The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 163

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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 163.
Bu Eunseol’s heart began to race as she met the gaze of the young Taoist master.
Song Ak, a Grand Master of the Righteous Path from Wudang Sect.
He displayed a cultivation aura fundamentally different from any Grand Master she had encountered before.
‘Soft and empty.’
Song Ak’s aura was hollow and serene.
Yet it was boundless enough to embrace all things in existence.
If he were to draw his blade, it would surely unleash a swordplay as free and natural as the wind along the river, as the moonlight suspended in the heavens.
“However….”
A flicker of interest crossed Song Ak’s eyes as he noticed Ah Yeon.
Then, spotting the sword worn by the disciple of Geom Gak, he pressed his palms together in salute.
“I am Song Ak of Wudang Sect. And you, lady martial artist, are….”
“I am Ah Yeon, a disciple of Geom Gak.”
“Have you come to test yourself against me?”
Ah Yeon nodded.
“Originally, yes. But… not anymore.”
Song Ak’s expression grew puzzled.
“I have heard that the disciples of Geom Gak are no different from those of the Buddhist orders, maintaining their bearing with utmost solemnity.”
He laughed softly, bewildered.
“It seems you are quite skilled at jest.”
“It is no jest.”
Ah Yeon spoke after drawing a deep breath.
“This person is not an evil one.”
Song Ak nodded as he gazed into her gleaming eyes.
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
He glanced at Bu Eunseol and nodded.
“In truth, I too harbored suspicions about that. I have been observing all along.”
Bu Eunseol was not greatly surprised by his words.
Song Ak’s aura was harmonized with nature itself, like a cloud standing before her yet ready to vanish at any moment.
Moreover, she had been engaged in fierce combat and could not have sensed his presence.
“Prepare yourself.”
As Bu Eunseol stepped forward to draw her blade, Song Ak shook his head.
“I do not propose to cross swords at this moment.”
When Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed, Song Ak smiled gently.
“Have you not endured a grueling battle? I am not so merciless as to raise my hand against one in need of rest.”
“That cannot be.”
Song Ak’s shoulders drooped as he sensed the mockery in Bu Eunseol’s voice.
“I have heard that the Venerable Qing and the Fortress Master Han joined forces against you. Yet they do not represent all the conduct of the Righteous Path.”
He released a deep sigh and shook his head.
“Moreover, because of that incident, the honor of the Nine Sects One Alliance and the Grand Masters has fallen to ruin. Furthermore, Jang Geom Mountain Manor has sealed its gates, and both Jeom Chang and Ami have recalled their disciples dispatched into Gangho.”
“So. You’ve come to salvage the honor of the Nine Sects One Alliance, now that it has fallen to the depths?”
“Precisely. I thought to face you in fair combat and restore the dignity of both the Nine Sects One Alliance and the masters of the Righteous Path.”
His eyes gleamed as he scrutinized Bu Eunseol’s form with meticulous care.
“The wounds to your muscles are trivial. A couple of hours of rest should see you recovered, yes?”
When Bu Eunseol nodded, Song Ak chuckled and set down his bundle.
“Excellent. Since we’re here, let us share a meal together.”
When he unfurled the bundle, it contained a staggering array of provisions.
Dried fish and jerky. Rice flour and a bronze pot to cook it in, even a water flask….
There was scarcely an ingredient missing.
Ah Yeon could not help but speak, her bewilderment evident.
“Do all disciples of the Wudang Sect travel about with food like this?”
“Ha ha ha. How could that be?”
Song Ak, stirring rice flour into the bowl, burst into laughter.
“Our sect maintains a life of austere simplicity, yet we provide our disciples who venture into Gangho with sufficient silver to lodge comfortably at inns.”
“Then why do you carry food about like a peddler?”
Though her expression and tone remained solemn, Ah Yeon’s visage was as beautiful as a celestial maiden descended from the moon.
Song Ak, momentarily entranced, cleared his throat before speaking.
“Ahem. I’ve spent long years wandering from place to place in pursuit of martial cultivation. One must eat well to master the martial arts.”
As Song Ak and Ah Yeon conversed, Bu Eunseol remained seated in the corner, resting.
‘A peculiar individual.’
The Orthodox Sect members I have encountered were typically prideful, regarding themselves as superior.
Yet Song Ak displayed none of that arrogance—instead, he possessed the crystalline clarity of a youth raised in remote mountain solitude.
‘But his martial prowess is in no way inferior to mine.’
Though his eyes and bearing radiated unblemished purity, his inner force was both formidable and gentle enough to astonish even me.
‘Had I entered the Orthodox Path… would I have grown stronger than I am now?’
I, who had departed from the Pyeong-an Funeral House.
I chose without hesitation the path leading to the Demon Hall.
The Demon Hall, advancing the Ten Demon Experts plan, would have made me faster and stronger than any alternative.
Yet Song Ak, who appeared several years my senior, also displayed formidable inner force.
―I could have walked a different path entirely.
Ah Yeon’s words suddenly surfaced in my mind.
Was there truly another path? Or did I simply refuse to choose it?
‘Pointless speculation.’
I came to Gangho for vengeance alone. Whether Demonic Path or Righteous Path mattered little.
‘Besides, life itself is but a terminal existence, carrying death upon its shoulders.’
Bu Chanyang once told me that the afterlife differs little from this world.
The Creator bestowed death equally upon all humans, and thereafter comes only eternal silence…
Thus the netherworld to which humans journey is scarcely different from this realm.
“What occupies your thoughts so deeply?”
At that moment, Song Ak approached and extended a bowl of rice porridge to Bu Eunseol.
“Please, eat. You’ll need your strength if we’re to fight.”
Soon enough, we would clash with weapons drawn, each seeking the other’s death.
Yet he treated Bu Eunseol with the ease of an old friend.
Bu Eunseol accepted without hesitation, drinking down the rice porridge in eager gulps.
The warmth of the hot food revived her senses, and strength seemed to flow back into her limbs.
“That was most welcome.”
“I’m glad. Then try this as well.”
Song Ak offered her dried meat and a waterskin filled with water.
Bu Eunseol accepted without hesitation, and sitting by the fire, she ate and drank without reservation.
The night deepened toward dawn.
Bu Eunseol cultivated her inner strength within the Daeung Hall while Song Ak and Ah Yeon warmed themselves by the fire outside.
“I’ve eaten well and rested well.”
As Ah Yeon rose to her feet, fully recovered, Song Ak blinked.
“Would you truly miss such an opportunity?”
Bu Eunseol and Song Ak could be called the next generation of great masters.
To witness their duel would grant Ah Yeon an immense advantage.
Yet she shook her head.
“I don’t wish to see them fight.”
These two—a great master of the Orthodox Sects and one of the Ten Demon Experts—would not engage in leisurely sparring.
One would triumph, one would fall. Perhaps one would lose their life. And she could not bear to witness it.
Because toward Bu Eunseol and Song Ak, she had developed a faint goodwill.
“I see.”
Song Ak, understanding Ah Yeon’s heart, smiled gently.
Then he spoke something unexpected.
“Truth be told, I too have lost much desire to fight.”
“What do you mean?”
Song Ak laughed with childlike clarity.
“The rumors say he is a villain who finds infinite pleasure in slaughtering the masters of the Orthodox Sects. But seeing him in person, his nature doesn’t seem so wicked, and…”
He paused, his expression turning bashful.
“His visage is incomparably refined, yet an aura of wild, untamed ferocity flows from him like that of a fierce wolf.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“All this time in Gangho, I found no one who captured my heart. Yet somehow, he does.”
At Song Ak’s honest and innocent words, Ah Yeon’s expression shifted in surprise.
―I too find him appealing.
He is the great master of Wudang, which alongside Shaolin stands as the leader of the Nine Sects One Alliance.
Yet here she was, openly admitting that a figure of the Demonic Path—one of the Ten Demon Experts of the Ten Demonic Gates—had captured her heart.
“You should have entered Wudang as a lay disciple.”
At Ah Yeon’s sigh, Song Ak smiled and narrowed his eyes into crescents.
“So should you.”
“That’s absurd.”
Ah Yeon turned away coldly, her voice steady and measured.
“Geom Gak has always executed only those corrupted by evil. I simply do not wish for him to die merely because he walks the Demonic Path.”
“Hehehehe. I see.”
“Then, I pray for your good fortune in this endeavor.”
“Amitabha Buddha. May you too achieve all that you seek.”
Ah Yeon gazed at the distant sky for a moment, then unfolded her divine technique and vanished.
“Hmm.”
Song Ak watched the direction where Ah Yeon had disappeared for a long while, then released a deep sigh.
He then walked toward the Daeung Hall where Bu Eunseol rested.
At last, the decisive confrontation between a master of the Orthodox Sects and one of the Ten Demon Immortals was about to begin.
From the distant sky, moonlight descended, and before the Mountain Gate, a bonfire flickered to life.
Bu Eunseol and Song Ak stood outside the Mountain Gate, facing each other.
A full moon cast its pale radiance across the dark heavens, while the low chirping of insects drifted lazily through the air.
Within this tranquil landscape, Bu Eunseol drew her silent blade.
Shing.
As the low ring of steel sang out, a murderous aura instantly descended upon the peaceful scene.
The Taiji Wisdom Sword, the supreme blade art of Wudang Sect, was a flawless technique that harmonized gentleness with devastating power.
Moreover, it consumed almost no inner force, making prolonged combat disadvantageous for her opponent.
Bu Eunseol had unleashed her most lethal killing sword, seeking victory through a swift, decisive clash.
“A formidable opening.”
Song Ak smiled gently and drew his blade.
Simultaneously, a circular radiance bloomed from the sword’s tip, gradually enveloping his entire body in its glow.
It was the foundational technique of Wudang Sect swordplay—the opening move of the Taiji Encompassing Harmony, which itself served as the ultimate defense.
Bu Eunseol, observing the gently flowing Taiji sword, finally unleashed her technique.
Flash!
A streak of light like a meteor across the night sky pierced toward Song Ak’s throat.
It was the opening move of the Meteor Pursuit.
“Exquisite technique!”
Song Ak cried out in admiration as he unfolded his counter.
Yet what he deployed was not the Taiji Wisdom Sword, but the supreme technique of the Yang Sword—consecutively executing Shadow Transforms to Yang and Shadow Cannot Resist Yang.
Clang!
The blade aura that bloomed in a perfect circle effortlessly deflected the Meteor Pursuit’s technique.
“…!”
Bu Eunseol’s expression flickered with surprise.
Never before had anyone completely blocked the Meteor Pursuit’s opening move so effortlessly with merely two techniques.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol’s silent blade, blocked by the Yang Sword technique, began to transform anew in the void.
Flash! Flash!
Simultaneously, violet blade aura carved in a diagonal pattern descended from Song Ak’s shoulder down to his legs.
She had unleashed the Thunderous Unparalleled Form, her most devastating killing sword, in rapid succession.
Tsk.
Song Ak then unfurled the opening stance of the Dual Yin-Yang Sword once more—the Yin-Yang Harmony.
Whoooosh!
Circular sword auras materialized in succession, pushing back the razor-sharp blade energy of the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched Style in all directions.
‘This sword technique….’
Bu Eunseol’s brows twitched.
Song Ak had used the Dual Yin-Yang Sword—not the Taiji Wisdom Sword—to consecutively block both the Meteor Chasing Moon and the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched, those supreme swift sword forms.
‘By deploying the Dual Yin-Yang Sword, he creates circular sword auras identical to those of the Taiji Wisdom Sword….’
“Be careful!”
In that instant, Song Ak drew his blade slowly, thrusting toward Bu Eunseol’s chest.
Shiiing.
The sword light that had been pouring forth leisurely suddenly accelerated, and before she could react, it was already aimed at her shoulder blade.
‘What?!’
Bu Eunseol’s heart recoiled in shock.
This time, Song Ak had employed not the Dual Yin-Yang Sword, but the opening stance of the Taiji Wisdom Sword’s Accumulated Virtue Lingering Fortune.
‘He is not alternating between sword techniques!’
At first glance, it appeared he was switching between the Taiji Wisdom Sword and the Dual Yin-Yang Sword, but in truth, his sword aura had transformed mid-strike.
Thump-thump.
Bu Eunseol’s heart raced violently.
Song Ak’s swordsmanship was not merely superior—he wielded a technique she had never witnessed before.
And she now understood that the Unbound Heavenly Stream stances she had deployed thus far could never overcome him.
‘Then….’
A half-extreme crimson light ignited in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
The technique she had never unleashed until now—the one she could not unleash….
She was about to deploy the sword aura of the latter four stances of the Unbound Heavenly Stream.

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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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