The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 127
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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 127.
Bu Eunseol was hardly surprised.
After all, it was a situation she had foreseen. In fact, she felt grateful for the year’s reprieve.
A brief silence fell, and Dan Cheong released a deep sigh.
“Though it’s framed as a demand from the Ten Demonic Gates and the Elder Council, considering the enemy—the Masters of Great Righteousness—it’s nearly impossible. They’re essentially telling you to lose or destroy yourself gracefully.”
The Ten Demon Experts had not only inherited the profound techniques of the Ten Demonic Gates but uniformly possessed exceptional talent.
Because of this, the successors of the existing Ten Demonic Gates viewed the Ten Demon Experts with great wariness, and they were being ostracized.
Ultimately, after much deliberation, they pressured the Demon Palace to further reduce the time available for the Ten Demon Experts to cultivate their martial arts—hoping they would die in battle against the Masters of Great Righteousness.
“Word arrived several days ago that the Ten Demon Experts are heading toward the Demon Palace. They’ve been summoned to gather on Qingming Festival, so you’ll need to depart soon as well.”
At that moment, Baek Yeon, who stood beside Dan Cheong, opened his mouth with a stern expression.
“The Masters of Great Righteousness are experts who earned their renown in the Murim long before the Ten Demon Experts existed. No matter how exceptional your talent, you cannot match them.”
Baek Yeon spoke with utmost seriousness.
“It’s not too late even now. If you declare yourself the successor of the Nangya Sect rather than one of the Ten Demon Experts, and if your father and I exert some influence… you won’t need to go to the Demon Palace at all.”
In the past, Baek Yeon had proposed a plan to Bu Eunseol to escape the constraints of the Ten Demon Experts by establishing herself as the successor of the Nangya Sect.
But at that time, Bu Eunseol had firmly rejected the proposal.
Her goal was a beast wielding the sword techniques of the Demonic Path’s apex—something incomparable to the Masters of Great Righteousness.
“I will go to the Demon Palace.”
“Bu Eunseol.”
“How could a disciple of the Nangya Sect avoid a challenge? I will surely return victorious.”
As Bu Eunseol answered calmly, Dan Cheong nodded with evident pride.
“Yes, since you’ve made your decision, it would be even better if you defeated the Masters of Great Righteousness and made your name resound throughout Tianxia.”
“Father.”
“Didn’t I refuse to stop you before? Don’t try to dissuade me any further.”
Dan Cheong grasped Bu Eunseol’s shoulder and spoke with conviction.
“This child will surely overcome this trial. That is my belief.”
Belief—it was the greatest kindness one could offer another, a rope that could bind them together with unwavering strength.
Feeling the weight of that profound belief, Bu Eunseol bowed deeply and clasped her hands together.
“I will never disappoint you.”
* * *
A secret chamber within the Demon Palace.
The interior of the chamber, shrouded in absolute darkness, was illuminated only faintly by moonlight seeping through the window.
In one corner of the chamber sat an armchair with armrests, upon which an elderly man with white hair combed back was seated.
His appearance and bearing resembled that of an immortal sage, yet occasionally a divine radiance blazed forth from his eyes.
“What is the condition of the Ten Demon Experts?”
In response to the old man’s question, the Black Shadow prostrated before him bowed his head.
“Most of them are exceptional martial prodigies who have been absorbing the martial techniques of the Ten Demonic Gates at a terrifying rate.”
“If they were to fight the Masters of Great Righteousness?”
“The probability of victory is… estimated at approximately thirty percent.”
“Thirty percent.”
The old man’s eyes, which had been blazing like torches, narrowed to slits.
“Even so, thirty percent isn’t half bad for such a short span of time.”
“It seems Hyuk Ryeon Ho Beop’s proposal, when he held the position of sect leader, proved effective. Had we selected only those with exceptional physiques, we could never have achieved this level of success.”
“So you’ve cultivated talents who excel in multiple dimensions.”
“Indeed.”
“Where is he now?”
The shadow hesitated briefly before answering.
“As punishment for arbitrarily halting the examination, he has remained in Gwan Oe for three years, handling various matters.”
“I see. Have him return.”
The shadow, who had been bowing, lowered his head further as he spoke.
“However, the Demon Celestial Emperor has yet to emerge from seclusion. If we lift the punishment arbitrarily, the Elder Council may overlook it, but the Ten Demonic Gates will lodge a strong protest.”
“Three years rotting away in Gwan Oe should suffice for a dharma protector. That’s enough—summon him back.”
“Understood. I shall arrange for his immediate return.”
“Hmm.”
The old man rose from his seat and gazed out the window.
“Let me see if there are any promising talents among the Ten Demon Experts worth employing.”
* * *
The Demon Palace’s gate sentries are divided into three shifts and work in pairs of two.
Moreover, since the sentries guarding the entrance represent the first impression of the Demon Palace, they must possess martial prowess and bearing befitting that role.
Considering these factors, Mo Gwang and Jang Sam were hardly ideal candidates for the Demon Palace’s sentries.
Their martial skills were unremarkable, their inner energy ordinary, and their temperaments utterly commonplace.
Yet they had maintained their positions as gate sentries for over twenty years for a single reason.
They had never once violated their duty hours and had caused no incidents during their watch.
But today, Mo Gwang and Jang Sam faced the greatest crisis of their lives as gate sentries.
Not long after beginning their night shift, they spotted a young martial artist approaching with the moonlight at his back.
“What do we do?”
Cold sweat beaded on Jang Sam’s forehead as he looked toward Mo Gwang.
The warnings he’d heard before his shift flickered through his mind.
―The Ten Demon Experts will visit the main hall starting today. Exercise utmost caution.
The morning sentries who received this notice from the sentry captain had stood their watch without concern.
But the problem was that the Ten Demon Experts carried no swords, garments, spirit tablets, or insignia symbolizing the Ten Demonic Gates.
―How have you come?
When a young man strode into the Demon Palace, the morning sentries questioned his identity.
But the young scholar passed without answering.
―Please sign the visitor’s register.
―I am one of the Ten Demon Experts.
―There are no exceptions. Outsiders must….
In that instant, the sentry collapsed into a bloody heap.
All because he had asked for the visitor’s register to be signed.
Thereafter, whenever other Ten Demon Experts arrived and were asked to sign the register, their fists flew without fail.
In the end, the morning sentries suffered injuries severe enough to require a full year of recovery, and they abandoned their posts as gate sentries.
“Let’s just let him through! All the young people coming to the Demon Palace today are bound to be Ten Demon Experts anyway.”
Upon hearing this, the noon shift guards reportedly allowed any young men who appeared to be Ten Demon Experts to pass without questioning their identities.
“Who allowed an outsider through before I saw them!”
This time, the wrath of the gate captain Wi Sa descended like thunder.
Several of those who had passed through the entrance were individuals with no connection whatsoever to the Demon Palace—some weren’t even affiliated with the Demonic Path Sect.
“Get out of my sight this instant!”
The furious Wi Sa reportedly drove the noon shift workers away on the spot.
And then, during the evening shift of Mo Gwang and Jang Sam, another young scholar appeared.
Thud. Thud.
As the shadow of the approaching youth drew closer, Jang Sam spoke once more.
“What should we do? Just let him through?”
“What if he’s the wrong person? We’ll be dismissed on the spot.”
“But haven’t those Ten Demon Experts all responded to requests for the guest register by swinging their fists?”
Mo Gwang, as if having made a decision, spoke to Jang Sam with solemn resolve.
“Don’t worry. Let me give it a try.”
“What? You’re going to…”
Mo Gwang immediately stepped forward to intercept the approaching youth.
“What brings you here?”
The young scholar merely glared at Mo Gwang coldly without uttering a word.
Mo Gwang swallowed hard and spoke again.
“Please sign the guest register.”
Mo Gwang spoke with the courtesy and confidence befitting a Wi Sa of the Demon Palace.
“This is a rule of our establishment, and there are no exceptions for outsiders. Therefore…”
But his words could proceed no further.
The youth before him had seized Mo Gwang’s throat.
“Outsider?”
“Gack… That’s not what I meant…”
“The Ten Demon Experts are… outsiders even to the Demon Palace!”
Crack.
As the man applied pressure, the sound of bone echoed from Mo Gwang’s neck.
The youth’s grip strength was beyond imagination—the slightest additional force would pulverize Mo Gwang’s cervical vertebrae to dust.
“S-save me…”
Mo Gwang’s eyes rolled back white.
Just as Jang Sam, witnessing this, was about to ring the bell to summon the Wi Sa unit,
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from behind once more.
When Jang Sam turned his head, he saw a young scholar approaching with a dark sword strapped across his back.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“You…”
The man gripping Mo Gwang’s throat caught sight of Bu Eunseol and his eyes gleamed with recognition.
“So you’ve come as well.”
Rather than answer, I reached out and pressed my fingers against the wrist of the man who had Mo Gwang by the throat.
Swish.
With merely a light touch of my fingers, a sharp aura rippled outward.
At the same moment, the man’s fingers—which had been gripping Mo Gwang’s neck—spread wide open.
“Gasp… gasp…”
As his airway opened, Mo Gwang collapsed to the ground, breathing in ragged gasps.
In the meantime, I walked past them with an indifferent expression and approached the table where the visitor’s registry lay.
—Nangya Sect, Bu Eunseol.
After inscribing my name in the registry with a single fluid stroke, I was about to pass through the gates of the Demon Palace when—
“Bu Eunseol!”
The man stepped in front of me and shouted fiercely.
“Are you ignoring me right now?”
I turned to face the man and stared at him directly.
“Who are you?”
“What?”
The man’s expression flickered with confusion for a moment before he let out a low chuckle, as if something had clicked.
“Hehe. I suppose my appearance has changed so much that you don’t recognize me.”
The man laughed and pointed at his own face with his thumb.
“It’s me, Yu Woon Ryong. Don’t you remember? The one who fought you until the very end on Hell Island…”
“The one who boasted of his strength to Wi Sa, claiming to be one of the Ten Demon Experts.”
I smiled coldly, as frigid as eternal ice, and gestured toward the registry.
“Write your name.”
“What?”
“There are no exceptions, as you said.”
Though I had arrived long after Yu Woon Ryong, I had witnessed and heard everything that had transpired.
“Thank you for your service.”
After setting down the brush, I walked through the gates with unhurried strides, as if nothing had happened.
Yu Woon Ryong stood motionless for a moment, as if his soul had left his body.
Throb, throb, throb.
Veins bulged across his face like earthworms, his eyes wide with fury.
“That’s right. I had forgotten.”
A chilling murderous intent shimmered like heat waves in his gaze as he stared at my receding back.
“Because you killed Kang Mu Ryun, the successor of the White Horse Sect’s main branch, I too was despised there.”
Speaking coldly, he passed by Mo Gwang and Jang Sam.
Click.
He picked up the brush from the table and scrawled across the registry.
—White Horse Sect, Yu Woon Ryong.
As Yu Woon Ryong stared down at the registry, he gnashed his teeth once more.
“No, I cannot let that bastard go unpunished.”
And with quick steps, I entered the Demon Palace.
Jang Sam, who had been watching intently, hurriedly supported Mo Gwang.
“So that demonic creature was one of the Ten Demon Experts of the White Horse Sect.”
Jang Sam wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a deep sigh.
“We were fortunate.”
“It wasn’t fortune.”
But Mo Gwang stared after Bu Eunseol with vacant eyes as she receded into the distance.
“She saved me.”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Mo Gwang shook his head and clasped his hands solemnly toward the place where Bu Eunseol had departed.
Upon entering the Demon Palace, I surveyed the magnificent palace halls sprawled out like a forest.
The serene yet solemn interior of the Demon Palace evoked both grandeur and an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Bu Xiaoxia.”
A young scholar in white robes stood waiting, clasping his hands in greeting toward me.
“It has been a long time.”
The young scholar’s features were refined and clean, with eyes that were remarkably long and deep.
It was Sim Wol, a disciple of Man Bak Dang who had guided Bu Eunseol during the five-form examination at the Demon Palace before.
“Do you remember me?”
“Of course. It has been a long time.”
As Bu Eunseol clasped her hands, Sim Wol broke into a bright smile.
“Your cultivation has become even more refined. It seems you’ve made great progress.”
“Bu Eunseol!”
Then, with heavy breathing, a man with a fierce expression approached with quick strides.
It was Yu Woon Ryong, one of the Ten Demon Experts of the White Horse Sect.
“Look at me for a moment.”
Yu Woon Ryong stood before Bu Eunseol, baring his teeth as he spoke.
“We have old grievances to settle anyway.”
On Hell Island, he had nearly died by my blade.
But after becoming one of the Ten Demon Experts, he had forgotten that matter—until just now, when the humiliation and rage from that time surged forth anew.
“This time, you won’t escape as luckily as you did on Hell Island.”
“Luckily?”
“Indeed.”
Yu Woon Ryong smirked and bared his white teeth.
“Because there’s no one here like the Sect Master to carefully protect you.”
Whoosh.
In that instant, though no wind blew, Bu Eunseol’s long hair slowly rose toward the heavens.
Simultaneously, millions of crimson light points materialized around my body.
“What did you say?”
My eyes, blazing with the Extreme Crimson Light, burned like smoldering coals.
“What did you just say?”
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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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