The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117.
In that instant, Jeong Cheon’s eyes, consumed by madness, faltered.
The sword strikes Bu Eunseol unleashed were gradually transforming to mirror his own chaotic blade technique.
Once trapped within Jeong Cheon’s chaotic blade, escape was no longer an option.
Yet since she could neither evade nor block it properly, the only method remaining was to mimic his chaotic blade and defend against it.
‘She’s mimicking my sword strikes?’
Shocked beyond measure, Jeong Cheon’s madness shattered, and his eyes returned to their natural clarity.
‘Impossible!’
How could anyone perceive with their eyes and replicate a chaotic blade that not only extended with lightning speed but contained twenty-four variations within a single strike?
‘This cannot be!’
Gritting his teeth, Jeong Cheon detonated the killing intent dwelling within his body, transforming his sword strikes with greater ferocity.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Yet the result remained unchanged.
No matter how he altered his strikes, Bu Eunseol matched them identically and defended against them.
It felt as though they were fighting before a mirror.
‘She was concealing her true strength!’
To instantly counter an opponent’s swordplay with identical technique was something only a master whose skill surpassed one’s own by several magnitudes could accomplish.
In truth, this was merely enduring every attack through the Neung Hyung Eo Geom, creating openings in the chaotic blade fueled by explosive killing intent.
And she had only mimicked his sword strikes through the Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin technique—it was never a matter of superior swordsmanship.
‘Had this woman unleashed her full strength from the beginning, she would have severed my arm within three strikes.’
Yet Jeong Cheon remained under the illusion that Bu Eunseol was not fully revealing her power, that she was showing him mercy.
But Bu Eunseol was equally astonished.
‘I cannot endure much longer.’
Jeong Cheon’s chaotic blade was truly an unparalleled swordplay.
I defended with the Neung Hyung Eo Geom and attacked with the Musang Cheon Ryu, barely holding on, yet this method was rapidly depleting my inner force and stamina.
‘At this rate…’
As my limit finally arrived, my sword instinctively lowered toward the ground.
At that same moment, Jeong Cheon’s chaotic blade too lost its power.
As the killing intent dissipated and reason returned, the potency of his swordplay diminished greatly.
Clang.
As Bu Eunseol’s and Jeong Cheon’s blades simultaneously struck the earth, silence descended upon the Reed Field.
The two stood regarding each other with expressions of incomprehension.
In the end, it was Jeong Cheon who spoke first.
“You’ve been concealing your strength all along. How shameful of me.”
‘He’s misunderstanding.’
To be honest, I had merely been desperately defending against his chaotic blade with all my might.
Jeong Cheon, who inherited the essence of Cho Geom Rang’s swordplay—one who belonged to the Mado Sipgyeol—was certainly a master standing above me.
“I merely mimicked your chaotic blade. My current swordplay could not have defended against it otherwise.”
“To be able to mimic an opponent’s swordplay on the spot means you are superior in skill.”
“That is… because our sect’s martial arts themselves pursue such secret techniques.”
Click.
Bu Eunseol sheathed her sword and spoke matter-of-factly.
“This match is a draw.”
“A draw, you say.”
Jeong Cheon drew a deep breath and gazed toward the distant sky as he spoke.
“Though I have not engaged in earnest activities within the Murim, I have always prided myself on possessing martial prowess second to none among my peers.”
Jeong Cheon, having sheathed his sword, spoke in a low voice.
“There is a gap of at least ten years between your age and mine. Yet you have matched me in skill despite this disparity—your martial potential shall unfold boundlessly in the years to come.”
Jeong Cheon, leaving behind a bitter smile, spoke softly.
“This match is my defeat.”
Without hesitation, he turned and departed.
* * *
Several days later.
After concluding her match with Jeong Cheon, Bu Eunseol temporarily left Jeok Cheon Mak Ji and ventured into the Deep Mountain Valley.
Jeong Cheon’s unpredictable swordplay had been the first technique whose flaws I could not unravel—a supreme mastery of the blade.
I needed time to digest the profound insights gained from that fierce battle.
In the interim, Nam Goong Woon, having fully recovered, remained at the Dae So Gaek Jsan with Heuk Pyo, awaiting Bu Eunseol’s return.
“It is time we accepted new commissions.”
Upon her return, Bu Eunseol led Heuk Pyo and Nam Goong Woon back to the Su Gyeong Jeon within Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.
A low murmur filled the air.
Yet the atmosphere within Su Gyeong Jeon felt peculiar.
Unlike usual, a considerable number of wanderers had gathered, while on one side, martial artists clad in black robes stood in solemn formation.
And Dam Yoo Yeon, the master of Su Gyeong Jeon who should have been in her office, was engaged in a grave conversation with a middle-aged man.
“Why have so many wanderers congregated here?”
At Nam Goong Woon’s question, Heuk Pyo answered immediately.
“It appears some sect is purchasing wanderers in bulk.”
“In bulk, you say…”
As Bu Eunseol stroked her chin with an intrigued expression, Heuk Pyo spoke in a hushed tone.
“I shall ascertain the precise details.”
After conversing at length with the wanderers standing nearby and the personnel at the counter of Su Gyeong Jeon, Heuk Pyo returned and reported.
“Jin Cheon Moon is currently recruiting and contracting high-tier wanderers in large numbers.”
Nam Goong Woon then tilted his head in confusion.
“Jin Cheon Moon? You mean the Jin Cheon Moon that has been clashing fiercely with Pae Do Moon?”
“Indeed.”
“Hmph, so after all this fighting, they now resort to proxy battles using wanderers.”
At Nam Goong Woon’s words, Heuk Pyo shook his head.
“Rather, Pae Do Moon has expended vast sums to hire assassins from Eum Sa Gok.”
Jin Cheon Moon and Pae Do Moon.
Both were Orthodox sects that had been locked in fierce struggle for dominance over the Sang Yang Region for over a decade.
Yet the master of Pae Do Moon had suddenly expended ten million gold to hire a large contingent of assassins from Eum Sa Gok.
And using assassins, they were repeatedly ambushing the rear forces by crossing Ham Chwi San, which could be called the back gate of Jin Cheon Moon.
―Mercenaries against mercenaries!
As the battle situation deteriorated, Jin Cheon Moon began hiring a large number of wanderers from Jeok Cheon Mak Ji to face them.
“Excellent.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been listening silently to Heuk Pyo’s explanation, nodded.
“Let’s take on a job from Jin Cheon Moon.”
“That is… already a concluded matter, I’m afraid.”
Heuk Pyo scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Jin Cheon Moon has already paid in full and recruited eighty superior-grade wanderers.”
“If skilled wanderers are willing to work, there’s no reason to refuse them.”
“It won’t be possible.”
Heuk Pyo spoke in a low voice.
“There won’t be funds to pay you, a top-tier wanderer.”
Among wanderers, only about twenty top-tier ones possess the finest caliber of skill, even in Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, the largest wanderer market.
Moreover, their fees are ten times higher than superior-grade wanderers, placing them far beyond Jin Cheon Moon’s budget.
“It’s nothing.”
Bu Eunseol removed the red silk thread denoting a top-tier wanderer and reattached the purple-hued silk thread of a superior-grade wanderer.
Then she walked toward Dam Yoo Yeon, who had just finished speaking with a master sent by Jin Cheon Moon and was turning to leave.
“Dam Jeon Ju.”
“Seol So Hyeop.”
As Bu Eunseol approached with long strides, Dam Yoo Yeon’s face flushed red.
She had been scheming to prevent Jeong Cheon’s fight all along, and in the end, even her romantic feelings had been exposed.
But when Bu Eunseol treated her as naturally as before, she relaxed and opened her mouth.
“Is there something you wish to say to me?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze remained fixed on the master of Jin Cheon Moon dressed in black martial robes.
* * *
Ham Chwi San.
This place, which could be called the back alley to Jin Cheon Moon, was a mountain with treacherous terrain and countless bizarre peaks and strange rock formations.
As one climbed the steep mountain path endlessly, a vast open ground appeared where the dense forest had been stripped away.
There, temporary barracks erected by Jin Cheon Moon were spread out, and before them stood eighty wanderers and martial artists in martial robes arranged in solemn formation.
And atop a boulder in the open ground stood a man with twin swords slung across his back.
It was Moon Gwang, who held the position of leader of the Human Sword Unit among Jin Cheon Moon’s Three Great Blade Formations—Heaven, Earth, and Human.
“From now on, we will strike Woong Ga San Jang, which the assassins of Eum Sa Gok have made their stronghold.”
At Moon Gwang’s words, tension flickered in the eyes of the arrayed wanderers.
Jin Cheon Moon’s purpose in hiring wanderers was not to defend Ham Chwi San.
They intended to ambush and completely annihilate the mountain lodge where the remnants of Eum Sa Gok had established their base.
Afterward, Moon Gwang continued issuing solemn orders to the superior-grade wanderers arrayed before him.
The wanderers listening to his words murmured lowly among themselves.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen blood.”
“An ambush would be ideal. We’d suffer no casualties.”
“We’ve been paid handsomely too, so once this is done, maybe I’ll indulge myself at the pleasure houses for a while.”
“Any questions?”
At Moon Gwang’s words, Heuk Pyo, standing at the very back of the wanderer group, raised his hand.
“Then what should we do?”
In that instant, Moon Gwang’s brow furrowed deeply.
‘Who is that boy?’
Behind the boy in black martial robes stood a young man who looked like a local loafer, and beside him, an ordinary-looking man stood vacantly.
He had clearly provided Jin Cheon Moon uniforms for eighty people, so why were there individuals wearing different martial robes here?
“Who are they?”
“My apologies. I should have reported this beforehand…”
At Moon Gwang’s words, Mak Hoong, his trusted subordinate standing beside him, quickly answered.
“They are superior-grade wanderers additionally provided by the Master of Su Gyeong Jeon from Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.”
“Additional superior-grade wanderers?”
“Yes, sir.”
Moon Gwang’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well… the Master of Su Gyeong Jeon, Miss Dam Yoo Yeon, said she didn’t need the money, so she told us to take them as a bonus…”
“Take them as a bonus? Superior-grade wanderers?”
“Yes, sir. Since she insisted on giving them, it seemed rude to refuse…”
Moon Gwang regarded them with a suspicious expression.
Superior-grade wanderers with extensive Gangho experience were typically in their thirties.
But these two were at best a boy of sixteen and a young man barely past his twenties.
Even if they were superior-grade wanderers, they likely lacked real combat experience. Such young people would only add to the chaos if thrown into a large-scale battle.
“You all…”
Their numbers were too few anyway, and they were difficult to organize into a combat unit. Since it was awkward to assign them any specific task, Moon Gwang smacked his lips.
“Wait here.”
“Sir?”
“Remnants of those who ambushed our main force may still be in this area. This barracks is our stronghold, so you are to remain here until we return.”
Heuk Pyo’s expression turned bewildered.
They’d come all this way to fight, only to be told to guard the barracks like dogs?
But Bu Eunseol stepped forward and nodded.
“Understood.”
With her immediate response, Moon Gwang turned away dismissively.
Deep into the night.
Chirp, chirp.
Only the faint sound of field insects filled the quiet desolation of the mountain.
Bu Eunseol and her companions remained alone in the barracks set up on the slopes of Ham Chwi San.
Heuk Pyo scanned his surroundings with a tense expression, while Bu Eunseol gazed at the night sky like a stone statue.
Nam Goong Woon, showing no particular tension, lay sprawled with his arm as a pillow, gazing up at the moonlight.
“Eunseol.”
Nam Goong Woon spoke then.
“I understand not taking payment, but do we really need to involve ourselves in another sect’s conflict?”
No matter how well he concealed his name and identity, Nam Goong Woon remained a descendant of an Orthodox family. He had no desire to entangle himself in the grudges and debts between sects.
“If you wish to leave, you may do so now.”
At Bu Eunseol’s cold words, Nam Goong Woon shook his head.
“I merely meant no offense.”
As he continued to grumble, Heuk Pyo carefully opened his mouth.
“Young Master.”
Heuk Pyo glanced at Bu Eunseol before speaking cautiously.
“Are you certain about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“You came without compensation to fight, yet here you are merely guarding the barracks.”
“Combat will come.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head matter-of-factly.
“If Jin Cheon Moon hired wanderers, Pae Do Moon will surely know of it. At minimum, they will send scouts to verify our position and the scale of our forces.”
She regarded Nam Goong Woon with the faintest smile.
“And with your current strength, participating in a full-scale battle would mean certain death.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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