The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 150
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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 150.
Ten men draped in yellow robes.
They circled discreetly around Bu Eunseol—members of the Fengyun Corps who had delivered word of Baek Yeon.
“Are you alright?”
Jang Mu Hyuk, commander of the fourth squad of the Fengyun Corps, sent a transmission to Bu Eunseol.
‘Travel southeast for roughly thirty li, and you’ll find Guan Di Temple. We’ve prepared a cave for concealment nearby—flee there at once!’
Upon hearing Jang Mu Hyuk’s transmission, Bu Eunseol shook her head.
“I will fight as well.”
Though they specialized in intelligence gathering, the Fengyun Corps were nonetheless elite disciples of the Nangya Sect. Their prowess was formidable enough to match a hundred ordinary warriors.
Yet the terrifying aura radiating from this elderly man far exceeded what ten Fengyun members could contain.
An insurmountable chasm stood before her.
Bu Eunseol instinctively recognized that this old man’s power rivaled the greatest masters of the Murim she had encountered thus far.
“Do not worry.
I have no intention of fighting this old demon.”
‘Old demon?’
Jang Mu Hyuk sent another transmission, observing the dried blood at the corners of Bu Eunseol’s mouth.
“Your internal injuries are severe. Flee now.”
“Who are you wretches?”
The old man’s eyes blazed with azure lightning as he swept his gaze across Jang Mu Hyuk and the Fengyun members.
“Did you come to rescue that one?”
Jang Mu Hyuk stepped forward and spoke loudly.
“Beggar King. You are an elder of the Orthodox Sects—is it proper to act so recklessly?”
‘Beggar King?’
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
Only now did she discern the identity of this mysterious old man.
‘This old man is Gu Hong Cheong, the Beggar King among the Four Gods Seven Kings!’
Gu Hong Cheong, the Beggar King.
The current supreme elder of Gae Bang, a master of the previous generation well over a hundred years of age.
Though his reputation and martial prowess were immeasurable, he remained in Gaebong, refusing the treatment of an elder, still wandering aimlessly like a beggar.
The king of beggars—untraceable even by Gae Bang’s intelligence network.
Surprisingly, beneath the appearance of a hunched old man lay the figure of a still-vigorous elder in his prime years.
“I asked who you are.”
“What does our identity matter?”
Jang Mu Hyuk spoke calmly.
“No matter how much the laws of the Murim have deteriorated, surely an adult should not interfere in children’s quarrels?”
As befitted the commander of the Fengyun Corps, Jang Mu Hyuk reminded the Beggar King of his exalted status without provocation.
“Should this matter become known, Gae Bang too cannot escape censure.”
As one of the Four Gods Seven Kings, his position stood at the very pinnacle of the Murim.
If such a figure as the Beggar King laid hands directly upon Bu Eunseol, it would be no different than an adult striking a newborn child.
“You speak well. Then you claim there is no law in children’s quarrels?”
Gu Hong Cheong, his eyes wide with fury, spoke in a harsh, gravelly voice.
“Or is it the law of Murim that two can strike down one?”
“We did not attack together.”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol stepped forward, and Gu Hong Cheong’s eyes blazed as he shouted.
“You dare speak falsehoods before me?”
“It is true that I arrived here after dealing with the masters of Sal Gu Haeng.”
“And?”
“But when I arrived, the Ten Demon Expert who came first was already defeated and lying on the ground by Seong Ryun. That is why I stepped in.”
The old man let out a derisive snort.
“Then where is this one who came first?”
“He suffered grave internal injuries and departed immediately.”
“Hehehehe.”
A sinister blue light flickered once more in Gu Hong Cheong’s eyes.
“So in the end, two struck down one, and the other fled in haste with his wounds. Is that it?”
Crack.
As Gu Hong Cheong drew upon his power, bones crackled throughout his frame, and a brilliant white radiance pierced through the night sky.
‘Materialized inner force and qi…’
Gu Hong Cheong belonged to the Four Gods Seven Kings, a rank beneath the Two Demons Twin Heavens and Three Demons Three Sovereigns.
His prowess was every bit as fearsome as his legendary reputation suggested.
「Flee at once. Once he truly moves, escape will be impossible.」
Jang Mu Hyuk’s voice transmission came again.
「Your swift departure is how you aid us.」
Bu Eunseol bit her lip.
Already burdened with grave internal injuries, even fighting alongside the Fengyun Corps members would provide little meaningful assistance.
“Hmph. Exchanging secret transmissions like rats, are you? So you are indeed of the Demonic Path after all?”
The old master, formidable as he was, instantly perceived that Bu Eunseol and Jang Mu Hyuk were communicating through voice transmission.
“Excellent. Excellent indeed.”
Behind Gu Hong Cheong, who radiated killing intent, there seemed to loom the shadowy form of some ancient, incomprehensible demon.
「Leave now!」
Jang Mu Hyuk’s urgent voice transmission reached her again.
「Now!」
“All seeds of the Ten Demonic Gates must be eradicated!”
With a cry like thunder, the old master unleashed a devastating torrent of force.
“Ugh.”
There was no choice.
Bu Eunseol released a bitter cry and immediately deployed her lightness technique.
Rumble! Boom!
Behind her fleeing form, successive explosions shook the very earth.
Even if all the Fengyun Corps members had arrived, stopping the old master would have been impossible. There was only the hope of survival and escape.
Crash!
As Bu Eunseol converted the extreme concealment of her Shadow-less Extreme Speed into pure velocity, each stride unleashed a tremendous sonic boom that tore through the air.
‘There!’
In an instant, Bu Eunseol arrived at Guan Di Temple and discovered a deep pit excavated before it.
Without hesitation, she leaped into the pit and found a small chamber within.
Whoosh.
As soon as she descended, one of the beggars crouching near Guan Di Temple covered the pit with earth and vanished immediately.
Since it was impossible to create a hiding place in the open vicinity of Young Poong Hyup, they had ingeniously constructed this refuge.
Boom!
The moment Bu Eunseol entered the pit, a sonic boom that split the heavens echoed down.
Gu Hong Cheong had arrived at this location.
“Where are you hiding!”
When Bu Eunseol’s trail vanished near Guan Di Temple, Gu Hong Cheong began meticulously searching the surroundings.
Yet no matter how thoroughly he looked, he could not sense Bu Eunseol’s presence.
“Strange. The trail definitely ended somewhere around here.”
Gu Hong Cheong’s senses were acute enough to detect a mole more than a hundred paces away.
Moreover, martial artists inevitably leak minute traces of their internal energy without realizing it.
Because of this, even if one buried themselves underground to conceal their aura, Gu Hong Cheong’s perception could not be deceived.
“No matter where you flee, you cannot escape Buddha’s palm.”
Unable to find any trace of Bu Eunseol despite his thorough search, the Beggar King spoke loudly.
“I will find you without fail!”
Crash!
With a deafening explosion, Gu Hong Cheong deployed his movement technique and vanished.
Bu Eunseol, hidden in the pit, exhaled once he departed.
‘It was fortunate that I reached the realm of Returning to Simplicity.’
Returning to Simplicity—a state where transcendence reaches its apex and even the physical form’s manifestation is erased.
Had she not attained this realm, the naturally overflowing internal energy would have inevitably exposed her to Gu Hong Cheong.
“Ugh.”
As tension released, Bu Eunseol lay her body flat.
Her meridians were severely disrupted and her organs had shifted from their positions; even the slightest movement caused blood to seep from her lips.
‘Internal injuries of this severity… may be irreversible.’
The internal injuries Bu Eunseol had sustained were grave.
Her organs had already lost their elasticity and continued to shift, while her internal energy had been depleted entirely.
Suddenly, Bu Eunseol withdrew a medicine bottle that Yu Woon Ryong had given her from her bosom.
“…”
The only people Bu Eunseol truly trusted were those from Nangya Sect and her close companions.
Had anyone else offered her this bottle, she would never have consumed its contents.
Yet Yu Woon Ryong, despite his volatile temperament, was not the type to harbor sinister schemes.
Gazing at the bottle, Bu Eunseol unhesitatingly swallowed the golden pill within.
“Mmm.”
The moment the pill entered her body, her entire frame grew scorching hot as a stream of warmth kindled in her lower dantian.
Bu Eunseol seized that momentum and drew the true energy that had sunk to the depths back upward.
A deep resonance hummed through the earth.
As she cultivated deep beneath the ground, a sensation of warmth and comfort enveloped her—as if she had returned to the safety of her mother’s womb.
With body and spirit finding stability once more, the scattered threads of true energy—numbering in the millions—began flowing back like water to her dantian.
A sharp, crystalline sound pierced the silence.
Simultaneously, heat began radiating from Bu Eunseol’s body, which had grown cold and rigid.
The heat intensified visibly, blooming with vigor until it cast a faint shadow around her form.
The true energy flowing through her body was beginning to take shape.
And this phenomenon signified that Bu Eunseol’s Half-Extreme Heart Method had transcended the fourth stage and entered the threshold of the fifth.
A profound resonance echoed through the depths.
Yet Bu Eunseol, unaware of this breakthrough, continued her cultivation with eyes closed.
How much time had passed?
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of water droplets reached Bu Eunseol’s ears with crystalline clarity.
Just a few drops falling upon parched earth.
Bu Eunseol’s pupils dilated at the sound.
Only those who had mastered the Empty Void Heart Eyes—a technique that expands the senses of the Savage Path through vibration and resonance—could perceive such a sound.
‘The Commander?’
Realizing that this sound was a summons meant for her, Bu Eunseol rose to her feet.
A thunderous crack split the air.
As she leaped from the deep pit, her body pierced through the earth and shot skyward.
‘What?’
Soaring into the air, Bu Eunseol felt a moment of panic.
She had merely kicked against the ground to escape the pit. Yet she had burst through the earth and soared more than ten zhang into the sky?
‘My martial power has increased again.’
Bu Eunseol felt something beyond mere astonishment—a profound strangeness.
Her power grew stronger with each healing of her internal injuries. By all principles of martial theory, this should be impossible.
‘Once this matter is resolved, I must seek out Senior Hyul Geum Gang.’
Her feet touched ground with a sharp impact.
Standing before her was a middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes.
It was Baek Yeon, Commander of the Fengyun Corps.
“Commander!”
Until now, Bu Eunseol had maintained absolute emotional restraint.
But the moment her eyes fell upon Baek Yeon’s face, her composure shattered.
The memory of the Fengyun Corps members who had sacrificed themselves for her sake flooded back.
“Are you unharmed?”
As Baek Yeon’s gentle voice resonated in her ears, Bu Eunseol bit her lip until blood flowed.
“The Fengyun Corps members… what has become of those who helped me?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes, barely containing her emotions, gleamed with desperation and urgency.
Baek Yeon then patted her shoulder, attempting to calm her.
“Calm yourself.”
“Are you unharmed?”
When Bu Eunseol asked again, Baek Yeon nodded with an expression of utmost gravity.
“Only two members survived.”
Bu Eunseol’s head drooped, her gaze hollow and unfocused.
Eight members of the Fengyun Corps had fallen in battle.
“There is no need to torment yourself. They fulfilled their duty as members of the Fengyun Corps.”
“How could I think otherwise?”
I deliberately did not return to the Nangya Sect, unwilling to accept Baek Yeon’s assistance.
Yet that very decision had spawned
unforeseen consequences.
Eliminating Seong Ryun had gone well enough, but an unexpected master of supreme power—Gu Hong Cheong—had emerged. And that crisis had demanded the sacrifice of the Fengyun Corps.
“It is all my fault.”
I bit my lip.
“Had I returned to the Nangya Sect, had I heeded the counsel you offered me, the members of the Fengyun Corps would never have lost their lives in vain.”
“Their deaths were not in vain.”
Baek Yeon spoke with calm composure.
“You are the successor who will shoulder the burden of the Nangya Sect. They willingly sacrificed themselves to preserve the future of our sect.”
When I still could not lift my head, Baek Yeon released a low sigh.
“Do you remember? How I initially forbade your venture into Gangho?”
“….”
“To speak plainly, your chances of victory against masters of the great way were virtually nonexistent. That is why I sought to free you from the shackles of the Ten Demon Experts.”
Baek Yeon continued with a long exhale.
“Yet your growth has far exceeded my expectations. You defeated Yeo Hwan Jin in single combat, and this time you eliminated Seong Ryun.”
“Master.”
“Because you have consistently exceeded my hopes, I refrained from further interference. That is why I instructed the members to report only your movements.”
As the word “members” left his lips, a flicker of anguish crossed Baek Yeon’s eyes.
Every member of the Fengyun Corps was a talent I had cultivated with my own hands.
No matter how cold-hearted one might be, one cannot remain indifferent to the life and death of those under one’s command.
“The emergence of Gu Hong Cheong was an unforeseen and unavoidable calamity. Had it been otherwise, I would have stationed the Changsin Squad in advance or summoned the sect leader herself.”
Fury blazed in Baek Yeon’s eyes.
Any who lay a hand upon a disciple of the Nangya Sect shall face annihilation—their very sect erased from the Murim.
Had Gu Hong Cheong attacked Bu Eunseol without cause? Then even if heaven and earth collapsed, the Gae Bang would face total destruction.
Even Gu Hong Cheong, who held the fearsome position of one of the Four Gods Seven Kings, would not escape unscathed.
‘But….’
Such action was impossible now.
Regardless, Bu Eunseol and Yu Woon Ryong had faced Seong Ryun together.
Unless the dead Seong Ryun returned to life and testified, they would bear only the false accusation of collusion.
There was no justification for destroying the Gae Bang.
“Forgive me.”
Understanding what lay in Baek Yeon’s heart, I lowered my head.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Baek Yeon, composing his expression once more, spoke matter-of-factly.
“I say this again: the emergence of Gyeol Wang was something no one could have predicted. So there is no need to carry guilt or despair.”
After so long apart, Baek Yeon remained unchanged.
Just as in the past, and even now, he still cherished and worried for me.
“Master.”
I lowered my head.
In truth, I had been confident that I could accomplish anything alone until now.
But reality was entirely different.
All along, I had been traversing the Gangho under the protection of Nangya Sect and through Baek Yeon’s consideration.
“I understand why you suffer.”
Baek Yeon placed a hand upon my shoulder.
“Those who have reached the pinnacle of the Murim all walk the Gangho alone. And I know well that you too aim to become such a supreme martial artist.”
Baek Yeon exhaled a quiet breath.
“But even they belonged to sects, had masters and martial siblings. It is not as if, like Buddha, they alone comprehended and achieved everything.”
Gaining enlightenment from Baek Yeon’s words, I bowed deeply.
“I have been arrogant, Master.”
I had chosen Nangya Sect, and called it my ‘home’.
There was no shame in receiving help from family members living under the same roof.
Rather, I should have been proud.
Of those who would sacrifice their very lives to protect and cherish me…
Of choosing the sect called Nangya.
“Since you have understood, that is enough.”
Baek Yeon spoke with solemn expression.
“From this day forward, you need only grow stronger. So that never again will your fate be entrusted to the powerful.”
In that moment, my eyes blazed with an intense light, like a burning sun.
Gyeol Wang. That arrogant old man—I would make him kneel beneath my feet without fail.
“I will absolutely grow stronger.”
As my eyes, which had been downcast, now burned with fierce determination, Baek Yeon inwardly released a sigh of relief.
‘Thank heavens.’
I, blessed with natural instinct for victory and unwavering resolve, had continuously achieved ascending martial arts and enjoyed unbroken success.
But if this incident dealt a blow to my spirit, even the martial arts I had attained could fall to a lower realm.
The reason Baek Yeon had descended from Nangya Sect to seek me out personally was precisely this concern.
“In truth, this matter was never something you alone could bear.”
After a moment of contemplation, Baek Yeon slowly opened his mouth.
“Let me speak honestly. Of things I have yet to tell you until now.”
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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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