When they first met, Hyeok Ryeon-eung had said this.
—I thought he was using the Leader of the Death-Seeking Squad, but instead, he entrusted the Intelligence Unit to some girl who used to be an assassin.
“While he was dealing with Squad Leader So, I must have arrived earlier than expected.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol, having grasped the situation before his arrival, feel his eyes flash.
“To kill me, he had to take out my eyes and ears first.”
“The one Hyeok Ryeon-eung found was Soyo. She immediately activated the Emergency Communication System, and Squad Leader So was the first to arrive at the scene.”
Piiiiii!
A faint sound of a flute rang out from somewhere.
It was as quiet as the sound of an ant walking, but it reached Bu Eunseol’s ears with perfect clarity.
‘Soyo!’
Bu Eunseol intuitively knew it was an emergency signal from Soyo.
Paang!
Leaping into the air in a single bound, he unleashed his Movement Technique at full force, heading toward the source of the flute sound.
At that, the squad leaders, including a blinking Yu Un-ryong, immediately followed after him.
Chchchch… Kwarreung!
Bu Eunseol gritted his teeth and amplified his Movement Technique with his twelve-star power.
As Bu Eunseol’s figure cut through the air without a sound, a continuous roar of thunder erupted from him.
After running for a long time, he finally arrived at a place lush with bamboo, a Bamboo Grove.
There, a gray figure lay fallen and bleeding, and a black shadow was pressing on his stomach as if trying to treat him.
It was the Leader of the Death-Seeking Squad, So Ja-myeong, and Soyo.
“Soyo.”
“We have to save the Squad Leader first!”
Soyo said, pressing down on the fallen So Ja-myeong's stomach.
“Hurry.”
The area around So Ja-myeong’s stomach was a pool of blood, as if hacked to pieces, and his intestines were spilling out.
“He was trying to protect me… The Squad Leader was trying to protect me.”
Teardrops streamed from Soyo's eyes, which were always frozen like the north wind.
Bu Eunseol took a Celestial Spirit Essence from his robes, put it in his mouth, and immediately infused him with Reverse Extreme Energy.
But there was no response.
He had lost too much blood and could not regain consciousness.
“Squad Leader So.”
Bu Eunseol’s heart grew urgent.
And once again, he summoned his internal energy with all his might.
Then, a transparent aura surged from his body and began to merge with his true energy.
The Water Spirit Qi, full of the aura of water, had combined with his Reverse Extreme Energy.
Wuuung.
As the pure Reverse Extreme Energy and Water Spirit Qi were infused, a faint glow enveloped So Ja-myeong's body.
“Ugh…”
With a low groan, So Ja-myeong opened his eyes.
But he had only regained consciousness for a moment due to the Reverse Extreme Energy and Water Spirit Qi.
He had lost a massive amount of blood, and the sword wound in his lower abdomen was too fatal.
Even if Hua Tuo or a Great Golden Immortal were to come, it would be impossible to revive him.
“Lord.”
Regaining consciousness and faintly opening his eyes, So Ja-myeong smiled upon seeing Bu Eunseol.
“It's been a while.”
“Squad Leader So.”
Bu Eunseol suppressed the rising sorrow and grief and once again infused him with Water Spirit Qi with all his might.
“It's all right.”
But So Ja-myeong gently held Bu Eunseol’s hand and shook his head.
“I'm already done for, so please don't waste your precious true energy.”
“Squad Leader So.”
Bu Eunseol gritted his teeth.
He didn't want to send away the people he cared for anymore.
He didn't want to sacrifice any more of those around him.
But as time went on, they left his side one by one.
“Lord.”
Looking at Bu Eunseol's pained eyes, So Ja-myeong offered a faint smile.
“It seems I can no longer serve you, Lord.”
“Squad Leader So.”
Bu Eunseol grasped his hand tightly and said.
“The three years we promised haven't even passed yet, have they?”
Bu Eunseol had promised So Ja-myeong.
That within three years, he would bring the entire Death-Seeking Squad into the light.
That he would not let them live as nameless members anymore.
“Don't leave me.”
Bu Eunseol lowered his head and spoke as if pleading.
“I still need you. So please don't leave me….”
A deep compassion flowed from So Ja-myeong’s eyes.
Unstoppable under the heavens, with an unparalleled talent for wisdom and martial arts.
This successor of the Demonic Path, who seemed cold and indifferent, with no interest in worldly affairs…
was, in reality, just a young man full of endless affection.
“Hyeok Ryeon-eung… He must have grown impatient after making repeated mistakes. He probably thought you were still operating the Death-Seeking Squad, Lord….”
Gush.
Before So Ja-myeong could finish his sentence, he coughed up a mouthful of red blood.
“I know. Don't say any more.”
“Please take good care of the members, Lord.”
As if his life force had been depleted, So Ja-myeong’s eyes grew dim.
“And when the great work is done… please be sure to send them into the light. So that they no longer die as nameless members.”
Even in his dying moments, So Ja-myeong was worried about the members who carried out their missions at the risk of their lives.
“I understand. I promise.”
“Still, I'm glad I could see you one last time, Lord.”
“Squad Leader So.”
“Even in the Netherworld… I will watch you shake the heavens, Lord.”
So Ja-myeong looked at Bu Eunseol and held a bright smile.
As if blessing Bu Eunseol’s future.
Slowly.
And he slowly closed his eyes.
So Ja-myeong’s funeral was conducted with the highest honors of the Demon Palace.
He was the leader of the Death-Seeking Squad, a Secret Unit not officially recognized by the Demon Palace…
But his Ancestral Tablet was inscribed with the title of Vice Lord of the Martial Soul Division, the Demon Palace’s inspection organization and highest authority.
So Ja-myeong, who had not even been officially registered in the Demon Palace.
In the end, he could die with his name recorded as a high-ranking member of the Martial Soul Division.
Swaaaaah.
As if the sky mourned his death, a desolate and cold autumn rain began to fall.
Bu Eunseol stood by the grave like a totem pole, gazing at So Ja-myeong's burial mound.
Originally, he was a master from the Extreme Killing Hall.
But to treat his lover who was suffering from Severed Meridian, he had applied to the Death-Seeking Squad, where he could earn a large sum of money.
He completed missions like a madman and gathered the target amount within three years, but in the end, he could not save his lover.
Afterward, he lost the will to live and tried to leave the Martial World.
But he had already grown accustomed to the life of the Death-Seeking Squad, where he risked his life for missions.
Eventually, he returned to the Death-Seeking Squad to carry out missions.
As time passed, he had become the leader responsible for all the members.
—I want to let them all retire.
Most of the martial artists who joined the Death-Seeking Squad were in situations like So Ja-myeong's past, needing a large amount of money.
Among martial artists, those who live without worrying about money.
Are only the very few chosen by the heavens, who look down upon the Martial World.
Martial artists with mediocre skills live their entire lives without ever touching a large sum of money.
Among the members of the Death-Seeking Squad, there were some.
Who joined for their own wealth and glory, or to commit murder freely.
But most of them.
Joined for their poor families, or to send money to the vagrant villages they stayed in.
Or for a sick lover or family member like his own.
And So Ja-myeong, who knew this feeling better than anyone, wanted to help the members earn a lot of money so they could retire as soon as possible.
But very few achieved that goal and left.
Most died during missions.
—Do they just die without even a name in the end?
In the end, without even a name.
Watching the members die with only a Code Name, So Ja-myeong made a decision.
He would definitely give them a sense of belonging.
For the members of the Death-Seeking Squad who burned their own bodies in the flames like moths just to earn money… he would at least create an official registry for them.
“Were you in a hurry?”
Bu Eunseol, who was looking at So Ja-myeong's grave, said in a low voice.
“You said you would create a registry for the members, so why are you the first one in there….”
—I'm sorry, Squad Leader.
Somehow, I ended up taking a spot before the other members!
It seemed as if So Ja-myeong's cheerful joke could be heard from the grave.
“I’m sorry.”
Soyo, who was standing next to Bu Eunseol, said in a low voice.
“If my Movement Technique had been a little faster, if I hadn't been caught by him….”
Hyeok Ryeon-eung thought that Bu Eunseol's Secret Unit was still the Death-Seeking Squad.
And he naturally assumed that the one who constantly stayed by Bu Eunseol's side and carried out missions was So Ja-myeong.
But the one who was playing that role was Soyo.
In the end, Hyeok Ryeon-eung found and tried to kill Soyo, and So Ja-myeong, who was the first to sense her emergency signal,
had fought Hyeok Ryeon-eung to buy time.
But he could not withstand his martial arts and suffered a fatal wound.
“It's not your fault.”
Bu Eunseol said in a low voice.
“He cared for his members. And he was happy teaching them.”
When Meheun took over the Evil Soul Guard, So Ja-myeong voluntarily lowered his position and became an instructor in charge of training the members.
It was thanks to his training that Soyo was able to act as the Vice Leader of the Evil Soul Guard.
And So Ja-myeong would have been very proud of having saved Soyo at the cost of his life.
“Let's go back now.”
Bu Eunseol looked at the members of the Death Shadow Squad standing in the distance.
They too were furious about So Ja-myeong's death.
If they did not get this revenge, they would leave the Demon Palace and hunt down Hyeok Ryeon-eung themselves.
‘Just wait a little longer, Squad Leader So.’
Bu Eunseol turned around and cried out in his heart.
‘I will come back soon with Hyeok Ryeon-eung's severed head.’
As he turned away coldly, a hot energy blazed from his body.
He would halt all future plans.
And first, cut off Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s head.
Hall of Returning Warriors.
This place once helped disabled or homeless martial artists who had been injured.
But as time passed, the world became harsher, and the patrons who would help martial artists disappeared.
In the end, Hall of Returning Warriors went bankrupt, and it became a desolate Fallen Sect that no one visited, exuding a dreary atmosphere.
Geugeugeung.
But a Hidden Passage opened in the basement where Hall of Returning Warriors was built, and a black shadow walked out.
It was a large old man with the build of a bear, the waist of a tiger, and the eyes of a lion.
It was Hyeok Ryeon-eung.
“Hmm.”
Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s sharp eyes narrowed as he looked at the pouring rain.
“He's grown too much.”
Looking at the raindrops falling from the dim sky, he recalled the swordsmanship Bu Eunseol had unleashed.
It was a swordsmanship that had reached the gentle Extreme Heaven Realm, and it was difficult to find even the slightest flaw.
Not only did it have powerful might, but it was also still incomplete.
If the time came.
That swordsmanship, like a coiled flood dragon meeting rain and clouds.
Would surely soar endlessly upward like a dragon someday.
“I suppose there's no choice.”
Hyeok Ryeon-eung sighed.
Now that he had been stripped of his title as Demonic Dharma High Master, he could not move the Envoys or use the forces of Mugunggye.
“He must have taken measures in the Demon Palace, so he won't give me any more room to use the Heart-Seizing Art.”
In fact, the plan to capture Bu Eunseol's subordinates and make them self-destruct with him.
Was Hyeok Ryeon-eung's best strategy, a plan that could absolutely not fail.
But Bu Eunseol had surprisingly seen through his strategy in advance, and all the martial artists of the Death Shadow Division had created a secret technique to break the Heart-Seizing Art.
If he were to enter the Demon Palace again in this situation, he would definitely be traced.
“In that case, I have no choice but to first destroy that precious power of his.”
Hyeok Ryeon-eung was a figure who had been active in the Demon Palace since before Bu Eunseol was born.
Although he had now left that place, he knew the characteristics and system of the organization called the Demon Palace inside and out.
“That brat has many enemies within the Demon Palace.”
Hyeok Ryeon-eung wore a sinister smile.
“If I can't cut off your hands and feet directly, I'll cut off your power first.”
No matter how outstanding he was, it would take a lot of time to swallow the huge federation that was the Demon Palace.
Also, those with a character that bends but does not break tend to have many enemies.
Hyeok Ryeon-eung intended to first break the staff of power that Bu Eunseol held.
“You can look forward to it this time, Bu Eunseol.”
A hot light flowed from Hyeok Ryeon-eung’s eyes as he muttered lowly.
“I will deal with you and then return to Mugunggye.”
For decades, he had been a high-ranking member of the Demon Palace, a literary teacher at Wiwang Manor.
And the Demonic Dharma High Master of Mugunggye, who moved the world.
Even if Bu Eunseol changed the structure of the Death Shadow Division and established a secret intelligence organization.
Even if he held the position of Martial Soul Lord.
He could not escape the system of the Demon Palace, and he had to conform to the laws of that organization.
He knew this all too well.
A strange rumor suddenly began to circulate in the Demon Palace.
—The Martial Soul Lord has been using a Secret Unit to secretly inspect not only the Righteous Faction but also the Demon Palace and the Ten Demonic Gates.
But that was a matter of course.
For him, the head of the Demon Palace's inspection organization, not to secretly inspect the Demon Palace and the Ten Demonic Gates.
Would rather be a dereliction of duty.
—Surprisingly, the Martial Soul Lord was a figure with ties to the Martial Alliance.
That is precisely why he had been constantly inspecting the Ten Demonic Gates.
But it didn't stop there, and another absurd rumor spread.
That he had a close relationship with the Martial Alliance.
—In fact, since he came, haven't the Ten Demonic Gates collapsed and their forces weakened?
It was a somewhat ridiculous rumor.
Of course, it was true that Bu Eunseol had somewhat weakened the forces of the Ten Demonic Gates.
But that was something that happened due to the power struggle that arose in the process of solidifying his position as the successor.
Or because they themselves walked the path of self-destruction.
Besides, Bu Eunseol was a figure who would naturally become the master of the Demon Palace as time passed.
What was he lacking that he would form a close relationship with the Martial Alliance?
—It must be a groundless rumor.
Most demonic cultivators did not believe the rumor at all.
It was absurd from the start.
But soon, a shocking event occurred.
The absurd rumor circulating within the Demon Palace had become a reality.
Hidden Demon Pavilion, Bu Eunseol’s office.
There, the Law Enforcement Hall Lord, Yang Gu-eung, and his subordinates were surrounding Bu Eunseol.
“Martial Soul Lord. Do you admit to the crime of contacting the Martial Alliance Leader, leaking the Demon Palace's information, and weakening its forces?”
The Law Enforcement Hall Lord, Yang Gu-eung, who would never move without conclusive evidence.
He had come to arrest Bu Eunseol.
Without even waiting for Bu Eunseol's answer, Yang Gu-eung immediately ordered his subordinates.
“Confiscate all documents in the Death Shadow Division!”
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Martial Alliance Leader? What about the Martial Alliance Leader all of a sudden?”
The squad leaders of the Death Shadow Division, who had been watching Yang Gu-eung’s actions quietly, rose up.
“Hall Master Yang. Show respect to the Lord and follow the proper procedures.”
Wi Cheon-gyeong stepped forward and said solemnly.
“Otherwise, we squad leaders will not stand by.”
What if they were to force a search? They were poised to use force without hesitation.
But the strange thing was Bu Eunseol.
He was just staring at what Yang Gu-eung was doing as if it had nothing to do with him.
“Lord! Are you going to let them be?”
“We will kick them out right now!”
As Won Sae-mun and Jo Nam-cheon threw a fit, Yang Gu-eung asked again.
“Lord, do you admit to these facts?”
Bu Eunseol, who had been watching with a languid expression, slowly opened his mouth.
“Even if I say no, I don't think you'll believe me.”
“Of course not.”
“Then you must have conclusive evidence.”
“Otherwise, how could you dare to storm the Hidden Demon Pavilion where the Death Shadow Division is located?”
Yang Gu-eung, who answered coldly, took out a piece of paper from his robes.
“Based on the evidence obtained by the Law Enforcement Hall, an arrest warrant has been issued by the Chief Inspector, authorizing the detention of the Martial Soul Lord.”
Placing the paper on the table, he said in a subtle voice.
“Out of respect for the Lord's dignity, I will not bind you. However, if you refuse this, an unfortunate incident will inevitably occur.”
For the Chief Inspector to authorize the detention, it meant they had caught conclusive evidence.
When Bu Eunseol did not answer, Yang Gu-eung said to his subordinates in a solemn voice.
“Escort the Lord to the Bottomless Prison immediately.”
“Don't talk nonsense!”
Swish!
The hot-tempered Won Sae-mun drew his twin swords.
“You dare escort the Lord? I'll escort you to the netherworld first!”
As he was about to really charge, Jo Nam-cheon stopped him.
“Calm down! He said there's an arrest warrant! If you do this, you'll only make things more difficult for the Lord.”
“Calm down, my foot! Are you saying we should just stand by and watch?”
Step, step.
In the meantime, Bu Eunseol rose from his seat and followed the members of the Law Enforcement Hall outside.
“It's nothing serious, so don't worry about it and continue with your work.”
He left with only those words.
The squad leaders who were watching were all dumbfounded.
In the end, Jo Nam-cheon quietly asked the composed Yu Un-ryong.
“Squad Leader Yu. The Lord is planning something again, isn't he?”
They also knew.
That for some time now, Bu Eunseol had not been holding meetings with the squad leaders, but had been consulting separately with Yu Un-ryong.
The squad leaders were not fools.
Myo Cheon-woo, who had suddenly gone on leave and not returned.
They knew he was the spy who had been leaking the Death Shadow Division’s information all this time.
In case a similar incident occurred, or information was leaked due to the squad leaders' mistakes…
They knew he was discussing important matters with Yu Un-ryong.
“That might be so.”
“What do you mean, ‘that might be so’?”
Yu Un-ryong sighed deeply.
“What's certain is that there was no discussion whatsoever.”
“No discussion, you say?”
For a moment, Jo Nam-cheon looked bewildered.
“It's all right, Squad Leader Yu. You can tell us. We'll have to find out eventually, won't we?”
“That's right. Just tell us it's part of the Lord's plan.”
When Won Sae-mun also stepped forward to ask, Yu Un-ryong shook his head with a pained expression.
“It's not a planned event.”
Yu Un-ryong said with an incredibly heavy expression.
“And in this situation, even if the Heavenly Demon Emperor were to move, he cannot avoid punishment.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The fact that an arrest warrant was issued. It means there is conclusive evidence that all the high-ranking officials, including the Chief Inspector, have accepted.”
Looking at the dumbfounded expressions of the Death Shadow Division's martial artists, Yu Un-ryong lowered his head.
“Right now, there is not a single person in the Martial World who can save the Lord.”