The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 180

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 180.
Baek Ryeon Gak.
The once-bustling Baek Ryeon Gak had fallen silent.
Hyuk So Jin, who had always been delivering dharma lectures and demonstrating martial techniques, had vanished.
Before the empty Training Grounds of Baek Ryeon Gak stood two figures facing each other—a man in a worn gray martial robe and a young scholar dressed in black.
Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin.
“Ah, it has been far too long.”
Hyuk So Jin raised both hands to draw upon the Divine Flame Demonic Energy, flashing a canine tooth in an exaggerated smile.
“When Brother Bu did not seek me out even after a month had passed, I thought you had completely forgotten me and were merely playing in the flower gardens.”
Crunch.
He clenched his molars and continued.
“Yet you summon me for a duel at precisely the moment my duties conclude. I am utterly honored!”
Hyuk So Jin’s heart brimmed with frustration.
He had ventured into Gangho to advance his martial prowess as swiftly as possible.
Yet because he traveled alongside Bu Eunseol, he had spent the entire month teaching the female disciples of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong.
His time in Gangho was severely limited. Every moment felt precious beyond measure.
“Begin.”
Bu Eunseol extended his hand with an indifferent expression.
“Then I shall!”
Hyuk So Jin unleashed all his pent-up frustration, deploying the Dark Heaven Demonic Dragon Palm.
Hm?
Yet as he launched his assault, Hyuk So Jin’s expression shifted to bewilderment.
He had intended to pour forth power in a manner that was merely fierce and straightforward.
Instead, without his awareness, he had woven subtle techniques into his forms, cascading them upon Bu Eunseol’s body like binding chains.
“A fine technique.”
Boom! Boom!
Bu Eunseol did not evade; instead, he employed the Fist of Demonic Transcendence to neutralize the Dark Heaven Demonic Dragon Palm.
Witnessing this, Hyuk So Jin could not hide his inner bewilderment.
He had only deployed a single form, yet Bu Eunseol had immediately employed vacuum force. Was this technique unexpected?
“Receive this!”
Hyuk So Jin unfolded the Divine Flame Demonic Energy, attempting to disrupt Bu Eunseol’s stance.
Yet seeing him stand firm, Hyuk So Jin found himself unconsciously deploying the Pipa String Severing Hand and the Icy Soul Phantom Killing Sword—techniques he had always taught.
‘Curse it, old habits.’
But something was strange.
The forbidden techniques he had never properly refined were unfolding naturally, as though he had cultivated them meticulously for years.
Clang!
Unable to withstand the unified assault, Bu Eunseol finally drew the Silent Sword to parry Hyuk So Jin’s attacks.
‘I deployed only three forms, and Brother Bu has already drawn his blade?’
Startled, Hyuk So Jin continued to unfold the demonic arts he had taught, flowing like water.
As though his body moved of its own accord, his martial techniques manifesting unbidden.
Clang! Crack-crack-crack-crack! Screech!
Whether unleashing sword techniques, pouring forth palm strikes, or flicking spiritual force—
each movement flowed with effortless grace, as natural as if honed over a lifetime of cultivation.
“Hmm.”
As I parried Hyuk So Jin’s relentless assault, brilliant radiance kindled in my eyes.
Zing.
With the silent hum of my dark blade, dazzling light pierced toward Hyuk So Jin’s throat like lightning.
At last, I had unleashed the first form of Muryangcheonsu—Meteor Chasing the Moon.
‘There is no escape!’
From the instant radiance bloomed from my blade, Hyuk So Jin sensed with absolute certainty that evasion was impossible.
Clang-clang-clang!
Yet his instincts guided his body with perfect autonomy, defying what his mind perceived.
With one hand, he deployed the Myeol Hon sword technique to diminish the cascading radiance’s force.
Simultaneously, with his other hand, he unfurled the Shin Yeol Ma Ki, redirecting the sword energy’s trajectory away from his throat as much as possible.
Whoosh!
At that same instant, the dark sword light grazed his cheek instead of his neck, sending his hair dancing wildly.
Though executed with the power of three stars, he had successfully defended against the Muryangcheonsu infused with my martial enlightenment.
“Impressive.”
I nodded with satisfaction, sheathing my dark blade across my back once more.
“Your strength has grown far more than I anticipated.”
“More than you anticipated…”
Only then did Hyuk So Jin, sensing something amiss, speak.
“How is this possible? I managed to block your vacuum sword technique in a single move.”
He shook his head with a bewildered expression, stunned by his own accomplishment.
“Moreover, when I blocked the sword technique, I had never even practiced the Shin Yeol Ma Ki before.”
I spoke matter-of-factly.
“Have I not continuously taught the disciples of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong?”
“You have.”
“Teaching others is equivalent to diligently cultivating that knowledge yourself. Furthermore, one naturally grasps what one has not yet consciously understood.”
I turned my body and spoke quietly.
“You have become far more proficient in numerous demonic arts than I expected. At this level, you will be able to employ various demonic techniques appropriately without difficulty in actual combat.”
“Bu… Brother Bu.”
Only then, grasping the profound meaning behind my words, did emotion surge through Hyuk So Jin’s chest.
“I never realized your intentions ran so deep, and I have been resenting you greatly all this time.”
I turned my body calmly.
“One need not necessarily cultivate martial arts or engage in decisive battles to enhance one’s martial prowess.”
Gazing toward the distant sky, I spoke matter-of-factly.
“Through experiencing various circumstances, one can develop martial insights that advance one’s cultivation.”
These were words that Heuk Pyo had once spoken to me.
And I had accepted such counsel faithfully, steadily advancing my martial arts even as I undertook various endeavors.
“It is time for me to depart.”
Bu Eunseol, having secured Jeol Cheon Myeol Ji and Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong as supporting forces under Ma Cheon Je’s command.
With my objective achieved, I must now take my leave once more.
As dawn broke,
Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin, who had been cultivating their inner energy seated upon the bed, rose simultaneously and quietly slipped from their quarters.
Just as we had arrived in silence, so too would we depart in silence.
But that was merely a hope.
Upon reaching the entrance leading out of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, I found countless disciples, elders, and Geuk Hye Ryeong herself waiting there.
“So you depart now.”
“Patriarch.”
As Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin clasped their hands in salute, Geuk Hye Ryeong’s face softened with a benevolent smile.
“I heard that you two would be sneaking away around this time. So the disciples of our sect decided to wait here first.”
Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin both wore wry smiles.
Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong was the foremost intelligence organization of the Demonic Path. Every movement of the two was meticulously reported here.
“We are grateful, Master.”
At that moment, the disciples of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Their heads were all turned toward Hyuk So Jin.
For over a month, except for the hours of sleep, Hyuk So Jin had imparted martial arts so intensely that sweat stained his robes.
As a result, the martial knowledge of Baek Hwa Nang Nang, who served as both the martial pillar and supreme force of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, had advanced by leaps and bounds.
“You are too kind.”
Hyuk So Jin smiled and returned courtesies to each of them individually.
Though he had imparted his martial knowledge almost inadvertently, his own mastery had risen correspondingly.
Teaching another was, as Bu Eunseol had said, a form of cultivation that refined one’s own strength.
“Shall we depart now?”
As Hyuk So Jin turned with a radiant smile, a cute young girl dressed in pale pink robes emerged from among the disciples.
It was Geuk Hye Bin.
“Ah.”
Geuk Hye Bin approached Bu Eunseol and extended both hands.
In those delicate hands lay a colorful five-colored silk thread, freshly made.
In that moment, Bu Eunseol found herself smiling faintly without thinking.
It must have been made by those small hands stitching thread by thread.
Swiftly,
Bu Eunseol knelt on one knee and accepted the silk thread from Geuk Hye Bin.
Then I drew the dark sword from its scabbard and tied the silk thread around the pommel.
Geuk Hye Ryeong, who watched this scene with satisfaction, spoke in a low voice.
“That child has never learned embroidery. She obtained colored threads from our sect’s disciples and stitched this gift for you, one stitch at a time.”
Her lips, lined with age, curved into a smile as she continued.
“Since Bin was born, you are the first person to whom she has given a gift made with her own hands.”
“Thank you.”
Bu Eunseol clasped her hands in gratitude toward Geuk Hye Bin.
At that, Geuk Hye Bin’s eyes curved like crescents as she offered a silent, beaming smile.
“And continue to strive forward from this day onward.”
I gently stroked Geuk Hye Bin’s head.
“So that you may become the next successor to lead the Demon Palace in the future.”
“Yes!”
Geuk Hye Bin nodded with a radiant smile.
Seeing that smile, it was as if I could hear a gentle voice saying, “I’ll do my best!”
“Lord of Jeongju!”
At that moment, a sharp voice rang out from the entrance as a young woman rushed in urgently.
It was Mi Ryeong, the keeper of the entrance to Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong and master of Hye Bong Gak.
“What is the matter that you come in such haste?”
As Du Yak Rang, standing beside me, furrowed her brow, Mi Ryeong answered in alarm.
“There are approximately three hundred martial artists encamped at the entrance of the Main Sect.”
“Three hundred martial artists? What do you mean?”
“They are the Yeom Hoon Dae of the Saryeong School.”
Mi Ryeong spoke with urgent tone, her head bowed.
“Though the successor of the Saryeong School has departed, the Yeom Hoon Dae that came with him have remained stationed throughout the Gyerim region.”
She paused to catch her breath before continuing.
“But when they learned that the Main Sect had invested funds into the Nangya Sect and Jeol Cheon Myeol Ji, they led their forces here….”
There was no need to hear the rest.
Upon hearing the rumor that Geuk Hye Ryeong had supported the Nangya Sect rather than the Saryeong School, the enraged Yeom Hoon Dae were conducting a show of force.
“Pay them no mind. Activate the Muryangcheonsu Gwan immediately.”
As Du Yak Rang let out a scoff, Mi Ryeong bowed her head once more.
“That is… the Muryangcheonsu Gwan was destroyed this time.”
In that instant, Du Yak Rang’s complexion changed.
There was only one reason why Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong could not be entered without permission.
It was because of the Muryangcheonsu Gwan—an ancient defensive mechanism of unparalleled power.
But now that Bu Eunseol had destroyed it, there no longer existed any mechanism to repel external invasion.
‘There is a spy among us.’
Blood vessels bulged at Du Yak Rang’s temples.
The destruction of the Muryangcheonsu Gwan had been kept in such strict secrecy that even she herself had momentarily forgotten about it.
Yet the Saryeong School immediately grasped this fact and arrived with the Yeom Hoon Dae in tow?
There was undoubtedly a spy within Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong who was in contact with the Saryeong School.
‘But that is not the pressing matter now.’
As Du Yak Rang’s mind raced, Geuk Hye Ryeong asked in a calm yet low voice.
“What is it that they demand?”
Mi Ryeong answered respectfully.
“They say it matters not whether we support the Saryeong School, only that we continue to maintain neutrality as we do now. Should we refuse, they will immediately send the Yeom Hoon Dae into the Main Sect.”
If three hundred elite forces of the Saryeong School were to pour in all at once, the damage would be catastrophic and uncontrollable.
“They dare threaten the Main Sect?”
Geuk Hye Ryeong found the audacity so absurd that laughter burst forth.
Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong—the ten pillars that upheld the Demonic Path itself.
To coerce the Ten Demonic Gates was to declare war upon the entire Demonic Path, nothing less.
“Do as you wish.”
“Lord of Jeongju, this is not a matter to be taken lightly.”
Du Yak Rang spoke with careful deliberation in response to Geuk Hye Ryeong’s frigid command.
“The moment Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong backed the Nangya Sect’s successor, this became entangled within the Demon Hall’s succession struggle.”
In that instant, Geuk Hye Ryeong’s expression grew grave, her brow furrowing.
Du Yak Rang spoke the truth.
This situation had arisen not from factional conflict between sects, but solely from the struggle to elect the successor of the Ten Demonic Gates.
Which meant no force belonging to the Demon Hall could intervene or offer aid.
“Pay it no mind.”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol, who had been listening in silence, stepped forward with an unbothered expression.
“This is my matter alone, and I shall resolve it myself.”
“What? What are you saying?”
As Geuk Hye Ryeong’s eyes widened, Bu Eunseol clasped both hands respectfully.
“Then.”
And before anyone could protest, I walked briskly toward the exit.
“Bu Hyung.”
Hyuk So Jin, who had hurried after me, spoke with urgency in his voice.
“Have you lost your mind? Yeom Hoon Dae began as a unit in the past and is still called that, but in reality it is one of the Saryeong School’s Six Battle Legions.”
“And so?”
“And so? Setting aside the three hundred elite who have mastered the Saryeong Spear, Yo Bul Beom, the commander of Yeom Hoon Dae, is….”
“Did you not say you desired to walk the Gangho?”
Bu Eunseol paused for a moment.
Then, with my spine held rigid, I gazed into the darkness of the long corridor where the Muryangcheonsu Gwan had been installed.
That figure seemed to radiate the majesty of an absolute master who dominated all.
“This is the Gangho.”
In that instant, Hyuk So Jin’s pupils dilated.
―This is the Gangho.
This was Bu Eunseol’s Gangho.
In a situation where enemies might appear at any moment, engaging in battles where blood and flesh flew, risking one’s very life…
This was the true Gangho beginning now.
“You are confident in this path?”
To Hyuk So Jin’s question, Bu Eunseol offered a faint smile.
―Victory and defeat matter not.
That smile seemed to speak those very words.
Bu Eunseol turned again into the darkness and departed through the Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong corridor.
“Madness. It was madness from the start….”
Watching that retreating figure, Hyuk So Jin finally understood.
How Bu Eunseol had reached such heights of martial mastery at so young an age.
Why she could remain so detached.
“I’ve lost my mind too!”
Hyuk So Jin muttered the words as if spitting them out, then bolted toward the exit in the direction Bu Eunseol had gone.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————