The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 312

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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 312.
Boom! Crash!
Tan Wang’s stones shot forth with such velocity they were barely visible to the naked eye.
Yet the Masked Assassins, having deployed their Bu Young Soo formation, were naturally pushed left and right by the wind generated as the stones hurtled through the air.
No matter how formidable one’s inner stone technique, it proves useless if it fails to connect.
The Masked Assassins were neutralizing Tan Wang’s absolute skill through their unique Bu Young Soo formation.
“It seems you’ve conducted considerable research to evade my inner stone technique.”
Beok Goong Ryung merely chuckled in response, then unfurled a movement technique swift as lightning to close the distance.
“But it remains nothing more than a shallow expedient.”
As he narrowed the gap in a single breath, the Masked Assassins’ bodies were thrust backward once more by the Bu Young Soo formation.
Yet in that same instant, Beok Goong Ryung curled his five fingers and unleashed a torrent of stones into the air.
Boom! Boom!
The scattered stone fragments traced gentle arcs, flying past the Masked Assassins’ bodies from behind.
“…!”
The Masked Assassins’ eyes widened in shock.
By hurling stones behind their bodies, Beok Goong Ryung had instead driven them forward.
“Die.”
In that moment, Beok Goong Ryung’s five fingers swirled with overwhelming force.
At such close quarters, unleashing his inner stone technique would make it absolutely impossible for the Masked Assassins to escape.
“Stop!”
It was then that Bu Eunseol, watching from a distance, cried out.
“They intend to self-destruct at close range!”
“Self-destruct?”
Beok Goong Ryung was momentarily taken aback, but soon, as if understanding something, he unleashed his inner stone technique.
Boom! Boom!
This time, the inner stone technique he released was not powerful enough to shatter bodies, but rather pushed the Masked Assassins’ forms dozens of zhang outward in succession.
It was a gentle, wide-ranging inner stone technique.
Crash!
The moment they were thrust dozens of zhang away, a tremendous explosion shook heaven and earth, scattering the Masked Assassins’ bodies in all directions.
Whoosh.
The trees and boulders within the blast radius were melting like taffy.
“So it was true.”
Beok Goong Ryung could not hide his astonishment.
They had feigned evasion of his inner stone technique through the Bu Young Soo formation, luring him into close combat to attempt self-destruction?
The tactical approach employed by the Masked Assassins was so meticulous that even Beok Goong Ryung, seasoned in countless battles, could not have anticipated it.
“Was killing me truly so desperate a matter that they had to use their own bodies as bait?”
Before Beok Goong Ryung’s murmur could even finish,
Whoosh!
They reformed their ranks and surrounded Beok Goong Ryung once more.
Five Masked Assassins had been obliterated in the explosion.
The remaining fifteen Masked Assassins showed no fear whatsoever, watching intently for any opportunity to perish alongside him in a blaze of destruction.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch?”
Beok Goong Ryung shouted irritably.
Dealing with them wasn’t difficult.
But what truly grated on him was Bu Eunseol perched atop the towering tree with that blank expression, casually observing the battle unfold.
“You’re capable of handling them alone, aren’t you?”
“Hmph.”
At Bu Eunseol’s response, Beok Goong Ryung snorted derisively and opened his right palm with a casual gesture.
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, brilliant light erupted from his hand, and all the surrounding air seemed to be absorbed into his palm.
Whomp.
Simultaneously, five Masked Assassins standing at the vanguard were lifted into the air.
Snap!
As Beok Goong Ryung flicked his fingers, the air tore with a deafening crack, and the Masked Assassins’ bodies were hurled away at tremendous velocity.
Splatter!
They collided with the other Masked Assassins behind them, and blood sprayed in all directions.
Beok Goong Ryung had seized the Masked Assassins’ bodies like stones and launched them as projectiles.
Snap! Splatter!
After hurling and detonating the bodies of the Masked Assassins roughly six times, the thirty-odd assassins charging forward were completely eliminated.
“Phew.”
Beok Goong Ryung wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.
Even for one called Tan Wang, using human bodies as projectiles was an extraordinarily taxing technique.
“Impressive.”
Thump.
As Bu Eunseol descended from the massive tree, Beok Goong Ryung furrowed his brow.
“What brings you here?”
“I was passing through and stopped by.”
“Hmph, you expect me to believe that?”
Though Geol Wang Gu Hong Cheong was dead, Beok Goong Ryung still maintained favorable relations with Gae Bang and provided them with substantial funds.
Moreover, as a lone wanderer of the Murim, he deliberately obscured his movements by utilizing Gae Bang’s intelligence network to create false trails, making it impossible to track his whereabouts.
The probability of encountering Bu Eunseol by chance in these remote mountains was virtually nonexistent.
“Could it be you’ve had a change of heart?”
Beok Goong Ryung’s expression brightened slightly.
He thought Bu Eunseol, like himself, was now wandering the Murim in pursuit of the Masked Assassins’ forces.
“That’s hardly the case.”
“Then how did you know their techniques in advance?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with a bitter expression.
“I was attacked by Saixiang assassins in the past. That’s when I witnessed them employ such methods.”
“Saixiang?”
“Well, such things exist.”
Bu Eunseol asked him casually, brushing off the question.
“So now you’re not the hunter, but the hunted?”
It was more of a jest born from familiarity.
Even alone, he was Tan Wang—a figure no force in the Murim could easily touch.
Yet Beok Goong Ryung gazed toward the distant sky, his expression melancholic.
“Not now, but… there’s no guarantee such a day won’t come in the future.”
He had long pursued the hidden forces lurking behind the scenes of the Murim, standing alone against the Gangho.
But their roots ran far too deep. If things continued this way, he might one day find himself the prey instead.
Just as Mu Hwang had been, four hundred years ago.
“How did you even find my whereabouts?”
“With enough money, you can even command ghosts.”
Beok Goong Ryung immediately grasped her meaning and shook his head.
“I see. It’s time to sever ties with Gae Bang.”
The current Gae Bang Master, No Bong, was known to be suffering from a strange illness.
But Beok Goong Ryung had long known this to be false.
He simply hadn’t dug deeper because of his connection with Gu Hong Cheong…
But seeing how easily Bu Eunseol had found him, he now judged that Gae Bang’s intelligence network could no longer be trusted.
“It seems you have a request for me.”
Beok Goong Ryung saw through Bu Eunseol’s true intentions.
There was no way the successor of the Demon Hall would venture alone into the Gangho without reason. He had clearly discerned that she had something to ask of him.
“Very well. I’ll speak plainly.”
She stepped closer to Beok Goong Ryung and broached the subject without hesitation.
“Let’s fight.”
“What?”
“A duel where we stake our lives.”
Beok Goong Ryung furrowed his brow deeply, studying Bu Eunseol. It was clear from her eyes alone that this was no jest. But why would she seek such a confrontation?
There had to be a reason behind this challenge.
“Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Have you mastered martial arts strong enough to defeat me?”
“Quite the opposite. I’ve come prepared to die.”
It was an honest answer.
Beok Goong Ryung, who had been staring intently into Bu Eunseol’s eyes, suddenly understood something and let out a soft laugh.
“Your spirit core has suffered minute fractures. You can no longer advance your martial arts, or perhaps they’re even regressing.”
“How did you know?”
“Didn’t we spend days together in that accursed Secret Library?”
As Bu Eunseol failed to hide her shock, Beok Goong Ryung chuckled and continued.
“Back then, your eyes were unwavering and resolute. But now they flicker constantly—a clear sign that your spirit core is in turmoil.”
The eyes are the windows of the soul.
From the subtle energies visible in Bu Eunseol’s gaze alone, Beok Goong Ryung had pierced through to the state of her spirit core.
“You saw it correctly.”
I admitted it without resistance.
“For reasons unknown, my spirit fractured, and hesitation arose when I wielded my martial arts.”
“And so.”
“The only way to eliminate this seems to be a life-or-death struggle.”
“Hmph, why should I cross blades with you?”
“Is it not a splendid opportunity to eliminate a venomous Demonic Path disciple who would bring harm to the Orthodox Sects of Murim in the future?”
Whether jest or earnest, Beok Goong Ryung burst into laughter at my words.
“An enticing proposal, but I have more pressing matters at hand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Five of the Ten Celestial Weapons have appeared.”
The Ten Celestial Weapons.
They were ten mystical weapons passed down through generations in Murim.
Not only did they possess tremendous power, but it was said that these weapons possessed spiritual essence.
Because of this, they could gauge the wielder’s spirit on their own, and when infused with inner energy, they could unleash unique and devastating power.
“If all the Ten Celestial Weapons had appeared, how could I not know of it?”
As the successor of Demon Hall, I commanded Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong and Nangya Sect, as well as Guusal Unit, Demon Hall’s secret organization.
If five of the Ten Celestial Weapons had revealed themselves in Murim, there was no way such information would escape my ears.
“The locations of the Ten Celestial Weapons were deliberately scattered among specific individuals. That is why you could not know.”
Beok Goong Ryung, who had been gazing at the distant sky for a moment, spoke words of astonishment.
“And like me, they wander Gangho alone, righteous heroes who protect Murim.”
“You mean it is a trap designed to deliberately destroy someone like you, Elder?”
“Indeed.”
He spoke as if grinding his teeth.
“I must recover those weapons at all costs.”
Any martial artist would go mad at the prospect of peerless martial techniques and divine weapons.
What they desire day and night is overwhelming power that can dominate all others.
But if it were the Ten Celestial Weapons, capable of unleashing tremendous power with just one in hand…
It was a temptation impossible to resist.
“The desire to obtain divine weapons is natural for a martial artist. Surely there is no need for the Elder to dissuade us?”
At my words, Beok Goong Ryung sighed bitterly.
“The end of every treasure war is nothing but destruction, is it not?”
Once rumors spread that the locations of five of the Ten Celestial Weapons had been discovered, Murim would be engulfed in a storm of blood.
Moreover, these locations were a deliberate trap set by mysterious forces.
In the end, Beok Goong Ryung intended to prevent this calamity alone.
“Why must you be the one to stop it, Elder?”
“If they perish in their struggle for these weapons, the righteous heroes who have done good for Murim will disappear in equal measure.”
Beok Goong Ryung smiled bitterly.
“Should not one who has lived even a few more years step forward?”
He was always thinking of Murim’s wellbeing.
Bu Eunseol had no interest in the political machinations of Murim.
Yet there was something almost admirable about Beok Goong Ryung’s willingness to sacrifice himself to uncover the truth of Murim’s situation.
“There’s no helping it.”
When Beok Goong Ryung was resolved to dedicate himself to righteous action, I couldn’t very well stand in his way.
I drew a deep breath and nodded.
“Then we’ll meet again.”
Without hesitation, I turned to leave.
Whoosh.
But then came another piercing sound, and this time figures in pitch-black garments materialized around the Open Ground—assassins, over three hundred strong.
Their numbers easily exceeded three hundred.
Moreover, their eyes were as lifeless as rotting fish, suggesting they’d been soaked in some narcotic, and their entire bodies bristled with metallic contraptions that resembled hidden weapon devices.
“How troublesome.”
I regarded the assassins with indifference and simply walked past them.
There was no reason to fight assassins sent after Beok Goong Ryung.
“Kaaaaah!”
But something strange occurred.
With a thunderous roar, the assassins lunged—not at Beok Goong Ryung, but at me.
Boom! Boom!
I instantly unleashed the Quan Ma Seven Techniques, hurling the charging assassins away.
“What is this?”
I flexed my fists, frowning at the assassins.
“Do they attack anything that moves now?”
Pap pap pap pap!
The assassins answered not with words but by activating their hidden weapon devices toward me.
I immediately deployed Hwan Gwi Bon Ju to deflect the projectiles.
Whoosh!
Yet the cascade of projectiles suddenly transformed into silver powder around me.
Clang!
Simultaneously, assassins in the rear produced massive weapon devices and fired them in my direction.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
What they unleashed were minuscule feathered needles.
I deployed my movement technique and lightly evaded them, but in that instant—
Whistle!
The cascade of feathered needles suddenly curved sharply and descended upon me.
‘Magnetism?’
Only then did I realize the silver powder clinging to my body possessed powerful magnetic properties.
The assassins had devised this unique tactic specifically to counter someone with swift movement techniques.
But something was odd.
Even though I had returned to the Open Ground where Beok Goong Ryung stood, the assassins targeted only me, unleashing their projectiles without restraint.
“Hehehehe. So you’ve become their target too!”
Beok Goong Ryung, watching from a distance, chuckled and spoke.
“You were already on their assassination list from the start.”
“How could that be?”
Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed.
“They’ve had plenty of opportunities to strike me. Why now, of all times?”
“Aren’t you the successor to Demon Palace? When you were within Demon Palace, or when you commanded large forces, they naturally couldn’t attack you.”
Beok Goong Ryung laughed softly and gestured toward the assassins.
“But now you’ve ventured into Gangho alone, haven’t you? They wouldn’t dare miss such an opportunity.”
It was a reasonable deduction.
I had clashed repeatedly with the Masked Assassin’s forces until now.
Moreover, I had destroyed the organizations they’d built—Hyeol Sa Gok, Ohdok School, Saixiang, and others.
It would have been stranger if I weren’t on their assassination list.
‘They seized the moment when Guusal Unit was absent.’
Bu Eunseol, eyes narrowing, shouted toward Beok Goong Ryung.
“So. You’re just going to watch from there?”
The number of Masked Assassins surrounding the forest continued to grow, now exceeding three hundred.
But Beok Goong Ryung shook his head with a smile.
“Well, it’s not a bad idea to observe the martial techniques of a Demonic Being who will harm the Orthodox Sects in the future.”
As if taking revenge for earlier, Beok Goong Ryung climbed atop a massive tree and settled in.
From there, he intended to leisurely watch Bu Eunseol fight.
“Fine.”
Bu Eunseol drew her inner energy to its maximum.
A deep rumble echoed.
Then, from behind her, a pitch-black form of true energy soared skyward.
She had manifested the Yeouui True Formation, creating an enormous hand.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Simultaneously, Bu Eunseol unleashed a sword strike with her Silent Sword, instantly felling the massive tree where Beok Goong Ryung stood.
The hand formed by the Yeouui True Formation hurled the tree toward where the assassins were gathered.
“What are you doing?!”
“Oh dear. It just happened to go that way.”
Bu Eunseol murmured innocently, and Beok Goong Ryung quickly moved to another tree.
But as Bu Eunseol repeatedly felled trees the same way, he had no choice but to descend to her level.
“You….”
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air.
But before he could speak, the assassins unleashed a torrent of feather needles like a swarm of bees.
Beok Goong Ryung tried to dodge and watch leisurely, but each time, Bu Eunseol felled another tree.
“Hmph.”
With no way to watch leisurely, Beok Goong Ryung had no choice but to unfold his movement technique to escape.
But the assassins had already densely surrounded the open ground.
Moreover, as Bu Eunseol followed him and evaded, he was inevitably drawn into this battle.
“Tch…”
Beok Goong Ryung’s fury burned white-hot, yet he found no way to shake off Bu Eunseol, whose divine technique was superior.
“This stubborn ghost of a woman!”
In the end, he had no choice but to deploy his Inner Energy Circulation with his back pressed against Bu Eunseol’s.
“Haah… haah…”
The clearing in the forest revealed a scene of utter devastation.
Over three hundred corpses lay scattered in all directions, and at the center, two figures stood back-to-back, breathing heavily.
Bu Eunseol and Beok Goong Ryung.
The two of them had slaughtered over three hundred assassins wielding bizarre secret weapons in this very place.
Both had reached the pinnacle of the Extreme Heaven Realm,
yet dealing with three hundred assassins drenched in poison and armed with such grotesque techniques was no simple task.
“You shameless wretch!”
Beok Goong Ryung wiped the blood splattered across his face and spoke in a low voice.
“Because of you, I’ve become entangled in this mess.”
“And who are you to speak?”
Bu Eunseol shook her head as she replied.
“I sought out the elder for a fair duel, and look what misfortune I’ve attracted.”
“What? Misfortune you’ve attracted?”
“I said it’s already attached itself.”
“How dare you speak such words before me!”
Beok Goong Ryung’s voice rose in anger.
“So the rumors of the Radiant Sword were true—you truly are mad!”
“I’ve never seen someone as sharp-tempered and quick to anger as you, elder, not even among those whose beards have turned white with age.”
Bickering over words like this was something only foolish children did.
One was the solemn successor of the Demon Hall; the other was a renowned righteous hero known throughout the Orthodox Sects for his dignity.
Two people whose stations and paths were completely different, now crouching side by side in a petty argument?
Had anyone witnessed this, they would have been left speechless in astonishment.
“…”
Silence fell for a moment.
The two exhausted figures remained crouched, steadying their breath.
“Hmph.”
Beok Goong Ryung snorted and turned his gaze toward the distant sky.
“In any case, judging by their actions, it seems they’re preparing to eliminate those who stand in their way.”
He brushed off his robes and turned his body as he spoke.
“From now on, do not venture into Gangho alone.”
“Are you concerned for me?”
“Well, if you envy this old man’s fate, then do as you wish.”
Though his words were playful, Beok Goong Ryung’s voice carried a profound loneliness.
He had wandered the Murim alone his entire life, yet the true nature of his enemy remained hidden. With each passing moment, he felt only the growing disparity between their powers.
Beok Goong Ryung. Perhaps he already sensed that his own fate would be no different from Mu Hwang’s.
“Where is the Woo Nae Sip Byeong hidden?”
Bu Eunseol, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke in a low voice as if she had made a decision.
“I’m asking where that Jang Bo Do is located.”
“What good would it do you to know?”
“The truth is, the reason I came to Gangho this time was to stake my life and face off against you, Elder.”
Bu Eunseol spoke while avoiding Beok Goong Ryung’s piercing gaze.
“But wouldn’t it be troublesome for me if something were to happen to you, Elder?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“If you go there alone, Elder, it seems you’ll fall into a trap and die. So I’m saying we should handle it together.”
“A trap? What trap?”
Bu Eunseol spoke matter-of-factly.
“First, you would be made a scapegoat regarding Jang Bo Do.”
―Tan Wang Beok Goong Ryung used force to recover all of the Woo Nae Sip Byeong!
If such rumors were to spread?
Not only would your reputation crumble, but you would face endless pursuit from those who covet the Woo Nae Sip Byeong.
“What’s the second?”
“Haven’t you traveled alone for decades, Elder? They would know that well, so they would have set their trap accordingly.”
“Hmm.”
“With an ally, such a trap could be easily broken. And the third is…”
Bu Eunseol pointed to her own face with her thumb.
“What they want might not be your death, Elder, but your honor.”
“My honor?”
“Yes. If the worst were to happen, wouldn’t it be good to have someone to take the blame?”
In short, Bu Eunseol was saying that if the worst came to pass, she would bear everything herself.
‘This girl…’
A faint tremor flowed through Beok Goong Ryung’s long, phoenix-like eyes.
Throughout his life, he had devoted himself to protecting the peace of Murim, yet no one had ever acknowledged him.
Nor was there anyone who welcomed his fiery and upright nature.
He had maintained a long friendship with Geol Wang Gu Hong Cheong, but that was born not from kindred spirits but from mutual need of each other’s strength.
Yet now the successor of Demon Hall, whose path diverged from his own, was willingly extending her hand to him.

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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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