It was an unexpected statement.
Had the Hwa Wu Sword Sect obtained the soul-manipulation secret arts of the Baekri Family?
‘Three Realms.’
The Weiji family had only controlled the Hwa Wu Sword Sect for a little over three hundred years. If that was the case, it was more likely that they obtained such secret arts through the Three Realms rather than having a direct lineage with the Baekri Family. After all, the Baekri Family were the ones who created the Three Realms.
“The previous Sect Leader of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect said that when the time is right, he creates a young shadow to mimic everything about himself.”
A tragic light clouded Jingak’s face.
“From eating habits to the way they hold a sword—they are taught to imitate every trivial detail so they can be raised as if they were his own avatar.”
He exhaled a deep sigh.
“They say that by doing so, the young shadow naturally begins to act as if they have become the previous Sect Leader.”
“Are you saying they use hypnosis?”
“I cannot know for certain. I never even imagined such a secret art existed in the martial world.”
In the past, Jingak had overheard a conversation between Weiji Hyesang and Wi Hyeok-gun by extreme chance. Afterward, at a moment of crisis when he was about to be discovered, Weiji Mu-a appeared to save him and secretly revealed this terrible secret.
“And in the end, they use a secret art to transfer the previous Sect Leader’s personality.”
Thump.
Bu Eunseol was shocked. Was the secret art performed by the Hwa Wu Sword Sect not remarkably similar to the ‘secret of storing various personalities’ that his father, Baekri Muha, had passed down to him?
‘If so, has the Baekri Family’s secret art been passed down to the Three Realms, and the Hwa Wu Sword Sect also uses a portion of this secret?’
The probability was high enough.
In fact, one didn’t even need to look as far as the Baekri Family’s arts. A method for newly storing a personality had already appeared in the martial world.
“Clear River Realm.”
Finally, he could understand. He understood why the Clear River Realm tried so hard to inject the personalities of others, and why they were so obsessed with the great law of creating dual personalities. The Clear River Realm wanted to possess the same abilities as the Baekri bloodline.
“Then, are you saying Weiji Hyesang possesses the personality of the previous Sect Leader, Weiji Hon?”
“Exactly.”
Jingak wore a pained expression.
“Almost no one in the sect knows this fact. If they find out, they are killed immediately.”
He had learned this fact through Weiji Mu-a, and because of it, he could no longer stay in the Hwa Wu Sword Sect. Being sent as an instructor for the Majeon trainees and the order being issued to slay Bu Eunseol—perhaps it was all because they perceived that he had noticed this secret.
“And what is even more painful…”
Jingak wore an expression of despair.
“…is that there is someone who manipulated this entire situation.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“They even predicted that you and I would meet.”
Bu Eunseol blinked.
The only one who could read the heavenly design or predict the future was the Wood Buddha. Even until he read the letters left by the Wood Buddha, he himself did not know he would come to Geumsado Island. Yet, someone else could predict that?
‘No, there is one more.’
Someone who not only possessed transcendent intelligence but also had the ability to analyze the current flow to predict future events.
‘Heavenly Mechanism Star.’
Heavenly Mechanism Star Chu So.
He commanded the Heavenly Killing Star and led a portion of the United Heart Society.
Previously, had he not approached the Extinction Palace, performed a strange ritual on Shin Do-unhwi, and intervened in creating the Sect Leader and a new successor? But as it turned out, he was also opening deals with the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.
“And he used that to create a trap.”
Crack.
In an instant, Jingak’s body began to change.
Without any sign, without any energy… his muscles swelled, and a metallic luster flickered across his skin.
“Grrr…”
Furthermore, his fangs grew much longer, and his gentle face transformed into something sharp.
“He prophesied that the time I would meet you would be around the full moon.”
Jingak spoke while suppressing the erupting bloodlust.
“Seeing as the timing is roughly correct, he is indeed impressive.”
Chu So had cast a bizarre ritual on Jingak so that his body would transform right at the time he faced Bu Eunseol.
Crack.
The ground beneath Jingak’s feet began to fracture like a spiderweb.
It wasn’t that he was performing a martial art; rather, the power spreading through his body was so immense that the ground simply collapsed.
‘One of the Hundred and Eight Stars.’
Bu Eunseol grasped the situation at a glance. Chu So had used the Boundary Prosperity Jade to perform a cruel ritual on Jingak, granting his body supernatural power.
“You can do it, can’t you?”
Jingak suppressed the power spreading through his body with superhuman self-control. Then, he took a small glass bottle from his breast pocket and gulped it down.
“Making sure my final path isn’t ugly… and tying things up cleanly.”
Bu Eunseol wore a pained expression.
Jingak had been waiting for him here, pretending to accept Heavenly Mechanism Star’s prophecy. All to pass on the essentials of the Hwa Wu Sword Art… and to entrust his end to him.
Nod.
As Bu Eunseol nodded with an expression that looked as if he would pour out tears, Jingak gave a dry but benevolent smile.
“I… trust you.”
Then, as if he could endure no longer, he roared toward the sky.
Creeeeeak.
Jingak’s height and muscles grew twice as large as usual. Simultaneously, a dark, dull luster flowed from his skin, and the focus disappeared from his pupils.
“Grrr…”
Having turned into something like a beast, Jingak crouched on all fours and drooled.
The Earth-Violent Star.
It was said to possess an energy that the human body could not possibly contain—the power of an explosive, malevolent star had consumed Jingak’s body.
“Raaargh!”
Jingak became a streak of black light and grazed Bu Eunseol’s body.
Whoosh!
Drawing the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, he performed his sword techniques with all his might. However, no attack worked against Jingak, who was clad in the power of the Earth-Violent Star.
This was because the Earth-Violent Star possessed the Forest Force Body, allowing it to constantly maintain a powerful protective qi that distorted the very space around its body, along with possessing infinite, tireless stamina.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Unable to use demonic martial arts, Bu Eunseol performed the ultimate technique of the Martial Emperor, the Thirteen Guiding Energies.
When he performed the ultimate technique of the righteous path while his spirit maintained its equilibrium, a massive force—incomparable to any Thirteen Guiding Energies he had performed until now—spread in all directions.
Slash!
The force that split the earth should have instantly carved Jingak’s body into pieces. No, it had to.
‘It’s not working.’
However, because he could not cut through the qi created by the Forest Force Body, he had failed to inflict any damage on his physical form.
‘There is only one way.’
Bu Eunseol bit his lip.
Because of his righteous spirit, he could not use demonic martial arts. If even the Thirteen Guiding Energies did not work, he knew of no righteous martial art that could break the power of the Earth-Violent Star. No, even if he could perform demonic arts, he wouldn’t be able to break the Earth-Violent body.
‘Seven Blood Tear Forms.’
The qi produced by the Forest Force Body possessed a nature similar to the body being clad in a new space, preventing attacks from reaching it in the first place—much like what the Martial God Heavenly Lord had done in the past.
In other words, the only way to cut down the Earth-Violent Star was the Seven Blood Tear Forms.
Woooong.
Bu Eunseol tried to perform the Seven Blood Tear Forms by any means. However, because his spiritual state did not match the formula of the technique, he could mimic the movements, but the terrifying blade qi that announced the ‘End’ to all living things was not released.
Slash! Slash!
Meanwhile, Bu Eunseol’s body was becoming a tatter of rags.
Jingak, transformed into a massive beast, showed an invincible majesty; no attack worked against him.
‘Heavenly Mechanism Star… that man must have grasped my abilities to some extent.’
If he had devised such a trap using the Boundary Prosperity Jade, it must be because he had gauged Bu Eunseol’s abilities and martial prowess.
Naturally, it was self-evident that he would have adjusted Jingak’s power to reach a level beyond the super-experts who had appeared in the martial world so far.
‘Something… is strange.’
Jingak’s body was nearly invincible, but his attacks were not. His limbs showed extremely unnatural movements as if they were dislocated or broken. And the attacks he poured out like lightning—were they not merely stopping at cutting the skin and flesh?
Stop.
Realizing something, Bu Eunseol deliberately stopped dodging and allowed himself to be hit by Jingak’s attack.
Spurt!
His skin was deeply scratched by the sharp claws. However, no impact, internal energy, or force was contained within it.
Dangle, dangle.
Right then, Bu Eunseol noticed that Jingak’s swollen shoulder muscles were dangling. To an ordinary martial artist, it would just look like large muscles moving, but to Bu Eunseol’s eyes—which could grasp a person’s condition just by looking at the shape of their muscles—the state was clear.
“Bone-Breaking Muscle-Dissolving Powder.”
Before the fight, Jingak had suddenly pulled out a glass bottle and gulped down the liquid inside. Since it had a unique scent, he had thought it was a spiritual medicine to trigger latent potential, but it was not.
If the Forest Force Body made one invulnerable to everything, then before it could be formed, Jingak had personally swallowed the Bone-Breaking Muscle-Dissolving Powder, which melts only ligaments and tendons.
‘To avoid harming me…’
The focus vanished from Bu Eunseol’s eyes. Fearing he might harm him, Jingak had calmly swallowed the powder—a substance said to cause pain more agonizing than death itself.
Slash!
As Bu Eunseol stood still, Jingak’s sharp claws carved his flesh and stabbed into his body. But he could feel no pain. Jingak would be the one in more pain. He had become a body that could neither live nor die while transformed into a monster.
—Raaaaargh!
When the attacks didn’t seem to work on Bu Eunseol, Jingak let out a beast-like roar. But that voice sounded like a cry full of agony.
“Uugh…”
Bu Eunseol had to try with all his might to hold back his pouring tears. Jingak would be even more pained if he saw this.
Drip, drip.
Ultimately, however, tears thicker than blood began to flow from his eyes.
‘If only I had never come out into the martial world.’
He had only come out to the martial world for his grandfather’s revenge. As a result, he had harmed countless people and led many into misfortune.
‘If only I had listened to my grandfather.’
If he had used Hwagolsan on the corpse as his grandfather requested. If he had lived an ordinary life as his grandfather urged. Then his grandfather’s remains would not have fallen into the hands of the Gui-Il World and would have found eternal rest. And countless martial artists… and the Jingak before his eyes… would not have had to beg him for death.
Tremble.
Bu Eunseol’s body shook incessantly, and the falling blood-tears soaked the ground. Gradually, his spirit was collapsing and crumbling.
—Because the pasts of all martial artists are stained with misfortune and sorrow.
The words his grandfather had spoken became a mournful echo, shaking his mind. The past, present, and future of those in the martial world are all written in blood. No matter what ideals they held, no matter what beliefs they had—once they stepped foot into the martial world, they could not escape the vortex of endless fighting and revenge.
A ghost holding a sword.
Until a martial artist meets their death… they walk only the path of blood, having lost their freedom and their soul. They are ghosts holding swords.
Crack.
When Bu Eunseol continued to stand still, Jingak began to strike him with all his might with his large fists, as if enraged.
Thump. Thump.
But it was merely the sound of vibrations shaking through massive muscle. His arms, with all tendons and ligaments melted away, could not contain any force and only caused loud noises to echo.
Thump. Thump.
Every time Jingak struck his body, the teachings passed down by his grandfather came to mind. Then, his head felt as if it were burning fiercely, and he seemed to hear the wailing of the dead from somewhere.
‘Was every choice I made wrong?’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes were becoming dyed infinitely black.
Hum.
Then, an energy like black mist spread behind his back, and pressure that shook the earth radiated out from him. His soft and gentle eyes turned long and sharp as before, and a flame burned in the eyes where a righteous light had once stayed.
—Is there a paradise after we die?
At that time, the young Bu Eunseol had asked his grandfather while curiously watching the followers of the Eternal Life Light Society, who were conducting missionary activities in the village. They had prattled on that if one believed in their doctrine, they would surely go to paradise after death.
—Paradise, is it?
After remaining silent for a while, his grandfather spoke in an incredibly low voice.
—Even if such a paradise exists…
A thin smile hung on his grandfather’s lips as he turned his head, but his eyes were filled with an infinitely lonely light.
—This old man thinks he would hesitate in front of it for a long time, then eventually come back.
At the time, he couldn’t understand those words.
If the gates of paradise were open, one just had to enter.
Why would he hesitate and then return?
But now, he could understand those words.
A grim reaper who has brought cruel death to countless enemies has no right to enter a paradise to take a long rest. Even if they found paradise… they would only linger in front of it, unable to enter.
Flash!
Returning to reality, an infinite loneliness and solitude were etched into Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Whoosh.
A cold wind began to blow from the body of Bu Eunseol, who had finally driven out the righteous personality mixed in his spirit.
Shring.
With a low sword cry, the Silent Tiger Soul Sword was gripped in Bu Eunseol’s hand of its own accord.
A ghostly wail, like a lament, echoed.
It was like the cry of a desperate young swordsman.
Flash!
The black blade qi shone brilliantly.
The whole world was dyed black, but for some reason, it was shining. The black light was infinitely dark, yet somehow it felt warm and comfortable. Like falling asleep to the sound of rain in the middle of the day.
Slice.
Simultaneously, a distinct red diagonal line was drawn on Jingak’s body.
“Well done.”
Before long, his massive body and face had returned to their original form.
“From the moment I first saw you…”
Even in the pain of his life force fading away, Jingak spoke calmly.
“…I had a gut feeling that you would become the world’s greatest swordsman, looking down upon the martial world.”
“Aaaaaah!”
Bu Eunseol hugged Jingak’s emaciated body with both arms and wailed. From the day he buried his grandfather in a sunny spot, he could not cry, nor could he be sad. His grandfather’s death was all his fault. Everything was his fault. But in the face of Jingak’s death, Bu Eunseol was crying loudly, just as he had when his grandfather passed away.
Jingak took a deep breath while looking at the mournfully crying Bu Eunseol.
Oh God. Why did you make such a tender child hold a sword? Why did you give him such a cruel life?
As Bu Eunseol’s crying gradually subsided, Jingak spoke in a gentle voice.
“Do you remember the poem of the Hwa Wu Sword that this instructor passed on?”
“I do.”
“Recite it.”
Bu Eunseol nodded and recited clearly.
“No Sword, Forgotten Sword. Having no sword, forgetting the sword. The mind is sharper than the sword. One must hide the sword in the heart. The sword transforms into will.”
Then Jingak said:
“Actually, that song was only passed down to formal disciples of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“My conscience was pricked, so I did not pass on the final two verses to you.”
He spoke with a meaningful expression.
“Receive the remaining two sword secrets from the Sect Leader.”
It was a strange statement. Why would Weiji Mu-a pass on the song of the Hwa Wu Sword to him?
“You will know when the time comes. The Sect Leader will surely pass them on to you.”
“Instructor.”
“And… I have one more favor.”
Jingak spoke in a low voice.
“You will surely go to the Hwa Wu Sword Sect immediately, saying you will take revenge for me.”
“That is correct.”
“But no matter what anyone says, I am a disciple of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.”
Jingak spoke earnestly.
“If you are to return the Thirteen Hwa Wu Forms, must the sect not be intact?”
“Instructor.”
“Even so, a time will surely come to strike down the Hwa Wu Sword Sect. At that time… please, even if just for my sake, I hope you preserve that place.”
If he made such a promise, Bu Eunseol would be restricted in various things in the future. However, looking at Jingak—whose limb meridians were all melted away and who was dying powerlessly with unfocused eyes while leaning against a rock—he nodded his head firmly.
“I understand,” Bu Eunseol replied, wiping his tears. “I will surely do so.”
“You look cold-hearted, but you always had a lot of affection.”
There was no focus in Jingak’s eyes.
Bu Eunseol swallowed the hot tears that were erupting once again.
This was because the sight of him sitting against a rock, unable to move his body because his tendons and ligaments had melted, bore such a striking resemblance to how his grandfather looked when he died.
“In return, I also have a favor.”
“Speak.”
“Because our sects were different and our paths were different, I did not dare to ask, but I have always thought of you, Instructor, as my master.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with a desperate expression.
“Please, allow me to attend to your end with the etiquette due to a master.”
“Hehehe.”
Jingak laughed calmly.
“From the time you came to me while I was guarding the martial arts hall alone on Hell Island…”
Despite his meridians being severed, he placed his hand on Bu Eunseol’s head with all his might. Then he spoke in a tender voice.
“…You were my disciple.”
Having left those final words, Jingak’s hand slowly dropped down.
A comfortable smile was etched on the lips of the man who had quietly passed away.
Although he himself did not possess great talent and thus did not achieve great success as a martial artist, he had become the master of the future’s greatest warrior under heaven—so what would he miss, and what would he regret?
