The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 192

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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 192.
Being a successor candidate to the Demon Palace is a journey of walking a blood-stained path while continuing an endless battle with no foreseeable end.
However, the moment one steps into the Demon Palace, the status of successor candidate receives treatment more honored than anyone else.
After all, one possesses the qualification to become the next master of the Demon Palace, which dominates the Demonic Path and Murim.
In other words, one receives the most meticulous ceremonial treatment befitting the dignity of Ma Cheon Je’s successor.
“Please board.”
Before Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin stood warriors dressed in black martial robes, standing at attention.
Behind them, an eight-banner carriage flew a flag emblazoned with the twin dragons contending for supremacy, the symbol of the Demon Palace.
The moment the two entered the Changsha Region where the Demon Palace stood, these were the emissaries of the Demon Palace who had come to receive them with utmost respect.
Click.
As Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin boarded the carriage, the emissary respectfully closed the door.
Then he called out in a low voice.
“We depart.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Warriors mounted on fine steeds escorted the moving carriage from front and rear, and there were even warriors following the procession in secret, concealing their presence.
Hyuk So Jin, overwhelmed by such meticulous and solemn treatment, kept his mouth firmly shut.
“We have arrived.”
Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin descended from the carriage that had passed directly through the main gate of the Demon Palace.
Following the emissary’s guidance, the two reached the front of the Holy Demon Pavilion where Ma Cheon Je was staying.
“The Lord commands that you both dine together.”
“Understood.”
As Bu Eunseol nodded, the emissary bowed lightly and departed.
“….”
Bu Eunseol’s gaze deepened as she gazed upon the palace hall that rose majestically as if piercing the heavens.
The Holy Demon Pavilion.
The dwelling place of Ma Cheon Je, who stands supreme above a million practitioners of the Demonic Path.
Suddenly, a peculiar question arose in Bu Eunseol’s mind.
The word “holy” is primarily used by the Orthodox Sects and Daoists.
Yet why would such a word be attached to the residence of Ma Cheon Je, the symbol of hegemony ruling all demons under heaven?
“Thanks to you, Brother Bu, I’m climbing the ranks.”
Hyuk So Jin swallowed hard and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Apart from fighting, he is always languid and possesses not a shred of tension.
Yet even Hyuk So Jin, standing before the Holy Demon Pavilion where the supreme master of the Demonic Path dwells, could not hide his nervousness.
Boom.
At that moment, the massive doors of the Holy Demon Pavilion slowly opened.
Though the interior seemed filled with darkness, in reality, seven-colored night-luminous pearls cast light as bright as midday.
As Bu Eunseol and Hyuk So Jin ventured deep into the palace hall, a vast Great Hall unfolded before them.
And at the far end, the giant who dominated the Demonic Path’s realm sat deeply upon a throne.
Ma Cheon Je.
When Bu Eunseol first encountered him, he appeared as an indefinable existence, displaying a myriad of transformations.
But now things were different.
I stood before him as the supreme master of the Demonic Path, having reached its zenith, embodying the pinnacle of mysterious and inscrutable demonic martial arts—the dignity of a great patriarch.
‘So that’s what it was.’
Bu Eunseol could grasp one crucial truth.
Ma Cheon Je’s various displays, the way he had stimulated her spirit—that too had been a test.
Crack.
At that moment, Hyuk So Jin’s body trembled violently as he clenched his fists.
“Ugh…”
The whites of his eyes reddened, and thick blood vessels began to bulge prominently across his neck and forehead.
He had suffered internal injuries, unable to withstand the overwhelming qi emanating from Ma Cheon Je’s body.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course.”
Hyuk So Jin forced a smile.
Yet beads of sweat gathered on his cheeks, and his skin began to burn hot as if scorched by charcoal.
Having only just entered the Transcendent Realm, Hyuk So Jin could not bear the aura of Ma Cheon Je that filled the Great Hall.
“You should leave.”
“Brother Bu…”
“Ma Cheon Je seems to have changed his mind and wishes to meet with me alone.”
Had Ma Cheon Je intended to refuse Hyuk So Jin from the start, he would have blocked his entry at the Holy Demon Pavilion itself.
Ma Cheon Je appeared to have sensed the vast gap in Hyuk So Jin’s martial cultivation and was sending him away.
“…I understand.”
In the end, Hyuk So Jin bowed deeply toward Ma Cheon Je.
With his lips pressed tight, he turned and left the Holy Demon Pavilion once more, departing without ever having laid eyes upon Ma Cheon Je directly.
“Your disciple Bu Eunseol pays her respects to Ma Cheon Je.”
As Bu Eunseol, standing below the Platform, brought her hands together, Ma Cheon Je slowly rose from his seat.
“…!”
When their gazes met, Bu Eunseol’s eyes trembled greatly.
Ma Cheon Je’s qi, which had seemed ordinary yet infinitely transformative before, had grown even more intricate.
Though his appearance outwardly resembled that of an ordinary elderly man, the mysterious presence lurking within had become far more formidable.
“Hmm.”
Ma Cheon Je too seemed to sense that Bu Eunseol’s qi had changed from before, and he nodded lightly.
Whoosh.
As Ma Cheon Je rose from his seat, he seemed to tower like a giant, looking down upon Bu Eunseol.
“You handled matters better than I expected.”
With merely the opening of his mouth, his voice resonated like a temple bell ringing from the heavens.
Ma Cheon Je gazed at Bu Eunseol, who still kept her head bowed, a faint smile playing at his lips.
“You captured the demons of Jeol Cheon Myul Ji through a most ingenious method.”
“Thank you.”
“But what truly astounds me is that you compelled Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, who has long refused to soil her hands, to voluntarily participate in combat.”
Ma Cheon Je referred to Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong’s direct participation in battle as having soiled her hands.
It was a rebuke directed at Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, who had long manipulated other sects and forces, fighting through proxy wars.
“What method did you employ?”
Ma Cheon Je fixed his gaze upon Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Then I felt a pair of eyes—gleaming like concentrated lightning—penetrating through my body and spirit, laying bare everything within.
Everything touched by that gaze seemed to transcend surface appearances, revealing all that lay beneath with naked clarity.
“I simply gave them a choice.”
“A choice.”
It was an unexpectedly brief answer.
Yet Ma Cheon Je gazed at Bu Eunseol with gleaming eyes, then struck his knee sharply.
“Indeed, so it is. What they truly desired was not power, but a figure capable of granting them choice.”
Though Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong was a sect of women, it had maintained its position among the Ten Demonic Gates through formidable wealth, unique methods of influence, and cultivated connections spanning both the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.
Yet what they truly desired was the prerogative to decide everything autonomously—in other words, power itself.
Without power, one cannot even choose.
Understanding this well, Bu Eunseol granted Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong the strength to stand on their own.
And when Bu Eunseol chose to fight alone, risking her life, they protected her.
Through their own choice.
“You came with the successor of Jeol Cheon Myul Ji.”
Ma Cheon Je now fixed his gaze upon Hyuk So Jin, speaking softly.
“Do you intend to use him as a subordinate?”
“The timing aligned, and we undertook a journey through Gangho together.”
“A journey through Gangho.”
Ma Cheon Je smiled faintly.
Yet the words that flowed forth were brutal and menacing beyond measure.
“If you wish to become the successor leading this sect, it would be wise to erase all notions of comrades and camaraderie. Such things will soon become cumbersome burdens obstructing your path.”
Bu Eunseol could neither affirm nor deny this.
Originally, my values had been similar to Ma Cheon Je’s. Yet through various trials, I had unwillingly acquired comrades and friends.
‘But if I become the successor of Demon Palace….’
Setting aside Heuk Pyo, my subordinate, and Hyuk So Jin, successor of the same Ten Demonic Gates—could I maintain bonds with Dang Gon and Nam Goong Woon?
‘This is not the time for such thoughts.’
Then Ma Cheon Je, as if piercing through my tangled thoughts, spoke in a low voice.
“Well, such matters can be contemplated later.”
And with a faint smile, he changed the subject.
“In any case, you have fulfilled your orders well, so I must bestow a reward.”
A soft sound.
Then a door on the left side of the Great Hall opened, and a woman emerged, carefully carrying a wooden box in both hands.
Her skin was exceptionally pale, and her eyes were long and beautiful like those of a phoenix.
It was Jin Seol, who had once brought the injured Bu Eunseol to Jeok Bung, master of the Elder Council.
“It has been a long time, Young Master.”
She approached Bu Eunseol and greeted her with an unguarded smile.
Jin Seol’s demeanor was comfortable and natural, as if she were Ma Cheon Je’s granddaughter.
‘So it wasn’t Si Bi.’
There was no Si Bi who could greet Ma Cheon Je so naturally in his presence.
Only now did I realize how little I knew about the people connected to the Demon Palace.
‘Was she not from the Elder Council?’
She had personally guided my wounded form to Jeok Bung. Yet now it seemed she was a direct subordinate of Ma Cheon Je.
‘That’s a matter for later consideration.’
“Greetings.”
As I cleared my mind of complicated thoughts and offered my salutation, she smiled faintly and opened the wooden box in her hands.
Upon the ornate cloth lay a spirit token gleaming with five-colored radiance.
“I bestow upon you the Qilin Spirit Token.”
I instinctively recalled the ‘Golden Source Spirit Token’ I had received in the past.
The Manma Yujin Pavilion—both a library and a repository of secret techniques.
The lowest-ranked Golden Source Spirit Token had granted access to the first level, where seventy-eight thousand varieties of demonic martial arts secrets were housed.
The Qilin Spirit Token was surely of a higher rank.
‘How unfortunate.’
Before entering the Holy Demon Pavilion, I had harbored a peculiar hope.
Perhaps Ma Cheon Je would personally transmit his martial arts to me?
But upon receiving the token, I realized that hope was in vain.
‘Of course he wouldn’t.’
Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts were said to transcend the Extreme Heaven Realm entirely, reaching the very edge of the Infinite Realm.
Considering that no one in the history of Murim had ever reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm, he had attained the ultimate pinnacle achievable by mortals.
To transmit such transcendent enlightenment and martial arts to a mere successor candidate, not even a confirmed heir—the Ten Demonic Gates would never permit it under any circumstances.
“Thank you.”
As I bowed and respectfully accepted the spirit token from the cloth, Jin Seol spoke in a soft yet crystalline voice.
“The Qilin Spirit Token grants access to the second level of the Manma Yujin Pavilion.”
Her voice was so beautiful that its resonance lingered in my ears for a long time.
“You have ten days.”
In that moment, Ma Cheon Je’s deep voice swept away that lingering resonance in an instant.
“Choose one martial art from that place and master it.”
I could not hide my bewilderment.
The first level of the Manma Yujin Pavilion, which I had entered with the Golden Source Spirit Token, contained over seventy-five thousand varieties of demonic secret techniques.
Of course, the advanced martial arts would number fewer, but to learn merely one technique in ten days?
“And then return to me.”
The moment I heard Ma Cheon Je’s command, a single thought crossed my mind.
‘This too is a test….’
I could be certain of it.
This was also a test by Ma Cheon Je to select successor candidates.
If the martial arts I learned in the Manma Yujin Pavilion displeased him, my status as a successor candidate would be immediately revoked.
“I understand.”
As I bowed, Ma Cheon Je slowly turned his body.
“I wish you luck.”
Jin Seol smiled softly and carefully followed Ma Cheon Je.
In that moment, the radiant light of the Seven-Colored Night Pearl that had illuminated the interior of the Great Hall vanished.
Then the forms of Ma Cheon Je and Jin Seol dissolved into the darkness as if being pulled away.
* * *
“Huff. Huff.”
Hyuk So Jin, who had emerged from the Holy Demon Pavilion, was breathing heavily.
“Damn it.”
After catching his breath for a long while, he bit his lip and shook his head.
I thought I had made remarkable strides in my cultivation while traveling the Gangho with Bu Eunseol, but the reality was far different.
The truth was that I stood as nothing more than a half-baked apprentice before Ma Cheon Je, the supreme master of the Demonic Path.
And that fact tormented me endlessly.
I still have so far to go.
Hyuk So Jin had completely abandoned martial arts training after the age of ten.
Had I diligently cultivated martial arts all this time… even if not to the level of Bu Eunseol, I would have reached a realm befitting a successor of the Ten Demonic Gates.
“Are you the one who followed the master of Nangya Pavilion?”
At that moment, a low voice reached his ears.
Turning around, Hyuk So Jin saw an elderly man who appeared to be over seven feet tall looking down at him.
A long scar ran across his cheek, and his eyes were fierce and menacing.
From his unusual appearance and the aura emanating from his entire body, he was clearly no ordinary person.
“Who are you, sir?”
The old man replied calmly to Hyuk So Jin’s question.
“I am Sang Hak, the Master of Pal Ma Gwan.”
Pal Ma Gwan was an armory belonging to the Demon Palace, where elite soldiers and weapons were kept.
And Sang Hak, Master of Pal Ma Gwan, was a great demon master who had once dominated the Murim, known as the Hundred-Weapon Demon Sage, a master of weaponry arts.
“No, I didn’t follow him, rather…”
Hyuk So Jin, waving his hands in denial, suddenly realized something and his shoulders slumped.
I had abandoned martial arts training entirely and spent my days gambling and drinking in Jeol Cheon Myul Ji.
Though I had rapidly advanced my martial arts with Bu Eunseol’s help, I still lacked the strength to claim the status of a successor to the Ten Demonic Gates.
“…I shamelessly tagged along.”
Sang Hak stared at the rambling Hyuk So Jin, furrowed his brow, and spoke in a low voice.
“It is the command of Ma Cheon Je. Follow me.”

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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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