The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 383

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 383.
Jin Seol, who held the position of Sang Hwa, found that her duties within the Demon Hall were surprisingly extensive.
The Demon Hall, as massive as its physical structure, had an equally vast array of ceremonies and official proceedings scheduled throughout the year.
And it fell entirely upon Jin Seol’s shoulders to oversee them all.
“Place this over there. That section is where Chong Gyo Ryeong will pass through, so position it here. Arrange the Wi Sa guards along this corridor. The noon sunlight will illuminate this area, so….”
She managed the event schedules and personally arranged all the equipment and personnel necessary for each occasion.
“That won’t do. The great sea blade that the newly appointed Blood Wind Lord will receive weighs over fifty jin, so first-rank Wi Sa guards must carry it.”
She also bore responsibility for setting the atmosphere to match the dignity and formality of each event, as well as training the personnel who would participate.
“Jin Sang Hwa.”
A young Si Bi approached Jin Seol as she was issuing various instructions to the warriors and bowed respectfully.
“The Muhonjung Lord requests your presence.”
“What did you say?”
“The Muhonjung Lord is looking for you.”
Jin Seol’s brow furrowed.
Why would Bu Eunseol be seeking her out? Could it be that she had come to lodge a protest over what happened a few days ago?
“Guide the Lord to Seol Yeon Gak instead of the other hall. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Understood.”
Once the Si Bi departed, Jin Seol issued a few more instructions to the warriors.
Then she made her way to Seol Yeon Gak.
Upon entering the guest hall, she found a strikingly beautiful man seated with perfect composure. It was Bu Eunseol.
“Jin Sang Hwa.”
“Muhonjung Lord.”
Jin Seol offered a respectful but stiff greeting.
“What brings you here?”
“I came because there is something I must ask you.”
“Please speak.”
After taking a deep breath, Bu Eunseol spoke with utmost gravity.
“Sim Wol. You cannot sever ties with him, can you?”
The unexpected words caused Jin Seol’s expression to harden.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with unwavering seriousness.
“I’m asking if you can break away from him.”
“Why would I need to do that?”
Then, words she could never have anticipated began to pierce through Jin Seol’s consciousness.
“He has colluded with external forces. Moreover, he has ruthlessly massacred innocent civilians.”
Jin Seol’s thoughts came to a complete halt from the shock.
“He massacred innocent civilians? Him?”
“Yes.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with an expression of utmost gravity.
“That is Mu Young Sal Gwi.”
The successive shock of her words struck Jin Seol like hands closing around her throat.
She tried to open her mouth, but the words would not come.
“Your jest has gone too far.”
After a long pause, Jin Seol spoke with absolute coldness and composure.
“Him? The man who cannot even kill a single fly properly? Mu Young Sal Gwi?”
She shook her head firmly.
“You call yourself the Lord of Muhonjung, but I have spent far longer in the Demon Hall than you. And I have observed him for quite some time.”
“….”
“If he possessed such tyrannical nature, he would already be the successor to the Demon Hall, not Man Bak Dang.”
“I acknowledge your point.”
Sim Wol had failed to gain recognition from Jeok Bung precisely because he lacked the killing intent most essential to those of the Demonic Path.
What if he possessed the tyrannical killing intent capable of slaughtering common folk?
From the beginning, he would have perfected Jeok Bung’s martial arts and could have become a successor candidate.
“Yet it is true. And he consumed an inner elixir that increases both cultivation and killing intent.”
‘An inner elixir that increases cultivation and killing intent?’
She had never even heard of such a thing as a jest in the Murim.
But Bu Eunseol was not one to jest, so such a thing must truly exist.
In that moment, Jin Seol’s emotions churned in turmoil.
“You possess evidence, then.”
“I do.”
“Then why not proceed accordingly? Why have you come to me with such words?”
Bu Eunseol gazed intently into her eyes, which resembled a still lake, and spoke.
“If all his crimes are laid bare, Jin Sang Hwa will bear the same disgrace as his betrothed.”
So Bu Eunseol was telling her this beforehand for her sake.
“The Lord of Muhonjung is foolish.”
Jin Seol spoke coldly.
“Did you not consider that I might acknowledge this and then secretly tell him the truth?”
They were betrothed, after all, and she could easily reveal this to Sim Wol in secret.
But Bu Eunseol shook her head firmly.
“Then I shall accept that I have misjudged you.”
Jin Seol could no longer maintain her composure and trembled faintly.
In that moment, she understood why Sim Wol had become a killer, why he had made such a choice.
The Lord of Muhonjung, who received the admiration and respect of young Demonic Path cultivators in equal measure.
Before that radiant divine being standing before her eyes, anyone would pale into insignificance.
‘I never cared about such things.’
Jin Seol bit her lip.
She had never intended to take a husband whom ten thousand people revered as a hero.
She had not chosen Sim Wol over Bu Eunseol without thought.
She had believed that with a man so attentive and tender in understanding her heart, she could surely find happiness.
“Could you not forgive him?”
Jin Seol spoke with an earnestness she had never shown before.
“He did it because he loved me so much. That’s why he became jealous of you….”
At those words, Bu Eunseol sighed deeply and shook her head.
“If that were truly the case, I would never have told you to break things off with him.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If his intentions were pure—or at the very least, if it stemmed from a desire to grow stronger—he would never have told you to leave him.”
“What are you saying? He….”
Yet for some reason, her voice would not come.
Then, as if she had been waiting for this moment, Bu Eunseol’s words struck like daggers deep into her heart.
“According to our investigation, he deliberately approached you on the orders of the Elder Council.”
In other words, Sim Wol had not loved her—he had loved the conditions she possessed.
Jin Seol bit her lip.
‘She speaks as though she knows everything in this world.’
In that moment, defiance bloomed within her.
“Will you give me a few days?”
“I can give you all the time you need, but….”
Bu Eunseol hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“From now on, do not attempt to decide anything alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are a talented woman, but you still do not understand the ways of the world. Especially regarding Sim Wol….”
“I understand. I will do as you say.”
Jin Seol cut her off coldly.
“But give me a few days. And during that time, will you promise to simply observe and do nothing? Can you promise me that?”
Bu Eunseol, who had been contemplating for a moment, nodded.
“Very well.”
She clasped her hands together and turned to leave.
Jin Seol bit her lip as she watched her depart with composure.
‘She will judge everything by her own convictions. She always has.’
She resented how Bu Eunseol arbitrarily judged Sim Wol.
For Bu Eunseol’s brilliant wisdom sometimes appeared as stubbornness and arrogance.
‘I will show you that you can be wrong too.’
Even if everything had been orchestrated by Jeok Bung, Sim Wol must have loved her with genuine sincerity.
If all of it were false emotion? Jin Seol was certain she could never fail to recognize it.
Having resolved herself, Jin Seol turned her body. To unearth the truth about Sim Wol.
She headed toward the Palace Hall—to the one person she had never visited directly before.
At that moment, in the Secret Chamber of Man Bak Dang.
“So it was because of that bastard after all.”
Sim Wol trembled with rage.
Having finished the massacre of civilians, his mood had improved again, and the murderous aura that had surged through his body had nearly dissipated.
So he had attempted to launch another romantic offensive against Jin Seol.
Yet suddenly, she avoided him with the excuse of illness, refusing to meet with him at all.
“Ugh.”
Now, merely the thought of Bu Eunseol’s face sent rage surging through me.
Having nearly melted the artificial core, my martial power had more than doubled.
As a result, I could now wield Jeok Bung’s martial techniques—techniques I had been completely unable to use in the past—with perfect freedom.
‘With this martial art, I could certainly kill that bastard.’
Sim Wol felt a deep sense of regret.
I had slaughtered countless Murim practitioners and commoners, melting a substantial portion of my inner core, and my martial prowess had grown tremendously.
Yet I could not directly strike down Bu Eunseol?
‘There’s no helping it.’
As rage reached the crown of my head, murderous intent surfaced once more.
With my martial power growing ever stronger, even burning an entire village to ash felt insufficient.
“I must erase them. All of them.”
Conveniently, Baek Jeon Cheon had gone out to Gwan Oe on business, and all of Man Bak Dang’s intelligence networks were now within my grasp.
“Yeoin Mun Pa. I must erase Yeoin Mun Pa now.”
I wanted to eliminate women with martial power.
To be precise, I wanted to cruelly erase women who resembled Jin Seol.
Thud, thud.
Entering the Secret Chamber of Man Bak Dang, where all intelligence from the Demon Palace converged, I searched for the location displaying detailed information on Murim practitioners and their factions.
‘That place would be perfect.’
My gaze, fixed upon the map, came to rest on none other than Cheong Hyang Mun.
A sect of women passed down through generations, specializing in exceptional swordplay and movement techniques.
However, having failed to produce any outstanding disciples, it was regarded in Murim as merely a second-rate faction.
Moreover, as befitted a sect of women, its headquarters lay far removed from Seong Do, making it perfectly suited for a quiet, complete annihilation.
‘Soon the Lord Baek Jeon Cheon will return, so I must indulge myself thoroughly….’
Sim Wol moistened my parched lips with a crimson tongue.
Once Baek Jeon Cheon returned, I would not be able to rampage through Murim so recklessly.
I intended to savor this final opportunity to indulge my murderous impulses before they must be suppressed.
* * *
Cheong Hyang Mun was situated deep within a valley of Dae Nam Mountain.
Wol Ha Ryeong, the founder of Cheong Hyang Mun, had originally been a disciple of Yo Ji Seon Gung.
However, she had preferred wandering the Gangho performing righteous deeds to cultivating the Way. As she aged, she eventually secluded herself on Dae Nam Mountain.
Settling in Cheong Hyang Valley, she created her swordplay while admiring that beautiful landscape.
And by chance, young girls passing through that place became her disciples and received instruction in her swordplay.
This, it is said, was how Cheong Hyang Mun came into being.
Yet unfortunately, Cheong Hyang Mun had never found an outstanding disciple capable of perfectly mastering its exceptional swordplay.
Accepting disciples across generations to maintain its lineage, Cheong Hyang Mun had ultimately become merely an unremarkable second-rate faction in Murim.
Whoosh.
A shadow cutting through the night air stood tall beneath the cliff overlooking Cheong Hyang Mun.
A shadow clad entirely in black night clothes and a face mask.
His eyes were clear and sharp, yet the pupils were bloodshot, and an inexplicable killing intent flowed from him.
It was Sim Wol.
“Such a peaceful place.”
In Sim Wol’s gaze upon Cheong Hyang Mun, a scorching murderous aura blazed forth.
The killing intent that had burst forth from jealousy and rage—he intended to unleash it all in this opportunity and return to his composed self.
Until he married Jin Seol and obtained Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts. Until then, he had to suppress his true nature and killing intent without fail.
Whoosh.
Sim Wol’s shadow, having torn through the night sky, stood abruptly before the main gate of Cheong Hyang Mun.
“Who goes there?”
Two disciples of Cheong Hyang Mun guarding the gate immediately confronted the suddenly appearing Sim Wol.
“At this late hour, what business brings—”
But the disciples’ words never finished.
Crack.
As Sim Wol slowly raised his right arm, a bone-chilling sound accompanied the blooming of crimson mist.
Simultaneously, the bodies of the two disciples began to crumple like toys.
Heaven-Breaking Void Thread.
The true martial art of Jeok Bung, the Blood Demon—a technique that could neither be blocked nor defended against—unfolded from his hand.
Crunch.
An invisible, transparent, elongated force stretched forth, instantly crushing the body of the Cheong Hyang Mun disciple like paper.
Thump, thump.
As Sim Wol entered through the gate,
“Who are you?”
A disciple who spotted him cried out.
Crunch.
But instead of answering, Sim Wol extended his hand.
Boom!
In an instant, he compressed the entire body with overwhelming force, and blood erupted in all directions,
Thud, thud, thud.
Only a thick, blood-soaked lump fell to the ground.
In the past, when Jeok Bung wielded his hand, all enemies before him would vanish…
And only fountains of blood, fine as foam, could be seen.
Using overwhelming force to crush a human body, almost no byproducts remained—only blood mist dispersed like fog.
“Still far to go.”
Sim Wol gazed at the blood-soaked remnants with a regretful expression.
Had Jeok Bung wielded his hand, that tremendous pressure would have produced only blood fountains, leaving no bodily byproducts whatsoever.
“I mustn’t expect too much on the first attempt.”
A faint smile graced his lips.
This was a martial art he could not have dared to unleash before consuming the inner elixir. With time ahead, he could develop it endlessly.
And once he obtained Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts as well… he might even aspire beyond the greatest of the Demonic Path to become the greatest under heaven.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At that moment, a loud bell tolled from somewhere, echoing across the courtyard,
“Intruders!”
With a sharp cry, dozens of disciples wielding drawn swords poured out around the courtyard where Sim Wol stood.
The disciples who had been waiting to repel intruders immediately heard the alarm and rushed out.
“Good.”
Upon seeing them, Sim Wol’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Whoooosh!
As I extended the formidable inner energy flowing through my meridians outward with both hands, the streaking force began to grow so dense it became visible to the naked eye.
Jeok Bung’s forbidden martial art.
It appeared as though I was simply pouring out inner energy to unleash great power.
But in reality, I was channeling the profound principles of martial arts themselves, generating tremendous force with minimal effort.
In fact, I was using only the power of three stars.
Yet I was effortlessly turning the bodies of the Cheong Hyang Mun disciples who rushed forward into pulp.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The time it took to reduce twenty-odd disciples into a byproduct of blood and flesh in a single breath was
barely half the time it takes incense to burn halfway down.
Creak.
Then the doors of the Palace Hall in the distance opened, and an elderly man in white robes emerged, followed by dozens of disciples.
Though his hair had turned white with age, his eyes gleamed with vitality, and his entire body radiated an aura sharp as a sword.
It was none other than the Sect Master of Cheong Hyang Mun, Baek Su Su.
“What grievance does our sect have with you that you would commit such slaughter!”
As Baek Su Su glared down at the corpses of disciples scattered about and bellowed, Sim Wol’s eyes narrowed into crescents.
“What reason does one need to kill?”
“What did you say?”
“If I must give one, it’s that the killing intent has bloomed within me.”
My eyes, having already tasted blood, burned crimson, and my voice had grown sinister and fractured.
Jeok Bung’s martial art possessed the most cruel and destructive power among all demonic arts.
Moreover, because it required killing intent as fierce as a blade, the deeper one cultivated it, the more brutal one’s nature became.
In fact, before Jeok Bung reached the realm of extreme demonization, he would not sleep unless he saw blood every day.
Furthermore, Sim Wol had even consumed an artificial inner elixir that made people savage and fused it within his body—so in terms of cruelty and ferocity, I had already surpassed Jeok Bung in his prime.
“I am Mu Young Sal Gwi.”
“So you’re that demon!”
“Demon?”
At Baek Su Su’s cry, Sim Wol burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
The word “demon” pleased me greatly.
A being possessing malice and cruelty, capable of destroying anything—that was what a demon truly was.
“Shall we begin?”
At last, as Sim Wol was about to open the curtain on a great massacre,
“This cannot continue.”
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
With a burst of force, a beautiful woman in light armor descended from the void to Baek Su Su’s side.
Her two eyes, frozen in an icy gaze, seemed to swirl with blizzards, and her entire form radiated an ethereal, noble light.
It was Jin Seol.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————