Chapter 915
Yu Un-ryong took a deep breath.
"To be honest, I shared the same thoughts as the Young Palace Lord. That's why I was searching for a way to confirm the Lord's true intentions."
Then he laid bare the thoughts in his heart with complete honesty.
"So I sought out Vice Chief So, who had temporarily left on Demon Leave to train her martial arts. Since she had been steadfastly guarding the Lord's side... I thought she might be better at judging than I would be."
Yu Un-ryong was not only wise but also someone who understood Bu Eun-seol better than anyone else.
Yet even the wisest can err.
Just in case he might have overlooked something, he had sought So-yo's opinion as well.
"And after hearing everything, Vice Chief So told me this—"
'A Lord with such a temperament wouldn't truly be the Lord, would he?'
Recalling her words, Yu Un-ryong shook his head.
"She said that if it's part of the Lord's nature, then we should accept it as it is."
Bu Eun-seol had sacrificed and devoted everything to revenge up until now.
Yet even so, he had strived to ensure none around him were harmed.
Because of that, he must have suppressed his own desires and inclinations for far too long.
So if he had now changed his mind and decided to express them?
Even this changed version of him deserved understanding.
"I see."
After hearing everything, Yeon So-ha wore a subtle expression.
"Vice Chief So must be a woman too, isn't that right?"
When Yu Un-ryong looked somewhat surprised, she shook her head.
"I don't mean anything by it. It's just that only women who truly care for him... women with thoughtful dispositions could say such things."
"Don't misunderstand. Vice Chief So stays by his side frequently because—"
"No, it's fine."
Yeon So-ha spoke calmly.
"And I think what she said is right too. But whether this was the Lord's own choice or an unintended one..."
She declared firmly,
"I can confidently say this wasn't a choice the Lord intentionally made."
Yeon So-ha and So-yo.
Both women genuinely cared for Bu Eun-seol.
But their inclinations were vastly different.
If So-yo offered boundless love, understanding, and endless care,
Yeon So-ha, along with love and understanding,
also carried a sense of responsibility to guide him down the right path.
Neither inclination could be said to be better than the other.
But if this choice wasn't what Bu Eun-seol had truly wanted?
Then Yeon So-ha's words held more weight.
From what he knew,
Bu Eun-seol was absolutely not the kind of person who would make such a choice.
"You're right."
Yu Un-ryong nodded.
"I share the Young Palace Lord's thoughts. The Lord would never intentionally make such a choice."
Yeon So-ha smiled.
"Then there must be a way to bring him back to his true self?"
"There is."
Yu Un-ryong could be called the foremost strategist of the demonic path, and thanks to his research into the Essentials of Strange Mechanisms, which dealt with the Mindscape through Formation Study,
his knowledge of Spirit and Mind had reached a level no one else could match.
"Truthfully, I've been researching a method ever since this incident occurred... but I gave up because the Demon Hall lacked a suitable Dharma Instrument with the desired effect."
Yu Un-ryong pulled a thin booklet from the shelf and handed it to Yeon So-ha.
"Seeing that the Young Palace Lord has come, perhaps this too is fate."
"This..."
As Yeon So-ha examined the contents of the booklet, her eyes widened in shock.
The Mindscape.
This unique power, which only the greatest Masters who looked down upon the world could wield—
Yu Un-ryong had reached a level where he could freely unravel it through Formation Study and the power of treasures.
"It's not my ability. I was just fortunate enough to uncover an ancient secret manual."
"If what's written here is true... then we could uncover his true inner thoughts."
Yeon So-ha pointed to the contents of the booklet as she spoke.
"Whether he truly chose this temperament or if something forced the change upon him."
"Exactly."
"I wouldn't care what kind of temperament he has. Even if he were the greatest villain in the world, I would gladly follow him as my husband."
Yeon So-ha took a deep breath.
"But the current him is clearly in a state where his Spirit and Mind have suffered a mishap. We must uncover the truth."
As Yu Un-ryong nodded, she pointed to a section in the middle of the book.
"Then I'll take care of this part. It seems fitting."
After scanning the passage, Yu Un-ryong shook his head in alarm.
"No. You could lose your life."
"If I lose my life protecting the Lord, there could be no greater reward."
Yeon So-ha's gaze was as firm as steel, unwavering even in the face of death.
Seeing the absolute resolve in her eyes, Yu Un-ryong smiled faintly.
'That guy really has a sharp eye for people.'
Yeon So-ha was truly a good person, one who cherished Bu Eun-seol with all her heart.
Even if she had conspired with Dan So-ok to force an engagement, the fact that he had accepted it meant...
Bu Eun-seol must have known,
just how good, how thoughtful a person she was.
"Very well. Since the Young Palace Lord is willing to stake her life, we of the Death Shadow War Unit will stake ours as well."
"Understood. Then I shall return with the Dharma Instrument."
"There's no need for that. If the Young Palace Lord would simply write a letter and lend us the Command Plaque, we'll dispatch Deputy Lord Wi or Protector Tak instead. That would be faster."
"Very well."
Yet at that moment, Yeon So-ha hesitated.
Noticing she had something more to say, Yu Un-ryong inquired,
"Do you have another request?"
"There's... a favor I must ask."
Her expression was so grave that Yu Un-ryong unconsciously tensed as he regarded her.
Yu Un-ryong convened a secret Lord's Meeting.
He needed to explain Bu Eun-seol's condition to the deputy lords and deliberate once more on how to restore him to his former self.
The deputy lords shook their heads.
They couldn't easily believe Yu Un-ryong's words.
Had Bu Eun-seol simply suffered a head injury and become erratic, that would be one thing—but to claim such tendencies had always been latent within his Spirit and Mind?
"...That might indeed be possible."
Wi Cheon-gyeong, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke.
"Until now, the Lord has rigorously restrained his emotions in all his affairs."
All humans express joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure in their lives.
But Bu Eun-seol was different.
Like an ascetic monk, he had perpetually suppressed those feelings.
"That wasn't due to indifference—it was because he stifled his desires and inclinations to protect those around him."
—Hmm.
The deputy lords nodded solemnly, absorbing Wi Cheon-gyeong's words.
Upon reflection, it was entirely plausible.
"Then shouldn't we leave him as he is?"
Won Se-mun interjected.
"If this, too, is part of the Lord's nature and disposition... shouldn't we accept it?"
"Of course."
Yu Un-ryong nodded firmly.
"If this were his true nature, we would unquestionably embrace it. However..."
He paused briefly, his pupils gleaming with profound intensity.
"I can assure you—those inclinations were never inherent to the Lord."
Then he added,
"If this state of Spirit and Mind persists against his will... when he regains his original consciousness, the damage inflicted will be beyond description."
Once more, Yu Un-ryong emphasized:
This discussion wasn't driven by a desire to mold Bu Eun-seol's personality to their liking—
It was a choice made for his own sake.
"Then..."
As Myo Cheon-u opened his mouth, Yu Un-ryong gave a confirming nod.
"It's likely due to external influences... or some manner of conspiracy at work."
The deputy lords nodded again at Yu Un-ryong's resolute expression.
Even if such tendencies had existed deep within Bu Eun-seol's inner self, he would never have allowed them to surface.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent all this time—
Risking his life to safeguard his subordinates.
"Then is there a solution?"
Wi Cheon-gyeong asked.
"We have no means to intervene in the Lord's Spirit and Mind."
Bu Eun-seol's mental state was more impenetrable than diamond, leaving no opening for external interference.
"True, no one can breach the Lord's mental defenses."
Yu Un-ryong swept his gaze across the deputy lords before declaring firmly:
"But there is a way to discern his true intent."
Under the pretext of bolstering the Demon Hall's prestige and crushing the Righteous Faction's morale,
Bu Eun-seol began assembling a formidable war party—handpicking the most bloodthirsty Demonkin among the Hall's hardened warriors.
—Then we cannot remain idle either.
As rumors spread of his campaign to humble the Righteous Faction,
Even the Great Demons who had lurked in hiding within the Demon Hall—
Began stepping forward, demanding to join the purge.
—Those troublesome fiends, too?
The Hall's warriors grew tense.
Those beings were fanatically obsessed with drinking the blood and tearing the flesh of Righteous Faction members.
In these peaceful times, such Demonkin couldn't be unleashed recklessly—
They had only been lying low under the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's strict decree.
Yet now, they sought to participate in this purge?
Then, another unforeseen event unfolded.
"We, too, shall join this battle!"
The deputy lords and warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit—who had consistently opposed Bu Eun-seol's campaigns—
Now stood in solemn formation before the Hidden Demon Pavilion,
Having changed their stance, awaiting his arrival.
"Hmm."
Bu Eun-seol briefly wore an expression of surprise before scrutinizing them with piercing eyes.
"How petty."
Seeing straight through their motives, he shook his head in disappointment.
"You thought that by joining a battle where eight or nine of ten will perish, this Lord would halt his plans out of concern for your safety?"
The deputy lords remained silent, exchanging uneasy glances.
"It is true that I worry for your safety. But not enough to ruin the greater scheme for it."
His gaze swept over them, colder and sharper than ever.
"If we halt the battle now, I will be breaking my promise to the demonic warriors of the Demon Hall who have been eagerly awaiting this fight."
His lips curled into a sneer.
"And have you even considered what will happen then?"
At present, the Great Demonic Figures of the Demon Hall were already intoxicated by the prospect of spilling the blood of the righteous faction.
If he were to suddenly declare the extermination campaign canceled—
Not only would his prestige and trust as the heir of the Demon Hall crumble, but he would also invite fierce backlash from the senior figures.
"Of course we've thought about it."
It was Myo Cheon-u who spoke up then.
"That's why we're saying we'll fight alongside you."
The commanders, including Myo Cheon-u, wore resolute expressions.
Bu Eun-seol studied their faces for a long moment before nodding.
"Fine. But as I've said before, this battle is not for victory—it is for bloodshed."
His voice was steel.
"I cannot guarantee your lives. Most of you will die. Even so, you still wish to go?"
"Of course!"
The commanders and warriors shouted in unison, but Bu Eun-seol only frowned.
His eyes shifted to Yu Un-ryong, who had remained silent until now.
"Is this truly your will?"
"It is the will of all of us."
Yu Un-ryong nodded.
"We swore to follow you even into hell itself."
It was a stirring declaration—yet Bu Eun-seol's expression remained utterly unchanged.
The warriors' eyes burned with fervor and determination.
But Bu Eun-seol looked upon them as if they were nothing more than moths willingly throwing themselves into a death trap.
His gaze turned icy.
"Disappointing."
His voice was frigid.
"I wanted subordinates who were clever and understood the tides of the times—not mindlessly loyal fools. And I have spent all this time teaching you to become exactly that."
Joining this campaign meant his life could not be guaranteed. In all likelihood, he would die.
Yet here they were, making a suicidal decision under the banner of loyalty?
He could not hide his profound disappointment at their stupidity.
"Very well."
There was no cure for foolishness.
In the past, he might have tried to dissuade them—but now, his heart had hardened.
He gave a slow nod to the Death Shadow War Unit warriors, who stood in solemn formation, fully armed and ready.
"Prepare for departure."
The Blood Sky Order.
A force of thirteen hundred demonic warriors personally assembled by Bu Eun-seol.
Precisely the number permitted for a mission led by a Lord-rank figure.
Small by the standards of the Demon Hall—
But its composition was such that it could crush armies tens of thousands of troops.
At its head stood the Martial Soul Lord, Bu Eun-seol, as Supreme Commander.
His second-in-command was Maeng Cheon-rip, known as the "Gathering of Life and Death," head of Gwangpungjeong and a rival to Dan Wol-hon, the "Defying-Heaven Night Star."
The force was further divided into thirteen specialized battalions—close combat, long-range, and everything in between—each led by veteran commanders who had led countless battles to victory.
And among them was the Special Operations Unit, tasked with infiltration, assassination, and reconnaissance—
The warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit, under the Martial Soul Lord's command.
"First, we strike the Martial Alliance!"
Bu Eun-seol was not just a master strategist—he was a general who had led countless battles to victory.
And true to his reputation, he wielded his thirteen hundred warriors like extensions of his own body as they marched toward Hubei.
"Stop them!"
When news of the Blood Sky Order's advance reached the righteous factions of Hubei, they united to block its path.
But Bu Eun-seol's tactics were beyond anything ordinary sects could hope to counter.
He deployed vanguard units to engage the enemy head-on, flanking divisions to repel ambushes, and infiltration teams to eliminate enemy commanders—
Crushing defensive lines and annihilating resistance in moments.
"They've gone completely mad!"
As the Blood Sky Order scorched its way through the righteous sects toward Hubei, factions from both Hunan and Hubei joined forces to halt their advance.
"Martial Soul Lord! If you do not turn back with these madmen, a Great Righteous-Demonic War will break out!"
Even in the face of furious warnings from the righteous warriors, Bu Eun-seol did not stop.
"Cut them down!"
In the end, they tried to crush the Blood Sky Order with sheer numbers.
But under Bu Eun-seol's divine command, not a single one of his warriors fell—
While the Martial Alliance and its allies were shattered, their forces broken, their advance unstoppable.
"The Martial Soul Lord has truly gone mad!"
The martial artists observing the situation were aghast, unable to believe what they were witnessing.
The Martial Soul Lord, who had always walked the Middle Path—
Had he suddenly become a Great Demon and begun attacking the forces of the righteous faction?
By the time the Blood Sky Unit entered Hubei, even the Wudang Sect had mobilized.
Yet, they failed to stop the Blood Sky Unit and instead lost three hundred of their finest disciples.
"Let the Heavenly Martial Brigade handle this!"
As the Blood Sky Unit prepared to enter Henan, the Martial Alliance finally intervened.
They ordered the Heavenly Martial Brigade, now led by its newly appointed leader, Baek Mu-seong, to crush them.
Under Baek Mu-seong's command, the Heavenly Martial Brigade had undergone brutal training and regained its former might.
But before Bu Eun-seol's military strategy, even the Heavenly Martial Brigade's formidable battle formations proved useless.
Baek Mu-seong, in particular, lacked experience in commanding large-scale forces and desperately needed a brilliant strategist skilled in warfare.
But since no such figure existed within the Heavenly Martial Brigade—
Despite outnumbering the enemy three to one, they suffered defeat after defeat and were ultimately forced to retreat.
"There's no other choice."
With the Blood Sky Unit on the verge of entering Henan, the Martial Alliance reinforced their troops.
This time, they did not send another brigade-sized force—instead, they dispatched a secret strike team capable of annihilating the Blood Sky Unit in one fell swoop.
"They've finally arrived."
As the Martial Alliance's reinforcements joined the Heavenly Martial Brigade, Bu Eun-seol, who had been quietly observing, allowed a faint smile to curl on his lips.
The reason he had waged such reckless battles until now—
Was precisely to gauge the strength of the hidden forces lurking within the Martial Alliance.
For the Martial Alliance was not merely a coalition of righteous factions—it was a gathering of the Abyssal Forces.
"We can't hold them back!"
As the battle began, Deputy Commander Maeng Cheon-rip rushed to Bu Eun-seol in a panic.
The Martial Alliance had sent only three hundred warriors.
Yet they were effortlessly cutting down the demonkin of the Blood Sky Unit under Bu Eun-seol's command.
Before overwhelming power, even the most ingenious strategies and tactics were meaningless.
"Hmm, as expected."
Bu Eun-seol watched the Martial Alliance's forces pressing forward like an unstoppable tide, his smile deepening.
"At last, one secret has been revealed."
He had finally seen the true extent of the forces concealed within the Martial Alliance—
What level of troops they possessed, how they waged war.
The Martial Alliance was, after all, a force that would ultimately have to be destroyed.
Yet until now, they had never revealed their true strength—
What power they wielded,
How they deployed their forces,
What kind of masters they had.
Bu Eun-seol had led the demonkin of the Demon Hall this time precisely to uncover the hidden strength of the Martial Alliance's secret factions.
But as he observed the battlefield for a long while, a strange light flickered in his eyes.
"They're fundamentally using the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars..."
With his arms crossed, Bu Eun-seol scrutinized the battle for a long time before a flash of insight ignited in his gaze.
That light resembled the eyes of a beast spotting prey in the darkness.
Then, with an expression of extreme disappointment, he shook his head and clicked his tongue.
"Tch. What a waste of time."
The three hundred nameless warriors were all employing the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
Having undergone some mysterious Great Art, their internal energy never waned, and their bodies were as hard as steel.
They were slicing through the warriors of the Blood Sky Unit—whom Bu Eun-seol had been commanding with flawless precision—as if they were mere sheets of paper.
In short, the hidden strength of the forces lurking in the Martial Alliance's abyss—
Far surpassed the level Bu Eun-seol had anticipated.
"But how clever. To dare deceive this lord's eyes."
His expression was one of waning interest as he watched the battlefield.
It was as if he were watching a dull Beijing Opera performance.
"What a rare sight. To see the entire army under this lord's command being slaughtered."
"What are you saying right now, Commander?!"
Maeng Cheon-rip shouted at Bu Eun-seol, who had abandoned command and was leisurely observing the battlefield.
"Your subordinates from the Death Shadow War Unit are dying as we speak!"
Turning his head, Bu Eun-seol saw his Death Shadow War Unit subordinates being surrounded and cut down in brutal fashion.
Yu Un-ryong, Myo Cheon-u, Won Se-mun, Wi Cheon-gyeong, Jo Nam-cheon.
His subordinates, whom he had cherished like family, were fighting desperately, bleeding—
And dying heroic deaths.
The Martial Alliance had perfectly analyzed the martial arts and characteristics of the Death Shadow War Unit's leaders—
And had separately trained masters specifically to counter them.
"GAAAH—!"
"KEUGH—!"
Amidst agonized screams, the warriors of the Death Shadow War Unit were being slaughtered without mercy.
Yu Un-ryong died with his head impaled by his own Ten-Joint Staff.
Myo Cheon-u knelt with both arms severed.
Wi Cheon-gyeong had his legs cut off, his body riddled with hidden weapons like a pincushion.
Won Se-mun and Jo Nam-cheon, standing back-to-back, were skewered by a massive spear, their heads hanging limp.
Shudder.
No matter how much Bu Eun-seol's personality had changed—
Even he couldn't bear to watch his subordinates being slaughtered so brutally.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Commander."
"Uuuugh—"
Bu Eun-seol, who had been shaking violently, suddenly let out a furious roar.
"RAAAAAGH—!"
After screaming endlessly, he abruptly—
"HAHAHAHA!"
Burst into uproarious laughter.