The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 134

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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 134.
Lee Bok nodded, biting his lower lip as if suppressing a spreading grin.
“Right, swords. With your skills, you could forge a renowned blade worthy of the Dangsan Iron Family, couldn’t you?”
Lee Bok’s eyes gleamed with avarice as he gazed at Bu Eunseol.
‘Now that I’ve built some reputation through repairs, he wants me to make something profitable.’
Bu Eunseol, having discerned his mercenary intentions, spoke matter-of-factly.
“Those swords were entrusted to me in good faith. Would it be right to let other craftsmen handle them?”
“That’s true, but…”
“That’s enough.”
Bu Eunseol cut off the conversation coldly and without hesitation seized the tongs, heating a sword in the furnace.
Lee Bok then asked again, as if reluctant to leave.
“Why not?”
Bu Eunseol offered no response to Lee Bok’s plea.
‘The truth is, I couldn’t forge one even if I tried.’
A faint smile played at the corners of my lips.
Metallurgy, like martial arts, cannot reach a high level in a short time.
That was why I had focused exclusively on learning sword repair from Cheol Master.
While I could certainly craft simple farming implements, forging a sword—which required far more intricate and complex processes—remained beyond my current capabilities.
“I see. Then I’ll leave you to your work.”
Lee Bok, seeing that Bu Eunseol would not respond, smacked his lips in disappointment and departed from the Blacksmith Shop.
Watching his retreating figure, Bu Eunseol picked up the hammer again as if nothing had happened.
* * *
—A Ten Demon Expert of the Saryeong School had been killed by a master of the Hua Shan Sect.
A shocking piece of news suddenly rippled through the previously quiet Murim.
The Ten Demon Experts, inheritors of the Demonic Path’s Ten Gates’ legacy—one of the Saryeong School’s Ten Demon Experts had fallen in a one-on-one duel against a Hua Shan master.
—It must be a false rumor!
At first, the Murim practitioners did not believe it.
The Saryeong School’s techniques, which concentrated all the essence of spear methods scattered throughout Murim, were considered a great tradition of Demonic Path spear arts, always compared to the Hwa Woo Geom and the Blood Flame Sect.
But killed outright? Not even a narrow defeat or a wounded escape?
However, when it was revealed that the Eunyang Escort Agency had received a commission from the Hua Shan Sect and sent the Ten Demon Expert’s corpse to the Saryeong School, Murim erupted in chaos.
But shortly after, another rumor spread: a Ten Demon Expert of the White Horse Sect had clashed with a master of the Gongdong Sect, and the Ten Demon Expert had suffered a fatal wound and fled.
—Has it finally begun?
The Ten Demon Experts were created with the express purpose of challenging masters.
This had been foreseen from the moment the Demon Hall announced the Ten Demon Experts plan.
But there was one reason why Murim practitioners were shocked.
—Was the gap between masters and Ten Demon Experts truly this vast?
The Ten Demon Experts of the Ten Demonic Gates, which supposedly upheld the Demonic Path Murim, were suffering defeat after defeat against masters without even putting up a fight?
Once this fact became known, rumors spread throughout Murim that the Ten Demon Experts were actually mediocre in ability.
—The Demon Hall must have been in a hurry.
In reality, all the masters had undergone rigorous training in the Murim Alliance for over seven years before being dispatched into Murim.
It was nearly impossible for the Ten Demon Experts, who had emerged merely three years after the plan was announced, to face masters of the Orthodox Sects.
Because of this, among the gossips who enjoyed idle speculation, it was openly said that the Ten Demon Experts plan had already failed.
* * *
A crisp autumn breeze had begun to blow.
More than two months had already passed since Bu Eunseol arrived at the Dangsan Iron Family.
During that time, I had ceaselessly repaired and repaired the blades that arrived from the Songnan Branch.
Because of this, Bu Eunseol was called the “night craftsman who repairs swords like a ghost” at the Songnan Branch.
However, since I had not ventured outside and only quietly repaired blades at the Dangsan Iron Family, such fame was limited to the Songnan Branch alone.
There were hardly any people in Dangsan who knew of me.
“It has come to this already.”
As the sun began to set, Bu Eunseol slowly rose from the workbench.
I had studied metallurgy under Wang Gyeol for one month, and worked at the Dangsan Iron Family for two and a half months.
Now, only about half a month remained.
If I did not fight a master of the Orthodox Sects within that time, I would be charged with rebellion against Ma Cheon Je and attacked by the masters of the Demon Hall.
‘There is no helping it.’
Bu Eunseol felt a sense of regret.
Though I had repaired all the blades from the Songnan Branch, I still had not found a single trace of the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.
Of course, if one used the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, there would be no need to repair blades at all, but I had thought that perhaps by chance I might encounter one.
‘There is no helping it. Even this much has allowed me to grasp the Songnan sword arts to some degree.’
Bu Eunseol shook my head and picked up the hammer again.
Because blade repair had become second nature, my work speed had increased three to four times faster than at first.
This meant I had ample time to examine the blade marks.
Pause.
Then Bu Eunseol’s hand, which had been organizing the workbench, froze.
A very faint sound of footsteps had been heard from afar.
Tap, tap.
The footsteps were as faint as an ant crawling, and the walking pace was perfectly consistent without the slightest deviation.
Click.
Finally, as the door opened, a man dressed in white robes as pure as snow slowly walked in.
The man’s appearance was extremely refined, and the aura emanating from his entire being was like that of an immortal.
The man in white robes, who could truly be called a crane among chickens, opened his mouth toward Bu Eunseol, who was hammering with his back turned.
“Are you here?”
Bu Eunseol turned my head to look at the man.
In that instant, astonishment spread across my eyes. It was not because of the man’s exceptional appearance, but because of the way he stood.
‘This man….’
A person’s standing posture can never be perfectly straight.
The ground cannot be perfectly level and even, and humans instinctively place more weight on the leg they use more frequently.
Yet this man stood with both legs perfectly straight and balanced, as if measured with a ruler, without the slightest deviation.
This was evidence that the man in white robes possessed a sense of balance beyond imagination.
‘…A truly formidable master.’
Standing with both feet planted firmly on the ground, yet it felt as though I carried the very heavens upon my shoulders.
If such a person were to wield a blade, they would surely produce a sword technique of unparalleled solidity and stability.
“Who are you?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, the man in white flashed his teeth in a smile.
“Are you the craftsman who specializes in repairing the swords of the disciples from the Dangsan Martial Training Ground of the Jongnam Sect?”
“That would be me.”
The man in white regarded Bu Eunseol with an intrigued gaze as she observed him with an indifferent expression.
‘A craftsman entirely ignorant of martial arts.’
The man in white was radiating a killing intent so sharp that no one versed in the martial ways could ignore it.
Yet as Bu Eunseol maintained her composed demeanor, he concluded that she had never trained in martial arts.
“Repair my sword for me.”
“Direct your repair request to the attendant stationed at the entrance of the Dangsan Iron Family.”
Bu Eunseol added one more thing.
“For your information, all the attendants have likely returned home by now. The gates will open again around dawn tomorrow, so please submit your request then.”
Then I turned back to my workbench and resumed hammering.
The man in white, who had been staring blankly at my work, spoke with a mysterious smile.
“If I were to formally submit this request, it would cause you considerable trouble.”
But as Bu Eunseol continued hammering without sparing him a glance, the man in white let out a bitter laugh.
“If word spreads that this blade has been entrusted to you… from that day forward, you would spend the rest of your life repairing nothing but the swords of martial artists.”
“What do you mean by that?”
When Bu Eunseol turned around, the man in white grinned broadly.
“I am Yeo Hwan Jin, the Great Master of Swordsmanship of Jongnam.”
A faint gleam of light flickered across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The Great Master of Swordsmanship, Yeo Hwan Jin, who had been living in seclusion like a divine dragon hidden within clouds, had finally revealed himself.
‘Why has this person come seeking me?’
Though inwardly tense, Bu Eunseol spoke with a composed expression.
“A Great Master of Swordsmanship, you say… one of those formidable martial artists from the Orthodox Sects?”
“Do you still wish to accept this formally?”
As Yeo Hwan Jin flashed his teeth in a smile, it felt as though a refreshing breeze swept through the air.
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring intently at that smile, let out a deliberate sigh and extended her hand.
“Give me the sword.”
“A wise decision.”
As Yeo Hwan Jin unsheathed the blade and offered it, Bu Eunseol accepted it with both hands.
At last, I could witness traces of the Cloud Drifting Sword Technique, which held the foremost position among the three great sword techniques of Jongnam.
Shing.
As I drew the blade, a cry like that of a dragon echoed forth, and the sword revealed itself, emanating a bone-chilling coldness.
“A fine blade.”
At my murmur, the man in white nodded.
“It is the Biksui Sword, forged by the master craftsman of the Biksui Iron Workshop in Zhejiang Province Longquan.”
“But it has grown far too worn. It appears to be at least twenty years old.”
“That’s right. You know precisely.”
A deep affection flickered in Yeo Hwan Jin’s eyes as he gazed down at the blade.
“My master gave it to me as a gift on my sixteenth birthday. I cannot call it a treasure blade, but it is incomparably precious to me.”
Bu Eunseol now understood why a master of Yeo Hwan Jin’s caliber insisted on wielding such a worn and ordinary sword.
A blade bestowed by one’s master.
He wished to cherish and use this sword well for a long time to come.
“Can you repair it?”
At Yeo Hwan Jin’s question, Bu Eunseol examined the blade once more with careful attention.
‘It’s different.’
Unlike the countless blades I had seen from the Dangsan Martial Training Ground, this one bore traces I had never encountered before.
A flash of insight crossed Bu Eunseol’s eyes, but Yeo Hwan Jin, standing with his back to me, could not see it.
“It is possible.”
“How long will it take?”
“A fortnight.”
“That’s too long. Wait ten days instead.”
Yeo Hwan Jin spoke with resolute conviction.
“If it takes any longer, I will consider myself unworthy of touching this blade and will reclaim it.”
“Understood.”
Bu Eunseol carefully placed the long sword on the workbench and spoke with solemn determination.
“Then return in ten days.”
“I shall.”
Yeo Hwan Jin smiled without malice.
And in the instant he turned to leave, he suddenly unleashed a lightning-swift strike toward Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh!
Yeo Hwan Jin’s two fingers, cutting through the air, came mere inches from Bu Eunseol’s Tianzhuxue pressure point at the base of the skull.
This was a critical vital point located at the spinous process of the second cervical vertebra—a single misstrike could result in permanent paralysis of the lower body.
“….”
Yet Bu Eunseol remained hunched over the workbench as if sensing nothing at all.
Yeo Hwan Jin, observing this with indifference, spoke once more.
“Listen here, craftsman.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol turn around in apparent surprise.
“You haven’t left yet?”
“May I see your hands?”
“My hands?”
As Bu Eunseol’s expression turned puzzled, Yeo Hwan Jin spoke with grave solemnity.
“Show me.”
Bu Eunseol, meeting that earnest gaze, reluctantly set down the hammer and extended both hands.
Yeo Hwan Jin stared intently at Bu Eunseol’s extended right palm.
Craftsmen who have labored long in the blacksmith shop invariably bear calluses on the hand that grips the hammer.
And upon Bu Eunseol’s palms too, the calluses formed by the hammer were vividly evident.
“What in the world is the matter with you?”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Yeo Hwan Jin rummaged through his pouch with an embarrassed expression.
“I intend to pay the fee upfront, you see.”
He placed a silver purse into her outstretched hands.
“This should suffice.”
“….”
Bu Eunseol, staring down at the purse resting in her palm, turned away coldly.
“Then I shall get to work.”
“Understood. I look forward to your efforts.”
Yeo Hwan Jin, smiling faintly, departed from the Blacksmith Shop.
Once he left, I opened the purse to examine its contents.
Inside lay approximately forty taels of silver.
It was enough for an ordinary family of four to live comfortably for two months—mere pittance to someone like me, who had accumulated hundreds of thousands of taels working as a Guusal Unit member.
“Had I not mastered the Celestial Ear Technique, I would have nearly shattered the anvil.”
I massaged the calluses embedded in my palm.
Using the secret method of the Celestial Ear Technique, I had even created calluses to avoid suspicion of being a blacksmith.
“Crafted from human skin, they would never be detected.”
The calluses on my palm were fashioned from those of an actual blacksmith.
Thus, even a master with exceptional perception could discern no difference.
“Hmm.”
Recalling Yeo Hwan Jin’s departure, I remembered what Sim Wol had said before.
―The Ten Demon Experts can never defeat a Transcendent Master.
I shook my head, recalling the sharp aura that had poured down from behind.
“This bastard. I needed at least another year minimum.”
The martial prowess of Transcendent Masters who had cultivated divine techniques for seven years within the Murim Alliance clearly surpassed that of the Ten Demon Experts.
Having witnessed Yeo Hwan Jin firsthand, I realized the gap between us was at least one to two years.
“If I limit my sword examination to five days, I have roughly ten days remaining.”
A fierce heat blazed in my eyes.
In these ten days, I had to transcend a gap of more than a year.

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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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