The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 315

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 315.
When Beok Goong Ryung’s expression betrayed his confusion, Bu Eunseol, as if reading his thoughts, spoke matter-of-factly.
“You’ll understand once you witness it.”
“…Very well.”
Beok Goong Ryung nodded deeply with a heavy sigh and withdrew.
Bu Eunseol stepped forward without hesitation.
In truth, having just witnessed Beok Goong Ryung succumb to demonic delusion, I had achieved a profound realization.
Beok Goong Ryung’s Inner Qi Explosion was the orthodox martial technique of the Righteous Path—maximizing and detonating one’s inner energy.
And qi originates from the mind.
Even he, revered as the Grand Master of the Righteous Path, saw his circulating inner qi weaken the moment his spiritual consciousness became disturbed—a truth I had discerned in an instant.
‘The distinction between the Demonic Path and the Righteous Path is ultimately meaningless.’
When the mind scatters, qi disperses; when qi lacks fullness, the mind trembles in turn.
The Demonic Path and the Righteous Path.
These two divergent roads converge into one at their ultimate destination.
They differ only in which becomes master and which becomes servant—merely a reversal of order.
‘I have been far too fixated on the sheer power of martial technique.’
Reflecting upon it, everything stemmed from what transpired when I destroyed Sah Hyang.
When my spiritual consciousness, fused with the Sak Jeong Secret Manual through rage, fully embraced the Demonic Path…
I displayed martial prowess that was truly invincible under heaven.
Yet that was a technique only a great demonic being could manifest—one whose humanity and emotion had been utterly annihilated by the Sak Jeong Secret Manual at its zenith.
Though fortune granted me a return to equilibrium, from that day forward I became obsessed with the power of the formidable Women’s Restraint Seal.
A force incomparably intense and destructive compared to what I wielded from a centered spirit.
An endless craving seized me—the desire to reclaim that overwhelming strength.
‘Yet the true power of martial technique emerges from subtlety and refinement.’
To awaken Beok Goong Ryung from his demonic delusion, I unleashed the Seven Fist Techniques of Demonic Suppression with all my might.
With each form, I concentrated my spirit absolutely, deploying my fist technique at close quarters where it directly opposed his Inner Qi Explosion, suppressing him entirely.
I made the profundity of martial technique my foundation and coldly perceived my opponent’s every technique.
Thus, despite his descent into demonic delusion, I was able to strike down even Tan Wang of the Tianxia with bare fists.
‘The paths of the Demonic and Righteous are no longer of consequence.’
Unlike ordinary people, I harbor both the Demonic Path and Righteous Path intermingled within my spiritual consciousness.
Moreover, they can be blended or reversed at any moment.
There is no need to choose between them yet. No—this is not the time for such a choice.
There is no necessity to make them one, nor any reason to reject both entirely.
For I have not yet fully grasped the subtleties of the Jeongsayang-do martial techniques.
Thud, thud.
I turned and walked directly toward the Shandong Five Heroes.
“You truly intend to face us alone.”
“Are you afraid.”
“Hmph.”
Gu Young Hwa scoffed as he beheld me, my entire body covered in wounds.
“If you wish to die, then so be it.”
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol immediately drew upon the Wu Huang Absolute Technique.
In that instant, the black inner energy flowing through her body transformed into golden waves.
Whish! Whish!
Simultaneously, a single sharp blade of energy circled around her body.
Rather than forcibly expanding to five blades, she deployed the Orthodox Sect martial arts with elegant restraint.
What mattered was not raw power, but using the subtlety of the Thirteen Night Technique to strike with precision at the opportune moment and fell her enemies.
“She employs strange martial arts. Strike with all your might!”
―Shrill!
Beginning with the flute cry of the Jade Heaven Golden Flute, tremendous force erupted from four weapons.
It was as though Beok Goong Ryung himself had unleashed his inner energy strike in four separate torrents.
Whoosh!
Watching their cascading assault, Bu Eunseol unleashed the hand technique of the Southern Shadow School with her left hand—the Blazing Hand Blade Line.
At the same moment, a sharp blade of energy surged upward from her wrist.
Crash-crack-crack!
“What is that?”
The Shandong Five Heroes retreated in shock.
The crescent-shaped blades of energy poured down as if to cleave their very bodies.
Clang!
They combined the power of their inner strength to block the massive blade of energy. Yet something impossible occurred.
Whish!
The energy that struck their weapons split into five blades, which instantly pierced through their wrists.
Slash.
As crimson lines appeared across their wrists,
Spurt!
The right hands of all five Shandong Five Heroes, still gripping their weapons, fell to the ground as blood gushed forth.
“Ahhh!”
Each crying out in agony, they quickly sealed the blood points at their right wrists.
Even so, they swiftly retrieved their weapons with their left hands.
“Ugh…”
The Shandong Five Heroes, now wielding weapons in their left hands, stared at Bu Eunseol with fear-stricken faces.
‘This is the subtlety of martial arts.’
In the past, she would have unleashed all five blades of the Thirteen Night Technique from the start.
But Bu Eunseol deliberately baited them with a single blade of energy to lower their guard.
When they attempted to parry the attack casually, she seized that opening and instantly unleashed five blades of the Thirteen Night Technique, severing their wrists in one strike.
“Ugh…”
The Shandong Five Heroes retreated with expressions of dread.
They, who had exchanged forty moves with Beok Goong Ryung, had their wrists severed in a single technique?
Had she reached the Boundless Realm at such a young age?
“This is absurd.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with a look of contempt.
“Do you truly believe you fought the elder on equal terms?”
And she cast a gaze of disdain upon them.
“Even after witnessing how I fell into demonic obsession while agonizing over how to save your lives?”
The Shandong Five Heroes hung their heads at this irrefutable and piercing accusation.
Then Beok Goong Ryung, who stood behind them, stepped forward.
“Surrender your weapons.”
The Shandong Five Heroes shook their heads despite their faces being seized by fear.
Though their bodies trembled with terror, they all gripped their weapons tightly.
“We cannot.”
Gu Young Hwa mustered his courage and spoke.
“With these weapons alone, we can walk the Gangho with confidence.”
He spoke as though coughing blood.
“How could we abandon weapons obtained at such a cost?”
“Pathetic.”
Beok Goong Ryung spoke in a low voice.
“You couldn’t even defeat this young man with those weapons, yet you speak of walking the Gangho?”
“How many in the Murim possess martial prowess equal to that youth?”
“Hahaha.”
Beok Goong Ryung let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
Only now did he realize that all of them possessed such wretched character that they could never be redeemed.
“You slaughter the Orthodox Sects here through cruel methods… and speak of walking the Gangho? While avoiding the strong at that?”
“…”
“I now understand well why you cannot advance your martial arts.”
Beok Goong Ryung spoke with fury etched upon his face.
“Because you are chaff as warriors—lacking even the most basic conviction.”
Whoosh!
As Beok Goong Ryung spread his five fingers, brilliant light erupted forth, and the weapons they gripped rose into the air.
Whirrrrr!
An unprecedented torrent of inner qi swept across Beok Goong Ryung’s entire body like a tempest.
Clang! Crash.
A piercing cyan radiance flashed in his eyes, and the five weapons suspended in the air shattered into fragments that fell to the ground.
He had destroyed all five weapons by colliding them with his powerful inner qi force.
Thud.
The Shandong Five Heroes, who had been staring at the shattered weapons with vacant eyes, simultaneously collapsed to their knees.
Only now did they comprehend the true power of Tan Wang Beok Goong Ryung.
“With no weapons and arms rendered useless…”
Gu Young Hwa spoke to Beok Goong Ryung.
“Kill us. Make it swift.”
Just as Beok Goong Ryung snorted and extended his fingers,
“Without arms, one cannot master the blade?”
Bu Eunseol stepped forward and spoke.
“Had my right arm been gone, I would have honed my swordsmanship with my left. Had both arms been severed, I would have mastered footwork techniques with my legs.”
Among the masters of Nangya Pavilion, many were indeed crippled.
Pursuing advancement in martial arts through real combat, they suffered crippling wounds.
Yet they did not despair. With their broken bodies, they delved deeper into martial arts and became formidable masters.
By overcoming despair and frustration, by dedicating oneself to cultivating martial prowess, one grows ever stronger.
That is the greatness of humanity.
With determination alone, with a will as unyielding as steel—physical limitations and spiritual obstacles alike can be conquered.
“Such words can only be spoken by heaven-blessed masters like yourselves….”
Splash!
Blood suddenly erupted from Gu Young Hwa’s lips as he murmured.
Already crippled, and if this matter became known, he could never face the Murim again.
Having lost all hope to continue living, he took his own life.
Then, simultaneously, blood burst forth from the mouths of the remaining Shandong Five Heroes.
Thud.
The eyes of the Shandong Five Heroes, now lifeless corpses, were all wide open.
Beok Goong Ryung gazed upon them with a cold stare, then shook his head.
“Yes, losing one arm does not make one crippled.”
Had I lost my right arm, I would have continued cultivating my inner stone technique with my left.
Even without both arms, I would have found another way to unleash my inner stone technique.
“Yet they abandon life simply because they lost one arm.”
Beok Goong Ryung’s face, as he muttered in despair, was crossed by countless emotions.
“I have long protected the Orthodox Sects because I believed in their righteousness.”
“There is no need for such despair.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“How many in this world can claim righteousness as confidently as you, Elder?”
Beok Goong Ryung shook his head.
“The righteousness I speak of is merely the basic human decency one must possess.”
And he murmured in anguish.
“Not killing or harming others recklessly for personal gain, as the Demonic Path does….”
Beok Goong Ryung fell silent for a moment, his eyes gradually losing their light.
“But now I no longer know. What is righteousness? What is the Demonic Path?”
Then Bu Eunseol slowly opened her mouth.
“In this world, victors become kings and the defeated become traitors. Those who gain power are righteous, and those who lose it are merely evil.”
“….”
“When the Orthodox Sects kill, it is called justice upheld. When the Demonic Path kills, they are condemned as brutal.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That is simply how the world works.”
Bu Eunseol exhaled a sigh and spoke.
“Simply because the path differs, the denizens of Murim are the sort who kill without hesitation.”
Beok Goong Ryung, who had been contemplating Bu Eunseol’s words, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hehehehe. Hahaha.”
Though his laughter rang out freely, his eyes harbored a melancholic sorrow.
“How shameful.”
Beok Goong Ryung realized that Bu Eunseol had not merely mended the fractures in her spiritual essence, but had ascended to an even higher plane of enlightenment.
Yet he himself remained ensnared by his obsession with the Demonic Path and Righteous Path, drowning in confusion.
But Bu Eunseol’s single remark had instantly quelled the turbulence that had scarred his spiritual core.
“At my age, I have fallen into demonic delusion.”
“It was a situation anyone could have succumbed to. I myself experienced something similar long ago.”
Bu Eunseol spoke matter-of-factly.
“Demonic delusion is an opportunity to elevate your spiritual essence further. Henceforth, when such delusion strikes, seize it as a chance to seek enlightenment.”
“Hehehehe. I am grateful.”
Beok Goong Ryung gazed toward the distant sky and spoke with loneliness.
“I have understood for ages now. That even at this stage of life, I could not shatter the barriers of my own heart.”
What is the Righteous Path, and what is the Demonic Path?
Perhaps they are merely convenient notions humans have crafted to constrain themselves or others?
Countless revelations pierced through Beok Goong Ryung’s mind.
He too had elevated his spiritual essence to a higher realm through this ordeal, and the convictions that had wavered were restored.
“Haaah.”
Having gathered his thoughts, Beok Goong Ryung drew in a long, deep breath.
Thereupon, dozens of golden rings materialized in the air around him.
Tan Wang, Beok Goong Ryung’s exclusive weapon—the Rotating Golden Rings.
Crash!
As Beok Goong Ryung extended his finger, the golden rings suspended in the void embedded themselves deeply before the Secret Cave.
Bullet.
He had carved the character for “bullet” deeply into the rock of the Secret Cave using his Rotating Golden Rings.
Whoosh.
The golden rings embedded deep within the Secret Cave’s stone were extracted back into the void.
Simultaneously, they scattered in all directions and began to rain down like precipitation.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Rotating Golden Rings falling like rain ravaged all the corpses scattered about, including those of the Shandong Five Heroes.
Tan Wang, Beok Goong Ryung.
This great patriarch of the Orthodox Sects intended to claim all the atrocities that had unfolded on Hell Island as his own doing.
“Is such a thing truly necessary?”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Beok Goong Ryung offered a withered smile.
“If it becomes known in Murim that they destroyed each other out of greed for weapons, the very foundation of the Orthodox Sects would crumble beyond repair.”
“I shall handle everything.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with an impassive expression.
“From the start, I am a Demonic Being of the Demonic Path, so slaughtering Orthodox Sect members would inflict no real damage upon me.”
“That cannot be true.”
“And why not?”
Beok Goong Ryung, a faint smile gracing his lips, gazed toward the distant sky and murmured softly.
“Because one day, you may become the sole beacon of hope that saves the Murim from descending into ruin.”
These were words that Beok Goong Ryung—who until now had insisted only the Righteous Path held merit—could never have spoken.
At last, he had come to understand.
Those capable of saving the Murim are not determined by the fork in the road between Orthodox and Demonic Sects… but rather by those who possess righteous conviction and unwavering resolve.
“Elder.”
“I shall depart from Gangho for some time.”
“Did you not promise to face me in combat?”
“Hehehehe.”
Beok Goong Ryung turned his body and spoke in a low voice.
“Has your spirit and martial prowess not already ascended to a higher realm? Therefore, let us postpone our duel.”
After turning his head briefly, Beok Goong Ryung murmured in a hushed tone.
‘Thank you.’
Yet those words were far too faint to be heard by anyone but himself.
Whoosh!
Unfurling his movement technique, he vanished into the sky in a single breath.
With many ships moored at the harbor, he intended to depart alone.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol watched Beok Goong Ryung’s departing silhouette and murmured softly.
“There is no need for him to feel shame before me over such matters.”
I believed his hasty departure stemmed from witnessing the pathetic true nature of the Orthodox Sects.
Yet there remained something even I could not comprehend.
Beok Goong Ryung. What debt did he owe to the Orthodox Sect Murim that compelled him to sacrifice so much?
Why did he dedicate his entire life to protecting the Orthodox Sect members?
Crumble.
But then, something strange became apparent.
A peculiar radiance emanated from between the stones shattered by Tan Wang’s spinning golden rings.
Swish.
Without thinking, I placed my hand upon the spot where the light glimmered.
Zing.
With a low mechanical sound, a passage descending underground was revealed.
Judging merely from the shape of the passage extending deep within, I could discern this was a treasure vault housing precious artifacts.
“Whenever this old man’s fortune manifests, such occurrences inevitably unfold.”
Recalling how I had discovered Wu Huang’s Secret Vault, I smiled and ventured into the passage.
Upon reaching the passage’s end, an empty stone chamber came into view.
Closing my eyes briefly, I activated my Hollow Heart Piercing Technique and began to meticulously examine the interior.
“Could this be an underground vault created by the Shenyin Sect, which once established its base on Youling Island?”
Bu Eunseol opened her eyes once more and hurled a razor-sharp wind blade toward the wall.
Clang! Clang!
The wall then began to open in the shape of a drawer.
Remarkably, the Shenyin Sect had carved the wall with such precision that they’d fashioned a secret vault within it.
“It appears that even the forces who scattered the Jang Bo Do throughout this land were unaware of this mechanism.”
Judging by the thick layer of dust coating everything, it was clear the vault had been sealed for decades without once being opened.
The Shenyin Sect’s treasury was concealed behind such an ingeniously crafted mechanism that even those who had scattered the Jang Bo Do failed to discover it.
“Nothing but weapons, it seems.”
The items hidden within the drawers were divine weapons rivaling the Woo Nae Sip Byeong.
Bu Eunseol harbored no desire for weapons.
Yet upon glimpsing the razor-sharp blades, armor pieces, and gossamer-thin chains, her thoughts turned to Myo Cheon Woo, Yu Woon Ryong, and Heuk Pyo.
‘Each of them deserves weapons suited to their own hands.’
After surveying the interior, Bu Eunseol lost interest and turned to leave through the corridor.
“…!”
Yet the sensation beneath her feet felt peculiar.
Boom!
When she channeled her Gong Pa Sim An and struck the floor, she sensed intricate mechanisms installed beneath it.
There was yet another hidden device concealed within this floor.
Rumble.
As Bu Eunseol unleashed her Cheon Geun Choo, light spilled from the opposite ground, and a massive box began to rise slowly.
Click.
Upon opening the box, she found a single blade darkened with age.
Its size was remarkably small—barely larger than a short sword, more akin to a small blade.
Yet the hilt was so oversized that it seemed entirely incongruous with the blade’s form.
“What is this?”
As Bu Eunseol examined the small blade’s hilt, a look of bewilderment crossed her face.
She sensed an intricately crafted mechanism within the hilt she gripped.
“What could this be?”
Bu Eunseol twisted the hilt with all her strength,
Click!
A solid metal piece shot forth from the blade’s spine.
Its rounded, hollowed shape suggested it was designed to couple with some other metal component.
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol finally understood why the small blade’s hilt was so large.
This small blade was originally a coupling mechanism designed to unite with a massive sword’s blade.
It was likely used in conjunction with a large, hollow blade that could be fitted together in small blade form.
“What else is there?”
When Bu Eunseol touched a pointed protrusion jutting from beneath the coupling mechanism,
Click!
With another mechanical sound, a thin needle suddenly shot forth from the hilt.
“Hack.”
The needle was so sharp that blood immediately streamed from Bu Eunseol’s hand.
Clang.
Bu Eunseol’s hand swelled blue as she dropped the small blade. The needle had been coated with a virulent poison.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol immediately drew upon her inner energy to expel the toxin,
Sizzle.
A dark blue venom dripped from the punctured wound onto the floor, releasing an acrid stench.
Astonishingly, the poison coating the needle was the dreaded Rotting Flesh Septic Venom.
“Rotting Flesh Septic Venom….”
Bu Eunseol stared intently at the hilt of the dropped blade.
Yet something felt wrong.
The needles protruding from the hilt maintained an peculiar configuration.
Were they not arranged in a form that could only be gripped by two fingers?
‘Surely not.’
Bu Eunseol immediately retrieved the gloves she had obtained from the Sah Hyang Organization and slipped them onto her hands.
Then she carefully grasped the small blade that had fallen to the floor once more.
Hum.
The blade then trembled softly, as though it had found its long-forgotten master.
“This blade….”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened dramatically.
Could this bizarre small blade truly be the beloved weapon of Chil Ji Ma Do Bu Chanyang?
“It cannot be.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
How could his blade be stored among the Shin Eum Mun, whom Chil Ji Ma Do had annihilated?
“And yet….”
A blade graspable by two fingers alone.
In all of Murim, only the blade of Chil Ji Ma Do Bu Chanyang possessed such a characteristic.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————