The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 254

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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 254.
A metallic ring.
Bu Eunseol drew the dark blade and unleashed her sword technique.
The strikes cascaded in rapid succession!
Unlike her usual style, the sword forms she unleashed were sparse and monotonously direct.
Yet the techniques themselves were executed with such blinding speed that the assassins had no opportunity to evade.
Blood sprayed!
The assassins caught within the sweep of her blade’s momentum spewed crimson from their throats and collapsed like felled timber.
Metal shrieked against metal!
The remaining assassins widened their distance once more and unleashed a barrage of projectiles at Bu Eunseol.
A deafening boom!
But this time, the projectiles detonated before they could even touch her body, releasing a plume of white vapor.
The acrid stench spreading in all directions suggested the smoke was laced with chi-suppressing powder.
“Hmm.”
As the smoke billowed outward, it gradually obscured the assassins’ forms from view.
A resonant hum!
Drawing upon my chi, a torrent of formidable true energy flowed from the dark blade.
I was preparing to unleash the seventh form of the Musan Cheonryu—Heart Extinguishing, Annihilation—using intense flame-attribute true energy to incinerate all toxins at once.
‘No. Wait.’
In that instant, a flash of insight pierced through my mind.
‘Haven’t they already conducted a thorough investigation of me?’
The tactic of unleashing projectiles from a distance, combined with the mutual destruction technique employed at close range—these were strategies designed with the Musan Cheonryu in mind.
If that were true, there was no way they wouldn’t know of the Heart Extinguishing, Annihilation technique for incinerating toxins in an instant.
I burst backward!
Bu Eunseol retreated roughly twenty paces in an instant.
Then, drawing upon powerful flame-attribute true energy, I flicked a ground-sweeping wind.
A tremendous explosion!
The smoke dispersing in all directions ignited into flames in a heartbeat.
Simultaneously, waves of heat intense enough to melt iron spread outward, carrying candle-like clusters of fire in every direction.
A sizzling hiss.
Even after striking the ground, those flames continued to burn fiercely without pause.
The mist contained not only chi-suppressing powder but also specially manufactured flammable substances.
‘As I suspected.’
Had I not retreated immediately and instead unleashed Heart Extinguishing, Annihilation to disperse the toxic fog?
I would have been caught in the explosion’s radius and suffered grave injuries.
‘They’ve comprehensively analyzed every characteristic of the Musan Cheonryu…’
I had unleashed Heart Extinguishing, Annihilation only once—during my journey to receive recognition as successor.
After that, I had employed it only against the masters of Hell Blood Sect.
This meant one thing: they had been conducting a meticulous investigation of me for a very long time.
A sharp whisper of movement.
As the smoke cleared, the remaining assassins stepped through the blazing flames with deliberate strides and surrounded Bu Eunseol once more.
There was no trace of fear or hesitation in their eyes.
As long as breath remained in their bodies, only the will to kill persisted—unwavering and absolute.
‘Investigating hundreds of times yields nothing.’
A sharp gleam of light erupted from Bu Eunseol’s eyes as she watched the assassins approach with menace.
The intelligence gathered in the past was useless.
He advanced ceaselessly, day after day, growing stronger bit by bit without pause.
Click.
Bu Eunseol suddenly sheathed the silent blade and drew upon her inner power with full force.
Whoooosh!
A sharp wind began to emanate from her entire body.
Simultaneously, keen energy flowed from both her legs and both her arms.
Thirteen Night Technique.
At the pinnacle of mastery, one could unleash thirteen separate streams of inner force—the supreme secret art of Mu Hwang himself.
Crash!
Bu Eunseol’s form became a single flash of light, sweeping past the assassins.
With each pass, blood erupted and the assassins collapsed like bundles of straw.
Boom! Rumble rumble!
Thunder echoed across the darkened sky from all directions.
The sound alone testified to the ferocity of the power and inner force Bu Eunseol unleashed.
The assassins resisted fiercely with concealed weapons and fire techniques, but it was futile.
The Thirteen Night Technique appeared to unfold multiple martial arts simultaneously, yet in truth, it was a single unified force manifesting coordinated techniques.
The moment the keen energy swept past, the assassins’ bodies scattered as if carved by a sharp blade.
Moreover, that keen energy ensured that no matter what attack they launched, it could never touch Bu Eunseol’s body.
Thud thud.
The corpses of assassins accumulated like fallen leaves across the ground.
The mechanical coldness that had pervaded the assassins’ eyes began to waver like ripples on water.
How could they have possibly known, despite their thorough investigation of Bu Eunseol?
Every moment—even while eating and sleeping—he cultivated his martial prowess, his realm of achievement far transcending even those called prodigies.
Moreover, in that time, he had inherited the true transmission of Mu Hwang, the strongest master of the Orthodox Sects four hundred years past.
Boom. Boom.
As three streams of lightning erupted from Bu Eunseol’s body, the remaining assassins fell helplessly once more.
Of the hundred or so assassins, fewer than ten remained standing.
“Huff. Huff.”
Bu Eunseol breathed heavily.
The Thirteen Night Technique possessed miraculous power, yet it required weaving multiple Orthodox martial arts into a single unified whole with exquisite precision.
The consumption of mental and inner force was correspondingly extreme.
Then several assassins stepped forward and drew their blades.
Clang!
The blades they unsheathed were malformed swords with not two but four edges.
They countered Bu Eunseol’s torrential Thirteen Night Blades with a distinctive sword technique of their own.
Clang! Clashing and ringing!
Their swordplay, unfolded like a formation spell, proved unexpectedly formidable.
With swift, economical movements they exploited openings, and whenever Bu Eunseol’s Thirteen Night Blades cascaded down, they conjured broad sword barriers to intercept the attacks—not merely defend against them.
Moreover, they unleashed bizarre killing techniques in profusion, sealing off Bu Eunseol’s lightning-swift movements.
‘Orthodox Sect martial arts?’
Bu Eunseol could not hide her astonishment as she observed the swordplay passing through her guard.
Their technique cut horizontally and vertically across all directions, with abundant probing and twisting motions.
At first glance it resembled the vicious swordplay of the Demonic Path or Evil Sects, but that was merely deliberate concealment.
The true roots of their technique lay far closer to Orthodox Sect martial arts.
‘Had I not deciphered the Orthodox Sect secret manuals in Wu Huang’s Secret Vault, I could never have discerned their origins.’
Mu Hwang had created the Thirteen Night Blades upon the foundation of the Orthodox Sect’s primary martial lineage.
And I, having mastered its essence, could instantly perceive the distinctive characteristics of Orthodox Sect martial arts.
Crack!
As if to prove this, the sword strikes raining down like lightning suddenly curved sharply, piercing toward my vital points.
Had this been Demonic Path or Evil Sect martial arts, they would have struck directly at the vital points without tracing such grand arcs.
The assassins were concealing the trajectories of Orthodox Sect martial arts through these bizarre deformed blades.
‘Deviating from the original sword path has greatly diminished their power.’
The assassins had transformed the Orthodox Sect’s sword techniques into something as unpredictable and inscrutable as Evil Sect swordplay.
In other words, by altering the original sword intent, they could not unleash their full power.
Whoosh!
Having discerned every weakness in the assassins’ technique, I drew the silent blade once more.
Then I suddenly deployed my sword technique rapidly toward the sky.
Shatter! Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!
Hundreds of strands of sword energy unleashed toward the dark heavens suddenly split left and right as if alive.
Simultaneously, they descended toward the masked assassins standing on the ground like two currents of water.
I had deployed the Formless Heaven Flow’s fourth form—the Layered Cloud Convergence—freely manipulating the unleashed sword energy.
Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!
The assassins wielded their blades with all their might.
But having perceived every weakness, the sword energy I unleashed could not be stopped.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The keen sword energy swept across their bodies like living flood dragons, swift and merciless.
Thud.
The assassins collapsed to the ground simultaneously, with perfect precision.
Step by step.
I approached slowly and removed the masks from the fallen assassins.
At the same moment, my eyes widened slightly.
“…!”
The assassins’ faces had been completely flayed—red blood and pus clung to the exposed flesh.
They had stripped away all facial skin to conceal their identities.
Most martial artists would have frowned at such a grotesque and ghastly sight, but Bu Eunseol observed their corpses with unflinching composure.
‘They’ve ingested a specialized poison for prolonged periods.’
From years of consuming toxins, the assassins’ teeth had corroded like rusted iron.
Crouching low, I examined their garments, weapons, and footwear in meticulous detail.
Yet none of it yielded clues to identify their origins.
“So Saixiang has connections to the Orthodox Sects….”
It wasn’t entirely without discovery.
All the assassins had wielded modified martial techniques from the Orthodox Sects.
This suggested Saixiang’s ties ran closer to the Orthodox Sects than to the Demonic Path.
“I must ascend further.”
At my current station, I cannot rival even all the factions of the Demonic Path, let alone the Orthodox Sects.
Crack.
A crimson gleam ignited in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
My destiny was to climb higher.
* * *
Bu Eunseol returned to the Demon Palace.
For now, seizing Saixiang’s tail in one swift motion was impossible.
Moreover, if they truly had connections to the Orthodox Sects, I could not act rashly.
I remained merely a successor candidate to the Demon Palace.
Though called the holy ground of all ten thousand demons under heaven, it was not a place that offered unconditional support to mere candidates.
‘First, I must conceal my tracks.’
My immediate priority was to obscure my movements so thoroughly that no intelligence network could easily trace them.
I had become a figure influencing the martial world’s political landscape.
Countless intelligence organizations would be watching my every move.
Using Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong’s information network, I continuously leaked false intelligence throughout the Murim to mask my true activities.
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the office door from outside.
“Master. It is Jo Nam Cheon.”
“Enter.”
Whoosh.
The sliding door opened, and Jo Nam Cheon, his whiskers bristling unkemptly, trudged forward.
With his beard left ungroomed and his face deeply lined, he appeared to be in his forties. Yet he was barely past thirty.
“What brings you?”
“Well, you see….”
At my question, Jo Nam Cheon scratched his head and rummaged through his robes.
“The truth is, I once served with the Twelve Earthly Branches in my past.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed with intrigue.
So the usually carefree Jo Nam Cheon had been a fixer from the underworld, handling all manner of dirty work for the upper echelons?
“And so?”
“This arrived addressed to you, Master.”
Jo Nam Cheon withdrew a sealed letter from his robes and carefully placed it on the table.
“Someone used the Twelve Earthly Branches’ intelligence network to send a message to the Master.”
“A message?”
“Indeed. Moreover, the sender is the… Supreme Leader of the Twelve Earthly Branches.”
“Supreme Leader?”
Originally, the Twelve Earthly Branches had no leader; their information networks and command structure were more akin to a loose, disorganized collective.
Yet suddenly there was a Supreme Leader?
“Apparently, the organization was recently restructured, and a Supreme Leader was established.”
Jo Nam Cheon scratched his head as he spoke.
“Since the Twelve Earthly Branches primarily operates in the underworld, it seems they call the highest authority overseeing the entire organization the Supreme Leader.”
Jo Nam Cheon gazed at the letter resting on the table as he continued.
“Moreover, given that it was delivered to the Master through me with such precision, it doesn’t appear to be a jest.”
Bu Eunseol picked up the sealed letter.
Just then, murmuring voices echoed from outside. It seemed the training had concluded and the members were returning to Sa Yeong Gak.
The door burst open.
A rough-looking man rushed in through the open doorway. It was Won Se Moon.
“Master!”
“Won Se Moon. Why the commotion again?”
Jo Nam Cheon rebuked him with a sarcastic tone.
“Did you have another foolish dream and come running to the Master?”
“Silence!”
Won Se Moon shot Jo Nam Cheon a sharp glare before turning to Bu Eunseol.
“A grave matter has occurred, Master!”
“What is it?”
At Bu Eunseol’s inquiry, Won Se Moon pursed his lips.
“The successor of Geuk Sal Mil Gak has been murdered.”
Bu Eunseol doubted her own ears for a moment.
“What did you say?”
“The successor of Geuk Sal Mil Gak—Yong Jeok Bi. He has been killed.”
Silence fell over the office.
Yong Jeok Bi, the successor of Geuk Sal Mil Gak. Why had this talented prospect, chosen by that assassin sect, suddenly perished?
“The successor of Geuk Sal Mil Gak was tasked with a solo operation to strike at the Twelve Earthly Branches, it seems.”
Won Se Moon spoke while gazing at Bu Eunseol.
“However… he was instead defeated by them. Moreover, the Twelve Earthly Branches had the Merchant Guild deliver Yong Jeok Bi’s head to Geuk Sal Mil Gak. Because of this, the sect is in absolute turmoil.”
―The Twelve Earthly Branches?
In that instant, Bu Eunseol and Jo Nam Cheon exchanged glances.
And as if by prior agreement, they both looked down at the envelope resting on the table.
The envelope tore open.
Yet despite opening it, there was nothing inside.
“Huh?”
Jo Nam Cheon stared down at the envelope with a bewildered expression.
“This is strange. This envelope clearly bears the seal of the Grand Leader.”
Won Se Moon asked the flustered Jo Nam Cheon.
“Grand Leader? Who is that?”
“Well….”
Just as Jo Nam Cheon was in the midst of explaining the situation to Won Se Moon,
“…!”
A flash of light flickered across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
A subtle sensation transmitted through the fingertips gripping the envelope.
It was a microscopic trace that only Bu Eunseol, who had mastered the Beast Blade technique, could perceive.
Rip.
As I tore open the envelope’s surface, a single needle—finer than a human hair—lay concealed within the paper.
It possessed such elasticity that even when bent by a finger, it would return to its original form, and its surface bore minute barbs.
Flash!
In that instant, my eyes blazed with a heat fierce enough to melt steel, while my heart thundered uncontrollably in my chest.
This distinctive needle—rarely seen in the Murim.
Could this be a hidden weapon of Saixiang?

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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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