The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 370

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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 370.
“Nam Goong Woon. What has happened?”
Mak Hoong rushed over in shock upon seeing Nam Goong Woon’s pitiful state.
Gush.
As Nam Goong Woon opened his mouth, bright red blood streamed out in clots.
“From the Demon Palace… with the intent to assassinate the faction leader.”
Nam Goong Woon trembled as he pointed toward Hae Poong.
Mak Hoong’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“That man was in collusion with Demon Palace spies….”
But before he could finish his words, Nam Goong Woon lost consciousness.
“Nam Goong Woon!”
Panicked, Mak Hoong placed his hand on Nam Goong Woon’s back and channeled his inner energy into him.
‘This is….’
Yet across Nam Goong Woon’s entire body were marks not only from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Gae Bang’s supreme martial art, but also
from the Shattered Jade Fist, Golden Mountain Water, and countless other Gae Bang techniques.
‘Regardless of anything else, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms can only be executed by one who has cultivated the Small Heavenly Heart Method.’
Mak Hoong turned his gaze toward Hae Poong.
Though the full details remained unclear, it was certain that whoever attacked Nam Goong Woon was a master deeply versed in Gae Bang’s martial arts.
“Deputy Faction Leader!”
Mak Hoong bellowed.
“What is the meaning of this? Did you truly conspire with the Demon Palace?”
Hae Poong was equally astonished and indignant.
He had only laid down a heaven-encompassing net here and made a promise not to pursue Bu Eunseol.
Now a blood relative of the Nam Goong Family suddenly appeared and exposed a secret pact with the Demon Palace?
‘This is wrong.’
Hae Poong clenched his teeth.
If it were discovered that he had made another secret agreement with the Demon Palace’s successor?
Even if he seized control of the faction, he would lose the hearts of his disciples.
The greater problem was the matter of the artificial core.
If that were exposed, Gae Bang would truly have to take down its signboard today.
“Mak Elder! You are colluding with outside forces to frame this deputy faction leader!”
Hae Poong, seizing the initiative, cried out with a solemn voice.
“Detain Mak Elder and have him sent to Chong Dan headquarters!”
After all, his enemies were merely Mak Hoong and one member of the Nam Goong Family.
Hae Poong was resorting to the simplest method to silence them.
“As expected of a traitor who harmed our faction’s Grand Elder.”
Mak Hoong cried out loudly, as if he had anticipated this.
“Disciples of the Eight Paths, hear me! A traitor! Eliminate Hae Poong and restore the righteous order of our faction!”
‘What?’
Just as Hae Poong’s shock reached its peak,
A thunderous rumble.
From the base of the mountain came the deafening sound of footsteps as two thousand soldiers marched upward.
He too had heeded Nam Goong Woon’s counsel, bringing all of his forces to bear.
“No need for words! Strike now!”
At Mak Hoong’s command, the disciples of the Eight Paths drew their long spears in unison.
The core forces of Hae Poong and Mak Hoong finally clashed at the foot of Cheonhwa Mountain Estate.
―Waaaaah!
With a battle cry, the fighting erupted.
Gae Bang, swayed by the whims of its leadership, had endured generations of division and turmoil.
But never before had members of the same organization fought each other with such ferocity.
―This battle will determine the fate of our faction.
The same thought crystallized in both Hae Poong’s and Mak Hoong’s minds.
From Hae Poong’s perspective, if he could not stop Mak Hoong now, all his crimes would be exposed.
Should that happen, he would not merely lose his position as leader of Gae Bang—he would be forced to take his own life.
Mak Hoong faced the same reckoning; if he failed to repel Hae Poong’s assault, annihilation would follow immediately.
Moreover, he had to defeat Hae Poong decisively to prevent Gae Bang’s transgressions from spreading throughout the entire Murim.
Thus both factions began a battle for survival, a struggle neither could yield.
* * *
On a cliff of the opposite mountain, overlooking Cheonhwa Mountain Estate.
There, a figure in black robes stood with arms crossed, watching the clash of the two forces below. It was Bu Eunseol.
“They’ll destroy themselves without any help from us.”
A faint smirk played across Bu Eunseol’s lips.
Gae Bang had always been fractured from within.
Moreover, having committed irredeemable atrocities, their fate was already sealed.
Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon had merely hastened their ruin.
A soft rustle.
Then, feigning unconsciousness and slipping away from the battlefield, Nam Goong Woon returned to where Bu Eunseol stood.
“Gae Bang is finished now.”
Watching the battle unfold below, Nam Goong Woon shook his head.
“Those forces represent the greatest strength Gae Bang Headquarters possessed. Yet they’re destroying each other. It will take decades for Gae Bang to recover.”
“Does that trouble you?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Nam Goong Woon shook his head.
“Perhaps I would have felt that way once. But not anymore.”
He spoke with conviction.
“They’ve reaped what they sowed.”
Nam Goong Woon’s perspective was shifting.
I no longer believe only the Orthodox Sects act righteously. What matters is the heart of the one who acts.
“I don’t understand why Murim was divided into Orthodox and Demonic Paths. The true path has always existed within the human heart.”
‘He is different from Tan Wang.’
Tan Wang took great pride in the Orthodox Sects and was blindly devoted to them.
However, Nam Goong Woon took pride in the Orthodox Sects without blind devotion, and harbored no prejudice against the Demonic Path.
Moreover, after experiencing this ordeal with Bu Eunseol, even the concept of righteousness and evil had begun to seem hazy to him.
“Where there is a beginning, there is an end, and where there is right, there must also exist wrong.”
Bu Eunseol sighed deeply and shook her head.
“Perhaps humans are destined from birth to choose one path from among two.”
Nam Goong Woon felt a sense of vertigo.
Concepts he had never before contemplated were swirling through his mind.
“It seems I cannot walk the path of a great master like you, Bu.”
He smiled wryly and continued.
“I have no desire to explore such matters as righteousness and demonism, nor the questions of life and death itself.”
If Bu Eunseol was a sage—a philosopher possessing superhuman insight and wisdom to observe and comprehend all phenomena beyond herself—
Then Nam Goong Woon could be said to be a most extraordinary individual who understood his own capabilities rather than external matters.
He recognized that he lacked Bu Eunseol’s abilities and had resolved to contemplate only those things he could comprehend.
“That is also a good approach.”
Bu Eunseol smiled.
In truth, not all humans needed to contemplate various phenomena and principles as she did.
Simply by judging wisely what one sees and feels, one would come to understand various truths and gain profound insight.
“Then shall we go?”
Nam Goong Woon’s eyes deepened with newfound enlightenment.
Bu Eunseol nodded and unfurled her movement technique.
The deepest heart of the Cheonhwa Mountain Estate.
There stood a pavilion with open vistas on all sides.
Before that pavilion stood a silhouette gazing at the scenery with hands clasped behind its back.
Dressed in pristine white robes, long hair tinted silver was bound in a topknot.
The two eyes gazing toward the distant sky were deeply sunken.
It was No Bong, the current Lord of Gae Bang.
“Hmm.”
He exhaled a low murmur.
Swish.
At that moment, two dark figures materialized before the pavilion where he stood.
One wore black robes with a dark ink sword strapped to their back, while the other wore azure robes with a slender-bladed longsword at their waist.
It was Bu Eunseol and Nam Goong Woon.
“So it has come to this.”
No Bong showed little surprise at their appearance.
“I should never have given artificial inner elixirs to children destined to become assassins.”
It was a curious thing.
No Bong had already deduced that the secret of the artificial inner elixir had been exposed through the children Bu Eunseol had rescued from Saixiang.
This was evidence that he had not been confined within the Cheonhwa Mountain Estate, but rather had been observing the state of the Murim from this place as clearly as reading one’s palm.
“And of all places, it fell into the hands of the Nangya Sect.”
No Bong turned his body slowly.
The man known to have been bedridden for years stood with a perfectly straight spine, his entire frame radiating vitality.
Moreover, contrary to his status as the Leader of Gae Bang, wasn’t he dressed in fine garments like a wealthy merchant of Gaebong rather than simple robes?
He wasn’t bedridden at all—he’d been manipulating Gae Bang with a perfectly healthy body the entire time, abandoning his duties as its Leader.
“So even a spy can become a Leader, it seems.”
Bu Eunseol immediately grasped that No Bong was a spy embedded deep within Gae Bang.
The energy flowing through his body.
It was neither the martial arts of Gae Bang nor those of the Orthodox Sects.
Even the faint luminescence of the primordial spirit—visible only to masters who had opened the upper dantian—glimmered between his brows, didn’t it?
That the Leader of Gae Bang had cultivated the inner methods of Sae Oe was unmistakable proof that he had mastered exceptional martial arts long before becoming a disciple of Gae Bang.
“Not at all. Because I was a spy, I could become a Leader.”
At Bu Eunseol’s scorn, No Bong offered a faint smile.
“Otherwise, how could I have conformed to this filthy, useless system and earned the support of those stupid elders who are worthless in every way?”
Nam Goong Woon, witnessing this exchange, exhaled a silent breath of relief.
Gae Bang hadn’t fallen into corruption.
It was simply that this cunning spy had become the Leader and seized control of the organization.
But No Bong’s next words shattered Nam Goong Woon’s hope entirely.
“For a long time, Gae Bang has been run by old men drowning in senile desires. That’s why it was effortless to manipulate the previous Leader, Sang Gwan, and the elders.”
No Bong wore a satisfied smile.
“I simply sweetened the bait, and no one refused.”
A soft metallic whisper.
Bu Eunseol, who had been listening silently, drew the silent sword from her back.
No Bong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You won’t ask anything?”
…
“Why I did this? What figures and forces stand above this Leader?”
Bu Eunseol spoke coldly.
“If you were the type to spill secrets so readily, you’d never have reached the position of Leader.”
No Bong smiled faintly.
“You’re destined to die anyway. The mouths of the dead don’t open, so I could reveal any secret.”
“A spy who rose to become the Leader of Gae Bang would spit out information to sow chaos even as death approaches.”
A sharp metallic sound.
Bu Eunseol, pressing the silent sword against No Bong’s throat, let out a cold laugh.
“Always trying to land a fatal blow on the enemy until the very end.”
“Hahaha. You understand spies well.”
No Bong laughed freely.
“Correct. Even while dying, a true spy must sow discord with information—that’s what makes one a genuine spy.”
As No Bong fell silent, a venomous aura emanated from his body.
Simultaneously, a metallic stench filled the air from all directions.
“Hyeol Hwang.”
Bu Eunseol finally understood No Bong’s true identity.
He was a descendant of Hyeol Hwang, one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
“So that’s how he was able to seize control of Gae Bang.”
Those struck by Hyeol Hwang’s martial arts would gradually lose their blood, and eventually die as if their entire body had been drained dry.
The problem was that Hyeol Hwang himself lost blood whenever he used his martial arts, so after employing his techniques, he needed to replenish his blood supply.
In that case, Gae Bang—where disciples overflowed to the point they couldn’t even recognize one another—would be the perfect source of supply.
“So the rumor that beast blood could replenish his blood was a lie.”
“Hehehehe.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, No Bong let out a scornful chuckle.
“You’re as sharp as the rumors say.”
And he readily nodded, acknowledging it.
“That’s right. To use Yang Hoe Gong and Yeong Ryu Wa Jeon, I had no choice but to drain human blood from the start.”
“So in the end, all of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars except Mu Hwang have fallen to depravity.”
“Depravity?”
At Bu Eunseol’s murmur, No Bong’s eyes blazed with a sinister aura.
“You understand nothing at all.”
No Bong spoke with a meaningful expression.
“Well, there’s no need to explain it to you anyway.”
Snap.
As he snapped his fingers, the surroundings suddenly darkened.
Simultaneously, young martial artists with blood-red light flickering in their eyes formed a wall of flesh around the pavilion.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.
Whether they had consumed Ma Tae or not, they all radiated tremendous martial power, yet their eyes were vacant and hollow.
They were the Shil Hon In that Bu Eunseol had faced in the past.
“With this many, there should be no problem disposing of the Nam Goong Family child.”
It was remarkable.
No Bong had prepared only the Shil Hon In needed to deal with Nam Goong Woon, despite having grasped the entire situation beforehand.
“You were waiting to face me instead.”
As Bu Eunseol grasped the situation and spoke, No Bong laughed softly.
“Face? That’s an odd way to put it. Crushing a mere fledgling like you is nothing to me.”
He looked her up and down, then raised the corners of his mouth.
“I was curious. Just how remarkable are you that you keep interfering with the work of the Heavens themselves, yet still manage to survive?”
Remarkably, No Bong had been waiting all this time to kill Bu Eunseol directly.
“The Heavens?”
As Bu Eunseol repeated the question, No Bong merely smiled.
It was an enigmatic smile that could not be judged as true or false.
No Bong was a schemer who had controlled Gae Bang for a long time. His words could all be lies, or they could make the truth feel like falsehood.
In short, his words were untrustworthy, and it was highly likely they were merely meant to sow confusion.
“No Bong.”
At that moment, Nam Goong Woon stepped forward, unable to remain silent.
“After all, haven’t you guarded the position of Gae Bang’s leader for a long time? Yet would you truly sacrifice innocent disciples of Gae Bang who follow you?”
No Bong had entered as a spy from the beginning, so such words would never sway him.
Moreover, if he had become the leader of Gae Bang to feed on blood, he would regard his disciples’ lives as nothing more than insects.
Yet Nam Goong Woon addressed him as leader and spoke once more of Gae Bang.
Perhaps. Just perhaps.
If his heart could be turned, it might be possible to prevent the sacrifice of Gae Bang’s disciples.
“It seems the Nam Goong Family will flourish for another two hundred years.”
It was high praise for Nam Goong Woon’s righteous qualities.
“These are people who must have their necks severed to create an inner elixir anyway. It cannot be called a sacrifice.”
No Bong intended to have these young people die by Nam Goong Woon’s hand, thereby obtaining another inner elixir.
“Even if you have no lingering attachment to Gae Bang, surely you can still distinguish between right and wrong?”
“Distinguishing between right and wrong is only possible in small matters.”
No Bong gazed at Nam Goong Woon instead, then released a peculiar sigh.
“In great matters, one cannot distinguish between right and wrong. When you become the leader of the Nam Goong Family someday, you will understand.”
Then, as if all words had been spent, he snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Immediately, over a hundred Shil Hoon In members aimed their weapons at Nam Goong Woon.
“Now it is you who must make the decision.”
No Bong spoke with a faint smile.
“The Shil Hoon In—their souls extracted, their bodies consumed by demonic energy, unconditionally obedient to murder commands. Is killing them truly the right thing to do?”
In that moment, Nam Goong Woon’s eyes wavered.
It was as if his very spirit had been struck by words alone—just as Tan Wang’s entire worldview of right and wrong had once been shaken.
No Bong. He was shaking Nam Goong Woon’s soul with masterful eloquence.
“You talk too much.”
Bu Eunseol stepped forward immediately to attack, but No Bong spoke in a leisurely voice.
“Then let us move to the main point.”
“The main point?”
“You are far too precious to simply kill.”
No Bong spoke in a low voice.
“Enter the Inner Heaven, and I will grant you a position and power incomparable to the successor of Demon Hall.”
‘So this “Heaven” he speaks of was not a lie.’
As Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed, No Bong let out a scoff.
“Do not harbor naive thoughts of entering to investigate our internal affairs. Entering the Inner Heaven requires various procedures and trials.”
Then he continued.
“I will tell you the first trial. If you wish to enter, kill this child of the Nam Goong Family.”
No Bong spoke as if it were obvious.
“It matters not if the successor of Demon Hall kills one son of the Nam Goong Family.”
“You have learned negotiation poorly. Or perhaps you failed to investigate this lord adequately.”
“Surely there is something you desire as well?”
No Bong smiled as he gazed at Bu Eunseol, whose sharp gaze looked down upon him.
“If you enter the Demon Hall, you’ll be able to learn all the information you desire.”
“All the information I desire.”
“Indeed.”
No Bong wore a confident smile.
“Haven’t you been searching for the whereabouts of Chilji Demonic Sect all this time?”
“You’re saying he’s alive?”
“Don’t test me.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, No Bong maintained his leisurely smile.
“Simply by telling you that you can obtain all the information you desire upon entering the Demon Hall, I’ve already granted you extraordinary treatment.”
“That’s true enough.”
Bu Eunseol nodded in agreement and grasped her sword tightly.
“Then let us begin.”
There was no reason for me to throw myself into service under a force of unknown identity merely to obtain information, nor was there any reason to kill Nam Goong Woon.
“What a pity.”
No Bong shook his head.
And with genuine regret, he opened his mouth.
“To have your bones buried in such a desolate mountain estate.”
Flash!
In an instant, brilliant light burst forth from the blades of the hundred or so Shil Hon In members surrounding them.
In that moment, No Bong slowly turned his body and vanished somewhere.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
As a rain of sword energy poured down, Nam Goong Woon raised his golden needle sword.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, overwhelming pressure erupted forth, driving the sword energy down to the ground.
He had unfolded the third form of the Emperor Sword Technique once more.
“Brother Bu, I’ll handle these men.”
Bu Eunseol hesitated for a moment.
Nam Goong Woon’s power had now reached the level of the Transcendent Realm. Moreover, the number of these Shil Hon In members was not their full force.
“It’s fine. Quickly go and cut down that senile old fool and return.”
Whoosh!
Nam Goong Woon unfolded the Emperor Sword Technique once more, destroying the weapons of the Shil Hon In members.
‘Perhaps I can hold out for only about an hour.’
If I failed to deal with No Bong within an hour, Nam Goong Woon would lose his life.
But if I let No Bong escape like this, all the suffering up to now would be rendered meaningless.
After a moment of deliberation, Bu Eunseol nodded.
“I’ll return as quickly as possible.”
With those words left behind, Bu Eunseol swiftly deployed her movement technique, breaking through the wall of Shil Hon In members and passing through.

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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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