Chapter 990
It was an utterly unexpected revelation.
The Fire Rain Sword Sect had obtained the Baekri Clan's Soul Spirit Secret Art?
'The Three Realms.'
The Wi Clan had only controlled the Fire Rain Sword Sect for a little over three hundred years.
In that case, rather than having direct ties to the Baekri Clan, it was far more likely they had acquired such a secret art through the Three Realms.
After all, it was the Baekri Clan who had created the Three Realms in the first place.
"The former Sect Leader of the Fire Rain Sword Sect would, when the time came, create a young shadow that could mimic every aspect of himself," Jin Gak said, his face twisting with anguish.
"From eating habits to sword stances—they were taught to imitate even the smallest details until they became perfect replicas, raised like his very own clones."
He let out a deep, shuddering sigh.
"They say that once trained this way, the young shadow would naturally behave exactly as the former Sect Leader had."
"Are you saying they implanted suggestions?"
"I can't say for certain. I never even imagined such a secret art could exist in the Murim."
In the past, Jin Gak had, by sheer coincidence, overheard a conversation between Wi Ji-hye-sang and Wi Hyeok-gun.
And in the critical moment when he was about to be discovered—
Wi Ji-mua had appeared and saved him, secretly revealing this horrifying truth to him.
"And in the end," Jin Gak continued, his voice heavy, "they use the secret art to transfer the former Sect Leader's personality into the vessel."
Thud.
Bu Eun-seol was stunned.
The secret art employed by the Fire Rain Sword Sect—
Wasn't it eerily similar to the technique his father, Baekri Mu-ha, had once taught him—the method of 'storing multiple personalities'?
'Does that mean the Baekri Clan's secret art was passed down to the Three Realms, and the Fire Rain Sword Sect is also using a fragment of this technique?'
The probability was more than plausible.
In fact, they didn't even need to trace it back to the Baekri Clan's arts.
Methods for imprinting a new personality had already surfaced in the Murim.
"The Azure River Realm."
Finally, it clicked.
Now he understood why the Azure River Realm had been so obsessed with forcibly implanting personalities into others.
Why they had been so fixated on perfecting the Great Art to create split personalities.
The Azure River Realm had wanted the same abilities as the Baekri bloodline.
"So you're saying Wi Ji-hye-sang now carries the personality of the former Sect Leader, Wi Ji-hon?"
"Exactly."
Jin Gak's expression twisted in agony.
"Almost no one in the main sect knows this truth. Those who find out are immediately silenced."
He had learned of this through Wi Ji-mua, and because of it, he could no longer remain in the Fire Rain Sword Sect.
Being sent as an instructor for the Ten Demonic Heir, receiving orders to eliminate Bu Eun-seol—
Perhaps it was because they had sensed he had uncovered this secret.
"And what's even more horrifying..." Jin Gak's face darkened with despair.
"Is that there's someone behind all of this, pulling the strings."
"What do you—"
"Even our meeting here was predicted."
Bu Eun-seol's eyes flickered.
The only one capable of reading Heaven's Will or foreseeing the future was the Wooden Buddha.
In fact, before deciphering the Wooden Buddha's message, even Bu Eun-seol himself hadn't known he would come to Golden Sand Island.
Yet someone else had predicted it?
'No. There's one more.'
Someone who not only possessed transcendent intelligence—
But also the ability to analyze the present and predict future events.
'The Heavenly Mechanism Star.'
Chu-so, the Heavenly Mechanism Star.
He wielded the Heavenly Killing Star and commanded a faction within the Same Heart Society.
Hadn't he once approached the Extinction Palace?
Performed bizarre rituals on Sindo Un-hwi, even interfering in the selection of a new Sect Leader and successor?
And now it turned out he had also brokered dealings with the Fire Rain Sword Sect.
"And he used that to set a trap."
Crack.
In an instant, Jin Gak's body began to change.
Without any warning, without the slightest fluctuation of energy—his muscles swelled, and his skin gleamed with a metallic sheen.
"Guh—!"
Not only that, but his canines elongated, and his once-gentle features sharpened into something far more feral.
"He predicted that the time you and I would meet would coincide with the full moon," Jin Gak growled, struggling to suppress the killing intent surging within him.
"Seeing as the timing matches... he truly is formidable."
Chu-so had cast an eerie ritual upon Jin Gak.
One that would trigger his transformation precisely when he faced Bu Eun-seol.
Crk—!
The ground beneath Jin Gak's feet began to fracture like a spider's web.
Not because he had unleashed any martial technique—
But because the sheer force radiating from his body was causing the earth itself to collapse.
'The One Hundred and Eight Stars.'
Bu Eun-seol grasped the situation instantly.
Chu-so had used the Boundary-Prosperity Jade to perform a vile ritual on Jin Gak, imbuing his body with a Supernatural Ability.
"Can you do it?"
Jin Gak suppressed the power surging through his body with superhuman self-control.
Then he pulled a small glass vial from his robes and gulped it down in one go.
"Make sure my final path isn't ugly—let it end cleanly."
Bu Eun-seol's face twisted in anguish.
Jin Gak had pretended to accept Heavenly Mechanism Star's prophecy, all so he could wait here for him.
To pass down the secrets of the Fire Rain Sword Art.
And to entrust him with his final moments...
Nod.
When Bu Eun-seol nodded, his expression so grief-stricken it seemed tears might spill at any moment, Jin Gak gave a dry yet benevolent smile.
"I... believe in you."
Then, as if he could no longer hold back, he roared toward the sky.
Crrrk—!
Jin Gak's height and muscles swelled to twice their normal size.
At the same time, a dark, oily sheen spread across his skin, and the focus in his pupils vanished.
Grrrl.
Transformed into something akin to a beast, Jin Gak crouched on all fours, drool dripping from his maw.
Earth Rampage Star.
A force said to contain energy no human body could possibly withstand.
The explosive power of this Ill-Omen Star had completely consumed Jin Gak's flesh.
Growl!
In a streak of black light, Jin Gak grazed past Bu Eun-seol's body.
Shiik!
Drawing the Mourning Soul Sword, Bu Eun-seol unleashed his full combat power in a desperate flurry of sword techniques.
But none of his attacks could penetrate Jin Gak, now clad in the Earth Rampage Star's power.
The Earth Rampage Star possessed the Multiverse Power Body, an ultimate defense that distorted the very space around it, constantly enveloping the user in an impenetrable Protective Astral Energy.
On top of that, it granted limitless stamina—an inexhaustible well of endurance.
Shiik! Shiik!
Unable to use Demonic Path Martial Arts, Bu Eun-seol resorted to the Martial Emperor's supreme technique—Thirteenfold Qi Induction.
With his spirit and mind maintaining the Righteous Path, the pinnacle orthodox technique unfolded.
The sheer magnitude of the energy released dwarfed any previous display of the Thirteenfold Qi Induction, spreading outward in all directions.
Crack—!
The force that could split the earth itself should have shredded Jin Gak's body in an instant.
No—it should have.
It's not working.
But the Gang Qi generated by the Multiverse Power Body remained uncut, leaving Jin Gak's physical form completely unharmed.
There's only one way.
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
His noble spirit and mind prevented him from using Demonic Path Martial Arts, and if even the Thirteenfold Qi Induction failed, he knew of no Orthodox Martial Arts capable of breaking the Earth Rampage Star's power.
No—even if he could use Demonic Path Martial Arts, the Earth Rampage Star's body was indestructible.
Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
The Gang Qi generated by the Multiverse Power Body was similar to what the Martial God Heaven Lord had once wielded—
A barrier that prevented attacks from ever reaching the flesh by distorting space itself.
In other words, the only method to sever the Earth Rampage Star was the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
Hummm.
Bu Eun-seol strained to unleash it.
But his current spirit and mind state was incompatible with the Blade Essence of the Bloody Tears Seven Forms.
At best, he could mimic its form—
But the terrifying Sword Qi, the one that announced the End to all living things, refused to manifest.
Tchk-tchk-tchk!
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol's body was being reduced to tatters.
Jin Gak, now a colossal beast, displayed invincible majesty, utterly impervious to any attack.
Heavenly Mechanism Star... He must have gauged my abilities to some extent.
If he had orchestrated this trap using the Boundary-Prosperity Jade, then—
He must have analyzed Bu Eun-seol's capabilities and Martial Prowess beforehand.
Naturally, Jin Gak's abilities as well.
It was obvious—he had tailored Jin Gak's power to surpass even the Superlative Martial Experts who had appeared in the Murim thus far.
Something's... off.
Jin Gak's body was near-invincible, but his attacks weren't.
His limbs moved with an unnatural stiffness, as if dislocated or broken.
And the lightning-fast strikes he unleashed barely managed to graze the surface—nothing more than shallow cuts.
Halt.
Realizing something, Bu Eun-seol—
Deliberately stopped dodging and allowed one of Jin Gak's attacks to land.
Fssht!
A sharp claw tore deep into his skin.
But there was no force behind it—no internal energy, no impact.
Twitch. Twitch.
Then Bu Eun-seol noticed how Jin Gak's bulging shoulder muscles hung loosely.
To an ordinary martial artist, it might have just looked like large muscles shifting.
But Bu Eun-seol, who could discern a person's condition just by observing their muscle structure—
Saw everything clearly.
"Bone-Melting Tendon-Severing Powder."
Just before the fight, Jin Gak abruptly pulled out a glass vial and downed the liquid inside in one gulp.
At first, Bu Eun-seol had thought it was some kind of spirit medicine meant to ignite latent energy before battle, given its peculiar odor.
But if nothing could deal damage to him before the Multiverse Power Body fully manifested...
Then Jin Gak had willingly drunk the Bone-Melting Tendon-Severing Powder—a poison that dissolved only ligaments and tendons.
'...To avoid harming me.'
The focus in Bu Eun-seol's pupils vanished.
Fearing he might hurt him, Jin Gak had calmly swallowed the very poison said to inflict suffering worse than death.
Ssshk—!
While Bu Eun-seol stood frozen, Jin Gak's razor-sharp nails tore through flesh and buried themselves deep into his body.
Yet he felt no pain.
Because Jin Gak was the one suffering far more.
A monstrous body that could neither die nor live.
—Kkhhhaaagh!
When his attacks failed to land, Jin Gak let out a roar like a beast—but the sound was closer to a howl of agony.
"Ugh..."
Bu Eun-seol clenched his teeth, forcing back the tears threatening to spill.
Seeing him like this would only make Jin Gak's torment worse.
Drip. Drip.
But in the end, something thicker than tears—blood—began to seep from the corners of his eyes.
'If only I had never stepped into the martial world...'
He had entered the Rivers and Lakes for nothing more than revenge for his grandfather.
Yet in the end, he had ruined countless lives, dragging so many into misery.
'If only I had listened to Grandfather.'
If he had used the Bone-Melting Powder on the corpses as his grandfather had instructed...
If he had lived an ordinary life as his grandfather had urged...
Then his grandfather's remains would not have fallen into the hands of the Returning Souls Sect, and he would have found eternal rest.
Countless warriors of the martial world—
Even Jin Gak before him... would not have had to beg for death.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Bu Eun-seol's body trembled ceaselessly, his bloody tears soaking the ground.
His spirit and mind were collapsing, crumbling away.
—The past of all martial artists is stained with misery and sorrow.
His grandfather's words echoed mournfully in his skull, shaking his very soul.
The past, present, and future of those who walk the Murim are all written in blood.
No matter what ideals they hold, no matter what convictions drive them—
Once they set foot in the martial world,
They can never escape the endless whirlpool of battle and vengeance.
A sword-wielding specter.
A martial artist is nothing more than a ghost clutching a blade—
One who walks a path drenched in blood, bereft of freedom, bereft of soul...
Until the moment death claims them.
Crrk—!
Seeing Bu Eun-seol still standing motionless, Jin Gak—as if enraged—began hammering down on him with massive fists.
Thud. Thud.
But those were nothing more than hollow vibrations from his trembling muscles.
With his tendons and ligaments melted away, his arms could no longer carry any strength—only empty noise.
Thud. Thud.
With every blow Jin Gak landed on himself, Bu Eun-seol recalled the teachings his grandfather had passed down.
His head burned as if set aflame, and from somewhere, he thought he heard the sobbing of the dead.
'Was every choice I made... wrong?'
Bu Eun-seol's eyes darkened endlessly.
Zzziiing—!
Then, a Black Fog-like energy unfurled behind him,
And an earth-shaking pressure radiated outward.
His once-soft and gentle gaze sharpened back into its former long, piercing intensity, and flames flickered within the solemn light of his irises.
—Will there be paradise after death?
Back then, a young Bu Eun-seol had watched in fascination as the missionaries of the Eternal Light Society preached through the village.
They claimed that those who believed in their doctrine would surely reach paradise after death.
And so, he had asked his grandfather.
—Paradise, huh?
His grandfather had remained silent for a long while before answering in an unbearably low voice.
—Even if such a paradise exists...
Though a faint smile had graced his grandfather's lips as he turned away,
His eyes had been filled with endless loneliness.
—This old man would probably hesitate at its gates... and end up turning back.
At the time, Bu Eun-seol hadn't understood.
If the gates of paradise were open, why hesitate? Why turn back?
But now, he knew.
To a Grim Reaper who had dealt brutal deaths to countless enemies—
Even paradise's doors would not open.
He had no right to enter that paradise of eternal rest.
Even if he were to find paradise...
He would only linger before its gates, unable to step inside.
Flicker.
Returned to reality, Bu Eun-seol's eyes brimmed with boundless loneliness and desolation.
Whoosh.
A cold wind rose from his body as he finally expelled the overwhelming presence that had mingled with his Spirit and Mind.
Shhhk.
With a low Sword Resonance, the Mourning Blade slid into his grip of its own accord.
And then, a wail like the cry of a demon echoed through the air.
It sounded like the agonized weeping of a young swordsman.
Flicker.
Black Sword Qi blazed brilliantly.
The entire world had been dyed in darkness—
So why... was there still light?
The black radiance was endlessly deep, yet—
Why did it also feel so warm, so comforting?
Like falling asleep to the sound of rain in broad daylight.
Sssk.
At the same moment, a crimson Death Line carved itself vividly across Jin Gak's body.
"You did well."
His massive frame and face had already returned to their original form.
"From the moment I first saw you..."
Even through the pain of his life force fading, Jin Gak spoke calmly.
"I sensed that you would become the unrivaled sword of the Martial World."
"Aaaah—!"
Bu Eun-seol wrapped his arms around Jin Gak's emaciated body and sobbed.
Ever since the day he buried his grandfather in the sunlit earth—
He had not been able to cry. He had not been allowed to grieve.
Because his grandfather's death had been entirely his fault. Because everything had been his mistake.
But before Jin Gak's death—
Bu Eun-seol wept as loudly as he had when his grandfather drew his last breath.
Jin Gak watched the boy's sorrowful cries and drew a deep breath.
O gods...
Why have You placed a blade in the hands of one so tender?
Why have You given him a life so cruel?
As Bu Eun-seol's weeping gradually subsided, Jin Gak spoke in a gentle voice.
"Do you remember the Sword Formula of the Fire Rain Sword that your instructor taught you on Hell Island?"
"Yes."
"Recite it for me."
Bu Eun-seol nodded and recited clearly:
No sword, forgotten sword—
Without a sword, forgetting the sword.
The heart sharper than the sword—
The mind keener than the blade.
The sword must be hidden in the heart—
The blade concealed within the soul.
The sword becomes the will—
The weapon transforms into intent.
Then Jin Gak spoke.
"Truthfully, that formula was meant only for the true disciples of the Fire Rain Sword Sect."
His voice lowered.
"Burdened by guilt, I withheld the final two verses from you."
His expression deepened with meaning.
"Receive the remaining two Sword Formulas from the Sect Leader."
It was a strange request.
Why would Wi Ji-mua pass down the Fire Rain Sword's formula to him?
"You will understand in time. The Sect Leader will surely teach you."
"Instructor..."
"And... one more request."
Jin Gak's voice was quiet.
"You must be thinking of storming the Fire Rain Sword Sect immediately to avenge me."
"Yes."
"But no matter what anyone says, I am a disciple of the Fire Rain Sword Sect."
His tone was earnest.
"If you wish to return the Fire Rain Thirteen Forms, the sect must remain intact, must it not?"
"Instructor..."
"Even so, the time will come when you must destroy the Fire Rain Sword Sect. When that day arrives... I beg you, if only for my sake, spare its foundations."
If he made such a promise—
Bu Eun-seol would be bound by countless restrictions in the future.
But as he looked at Jin Gak—
His limbs and meridians melted away, his gaze unfocused, fading weakly—
He nodded with all his strength.
"Understood."
Bu Eun-seol wiped his tears and answered.
"I swear it."
"You seem cold, but you've always been full of heart."
Jin Gak's eyes had lost their focus.
Bu Eun-seol swallowed the hot tears threatening to spill again.
The way Jin Gak sat slumped against the rock, unable to move as his tendons and ligaments dissolved—
It looked so much like the way his grandfather had passed.
"Then... I have one last request."
"Speak."
"Though we belonged to different sects and walked different paths... I never dared ask before, but I have always regarded you as my master."
Bu Eun-seol's expression was desperate.
"Please... allow me to honor you as my teacher in your final moments."
"Hahaha..."
Jin Gak laughed softly.
"From the moment you came to me, while I was guarding the martial arts hall alone on Hell Island..."
Though his meridians were severed, he mustered all his strength to place a hand on Bu Eun-seol's head.
And with tender warmth, he spoke:
"You were always my disciple."
With those final words, Jin Gak's hand slowly fell.
A peaceful smile lingered on his lips as he quietly passed.
Though his own talent had not been extraordinary, and he had never achieved Great Completion as a martial artist—
What regrets could he have?
He had become the master of the future unrivaled swordsman of the world.