The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 342

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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 342.
―The Demon Hall and Buk Hae Bing Gung have formed a pact of peace!
As this rumor spread throughout Murim, martial artists fell into profound shock.
Since its founding, Buk Hae Bing Gung had never once opened its doors to external forces.
Even though they practiced the Demonic Path martial arts known as Bing Gong, had they not always taken pride in their alignment with the Righteous Path?
And now Buk Hae Bing Gung, of all sects, was forming a pact with the Demon Hall—a coalition of the Demonic Path?
―That is false information. Buk Hae Bing Gung did not form a pact with the Demon Hall, but rather a sworn brotherhood with the Lord of Muhonjung!
Yet even more shocking news soon emerged.
The rumor spread that Buk Hae Bing Gung had not formed a pact with the Demon Hall itself, but rather had sworn a bond with Bu Eunseol, the successor to the Demon Hall.
―How could that possibly be?
The common people could not believe such rumors. No, they could not afford to believe them.
Buk Hae Bing Gung, formed from the union of six Northern Sea clans, possessed martial might so formidable that even the Demon Hall would not dare provoke them lightly.
Yet the Palace Lord of Buk Hae Bing Gung would swear a bond not with Ma Cheon Je himself, but merely with the Lord of Muhonjung?
―Thirty thousand Bing Baek Shin Dan sent from Buk Hae Bing Gung to the Lord of Muhonjung have arrived at the Demon Hall.
And as if to prove the rumor true, Buk Hae Bing Gung sent thirty thousand Bing Baek Shin Dan to the Demon Hall in Bu Eunseol’s name.
With that, Murim erupted into fervent discussion of the Lord of Muhonjung.
―It was true that the Palace Lord of Buk Hae Bing Gung had sworn a bond with the Lord of Muhonjung.
As this news spread, various intelligence organizations offered two interpretations.
―The Palace Lord of Buk Hae Bing Gung showed considerable wisdom.
A pact with the Demon Hall itself would be difficult to break.
But Buk Hae Bing Gung formed a pact not with the Demon Hall, but with Bu Eunseol.
A successor can be deposed at any time, or replaced by another.
Should Bu Eunseol die or fall from power, Buk Hae Bing Gung would have no obligation to honor the agreement.
―Not at all. The Palace Lord of Buk Hae Bing Gung swore this bond because he was certain that the Lord of Muhonjung would become the master of the Demon Hall.
Buk Hae Bing Gung is a force that need not submit to any individual or organization.
Yet the fact that they swore a bond with Bu Eunseol means they have absolute faith that he will become the master of the Demon Hall and the leader of a million practitioners of the Demonic Path.
Thus the intelligence organizations remained divided in their interpretations, their opinions continuing to diverge.
As a result, Murim was abuzz with talk of the Lord of Muhonjung, Bu Eunseol, for some time to come.
* * *
In stark contrast, the White Horse Sect was shrouded in a funeral atmosphere.
Kang Yang Cheon, the Sect Master of the White Horse Sect, had made an absurd demand of Bu Eunseol to form a pact with the Sae Oe faction.
Forced to comply with this unreasonable demand, Bu Eunseol departed for Buk Hae Bing Gung, leaving a sharp blade pointed at the Sect Master’s throat.
―I shall resume conducting inspections of the sects that gnaw away at the foundation of our power. There are far too many factions engaging in pointless endeavors.
Yet Kang Yang Cheon was able to laugh off Bu Eunseol’s words about the inspections.
For he had already ascertained the situation at Buk Hae Bing Gung, and he could have sworn with absolute certainty that Bu Eunseol would never form a pact with them.
But that expectation shattered completely.
Bu Eunseol had not merely formed a pact with Buk Hae Bing Gung—he had returned having sworn a sworn brotherhood with the Palace Lord himself.
As a result, Kang Yang Cheon, who had once throttled Bu Eunseol’s neck in the Demon Hall’s conference, and the White Horse Sect itself, found themselves in a dire position.
―I shall begin the inspections.
Upon returning to the Demon Hall, Bu Eunseol kept his promise immediately.
With her deputies Myo Cheon Woo and Yu Woon Ryong, along with all the members of Muhonjung, I had initiated a comprehensive audit of the White Horse Sect.
The scale of this inspection, with the entirety of Muhonjung mobilized, was truly unprecedented.
Witnessing this spectacle, Kang Yang Cheon could not contain his fury and retreated into the Cultivation Chamber.
―I would rather die than endure this!
When I arrived with the full force of Muhonjung, he could not bear the sight and secluded himself in closed cultivation.
―Whether the sect leader enters seclusion or not is irrelevant. Tear everything apart.
My stern command echoed through the White Horse Sect.
And thus, the members of Muhonjung demonstrated through action what a true audit entailed.
From every paper document within the White Horse Sect to the exact count of chopsticks in the Dining Hall—they overturned and catalogued everything.
Even external figures invited by the White Horse Sect and anyone connected to them were thoroughly scrutinized without exception.
―This is far too excessive!
Every servant and staff member of the White Horse Sect raised their voices in protest.
Even households guilty of treason were not subjected to such thorough ransacking.
Yet regardless of their complaints, the members of Muhonjung continued reducing the White Horse Sect to rubble.
Unable to endure this humiliation, the leadership came directly to confront me.
―Our sect is also among the Ten Demonic Gates. How can you treat us this way?
But this proved a grave miscalculation.
―Convenient timing. I was growing weary of summoning you individually. From now on, all senior members of the White Horse Sect shall meet with me in private audience.
As if I had been waiting for this, I brought each member of the White Horse Sect’s leadership before me one by one, beginning my interrogation.
―This is nothing but torture!
The White Horse Sect’s leadership, having undergone their private audiences with me, trembled with rage and humiliation.
What they called a private audience was, in truth, an intensive interrogation lacking only physical torture.
―I have discovered evidence of grave misconduct within the White Horse Sect. I have summoned you to investigate this thoroughly, so cooperate.
Only then did the leadership realize their grave error.
Before me, they should have simply submitted. Their feeble resistance had become poison, strangling them ever tighter.
But the situation was already beyond remedy.
Like dogs at a funeral, they could only be dragged before me with tears in their eyes.
Moreover, as I continued questioning until satisfactory answers emerged, those with weaker cultivation began retching and collapsing.
Yet this was merely the beginning.
―Forty years ago, why did you attack the Chilji Demonic Sect?
I posed a shocking question to the leadership.
I began asking about events from forty years past—a time most could scarcely remember—involving the Chilji Demonic Sect.
Only those approaching old age retained any memory of such matters.
The younger senior members knew nothing, forced to dredge up mere hearsay and rumor.
―I can endure this no longer!
At last, Yeok Jung Maeng, the White Horse Sect’s vice-leader, could no longer contain his patience in the face of my tyranny.
Boom, crash, boom.
Yeok Jung Maeng stormed into the Hyeong Seung Gak, where I had temporarily taken residence to interrogate the sect leaders.
“Is this not going too far?”
Though Yeok Jung Maeng burst through the door, I continued examining documents without so much as glancing at him.
‘Tch…’
Watching Bu Eunseol keep her gaze fixed on the ledger without so much as glancing at him, a thick vein bulged across Yeok Jung Maeng’s forehead.
“Lord of Muhonjung!”
At his outburst, Bu Eunseol finally lifted her head.
“Welcome, Vice Sect Leader Yeok. Please, be seated.”
“What kind of gratitude is this?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Why are you asking the sect leaders questions that have nothing to do with the audit?”
“Questions that have nothing to do with it?”
Yeok Jung Maeng clenched his teeth and raised his voice.
“You claim to be auditing our sect’s misconduct, yet why are you dredging up ancient history from forty years ago?”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s eyes turned glacially cold.
“Is it strange to inquire about the former sect leader of this organization?”
“Chilji Demonic Sect disappeared without a trace decades ago. So why are you asking the current sect leaders about his whereabouts?”
“Quite peculiar indeed.”
Bu Eunseol spoke without lifting her gaze from the ledger.
“Regardless of how long ago he vanished, he was the former sect leader of Demon Hall. Yet every disciple of the White Horse Sect calls him Chilji Demonic Sect.”
Yeok Jung Maeng flinched, but quickly gritted his teeth and responded.
“The former sect leader’s disappearance is something all the upper echelons of Demon Hall, including Ma Cheon Je, keep quiet about. Why would you ask this sect about it?”
Then Bu Eunseol lifted her head, a composed smile playing at her lips.
“Because I’ve received information suggesting the former sect leader’s disappearance is connected to the White Horse Sect.”
“Nonsense. It’s nothing but baseless rumor.”
“Baseless rumor, you say.”
Bu Eunseol’s piercing gaze locked onto Yeok Jung Maeng’s eyes.
“Forty years ago, before he became the sect leader of the Demonic Path, the White Horse Sect attacked him, didn’t it?”
For a brief moment, Yeok Jung Maeng’s pupils trembled. But immediately after, he spoke with an unbothered expression.
“What are you talking about? Our sect attacked him?”
“…”
“Do you have evidence? Proof that our sect attacked him forty years ago?”
“Do you truly believe I would ask such a question without evidence?”
From Bu Eunseol’s eyes, it seemed as though blades of ice shot forth, slashing across Yeok Jung Maeng’s throat.
“If I had evidence, I would simply proceed accordingly.”
Yeok Jung Maeng, turning away from Bu Eunseol’s frigid gaze, let out a scoff.
“There would be no need to question your sect about it, would there?”
He was a man who had become Vice Sect Leader of the White Horse Sect in his fifties—not only exceptional in martial prowess but skilled in all matters.
If Bu Eunseol truly possessed concrete evidence of attacking Chilji Demonic Sect?
He had discerned that she would never resort to such clumsy interrogation to torment them.
“It’s not that I lack evidence. I was simply contemplating the matter.”
Bu Eunseol laughed coldly.
“After all, the White Horse Sect is one of the Ten Demonic Gates.”
‘What pretext?’
Yeok Jung Maeng barely swallowed the fury threatening to burst forth as he questioned her.
“What troubles you?”
“Saryeong School.”
Bu Eunseol fixed her gaze upon Yeok Jung Maeng’s face.
“I’m troubled deciding which to destroy first—the White Horse Sect or Saryeong School.”
In that instant, Yeok Jung Maeng’s complexion darkened to ash.
‘Does he truly know that the Sect and Saryeong School attacked the Chilji Demonic Sect?’
“Ah, of course, you need not speak if you prefer silence.”
Bu Eunseol wore a meaningful smile.
“Since the Sect Lord is in seclusion, you as Vice Lord need only bear all responsibility.”
Bu Eunseol rose from her seat and walked slowly toward Yeok Jung Maeng.
“If you’ve decided to keep silent, then do so. However….”
She smiled as she gazed at his profile.
“All consequences that unfold after leaving this room shall fall upon your shoulders, Vice Lord.”
“W-wait. Consequences?”
“It’s a simple matter, really.”
Bu Eunseol laughed softly.
“If I spread word throughout the White Horse Sect that this information I possess actually came from Vice Lord Yeok himself… wouldn’t that produce fascinating results?”
‘This madwoman!’
Yeok Jung Maeng’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened.
If Bu Eunseol spread such rumors within the White Horse Sect, no amount of denial would convince anyone of his innocence.
And if such words reached the ears of Kang Yang Cheon, whose temperament was as volatile as lightning… it would unleash consequences beyond all reckoning.
‘From the start, torturing those sect leaders, waiting for my anger to drive me to seek her out—it was all a trap!’
A chill ran down Yeok Jung Maeng’s spine.
Interrogating the unsuspecting sect leaders about the Chilji Demonic Sect, squeezing them like rats in a trap.
That very act had been a snare, designed to make him, the Vice Lord, seek her out of his own volition.
‘If I refuse, this lunatic will pin everything on me.’
Yeok Jung Maeng bit his lip.
He was utterly cornered.
Even as the Lord of Muhonjung, he could never interrogate Kang Yang Cheon, the leader of the Ten Demonic Gates.
Bu Eunseol’s true objective had been to corner Yeok Jung Maeng and extort him through coercion.
“You’re taking quite long to decide.”
Bu Eunseol yawned as she spoke.
“I’ll take immediate measures to help you reach a swift choice.”
“W-wait.”
Yeok Jung Maeng ground his teeth until they nearly shattered.
He recognized the chasm before him as a trap, yet he had no choice but to crawl into it.
“If I speak, will the secret be kept?”
“Of course. An escalation serves neither of our interests.”
Yeok Jung Maeng drew in a deep breath.
Ultimately, to avoid being blamed unfairly.
To evade Kang Yang Cheon’s scathing reproach and punishment, he had no choice but to answer Bu Eunseol’s questions honestly.
“Our sect harbored some grievance against the Chilji Demonic Sect.”
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“At that time, Kang Mu Hak, the Sect Leader’s son and my successor, was murdered by the Chilji Demonic Sect.”
At this utterly unexpected revelation, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
“The Sect Leader killed the Sect Master’s son?”
“Indeed. At that time, Chilji… or rather, the Sect Leader was not yet a member of the Demon Hall.”
Bu Eunseol could not comprehend this.
The Chilji Demonic Sect had slain the White Horse Sect Master’s only son? Surely such a grievance between them could never be reconciled under the same sky?
“Then why did you not kill him? With the full might of the Demon Hall mobilized, you could certainly have ended him.”
Before entering the Demon Hall, Chilji Demonic Sect had been an unparalleled figure in Murim.
At that time, not yet a member of the Demon Hall, the White Horse Sect Master would have had countless opportunities to end his life.
Yet why had he not killed the Chilji Demonic Sect master?
“That, I do not know. I only know that the Sect Master abandoned his vengeance at some point.”
….
“After that, when he became the Sect Leader, he became someone we could not touch.”
Bu Eunseol had heard the answer, yet her mind only grew more clouded with confusion.
“This is all that I, as Vice Sect Leader, know.”
At Yeok Jung Maeng’s words, Bu Eunseol bit her lip. She could sense that his words were not a lie.
‘So this is all the information obtainable from the White Horse Sect.’
The Sect Master Kang Yang Cheon could not be interrogated, and even with a blade at his throat, he would never speak.
‘The White Horse Sect Master’s closed and autocratic governance actually proved beneficial.’
Kang Yang Cheon had to face Bu Eunseol directly, even at the cost of his pride.
But the White Horse Sect operated under a structure where the Sect Master decided everything and disciples obeyed absolutely.
And the same applied to Vice Sect Leader Yeok Jung Maeng. This was precisely why Bu Eunseol’s coercion could work.
“Very well.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“I appreciate your cooperation.”
“Is that all then? Everything?”
At Yeok Jung Maeng’s words, Bu Eunseol smiled gently.
“Of course. I shall stop here.”
Bu Eunseol kept her promise.
After the private meeting with Yeok Jung Maeng, she immediately departed the White Horse Sect with her Muhonjung operatives.
―I hear the Vice Sect Leader reached an understanding with the Muhonjung Lord. That’s why they’re leaving without a word?
―Thank goodness. If not for the Vice Sect Leader, our sect would have been squeezed dry until it fell apart.
And as she departed, she did not forget to preserve Yeok Jung Maeng’s dignity.
This way, she could continue to obtain information about the White Horse Sect through him in the future.
Once a channel is opened, it becomes difficult to close.
Humans are inherently inclined to obey those who alternate between irresistible coercion and sweetness.
‘Sect Lord. You have made the worst possible choice.’
A smile played at the corners of Bu Eunseol’s lips as she recalled Kang Yang Cheon, the Sect Lord of White Horse Sect.
When Bu Eunseol came to express her gratitude, he had chosen to close the sect gates merely to avoid witnessing something distasteful.
Yet such an action was unbecoming of a leader responsible for a martial faction. As a result, White Horse Sect had received the worst possible gratitude.
‘Moreover, he doesn’t even know how to properly command people.’
Not only that—Kang Yang Cheon demanded nothing but absolute obedience from his subordinates.
Certainly, such methods could rapidly consolidate a vast organization with ease.
But when that occurred, the organization’s members would refuse to bear even the slightest responsibility for their own actions.
In the end, Kang Yang Cheon had made poor choices and failed to command his people properly.
This was precisely why Bu Eunseol could manipulate White Horse Sect, one of the Ten Demonic Gates, as she pleased.
* * *
The Conference Hall within Jam Ma Gak.
Having completed her audit of White Horse Sect and returned to Demon Palace, Bu Eunseol sat alone in the empty conference hall, lost in profound contemplation.
She had uncovered the secret movements of Chilji Demonic Sect once more at White Horse Sect.
And now she was researching methods to resolve the mysteries surrounding it more swiftly.
‘Murim has been interpreting Chilji Demonic Sect’s disappearance from various perspectives.’
―Demon Palace’s intelligence network is pathetic. They failed to locate the missing Sect Lord for decades.
And on the other hand, some say this:
―They couldn’t have failed to find him. They simply chose not to. Too much trouble.
―Or perhaps… Demon Palace killed him, which is why they’re not searching.
‘All of these theories are plausible.’
Having slaughtered countless Orthodox masters repeatedly, I had created far too many enemies throughout Murim.
Indeed, Demon Palace had found itself in difficult circumstances multiple times because of this.
Had he not vanished so suddenly, there were whispers that Demon Palace would have engaged in an all-out war with the Murim Alliance.
‘But the Palace Lord of Buk Hae Bing Gung described him as a gentle person.’
All those who possessed knowledge of Chilji Demonic Sect’s movements that Bu Eunseol had uncovered were consistently high-ranking figures—either from the Orthodox Sects or the Demonic Path.
This suggested a high probability that Chilji Demonic Sect had deliberately made contact with them.
‘Could it be that these movements were discovered, and he was quietly eliminated?’
Bu Eunseol, deep in thought, shook her head.
If Demon Palace had pooled its strength to kill Chilji Demonic Sect, they would never have left his position vacant.
‘Could it be the Murim Alliance instead?’
Bu Eunseol shook her head again.
The movements of Chilji Demonic Sect that she had uncovered were exceedingly discreet. If the Murim Alliance had reached a consensus on disposing of Chilji Demonic Sect, then surely a master of the Orthodox Sects like Geom Joon would never have spared me, his predecessor.
At the very least, such a figure would not have allowed me to live.
‘Then why does Demon Palace maintain the Sect Lord position as vacant?’
Even Ma Cheon Je could not unilaterally decide to leave the Sect Lord position empty.
Because there was no justification for maintaining such a vacancy.
‘In the end, the Ten Demonic Gates itself is permitting this vacancy.’
In that instant, a brilliant gleam flashed across Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
My thoughts turned to Yeoro, the beloved disciple of the Chilji Demonic Sect kept within my possession.
‘If I leverage Yeoro… could I not draw closer to the truth?’
What if I revealed this before Ma Cheon Je and the highest echelon of the Demon Hall, including the Ten Demonic Gates?
Using Yeoro as bait, I could extract the information about the Chilji Demonic Sect that the leadership of the Demon Hall had been concealing.

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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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