Chapter 978
'No, I can't.'
Bu Eun-seol, who had been about to grip his sword, immediately shook his head.
The reason he had revealed his identity as the Martial Soul Society Leader under the alias Seol-so this time—
Was to break free from the crossroads between the Demonic Path and the Righteous Faction, to move the Martial Soul Society freely.
But if he used the Bloody Tears Seven Forms now, all his plans would come to nothing.
[Surely you don't have another secret art up your sleeve besides Natural Qi?]
The senses of the white-robed man, who had unleashed his Manifestation Art Energy, had sharpened to an astonishing degree.
Just by observing Bu Eun-seol's expression, he had pierced through the conflict raging within him.
Kwoong.
At that moment, with a sound like the earth's axis shaking, the entire interior of the Absolute Boundary surrounding the two began to tremble.
Crack.
Simultaneously, a rift appeared in the space more than a thousand feet away, faintly revealing the scenery outside.
There, the four war leaders of the Martial Soul Society and the special forces martial artists stood in orderly ranks.
As if a sorcerer were raising a treasure to cast a spell—
They had spread their hands toward heaven and earth, lightly supporting their weapons with their index and middle fingers, holding them before their chests.
Mind's Eye Mirror.
They were collectively executing an ancient Secret Formation Studies that could unfold a mental world through the operation of a battle formation alone.
Crack.
As time passed, though ever so slightly—
Their power was gradually shattering the Absolute Boundary constructed by the white-robed man.
Since the Mind's Eye Mirror was a secret art capable of unfolding a mental world, it naturally included methods to break one as well.
—If not for an Absolute Boundary, there's no way the Society Leader would have vanished so abruptly.
The moment Bu Eun-seol disappeared, the Martial Soul Society's leaders sensed something amiss and immediately intuited that an Absolute Boundary had been deployed nearby.
Though they hadn't fully mastered the Mind's Eye Mirror, they understood the principles of how mental worlds were formed and broken.
What if an Absolute Boundary existed here?
They reasoned that combining their strength to shatter it with the Mind's Eye Mirror wasn't impossible—and promptly acted on it.
[Hmm.]
The white-robed man withdrew his power momentarily and muttered.
Having already resolved to break the Law and use his full strength, killing Bu Eun-seol would be no different from crushing a bug.
[You've lived long enough to see interesting things.]
He chuckled dryly.
[To deduce the existence of an Absolute Boundary not by sensing it directly, but simply because their leader vanished abruptly...]
Just then, Bu Eun-seol snorted and made an unexpected remark.
"The Baekri Clan must be short on people too."
[What do you mean?]
"Had you brought an army, this would've been over long ago."
[...]
"If you were going to reveal yourselves anyway, you might as well have swept everything clean. I can't fathom why you're handling things so sloppily."
The Baekri Clan, which had never once revealed itself directly until now—
The fact that they sent familiars—whether slaves or servants—to carry out their will meant they clearly regarded the matter of the New Bloodline with utmost importance.
So why had the True Demon sent only a single familiar?
And why had the Baekri Clan dispatched just one lone servant?
[Did it never occur to you that destroying something like the Martial Soul Society is well within the capabilities of just me alone?]
The Baekri Clan and the True Demon had divided the martial world between them since ancient times as colossal factions.
And both Hyeon-in and the white-robed man—
Indeed possessed the power to single-handedly annihilate the Martial Soul Society.
"Even so, they wouldn't truly send just one."
Bu Eun-seol's gaze grew sharper.
"Which means even these two factions... are bound by some form of covenant or restrictive seal that prevents them from intervening freely in the martial world."
Perhaps it was an inevitable conclusion.
Had the Baekri Clan or the True Demon been free to roam the martial world as they pleased?
The current martial world would have already become their battleground, with every sect falling under the domination of these two great powers.
Yet the present martial world maintained the Sacred Realm as a neutral faction, and even in conflicts like this, only an extreme few were dispatched.
In other words, it was proof that some form of restriction had long existed for both factions.
[It seems you really are just the 'shell.']
"Does that matter?"
[It matters. To me.]
The white-robed man smirked.
[If you truly are the shell, then accomplishing this would be a great merit—one that might even lift the restrictive seal on me.]
"..."
[Even if you aren't, thoroughly ransacking the Martial Soul Society for information on the New Bloodline... would still count as a significant achievement.]
Kukukuku!
As the white-robed man slowly raised both arms—
The colossal sphere he had created completely blotted out the sky, casting a thick darkness over the earth.
[You were fated to die anyway!]
As he stretched out his hand, the sphere covering the heavens began to descend like a massive burning star.
The moment that tremendous force struck the ground, this entire area would evaporate without a trace.
Kwaang!
In that instant, a brilliant light erupted from Bu Eun-seol's body, accompanied by a deafening explosion.
Had the White-Robed Man hurled that sphere without hesitation, there would have been no chance to resist or escape.
But thanks to the Four Guardians outside buying time by unfolding the Mind's Eye Mirror—
—he had barely managed to conceive a way to counter that force.
What if I become the sword myself, wielding the Blade Qi of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms?
The Bloody Tears Seven Forms could unleash Blade Qi capable of delivering death to all things with a single sword.
Even without a blade, it could be executed with bare hands.
—But it was a gamble.
To contain the Blade Qi of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms within one's body meant ultimately succumbing to that death as well.
Yet there was no other choice.
If he lost here, the Martial Soul Society would be doomed.
I stake everything on this single move!
Zzzzzzzzz—
A low hum resonated as Bu Eun-seol's entire body darkened, as though stained in ink.
His very flesh had become the sword, now imbued with the Blade Qi of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol recalled the seventh stance of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—one he had never executed before.
The Blade Essence of Death With Remaining Guilt.
"Even in death, the guilt remains... nothing but regret."
His grandfather, too—
—must have forged this technique not for his own sake, but solely to protect those around him.
And now, Bu Eun-seol—
—without hesitation, unleashed this stance to shield the Martial Soul Society.
With a sharp exhale, a black radiance erupted.
It was the light of death, emitted to protect all life.
BOOM!
Bu Eun-seol, now a streak of black starlight, kicked off the ground and shot into the sky.
In stark contrast to the White-Robed Man's sphere of annihilation, his body became a black trajectory burning with life.
FLASH!
The moment the two forces collided, the world lost all color and form.
When the light faded, the landscape had transformed entirely.
A perfect plain stretched before them.
As if an enraged deity had blown away every unevenness in the world with a single breath, the ground was flawlessly level—not a single irregularity remained.
Even the boundary between sky and earth was sharply divided by a single, razor-straight line.
Upon that vast, flat expanse, nothing remained.
No trace of life, not even a pebble to testify to what once was.
Whoosh—
As the wind swept dust across the wasteland, two figures emerged.
The White-Robed Man, who had once carried himself with the arrogance of one who owned the world, now stood in ruin.
Flesh melted and torn, black energy seeped like smoke through the tattered remains of his robes.
Bu Eun-seol was no better.
His hair was caked in gray dust, and the wounds visible through his shredded clothes were smeared with blood and dirt.
But their expressions could not have been more different.
The White-Robed Man's once-haughty eyes were now clouded with pain, fury, and faint disbelief.
Bu Eun-seol, however, remained expressionless.
Countless bones had broken during his training. Flesh had been torn away time and again.
Since stepping into the martial world, he had faced death at every turn, barely surviving each battle.
Wounds like these meant nothing.
[You... blocked that... with your bare body?!]
Unaware that Bu Eun-seol had wielded his own flesh as a weapon—
—that he had embraced death to unleash the Bloody Tears Seven Forms—
—the White-Robed Man could only assume he had clashed against his power with nothing but his bare hands.
Step. Step.
Ignoring the shock in the White-Robed Man's eyes, Bu Eun-seol advanced slowly.
The fight wasn't over yet.
Only by severing his enemy's breath would the battle truly end.
Crackle—
As he summoned the Heavenly Light Endless Art once more, violet lightning erupted from his left hand.
His injuries were so severe that even the union of the Three Divine Powers had shattered.
But it didn't matter.
As long as a single wisp of True Qi remained—
—as long as even a thread of strength lingered... he could still fight.
Shudder. Shudder.
The White-Robed Man trembled uncontrollably.
Cloaked in endless darkness, crimson eyes flashing ominously—
—Bu Eun-seol's approach was like Death itself walking forth, exhaling blackened breath.
Just as Bu Eun-seol prepared to strike—
FLASH!
A bolt of lightning split the sky, and in its wake, a small figure forced its way between them.
Suddenly, at the midpoint between the two, a child clad in blue robes materialized.
The Sanctuary.
The Old Man of the Sacred Realm—whom Bu Eun-seol had once met alongside Han Sang-ja while searching for the Executioner's superior—
—had now reappeared in the form of a young boy.
Hmph.
Recognizing the Old Man of the Sacred Realm, Bu Eun-seol snorted.
"Too late."
The leaked intel about the New Bloodline being within the Martial Soul Society—
—had been a deliberate ploy to lure the True Demon and the Baekri Clan into attacking.
His intention was not to engage them in direct combat to settle the score, but to draw the intervention of the Sacred Realm.
Only through the Sacred Realm's involvement could he prove one thing:
That this murim was not merely a battleground for two colossal forces—the Baekri Clan and the True Demon—but a world where ordinary martial artists could coexist, separate from them.
And now, with the appearance of the Old Man of the Sacred Realm, that fact had been proven.
Yet his arrival had come far too late.
"Martial Soul Society Leader."
Though the boy's voice was soft, it reverberated through the heavens like thunder.
"Cease your attack."
"He sought to annihilate not only this Society Leader but all of my subordinates."
A bloody light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's pupils.
"If I do not kill him now, the repercussions will be endless."
"That will not happen."
The boy turned his gaze toward the White-Robed Man.
"He will withdraw quietly."
In an instant, the White-Robed Man's eyes sharpened like blades.
[Is the Sacred Realm truly interfering in the affairs of our Main House?]
"Not interfering."
Though his true form was that of an old man,
the Sacred Realm's envoy had taken the shape of a boy, and thus his voice rang clear and youthful.
"This Realm has already confirmed it. The so-called 'seed of conflict' you speak of—the New Bloodline—is not here."
[Regardless, they are clearly hiding something. If we interrogate and investigate, we will uncover their whereabouts.]
"That is no longer the Sacred Realm's concern."
The boy spoke as if delivering a solemn decree.
"What matters is that the Martial Soul Society has completely repelled the envoys sent by both great clans."
[Repelled?]
"You, too, were defeated by the Martial Soul Society Leader."
The White-Robed Man's eyes flashed dangerously.
[I have yet to wield the true power of the Main House.]
"These eyes witnessed you employ the Third Layer's power—the strength of Spiritual Awakening—just moments ago."
[And what of it?]
The boy continued calmly.
"Given these circumstances, the Sacred Realm has no choice but to recognize the Martial Soul Society as a force of the Middle Heavens."
[The Middle Heavens?]
The White-Robed Man's eyes widened.
[You would acknowledge this ragtag faction, barely a few years old, as part of the Middle Heavens?]
"Their military strength and martial prowess are on par with the orthodox Martial Alliance of the righteous path. Moreover, they alone repelled Hyeon-in and have now prevailed against you."
[Prevailed? Give me but eight minutes, and I will sever his head from his shoulders.]
He had clearly lost to Bu Eun-seol and was only spared death by the boy's intervention.
Yet he acted as though he had forgotten this entirely, now speaking with bravado.
"That is unacceptable."
[Why?]
With a resolute expression, the boy pointed into the distance—
toward a transparent rift where part of the Absolute Boundary had shattered, revealing the outside world.
"Soon, the secrets of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon will be known throughout the entire murim."
There, beyond the broken Absolute Boundary, a gap exposed the outside scenery.
Unbeknownst to them, the Martial Soul Society's Four Great Battle Leaders had combined their strength to create such a rift.
A glint flashed in the White-Robed Man's eyes.
The Baekri Clan's Absolute Boundary was something ordinary martial artists could never break—only those supreme martial experts worthy of the Covenant stood even the slightest chance.
Yet these Martial Soul Society warriors, whom he had dismissed as mere insects, were shattering it?
"The Martial Soul Society possesses forces capable of manifesting a Mindscape, and soon, masters worthy of the Covenant will stand among them."
The boy spoke gravely.
"If this battle continues, the balance we have maintained until now will be utterly disrupted."
The White-Robed Man replied coldly.
[The Main House will restore that balance.]
The boy let out a hollow laugh.
"So now the Baekri Clan will personally intervene in the murim and act as the Supreme Martial Lord?"
[...]
"You, like Hyeon-in, have failed to kill the Martial Soul Society Leader. And if he and his warriors fight to the death? In the end, all the Laws and secrets this Realm has risked its life to protect... will spread throughout the entire murim."
The White-Robed Man fell silent, as if he had nothing left to say.
Then, pointing at Bu Eun-seol, he spoke in a low voice.
[The probability that he is the Shell of the True Demon is high. He must be executed immediately.]
"The affairs of the Martial Soul Society are now beyond the reach of both clans. Therefore, this Realm will handle the matter."
[...And if we refuse?]
"Then this Realm will have no choice but to do what it has always done."
A mysterious energy unfurled from the boy's clasped hands.
It was neither martial arts nor the Art of Spells—but an utterly alien force, one that had existed since ancient times.
'That's the power of the Sacred Realm.'
A flash of light passed through Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he observed.
Though the energy had no tangible form and its attributes were ambiguous,
it caused the surrounding air to evaporate and the very earth to tremble faintly.
'I thought he'd use some hybrid of the Baekri Clan and the True Demon's power.'
The Sacred Realm possessed mysterious parchments that could subjugate martial artists using the combined forces of the Baekri Clan and the Servants of the True Demon.
Which was why Bu Eun-seol had assumed the Old Man would wield some fusion of the two as a secret technique.
But what the Old Man of the Sacred Realm was using now—
was a third, utterly unique power. One he had never seen or sensed before.
Moreover, the sheer scale of that power was monstrous.
The moment its energy unfurled, the entire interior of the Absolute Boundary was instantly saturated with that alien force.
'So this is the power capable of mediating between the Baekri Clan and the True Demon.'
[I did not lose.]
After staring at So-dong for a long while, the White-Robed Man finally spat out his stubborn denial.
[I did NOT lose to some insignificant martial artist!]
His roar thundered across the world, only to fade into hollow echoes.
"Is that all you have to say?"
The White-Robed Man, seeing the resolve in So-dong's gaze, spoke again, his voice dripping with malice.
[You will regret this decision.]
[The main family will not let this matter rest.]
"Save those words—"
So-dong let out a dry chuckle as he regarded the White-Robed Man.
"—for after you've accomplished something and broken your Restrictive Seal."
He, too, was aware of the White-Robed Man's status—
a descendant of the Saint, scorned and neglected by the Baekri Clan.
CRACK.
In that instant, spiderweb-like fissures across thousands of feet of ground spread across the ground within the Absolute Boundary.
Manifestation Art Energy.
Though still bound by the Restrictive Seal,
its power was defying all expectations.
GRIT.
Clenching his teeth, the White-Robed Man levitated into the air, glaring alternately at Bu Eun-seol (disguised as Seol-so) and So-dong.
SWOOSH.
Then, in a flash, he scattered into hundreds of points of light and vanished into the distant sky.
"Haaah..."
So-dong of the Sacred Realm exhaled a deep sigh as he watched the spectacle.
"A little later, and things would've gotten ugly."
Muttering under his breath, he approached Bu Eun-seol with a heavy expression.
"Have you lost your mind? You tried to kill him knowing full well he was a figure from the Baekri Clan?"
"He was trying to kill me first. Was I supposed to just stand there?"
So-dong blinked in momentary bewilderment before a strange smile crept onto his lips.
"My, you're quite the polite one."
That had been Bu Eun-seol's mistake.
Because he knew So-dong's true identity, his instinctive use of honorifics had slipped out naturally.
"I merely deduced you were no ordinary elder when that Baekri Clan figure addressed you so respectfully."
As Bu Eun-seol smoothly deflected, So-dong shook his head and asked again.
"Just who are you?"
"The Martial Soul Society Leader."
So-dong snorted.
"Your real identity."
When Bu Eun-seol remained silent, So-dong continued.
"Well, no matter. You've already become a party to the Covenant, so... we'll have plenty of time to figure it out."
Then he raised a hand toward the sky.
WHOOSH.
At once, the power of the Mind's Eye Mirror, woven by the Four Great Danju,
reconstructed the nearly shattered Absolute Boundary into a solid, unyielding barrier once more.
Unlike the Baekri Clan's version, this one was completely transparent—likely a unique variation of the Sacred Realm's Absolute Boundary.
"Not only do you know about the Baekri Clan and the True Demon, but you even lured them using sensitive information they were seeking..."
Having reinforced the boundary, So-dong sighed deeply.
"You must be his disciple."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
Even the Old Man of the Sacred Realm was under the misconception that he was the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's disciple.
'Meaning... the Demonic Heavenly Emperor has a hidden disciple.'
That had always puzzled him.
Even though he, as the Ten Demonic Heir, had been made the Heir of the Demon Hall,
why had the Demonic Heavenly Emperor never passed down the True Void Absolute Art—the secret technique that would allow him to become the next Number One of the Demonic Path?
Though he had indirectly inherited the Willful True Binding, an ancient secret technique,
the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's true ultimate art—
Nature Shattering, a demonic secret technique of unfathomable depth, capable of seizing an enemy's Spirit and Mind in an instant—
must have been reserved for another disciple.
"Well, you already know the procedure, so let's begin."
So-dong grinned.
"Now that you're inside my Absolute Boundary, you know there's no escaping the Covenant."
He then drew two parchments from his robes.
Still unaware of Bu Eun-seol's true identity, he was once again offering him the choice—
to become either a servant of the Baekri Clan or the True Demon.
"Ah."
Suddenly, a flash erupted in So-dong's eyes.
"Almost made a grave mistake before sealing the Covenant."
His gaze sharpened on Bu Eun-seol's shoulder.
"I acknowledge your martial prowess is exceptional, but you must never underestimate the power of the Baekri Clan."
'What is he talking about?'
Just as Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow,
So-dong answered by extending his palm.
WHIIIR—
From the center of his palm, a piercing blue light began to seep out.
At first, it was just a faint glimmer, but in the span of a Moment, that condensed power surged forth—
transforming into an unstoppable Rough Current that flooded the world.
RUMBLE— CRACKOOOM!
Before anyone could react, the blue wind had become a storm,
a colossal wave capable of tearing through Space itself, crashing down toward Bu Eun-seol.