The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 361

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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 361.
“Lord Cheon Woon Gwang.”
Bu Eunseol brought her palms together respectfully and bowed.
At this, Cheon Woon Gwang offered a faint smile.
“Why would the confident successor of the Demon Hall bow before the mere lord of a sword sect?”
Bu Eunseol answered with measured respect.
“Are you not the master who taught me the fundamentals of the Ascending Sword Art?”
“A master, you say.”
Cheon Woon Gwang gazed toward the distant sky and sighed deeply.
“Hell Island was a place teeming with beasts who had abandoned all human virtue. And yet you speak of finding the bond between master and disciple there?”
“To me, it was a place that taught me martial prowess and the principles of Gangho. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Hehehehe.”
Cheon Woon Gwang’s thin laughter carried an otherworldly detachment, as though he had transcended the mundane world.
“Since you see it that way, this lord must take on the role of teacher once more.”
It was strange.
Cheon Woon Gwang had once been a fearsome demonic cultivator who radiated overwhelming presence.
Yet now, all the killing intent that had once surrounded him had vanished entirely. His eyes even seemed to overflow with the hollow serenity of an enlightened sage.
“First, I must ask—why did you seek me out?”
At Cheon Woon Gwang’s question, Bu Eunseol brought her palms together once more in reverence.
“I have come to return the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched to you.”
She then slowly drew forth the dark blade.
Shing.
A low resonance sang out as the ink-stained blade revealed itself.
Flash!
In that same instant, a violet sword light traced in a zigzag pattern pierced toward Cheon Woon Gwang’s throat—the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched unleashed with the speed of lightning itself.
“Splendid.”
Cheon Woon Gwang nodded, observing the dark blade that had halted with perfect precision mere inches from his neck.
Bu Eunseol’s Heavenly Thunder Unmatched had reached its zenith, rivaling even Cheon Woon Gwang’s technique honed over decades of blade cultivation.
“And this is the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched I return to you.”
Crack.
In that moment, the ancient tree behind Cheon Woon Gwang split into three pieces.
Bu Eunseol had advanced the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched further, layering three successive strikes in different directions with each hand.
Whoosh.
Simultaneously, a dizzying pattern was traced near the ground where Cheon Woon Gwang stood.
It was a perfect diagram—a visual guide that would allow even an ordinary person without killing intent to execute the complete form of the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched.
Click.
Bu Eunseol sheathed her blade and lowered her head.
“Thanks to the sword techniques you imparted, I was able to overcome many crises along the way.”
Bu Eunseol had left the perfected Heavenly Thunder Unmatched with the Hwawoo Sword Sect as a token of gratitude to Cheon Woon Gwang.
“And now I wish to return to the Hwawoo Sword Sect the Heavenly Thunder Unmatched that I have completed in my own way.”
“So you intend to destroy this sect.”
Cheon Woon Gwang, grasping Bu Eunseol’s intention, exhaled a turbid sigh.
“To destroy this sect without hesitation, I’ve repaid my debt to the sect master.”
Bu Eunseol had met with him to settle the karmic bond between them.
He understood that this was so there would be no hesitation when the time came to utterly dismantle the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“If necessary… that is my intention.”
“Hehehehe.”
Cheon Woon Gwang chuckled softly, then—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he extended his index and middle fingers, forming a finger sword that targeted the vital point at Bu Eunseol’s chest.
Tsk, tsk.
Bu Eunseol immediately unleashed the Extreme Speed Shadowless technique, evading the sharp blade energy emanating from his fingertips.
“Sect Master Cheon.”
“There’s no need for lengthy words.”
Cheon Woon Gwang spoke calmly, his finger sword still aimed at Bu Eunseol.
“How could I simply let pass one who has declared their intention to destroy this sect?”
Whoosh!
The blade energy pouring from the finger sword expanded in range, splitting into multiple strands that even sealed off the retreat.
Bu Eunseol unleashed the Extreme Speed Shadowless technique at full power, attempting to escape the expanding blade energy.
Yet no matter which direction she moved, the finger sword continuously gathered and dispersed, relentlessly targeting the vital point at her chest.
It bore striking resemblance to the sword technique Ok Yu Ha had displayed during their previous encounter at Geomgak.
‘Is he serious?’
From Cheon Woon Gwang’s middle and index fingers flowed strands of inner force potent enough to pierce iron in a single breath.
Should her body be struck, beyond mere flesh wounds, her meridians would shatter into fragments in an instant.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Whirrr!
Unable to escape the finger sword’s range, a faint luminescence flowed from Bu Eunseol’s fists.
Simultaneously, she unleashed the formidable power of the Seven Fist Techniques, severing Cheon Woon Gwang’s finger sword in a single breath.
Whoosh!
Yet Cheon Woon Gwang’s finger sword, like a living creature, fluidly evaded the assault of her fist power, splitting once more into dozens of strands.
Whirrrr!
Bu Eunseol twisted her body diagonally, evading the finger sword’s assault.
But Cheon Woon Gwang’s finger sword, as if predicting her evasion, transformed once more, targeting the vital point at her chest as she landed.
His demeanor suggested he would be satisfied only by piercing that exact location.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
In an instant, Bu Eunseol’s form began to shimmer and blur.
Extreme Speed Shadowless. In the time of a single breath, she had shifted her position ninety times.
Whooosh!
Yet Cheon Woon Gwang’s finger sword, though appearing simple, concealed profound and subtle transformations.
As the finger sword shifted its trajectory dozens of times in rapid succession, it relentlessly pursued Bu Eunseol, accounting for every change.
It felt as though something alive had attached itself to his body and refused to let go.
‘Nine times. So that’s what it was.’
Bu Eunseol could finally see it.
The move Cheon Woon Gwang had unleashed was a lightning-swift direct thrust that had been bent nine times in mid-air before striking.
‘This is impossible.’
A direct thrust was a sword technique that passed through the shortest distance to pierce an enemy’s vital points with maximum speed.
In other words, it was a technique that could never be bent.
If it bent midway, it would cease to be a direct thrust technique and become a chain-strike instead.
Yet Cheon Woon Gwang had bent his sword nine times, and still the strike traveled the shortest distance as if it were an unbent direct thrust?
‘Can it still be called a direct thrust even though it bent nine times?’
Remarkably, it was possible.
Because the straight direct thrust and the nine-times-bent direct thrust arrived at the same speed.
Slash!
In the end, the sword grazed Bu Eunseol’s chest vital point and tore through her robes.
Even after changing direction ninety times with all her might in mid-air, she could not perfectly evade Cheon Woon Gwang’s sword.
‘A living sword technique.’
As Bu Eunseol gazed upon Cheon Woon Gwang’s sword, she felt a subtle sense of awe.
The living, breathing sword movements that Geom Jon had once displayed.
Cheon Woon Gwang had now unfolded that same living sword technique that transformed with the enemy’s movements.
“Why did you not draw your sword and counterattack?”
Bu Eunseol answered softly to Cheon Woon Gwang’s question.
“I saw killing intent in the form, but no killing intent in the heart, did I not?”
If Cheon Woon Gwang had truly meant to kill Bu Eunseol, he would never have fixated so persistently on just her chest vital point.
He had deliberately fixed his target in one place so that Bu Eunseol could easily perceive the changes in his sword movements.
“Is this the sword intent of the Hwawoo Sword Sect?”
“It could not be.”
Cheon Woon Gwang spoke with a bitter smile.
“I have already perfected the killing sword to its extreme, so I could never attain the highest mysteries of the Hwawoo Sword Sect.”
His eyes were filled only with emptiness.
“This sword movement is merely the final struggle of a disciple who could never fully master the Hwawoo Sword Sect….”
Originally, Cheon Woon Gwang was a prodigy who could master all the sword techniques of the Hwawoo Sword Sect that shook the heavens.
But in the past, when his betrothed was killed by treacherous hands, his sword became a killing blade wielded by a demon.
A killing blade could easily slay enemies, but it could never become the Hwawoo Sword that encompasses ten thousand swords.
Yet he did not abandon the path of the sword; instead, he created the Cheonraemusang to reach the extreme of the killing blade.
And now, after long years of seclusion…he had abandoned the killing blade and mastered yet another new sword technique.
Cheon Woon Gwang showed a withered smile.
“If I could combine this Nine Dragon Flash Lightning with the Cheonraemusang…a truly inescapable fatal strike would be born.”
If the Cheonraemusang, which pierced the shortest distance like lightning, could be varied nine times?
No matter how magnificent a movement technique or evasion one deployed, it would be absolutely impossible to escape.
‘So that’s why he unleashed the Cheonraemusang as a direct thrust rather than a killing blade.’
Had Cheon Woon Gwang drawn upon his killing intent to unfold this sword technique, Bu Eunseol would have found herself unable to even evade it, let alone appreciate the subtleties of the form.
Nine Dragons Island Thunder—this sword technique stood at the very pinnacle of what could be called a killing sword, a technique that embodied the ultimate expression of lethal intent.
Cheon Woon Gwang spoke in a low voice.
“This is the final teaching I pass to you.”
Cheon Woon Gwang.
He had once again transmitted to Bu Eunseol a sword technique that contained the crystallized essence of all his martial knowledge.
“Why do you bestow this sword technique upon me?”
The sword techniques Cheon Woon Gwang had created were preserved across generations within the Hwawoo Sword Sect, worthy of being passed down to future disciples.
Yet why would he transmit this technique to Bu Eunseol, an outsider—and one who had declared her intention to bring down the Hwawoo Sword Sect itself?
Could it be revenge against the sect that had rejected him?
“Perhaps… because I cherish and love my sect far too much.”
Cheon Woon Gwang, having uttered this paradoxical statement, gazed at Bu Eunseol and smiled faintly.
“You will understand in time.”
Then he spoke in a low voice.
“And grow stronger.”
….
“The Murim still harbors many supreme masters you have yet to encounter. Moreover, there exist martial techniques that transcend even the stages one must ordinarily pass through.”
Cheon Woon Gwang gazed upon his cherished disciple with a tender smile.
“I hope that one day, this sword technique will become one of the stepping stones that allows you to stand as their equal… a layer of the ascending tower.”
“Master.”
“Take care of yourself.”
Cheon Woon Gwang turned his body back toward Mo Wok.
Despite receiving a pardon, he still chose to remain within Mo Wok.
“Master….”
Though they had not performed the Nine Bows of Respect nor formally established a master-disciple relationship through ceremony.
Yet Cheon Woon Gwang had unhesitatingly bequeathed to Bu Eunseol the crystallized essence of all his martial knowledge, and Bu Eunseol had faithfully inherited the very heart of his sword techniques.
What stronger or more binding master-disciple bond could exist than this?
“Please, take care of yourself.”
Bu Eunseol bowed deeply, her waist bent low. Then, with utmost reverence and deliberate slowness, she turned to leave.
Having departed from Mo Wok where Cheon Woon Gwang dwelled, Bu Eunseol made her way back toward the Palace Hall where the banquet continued.
Yet as she entered the corridor leading to the hall, a familiar face appeared in the distance.
The face possessed the innocent beauty of a young boy, with a playful smile that seemed perpetually present.
Moreover, the slender lines of the body were even more delicate than Bu Eunseol’s own, resembling at first glance a petal scattered on the wind—the graceful bearing of an exquisite beauty.
It was Wi Ji Hye Sang.
“The wine served by the attendants I brought was rather excessive.”
As Wi Ji Hye Sang turned to look back, there stood a dozen martial artists, and behind them, a figure in a disheveled state being supported by his companions.
It was Won Se Moon.
“He caused such a drunken commotion that I ordered him confined to the Underground Prison for a time. It seems my subordinates handled him rather roughly.”
And he nodded his head.
At this, his subordinates dragged Won Se Moon forward and laid him down before Bu Eunseol.
With a heavy thud, Won Se Moon collapsed to the ground.
“It seems you should be more careful in selecting your attendants in the future. Someone like this will inevitably bring disgrace upon the Lord at any moment.”
Whoooosh!
In that instant, a tremendous aura erupted from Bu Eunseol’s body.
“Ughhhh.”
The dozen or so martial artists standing around Wi Ji Hye Sang clutched their throats, their faces contorted in agony.
Formless Energy.
The enraged Bu Eunseol had unleashed her Formless Energy, strangling the breath from dozens of martial artists.
“Hoho.”
Yet a gleam of delight flickered in Wi Ji Hye Sang’s eyes.
No matter if she was the successor of the Demon Palace, if she killed someone within the Hwawoo Sword Sect…
Even Ma Cheon Je could not smooth over such a transgression.
“Are you serious?”
Bu Eunseol answered not with words, but with the deepening crimson light in her eyes.
The martial artists’ complexions grew even more ashen. She truly intended to kill them.
Thump.
At that moment, Won Se Moon stirred and grasped Bu Eunseol’s ankle.
“It is well, my Lord.”
Won Se Moon seized Bu Eunseol’s ankle with all his remaining strength and pulled himself upright.
“There is no need to fight them.”
Bu Eunseol ceased her Formless Energy and helped Won Se Moon to his feet.
Won Se Moon then flashed a smile, his white teeth stained with blood.
「Your suspicion was correct, my Lord.」
Barely on his feet, Won Se Moon sent a whispered transmission.
「It was not the Sect Master Wi Hyuk Gyun, but that pale-faced wretch who truly commands all affairs of the Hwawoo Sword Sect.」
A flash of insight crossed Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
From the beginning, she had found the Hwawoo Sword Sect’s movements peculiar.
She had long heard that Wi Ji Moo Ah had ceased involving himself in the sect’s affairs.
―Then it must be Wi Hyuk Gyun?
But upon careful investigation of the Hwawoo Sword Sect, Bu Eunseol shook her head.
The Wi Hyuk Gyun she had seen on Hell Island possessed martial prowess that could shake the heavens, yet he was certainly not someone capable of handling the sect’s administrative duties and affairs.
―If it is neither Wi Ji Moo Ah nor Wi Hyuk Gyun, then who is moving the Hwawoo Sword Sect?
Deep in thought, Bu Eunseol had given Won Se Moon secret instructions before arriving at the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
While she conducted a private audience with Wi Ji Moo Ah, he was to deliberately get drunk and cause a disturbance, ensuring his imprisonment in the Hwawoo Sword Sect’s underground prison.
Won Se Moon was not merely a member of the Demon Palace, but a direct subordinate of Bu Eunseol, the Muhonjung Lord.
Thus, to punish or execute him would require not someone of the sect master’s rank, but someone of higher standing than Bu Eunseol.
In other words, the Sect Master himself would have to intervene.
Imprisoned in the underground prison, Won Se Moon began alternately cursing Wi Ji Hye Sang and Wi Hyuk Gyun to the guards.
By doing so, he could subtly compare the status and standing of the two men within the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
―To place Wi Hyuk Gyun and Wi Ji Hye Sang on equal footing?
Confined in the Underground Prison and cursing Wi Hyuk Gyun and Wi Ji Hye Sang, Won Se Moon was greatly shocked by the reactions of the Hwawoo Sword Sect disciples.
Were the martial artists not subtly equating the positions of Wi Hyuk Gyun, who was the sect master and handled all major and minor affairs of the faction, with Wi Ji Hye Sang, the next successor?
Some disciples even feared Wi Ji Hye Sang more than Wi Hyuk Gyun and reacted with heightened sensitivity.
—No, this alone was not yet conclusive.
But Won Se Moon was soon able to discern which of the two was truly leading the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
It was Wi Ji Hye Sang who had released Won Se Moon from the Underground Prison.
Moreover, Wi Ji Hye Sang had repeatedly stated that the reason for releasing Won Se Moon was due to his friendship with Bu Eunseol and his own magnanimity.
If he had come under Wi Hyuk Gyun’s orders, he could never have said such things.
In other words, the one who held the most formidable position in the Hwawoo Sword Sect and handled all major and minor affairs was not Wi Hyuk Gyun, but that young successor, Wi Ji Hye Sang.
“You’ve positioned yourself well.”
Bu Eunseol, having heard all of Won Se Moon’s transmitted voice, glared at Wi Ji Hye Sang and spoke.
“At this rate, you’ll be able to absorb every trace of the medicine’s efficacy.”
Then she withdrew a pill from her bosom and placed it into Won Se Moon’s mouth.
It was the Hwasan Sect’s Ja So Dan that she had obtained long ago.
Slurp.
The pill dissolved like water upon contact with saliva and was drawn down Won Se Moon’s throat.
Simultaneously, a warm heat began to bloom throughout his organs and bones.
This Hwasan Sect’s elixir demonstrated excellent effects against both internal and external injuries.
And the more critical the patient’s condition, the more rapidly the medicine’s efficacy manifested.
“Begin circulating your energy at once. Allow the medicine’s power to be absorbed swiftly.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Won Se Moon immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began his cultivation.
Steam began rising from his head in wisps.
‘I thought he did nothing but drink every day, yet he’s been diligently refining his inner strength.’
Won Se Moon, whom I had believed spent every night drowning in wine, had in fact been secretly and relentlessly cultivating his martial prowess.
‘A little assistance is all that’s needed.’
Bu Eunseol immediately began infusing pure Bangeuk True Qi into his Dachu acupoint.
Whoosh!
As the Bangeuk True Qi pierced through his meridians, a five-colored radiant golden flower-shaped form materialized above Won Se Moon’s head, and soon transformed into three bud-like formations.
Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
The efficacy of the Ja So Dan, the true qi that Won Se Moon had diligently refined all this time, and Bu Eunseol’s Bangeuk True Qi combined, allowing him to leap to an even higher realm.
Flash!
Finally, as Won Se Moon completed his cultivation, brilliant light blazed from his eyes.
He sprang to his feet like a coiled spring and bowed his head.
“Thank you, Lord.”
The martial artists of the Hwawoo Sword Sect were greatly astonished—Won Se Moon, who had been dying moments before, not only recovered his vitality in an instant but also had his martial power enhanced.
Bu Eunseol gazed at Wi Ji Hye Sang and spoke coldly.
“I’ve received your generous hospitality.”
Then she turned, Won Se Moon following beside her.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Are you leaving already?”
Wi Ji Hye Sang quickly interjected, as if unwilling to lose the initiative.
“Since you’ve come this far, why not share a drink with me?”
“That might have been possible if you had treated him and shown proper respect.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“Even when beating a dog, one must consider the master.”
In truth, I had intended to have much to discuss with Wi Ji Hye Sang.
But upon learning that he had continuously led the Hwawoo Sword Sect and reduced Won Se Moon to this state, I could feel it clearly.
Wi Ji Hye Sang was an enemy.
No matter how courteous his words and demeanor appeared, it was merely a mask concealing his true intentions.
If that were the case, there was no need to speak with him further.
Tap, tap.
As I walked away without looking back, Wi Ji Hye Sang’s eyes narrowed into crescents.
“Are you making progress in finding the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars?”
In that instant, my footsteps halted.
The search for the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars—that was something only I, my subordinates Myo Cheon Woo and Yu Woon Ryong, and the remaining Lords, along with Guusal Unit commander So Ja Myeong, knew about.
Yet how could Wi Ji Hye Sang possibly know of this matter?
How could he know?
‘Is there a mole among us?’
My expression hardened slightly.
All six individuals, including Won Se Moon, were people I trusted implicitly. Yet there was a traitor among them?
‘No—he might be attempting to shatter our unity with information obtained by chance.’
Observing Wi Ji Hye Sang’s confident expression, my mind began to race at lightning speed.
The best way to destroy a solid organization is to infiltrate it from within.
Especially since suspicion, once sown, grows uncontrollably.
‘You grew impatient, Wi Ji Hye Sang.’
I offered a cold smile.
To deliberately cast information known only to himself before me—
It was merely a desperate attempt to make me feel that he saw everything from above.
‘Your very action provides me with a crucial clue.’
I was certain there was no possibility of a mole among the Lords.
Then how did he obtain this information? Wi Ji Hye Sang—was he one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars himself, or…?
‘Or perhaps the Hwawoo Sword Sect itself has been seized by a descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.’
Since Jeok Hwa Woon, the founder seven hundred years ago, established the Hwawoo Sword Sect, the sect masters had always come from the Jeok Family.
But for the past three hundred years, members of the Wi Ji Family had continuously held the position of sect master, and their influence had grown rapidly.
Based on Wi Ji Hye Sang’s intelligence capabilities, it occurred to me that perhaps a descendant of the Sword Emperor among the Eight Emperors and Three Stars had taken control of the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“Wi Ji Hye Sang.”
Turning around, I wore a faint smile.
“Even one such as you makes mistakes.”
Wi Ji Hye Sang’s intelligence network had always held an advantage over mine.
He had always revealed incomprehensible information, sowing confusion in my mind.
Most of what they were were things I couldn’t verify the truth of.
But this time, I had come prepared with multiple plans.
In the end, even though Wi Ji Hye Sang had entered his own territory, he failed to seize the initiative and merely blurted out needless words in his haste.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“If you don’t understand, then that’s fine too.”
I turned my body and lifted the corners of my mouth.
I had visited the Hwawoo Sword Sect alone and gathered every piece of information I could obtain, while also grasping the internal circumstances of the sect.
Moreover, I had even gained the intuition that Wi Ji Hye Sang, or the Wi Ji Family who controlled the Hwawoo Sword Sect, might be descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
But the Hwawoo Sword Sect had yielded me nothing.
“Then.”
I turned my body with an expression devoid of any regret and departed from the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“I’ll admit you landed a blow this time.”
Wi Ji Hye Sang murmured with a dispirited expression, watching my figure disappear into the distance.
“The card you threw was simply impossible to anticipate.”
Taking a deep breath, Wi Ji Hye Sang’s eyes gleamed once more with profound light.
“But this victory is only for now… You will soon become my plaything.”
From the eyes of Wi Ji Hye Sang, who wore a bright smile, emanated an adhesive force that nothing could sever, and a strange, burning heat.

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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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