The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 129

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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 129.
Sim Wol evaded a direct answer, deftly steering the conversation in a new direction.
“What is certain is that the Elder valued Bu Eunseol’s exceptional talents, which is why such a proposal was made.”
Bu Eunseol regarded Sim Wol in silence.
Her gaze was as keen as a sword’s edge, and her eyes gleamed with a penetrating brilliance that seemed to pierce through to one’s very core.
Yet Sim Wol’s eyes were brimming with affection, as though gazing upon a beloved.
“I see. Now I understand.”
There had always been something about Sim Wol that puzzled me.
How could a mere disciple of Man Bak Dang possess cultivation methods rivaling those of a Ten Demon Expert like myself?
“What do you mean?”
“Your true identity.”
A smile similar to Sim Wol’s played at the corners of my lips.
“A disciple of Man Bak Dang, perhaps—or possibly a member of the Am Cheon Dae. Or perhaps… a disciple of the Elder Council’s leader.”
In that instant, Sim Wol’s laughter vanished.
But it was only the briefest moment. Soon, an even brighter smile graced his lips.
“Who can say?”
Sim Wol spoke with artless candor, his eyes narrowing into crescents.
“Regardless of what I do or where I stand, I remain a faithful disciple of this sect.”
By then, Bu Eunseol and Sim Wol had arrived before a modest palace hall.
Through the open gates, a beautiful flower garden and a small pond came into view.
Sim Wol gestured toward the tall palace hall rising to the south as he spoke.
“This place not only possesses beautiful scenery but is also not far from the Holy Demon Pavilion, where Ma Cheon Je resides.”
“I am grateful for your consideration.”
“Attendants are stationed within, so please feel free to summon them for anything you need. And…”
Sim Wol’s voice became measured yet distinctly cold.
“This will be the last kindness the Elder extends to Bu Eunseol.”
In other words, this dwelling had been secured through the efforts of Jeok Bung, the Elder Council’s leader.
Understanding Sim Wol’s meaning, I smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Please convey my gratitude to the Elder. Tell him I shall rest well.”
“As you wish.”
Sim Wol pressed his palms together and departed quietly.
As I watched his retreating figure, two truths suddenly crystallized in my mind.
Jeok Bung was a man who manipulated those around him like chess pieces, keeping them beneath his control.
And he was one who would stop at nothing to obtain what he desired.
* * *
The following day, the Demon Palace issued a rather bewildering announcement.
A banquet would be held for the Ten Demon Experts visiting the Demon Palace, and attendance was requested.
The gathering was meant to foster camaraderie among the Ten Demon Experts.
Moreover, the Demon Palace’s own representatives would not be attending, making attendance entirely optional. Naturally, Bu Eunseol did not attend.
Though we were all Ten Demon Experts, these were the very ones with whom I had fought to the death on Hell Island.
I harbored no particularly warm feelings toward anyone except Seo Jin Ha, with whom I had fought back-to-back.
Much like Yu Woon Ryong, whom I had encountered before.
‘Could this be another test?’
A sense of discord bloomed quietly from the depths of my chest.
If the sole purpose was to confront a master of the Great Realm, there would be no need to summon the Ten Demon Experts to the Demon Hall. A simple order to each faction would suffice.
Yet they deliberately summoned them to the Demon Hall, arranged quarters, and hosted a banquet?
If so, then all of this must be orchestrated by someone and woven into a meticulous plan.
‘It would be easier on my mind if I belonged to the Demon Hall.’
I shook my head as I thought of Seo Jin Ha.
Having entered the Cheon Sal Unit early on, he could be said to have cast off the shackles of the Ten Demon Experts first among us all.
‘He is likely not here.’
Given Seo Jin Ha’s nature, had he been in the Demon Hall, he would surely have sought me out.
‘The Lord of Neung Gak is also away on business, I was told.’
Neung Gak, who had been recruited from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Lord of Nangya Sect to become the Hyeonhyeon Hall Lord of the Demon Hall.
He was a man of remarkable martial prowess and wisdom who had aided me during the White Horse Sect’s trial before.
Had Neung Gak been present, he would have offered much counsel and assistance in this situation.
‘Perhaps the Demon Hall anticipated this and orchestrated matters accordingly….’
As time passed, the sun set and night fell.
Then came a knock at the door, followed by Si Bi’s low voice.
“A warrior of the Red Star Party requests an audience with you, young master.”
“Come in.”
At my words, the door opened and a warrior bearing a crimson-stained blade entered and bowed.
“I am Jang Yu, disciple of the Red Star Party.”
“What is the matter?”
“Orders have come to summon the Ten Demon Experts to the Sole Brightness Pavilion.”
‘So it begins at last.’
I rose from my seat and nodded.
At last, the one orchestrating all of this had summoned the Ten Demon Experts.
* * *
Following the warrior outside, I headed not toward the central district where the Demon Hall’s main buildings stood, but toward the western outskirts.
There stood a seven-story pavilion with a darkly lacquered exterior, rising imposingly into the sky.
The grand structure, towering as if to pierce the heavens, resembled the form of a colossal sword with edges like saw teeth.
“Why such haste?”
I asked, observing Jang Yu’s hurried pace as he led the way.
“Am I the last to arrive?”
“Indeed. Your quarters were assigned separately, and I only received word of this late….”
“I see.”
I smiled knowingly.
It seemed that my special quarters, arranged through Jeok Bung’s consideration, had not been communicated to the ordinary warriors.
“Please enter this way.”
Jang Yu opened the inner door as he stepped into the Palace Hall. Bu Eunseol nodded and followed him inside.
Upon crossing the threshold, a vast grand hall came into view.
Within the hall stood towering pillars of crystal-like transparency, while luminous night pearls embedded throughout the walls and ceiling cast their brilliant radiance across the space.
Beneath the altar stood seven martial masters in solemn formation—the Ten Demon Experts themselves.
‘Seven?’
Bewilderment flickered across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The Demon Hall had planned for twelve Ten Demon Experts, with two to be selected as direct subordinates of the Demon Hall itself.
Yet those who survived through Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s intervention to rescue Bu Eunseol numbered fourteen.
Two had become direct subordinates of the Bi Young Gak under the Demon Hall, and excluding Seo Jin Ha, who had joined the Cheon Sal Unit…
Eleven experts, including myself, should have arrived.
‘The Hwawoo Sword Sect didn’t select any Ten Demon Experts, they said.’
Even accounting for that, ten should have come.
‘It’s one of two possibilities.’
My eyes grew sharp as blades, cutting through the air.
‘Either they’ve been absorbed into the Elder Council, or they’ve found another sect willing to accept them as true disciples, just as my pavilion has.’
Regardless of which, it mattered little.
What they all desired was the annihilation of the Grand Masters anyway.
“Bu Eunseol.”
At that moment, a young scholar with a white whip fastened at his waist approached with a smirk—Yu Woon Ryong.
“So you rejected the Hwawoo Sword Sect and entered Nangya Sect… only to be cast aside like a dog there, I see.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Those who haven’t arrived here have all received protection from the Ten Demonic Gates, or so I’ve heard. Some have even become direct subordinates of the Demon Hall.”
Nangya Sect had offered to designate me as their successor.
And I had rejected both that proposal and the offer from Elder Council leader Jeok Bung to become a direct subordinate of the Demon Hall, choosing instead to come here of my own will.
Yet Yu Woon Ryong, unaware of these facts, continued to jeer at me.
“You strutted about so proudly throughout Hell Island, and now you’re just waiting to be boiled in a pot like a hunting dog.”
When I offered no response, Yu Woon Ryong’s voice grew more heated.
“The Sect Leader went to such lengths to save you, even being exiled to a remote frontier. What good has it done? In the end, you’re just…”
“Enough.”
Suddenly, a figure with a short spear strapped to his back appeared between me and Yu Woon Ryong.
His complexion was pallid and his frame gaunt, yet a bluish aura emanated from his eyes.
It was Young Moon Ho, the Ten Demon Expert from the Saryeong School.
“Yu Woon Ryong. Are you lamenting your own circumstances?”
“What?”
“Those gathered here are not all forcibly dragged here like you.”
As Young Moon Ho replied with cold eyes, sparks ignited in Yu Woon Ryong’s gaze.
“What did you say?”
He seized the white silk whip at his waist and shouted.
“Young Moon Ho, you dare…”
“But I wonder if this is any way to treat us.”
Between Yu Woon Ryong and Young Moon Ho, a figure clad in a jade-green martial robe inscribed with bizarre patterns across his entire body stepped forward.
It was none other than Seok Woo Haeng, one of the Ten Demon Experts of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
“Regardless of the process, we are the Ten Demon Experts. Yet you’ve secretly planted us in the Demon Palace like thieves, and now you confine us to this hall without explanation….”
At those words, even Yu Woon Ryong, who had been excitedly raging, came to an abrupt halt.
Seok Woo Haeng’s sentiment reflected the shared thoughts of all the Ten Demon Experts gathered here.
Even if not a triumphant homecoming, they had at least expected treatment befitting masters of the Ten Demonic Gates.
Instead, aside from a single meager banquet, they were being treated like common merchants departing to peddle their wares.
Rumble.
At that moment, a sound like rolling stone echoed from the wall near the altar, and a door swung open.
From within emerged the Black-Robed Man, his silhouette gradually becoming clear.
“…!”
In an instant, a suffocating silence descended upon the hall.
A razor-sharp killing aura emanated from the Black-Robed Man’s body, sweeping through the entire chamber.
‘Formidable.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened slightly as she observed the suddenly appeared Black-Robed Man.
Not only did his entire being radiate formidable energy, but he exuded a killing intent so acute it seemed to pierce like countless thorns.
He was unmistakably a cold-blooded executioner capable of severing hundreds or thousands of lives without hesitation.
Whoosh.
The Black-Robed Man ascended the altar installed atop the hall and spoke in a low voice.
“I am Deung Ryun, Master of the Melting Soul Great Division.”
A chill crystallized the air throughout the hall in an instant.
The Melting Soul Great Division—one of the three great divisions of the Demon Palace that resounded across Tianxia. The commander of that fearsome assassination unit had suddenly appeared?
‘He is not the Master of the Melting Soul Great Division.’
Unlike the others who gasped in shock, Bu Eunseol shook her head inwardly.
She instinctively sensed that the one who had summoned the Ten Demon Experts to the Demon Palace and orchestrated all these plans was not the Master of the Melting Soul Great Division.
‘There is certainly another hand at work.’
“Speak briefly.”
Then Deung Ryun swept his gaze across the Ten Demon Experts in the hall and spoke.
“From this day forward, you must venture into Gangho and eliminate the righteous masters by any means necessary.”
It was truly a terse command.
As silence persisted, Deung Ryun spoke again.
“You may ask questions if you have them.”
Thereupon, Yu Woon Ryong, who had worn a discontented expression throughout, stepped forward and asked.
“I wish to inquire whether it was truly necessary to summon all of us Ten Demon Experts here. It would have sufficed to simply relay the orders to each sect.”
His tone was more accusatory than inquisitive.
Had this been Hell Island, his liver would have burst from fear, and he would never have dared utter such words.
But now they were all Ten Demon Experts who had freely absorbed the supreme techniques of the Ten Demonic Gates.
No matter how terrifying a master Deung Ryun was, they possessed the standing and qualification to speak their minds.
“I summoned you to this hall for two reasons. First, I intended to designate which righteous masters each of you would face based on your martial prowess.”
Deung Ryun paused while regarding Yu Woon Ryong, a subtle smile playing at his lips.
“However, with one exception, they have all reached equally high levels of mastery. That is why the plan was cancelled.”
At those words, all the Ten Demon Experts except Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
―Someone was observing us again. Just like on Hell Island.
Yet there was another whose eyes gleamed with a different meaning—Yu Woon Ryong.
When Deung Ryun spoke of “one exception,” his gaze had fixed directly upon Yu Woon Ryong.
―You are the weakest among them.
This was what Deung Ryun was conveying.
Yu Woon Ryong, feeling the sting of contempt, bit his lip.
But his opponent was the Master of the Melting Soul Great Division of the Demon Hall, whose name shook the heavens. He lacked the audacity to lose control before such a figure.
“I understand you harbor grievances. Given time, you could certainly cultivate your martial arts further.”
Deung Ryun spoke.
“But the same applies to the great masters. They have long served as joint commanders of the Murim Alliance, refining their techniques.”
He swept his gaze across the hall once more before continuing.
“That gap is not easily closed in a single breath. Rather, as time passes, they may grow even stronger.”
Deung Ryun’s words held a measure of truth. Humans do not develop infinitely merely because time exists.
The problem was simply that they had not been given adequate time to develop at all.
“May I ask one question?”
This time, Seok Woo Haeng stepped forward.
“I have heard that not only the Master but the Melting Soul Great Division members under his command possess martial prowess that censures all of Tianxia. Then was there truly a need to cultivate us merely to kill the great masters?”
“That is precisely the second reason I summoned you.”
“What do you mean….”
“Listen well. The Ten Demon Expert who slays the most great masters shall….”
Deung Ryun, sweeping his gaze across all present in the hall, uttered a shocking proclamation.
“…become a successor candidate to follow Ma Cheon Je!”

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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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