“So, you are Baekri Muha.”
As Jeok Bung scowled deeply,
“Hahaha, that is correct.”
The man in blue, Baekri Muha, laughed resonantly, baring his white teeth.
“I guarantee you, Brother Jeok, you will break through even the realm of the Ultimate Demon, but in the future, you will not walk the path of a Great Demonic Being.”
Baekri Muha turned his body and spoke.
“You’ve seen enough blood as it is; it might be good to enter a place like Majeon and manage the demonic martial world.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Majeon should be led by a true demonic practitioner like you, Brother.”
“A true demonic practitioner?”
“Think about it carefully.”
Baekri Muha turned his head with a smirk.
“The sight of you with Majeon at your feet. I think it would look quite magnificent.”
“Majeon at my feet…”
Jeok Bung unconsciously imagined himself commanding Majeon.
“Well then.”
At that moment, Baekri Muha turned away again and disappeared into the darkness. Watching him go, Jeok Bung could only clench his fists, unable to make a move. A grandmaster like him could not stoop to the petty act of striking someone from behind. Above all, he knew that no matter what martial art he unleashed, he wouldn’t be able to stop even that simple ‘step.’
“Majeon, huh.”
Jeok Bung’s gaze deepened. There already sat the Demon Emperor, who had surpassed the demonic realm and reached the heavens. For him to surpass that man and become the Lord of Majeon?
“This could be interesting.”
He turned around. He was already old enough. Even if he entered Majeon, he would likely only be treated as an elder, but it didn’t matter. He was confident he could live to be over two hundred. His prime had not yet arrived.
***
Awakening from his reminiscence, Jeok Bung gazed at the distant sky.
‘Then he truly is Baekri Muha’s son.’
Jeok Bung was also a man who had looked into the abyss of the martial world.
He knew to some extent about the bloodbath at Saha Manor and Bu Eunseol’s background. However, there were various conflicting opinions regarding Bu Eunseol’s history, and its truth remained unclear.
Some said he was truly Baekri Muha’s son, while others claimed he was a shadow created to protect the real son. This was because the power of the Baekri family or the True Demon had never manifested in his body, and secondly, because it was Bu Zhanyang who had raised him.
If it were Bu Zhanyang, even if the boy had been born with the blood of the Baekri family or the True Demon, he would have used his power to instantly erase those traits.
If he lacked the power of the Baekri family or the True Demon? Then Bu Eunseol was merely a talented rising star of the martial world.
Nonetheless, Jeok Bung liked Bu Eunseol.
When he heard that the boy had become one of the Ten Demon Warriors and entered Majeon, he first tried to recruit him into his own command, the Amcheondae. He had even planned to beat him to death if he refused.
However, he ended up acknowledging him instead, impressed by the bold spirit he showed in his goal to master the martial arts of Nangyang Pavilion.
—I shall watch. To see what kind of person you become in three years.
That is what Jeok Bung had said.
And he truly intended to watch for only three years. But in less than three years, the boy had become the successor of Majeon whom Jeok Bung could not touch, and now he had become a pillar of the demonic world who threatened even his own position.
And reaching today… he had proudly withstood the Demon Emperor’s Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree using the footwork that Baekri Muha had once displayed.
‘Did he proudly reveal to the Demon Emperor that he is Baekri Muha’s son?’
Jeok Bung could not understand this situation at all.
Bu Eunseol was a man of deep calculation who never revealed his personal history to others. So why did he purposely provoke the Demon Emperor by performing the Emperor’s Step?
‘Then it means they have each played a move.’
He had known for a long time that the Demon Emperor intended to use Bu Eunseol for something. But to think that Bu Eunseol is also slowly escaping his grasp and proudly showing his fangs?
‘He might be planning to leave Majeon soon.’
Jeok Bung could feel it instinctively.
That soon, Bu Eunseol would think of leaving Majeon. And when that happened, all the powers of the abyss would reveal themselves.
‘To maintain dignity by giving such a mission is certainly typical, but…’
Jeok Bung’s Infinite Reversal Power did not just break objects; it could also seize control of space. He had pinpointed the locations of the vanished Demon Emperor and Bu Eunseol, and by manifesting his inner energy, he had heard every word of their conversation.
‘They will appear soon.’
Recalling the Demon Emperor’s voice resonating within the sphere of light he had created, Jeok Bung shook his head.
Just as the Baekri family and the True Demon had existed since ancient times, the Orthodox and Demonic paths also had their origins. However, they usually maintained their lineage silently without revealing themselves.
But because of one man, Bu Eunseol… the balance of the martial world, which had been precariously maintained, was slowly shifting.
‘Then, should I proceed with the plan a bit faster?’
Until now, he had consistently practiced his martial arts while biding his time. Even when he went to Seungsa Island where the Demon Emperor and the Sword Venerable dueled, he had intentionally lowered his martial prowess.
But seeing how the Demon Emperor was acting, time was running out.
***
The world was being torn apart.
The Great Hall was stained blood-red, and the floor screamed as it cracked.
At the center of this power stood the Demon Emperor.
The force radiating from his entire body was not mere martial strength. It was a primal will of destruction that denied existence itself, destroyed forms, and crushed all order. Even time was slowing down before that overwhelming martial prowess.
All things touched by his gaze—deep and dark like an abyss—were like creatures waiting to be shattered beneath his feet.
Rumble, rumble.
An unapproachable pressure and a suffocating terror swept through everything in the Great Hall like a storm. Everything on this earth—the living and the dead, the formed and the formless—was on the verge of being annihilated by a single gesture from the Demon Emperor.
Thud, thud.
Right then, a shadow walked into the center of that destructive power.
It was Bu Eunseol, who had ascended to the altar. Even before the pressure that destroyed everything, his steps did not falter in the slightest. No, beyond not faltering, the moment that massive pressure touched him, it curved strangely and bounced away.
All the power poured out by the Demon Emperor—the momentum that seemed to erase existence, the cold that froze one to the bone, the heat that seemed to burn the flesh—all of it was being scattered in every direction, colliding with his extremely natural steps just before touching his body.
The Emperor’s Step.
Even before the Demon Emperor’s destructive power, which insulted even the fundamental forces of all things, the Emperor’s Step did not accept any of that force, either returning it exactly or neutralizing it.
Rather, with every step Bu Eunseol took, the Demon Emperor’s destructive pressure was pushed back, creating a circular void around him. Standing in the middle of a storm of chaos and destruction, the hem of Bu Eunseol’s robe did not move, and his expression was as calm as a pond.
“Aaaaagh!”
At that moment, the screams of the Disciplinary Hall warriors inside the hall reached his ears. As those painful and desperate groans spread, Bu Eunseol’s unfaltering inner state rippled like a wave, and the rhythm of his walking slightly faltered.
Vrummm.
At that instant, black energy poured from the Demon Emperor’s eyes.
Boom!
With a vibration that shook the entire world, the two men’s bodies vanished instantly.
Whoosh.
Where the two reappeared was a vast field spread before the west gate of the Sacred Demon Hall.
Chirp, chirp.
The sky was clear and blue, and the sunlight poured down warmer and more brilliant than ever. A peaceful landscape unfolded, filled with the sound of birds chirping, yet the storm of destruction created between the two remained, and the vivid collision of power had reached its peak.
Hummmm.
Finally, the waves of power subsided. The sky held its breath, watching this strange and majestic confrontation. One side seemed to enjoy beauty at the pinnacle of destruction, while the other accepted this sudden change with unchanging tranquility.
“I acknowledge it.”
The Demon Emperor uttered only that one sentence and turned away. On the contrary, a worried look appeared on Bu Eunseol’s face. The Demon Emperor does not grant mercy and does not tolerate the slightest damage to his prestige. He had issued an order for the Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree, yet Bu Eunseol had not died; this was a great loss to that absolute dignity.
“And I shall issue a mission.”
However, upon hearing the Demon Emperor’s low-spoken words, Bu Eunseol smiled and bowed politely.
“I understand.”
The Demon Emperor was indeed the Demon Emperor. Although Bu Eunseol had survived the Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree, the Demon Emperor had instead found a clever way to further elevate his dignity across the world.
“Well then.”
As Bu Eunseol bowed once more and departed, the Demon Emperor’s eyes narrowed infinitely. That righteous gaze and extremely relaxed attitude. The dignity of a supreme being who worries more about his enemy than his own safety. Such a thing was possessed by only one person in the world.
‘Baekri Muha…’
Clench.
A wave-like ripple appeared in the Demon Emperor’s gaze, which usually showed no emotion.
His spirit, which nothing in the world could shake, was wavering at the mere name of Baekri Muha.
[Was your purpose in coming here not to kill that man at all costs?]
At that moment, the figures who had stood by the Demon Emperor in the Sacred Demon Hall Great Hall suddenly appeared behind him.
[Will it be alright? If you leave him alive, the Ten Demonic Sects will eventually collapse.]
Surprisingly, they spoke to the Demon Emperor—the sky of the Demonic Path—with an unreserved attitude, as if treating a peer.
[If that happens, those Demon Sects will…]
The Demon Emperor cut them off.
“Presently, a pebble that is nothing but ordinary is transforming into a brilliant jewel…”
Every time he encountered hardship. Every time he clashed with the ultra-strong. Bu Eunseol was drawing out infinite potential, growth through the fusion of powers within his body.
“How could I destroy that raw gem now?”
[If that happens…]
Zing.
A mysterious light flashed in the Demon Emperor’s eyes.
Gaze of Destruction.
His ultimate manifested, allowing him to grasp and dominate every supreme truth of the world.
[…Well, it’s not a bad thing for us.]
If they were exposed to that gaze, all of their techniques and essences would be revealed. Leaving those last words, they turned into hundreds of light points and vanished into the void.
***
The atmosphere in the Suppressed Demon Pavilion was reminiscent of a festival house.
This was because Bu Eunseol, who was expected to surely die or be crippled by the Demon Emperor’s Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree, had returned perfectly fine and with an even more imposing aura than before.
However, the moment Bu Eunseol spoke his first word at the corps leaders’ meeting convened at the pavilion, the atmosphere instantly turned into that of a funeral home. This was because another task that was hard to believe—no, impossible to achieve from the start—had been assigned.
“This makes no sense!”
Myo Cheonwoo shouted in fury.
“In reality, isn’t this just an order to die?”
The corps leaders seated there also nodded silently.
—I shall issue a new mission.
The Demon Emperor hadn’t even asked if Bu Eunseol had properly identified the Holy One’s background. He hadn’t completed the previous order in the first place.
—Spirit lands have dried up in the current martial world. However, intelligence has come in that the Martial Alliance has found a spirit land where the Golden Kyong Divine Grass grows.
The Demon Emperor had spoken with a solemn expression.
—Retrieve all the Golden Kyong Divine Grass from that place.
And he added chilling words.
—If you fail again and return to Majeon, you will have to offer your head first.
It was an explicit threat to execute him if he failed this time. But seizing spirit herbs from a new spirit land discovered by the Martial Alliance was an impossible command to begin with.
In other words, it was no different from the Demon Emperor being determined to take Bu Eunseol’s life.
Then, Wi Cheongyeong spoke.
“The Golden Kyong Divine Grass is a legendary spirit herb comparable to the Golden Spirit Immortal Fruit. Because of that, eight thousand elite troops of the Martial Alliance are already stationed at the Great Wind Gorge.”
Stopping for a moment, he shook his head.
“For our Death Shadow Corps troops to seize that place is more difficult than attacking the Martial Alliance itself.”
Excluding the information corps, there were only three hundred warriors of the Death Shadow Corps who could be deployed for combat. Furthermore, what the Martial Alliance had sent this time was not an existing front but a newly organized special front to guard the spirit land: the Heaven’s Will Corps. In other words, ultra-elite warriors, incomparable to the existing six major Divisions of the Martial Alliance, had been deployed.
Even with Bu Eunseol, victory could not be expected even if all the warriors of the Death Shadow Corps were deployed.
“It seems the time has come to execute the plan to leave Majeon.”
At that moment, the Protector Tak Ilhon wore an extremely serious expression.
“If the Demon Emperor is baring his teeth so openly, can we not help it even if the timing isn’t right?”
Wi Cheongyeong also nodded.
“That’s right. It seems there is no other way now.”
“There is no need for that.”
Bu Eunseol stood up from his seat. And he showed a smile like a spring breeze.
“It will be over once the mission is completed.”
“Pardon?”
“If the Demon Emperor wanted to strike me down, there are many easy ways to do it.”
Unlike the extremely serious expressions of the leaders, Bu Eunseol spoke in a hopeful and bright voice.
“There is no need to hand me a failing mission and ruin Majeon’s prestige.”
The leaders, thinking it over, soon nodded.
If he wanted to kill or oust Bu Eunseol?
He could just flick a finger.
Furthermore, what if a mission directly assigned to Majeon’s successor failed? Or what if the Death Shadow Corps was annihilated by a front of the Martial Alliance? From the Demon Emperor’s perspective, it wasn’t a very desirable situation. His prestige and dignity as the number one of the Demonic Path would be damaged.
“Then why on earth would he issue such an order?”
When Jo Namcheon asked, Bu Eunseol smiled.
“You all try thinking about it.”
It was a kind and soft smile that didn’t fit the urgent situation.
The leaders were somewhat flustered but soon began to use their heads. However, when no answer came, Bu Eunseol looked at Yoo Unryong with a smile. He meant for him to answer instead.
“Ahem.”
Perhaps finding Bu Eunseol’s smile burdensome, Yoo Unryong cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the leaders.
“The Demon Emperor is aiming for two gains at once with this order.”
“Two gains…”
“That’s right. The Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree is essentially a death sentence. Of course, I don’t know if he issued it thinking the Command Lord wouldn’t fail the mission, but…”
Looking at the leaders, he continued.
“In any case, the Demon Emperor issued the Life-and-Death Single Palm Decree, and the Command Lord survived intact. If he overlooks this, it becomes a situation where his absolute authority is cracked.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“By issuing a death mission again, it is a measure to maintain the principle that ‘an order once given is never reversed.’”
“What is the second?”
“He intends to announce the Martial Soul Command Lord’s loyalty to the entire world through this order.”
Yoo Unryong said calmly.
“What if the Command Lord silently accepts a death mission once again?”
Wi Cheongyeong took those words.
“Naturally, the Command Lord will be recognized as a loyal figure to the Demon Emperor.”
“Exactly.”
Yoo Unryong explained again.
“If he refuses or runs away, it reveals that he is an unnecessary presence to the organization. The Demon Emperor can once again imprint the iron rule that ‘those who fail must die.’ This can also tighten the discipline of Majeon once more.”
Mu Heon, the leader of the Death Spirit Corps who had been listening silently, spoke.
“Also, through this order, he can leave the Demon Emperor’s dignity not only with the Orthodox factions but also with hostile forces.”
He continued calmly.
“The method of giving a failing subordinate another chance by assigning a death mission… such a thing is something only the Demon Emperor can do.”
As a leader of the information corps, he was analyzing this event from an outside perspective.
“Ultimately, his intention is to secure a powerful successor if he survives, and to clean out a useless person once again if he dies.”
At Myo Cheonwoo’s words, the captains nodded.
The Demon Emperor was indeed the Demon Emperor.
This peerless demon lord who saw through the human spirit was extremely strategic in his every move. While maintaining his own prestige, he had laid out a multi-layered calculation: testing a subordinate, strengthening the organization, and even engaging in psychological warfare with enemies.
“In any case, let us head out immediately. The Demon Emperor said to set out as soon as we are ready.”
At Bu Eunseol’s incredibly calm words, Wi Cheongyeong asked cautiously.
“Do you have a good plan?”
“Who knows. Maybe the Martial Alliance will make a concession.”
“Pardon?”
“They have an information organization too… so they surely know I’m going there by force because of the Demon Emperor’s order.”
When the leaders, including Wi Cheongyeong, opened their eyes wide, Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“It was a joke.”
Seeing Bu Eunseol’s smile, the captains instead wore ominous expressions.
Bu Eunseol never made jokes. Especially in a situation where the lives of the Death Shadow Corps warriors were at stake. Furthermore, what was even stranger was his aura.
Even if he smiled, because he had a naturally dark and soft aura, his smile usually felt like a single ray of light in the darkness. But now, wasn’t he radiating a bright light like the sun from his entire body?
‘Ah… I’m uneasy.’
Somehow, they felt a sense of déjà vu. They felt like they had definitely experienced a similar situation, but they couldn’t remember.
“Prepare swift horses that all the Death Shadow Corps warriors can ride. Blood-Sweating Horses should suffice.”
Bu Eunseol, with his hands behind his back, issued the order.
“While we’re at it, let’s wear armor and capes befitting the majesty of the Death Shadow Corps.”
Wi Cheongyeong’s eyes bulged.
“You mean we’re going on horseback?”
Of course, if they were Blood-Sweating Horses that could cover a thousand li in a day, it was not much different from warriors using qinggong. But why on earth would they fight on horseback against eight thousand troops?
“It looks cool, doesn’t it?”
Leaving that one sentence, Bu Eunseol spoke as he left the meeting room.
“Get ready.”
The leaders of the Death Shadow Corps felt an ominous premonition at his completely changed appearance, but they nodded as if they had no choice. However, they did not know.
In fact, the one feeling the most unease was Bu Eunseol himself, and his current state was not normal.
