The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 358

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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 358.
A secret chamber hidden within Bi Young Gak.
Subtle incense drifted through the space, easing the fatigue of body and spirit, while tables and bookshelves crafted from sandalwood stood arranged throughout.
Before one of the tables, two figures sat facing each other.
Bu Eunseol. And Hwa Jung Cheon, the master of Bi Young Gak.
Hwa Jung Cheon received Bu Eunseol, who had arrived unexpectedly, with considerably softer and more favorable treatment than before.
And this itself was evidence that Bu Eunseol was treading the stable path of succession.
“What brings you here?”
Hwa Jung Cheon spoke, observing Bu Eunseol with a teacup set before her.
“You did not come simply because you suddenly missed the master of this sect.”
“I came to ask about the deputy master of the Fen Sect.”
Bu Eunseol asked directly, without circumlocution.
Yet unlike before, her tone was measured and respectful, as one speaks to an elder.
“The deputy master has been missing for decades. Yet why do you still leave the position vacant?”
Hwa Jung Cheon furrowed his brow as he answered.
“Such questions would be better directed to the sect master or the Chong Gyo Ryeong.”
“I wished to hear your perspective.”
“My perspective, you say.”
Bu Eunseol spoke candidly.
“Ma Cheon Je is in seclusion, and the Chong Gyo Ryeong does not seem likely to answer honestly.”
“Ha ha ha.”
At Bu Eunseol’s unguarded words, Hwa Jung Cheon let out a soft laugh.
“That is the most honest thing I have heard in some time.”
And he nodded, continuing his words.
“Since the young master speaks so frankly, I too shall be frank.”
“Please do.”
“I acknowledge that you have overcome many trials and secured your position as successor.”
“….”
“Yet I cannot say you are perfect. To be more candid, you still have a long road ahead.”
“So you remain neutral, then.”
“Indeed.”
Hwa Jung Cheon regarded Bu Eunseol with eyes that had grown distant and contemplative.
“Therefore, should I provide you with any information, you must be prepared to accept the corresponding cost.”
Bu Eunseol immediately grasped the meaning of his words and nodded.
He still maintained neutrality, so if he gave Bu Eunseol information about certain people—
He would pass information about Bu Eunseol to those same people in return.
“You are remarkably candid.”
“I have no choice but to be.”
Hwa Jung Cheon offered a wry smile and stroked his chin.
“If I did not explain this beforehand, would you not surely draw your blade and aim it at my throat?”
“Very well.”
Bu Eunseol nodded decisively.
“I shall bear all the losses you mention, Gak Ju. So please, tell me.”
“Hmm. You wished to hear my thoughts on why the Deputy Sect Leader position was left vacant….”
Hwa Jung Cheon exhaled softly and settled deeper into his chair.
“First, I must explain how Chil Ji Ma Do Bu Chanyang came to be the previous Deputy Sect Leader of the Demon Hall. We should start from the beginning.”
Hwa Jung Cheon drew a long breath and gazed not at Bu Eunseol, but into empty space.
“To summarize the conclusion… he ascended to the Deputy Sect Leader position because he received the support of more than half of the Ten Demonic Gates.”
“….”
“However, the true reason was never revealed. Only rumors circulated that he had leverage over the Ten Demonic Gates.”
His eyes deepened as if sifting through distant memories.
“The one originally designated as Deputy Sect Leader was Sa Jeon Geom, the Deputy Sect Leader of the Hwawoo Sword Sect at that time.”
Hwa Jung Cheon spoke again.
“Yet suddenly, six of the Ten Demonic Gates—excluding the Hwawoo Sword Sect, Jeol Cheon Myul Ji, Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, and Nangya Sect—recommended Chil Ji Ma Do for the position. And so he became Deputy Sect Leader.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
A strong candidate suddenly withdrew, and an unexpected figure gained the support of the majority to claim the seat?
Whether Hwa Jung Cheon’s claim about leverage was true, or whether Chil Ji Ma Do had offered irresistible benefits, one thing was certain: some sort of hidden pact lay behind it all.
“What leverage could the Ten Demonic Gates possibly have?”
As Bu Eunseol asked in bewilderment, Hwa Jung Cheon offered a thin smile.
“Not now, but forty years ago, the martial arts of the Ten Demonic Gates had peculiar incompatibilities. Consequently, many of their techniques countered one another.”
Hwa Jung Cheon spoke in a low voice.
“Sa Ryung Chang could not find purchase against the White Horse Sect’s unorthodox methods, and Geuk Sal Mil Gak’s assassination techniques became mere shells before Nangya Sect’s practical combat arts.”
“I see.”
“In fact, Chil Ji Ma Do clashed with masters of the Ten Demonic Gates many times back then. And the rumor spread that whenever he fought, he deployed martial techniques that countered the Ten Demonic Gates’ arts against one another.”
“Is it not common to learn an opponent’s martial principles on the spot during combat? Our Bon Gak prioritizes mastering such techniques as well.”
“It was not merely mimicking the principles of martial arts, but rather rumors claimed he executed them perfectly, as if he had cultivated them for decades.”
Bu Eunseol expressed her astonishment while shaking her head.
“If Chil Ji Ma Do could wield the martial arts of the Ten Demonic Gates perfectly, he could never have ascended to the Deputy Sect Leader position.”
If Chil Ji Ma Do had stolen the exclusive techniques of the Ten Demonic Gates, would he not have faced their combined assault?
“Had there been evidence, it would have been so.”
Yet Hwa Jung Cheon spoke with an indifferent expression.
“But despite Chil Ji Ma Do killing countless masters from both the Orthodox Sects and the Ten Demonic Gates, he left almost no traces. Perhaps he took measures to prevent anyone from investigating the evidence.”
Bu Eunseol grasped another truth.
Chil Ji Ma Do had also been careful to leave no traces of his martial techniques.
“This makes no sense.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
“If what you say is true, Gak Ju, then Chil Ji Ma Do coerced the Ten Demonic Gates into making him Deputy Sect Leader of the Demon Hall?”
No matter how powerful Chil Ji Ma Do was as a Demonic Path master, he was but one man.
He coerced the Ten Demonic Gates—which represented half the Demonic Path’s strength—into making him Deputy Sect Leader?
The story had far too many inconsistencies to accept at face value.
“I’m not sure such a thing is even possible.”
“Of course, there’s no way to verify any of this. Rumors are merely rumors, after all.”
Even if what Hwa Jung Cheon said were true, there would be no way to confirm it.
If one were to ask the six leaders of the Ten Demonic Gates, “Did the Chilji Demonic Sect threaten you?” none of them would admit to it.
“Yet, as if to corroborate that very rumor, the martial techniques of the Ten Demonic Gates have flourished brilliantly ever since.”
Hwa Jung Cheon spoke with a meaningful expression.
“It’s as though they were compensating for the exposure of their sect’s unique martial arts. Moreover, all the mutual advantages that once existed between the Ten Demonic Gates have completely vanished.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been pondering this, spoke.
“Then couldn’t the rumor be interpreted differently?”
“How so?”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“The Former Lord gave the six sects of the Ten Demonic Gates the secret to brilliantly advancing their martial techniques.”
“….”
“That’s why those six sects couldn’t refuse the Chilji Demonic Sect’s proposal…or so one might say.”
Hwa Jung Cheon’s expression showed slight surprise.
“You’re likely the first to interpret that rumor in such a way, my lord.”
He furrowed his brow for a moment, then shook his head.
“Yet no matter how I consider it, there’s no probability of that being true. The rumors have long held that the Chilji Demonic Sect was never on good terms with the Ten Demonic Gates.”
And he continued speaking.
“In fact, when the Chilji Demonic Sect rose to leadership, the unity of the Ten Demonic Gates crumbled instead, and they began to suspect one another.”
“Suspicion, you say?”
“There are rumors circulating that there’s a traitor among the Ten Demonic Gates who collaborated closely with the Chilji Demonic Sect.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
So Bu Chanyang of the Chilji Demonic Sect was walking such a complex path within the Demon Hall.
‘Perhaps the Chilji Demonic Sect deliberately spread such rumors.’
The fracturing of solid unity begins with the smallest seed of doubt.
What if the Chilji Demonic Sect had deliberately propagated such rumors?
Then he had deliberately sown cracks in the unity of the Ten Demonic Gates and made them distrust one another.
‘So that’s why the White Horse Sect reacted that way.’
Bu Eunseol wore a bitter smile.
When I had asked the leadership of the White Horse Sect about the Chilji Demonic Sect’s whereabouts, I could now understand why they had panicked.
They had feared being branded as traitors who collaborated with the Chilji Demonic Sect.
Trembling at rumors that had circulated decades ago.
‘They’re afraid.’
Bu Eunseol could finally understand.
The Demonic Path, and the Ten Demonic Gates.
They feared Bu Chanyang.
Feared that he might return at any moment. So much so that they dreaded occupying the seat he had left vacant.
“However, even if the Ten Demonic Gates share that sentiment, it seems Ma Cheon Je must have harbored different intentions.”
“That cannot be known. The Former Lord was largely indifferent to matters beyond a few affairs of the Demon Hall.”
And she spoke honestly.
“Besides, the weakening of the Ten Demonic Gates’ unity poses no disadvantage to the Lords.”
Ma Cheon Je held the Ten Demonic Gates under his dominion, yet he could not command them arbitrarily.
It was a matter of balance—the concentrated power of the Ten Demonic Gates unified and the power Ma Cheon Je commanded were nearly equal.
In other words, the Ten Demonic Gates suspecting and restraining one another was precisely what Ma Cheon Je desired.
“Does that answer your question?”
Bu Eunseol stirred from her contemplation at Hwa Jung Cheon’s inquiry, and she clasped her hands respectfully.
“You have been most helpful.”
As Bu Eunseol expressed her gratitude, Hwa Jung Cheon replied with a look of surprise.
“There is no need for such courtesy. After all, everything we have discussed will be relayed to the Ten Demonic Gates.”
“Even so, you broke protocol and shared personal matters with me. That alone deserves my gratitude.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with a faint smile.
“And I have come to understand that you share the same vision as Ma Cheon Je.”
From this conversation, I could discern it clearly.
The Lord of Biryeong Sect was not aligned with the Ten Demonic Gates, but rather shared Ma Cheon Je’s vision.
Had Hwa Jung Cheon been a man of the Ten Demonic Gates, he would never have spoken such words, even with a blade at his throat.
“Hehehehe.”
Hwa Jung Cheon let out a subtle laugh and spoke.
“Have you not considered that perhaps the Lords orchestrated all of this, predicting the movements of the Spirit Lord and instructing me to speak?”
“It seems you wish to cloud my judgment.”
Bu Eunseol spoke candidly.
“Of course, I have entertained that thought. Ma Cheon Je is certainly capable of such machinations.”
“Hehehehe. So you proceeded despite knowing… your true aim was to provoke the Ten Demonic Gates once more through me.”
Hwa Jung Cheon, too, seemed to have anticipated Bu Eunseol’s intentions, and he smiled subtly once more.
The move Bu Eunseol was orchestrating.
He had seen through it—that this private audience was meant to further agitate the Ten Demonic Gates.
“I will say this one final time.”
Bu Eunseol paused her steps and spoke in a cold voice.
“I hope you will ensure that I do not fall by your blade.”
Hwa Jung Cheon fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
And he murmured words of mysterious meaning.
“If mortals are resolute, might they not overcome heaven itself?”
Mortals overcoming heaven—the saying that through human effort, one can surpass the heavens.
In other words, through effort, one can alter destiny.
Bu Eunseol, savoring Hwa Jung Cheon’s words for a moment, shook her head.
“I do not believe in such things as fate.”
With those words, she departed from Biryeong Sect.
Days later.
Bu Eunseol convened a meeting of the Lords.
It was to share the intelligence obtained from the Lord of Biryeong Sect and discuss their plans moving forward.
And from now on, the leader of the Guusal Unit, So Ja Myeong, was formally admitted to the Lords’ Council.
Following through on my past promise with So Ja Myeong, I was implementing a phased plan to bring the Guusal Unit into the light.
Creak.
As Bu Eunseol entered the conference hall, the Lords rose and clasped their hands in greeting.
Yet their expressions were subdued, far different from the usual bustling atmosphere before meetings began.
“What is the matter?”
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Bu Eunseol asked, and Yu Woon Ryong exhaled a deep sigh before speaking.
“An invitation has arrived.”
“An invitation?”
“From the Hwawoo Sword Sect.”
Yu Woon Ryong handed Bu Eunseol a scroll adorned with gold leaf.
Bu Eunseol slowly unrolled the scroll and read through it swiftly.
It contained an invitation from Hyun Ma, the sect leader of the Hwawoo Sword Sect, to attend his seventieth birthday celebration.
‘I’ve taken the bait.’
In that instant, a flash of light crossed Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
My private meeting with the leader of the Bi Young Gak was like casting a fishing line into the river.
And the first bite came from none other than the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“It is a trap.”
At that moment, So Ja Myeong spoke up.
“Rumors have spread throughout the Ten Demonic Gates that the current Lord is conducting a thorough investigation into the movements of the former sect leader.”
And with an increasingly grave expression, he continued.
“Moreover, the sect leader Hyun Ma rarely shows his face, not only in the Gangho but even within the Hwawoo Sword Sect itself. Some say that Wi Hyuk Gyun, the Chief Master, has already taken control of all major and minor affairs of the sect.”
Then Myo Cheon Woo nodded in agreement.
“They have maintained a consistently hostile stance until now. You absolutely must not accept the invitation.”
But Bu Eunseol calmly shook her head.
“It does not matter.”
“Lord.”
So Ja Myeong spoke with a grave expression.
“Though Ma Cheon Je stands at the pinnacle of the Demonic Path, there is a saying that ‘the Hwawoo Sword Sect is what sustains the Demonic Murim.’ They wield the most formidable influence in the Demonic Murim.”
So Ja Myeong’s words were no exaggeration.
The Hwawoo Sword Sect was the largest single force in the Demonic Path and wielded correspondingly immense influence.
Some even whispered that the true leader of the Demonic Path was not Ma Cheon Je but the sect leader of the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“If you enter that place, I cannot guarantee your safety. Even if Ma Cheon Je were to demand answers… if something happens within the Hwawoo Sword Sect, they would be confident in suppressing it completely.”
When Bu Eunseol’s expression remained unchanged, So Ja Myeong spoke once more with utmost sincerity.
“Is there truly a need to risk danger and meet with the sect leader of the Hwawoo Sword Sect?”
“There is.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“Our purposes align.”
“Pardon?”
“Just as they seek to probe my true intentions, I too intend to thoroughly investigate their circumstances and motives.”
With a cold smile playing at his lips, he continued.
“But since the Hwawoo Sword Sect has graciously offered us the opportunity to investigate ourselves, how could I possibly let such a chance slip away?”
“That is not advisable.”
So Ja Myeong objected once more, his tone grave and earnest.
“The Hwawoo Sword Sect has only invited the Lord. That means only a single attendant may accompany you.”
He continued speaking.
“Within the Hwawoo Sword Sect’s domain, even the Guusal Unit cannot wait outside. They would discover and expel them immediately.”
Though he spoke indirectly, his meaning was unmistakably clear.
Once inside the Hwawoo Sword Sect, not even Bu Eunseol could guarantee her own survival.
“It matters not.”
“My Lord.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with perfect composure.
“How else could I investigate the Hwawoo Sword Sect, the foremost sect of the Demonic Path, without taking such risks?”
Yet So Ja Myeong’s expression remained one of incomprehension.
To walk into the Hwawoo Sword Sect with only a single servant? No matter how exceptional Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess and wisdom were, the plan seemed utterly reckless.
It was then that Yu Woon Ryong nodded, as if understanding something.
“From the moment you met with the Lord of Bi Young Gak, you anticipated the Ten Demonic Gates would make contact.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a plan?”
When Bu Eunseol nodded, Yu Woon Ryong’s expression relaxed with reassurance.
“Then all is well.”
His eyes brimmed with trust.
Bu Eunseol may appear reckless, but she never acts without careful deliberation. All who serve in the Sayoung Battle Division know this truth.
“Hmm.”
So Ja Myeong let out a low sound of acknowledgment.
He too understood Bu Eunseol’s wisdom and capabilities well. Yet this time, he simply could not comprehend her reasoning.
However, seeing all the Lords regarding her with such unwavering confidence, he had nothing more to say.
“Then, is there nothing for this one to do?”
Thunk.
In response to So Ja Myeong’s question, Bu Eunseol withdrew a small box from her robes and placed it upon the table.
“Give this to the fastest member of the Guusal Unit.”
“Where should it be sent?”
“To Cheol Sa Bu at the Nangya Sect on Geommi Mountain. Deliver this box and letter to him.”
“You mean to send this to the Nangya Sect?”
“Yes. Once you deliver it to Cheol Sa Bu and give him the letter, he will understand.”
Though So Ja Myeong could not comprehend, he bowed his head.
“Understood.”
“As for the attendant, it should be either myself or Lord Wi.”
It was then that Myo Cheon Woo stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Among the Lords, Myo Cheon Woo possessed the most exceptional martial skill.
However, Wi Cheon Gyeong possessed lightness techniques as swift as Bu Eunseol’s, coupled with exceptional insight and strategic acumen.
Because of this, depending on the circumstances, he was capable of providing Bu Eunseol with greater assistance than virtually anyone else.
“That decision has already been made.”
“By whom?”
“Won Se Moon.”
Bu Eunseol pointed at Won Se Moon, who sat vacant-eyed, her own eyes bloodshot and weary.
“Huh?”
Having indulged in excessive drinking throughout the night before attending this very meeting, not only his pupils but his entire face bore the flushed hue of intoxication.
“Me, you mean me?”
As Won Se Moon’s eyes widened, Bu Eunseol nodded in affirmation.
“Yes.”
“Ha ha ha!”
Suddenly he sprang to his feet, clapping his hands as he spoke.
“Now the Lord finally recognizes my true worth!”
“That will not do.”
At that moment, Wi Cheon Gyeong and Jo Nam Cheon rose simultaneously, their voices unified.
“You know well that he cannot distinguish between right and wrong.”
“Agreed. Won Se Moon is unsuitable.”
Yu Woon Ryong followed, his expression etched with concern.
“The Hwawoo Sword Sect has always conducted themselves with contemptible crudeness. The moment he arrives, he will create chaos attempting to diminish the dignity of the Muhonjung Lord.”
The Lords protested with absolute determination.
To bring the Sayoung Hall’s—no, the Demon Hall’s greatest reckless fool as her sole companion to the Hwawoo Sword Sect, where one’s head could be severed at any moment?
“The decision is final.”
As Bu Eunseol’s expression hardened with resolve, the Lords shook their heads in resignation.
Thus it was decided: she would venture alone with Won Se Moon to the Hwawoo Sword Sect, a place spoken of as more terrifying and perilous even than the Yeom Ra Jeon itself.

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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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