The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 240

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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 240.
―When it was created, who the true leader is—none can say. But through the generations, the Murim has….
This tome contained no martial secrets, but rather detailed accounts of the hidden forces that had operated in the shadows of the Murim four hundred years past.
As Bu Eunseol’s eyes traced the characters, her gaze grew progressively sharper.
Could it be mere coincidence?
Four hundred years ago as well, mysterious figures whose identities and sects remained unknown had apparently ravaged the Murim.
‘Even Wu Huang could not overcome them?’
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
Wu Huang, Seop Mu Hun—one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars who had dominated the Murim of that era. Even then, supreme masters capable of standing against him were rare.
Yet according to the text, numerous mysterious figures possessed martial prowess equal to Wu Huang’s.
―The Sovereign attempted to expose this truth to the Murim Alliance and the Orthodox Sects, seeking to eradicate that force.
But their power transcended the Righteous Path itself, dominating the Murim as a whole. Instead, the Sovereign found himself cornered.
‘So that is why he vanished without a trace.’
Wu Huang, possessed of tremendous martial might yet establishing neither allies nor faction, moved through the Murim like a divine dragon, solitary and censorious.
In the end, he fell victim to schemes orchestrated by forces too vast for him alone to oppose.
Unable to clear his name, he disappeared from the world.
‘To rival Seop Mu Hun, who could transcribe any technique he witnessed directly into secret manuals….’
Having finished reading Wu Huang’s Record, Bu Eunseol shook her head.
What manner of beings were those who, four hundred years ago, had seized control of the Murim without revealing themselves?
“Well then, are there any remarkable martial techniques recorded here?”
Beok Goong Ryung, seized by curiosity, took up the Wu Huang’s Record that Bu Eunseol had been reading.
“Hmm… it mirrors the current state of the Murim precisely.”
Having read through the entire text, Beok Goong Ryung released a long sigh and murmured.
“It reads like the tale of those strange masked forces operating today.”
“Masked forces….”
At those words, Bu Eunseol recalled the mysterious masked figures she had encountered thus far.
They possessed uniformly exceptional martial prowess, and their intelligence network was sophisticated enough to elude pursuit from both the Jipma Clan and the Fengyun Corps.
When they slew Yi Hun Gwang Ja, had they not unleashed power that surpassed even her own?
“You have encountered them, then.”
Observing Bu Eunseol’s expression, Beok Goong Ryung’s eyes gleamed.
“Have I not?”
“You have.”
At Bu Eunseol’s affirmation, he drew a long breath and spoke.
“Do you know why I have maintained such close cooperation with Gu Hong Cheong, that ambitious old man?”
….
“Because I discovered a force operating in shadow, orchestrating all manner of schemes, and sought to seize its tail.”
Bu Eunseol felt a moment of confusion.
It was true that those who stood alone at the pinnacle of the Murim, like Beok Goong Ryung, necessarily required connections with substantial intelligence networks.
Yet Geol Wang—was he not merely an elder advisor offering counsel, rather than the patriarch of the Gaebang?
“They have planted their agents throughout the Orthodox Sects. Just as the records here describe the situation four hundred years past.”
“Are you saying the leader of Gaebang is their spy?”
“I cannot say for certain. But the claim that he fell ill with a strange affliction and took to his sickbed… that was a lie.”
No Bong, the leader of Gaebang, had supposedly been suffering from a mysterious illness for a long time, confined to his bed.
Yet that had all been false?
“Then Geol Wang could also be a spy, could he not?”
“Impossible. He was the first to detect the existence of those who secretly manipulate the forces of Murim, even before I did.”
Gu Hong Cheong was the Grand Elder of Gaebang, effectively the head of the Orthodox Sects’ intelligence apparatus, and thus positioned to acquire and handle classified information.
Beok Goong Ryung had chosen the reliable Grand Elder as his ally rather than an unstable leader.
“That is why he has always desired a strong Gaebang.”
Beok Goong Ryung’s expression grew somber.
“Of course, one cannot say he harbors no personal ambitions.”
To dispel the dark shadow looming over Murim, nothing was more essential than overwhelming power.
Gu Hong Cheong had hoped to elevate Gaebang as the pillar of the Orthodox Sects, thereby driving out those forces that dominated Murim.
“If you knew there were hidden forces seeking to control Murim, why did you not inform the various sects?”
“Do you think I did not?”
He exhaled deeply and gestured toward the Wu Huang’s Secret Vault.
Even Mu Hwang, a supreme master with broad connections among the leaders of each sect and the strongest warriors of Murim, had met such a tragic end.
In other words, it was impossible for Beok Goong Ryung and Gu Hong Cheong alone to even trace their footsteps.
“Had I recklessly provoked them, I would have invited retaliation. I had to exercise restraint until I could uncover definitive evidence and identify their forces.”
“I see.”
“But how did you come to know of the existence of these mysterious masked ones? Their activities are always shrouded in secrecy—few even know they exist.”
“I encountered them by chance.”
“By chance?”
Bu Eunseol spoke matter-of-factly.
“Whenever something occurred, masked figures would appear. So I sought to engage them in proper combat, but each time they fled.”
“You tried to fight them, and the Masked Assassins evaded you?”
“Yes.”
“Heh.”
Beok Goong Ryung regarded Bu Eunseol with renewed astonishment.
‘This one knows no fear. After all, she did not even blink before the Lord.’
An unbidden smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Now that he thought about it, Bu Eunseol bore a striking resemblance to himself in his youth.
Refined features and exceptional martial prowess. The audacity of one who knows no fear of heaven or earth.
And the willingness to engage any opponent without hesitation.
‘Such spirited youth are rare in Murim these days.’
Indescribable emotions welled up within Beok Goong Ryung’s chest.
All the young talents he had met thus far sought either to flatter him or to cultivate connections for personal gain.
But Bu Eunseol was different.
She disregarded all such considerations and walked her own path alone, did she not?
‘Of all places, such an exceptional figure emerges from the Demonic Path.’
Beok Goong Ryung felt a pang of regret.
To think he would feel such kinship with a successor of the Demonic Path.
“I have walked the Gangho alone until now, striving to preserve the righteous spirit of the Murim.”
Without realizing it, Beok Goong Ryung spoke words that had long been buried deep within his heart to Bu Eunseol.
“Yet all that remains is distrust of humanity.”
Though it appeared peaceful on the surface, the current state of Murim politics was treacherous beyond measure.
Countless conspirators lurked within Jeongsayang-do, and those of unknown allegiance ran rampant through the Murim.
In such circumstances, to walk the Murim alone and pursue them was itself a remarkable feat.
“If I too were to misstep, I would have to end my life quietly, as Wu Huang did.”
Bu Eunseol found herself nodding without conscious thought.
If the words from Wu Huang’s Secret Vault were true… then the forces of those Masked Assassins had taken root in the Murim long ago.
And no one knew how far their branches had spread.
One careless move could not only result in the blunder of overreaching, but could trigger a counterattack from which there would be no recovery.
“I’ve spoken needlessly.”
Shaking his head, Beok Goong Ryung glanced around the interior before turning away.
“Well then, let us part ways here.”
“You’re simply leaving like this?”
Bu Eunseol’s expression showed surprise.
Had he not raged with murderous intent over the death of Gu Hong Cheong? To simply depart with the enemy who killed his close friend standing before him?
“Hehehehe.”
Beok Goong Ryung offered a weary and melancholic smile.
“You haven’t yet left the Secret Library.”
Though conveyed only through his gaze, Beok Goong Ryung had promised not to attack until all the traps were overcome.
And now all the traps had been cleared. If he steeled his resolve, he could strike Bu Eunseol down immediately.
Yet he chose to release her and depart quietly.
“If fate brings us together again, we shall meet once more.”
As Beok Goong Ryung turned to leave with a deep sigh, he paused mid-step.
“There is one thing I’m curious about.”
“Speak.”
“Did he… harbor regret?”
Beok Goong Ryung knew well that Gu Hong Cheong was consumed by ambition.
And because he could not abandon that vicious ambition, he revealed a flaw in his spirit and suffered defeat at Bu Eunseol’s hands.
So he wondered—in his final moments, did he not regret clinging to that relentless hunger for power?
“He did not regret it.”
Bu Eunseol exhaled softly and spoke in a low voice.
“Rather, he departed satisfied that his death would prevent Vice-Patriarch Hae Poong from becoming Patriarch, and that countless masters would come to kill him.”
“Hehehehe. A curse befitting the King of Beggars—bitter and resolute.”
Beok Goong Ryung instead wore a peaceful smile.
Geol Wang Gu Hong Cheong. He had faced death with the confidence and absence of regret befitting the King of Beggars.
“You harbor no regret?”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol spoke with measured precision.
“An opportunity as golden as this will never come again.”
Beok Goong Ryung, grasping the weight of her words, fell silent for a long moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Gu Hong Cheong… that old man fought without reservation against a peerless prodigy burning with a warrior’s spirit, and accepted defeat without regret.”
A thin smile traced across Beok Goong Ryung’s lips.
“So what regrets could I possibly harbor?”
It was his honest sentiment.
Bu Eunseol too maintained her silence before speaking in an even tone.
“Most of the Orthodox Sects’ luminaries fail to live up to their years… yet there are exceptional individuals among them.”
“Hahaha.”
Beok Goong Ryung burst into laughter.
He had realized that this wooden-faced young one, in her own way, was offering an apology.
“The Murim appears peaceful, yet the reality is fraught with peril. The Demonic Path faces much the same.”
A flicker of emotion passed through Beok Goong Ryung’s eyes, which had remained impassive until now.
Had their paths not diverged… had the age gap between them not been so vast…
Beok Goong Ryung found himself seized by an inexplicable sense of regret.
“Someday, you too will clash with them.”
“That will not come to pass.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head calmly.
“I have no interest whatsoever in the Murim’s political machinations.”
“Hehehehe. You still do not understand the nature of Gangho, it seems.”
Beok Goong Ryung chuckled softly.
“From the moment you slew Gu Hong Cheong, you became a figure who shapes the very destiny of the Murim itself.”
Bu Eunseol had already ascended to become one of the Four Gods Seven Kings, and her name alone wielded tremendous influence throughout the Murim.
And the powers that governed the Murim would never allow her to remain undisturbed.
“Too much time has been wasted.”
Beok Goong Ryung, gazing up at the empty void, murmured in a low voice.
“It seems it was my fate never to reach the Cheon Geom Hoe.”
The Cheon Geom Hoe.
The place that had transmitted the Diamond Crescent Blade to Bu Eunseol and asked her to slay The Demon, who had slaughtered all ten of its seats including the society’s master.
In that instant, a peculiar thought flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
Could The Demon they spoke of be connected to the Masked Assassins who had appeared thus far…?
Thump.
Beok Goong Ryung, a faint smile on his face, opened the door across from the Book Repository and vanished abruptly.
Watching his departing figure, Bu Eunseol could sense it instinctively.
That her connection with Beok Goong Ryung would not end here.
“There is no helping it.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
Once one steps into Gangho, no one can escape the web of karmic debts and enmities.
As long as breath remains in one’s body, one must endlessly collide with others and forge ahead.
“I’ve certainly wasted considerable time.”
Bu Eunseol turned with a lightened expression.
Wu Huang’s Secret Vault had transformed a formidable adversary like Tan Wang into something akin to a favorable connection.
For me, it was nothing short of fortune.
“A worthwhile read.”
I moved to return the Wu Huang Records to the shelf.
*Zing.*
That was when I sensed something peculiar.
I had merely closed the book and tilted it slightly, yet the weight distribution transmitted through my fingertips felt subtly different.
Though lighter than the smallest ant, my superhuman sense of balance allowed me to detect the anomaly instantly.
“The center of gravity shifts simply from tilting the book… I see.”
Scrutinizing the Wu Huang Records carefully, I examined each page methodically.
Then, by chance, I detected that the final page was ever so slightly thicker than the others.
*Whoosh!*
Drawing upon the Doctrine of Feminine Perfection, I manifested a blade at my fingertips—finer than a strand of hair.
*Slice!*
The blade split the thin paper vertically into two pieces.
*Tap.*
Within the divided paper lay another sheet—so thin it appeared nearly transparent.
“What is this…?”
Upon the transparent sheet were inscribed characters so minute that one required the utmost concentration to discern them.
―The path to the pinnacle of divine technique is like steering a vessel through an angry sea where one cannot see even a step ahead.
My eyes narrowed as I read the opening line inscribed upon the paper.
―In the end, one must navigate through the tangled threads of countless emotions as though they were a compass.
My eyes grew sharper as I continued reading the characters upon the paper.
Wu Huang’s Silent Awakening.
Wu Huang had inscribed the profound insights he had attained in his final years within the last page of the Wu Huang Records.

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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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