Void Absolute Art, his head would roll within a few moves.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Starting with the Formless Heavenly Flow, backed by overwhelming internal energy—
Flash! Crash—!
He unleashed countless Demon Sword Forms, including the Nine Dragons Flashing Thunder—
Slash! Hiss! Hiss!
Not only the Willful True Binding and Thirteenfold Qi Induction—
Whoom! Roar—!
But also the Hot River Great Essence True Qi, the Glacier Thousand Streams Art, and even the Ice Essence Snow Blossom Energy from the Snow Blossom Sect.
Swoosh! Boom! Rumble—!
Then the Thunder Essence Divine Qi, Water Essence Divine Qi, and the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi—even the Three Divine Powers—all were poured forth.
Grrr—
He even spread enough poison to shroud the area in a radius of a little over a hundred feet in black mist—
Flash!
And finally, he unleashed Harmonization.
Yet, none of it could erase the red-thread shadow summoned by the Martial God Heaven Lord.
Fzzzt!
When all his attacks failed, Bu Eun-seol momentarily retreated.
'This isn't a difference in martial arts.'
A strange sensation prickled at him as he steadied his breathing and observed the Martial God Heaven Lord once more.
"Truly remarkable."
At that moment, the Martial God Heaven Lord let out an admiring sigh.
"Now I understand why the Wooden Buddha sent you."
He nodded with an expression of genuine awe.
"Had we fought anywhere else, this Heaven Lord—bereft of power—would have lost to you."
'Anywhere else.'
Only then did Bu Eun-seol realize one crucial fact—
This place was none other than the domain of the Martial God Heaven.
"You were exerting your power through the domain, just like the One Hundred and Eight Stars."
At Bu Eun-seol's murmur, the Martial God Heaven Lord faintly smiled.
"Originally, there would've been no need. But now, this Heaven Lord retains only a tenth of his strength..."
Then he shrugged.
"All thanks to that greedy successor of mine."
With those words, Bu Eun-seol learned another truth.
The Martial God Heaven Lord hadn't willingly passed his power to his successor—
He had been forcibly stripped of it, against all expectations.
"A tragic affair."
Bu Eun-seol wore a sorrowful expression.
"To be devoured by the very successor you chose."
"In a way, it was a joyous occasion."
The Martial God Heaven Lord smiled with satisfaction.
"Because he was so tenacious, so full of ambition. From now on, the martial world will be very entertaining."
"..."
"Shall we enjoy the remaining game?"
Crack—crack—
Bone-chilling creaks echoed from his entire body as—
The aged face of the Martial God Heaven Lord gradually tightened, his withered frame swelling with renewed vigor.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into the figure of a muscular middle-aged man.
It seemed he had unleashed the Demonic Gate Great Art, forcibly activating his latent power.
Whoosh.
He reshaped the crimson thread-like shadow back into a long, linear form,
Clang.
then twisted and fused it with an elongated iron chain before gripping it in his hand.
"Try using that jumbled mess of martial arts one more time!"
Swish!
Bu Eun-seol attempted to sever the chain's form in a single stroke with his Ink Soul Sword,
Clatter.
but the moment his blade made contact, its sharpness vanished.
The Martial God Heaven Lord could not only manipulate the subtleties of martial arts but also freely alter the very properties of objects.
Swish! Whirr!
As he swung the chain, madness swirled in the Martial God Heaven Lord's pupils.
"If you truly are the bloodline of the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, you shouldn't fall so easily."
He had lost all his power to the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade and had barely clung to life in the damp underground of Ghost Island.
In that endless torment, he had nurtured his hatred for the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade, only to bitterly realize he lacked even the strength for revenge, cursing himself in despair.
But now, he had found a successor and passed everything down.
And in the midst of it all, a grandson who claimed to be the Seven Fingers Demonic Blade's own bloodline had appeared before him...
All that remained was to pour out his burning hatred and madness in catharsis, to incinerate everything.
"Heh heh heh."
The Martial God Heaven Lord let out a grotesque laugh.
"Kahahaha! Entertain this Heaven Lord further. More!"
He deliberately avoided vital points, carving up Bu Eun-seol's body in a frenzy.
As if his Demonic Nature had exploded, drool dripped from the corners of his mouth as he let out a hideous laugh.
'Is it truly because he's already passed all his power to his successor?'
Until now, every formidable martial artist Bu Eun-seol had encountered, regardless of status or position, had at least maintained some semblance of dignity and spirit.
But the Martial God Heaven Lord was different.
He clung like a blood-soaked evil ghost, desperate to drink his fill of blood.
'No—his resentment has reached its peak.'
After being struck down by his grandfather's blade,
he had spent over thirty years grinding his teeth in the darkness, dreaming of revenge.
This frenzied state might have been inevitable.
Slash! Slash!
As he endured the relentless onslaught, the light in Bu Eun-seol's eyes gradually dimmed.
Every time the Martial God Heaven Lord's True Qi pierced his body, agony as if his flesh were being torn apart overwhelmed him.
Even the martial arts he had mastered no longer worked.
Yet, paradoxically, his mind grew clearer, allowing him to realize things he had never noticed before.
'The reason my attacks don't land isn't purely a matter of martial arts.'
The Martial God Heaven Lord wasn't fighting to decide life and death—
he was deliberately prolonging the battle to inflict as much pain as possible.
Because of that, Bu Eun-seol realized something he hadn't known until now:
In this place, the Martial God Heaven Lord's Domain, he couldn't exert his full strength, and his movements were slowed to an unbearable degree.
At least sixfold.
Even at full power, his movements were three times slower than usual.
No matter how explosively he drew upon his Thunder Essence Divine Qi or unleashed the Bloody Tears Seven Forms,
with his agility reduced to such an extreme, landing a decisive strike was impossible.
"Don't even dream of facing this Heaven Lord with mere martial arts."
The Martial God Heaven Lord smiled faintly.
"This Heaven Lord has already transcended even the so-called 'subtleties' of martial arts you speak of."
Rumble—
In desperation, Bu Eun-seol unleashed his Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, attempting to restrict the Martial God Heaven Lord's movements—
just as he had done against the Heavenly Killing Star in their previous battle.
"Still don't understand?"
Fwoosh!
But before he knew it, the Martial God Heaven Lord had also unleashed Wind & Cloud Divine Qi.
This Domain wasn't merely a space that restricted physical power—
it was a transcendent place where the Martial God Heaven Lord freely grasped and wielded the accumulated principles of martial arts across generations.
For example, if Bu Eun-seol were to devise a new martial technique or insight here?
It would only become another weapon for the Martial God Heaven Lord.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, Bu Eun-seol was sent flying backward like a loosed arrow.
"Back then, Bu Jan-yang severed this Heaven Lord's Domain first."
The Martial God Heaven Lord spread his arms and leisurely approached him.
"But even if Bu Jan-yang were to return now, he could no longer separate this Heaven Lord from the Domain. Here, this Heaven Lord has become a god."
Flash!
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol twisted his body violently and unleashed the Nine Dragons Flashing Thunder.
But it was futile.
Every ounce of power within this Domain belonged to the Martial God Heaven Lord.
Not only could he absorb the force of any attack, but he could also reverse it at will—
or even alter the direction of the force itself,
preventing the attack from being unleashed in the first place.
—Heh-heh. Heh heh heh heh.
Moreover, an eerie laughter he had never heard before continuously echoed in his ears.
The demonic, sinister Demonic Laughter seeped into his senses like the faint scuttling of ants—
an excruciating torment for Bu Eun-seol, whose Extrasensory Perception was razor-sharp.
Screeeech!
Finally, Bu Eun-seol began executing the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
A blade of pitch-black Sword Qi instantly pierced the Martial God Heaven Lord's body.
At that moment, absolute Death should have descended—
but instead, the Martial God Heaven Lord stood tall, clasping his hands behind his back.
Like a god presiding over death itself.
Flash!
Seizing that fleeting opening, Bu Eun-seol unleashed Harmonization once more.
But even the Power of Harmony, capable of annihilating all things...
dissipated into nothingness like a futile glimmer of light.
'It's the overlapping of Domains.'
At last, he understood completely.
The reason his attacks couldn't reach—
It wasn't because they were ineffective, but because the Domains were layered, making them impossible to destroy.
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms and Harmonization—
Originally possessed the power to cleave even through vaguely defined spaces like Domains.
Yet the Martial God Heaven Lord had recreated that very concept within the Domain itself,
layering Domains upon Domains to ensure no attack could ever reach his body.
'Like stacking Absolute Boundaries one over another.'
Not only did the Martial God Heaven Lord dominate this space, but he had also layered Absolute Boundary-like power to block attacks.
No matter how formidable the martial arts, it was only natural they couldn't touch him.
"Martial God Heaven... So that's it."
Wiping the blood from his lips, Bu Eun-seol finally understood.
Martial God Heaven.
It wasn't a title for a Martial God who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts—
but the creation of a heavenly Domain even a Martial God couldn't withstand.
BOOM!
In that moment, the chain gripped by the Martial God Heaven Lord shattered Bu Eun-seol's sturdy defense and lashed across his body.
THUD.
Crashing into the stone wall, a section of it crumbled into dust.
Huff...
Bu Eun-seol forced himself back up, but his body was already in tatters.
No matter how exceptional his martial arts were—
Even if he had achieved martial prowess surpassing his current state, he couldn't defeat this man.
Because this space itself was the Martial God Heaven Lord's Domain.
He never should have stepped inside in the first place.
"You're holding up well. Quite satisfying."
The Martial God Heaven Lord let out an impressed sigh as he observed Bu Eun-seol, battered yet still standing.
"Not a single bone broken, even now. Is that the External Arts Bu Jan-yang taught you?"
Truthfully, even he was surprised.
Though he had only one-tenth of his power left—
In a Domain where he ruled over everything, he couldn't even destroy the body of this mere youth without repeated assaults.
"Good. Very good."
As if struck by an amusing thought, the Martial God Heaven Lord grinned brightly.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion followed—
And Bu Eun-seol's legs sank an inch into the floor, now shimmering like glass.
Drip... drip...
Blood cascaded from his forehead.
The Martial God Heaven Lord had struck his Heavenly Spirit Gate with a bizarre force.
Tap. Tap.
Crimson droplets splattered onto the mirror-like floor.
Looking down, Bu Eun-seol saw his own reflection—utterly wretched.
"Shattering the Heavenly Spirit Gate would leave you a drooling idiot, even if you survived."
The Martial God Heaven Lord bared his fangs in a grin.
"What a rare sight it would be—Bu Jan-yang's grandson, reduced to a mindless fool, wandering the Martial World."
Unable to break Bu Eun-seol's body with his current strength,
he aimed to destroy the Hundred Meetings Acupoint instead, ensuring that even if the boy lived, his mind would be shattered.
SWISH!
With another explosive crack, the chain whipped down toward Bu Eun-seol's skull.
BOOM!
Dust billowed in all directions—yet Bu Eun-seol remained standing.
"Even with force enough to pulverize a Vajra Bronze Man, his skull won't crack?"
The Martial God Heaven Lord's eyes flashed as he examined the bloodied chain.
"Dangerous brat. To reach this level with nothing but pure martial prowess..."
Even if human potential was limitless, there were still thresholds.
For one so young to forge a body of boundless potential?
Leaving him alive would only invite calamity.
BOOM!
The chain struck again, driving Bu Eun-seol another inch deeper into the ground.
"Gh—!"
For the first time, Bu Eun-seol let out a groan.
The True Qi-forged chain relentlessly hammered his Hundred Meetings Acupoint, igniting his Brain Gate Acupoint instead—
And an agony unlike anything he had ever known seared through his entire body.
"Let's see how long you last."
Clink.
Tossing the chain into the air, the Martial God Heaven Lord chuckled darkly.
"Heh heh heh. Entertain me all night."
The rigid chain lashed out like a viper—
BOOM!
With an earth-shaking roar, Bu Eun-seol finally collapsed.
The Martial God Heaven Lord had reforged the chain into a massive iron hammer and brought it down upon his Heavenly Spirit Gate once more.
CRUNCH.
Face buried in the dirt, Bu Eun-seol lay broken—
But he still breathed.
Instead, something was pouring out through his Brain Gate Acupoint, and his mind burned with fury.
—Is this all I amount to?
—Was I satisfied with just this much strength all along?
Sizzle...
His skull felt scorched.
And an unprecedented wrath coiled around him.
Disgust rose in his throat.
He had been a frog in a well.
To think he had sought vengeance for his grandfather with such pitiful strength.
"..."
As he pushed himself up, his reflection stared back from the mirror-smooth floor.
No—it wasn't a reflection he could recognize.
A wretched, miserable figure he refused to acknowledge.
Perhaps his grandfather had known from the start.
That with his current ability... he couldn't even exact revenge.
"Ugh..."
Breath refused to come. An invisible hand squeezed his heart.
The corners of his lips in the reflection twisted upward—
Bu Eun-seol wasn't smiling.
Yet the figure in the mirror grinned back at him.
"I'll have to sever your head."
Watching Bu Eun-seol—bloodied, teeth bared in a hollow laugh—the Martial God Heaven Lord raised the chain in boredom.
The links spun rapidly, glowing red-hot.
"This method should carve through even the toughest neck."
SWOOSH—
Just as the chain coiled around Bu Eun-seol's throat—
Hiss...
It froze mid-air.
Writhing...
Black Fog had begun seeping from Bu Eun-seol's body.
He was gripping the chain barehanded with his blackened fingers.
"Ahh."
His face, now streaked with blood as he held the chain, had completely transformed.
The once-lonely eyes now glittered brilliantly, his skin had grown even paler, and his lips had taken on a somewhat redder hue.
And at the corners of his mouth—where none had been before—a cold smile now played.
"You're being quite the nuisance, old man."
Suddenly, his voice—
Had thinned like a boy's, and his tone had shifted to something teasing.