The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 256

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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 256.
The Heavenly Fiend Demon Art not only allowed one to weaponize the body through the Boatman’s technique, but also included methods to bewitch the spirit and dull the senses.
Seok Woo Haeng had grafted the Assassin’s Wordless Art onto the Heavenly Fiend Demon Art, thereby creating what could only be described as the perfect assassination technique.
Flash!
Once again, a sharp blade aura shot forth from Bu Eunseol’s blind spot.
Splurt!
I hastily deployed my movement technique to evade, but blood sprayed from my shoulder.
I could not precisely detect Seok Woo Haeng’s attacks.
‘He’s using the Heavenly Fiend Demon Art to suppress the Demonic Path, then layering multiple techniques on top of it.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed as she twisted her dark sword in her grip.
Crash!
In that instant, Seok Woo Haeng’s assault came pouring down again.
Sword strikes erupted from the ground, while hidden projectiles shot through the air toward Bu Eunseol’s head.
Just as she deployed her sword technique to pierce vital points, a sharp blade suddenly protruded from her back.
‘It’s as if there are two Seok Woo Haengs fighting me.’
Bu Eunseol finally understood why Seok Woo Haeng had sought out and mastered the Heavenly Fiend Demon Art.
Only through such methods could one bridge the vast chasm of power that separated them in a single stroke.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Then, accompanied by a resonant vibration, the Underground Waterway began to tremble,
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
And with the sound of the earth shaking, an enormous contingent of assassins began to encircle Bu Eunseol and Seok Woo Haeng with iron discipline.
They were the assassins of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
Swish.
The sea of masked assassins parted, and a middle-aged man without a mask slowly walked forward.
It was Gwak Sung, the Martial Blood Lord who commanded the highest echelon of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
“Seok Woo Haeng!”
His shout was sharp, his eyes twisted with fury.
He had brought every elite assassin of Geuk Sal Mil Gak to annihilate the Twelve Earthly Branches entirely.
But the Twelve Earthly Branches had already scattered and disbanded.
Moreover, he had obtained shocking intelligence on his way here.
It was that the supreme leader of the Twelve Earthly Branches who had killed Yong Jeok Bi was none other than Seok Woo Haeng, one of the Ten Demon Experts of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
Enraged, he had immediately stormed the Underground Waterway where Seok Woo Haeng was said to be hiding.
“How dare you….”
Gwak Sung, seething with rage, only then noticed Bu Eunseol and blinked.
“Who is this?”
Seeing Bu Eunseol locked in combat with Seok Woo Haeng, he furrowed his brow.
Though they had clashed only three or four times, intense currents of true energy radiated from both their bodies.
Without needing to ask, it was abundantly clear that the two were engaged in a blood battle.
“Martial Blood Lord. You arrived faster than I expected.”
Upon seeing Gwak Sung, Seok Woo Haeng smiled faintly and shook his head.
“I thought it would take at least another day.”
Then Gwak Sung cried out in fury.
“Seok Woo Haeng! Did you truly kill the Blood Master of the Pavilion?”
The Blood Master of the Pavilion was the leader who commanded the Killing Sect instructors who trained the assassins of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
And that position was now held by his successor, Yong Jeok Bi.
“I did.”
“Why on earth did you kill him?”
“I couldn’t simply let myself be killed.”
“What?”
Seok Woo Haeng spoke matter-of-factly.
“If he sought to kill me, was I supposed to passively offer my neck?”
“Seok Woo Haeng!”
Gwak Sung bellowed, his voice trembling with rage.
“You defied the recall order from Bon Gak and hid yourself among the Twelve Earthly Branches! That alone is a grave crime, and yet you dared to kill the Blood Master of the Pavilion, the successor of Bon Gak?”
“Blood Master Gwak.”
Seok Woo Haeng spoke in an icy tone.
“Geuk Sal Mil Gak deliberately leaked information twice to make the Great Righteous Master and me destroy each other.”
His voice grew sharp, trembling with barely contained fury.
“When was I ever a disciple of Geuk Sal Mil Gak?”
In that moment, Gwak Sung fell silent.
He and the other leaders of Geuk Sal Mil Gak knew the truth.
Seok Woo Haeng possessed not only exceptional talent but also the qualities of a successor that surpassed Yong Jeok Bi.
Yet they could not acknowledge Seok Woo Haeng as successor, for it would have fractured the internal factions of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.
When the order came to face the Great Righteous Master, the leaders deliberately leaked Seok Woo Haeng’s whereabouts to have him killed.
“But now, do not treat me as though I were a disciple of Geuk Sal Mil Gak.”
“Blood Master, is there truly a need to waste words on this wretch?”
At that moment, Ha Hu Gang, Gwak Sung’s trusted aide and Vice Blood Master, stepped forward.
“There is no need for lengthy discourse. It would be best to quickly sever his head and present it to Gak Ju.”
Gwak Sung nodded, his eyes blazing with murderous intent as he glared at Seok Woo Haeng.
“Are you prepared to offer your neck?”
“I will not die by your hands.”
“What did you say?”
“Simply observe from there.”
Seok Woo Haeng spoke with absolute confidence.
“I will face him in combat.”
Seok Woo Haeng had already resigned himself to death. No threat could move him.
“You….”
Before Gwak Sung could speak, Seok Woo Haeng turned his head and gazed at Bu Eunseol, crying out.
“Bu Eunseol. I have sacrificed everything to surpass you.”
He gripped his assassin’s blade in reverse and drew upon his inner power.
“Come at me!”
Had Seok Woo Haeng been concerned with mere survival, he would have dissolved the Twelve Earthly Branches and vanished without a trace.
With the refined essence of Geuk Sal Mil Gak flowing through him, he could have disappeared where no one could find him.
But he did not flee.
Only to challenge Bu Eunseol.
As time passed, the gap between us would only widen. This moment alone was my last opportunity to stand against her as an equal.
Clang.
Bu Eunseol straightened her silent sword to vertical and drew upon her inner force.
For one who stakes his life on a single confrontation, this was all I could offer.
Flash!
Seok Woo Haeng struck first.
Before the assassins of Geuk Sal Mil Gak, he unleashed a torrent of varied assassination techniques layered upon the Celestial Demon Art.
Exquisite swordplay and blade techniques, poison and ingenious hidden mechanisms alike.
He poured forth the countless methods he had mastered, pressing Bu Eunseol relentlessly.
―Ahhh.
After some forty seconds, the elite assassins of Geuk Sal Mil Gak gasped involuntarily.
The techniques Seok Woo Haeng unleashed were the very essence of Geuk Sal Mil Gak’s assassination arts.
Assassination techniques are the culmination of methods to slay enemies.
Seok Woo Haeng was not bound by form or technique, freely pouring forth and flowing his attacks.
The Suspended River Mastery.
It was a realm where assassination techniques flowed freely like a river, unbound by convention.
The very state the masters of Geuk Sal Mil Gak had so desperately sought….
Whoooosh!
As Bu Eunseol parried the endless barrage, her gaze transformed.
Seok Woo Haeng was unleashing tremendous power with minimal inner force.
A river, no matter how much you cut it, never breaks.
His attacks, like flowing water, could not be halted by any means.
Whirrr.
A gust of wind began to swirl around Bu Eunseol’s body.
Simultaneously, a streak of azure light traced across her form,
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol’s entire body became a single gust of wind, devouring Seok Woo Haeng’s assault.
She had once again unleashed the Thirteen Night Techniques, the secret art of Mu Hwang that divides the body into multiple sections to execute martial arts simultaneously.
‘I….’
Watching Bu Eunseol annihilate his full-powered technique, despair flickered in Seok Woo Haeng’s eyes.
‘Even in death….’
As despair engulfed him, time seemed to freeze, and ten thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
‘I cannot surpass you….’
He was undoubtedly a genius of martial arts.
Yet the Bu Eunseol he had witnessed at Jang Geom Mountain Lodge was an insurmountable wall.
Overwhelming inner strength, brilliant intellect, keen insight, exceptional improvisation—and not a shred of fear or hesitation.
She mastered any martial art with frightening speed, wielding power far greater than its original design. There was no defeating Bu Eunseol.
―If martial prowess falls short, why not simply double it?
Seok Woo Haeng had finally found his method.
By combining the Heavenly Demon Sorcery with the Killing Density Technique of Geuk Sal Mil Gak, his power would double—no, more than double—in a short span.
Yet the moment he clashed with Bu Eunseol, he sensed the truth.
Even doubling his martial power or more, victory remained impossible.
Even amid a life-or-death struggle, Bu Eunseol gained enlightenment and advanced her techniques.
In other words, unless one surpassed that terrifying rate of growth, victory against her was forever beyond reach.
‘I’ve made the same mistake as Yong Jeok Bi.’
Seok Woo Haeng’s lips curved into a bitter smile.
‘I only considered the strength I’d assessed before.’
Crack!
The slowed time snapped back to normal, and Bu Eunseol’s attack became visible.
‘But you cannot defeat me either.’
Seok Woo Haeng’s smile turned resolute.
In this battle, Bu Eunseol could never claim victory.
Because from the start, he had abandoned all thought of survival.
Whoooosh!
As he drew forth his power, hundreds of razor-sharp energy threads erupted from Seok Woo Haeng’s entire body.
It was the Heavenly Demon Extreme Flame Killing Force—one of the ultimate secrets of the Heavenly Demon Sorcery.
“Bu Eunseol—!”
Seok Woo Haeng threw all his might forward, hurtling toward her.
Around him, the Heavenly Demon Extreme Flame Killing Force blazed with such ferocity it could melt steel itself.
Seok Woo Haeng’s smile was one of grim certainty.
He was attempting a mutual destruction, his martial art burning with flesh-melting power.
None could stand before such a technique.
‘Retreat, and death follows.’
Yet all of this was merely a feint.
The true killing blow was the Heavenly Demon Blood Flow Secret he had woven behind Bu Eunseol.
‘You’ll have no choice but to retreat, Bu Eunseol!’
Seok Woo Haeng had conducted countless assassinations over the years.
And through killing many masters, he had grasped a truth as absolute as law itself.
―Those who possess much never take risks.
To hold much in one’s hands means there is much to protect.
Bu Eunseol was the legitimate heir of Nangya Sect and a prime candidate to lead Demon Hall.
Beyond that, as the Great Master of Demon Hall, she commanded direct subordinates and held the backing of Jeol Cheon Myul Ji and Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong.
Few in the Murim possessed so much.
‘The wise never gamble with their lives at the crossroads of death!’
The Bu Eunseol he had observed on Hell Island was no different—she calculated carefully and prepared her defenses in advance.
Moreover, he displayed an unwavering determination to survive.
‘Those who cling to life can never escape this technique!’
Finally reaching her, he unleashed the Heavenly Extreme Flame Violent Killing Force into her escape route.
‘What?’
Seok Woo Haeng’s eyes widened in shock.
He had been certain that Bu Eunseol would not take the risk and would definitely retreat, regrouping her forces.
Yet Bu Eunseol charged forward without hesitation, directly confronting the current of the Heavenly Extreme Flame Violent Killing Force.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
With each touch of the Heavenly Extreme Flame Violent Killing Force, her garments melted and her skin charred as if burned by fire.
But she pierced through that current without hesitation, extending her blade.
Flash!
A cold radiance exploded from the Silent Sword.
It pierced through the wall of Extreme Flame Violent Killing Force that Seok Woo Haeng had created and drove straight toward his throat in one breath.
Crack!
Yet the Silent Sword did not pierce his throat, instead producing a dull sound.
At that critical moment, Seok Woo Haeng had unleashed the Heavenly Demonic Shadowy Qi, protecting his entire body with solid defense.
Thud, thud.
As Seok Woo Haeng landed on the ground, his face cracked, and the dead skin covering it began to crumble away.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Though he escaped having his throat cut, he could not withstand the inner force contained within the Silent Sword, and the Heavenly Demonic Shadowy Qi shattered.
Splash.
As the sharp counter-extreme true qi burrowed through his meridians like melting them, blood trickled from the corner of Seok Woo Haeng’s mouth.
“I wished only once to defeat you.”
He gazed at the void with a regretful expression.
“Heaven did not choose me.”
Until now, everything he had risked his life to master the Heavenly Demonic Art was solely to achieve victory over Bu Eunseol.
―To defeat her, even just once!
It was not jealousy or inferiority.
A prodigy of supreme martial arts with a burning warrior’s spirit.
The burning desire to overcome an opponent who seemed utterly beyond reach—even just once.
Yet even the method he had wagered his life upon resulted in complete defeat.
Moreover, it was not merely a gap in martial prowess.
Bu Eunseol feared not death. She harbored no desire to protect what she possessed.
She was one who only shattered the cascading trials and advanced forward.
In the end, Seok Woo Haeng could not overcome the wall that was Bu Eunseol—neither through martial arts nor through spirit.
“It is finished now.”
As the victor was decided between the two, the Martial Blood Lord Gwak Sung approached with a smile.
“Indeed, as the successor of the Demon Palace, your martial arts lack nothing. Thanks to you, I have gained enlightenment.”
With that, he did not stop walking and approached Seok Woo Haeng.
Bu Eunseol frowned and stepped forward to block his path.
“What are you doing?”
“Seok Woo Haeng is a traitor who killed Bon Gak’s successor. Hand him over.”
Gwak Sung smiled faintly.
“Why needlessly make an enemy of Bon Gak? You will become the successor of Demon Hall in the future.”
His smile brimmed with confidence.
To become the successor of Demon Hall, one needed the support of over half the Ten Demonic Gates.
However, the Saryeong School, Geuk Sal Mil Gak, and Hell Blood Sect were in opposition to me, and I had poor relations with the remaining sects as well.
Considering that point, he was certain that Bu Eunseol could never refuse his proposal.
“If you hand him over, Bon Gak will never forget this matter.”
Gwak Sung’s smile deepened.
But an entirely unexpected answer came back.
“I refuse.”

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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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