Chapter 931
"Heh heh heh heh."
The masked man burst into mad laughter as he felt an uncontrollable, overwhelming power surging through his body.
"Hahahaha!"
What began as a mere ripple of laughter soon swelled like thunder, transforming into a shockwave that shook the entire hall.
"Hahahaha!"
With each peal of laughter, cracks spiderwebbed across the floor of the Grand Hall, and dust scattered from the fractured pillars.
"So this is his power!"
Savoring the immense energy coursing through him, the masked man slowly closed his eyes.
It was an overwhelming force—as though he had absorbed the strength of dozens of superhuman beings all at once.
With power like this... It felt as though he could manipulate even the very laws of the world at will.
"What a pitiful ending."
The masked man sneered as he looked down at Bu Eun-seol, who lay unconscious on the ground.
"From your perspective, at least."
Despite his youth, Bu Eun-seol had achieved extraordinary martial prowess and accomplished great feats.
Yet, in the end, it had all led to this... Nothing more than futile struggle.
After all, all this power now belonged to him. Every event would unfold under his control.
"From now on, everything in this world shall dance in the palm of my hand!"
RUMBLE!
With just the rise of his voice, the massive Grand Hall trembled as though struck by an earthquake.
It was an overwhelming display of majesty—as though a god had donned the guise of a mortal.
Thud.
As the tremors subsided, the masked man stared down at Bu Eun-seol.
"No need to lift a finger, it seems."
Then, slowly, he turned away.
"A fine grave this will make."
Halt.
Midway toward the dark, shadow-filled gate, he suddenly stopped.
Glancing back at Bu Eun-seol, he muttered under his breath,
"Why leave behind a spark of trouble?"
Turning once more, he gazed at the unconscious youth and whispered lowly,
"Go meet Bu Jan-yang in hell."
Huuuung—
A force potent enough to shatter the world was about to condense into a small sphere in his left hand—
"As expected, you know me well."
A quiet sigh accompanied the voice of Bu Eun-seol, who had been feigning unconsciousness.
"And you knew my grandfather well too."
Rustle.
Slowly opening his eyes, Bu Eun-seol pushed himself up.
"Oh?"
The masked man showed no surprise at Bu Eun-seol's sudden revival.
"To suppress your vital signs to that extent... So you've reached the Martial Extreme Realm after all."
Instead, he gazed at Bu Eun-seol with eyes brimming with pity.
"But you have no strength left in you, do you?"
"That's right."
Indeed, not a trace of power remained in Bu Eun-seol's body.
The moment he placed the half-orb into the treasure on the altar, all his energy had vanished in an instant.
"Wouldn't it have been less painful to just pretend to be unconscious until death took you?"
"Perhaps."
Huuung—
A faint glow emanated from Bu Eun-seol's dantian, and gradually, waves of True Qi began to radiate outward.
In truth, before touching the orb—
He had sensed it was a trap and concentrated all his Internal Energy into his Internal Core for safekeeping.
Just as he had anticipated, the moment the orb shone, all his strength had been drained away.
But his Internal Power, stored within the Internal Core, remained intact.
Thanks to that, he had regained consciousness immediately and heard every word the masked man spoke.
Even so, he had continued to feign unconsciousness.
And now, at last—
He stood face-to-face with the mastermind behind it all:
A high-ranking member of the Demon Hall who had left a letter in his office.
One who knew of the Absolute Demon Saber Project.
One who possessed the early Blade Essence of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
"You prepared an Internal Core. Truly remarkable."
The masked man instantly assessed Bu Eun-seol's condition and nodded approvingly.
"For someone as young as you to possess the ability to condense Internal Power into an Internal Core... It's unprecedented in martial history."
Despite the masked man's praise, Bu Eun-seol's expression remained grim.
The orb's light had stolen all his strength, leaving him without enough power to melt the Internal Core.
'I need to buy time.'
Only by fully circulating the energy stored in his Internal Core back through his body could he hope to face this masked man.
"It was too obvious a trap. I had no choice."
"If you knew it was a trap, why touch the orb at all?"
The masked man studied Bu Eun-seol's gaze and quickly deduced the truth.
"Because you wouldn't have revealed yourself otherwise."
Bu Eun-seol replied calmly.
"That's why you showed me the mural."
The mural of the Absolute Demon Saber—something no one else knew of.
It had been the perfect snare, ensuring he could never escape this trap.
Because his grandfather's affairs took precedence above all else.
Because he could not afford to let even a single clue slip away.
"You were part of the Absolute Demon Saber Project alongside my grandfather, weren't you?"
"Why do you think that?"
"The look in your eyes when you gazed upon the mural was different."
What Bu Eun-seol had been most curious about regarding the sender of the letter was one thing: How do they know the foundational principles of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms in its earliest stages?
But the moment the Masked Man appeared, that curiosity was instantly resolved.
The profound emotion lingering in his eyes as he glanced at the mural spoke volumes.
"You're not just a high-ranking figure or a key leader overseeing the Absolute Demon Saber Project... You must have personally experienced the events within that mural, which is why your eyes hold that look."
"Interesting. And?"
A transparent, razor-sharp glint flashed in Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
"Given how intimately you seem to know this Lord, it suggests not only that you've seen me many times before—"
Taking a step forward, he fixed the Masked Man with a piercing glare and spoke coldly:
"—but that you must be someone from the Demon Hall who has had the opportunity to observe me directly."
"Oh-ho."
The Masked Man's expression twisted with unmistakable intrigue at Bu Eun-seol's muttering.
"So you've deduced my identity with just a few words?"
"Am I wrong?"
"No, I believe you."
The Masked Man chuckled darkly.
"You're not just sharp-witted—you've accomplished the impossible time and again."
Then, he raised his thumb.
"Truly, a mind even Heavenly Mechanism Star would envy."
A blade-like light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
As the man spoke and extended his thumb, he had noticed the hardened calluses etched into his fingers.
'The hands of someone who professionally handles musical instruments.'
Judging by the shape of the calluses and the slight curvature of his fingers, there was no doubt—this man was skilled in playing instruments like the flute.
Which meant he was a master of Sound Arts.
'And he clearly knows me well.'
The Masked Man's tone and gaze subtly betrayed an intimate familiarity with him.
'Yet, someone I've never once encountered before.'
No matter how skilled one's disguise, it's difficult to completely conceal one's inherent aura or the glint in their eyes.
Bu Eun-seol possessed the unique ability to distinguish people based solely on the contours of their bodies.
But the Masked Man before him—
His posture, gaze, voice, and even biological responses were unlike any he had ever encountered in his life.
"Well then, who am I?"
Bu Eun-seol remained silent.
Truthfully, he had a suspicion from the very beginning.
But the moment he confirmed the calluses and the angle of the man's fingers, every deduction he had made up until now crumbled.
Those were the fingers of a Sound Arts master who had spent a lifetime handling instruments—something impossible to fake.
"My, my. Was that all just bluster?"
Shockingly, the Masked Man was terrifyingly adept at reading Bu Eun-seol's biological responses as well.
"How disappointing. I truly thought you'd be able to uncover my identity."
Sneer.
Then, Bu Eun-seol curled his lips into a cold smile.
"Supreme Cult Commander."
And uttered a single, clipped word:
"Dark King Yeop Hyo-cheon."
The identity Bu Eun-seol had been considering all along was none other than the Supreme Cult Commander—the Dark King, Yeop Hyo-cheon.
Within the Demon Hall, there were very few who possessed the skill to slip in and out of his office undetected, leaving only a single letter behind in the brief moment he had stepped away.
And among them, only two individuals would have known about the Absolute Demon Saber Project and had clear insight into his grandfather and himself—
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor... and the Supreme Cult Commander.
But the Demonic Heavenly Emperor was in seclusion, having already perfected his invincible Demonic Arts, leaving him with no conceivable reason to orchestrate something like this.
That left only one possible culprit—the Supreme Cult Commander, Yeop Hyo-cheon.
"Go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong."
Bu Eun-seol spoke leisurely.
Even if his deduction was incorrect, he had nothing to lose.
In fact, he could turn speculation into conviction by observing the man's biological reactions.
"The Supreme Cult Commander? The Dark King, Yeop Hyo-cheon? Hahahaha!"
The Masked Man burst into bright, amused laughter.
"Why would you think that?"
"You're of similar age to my grandfather, know me far too well..."
A flash of light exploded in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"And there's only one master in all of Murim who has pushed the Flickering Light and Dark Extreme lineages of martial arts to their absolute limits."
"Heh heh heh. Impressive. You've even traced the origins of my martial arts in the meantime."
The Masked Man chuckled low before suddenly ripping off his mask.
Beneath it was the visage of a middle-aged man with an extremely sinister appearance.
"Well? Does this body resemble the Dark King?"
For a moment, disbelief flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
"Black Shadow Dark Emperor?"
During his time as a member of the Kill-Seeking Unit, Bu Eun-seol had memorized every portrait of past masters' true appearances.
And the man before him now—
A peerless master who wielded the Flickering Light lineage of martial arts, infused with the power of darkness and Yin Qi, and the devastating sound-based technique Blood-Sound Shattering Darkness through the flute.
A towering figure of the Unorthodox Faction who had vanished without a trace thirty years ago—
Was this not the Black Shadow Dark Emperor, Hwa Mu-gi?
"No—are you Hwa Mu-gi in disguise?"
At Bu Eun-seol's words, the Masked Man—Hwa Mu-gi—spoke:
"Heh heh heh. Then perhaps you should reconsider whether this old man is the Dark King... and inspect the disguise once more."
The disguise techniques employed by a true Master are difficult to discern.
Yet if one consciously questions—Who was this person originally? Who are they pretending to be now?—then the discrepancies become detectable.
Moreover, Bu Eun-seol had observed Yeop Hyo-cheon for a long time. His gaze, speech, posture, musculature, bearing, aura...
He remembered every detail.
If this "Hwa Mu-gi" were truly Yeop Hyo-cheon in disguise—
—then at the very least, some inexplicable sense of wrongness should have surfaced.
There is none.
But there wasn't the slightest trace of it.
Hwa Mu-gi showed no signs of disguise, nor could Bu Eun-seol find a single point of overlap with Yeop Hyo-cheon.
"How disappointing."
Swish.
Hwa Mu-gi donned his mask again.
Then, in a low voice, he said:
"Now that I've had my fill of amusement, let's bring this to an end."
As he prepared to strike, Bu Eun-seol's mind raced in urgency.
The Internal Core had not yet melted.
For now, he had to stall for time—recover his Internal Energy by any means necessary.
"Judging by your strength, you could've killed me easily without resorting to such a petty trap."
Contrary to his inner turmoil, Bu Eun-seol maintained a leisurely expression as he redirected the conversation.
"I can't fathom why you'd go through all this trouble."
There isn't a person alive who dislikes praise.
When Bu Eun-seol subtly flattered his martial prowess, Hwa Mu-gi shrugged his shoulders.
"You're perceptive. Had I wanted you dead, I'd have slit your throat in one stroke long ago."
Long ago?
A glint flashed in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Did that mean he had been observing him for a considerable time?
Then, with a self-assured gaze, Hwa Mu-gi continued:
"But doing so would've made it impossible to retrieve the treasure you possess."
"Treasure?"
"Beautiful flowers belong to beauties; treasured swords belong to exceptional warriors."
Hwa Mu-gi snorted.
"Yet you're nothing but a fool who can't even tell whether what's in his hand is dung or bean paste."
From that response, Bu Eun-seol gleaned two pieces of information.
First—whether or not this masked man was the real Hwa Mu-gi, he was absolutely not Supreme Cult Commander Yeop Hyo-cheon.
No matter how much one alters their voice and tone, certain speech patterns, habitual phrases, and innate aura remain.
There was no way this man could be Yeop Hyo-cheon.
Second—what the masked man desired wasn't Bu Eun-seol's life, but something he possessed from the very beginning.
"So, what exactly do you intend to take from me?"
"What do I intend to take? Hahahaha!"
Amused, Hwa Mu-gi pointed at Bu Eun-seol's face with his index finger.
"Did you truly believe the weakening of your body was only temporary?"
"You're saying you've stolen all the power within me?"
"Correct."
Hwa Mu-gi's reply was decisive.
"Every ounce of strength embedded in your body now belongs to me."
That was unexpected.
Every formidable foe Bu Eun-seol had encountered thus far had employed methods to restrict his Internal Energy or abilities.
That was why he hadn't been particularly shocked when the Three Divine Powers or his Internal Energy vanished.
But this time, those powers hadn't been temporarily sealed—they had been taken by the masked man?
"Enough idle chatter."
Zzzzt—!
As Hwa Mu-gi extended his hand, hundreds of luminous streaks cascaded down upon Bu Eun-seol's body.
Krrrrrr—
Simultaneously, a massive crater formed where he stood.
Impossibly deep, with pale smoke coiling upward—
—it was a level of power inconceivable for any human to wield.
"I deliberately missed."
Hwa Mu-gi smirked at Bu Eun-seol, who stood frozen, unable to even consider evasion.
"A bug like you can be crushed anytime."
That wasn't an empty boast.
When his eyes gleamed—
Kukukuku—
—the entire Grand Hall trembled violently, and—
Drip.
—without warning, fresh blood spilled from the corner of Bu Eun-seol's mouth.
Hwa Mu-gi had unleashed an immense, invisible pressure—undetectable and intangible—instantly inflicting Internal Injuries.
"Right now, I haven't even used one percent of my power."
One percent?
Under normal circumstances, Bu Eun-seol would've been stunned.
Yet his expression was instead filled with doubt.
Not because the masked man's strength surpassed imagination—
—but because he had realized:
This power was never his to begin with.
"You claim the power you just unleashed was mine?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke again, still stalling.
"I never possessed such an ability."
"No—you merely lacked the knowledge to wield it."
Hwa Mu-gi smiled.
"Having power doesn't mean you can use it recklessly."
"Then what is this power that I couldn't use?"
"Too many questions."
Hwa Mu-gi clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"You're relentless in seeking information."
Then, with a pitying expression, he said:
"But our conversation ends here. Ask the King of Hell for the rest."
Ssshhhk—
At that moment, a low Sword Resonance hummed through the Great Hall.
The Ink Soul Sword, sheathed in its scabbard, slid effortlessly into Bu Eun-seol's grip.
"Then, let's begin."
Whooosh—
Simultaneously, a golden radiance, bright as sunlight, unfurled from his body.
Thanks to the time he had bought—
He had fully activated all the Internal Power stored within his Internal Core.
KWAANG!
But before the fight could even begin, a deafening explosion sent Bu Eun-seol hurtling across the Great Hall, slamming him deep into the far wall.
RUMBLE—
The impact was so tremendous that his body embedded itself deep into the stone. Had he not regained his Internal Energy, that single strike would have reduced him to dust.
"To achieve a Physical Body rivaling the Dharma Heaven Golden Immortal with nothing but Internal Energy... Your Internal Power is truly remarkable."
Hwa Mu-gi nodded, impressed.
"This just made things more entertaining, didn't it?"
Then, his eyes flashed once more.
Sssssk— CRACK!
In an instant, Bu Eun-seol was encased within a massive block of ice—about thirty feet thick.
Hwa Mu-gi had trapped him without even releasing Cold Energy.
KWAANG!
Bu Eun-seol shattered the ice in a single burst, streaking toward Hwa Mu-gi like a crimson comet.
The moment his opponent stood motionless, exposing an opening—
Bu Eun-seol unleashed the Transcendent Meteor Chasing Moon Form.
BOOM! KWAANG!
Yet again, he was repelled before he could even close the distance, crashing back into the far wall.
"Truly limitless power."
Hwa Mu-gi gazed at his own hands, his voice brimming with euphoria.
"It's as if I possess every force in existence."
Ssshk—
This time, Bu Eun-seol slashed at him twice as fast.
But just as Hwa Mu-gi had said—he wielded the power of the world itself.
In one breath, he summoned lightning. In the next, he exhaled a Poison Mist that melted everything.
When Bu Eun-seol moved at blinding speeds to strike, Hwa Mu-gi split into hundreds of clones—like a legendary Clone Technique.
He fired compressed Finger Wind like hidden weapons, and with a mere flick of his fingers, shockwaves like thunder erupted.
If Bu Eun-seol somehow landed a hit—
Hwa Mu-gi's skin turned to metal. At times, he triggered earthquakes, collapsing the ground beneath Bu Eun-seol's feet.
Like an omnipotent god—he manifested countless abilities without end.
And none of it was something Martial Arts alone could withstand. It was the raw, untamed force of Great Nature itself.
"Ghk—"
With a pained grunt, Bu Eun-seol was flung back once more.
Fortunately, his monstrous Internal Energy allowed him to barely evade or deflect Hwa Mu-gi's attacks—but he had no strength left to counter.
"Getting dull now."
Hwa Mu-gi observed Bu Eun-seol's battered form, then extended his left hand.
"Now, turn to dust."
Zzzziiing—
A transparent, spherical force expanded around Bu Eun-seol.
His body stiffened—he couldn't move a single finger. Slowly, he began floating upward, as if invisible hands had seized his arms and lifted him.
'I'm dead.'
The sensation of a Grim Reaper's scythe pressed against his throat.
If he didn't evade this attack—
Hwa Mu-gi's grip would tear him in half.
KWA-RUMBLE!
Golden light erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
Pushing his Internal Energy to its absolute limit—
The faint remnants of his Thunder Essence Divine Qi surged outward, resisting Hwa Mu-gi's invisible force.
Zzzziiing— Zzzziiing—
His body flickered like a star in the night sky, gradually breaking free from the crushing pressure.
"Oh? You're resisting?"
Hwa Mu-gi let out an intrigued hum, then doubled his power.
'Now.'
Zzzziiing—
A white radiance spilled from Bu Eun-seol's body.
Heavenly Robe Mind Art.
The secret technique of Jeongcheonje—to discern the origin of Hwa Mu-gi's power.
'If it's a force that once belonged to me... I should recognize it.'
Even his pupils turned translucent as he rapidly analyzed the energy pouring from Hwa Mu-gi.
And in that moment—
Ssshhhk—
A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.
Hwa Mu-gi tilted his head, baffled.
"You're laughing now?"
"It was nothing special."
Abruptly, Bu Eun-seol activated his Movement Technique, retreating backward.
Shhhhk—
With just that simple motion—he tore free from the crushing force and escaped the Domain that threatened to annihilate the world itself.
"Hmm."
Hwa Mu-gi's expression shifted slightly, unnerved by how effortlessly Bu Eun-seol had slipped away.
"Still hiding more power?"
He unleashed his might again.
But strangely—his attacks no longer reached Bu Eun-seol.
Lightning, wind, even earth-shattering tremors—none of them could be unleashed.
"Hoh?"
The Masked Man's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
This overflowing power could obliterate not just Bu Eun-seol, but the entire battlefield in an instant.
So why wasn't it connecting?
Why couldn't he reuse the same techniques?