The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 255

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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 255.
“Master, what is that?”
The two men asked with wide eyes,
“It’s nothing.”
Bu Eunseol waved her hand dismissively, her expression grave.
“Now that you know, you may leave.”
Upon witnessing Bu Eunseol’s solemn expression, Won Se Moon and Jo Nam Cheon instinctively sensed that something momentous had occurred.
Yet her gaze was so serious and piercing that they dared not press further.
“Very well, we shall take our leave.”
As the two departed, Bu Eunseol retrieved the envelope once more, her countenance grave.
Drawing upon the full extent of my Beast Path senses, I pressed my fingertips against the envelope’s surface.
Faintly, I could discern the impression of characters etched into it.
‘They’ve carved this with razor-sharp inner force, threading it like silk across the envelope.’
The sender knew I had reached the pinnacle of the Beast Path and had chosen this clandestine method to deliver the message.
―Bu Eunseol. I wish to face you one final time.
“Seok Woo Haeng….”
Remarkably, this envelope had been sent by Seok Woo Haeng. And what followed was even more astonishing.
―Since I’ve already slain Yong Jeok Bi, the Twelve Earthly Branches will be completely annihilated by Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
‘So Seok Woo Haeng was the supreme leader of the Twelve Earthly Branches.’
It was extraordinary.
No matter how formidable Seok Woo Haeng’s abilities were, the Twelve Earthly Branches was a collective of underground sects passed down through generations.
To seize control of such an organization in so short a time and become its leader?
‘So that’s why Yong Jeok Bi is dead.’
Yong Jeok Bi had chosen the annihilation of the Twelve Earthly Branches as his successor’s task.
He would have swiftly identified the supreme leader of the Twelve Earthly Branches.
After all, removing the head makes disposing of the body simple.
But he could never have anticipated that this supreme leader was Seok Woo Haeng, who had mastered Geuk Sal Mil Gak’s ultimate killing techniques.
In the end, his head was severed by Seok Woo Haeng, who saw through every stratagem of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
Click.
Rising from my seat, I gazed toward the distant sky with a grave expression.
A successor had been murdered—no small matter…
Geuk Sal Mil Gak would undoubtedly dispatch their elite masters immediately to eradicate the Twelve Earthly Branches.
And if I did not depart at once, I would have no chance to meet Seok Woo Haeng again in this lifetime.
“Seok Woo Haeng….”
From my perspective, there was no necessity to accept his challenge and bear such risk.
Yet he had sent this envelope bearing Sa Hyang’s secret mark.
That meant he knew I was pursuing Sa Hyang’s trail.
“So you are connected to them.”
Emerging from my contemplation, I turned slowly and retrieved the ink sword I had set aside.
Clang.
Bu Eunseol, with the dark sword strapped to her back, drew a deep breath.
In the end, she was accepting the duel that Seok Woo Haeng had proposed.
* * *
The Twelve Earthly Branches.
A fixer organization that primarily handled all manner of dirty work for the financial and commercial sectors.
Because of this, they constantly clashed with forces of the Demonic Path Sect, and the Demon Hall had long viewed the Twelve Earthly Branches as a thorn in their side.
However, due to their nature as a loose organization lacking a supreme leader or systematic structure, they could not be easily eradicated.
But Seok Woo Haeng had developed the Twelve Earthly Branches by establishing and refining their system like any other faction.
As a result, their main base’s location was exposed, and he fell under pursuit by Yong Jeok Bi…
Ultimately, developing the Twelve Earthly Branches had become an act of tightening the noose around his own neck.
“A brilliant stratagem indeed.”
Bu Eunseol stood in a vast underground waterway located in Gangnam.
Seok Woo Haeng had been concealed within this gloomy and dark Underground Waterway, orchestrating the movements of the Twelve Earthly Branches.
“With this, I could withstand even tens of thousands of troops.”
This deep Underground Waterway was so dark and damp that even beggars would not venture here, and its interior twisted like a labyrinth.
Even if the forces of Geuk Sal Mil Gak descended upon this place, by setting appropriate traps and employing hit-and-run tactics, one could hold out for a considerable time.
Thump, thump.
As I ventured deep into the Underground Waterway, which branched off in all directions like a maze, a spacious open ground finally came into view.
And there, a shadow merged with the darkness stood towering.
Clad in black garments that clung to a lean, muscular frame devoid of excess flesh.
From a distance, it resembled a malevolent specter fused with the darkness itself.
It was Seok Woo Haeng.
“You’ve changed beyond recognition.”
Bu Eunseol voiced her first impression aloud.
At Jang Geom Mountain Manor, Seok Woo Haeng had embodied the typical appearance of a young assassin brimming with vigor and confidence.
But now he emanated the aura of a seasoned veteran who had weathered every tempest the world could offer.
Thud, thud.
Seok Woo Haeng walked slowly from the darkness.
Then, with a soft clicking sound, the surroundings blazed bright as midday.
Expensive night-luminous pearls had been densely embedded throughout the ceiling and walls in an ingenious mechanism.
“You’ve come.”
Seok Woo Haeng’s visage had transformed grotesquely.
His eyes had sunk into a gloomy darkness. And his facial skin was covered in scale-like keratinous epidermis, resembling that of a reptile.
The stalwart and refined assassin had vanished, replaced by something akin to a monster from another realm.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring intently at Seok Woo Haeng’s face, nodded slowly.
“You’ve obtained the Heavenly Evil Sect’s forbidden art.”
The grotesque symptoms manifesting on Seok Woo Haeng’s face.
They were phenomena that appeared when one intensively cultivated the Heavenly Evil Sect’s forbidden technique, the Heavenly Evil Phantom Demon Art, which had once ravaged the Murim.
“It was among the Twelve Earthly Branches.”
Seok Woo Haeng spoke with unwavering composure.
“The martial art I’ve been searching for all this time.”
He had not obtained the Heavenly Evil Sect’s martial techniques by mere chance.
He had scoured the world seeking a secret technique capable of maximizing the Assassin’s Art, and discovered it was preserved within the Twelve Earthly Branches.
And he had settled here to claim it for himself.
“I’ve heard that once you master it, you can never hold a woman again.”
Assassins cherished embracing women as much as they cherished holding a wine cup.
For Seok Woo Haeng, whose very bones were steeped in the assassin’s way, this would be no different.
The Heavenly Fiend Demon Art was the pinnacle of the most vicious demonic technique, containing the purification methods of sorcery that could weaponize the flesh itself.
Yet the moment one mastered it, one became impotent—as if having cultivated a poison so virulent it consumed the cultivator.
“A woman?”
But Seok Woo Haeng’s lips curved into a scoff.
“How could I possibly compare the embrace of a woman to a duel with a rival whose blood boils with equal fervor?”
From his answer, it was evident that Seok Woo Haeng had unhesitatingly abandoned his masculinity to master the Heavenly Fiend Demon Art—all for a single confrontation with Bu Eunseol.
“Where did you obtain Saixiang’s secret technique?”
Bu Eunseol’s voice carried the weight of frustration, as though her throat were constricted by an unyielding knot.
“How did you know I was pursuing Saixiang?”
“Hehehehe.”
Shaking his head, Seok Woo Haeng smiled faintly and replied in a low voice.
“Defeat me, and I’ll tell you.”
“Was all of this truly necessary?”
Bu Eunseol’s voice carried a complexity of emotions.
With Seok Woo Haeng’s abilities and talent, there was no need to make an enemy of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
He could have quietly abandoned the Murim, or established a small assassin sect to become a regional lord in some distant province.
But he had chosen otherwise.
He had infiltrated the Twelve Earthly Branches, mastered the most vicious demonic art, and killed Yong Jeok Bi—becoming a fugitive with no place in the Murim.
All for the sake of facing Bu Eunseol.
To confront a rival who grew stronger with each passing day, he had made this choice.
“Bu Eunseol.”
As if piercing through her innermost thoughts, Seok Woo Haeng spoke in a hushed voice.
“Until now, I prided myself on lacking nothing compared to anyone—neither in martial prowess nor in talent.”
“….”
“But after meeting you, all that pride shattered.”
Seok Woo Haeng bit his lip and shook his head.
“Even on Hell Island, there was a glimmer of hope. But when I saw you at Jang Geom Mountain Manor, you had become an entirely different person.”
His eyes burned with increasing intensity, and his voice grew fervent with emotion.
“From that day forward, my life’s purpose changed. To crush you, and only you.”
It was a desperate hunger for victory, a relentless pride.
Yet Bu Eunseol’s gaze remained cold and distant.
As if she were listening to a story that had nothing whatsoever to do with her.
“Is that not the very nature of a martial artist’s life?”
After a long silence, I finally spoke.
“Once you have a goal, you run toward it with singular purpose.”
In truth, I had lived much the same way as Seok Woo Haeng.
Ever since I resolved to find and kill the Calamitous Beast, I had existed solely for that purpose.
Nothing else captured my attention, and nothing else concerned me.
Much like Seok Woo Haeng does now.
“Yong Jeok Bi. To have defeated him—your martial prowess has grown considerably.”
Under normal circumstances, I would have ended the conversation there.
But I spoke once more.
“Yong Jeok Bi lost because he knew me far too well.”
Seok Woo Haeng smiled.
“The me of the past, that is.”
Yong Jeok Bi is the legitimate successor of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
He would have investigated everything about Seok Woo Haeng—not merely his martial prowess level, but his temperament, his resourcefulness, all of it—with meticulous precision.
“He even knew I had obtained the martial arts of the Heavenly Evil Sect, yet he was confident in his victory.”
Seok Woo Haeng spoke matter-of-factly.
“And because of that, my name was inscribed in the registry.”
But there was one truth Yong Jeok Bi could never have foreseen, even in his dreams.
That I had transformed completely since meeting Bu Eunseol.
That I had sacrificed everything I possessed, solely to become stronger.
“Why do the members of the Twelve Earthly Branches not appear?”
“Even if I gathered them, how could they stand against Geuk Sal Mil Gak? The moment I killed Yong Jeok Bi, I disbanded them immediately.”
Seok Woo Haeng shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Though no matter where they hide, I will find them without fail.”
As I nodded, Seok Woo Haeng’s smile deepened.
“I have spoken at length.”
And he gazed down at his own hands.
Upon them seemed etched the days of old, when he had cultivated his martial arts with his life hanging in the balance.
“Soon, the great armies of Geuk Sal Mil Gak will descend upon this place.”
And he looked directly at me as he spoke.
“Shall we begin?”
A deep rumble echoed.
As the sound reverberated, the luminous pearl that had illuminated the waterway vanished.
As darkness consumed all around us once more, I gripped the hilt of my silent blade.
Then Seok Woo Haeng drew a short assassin’s sword from behind his back.
A low, resonant ring.
As the blade’s cry echoed through the underground waterway, two martial geniuses moved as one.
A flash of emerald light burst forth, and I felt a chill run down the nape of my neck.
As the green light flashed, Bu Eunseol felt a chill run down the back of her neck.
It was an attack that left no trace, no hint of its execution.
Why do assassins call their killing techniques “Secret Arts”?
Because most of those techniques are so concealed that one cannot even discern how they unfold.
From that perspective, Seok Woo Haeng’s assassin’s secret arts had reached the pinnacle.
So secretive and swift that even I could not sense them.
Slash!
Green light flashed again, and the fabric on both my shoulders tore.
Whoosh!
In that instant, my form blurred.
Using the darkness-stained waterway as cover, I moved swiftly to pursue Seok Woo Haeng.
Flash!
Finally detecting his traces, I unfolded my sword technique.
Though the move lacked subtlety, it was executed with such speed that no thought could intervene.
Clash!
Seok Woo Haeng, evading my swift blade with full force, unleashed three consecutive strikes.
Tap, tap, tap!
The sword techniques he poured forth were silent and seamless, with no openings.
Rumble!
Just as blade met blade, thunder and lightning seemed to strike simultaneously, and my sword form shifted.
At the same moment, violet radiance pierced toward Seok Woo Haeng’s neck.
The ultimate killing sword, Thunderless Unparalleled, had been unleashed.
Whoosh.
But with a deflating sound, Seok Woo Haeng had already escaped the sword momentum of Thunderless Unparalleled.
Simultaneously, eight sword energies poured down upon my head.
Some sword forms were heavy, others swift and fierce.
‘He has improved tremendously.’
I could not help but marvel.
All the formidable opponents I had faced thus far relied on superiority in martial technique and experience to contend with me.
But this assassin, Seok Woo Haeng, was instead overwhelming me with refined and exquisite sword techniques.
All while deliberately abandoning his own advantages.
―Even among the Ten Demon Immortals, you have worthy rivals.
This is what Seok Woo Haeng wished to convey.
Though his talent had blossomed later than mine, he too was an unparalleled prodigy of martial arts.
After witnessing my extraordinary martial prowess at Jang Geom Mountain Manor, he had developed his martial skills with terrifying speed.
So much so that he could now fight me as an equal through true martial skill, not merely assassin’s secret arts.
Clang!
As my silent blade met his assassin’s sword, sparks flew in the darkness.
Hiss.
But lacking superiority in inner force, Seok Woo Haeng was instantly pushed back.
“Ptui.”
He spat blood from his mouth.
It was merely a single collision, yet the formidable counter-extreme true qi had burrowed deep into his meridians.
“Excellent.”
A faint green luminescence flowed from Seok Woo Haeng’s body as he crouched low.
Simultaneously, an ominous aura emanating from his form seemed to saturate the entire interior of the waterway.
“…!”
Sensing something amiss, Bu Eunseol instantly launched herself into the air and twisted her body away.
Crack!
Then, accompanied by the belated sound of air tearing apart, the ground where Bu Eunseol had been standing was gouged sharply.
It was as though another Seok Woo Haeng had materialized and attacked from behind.
‘Heavenly Evil Demon Art….’
Bu Eunseol narrowed her eyes, suppressing her astonishment.
‘He’s merged that technique with Geuk Sal Mil Gak’s killing art.’

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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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