Chapter 920
Sword Brow Mountain, shrouded in thick clouds and mist, appeared from afar as though veiled in a mystical curtain draped over its slopes.
Whenever the occasional gust of wind parted the fog, sheer cliffs that seemed to pierce the heavens and precipitous peaks would reveal themselves.
Verdant trees, stubbornly pushing through the crevices of rugged rocks, flaunted their tenacious vitality, while a silver waterfall carved smoothly through unyielding stone.
Murmur, murmur.
As Bu Eun-seol entered the foot of Sword Brow Mountain, he saw a procession of countless people and buildings of all shapes and sizes.
Langya Pavilion had now grown large enough to rival the Fire Rain Sword Sect, the foremost gate of the Demonic Path, and as a result, a small marketplace had even formed at the mountain's base.
'This isn't a visit for pleasant matters. I should meet the Deputy Pavilion Master discreetly and leave.'
Tsk.
Bu Eun-seol immediately unleashed Ultimate Speed Shadowless, the pinnacle of the Hidden Stealth Secret Art, intending to slip quietly into Langya Pavilion.
Zzziiing.
But the moment he stood at the entrance, the sky abruptly darkened, and an ominous, unfathomable energy barred his path.
A unique Formation Study had been laid across Sword Brow Mountain to prevent outsiders from covertly spying within.
'When did the main pavilion become like this?'
In this era, all the prodigious talents of the Demonic Path yearned to become disciples of Langya Pavilion.
But precisely because of that, rival factions had begun to keep them in check.
Moreover, unlike the past, when they pursued only the Martial Way, they had now become a colossal sect wielding immense influence over Murim.
Countless intelligence organizations attempted infiltrations to monitor their movements.
'In the past, they wouldn't have cared whether outsiders came or went.'
Originally, Langya Pavilion had no interest whatsoever in the affairs of Murim, so even if intelligence operatives infiltrated or spied, they wouldn't have batted an eye.
But after Bu Eun-seol stepped into the Rivers and Lakes in secret for revenge, he clashed with numerous Abyssal Forces.
By commanding multiple factions and even forming alliances, he became a Master of a Generation, exerting profound influence over Murim.
Because of this, a Boundary Formation had been unavoidably erected at Langya Pavilion's entrance to block outsiders.
'An inevitable consequence, I suppose.'
An inexplicable guilt stirred within him.
The Langya Pavilion of the past was a den of wild wolves who risked their lives honing their martial skills—
A place where life and death were decided in battle, all for the sake of perfecting the Martial Way.
Outsiders wouldn't have dared even think of entering, and even if they did, there would have been nothing for them to gain.
But because of his actions, the pavilion had acquired too much—
And now, it had transformed into something indistinguishable from any other major faction of the Demonic Path.
'They've applied the principles of the Funeral Spirit Dark Feeding I devised into a formation. Unless one knows Langya Pavilion's martial arts, they can't pass through.'
Funeral Spirit Dark Feeding was a secret method devised for Langya Pavilion's warriors, who risked life and limb mastering the Way of the Beast and were often left crippled—
A technique born from Bu Eun-seol's own experience of honing Extrasensory Perception by sealing his sight and using thunder.
'If they've laid this at the entrance, it means the number of disciples mastering the Way of the Beast has grown.'
Passing through the formation with quiet satisfaction, Bu Eun-seol immediately headed for Dan Cheong's office.
If the wielder of his grandfather's great saber truly was a disciple of Langya Pavilion, they must have colluded with an external faction.
In that case, there was no way the Deputy Pavilion Master Dan Cheong wouldn't know of such a person.
Halt.
Arriving before the Clear Breeze Studio where Dan Cheong resided, Bu Eun-seol suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A thought had just flashed through his mind.
'If I find the culprit here... this place can no longer be... a den for me.'
The reason Bu Eun-seol had considered Langya Pavilion his new sanctuary the moment he entered—
Was because he realized its disciples devoted their very souls to the Martial Way, and fellow disciples treated one another like family.
But if, as the Martial God Heaven Lord had said—
There was someone conspiring with an outside force? Then Langya Pavilion could no longer be his refuge.
'What should I do?'
To investigate and doubt his own fellow disciples was, in the end, to distrust his family.
Moreover, if those he trusted absolutely—Master Cheol, So-jeon, or even Baek Yeon—were the culprits who had taken his grandfather's great saber in league with outsiders...
Could he endure the shock and anguish with composure?
[What are you doing loitering at the door?]
Then, a low but playful Thousand-Li Voice Transmission brushed against his ear.
[Were you planning to hold ancestral rites before this Deputy Pavilion Master's residence?]
Dan Cheong had sensed Bu Eun-seol's arrival and sent the transmission.
'The Deputy Pavilion Master's martial arts have advanced yet again.'
After obtaining the Wind & Cloud Divine Qi, his Concealment Art had reached a truly divine level.
Yet Dan Cheong had detected his presence without even stepping outside?
[Was it not I who brought you into this pavilion?]
As if reading Bu Eun-seol's astonishment, Dan Cheong sent another transmission.
[Besides, with your spirit and mind in such turmoil while using Concealment Art... how could I not notice?]
The foundation of Concealment Art lies in an utterly serene and tranquil state of mind.
An unsettled or fluctuating spirit and mind inevitably manifests in the physical body's reactions.
Creak.
Bu Eun-seol entered the pavilion without hesitation and opened the door to Dan Cheong's office.
"Deputy Pavilion Master."
As Bu Eun-seol bowed respectfully,
"Hmm."
Dan Cheong, nodding slightly while diligently writing something at his desk, asked,
"What troubles you so much that you couldn't suppress your gloomy thoughts and came to visit the Main Pavilion?"
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
He couldn't quite grasp where or how to begin explaining the situation.
"Well..."
Steadying his mind, Bu Eun-seol began speaking calmly.
He told of meeting the mysterious prophet Wooden Buddha, of seeing the Martial God Heaven Lord on Ghost Island, and how, upon learning the truth, the Martial God Heaven Lord had been imprisoned there after losing to his grandfather. He also mentioned that his grandfather's beloved weapon, the great saber, had been hidden in the Secret Vault on Ghost Island.
However, he did not speak of the split personality.
It was far too absurd, and its existence was uncertain.
"I see, so that's how it is."
Dan Cheong sighed and shook his head.
"If the Human Heavens have appeared, naturally the Divine Heavens would follow."
The fact that one of the Four Divine Heavens had been lurking on Ghost Island wasn't particularly surprising.
But there was one thing that did shock Dan Cheong.
"You managed by sheer luck to defeat the Martial God Heaven Lord, who only had a tenth of his power left?"
He knew full well that Bu Eun-seol's martial prowess was not an inch inferior to that of the grandmasters who dominated the Murim.
Yet he had struggled against the Martial God Heaven Lord, who had been waiting for death with only a fraction of his strength?
If so, then the martial might of the Divine Heavens...
Undoubtedly surpassed the current strongest experts of the Murim by an unfathomable margin.
"Perhaps the masters who have ascended to the Divine Heavens have reached the Heavenly Will Realm, a realm martial artists could only imagine."
"The Heavenly Will Realm?"
"Yes. They wielded power so incomprehensible."
Dan Cheong stroked his chin.
Truthfully, Bu Eun-seol was not the type to dwell on or measure the stages of martial arts.
Yet he was suggesting that the Martial God Heaven Lord, with only a tenth of his power, might have reached the Heavenly Will Realm?
That meant the Martial God Heaven Lord's martial prowess wasn't merely beyond imagination—it was powerful enough to shake Bu Eun-seol's very beliefs and thoughts.
"Well, putting that aside."
Dan Cheong shook his head and spoke.
"Even after encountering such a formidable opponent, I doubt that's the reason you're so dispirited."
His gaze lingered on Bu Eun-seol's slumped shoulders as he asked,
"What really happened?"
"He said it was a disciple of the Main Pavilion."
"What are you talking about?"
"According to the Martial God Heaven Lord, the one who took my grandfather's great saber used the Way of the Beast—or a martial art similar to Sensory Martial Arts—from the Main Pavilion."
Dan Cheong's expression went blank for a long moment.
Finally, he understood why Bu Eun-seol had been so tormented.
"If it wasn't some trick of his... then that means there's a disciple within the Main Pavilion who has colluded with an outside faction."
"That's right."
Dan Cheong clasped his hands behind his back and gazed out the window for a while, as if trying to deduce who in Langya Pavilion could have done such a thing.
"Once a disciple of Langya Pavilion, always a disciple of Langya Pavilion."
After a long silence, Dan Cheong finally spoke.
"That fact remains unchanged."
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
No matter how many times he thought about it,
The idea that someone would betray Langya Pavilion and conspire with an outside faction was utterly unthinkable.
"However, the Main Pavilion has always revered only the Martial Way. Because of that, there have been disciples who misunderstood its spirit and essence."
Dan Cheong spoke in a composed tone.
"Can you guess why?"
Bu Eun-seol pondered for a while before answering.
"Is it because the martial arts of the Main Pavilion involve using an opponent's techniques in real combat to develop one's own?"
The essence of Langya Pavilion's martial arts was Seizing the Essence, Transforming the Origin and Returning the Enemy's Techniques to Myself—
To plunder the essence of an opponent's martial arts, assimilate their techniques, and perfect one's own martial skills.
But some disciples failed to grasp the true meaning of this doctrine.
Instead, they became obsessed with the subtleties of other martial arts, leading them to either fall into corruption or defect to other sects.
"Exactly."
Dan Cheong nodded.
"There have been disciples who, in their obsession with perfecting their martial arts, succumbed to the temptations of the Heretical Path."
The martial arts of Langya Pavilion were not fixed—they were like flowing water, accepting all things.
Yet disciples were meant to refine their own version of Langya Pavilion's martial arts through real combat.
However, in the process, some became fixated on the secrets and techniques of other martial arts,
Rather than completing Langya Pavilion's martial arts, they ended up clinging to foreign styles.
"In the past, that is."
At Dan Cheong's words, Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
"The past... I see."
He could be certain.
That no such person existed in Langya Pavilion now.
Because now, the Pavilion Lord was a peerless grandmaster of martial arts,
A being who rivaled even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, who wielded psychological warfare beyond human comprehension, who could disturb minds with just a glance—
The Absolute Demonic Lord,
The Human Demon,
Ak Mu-ryeong.
If there were a disciple of Langya Pavilion who had fallen to the Evil Path?
That person would never be allowed to live and breathe unscathed.
'Then that means this person existed before the Pavilion Lord became the Pavilion Lord.'
Before Ak Mu-ryeong became the Pavilion Lord.
There must have been those who were expelled for such reasons and barely managed to escape with their lives.
And whether by fortune or misfortune—
Bu Eun-seol happened to know someone who perfectly fit these conditions.
"Thank you, Deputy Pavilion Lord."
Bu Eun-seol bowed respectfully.
"Thanks to you, I've found my answer."
"That's a relief."
Dan Cheong nodded with a somewhat regretful expression.
"As I've always told you, don't try to shoulder everything alone."
Then he said firmly,
"You are a disciple of this pavilion."
Among the Demonic Path Ten Gates, Langya Pavilion was notorious—
For training its disciples with methods so reckless they could be called absurdly dangerous.
Countless had died or been crippled because of it.
And yet, Langya Pavilion was bound by a solidarity stronger than any other sect—stronger even than blood ties.
The reason was simple.
In the process of enduring and mastering such extreme training—
They learned to trust and rely on one another.
Surviving the brink of death together forged bonds far deeper than mere kinship.
Even Bu Eun-seol revered and admired Blood Vajra, who had taught him internal energy, as much as his own grandfather.
"I always rely on you."
For once, Bu Eun-seol smiled brightly.
"Just like now."
A faint smile touched Dan Cheong's lips.
If there was one thing he had done right in his life, it was bringing Bu Eun-seol to Langya Pavilion.
"Then visit again sometime."
"Yes."
Bu Eun-seol bowed respectfully and stepped outside.
Once beyond Sword Brow Mountain, his expression darkened as he gazed at the distant sky.
'So it was him after all.'
In the past several decades, only one person had been expelled from Langya Pavilion while still a disciple.
The one who had given him the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon manual, claiming it was Langya Pavilion's fist art.
The Wolf Lord of the Wandering Drifters—
Domyeong.
There was no one else.
Wandering Drifters
The largest mercenary market in Guizhou—and the place where Bu Eun-seol had first formed ties with Heuk-pyo.
In the past, the Wandering Drifters had been under the influence of the Hell Blood Citadel, constantly suppressed and unable to flourish.
But after the Hell Blood Citadel repeatedly provoked Bu Eun-seol, he was effectively forced into seclusion.
With the Hell Blood Citadel ceasing his activities in the martial world, the Wandering Drifters expanded rapidly.
Now, they rivaled even the Red Sky Curtain Branch—once the largest mercenary market in the Central Plains and the precursor to the Martial Soul Society.
Murmur, murmur.
Arriving at the bustling entrance of the Wandering Drifters, Bu Eun-seol didn't enter immediately, instead scanning his surroundings.
'It's changed a lot.'
If the Wandering Drifters of the past had been a bleak, typical mercenary market—
Now, it resembled the lively streets of Chengdu.
Mercenary markets were neutral grounds, untouched by any sect's influence.
And with rare herbs, secret manuals, weapons—
Goods hard to find elsewhere—being traded, they often transformed into thriving marketplaces.
The Wandering Drifters had maximized this trait, becoming both Guizhou's largest mercenary hub and a bazaar for wanderers.
Inside, the shouts of merchants and haggling never ceased.
Stalls lined up, displaying weapons, exotic herbs, and ancient books containing secret techniques. Occasionally, information brokers hidden behind black tents also caught the eye.
'Hall Master Ok has done well.'
Though Domyeong, the Wolf Lord of the Wandering Drifters, was an exceptional figure, he was no master of commerce or economics.
This prosperity was undoubtedly the work of Ok Ho-bang—Heuk-pyo's biological father and the man managing all of the Wandering Drifters' finances.
Whoosh.
Unleashing Ultimate Speed Shadowless, Bu Eun-seol slipped undetected into Domyeong's office.
He wanted to bypass tedious formalities and meet Domyeong directly.
Click.
As he stealthily entered, he saw a middle-aged man sitting quietly at a table, sipping tea.
With a refined face and an unassuming demeanor, he looked more like a scholar than a martial artist.
This was Domyeong—the Wolf Lord of the Wandering Drifters and a former disciple of Langya Pavilion.
Clink.
Suddenly, Domyeong set down his teacup and spoke in a low voice.
"Welcome."
Bu Eun-seol was stunned.
Though Domyeong's martial arts were formidable, they shouldn't have been enough to detect his Concealment Secret Art.
Even the Three Demons and Three Venerables—considered among the strongest in the martial world—would struggle to sense his current stealth technique.
How had Domyeong noticed him so quickly?
"I see."
Bu Eun-seol's expression turned bitterly cold.
Domyeong hadn't just been hiding his strength—he had been concealing his true identity all along.
"The reason you've been absent from the Wandering Drifters wasn't to train... but to carry out tasks for another faction, wasn't it?"
Domyeong had left operations to Ok Ho-bang, alternating between seclusion and return.
Not to deepen his martial arts—but because he had been working for another power all along.
"Have you been to Ghost Island?"
"You knew?"
Domyeong shook his head.
"Just a hunch. The only reason you'd visit so abruptly would be about Ghost Island."
He made neither excuses nor lies.
He was boldly admitting that it was he himself who had taken the great saber's blade from Ghost Island.
"Was it for the Fist Demon Seven Forms?"
Bu Eun-seol already knew.
Because Domyeong had said the Fist Demon Seven Forms were Langya Pavilion's martial arts.
And since Bu Eun-seol was a disciple of Langya Pavilion, Domyeong had claimed he was returning it to the sect.
But the Fist Demon Seven Forms did not belong to Langya Pavilion—it was the fist art of the Fist Adept, one of the Eight Heavenly Servants.
Meaning, he was likely someone who had submitted to the Servants of the True Demon.
"You must think the Fist Demon Seven Forms are the Fist Adept's martial arts, and that I am a Servant of the True Demon."
As if reading Bu Eun-seol's thoughts, Domyeong shook his head and spoke.
"But the Fist Demon Seven Forms are undoubtedly this pavilion's martial art. Only the identity of its creator has changed."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"A disciple of Langya Pavilion created the Fist Demon Seven Forms, but later became the Fist Adept—a Servant of the True Demon."
Calmly, he began recounting the past.
Yong Mun-gyeok, the Pavilion Lord of Langya Pavilion two generations prior,
was over a hundred and fifty years old. Due to wounds and internal injuries from his youth, as well as old age,
he was quietly awaiting his death atop Iron Staff Peak of Sword Tail Mountain.
And Domyeong, an orphan,
had by sheer chance caught the eye of a Langya Pavilion member and was brought to Sword Tail Mountain.
—That child has a connection with me.
The moment Yong Mun-gyeok saw Domyeong, he began personally instructing him, transcending the usual hierarchy.
Yong Mun-gyeok, both his master and the former Pavilion Lord, possessed a rare benevolence for someone of the Demonic Path, cherishing Domyeong like his own son.
The senior disciples of Langya Pavilion, though strict, were all warm-hearted people.
Realizing this, Domyeong took pride in being a disciple of Langya Pavilion and trained even harder in martial arts.
He showed exceptional talent in fist techniques, and since Yong Mun-gyeok himself specialized in them, Domyeong naturally walked the path of a fist practitioner.
Focusing intensely on fist techniques, by the time he reached adulthood, he had reached a level where he could hold his own against countless fist masters scattered throughout the martial world.
Yet he remained unsatisfied, even feeling stifled, as if his martial arts were regressing.
Because at that time, Langya Pavilion had prodigies like So-jeon and Baek Yeon,
as well as the terrifying master slated to be the next Pavilion Lord—Ak Mu-ryeong.
Compared to such once-in-a-generation talents, Domyeong couldn't help but blame himself for his slow progress.
—Why am I like this, even after being personally taught by my master?
Domyeong wanted to become a disciple worthy of Yong Mun-gyeok, who had raised him like a grandfather.
And to repay that kindness, he believed he had to elevate the prestige of Langya Pavilion's martial arts throughout the martial world.
During a solitary journey through the martial world, he was fortunate enough to discover a secret fist manual—the Fist Demon Seven Forms.
And astonishingly, the manual stated that this art had been created by a former disciple of Langya Pavilion four hundred years ago.
—With this fist art... I could dominate the martial world.
Domyeong was overjoyed.
The Fist Demon Seven Forms was a martial art that had reached the pinnacle of fist techniques—surely, it could become Langya Pavilion's supreme fist art.
He devoted himself to mastering it, and upon returning to the martial world, he defeated one formidable opponent after another with his fists.
Before he knew it, he had earned the epithet "Fist Shaking the Heavens" and gained great renown in the martial world.
At the peak of his invincibility, he perfected the Fist Demon Seven Forms in his own way
and returned to Langya Pavilion to present the art to Yong Mun-gyeok.
But what he heard next was a shocking revelation he had never anticipated.
—This is an evil fist art that should have been erased from our sect's history.
Yong Mun-gyeok told him that the Langya Pavilion disciple who had created the Fist Demon Seven Forms had eventually become the lord of Fist Adept Heaven, one of the Eight Heavenly Servants under the True Demon.
—But does it matter? Our sect's martial arts are about absorbing the strengths of other schools to forge our own path.
Even if a former disciple fell and became the leader of another faction, the fist technique itself isn't at fault, is it?
It was a logically sound argument.
But Yong Mun-gyeok could not hide his disappointment and shook his head.
—Do you truly not recognize the evil in this fist art?
—I don't. What exactly is evil about it?
—If you don't know, then that's that.
Domyeong tried persuading Yong Mun-gyeok multiple times, but the only response he received was a cold refusal: "This cannot become Langya Pavilion's fist art."
—Since when has our sect cared about the origins of martial arts?
Langya Pavilion was a place that freely absorbed the strengths of any martial art—Orthodox, Unorthodox, Demonic, or Buddhist—to forge its own unique techniques.
What did it matter if the creator had become a Servant of the True Demon? Why such vehement opposition?
—Even if you won't acknowledge it, Master, I will make this the supreme fist art of Langya Pavilion!
Ignoring Yong Mun-gyeok's objections, Domyeong delved deeper into the Fist Demon Seven Forms, training relentlessly.
When he returned to the martial world, he once again defeated powerful foes in succession.
But by then, his epithet had changed from "Fist Shaking the Heavens" to "One Fist, A River of Blood."
As he mastered the Fist Demon Seven Forms, uncontrollable killing intent began corroding his body, and demonic energy started manifesting within him.
Only then did he realize—this fist art didn't just destroy enemies.
It also destroyed the practitioner's spirit and mind, inevitably turning them into a Servant of the True Demon.
It was a demonic art in the truest sense.