The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 293

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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 293.
The Cheon Woo Sang Triplets shared not merely sensation, but emotion, desire—in truth, everything as if inhabiting a single body.
Which meant that by dividing one’s perspective, the impact upon flesh and spirit could be dispersed among three, could it not?
“Since everything splits into three, they retained their clarity of mind even after consuming that bizarre drug.”
“Hehehehe. Quite the sharp mind you possess.”
The Cheon Woo Sang Triplets nodded in unison, a faint smile playing at their lips.
“Indeed. We brothers divided even the drug’s side effects among ourselves.”
With three people sharing the drug’s adverse effects, they could maintain perfect mental clarity and composure.
In other words, the rumor that the Cheon Woo Sang Triplets’ spirit and flesh were bound as one was truth itself.
“So you’re the one called the Mad Sword in Murim?”
The Cheon Woo Sang Triplets advanced swiftly and drew their blades simultaneously.
Their swords were far narrower than ordinary longswords, yet extended roughly six inches longer.
Moreover, the blade tip split into three strands, resembling torn paper.
“Since we’re called the Mad Triplets, shall we see who’s truly the madder?”
Whoosh!
What they unleashed was an exceedingly ordinary Eight Directions Wind and Rain technique.
Yet something extraordinary occurred.
Slice.
Though I had perfectly evaded the sword technique, the blade still grazed my shoulder.
‘They divided a single technique among three people.’
The Cheon Woo Sang Triplets had not executed the same technique simultaneously.
They had divided one technique among three people to execute it.
Simply put, what I evaded was the Eight Directions Wind and Rain technique the first brother initiated.
But midway through, the second brother’s Eight Directions Wind and Rain technique detected my evasive movement, and
finally the third brother’s technique allowed the blade to find my flesh.
Though simple in explanation, the ability to divide a single technique into three separate executions
meant they could vary that same technique three times over, effectively experiencing time three times slower than ordinary martial artists.
Slice, slice!
With piercing wind-splitting sounds, three strands of sword light bored toward my vital points.
Again, it was an ordinary Immortal Points technique.
Flash!
Yet the three-stranded Immortal Points technique was no longer ordinary swordplay.
What should have extended straight instead poured forth from different angles at different speeds.
Whoosh!
I immediately deployed the Formless Heavenly Stream to neutralize the technique’s variations mid-execution.
But the Cheon Woo Sang Triplets’ response was faster.
The moment I unfolded my technique, they altered their own, interrupting my Formless Heavenly Stream.
It was like a master painter reaching for a brush only to have his grandson rush over and shake the brush stand.
‘Even defensive movements can be divided into three.’
Every technique fractured into three movements, pouring forth from three directions at three different speeds.
It was as if they had unfolded an entirely new martial technique rather than a mere combination attack.
‘Quite skillful.’
They divided not only their attacks but even their defensive sword forms into three variations, protecting their bodies with flawless precision.
Moreover, whether due to the drug’s influence or not, both their inner energy and the power of their sword techniques surged like angry waves.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two streaks of sword energy grazed past Bu Eunseol’s shoulders.
Before long, they had pierced through her meticulous defense and were scattering sharp sword strikes in all directions.
Ting! Ting!
In the end, the three strands of sword energy they unleashed carved thin lines of blood across Bu Eunseol’s shoulders and back.
As the sword technique of Gwang Cheon Sam Gwi grazed her body, a smile instead bloomed at the corners of her mouth.
‘But is that truly all?’
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, a sharp gleam flickered repeatedly as she identified the flaw in an instant.
‘Individuals with distinct personalities cannot be perfectly unified into one.’
Having gained this insight, Bu Eunseol immediately altered her sword technique.
The trembling blade tip suddenly erupted with brilliant light, generating dozens of sword energy strands.
“Hah!”
As Gwang Cheon Sam Gwi retreated in surprise, those sword energies transformed into two powerful streams of qi, hurling Cheon Woo Gang and Cheon Woo Sang more than ten paces backward.
Crash!
Now Bu Eunseol’s remaining opponent stood before her—
Cheon Woo Ryang, the youngest of the three brothers and the weakest in martial prowess, became the target of her relentless sword strikes.
Sword energy that seemed to stretch forth limply like jellyfish suddenly transformed into a dense, net-like barrage.
Clang! Crash! Crash!
As weapons collided repeatedly at close range, metallic resonance filled the air and sparks flew.
Bu Eunseol poured every lethal strike upon the youngest, Cheon Woo Ryang, as if he were a mortal enemy.
“Hold on just a moment longer!”
The two older brothers, Cheon Woo Gang and Cheon Woo Sang, rushed back to the front lines to block Bu Eunseol’s assault, but—
Whoosh!
The cold points of light Bu Eunseol had been unleashing transformed once more into powerful streams of qi, driving the two brothers back.
Then her dark blade traced a peculiar trajectory, slashing at Cheon Woo Ryang in rapid succession.
“Ugh!”
As Bu Eunseol deliberately concentrated her assault solely upon him, Cheon Woo Ryang panicked.
Her sword strikes pierced forward like sharp awls bursting forth, then suddenly spread wide like a net.
As an endless barrage of sword energy that he alone could not defend against poured down, the rhythm and measure of his sword technique crumbled.
‘If the spirits of all three had truly become perfectly one, the distribution of power within their blades should have been identical as well.’
Bu Eunseol could sense this as their sword energy grazed her skin.
Though Gwang Cheon Sam Gwi might share sensations among themselves,
contrary to what was known, their bodies and spirits had not achieved complete unity.
If they had, even the depth of the wounds that grazed her shoulders and back would have been uniform.
Screech!
In that moment, Bu Eunseol unleashed three consecutive sword strikes.
No matter how they counterattacked or what offensives they unleashed, I relentlessly targeted only the youngest, Cheon Woo Ryang.
“Ugh…”
A groan finally escaped Cheon Woo Ryang’s lips.
For the first time, it was not the three brothers speaking in unison, but a single voice breaking through.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The moment their perfect harmony shattered, their swordplay began to crumble.
The exquisite and wondrous technique degraded into something crude and commonplace.
“Woo Ryang, snap out of it and properly defend against his attacks!”
Because Cheon Woo Ryang kept disrupting the rhythm of their swordplay, their formation was collapsing.
Unable to bear it any longer, the eldest, Cheon Woo Gang, cried out, and the second brother, Cheon Woo Sang, echoed his agreement.
“Because you’re not doing your part, I’m sustaining injuries too!”
Their spirits were not unified, yet their physical sensations were shared.
With one person’s mistake causing pain to ripple through two bodies, their fury burned all the hotter.
“Deploy the Leaf-Blowing Eight-Fold technique differently, each of you!”
As if struck by inspiration, Cheon Woo Gang’s eyes blazed as he shouted.
“If he targets only Woo Ryang, we can simultaneously unleash different sword forms!”
At the eldest’s cry, the second brother, Cheon Woo Sang, called out.
“There are still more members of Shil Hon In—I shall summon them!”
He drew a thin flute from his robes and played it.
Immediately, some twenty members of Shil Hon In emerged from behind and rushed at Bu Eunseol once more.
But it was a grave mistake on their part.
Now, instead of dividing the same sword form into three, they unleashed different techniques in a common assault.
The mystique of their swordplay vanished in an instant.
―Whoooosh!
As the Shil Hon In members surged forward like a tidal wave, their rigid defensive formation crumbled to pieces.
‘Now!’
After cutting down the rushing Shil Hon In members, I swiftly deployed my movement technique and closed in on the Three Brothers.
“Impossible!”
Realizing immediately that their response had been flawed, the Three Brothers
divided their sword forms into three once more, creating an impenetrable sword barrier.
But my sword form was faster still.
Flash!
As violet lightning crackled, a razor-sharp sword qi traced a zigzag pattern, enveloping Cheon Woo Ryang.
The peerless killing blade, the Thousand Thunder Unparalleled, had been unleashed.
Zing!
Remarkably, the Thousand Thunder Unparalleled missed for the first time.
Knowing full well that I had been relentlessly targeting Cheon Woo Ryang, the two elder brothers had woven a meticulous defensive sword formation around him.
But it was all part of my trap.
From the beginning, what I unleashed toward Cheon Woo Ryang was merely a feint.
Until now, I had persistently targeted Cheon Woo Ryang.
Therefore, the two brothers naturally anticipated that the Thousand Technique Swordless Style would unfold against Cheon Woo Ryang.
The Killing Sword is the ultimate technique of assassination.
It is meaningless unless one perfectly captures the moment to sever the enemy’s life.
Flash!
Not a feint, but the true Thousand Technique Swordless Style unfolded.
It was the necks of the two twins, their vulnerabilities laid bare.
Splash!
As blood erupted from the necks of Cheon Woo Gang and Cheon Woo Sang, the eyes of the remaining Cheon Woo Ryang grew hollow and vacant.
Did he feel the pain of having his neck severed as well?
Or was he experiencing a sense of liberation as the shared sensations of mind and body with his brothers were severed?
He stood motionless, like a statue of stone.
‘His mind has been destroyed.’
He had shared the sensation of death that befell his two brothers.
Therefore, Cheon Woo Ryang’s mind had already experienced the agony of death.
Yet his body remained intact and alive—he would spend the rest of his life haunted by the pain of death he felt today.
Patter, patter.
The spurting blood began to fall like rain once more.
Bu Eunseol cut down all the members of Shil Hon In, save for Cheon Woo Ryang, who stood motionless with unfocused eyes.
“Uuugh….”
Trembling at the sight, Cheon Woo Ryang
“Aaaaah!”
charged at Bu Eunseol with his sword drawn.
Cheon Woo Ryang, who had shared his life with his brothers all along.
But now that his brothers had vanished, even the courage to continue living had disappeared.
Bu Eunseol unfolded her swordplay.
Swift and painless, she severed Cheon Woo Ryang’s neck.
Thud.
His head fell to the ground.
Bu Eunseol walked slowly toward the building at the center of Hyeol Sa Gok without looking back.
Creak.
As she opened the door, a dark corridor leading underground came into view.
There was no need to use the Hollow Heart Technique.
She could sense instinctively that Seo Jin Ha was imprisoned here.
Walking through the seemingly endless corridor, a vast Stone Chamber soon revealed itself.
Oil lamps burned in several places along the walls, yet the Stone Chamber was absurdly spacious.
Because of this, dark shadows stretched out near the lamps.
Bu Eunseol discovered a door on the opposite side of the Stone Chamber.
It was a massive iron door, standing six feet tall and over thirty feet wide.
At a glance, it was clearly constructed to confine people within.
Seo Jin Ha must surely be imprisoned behind that door.
Bu Eunseol moved forward, but—
“….”
Four shadowy figures suddenly materialized around the Stone Chamber, standing tall and imposing.
All wore masks, each carried a different form of sword, and their stances and inner energy varied dramatically from one to the next.
Yet judging by the aura flowing from their bodies, they were undoubtedly swordsmen of considerable renown throughout Murim.
“Quite an impressive presence.”
One of the four Masked Assassins observing Bu Eunseol’s stance stepped forward and spoke.
“We call ourselves the Four Sword Masters.”
“The Four Sword Masters?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes opened slightly.
She had never heard of anyone in Murim bearing such a title, and yet the eyes of these masked figures gleamed with an identical brilliance.
There was no trace of any drug in them, and the energy flowing from their bodies was utterly righteous and pure.
These were not cruel demons or villains—they were likely renowned heroes of the Orthodox Sects from years past.
“Do you all share the same name, then? The Four Sword Masters?”
“We abandoned the names we once carried as individuals.”
The Masked Assassin meeting her gaze spoke matter-of-factly.
“I am merely the First Sword Master.”
They had all discarded their former identities, calling themselves only the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Sword Masters.
“We all earned our names through swordsmanship, and we shared a common desire—to create the perfect sword technique.”
The First Sword Master began to elaborate without being asked.
“But we came to understand that even with a lifetime of effort, our abilities alone could never achieve such perfection.”
“….”
“Yet what if, when I unfold my technique, a superior swordsman corrects my flaws? And then another swordsman corrects those flaws once more?”
It was absurd, certainly, but brilliantly conceived.
Four geniuses of the blade, each compensating for the flaws revealed in the others’ techniques in succession…
Would that not result in a technique utterly without flaw?
“We named this the Thousand Technique Swordless Style, and we have sacrificed everything to perfect it. Even our very lives.”
This was why they had become the Four Sword Masters.
And now Bu Eunseol understood why the First Sword Master had spoken so freely.
They had devoted their entire lives to the Way of the Sword, and they desired that their adversary—Bu Eunseol—would acknowledge and understand this.
“Stand aside.”
The Bu Eunseol of old would have cut them down without hesitation and passed through.
But I could sense it.
Beyond that iron gate, formidable killers coiled and waited in ambush.
If that were the case, I must avoid unnecessary battles and conserve my strength.
I had to save Seo Jin Ha at all costs.
“That is not possible.”
The First Sword Master spoke in a low voice tinged with regret, as if possessed of some lingering conscience.
“This too is a promise we made.”
“A promise with whom?”
“I cannot reveal that either. However….”
He pointed toward the iron gate behind him in a low voice.
“We merely prevent you from entering that place. If you turn back now, I swear we will not harm you.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol felt something amiss.
If all the Shil Hon In members, the Three Nobles of Gwang Heaven, and the Four Sword Masters before her eyes
had been sent at her simultaneously along with those inside the iron gate, she could never have broken through so easily.
Moreover, each enemy that appeared in sequence possessed increasingly formidable power.
‘They were not trying to kill me.’
Bu Eunseol finally understood.
This trap was a testing ground to precisely gauge her martial prowess, and…
a device designed to shatter her spirit by using Seo Jin Ha.
No matter how powerful a faction might be, if they directly killed the heir to the Demon Hall with their own hands,
they would inevitably leave traces that could be discovered.
‘It was meant to break my spirit.’
The method to shatter a person’s spirit is simpler than one might think.
At the very moment when one finally reaches their goal after enduring suffering and trials, one simply destroys that hope before their eyes.
Just as Bu Eunseol now stood before the iron gate blocked by the Four Sword Masters.
They had sent her a severed ear of Seo Jin Ha along with a simple threatening message.
By doing so, they ensured she would never abandon the desperate hope that Seo Jin Ha still lived.
“So you will not turn back.”
Il Geom Ja, whose eyes had been fixed upon Bu Eunseol’s frozen gaze like ice, drew his sword.
“Then show me. Your true strength.”
Bu Eunseol answered no further and immediately unleashed the Meteor Pursuit technique.
This sword style, combining swift and heavy strikes, was a sword technique possessing both extraordinary speed and devastating power.
Ching!
Il Geom Ja swiftly extended his blade in response.
In an instant, he suppressed the speed of the Meteor Pursuit.
Simultaneously, Yi Geom Ja, standing beside him, deployed his sword technique to completely block the heavy strike force contained within the Meteor Pursuit.
“Impressive indeed.”
Il Geom Ja nodded in genuine admiration.
“To force Yi Geom Ja to appear with merely a single-second sword technique.”
Though he offered sincere praise, Bu Eunseol felt her pride slightly wounded.
To think that merely two combined forces could contain the Meteor Pursuit.
“Then block this as well.”
Drawing upon her inner strength, Bu Eunseol deployed the Formless Heavenly Stream consecutively.
Rather than a single technique, she unleashed three variations simultaneously, and the sword technique became a colossal tempest that crashed down upon Il Geom Ja and Yi Geom Ja.
Slash! Slash!
Il Geom Ja and Yi Geom Ja stood side by side, continuously swinging their blades, yet they could not withstand its power and subtlety.
Clang!
Then, with a clear resonant ring, Sam Geom Ja stepped forward.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
As I unleashed my sword energy in a sweeping arc to counter their combined assault, I perfectly parried every blade strike they sent cascading down.
Zing!
I pressed my offense without pause, attempting to shatter their coordinated formation with successive strikes.
Yet when Il Geom Ja compensated for Yi Geom Ja’s swordplay, and Yi Geom Ja covered for Sam Geom Ja’s, I found their defense impenetrable.
Each of these individuals was a renowned master swordsman who had made their name throughout the Gangho.
But as they calmly reinforced one another’s techniques, they didn’t merely hold their ground against my Thousand Technique Swordless Style—they overwhelmed it and launched counterattacks?
The maximum number of overlapping layers I could stack with my Thousand Technique Swordless Style was three. Yet they were effortlessly blocking even that.
As sharp blade strikes grazed my skin, blood sprayed from multiple points across my body.
At close quarters, their relentless sword techniques repeatedly disrupted my form, exploiting every opening they found.
Thud, thud, thud.
Before long, blood flowing from my wounds was pooling on the ground beneath me.
Yet with eyes that showed not the slightest wavering, I continued my swordplay and fought them in fierce combat.
“To think you would force even Sam Geom Ja to appear. Impressive indeed.”
Il Geom Ja, still executing his swordplay, wore a genuinely admiring expression.
“But once Sa Geom Ja joins in, it will be over.”
He parried my sword energy with unhurried ease, his face tinged with regret.
In all my years, I had never encountered a prodigy as young as Bu Eunseol with such extraordinary swordcraft.
Yet to kill her with a single stroke felt somehow wasteful.
“But there is no helping it.”
They had already sworn to kill Bu Eunseol.
―Kill one person for us. Whenever we desire it.
That was the sole condition demanded by the forces that had supported them in every way for over a decade while they created the Thousand Technique Swordless Style.
“Now then, shall we bring this to its conclusion?”
Screech!
At last, Sa Geom Ja drew his blade.
Since Sam Geom Ja alone maintained parity with Bu Eunseol’s strength, if Sa Geom Ja joined as well, only defeat remained.
“This is the end!”
With those words, Sa Geom Ja’s sword drove straight toward my throat.

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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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