The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 311
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 311.
Yeop Hyo Cheon grasped Cheon Geom’s true intentions and smiled calmly.
‘He’s worried I might accept a peace accord.’
I could see right through his mind.
My coming here wasn’t about peace—it was to provoke Bu Eunseol.
“Unfortunately, this sect leader is not one of the Ten Demon Immortals.”
“….”
“I think it would be better if the parties involved decided such matters themselves.”
Yeop Hyo Cheon rose from his seat and extended his hand as he spoke.
“You must know that the leader of the Ten Demon Immortals is the successor to this sect. Go and meet the Muhonjung Lord.”
“Very well.”
“Then have him brought here.”
“There’s no need for that. I’ll go to Jamma Pavilion myself.”
Yeop Hyo Cheon stared at his smiling face, then nodded.
“So be it.”
* * *
The Guest Hall within Jamma Pavilion.
Two steaming teacups sat upon the table.
Bu Eunseol and Cheon Geom faced each other across it.
Five figures radiating murderous intent surrounded the Guest Hall—Myo Cheon Woo, Yu Woon Ryong, and Wi Cheon Gyeong, Won Se Moon, and Jo Nam Cheon.
They had already received the full account from Yu Woon Ryong and knew that Cheon Geom was the one who had killed Bu Eunseol’s dear friend.
Yet this blood-drinking fiend walked in alone with a smile? They all yearned to draw their weapons and strike off his head that very instant.
“It’s been a while.”
Cheon Geom greeted Bu Eunseol with a smile.
He appeared as though he were delighted to meet a cherished friend.
But his eyes gleamed with killing intent and madness, making him appear far more sinister than if he’d drawn a blade.
“….”
Bu Eunseol merely regarded him with cold eyes, saying nothing.
“As an envoy of the Murim Alliance, is there need to bare your fangs so?”
Bu Eunseol finally broke her silence.
“Were you afraid? That without the Murim Alliance’s backing, you’d be slaughtered?”
“Hehehehe. Hardly. It’s just….”
Cheon Geom’s eyes blazed with pure, crystalline madness as he laughed.
“I wanted to see your angry face. Hahahahaha!”
Suddenly, Cheon Geom burst into hearty laughter.
“I’ve grown tired of killing villains weaker than myself. But the way you raged before was absolutely exhilarating.”
Even as he spoke, excitement overtook him, and his breathing grew ragged.
“You must want to tear me apart this very moment. But if you did, you’d lose your position as the Demon Palace’s successor, so you won’t attack, will you?”
Cheon Geom’s expression resembled that of a wicked child delighting in the destruction of a toy.
―This man is completely insane.
The Lords standing in the Guest Hall all wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
A man claiming to be the Sword Lord of the Murim Alliance was actually gasping and picking a fight with the Master of Muhonjung?
“Master. Are you truly going to leave that madman be?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Won Se Moon’s eyes blazed as he gripped the twin blades strapped to his back.
“I shall simply kill him and bury his corpse. If the Murim Alliance demands accountability, I will offer my own head in recompense.”
Though Won Se Moon was reckless, he was no fool.
As Bu Eunseol’s subordinate, he had skillfully deflected Cheon Geom’s provocative edge by feigning madness.
“That would suffice as well.”
Yet Cheon Geom showed no sign of intimidation whatsoever. Instead, his voice carried a peculiar fervor as he provoked Bu Eunseol once more.
“Go ahead without hesitation. If you but command it, hundreds of masters would tear me to shreds.”
Bu Eunseol nodded calmly.
“That would not be entirely disagreeable.”
“Hehehehe. I saw it at once—you are of the same ilk as I.”
Cheon Geom’s eyes gleamed brilliantly as he spoke.
“Right now, you wear garments that do not fit your frame, and you sit in a position you never desired. That is why you cannot act as you truly wish.”
“A rather creative insult. Did you rehearse that on the way here?”
“Hehehehe. Deny it all you like, but your true heart knows otherwise.”
Cheon Geom, still smiling sweetly, whispered his words.
“Tear off that garment this very moment. And wield your blade against me with the fury of madness.”
Cheon Geom’s eyes were bloodshot as he spoke breathlessly.
“Such a visage would suit you far better.”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the chattering Cheon Geom and yawned.
“Did you travel all that distance merely to spout such drivel?”
“Surely you have heard the entire account by now?”
“That trivial tale, you mean?”
Bu Eunseol stared directly into Cheon Geom’s eyes, her expression dripping with contempt.
“You have nothing more to say. Leave at once. Though I cannot kill you now, I can certainly drive you out like a stray dog.”
“Hehehehe. Hahahaha!”
The moment Bu Eunseol revealed her emotions, Cheon Geom’s expression became one of absolute delight.
“Ah, that face when you bare your killing intent—I love it most. Excellent, truly excellent.”
Cheon Geom rose smoothly from his seat.
“So the reconciliation between the Great Righteous Masters and the Ten Demon Immortals has fallen through, then.”
He then stepped directly toward the seated Bu Eunseol.
―A sharp metallic ring echoed.
Immediately, all the Lords standing in the Guest Hall drew their weapons.
Yet Cheon Geom paid them no mind and approached Bu Eunseol, speaking in a low voice.
“But here is the matter. I have now become a First-Rank Sword Lord of the Murim Alliance. By what means could you possibly kill me? In your capacity as the successor of the Demon Palace, you could never strike me down.”
Cheon Geom drew closer to Bu Eunseol and spoke in a hushed tone.
“I have a proposal for you.”
….
“Abandon your position as successor right now. Then I’ll immediately strip myself of the title of Sword Lord and fight you.”
Cheon Geom had become Sword Lord and come to the Demon Palace.
It was all to make Bu Eunseol abandon her position as successor and fight him.
“Think about it carefully.”
Cheon Geom spoke with a wry grin.
“Maniacs like us have no use for such stuffy positions anyway.”
Without hesitation, he turned and walked out of Jamma Pavilion with a leisurely stride.
“That bastard really is insane, isn’t he?”
Myo Cheon Woo, watching Cheon Geom’s retreating figure, spat out a curse.
“He’s asking you to step down from the successor position just to kill one man? He’s talking complete nonsense!”
It was then that Yu Woon Ryong stepped forward with a grave expression.
“You’re not actually going to do it, are you?”
Bu Eunseol harbored no desire for power or fame, nor did she cling to her position as successor.
Yu Woon Ryong feared she might unhesitatingly abandon the successor position for the sake of revenge.
“Don’t fall for his provocation. He’s simply afraid of you. That’s why he’s making such absurd demands.”
“Hehehehe.”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol rose from her seat and let out a low laugh.
“Hahahaha!”
Her smile was as pure as a child’s, yet her eyes gleamed with profound depth and a radiance that seemed to tear the heavens asunder.
In truth, Bu Eunseol was no less mad than anyone else.
How else would the people have conceived the name “Mad Sword” when the Four Gods Seven Kings had yet to assign her epithet?
“Don’t worry.”
Bu Eunseol’s laughter faded as she curved her lips upward.
“I won’t do something so foolish.”
The Lords then released quiet sighs of relief.
They too had long ceased to concern themselves with rank or status.
But if Bu Eunseol returned to being a wanderer? They feared she would abandon them and depart without a second thought.
“Yu Woon Ryong.”
Bu Eunseol spoke in a measured tone.
“There is no need to pursue his movements any further.”
“Hmm?”
Yu Woon Ryong’s expression showed slight surprise.
Could it be that Bu Eunseol was abandoning her revenge against Young Moon Ho for their sake?
“Instead, consult with the Guusal Unit Lord and observe his every move, recording it all. From beginning to end.”
“Observe? That madman?”
“Yes. Take your time, do it slowly and meticulously.”
Bu Eunseol continued.
“Gather every piece of information you can find—his future movements, his personality and habits, his methods of resolving matters—make his actions predictable.”
“What are you thinking?”
When Yu Woon Ryong asked, Bu Eunseol wore a cold smile.
“That bastard has become untouchable. I’ll simply have to reduce him to a state where he can be killed again.”
“Then….”
A crimson gleam ignited in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“I will annihilate him. His honor, his status—everything he possesses.”
And in a voice both solemn and heavy, she continued.
“I will expose that madman’s true nature to the world, so that all people will despise him.”
In that instant, everyone present—including Yu Woon Ryong—swallowed hard in unison.
Bu Eunseol, her expression cold once more, spoke with a faint smile.
“Only then, when I kill him, will there be no complications whatsoever.”
In this moment, Bu Eunseol—a first-rank swordmaster of the Murim Alliance and disciple of Geom Joon—had publicly declared her intention to destroy Cheon Geom’s reputation before toppling him.
―That madman has chosen the wrong opponent.
A single thought crystallized simultaneously in the minds of all the Lords present.
If Cheon Geom was a madman consumed by frenzy…
Then Bu Eunseol was a madman consumed by frenzy, yet possessed of a brilliant, calculating mind.
“There is no need to rush. Gather information slowly, methodically, and with great care.”
Bu Eunseol swept her gaze across the assembled Lords, then turned her body slowly as she spoke.
“Only then will I be able to bring him down.”
And with that, she quietly departed the Guest Hall.
Killing a person is simple. One merely drives a blade through their flesh.
But destroying that person’s honor is far more difficult. It requires an intricate web of schemes that cannot be escaped through wealth or influence alone.
Slowly. Yet perfectly.
Bu Eunseol had begun her plan to kill Cheon Geom.
* * *
Several days later.
Bu Eunseol quietly slipped away from the Demon Palace.
Her plan to kill Cheon Geom was already perfected.
Now she needed to research martial techniques capable of striking him down completely.
Bu Eunseol pursued a realm where she would completely forget the Dual Dharma Methods, achieving a new level of enlightenment even as she abandoned both secret techniques entirely.
Yet there was one critical problem.
Bu Eunseol’s foundation was rooted in the martial arts of the Nangya Sect.
That is, she had primarily mastered the method of advancing her martial prowess through extreme, real combat.
There were limits to researching new realms purely through intellectual contemplation.
‘In the end, there is only one path.’
Bu Eunseol had always advanced her martial arts by fighting against masters stronger than herself.
And now, through one more life-or-death battle against a superior opponent, she would transcend her limits and reinforce the fractures in her spirit.
‘I must fight against a master who surpasses me.’
Her original destination had been the Nangya Sect.
While she could not say the same of Gak Ju, she could certainly have a worthy match against So Jeon, the Changsin Squad Leader.
Yet by the time she arrived near Geommi Mountain, she realized this judgment was flawed.
―I cannot break through my limits by fighting the masters of Bon Gak.
The masters of Nangya Sect employed the exact same combat techniques as Bu Eunseol, and above all, they cherished her deeply.
No matter how fiercely they clashed in battle, I could never engage in a life-or-death struggle with the warriors of Nangya Sect.
‘There has to be a way.’
The Gangho had many masters, but few could match Bu Eunseol in skill.
Moreover, given her status, she couldn’t simply challenge masters to fights. Especially if she recklessly provoked members of the Orthodox Sects, it could create complicated problems.
As Bu Eunseol paused, having stopped her ascent toward Geommi Mountain,
Rumble! Whoooosh.
Suddenly dark clouds rolled in and rain began to fall.
Bu Eunseol had no choice but to shelter briefly beneath a massive tree.
Crack!
A lightning bolt struck the tree, splitting it cleanly in two in an instant.
Witnessing the bolt that could cleave an ancient tree in one stroke, a face surfaced in Bu Eunseol’s mind.
Someone who stood above her, capable of toppling Mount Tai with a single strike as swift and devastating as lightning itself.
The visage of a master who could unleash such terrifying power.
‘That would be possible.’
Bu Eunseol nodded.
At last, I had found a master who stood above me and with whom I could wage an extreme battle without complications.
Tan Wang Beok Goong Ryung.
He had only revealed his strength when he mistook me for a lustful demon, and when he broke through Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault, using only a handful of his Internal Explosive Force techniques.
But I knew well how truly formidable Beok Goong Ryung’s actual power was, and how many varied methods his Internal Explosive Force could be unleashed through.
‘I’ve mimicked his Internal Explosive Force techniques many times.’
Bu Eunseol had imitated his Internal Explosive Force methods on numerous occasions.
Each time, I grew more aware of how exceptional Beok Goong Ryung’s martial arts were, and how devastating the power of his Internal Explosive Force truly was.
‘He won’t avoid a confrontation.’
Though they had nearly become sworn enemies, they had parted on reasonably good terms through the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault incident.
Beok Goong Ryung would not deliberately avoid a duel with me, nor would he show mercy.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol swiftly returned to Seong Do and sought out a branch of the Guusal Unit.
Tan Wang wandered the Murim alone, pursuing some mysterious force.
Because of this, his movements were the hardest to track among the Four Gods Seven Kings, and no one could predict his whereabouts.
‘I can use Gae Bang’s intelligence network.’
Bu Eunseol was well aware that instead of building his own independent faction or maintaining an intelligence organization, Beok Goong Ryung concealed his movements through Gae Bang’s information network.
That was how he erased his traces.
‘I’ll need to submit a Class A request.’
A Class A request slip from the Guusal Unit.
It was a mission that could only be issued to the elite Guusal Unit operatives spread across all of Zhong Yuan, with an astronomical reward attached.
As the saying goes, money can move even ghosts?
The Class A request slips of the Guusal Unit had resolved many tasks previously deemed impossible.
‘It’s not particularly difficult, so this should suffice.’
Bu Eunseol immediately submitted a Class A request slip through the Guusal Unit branch.
The reward for success was a staggering one hundred fifty thousand taels.
In truth, tracking the Gae Bang’s intelligence network would not have been difficult, and fifty thousand taels would have sufficed.
However, Bu Eunseol tripled the reward to locate Tan Wang as quickly as possible.
The power of official credentials and gold was formidable indeed.
Bu Eunseol received a response from the Guusal Unit’s Hwa Province branch in less than half a month.
Tan Wang was in the vicinity of Hwa Province, near Jang Deok Mountain.
Bu Eunseol immediately departed from Demon Palace and headed toward Hwa Province.
Upon entering Seong Do, I sought out a tea house in the bustling district.
“Welcome.”
Typically, the Guusal Unit’s secret branches operated from shops slightly removed from crowded areas or manors on the outskirts.
Yet the Hwa Province branch had ingeniously established itself in a tea house within the busy district that no one would think to investigate.
“Please, come in.”
As I entered the tea house, a Tavern Servant wearing an apron guided me to a window seat with an excellent view.
The interior of the tea house was immaculate and orderly, yet not a single customer was present.
This was because the Hwa Province area had many small inns serving fine spirits, so few sought out tea houses.
“A cup of Seo Ho Yong Jeong, if you please.”
Upon ordering the most expensive dragon well tea, the attendant bowed deeply in acknowledgment.
“I shall bring the tea at once.”
True to the Tavern Servant’s word, the tea arrived promptly.
After gazing out the window for a time and sipping the tea, I stepped outside the tea house.
“Hwa Province branch chief. This is Ho Yeon.”
A low voice reached my ears as I walked through Market Street.
It was a transmission from the middle-aged man walking ahead of me in Hwa Province.
“Forgive the inconvenience of summoning you from afar. Since Tan Wang has been concealing his movements, our agents have had no choice but to track him in real time.”
“No matter. Guide me.”
Ho Yeon, the Hwa Province branch chief, immediately quickened his pace out of Seong Do and deployed his movement technique toward the vicinity of Jang Deok Mountain.
Whoosh.
As Ho Yeon shot forward rapidly, he paused intermittently to check the marks carved into trees and other signs.
From the traces, they appeared to have been carved not long ago. It seemed the agents were still pursuing Tan Wang on the ground.
Clang! Clash!
After running for about an hour, perhaps?
Finally, as I entered the vicinity of a deep forest, faint sounds of weapons clashing reached my ears.
Boom!
And despite the clear sky, occasional thunder and lightning crackled across it.
Bu Eunseol instantly recognized that the thunder was the sound of Tan Wang unleashing his inner energy technique.
“That is indeed Tan Wang. There is no need to follow further.”
“Understood. Please exercise caution, Lord.”
Upon receiving Bu Eunseol’s transmission, Ho Yeon hastily turned back toward the branch.
He knew well that standing beside a master like Tan Wang would require ten lives to be safe.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Bu Eunseol unleashed her Extreme Speed Shadow technique and shot through the forest toward the sound in a single breath.
There, near a vast open ground, she saw an elderly man with refined bearing surrounded by roughly twenty Masked Assassins.
Though his frame was lean, his presence commanded respect, and his eyes blazed with vitality. His visage was so noble he resembled an immortal sage.
It was none other than Tan Wang Beok Goong Ryung.
Shiiiiik!
With each breath Beok Goong Ryung drew, stones scattered across the ground rose into the air.
The stones that floated suspended in the void rotated in perfect circles before launching forth one by one.
Kwaaang!
Each time a pebble cleaved the air, the heavens seemed to tear and the earth to crumble beneath deafening explosions.
It laid bare the tremendous power he had channeled into those insignificant stones.
Yet the Masked Assassins moved with extraordinary agility, their forms executing an unusual technique.
Before Tan Wang’s stones could even touch them, they evaded the attacks as if swept aside by torrential winds.
‘Floating Shadow Following Form?’
From atop a towering tree a dozen lengths away, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flashed with recognition as she observed the battle.
The Masked Assassins wielded a technique that allowed them to lift and propel their bodies with mere wisps of wind—
The supreme movement art of the Demonic Path itself. Floating Shadow Following Form.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————