The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 366

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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 366.
What is it that humans cannot eat?
Feces? Animal hide? Insects?
Nam Goong Woon could now answer that question with absolute certainty.
There was nothing in this world that humans could not consume.
“Ugh—”
Nam Goong Woon retched again, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
He had assumed that beggar food consisted merely of leftovers or stale rice.
But such fare was considered a luxury meal—something only the respectable beggars of Gae Bang could afford.
Insects, tree roots, the hides of dead rats…
Ordinary beggars, desperate not to starve, shoved absolutely anything into their mouths.
Moreover, beggars had what they called their “staple food”—something distinct.
It was the refuse that drifted in the sewers.
“Ugh—”
Nam Goong Woon could not swallow what filled his mouth and began to retch it up.
Food scraps floating in the sewers.
They were far closer to garbage than anything deserving the name of food.
Yet beggars, their bellies perpetually empty, would carefully fish out these floating scraps.
They would fill empty buckets with them and boil them to eat.
The taste was… so abominable that one dared not attempt to savor it.
If forced to describe it, there was only sourness and bitterness—more precisely, it tasted like swallowing back the bitter bile that comes with vomiting.
‘Abominable.’
For the first time in his life, Nam Goong Woon’s mind conjured the word “abominable.”
His tongue violently rejected tasting those scraps.
As they passed down his throat into his stomach, his organs screamed in protest.
“Is it edible?”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Nam Goong Woon wiped away his streaming tears and spoke.
“It’s… utterly revolting, I must say.”
“Good.”
“It’s a taste that would make even the dead claw their way out of their graves.”
Drip, drip.
Though he had wiped his tears away, clear droplets cascaded from his eyes like a waterfall.
“Chew until the nausea passes. You must grow accustomed to it.”
“Can one truly… become accustomed to this taste?”
Nam Goong Woon wiped away the tears flowing anew.
He thought the only way to become accustomed to this taste was to obliterate his sense of taste entirely.
Rustle, rustle.
Then Bu Eunseol suddenly withdrew strange medicine bottles from her robes and began mixing them together.
Nam Goong Woon felt a sense of foreboding.
“Show me your mouth.”
That ominous premonition became reality in an instant.
The moment Nam Goong Woon bared his teeth, Bu Eunseol began smearing the substance thickly across his front teeth.
“Bear with it.”
Bu Eunseol spoke matter-of-factly.
“It will make your teeth appear yellowish for a while.”
“Ugh.”
As the yellowish, viscous liquid clung to his teeth, the nausea he had barely suppressed erupted anew.
The stench of the medicinal substance Bu Eunseol applied was so putrid that even the filth dredged from a sewer would smell fragrant by comparison.
An indescribable, nauseating reek wafted upward.
“Waaahhhhh.”
Nam Goong Woon wailed in anguish.
Why wouldn’t he lose consciousness at a time like this? For the first time, he cursed his own stubborn mental fortitude.
“Brother Bu.”
Barely regaining his composure, Nam Goong Woon wiped his moist eyes and spoke.
“I received a severe punishment in my childhood and went without food for four days. Ever since then, I’ve been saying there’s no food in this world I cannot eat.”
He shook his head while trembling.
“But it seems I could only say such things because I had never tasted these.”
Nam Goong Woon stared at the refuse still floating in the basin with fearful eyes.
“Brother Bu, even so, these are beggars at headquarters. Surely they would at least beg for food to eat?”
“….”
“Why must I eat this?”
“Beggars of Gae Bang below the rank of Gyeol always reek of sewage. Before becoming a Gae Bang member, they would have dredged their food from the sewers every day.”
Bu Eunseol explained calmly.
“You can still give up. No one will say anything about it.”
‘Give up?’
In that moment, Nam Goong Woon bit his lip.
How could he ever become a great man if he couldn’t overcome this level of trial?
“Why do you keep telling me to give up? I was merely curious and asked.”
Crunch, crunch.
Nam Goong Woon began putting the refuse into his mouth.
Not boiled in a pot, but the refuse floating in the water channel, chewed raw on the spot.
Yet he did not vomit, and swallowed the food without hesitation.
‘Done!’
Nam Goong Woon finally felt elation.
He felt there was nothing he could not do now. All he had to do was become a perfect beggar and enter the Gae Bang Headquarters.
“You see? It’s done now, isn’t it?”
Nam Goong Woon smiled broadly.
But he did not yet know.
That the trials to enter headquarters were far from over.
Gae Bang Headquarters.
Unlike other branches of Gae Bang, this place was not composed of sprawling palace halls or grand buildings, but rather resembled a village constructed across a vast plain.
Originally, Gae Bang had begun when destitute beggars gathered together to form a settlement.
This was because beggars who did not band together would often be beaten to death while begging.
Of course, now as one of the pillars of the Nine Sects One Alliance, it wielded considerable influence over a vast territory.
Yet they still maintained their headquarters far removed from villages, commanding the beggars from that distant stronghold.
Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon finally entered Gaebong once more.
The two of them, who had subsisted on nothing but sewer sludge for some time, now bore the unmistakable appearance of vagrant beggars.
Even if another beggar from Gae Bang saw them, they would never recognize them.
Yet Bu Eunseol was acutely aware that Nam Goong Woon still possessed a fatal weakness.
It was his aura and his gait.
Nam Goong Woon carried the confident bearing and distinctive manner of walking characteristic of descendants from noble houses.
This was not something he had been taught, but rather something ingrained from being born into a prestigious family and having grown up observing illustrious figures and renowned personages.
And such things, embedded as habits within the body, could absolutely not be corrected in a short span of time.
“Do you know how to perform Bone-Shattering Fracture?”
At Bu Eunseol’s abrupt question, Nam Goong Woon shook his head.
“No. Why would I learn such a vicious torture technique?”
“I see.”
As Bu Eunseol’s gaze swept across his body, unease began to creep into Nam Goong Woon’s mind.
“But why do you ask?”
“Gait and aura, like long-ingrained habits, cannot be corrected in an instant.”
“Gait and aura?”
“Yes. Especially masters can deduce much from a person’s gait alone.”
Bu Eunseol spoke matter-of-factly.
“Particularly, you possess the typical confident bearing and dignified gait of a noble house descendant. Among beggars, none would display such an aura and manner of walking.”
Nam Goong Woon scratched his head with a dismayed expression.
“Then what should I do? I’ve already endured so much hardship for this.”
“If you cannot correct your aura immediately, the best method would be to laugh constantly and incessantly. Anyone can act somewhat simple-minded.”
“Hehehehe.”
Nam Goong Woon grinned foolishly and nodded.
“This is something I can certainly do! But what about my gait?”
“Since gait cannot be corrected, it would be best to use Bone-Shattering Fracture to make you limp for a while.”
Thud.
Nam Goong Woon, who had been maintaining that idiotic grin, heard the sound of heaven and earth collapsing.
So now, after all this time playing the beggar, he had to deliberately twist his muscles and bones to make his leg limp?
Drip.
Tears flowed unbidden from Nam Goong Woon’s eyes, though he harbored no sorrowful thoughts.
“Must I really do this?”
“When you first perform Bone-Shattering Fracture, you can create wounds identical to those from being beaten.”
Bu Eunseol nodded as she spoke.
“That way, you can enter the headquarters immediately without any complicated process.”
Nam Goong Woon swallowed hard.
Then he looked down at his own legs.
Bone-Shattering Fracture. It was a torture technique that had earned notoriety throughout Gangho for ages.
Even the Assassin Group, famous for their tight lips. Even iron-boned warriors like Beom Gang Jang Dal. Once subjected to it even once, they say a person becomes a chatterbox instantly.
He had heard the name countless times, but Nam Goong Woon could not even fathom what kind of pain it would inflict.
“You may still surrender if you wish.”
“Surrender? Who said anything about surrendering?”
Upon hearing the word surrender, Nam Goong Woon convulsed and spoke.
“I was merely startled for a moment. Begin at once!”
That confident voice seemed to announce he was a proud descendant of the Nangung Family.
But before long, a hard wooden stick was clenched firmly between his teeth.
And his eyes had already become moist like morning mist.
“Gaaaaahhh!”
A bone-chilling scream echoed in front of the Gae Bang Headquarters.
And a skeletal beggar was rushing into the headquarters carrying a rotund beggar.
It was Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon.
He had immediately cast Bone-Shattering Fracture on Nam Goong Woon and then rushed to the headquarters.
There were many Gae Bang disciples around.
But no one dared stop a beggar whose eyes had rolled back white and who was foaming at the mouth.
“What is the matter?”
Upon entering the headquarters, a middle-aged beggar of some apparent rank asked Bu Eunseol.
“He was beaten while begging, sir.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, the middle-aged beggar examined Nam Goong Woon.
Seeing his twisted legs and the many footprints covering his entire body, he clicked his tongue.
“Who dared lay hands on a Gae Bang member?”
“I do not know, sir. There was a flash of light before my eyes, and then I was beaten mercilessly.”
“It seems those vicious martial artists took out their frustrations on our disciples again.”
The middle-aged beggar, muttering in an angry voice, glanced at the waists of Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon and clicked his tongue.
“Wait, you have no knots? No wonder you were beaten!”
Gae Bang had so many members and was spread so evenly across all of Zhong Yuan that it was common for them not to recognize each other.
Therefore, Gae Bang gave knots to disciples to mark them as members, and these knots also indicated their rank and status.
Newly initiated disciples were given one knot to mark them as first-rank members, but some dim-witted beggars often lost them.
“Go inside to Jang Bang Dong. You should be able to obtain medicine there.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Bu Eunseol lifted Nam Goong Woon and moved deeper inside.
「Was it really this easy?」
Nam Goong Woon, who had collapsed foaming and then awakened, sent a telepathic message.
「We were recognized as Gae Bang members even without the knots?」
「Gae Bang has so many members, and the regional leaders often accept disciples indiscriminately from all over.」
Bu Eunseol sent a telepathic message calmly.
「That’s why it’s difficult to recognize their faces unless they’re formal disciples who have learned martial arts.」
「That’s far too careless. No matter what, you didn’t even suspect despite the lack of a knot.」
「Not at all. I’ve already conducted multiple verifications.」
Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice.
「Knots can be easily stolen from any beggar in Zhong Yuan. That’s why Gae Bang doesn’t bother verifying knots at all.」
Bu Eunseol transmitted her words with an utterly serious expression.
「That beggar just now seemed to speak casually, but he actually verified many things. Think carefully about what just happened.」
Only then did Nam Goong Woon recall the actions of the middle-aged beggar who had spoken to them.
He had carefully observed Bu Eunseol’s jumping motion and checked the filth smeared on her clothes.
And while pretending to listen intently to the story, he had leaned forward to smell the odor coming from her mouth.
「I see.」
Only then could Nam Goong Woon understand why Bu Eunseol had made so many preparations before entering the headquarters.
「So he examined everything from breath odor to gait. To verify if she was a real beggar.」
「Exactly. Gae Bang is the organization that handles the most information among the Righteous Path sects. Despite appearing sloppy, their security is thorough.」
Bu Eunseol transmitted her words.
「That’s why no one who isn’t a real beggar can ever enter the headquarters.」
Nam Goong Woon nodded.
Gae Bang, leading the Righteous Path’s foremost information organization.
From the outside, it seemed as though beggars merely gathered rumors and crudely deduced information.
But in reality, they had discovered a way to systematically and accurately manage this vast number of people.
By utilizing the very identity of beggars themselves.
「Gae Bang. Truly a fearsome place.」
As Nam Goong Woon murmured, Bu Eunseol arrived before a large cave to the west of the headquarters.
It was Jang Bang Dong, where injured beggars received treatment.
Though called a ‘dong,’ it was actually a proper building.
Due to Gae Bang’s history of living under bridges and in caves, they seemed to have given cave-related names even to proper structures.
“Ugh.”
Bu Eunseol deliberately let out a groan as she entered inside.
The interior contained a space exceeding three hundred pyeong, densely packed with wooden beds.
And five or six three-knot disciples were managing the injured.
“Beaten with a club, it seems. The leg muscles are severely twisted.”
The three-knot disciple who approached Nam Goong Woon examined his appearance and furrowed his brow.
‘A one-knot disciple. Can’t even manage their own knot.’
Inwardly clicking his tongue, he pulled out a medicinal pellet from his pocket.
“Apply this. The pain should ease somewhat.”
What he offered was cheap birch ointment made from herbs commonly found in forests.
While it was said to be effective for contusions, it was useless for such severe wounds. In other words, they were dispensing medicine at a superficial level.
“Wouldn’t resting here for a few days help?”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, the three-knot disciple frowned.
“It’s a wound that will heal with a few days of proper rest anyway. Lying here won’t solve anything.”
Once you enter Jang Bang Dong, you receive three proper meals a day.
The Third-Rank Disciple seemed to think Bu Eunseol was after those meals, waving his hand dismissively.
“Apply the medicine well, then lie in a place where the sunlight streams in. That should help you recover.”
Gae Bang had plenty of money and resources, but those benefits didn’t necessarily extend to First-Rank Disciples.
Bu Eunseol clasped her hands together in resignation.
“Thank you.”
Then she led Nam Goong Woon back outside.
After surveying the interior for some time, he settled beneath a massive ancient tree and spread out a spot to rest.
He retrieved the medicinal salve he’d been given and carefully applied it to Nam Goong Woon’s legs, then examined the surroundings attentively.
‘A similar situation, I see.’
Around Jang Bang Dong, beggars who appeared to be First-Rank Disciples lay sprawled out, resting.
Unless one had mastered martial arts to at least the Second-Rank level or higher, one couldn’t even lie around in Jang Bang Dong.
Though they’d been told to rest, First-Rank beggar disciples couldn’t afford to lounge about leisurely.
“How are you feeling?”
“It really hurt at first, but I’m fine now.”
When Bu Eunseol had executed the Bone-Dislocation Technique, deliberately misaligning the knee and ankle joints, the pain had felt as though the heavens themselves were splitting apart.
The foam at his mouth wasn’t an act—it was genuine.
But once Bu Eunseol applied the medicinal salve, the pain vanished completely.
In truth, that wasn’t the salve’s doing, but rather Bu Eunseol realigning the dislocated joints as she applied it.
However, even with the joints reset, the ankle and knee remained swollen, forcing him to limp for some time.
“Let’s rest here for about half a day.”
Bu Eunseol spoke deliberately loud, then sprawled out beside Nam Goong Woon.
At headquarters, beggars could scatter about and rest everywhere without anyone raising objections.
But the reason he lay here.
It was to make a clear impression on the passing beggars.
No matter how many beggars there were, a new arrival always stood out.
Yet by blending naturally into the landscape of headquarters like this.
Those around would think, ‘I’ve seen those two somewhere before.’
But the world rarely unfolds as one wishes. Bu Eunseol was no exception to this.
Thump, thump.
With the sound of footsteps, dozens of beggars were walking toward the ancient tree where Bu Eunseol rested.
Leading them was a middle-aged beggar and a cute-looking female beggar.
When Nam Goong Woon saw dozens of beggars moving, he unconsciously turned to look at them.
‘Oh no.’
Bu Eunseol felt a surge of alarm internally.
Though Nam Goong Woon wore a perfect beggar’s disguise, there was one thing he still couldn’t hide.
It was his eyes.
As the female beggar passed, Nam Goong Woon’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Thud.
The middle-aged beggar then looked at Nam Goong Woon and Bu Eunseol, and stopped in his tracks.
“….”
The Middle-Aged Man’s gaze swept across Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon.
His inner energy ran profoundly deep, evident not only in the brilliant gleam of his eyes but in the wisdom that radiated from them.
He was Hae Poong, the Vice-Leader of Gae Bang who had once held Bu Eunseol’s hand in the past.

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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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