The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 384

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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 384.
Even Sim Wol couldn’t hide his shock at Jin Seol’s unexpected appearance.
“You.”
As Sim Wol’s eyes widened, Jin Seol opened her mouth with a composed voice.
“Stop committing sins.”
“How…”
Sim Wol’s eyes flew wide as if struck by a thunderbolt.
“How did you find out?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I see.”
Sim Wol spat out his words bitterly.
“The Lord of Muhonjung must have told you? Did you investigate my tracks together with him?”
“Does it seem that way?”
“It’s not?”
“That’s right.”
“Then how did you track me down?”
Jin Seol exhaled a sigh.
“I went to the Bi Young Gak.”
After meeting Bu Eunseol, the place she had sought out was none other than the Demon Palace’s supreme intelligence organization—the Bi Young Gak.
She had personally requested the leader of the Bi Young Gak to investigate Sim Wol’s movements.
Because she hadn’t fully believed Bu Eunseol’s words. She needed to confirm the truth about her betrothed with her own eyes.
“I know you’ve been consuming elixirs that enhance your martial power and killing intent.”
Jin Seol’s eyes, which were always cold, now shimmered with compassion and sorrow.
“That’s why you’re committing these acts.”
Jin Seol did her utmost to persuade him.
“These facts alone provide sufficient grounds for leniency. I will help you.”
“How absurd.”
Sim Wol instead let out a bitter laugh.
“Even with leniency, this isn’t something that can be overlooked. Not only by you, but even if my master were to intervene… I would still have to be imprisoned in Mu Jeo Roe for at least ten years.”
“I will wait.”
Jin Seol spoke calmly.
“I will wait for you until then. So let’s return together.”
Sim Wol’s gaze wavered.
Jin Seol was not one to express emotions easily, nor was she a woman who spoke frivolously.
If she said she would wait, whether it be ten years or twenty, she would truly wait for him.
“Are you certain?”
“Of course.”
Jin Seol extended her hand with an earnest expression.
“Let’s return. It’s not too late now.”
“Who said anything about returning?”
At that moment, Baek Su Su cried out with an angry expression.
“Without the permission of our sect leader, I cannot possibly release that demon!”
“Sect Leader Baek.”
Jin Seol spoke in a calm voice.
“I will resolve this matter entirely. And I will compensate for the deaths of your disciples. So….”
“How can you compensate for the lives of those already dead!”
As Baek Su Su’s voice grew louder, Jin Seol spoke firmly.
“Sect Leader Baek. If you provoke him, not a single disciple of Cheong Hyang Mun will survive.”
“If this sect were to cower before such threats and tuck tail, then we would have ceased to exist in the Murim long ago….”
Baek Su Su’s words could not continue.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, the bodies of over a dozen disciples, including her, rose into the air.
“You certainly talk a lot.”
“Sim Wol!”
Jin Seol, startled, extended her hand toward him.
“Please stop. I swear on my life that I will keep that promise.”
In that moment, Sim Wol gazed at her hand.
If he grasped that soft and warm hand, he could truly obtain her heart.
Even if he failed to gain Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts… he could monopolize the affection of this beautiful woman.
Sim Wol smiled.
And he uttered an entirely unexpected response.
“I refuse.”
Crack.
One of the ten disciples suspended in the air shattered like dried straw,
Splurt!
Blood from her body cascaded to the ground in an instant.
Thud.
Sim Wol, gazing at the corpse of the disciple reduced to a lump of flesh, clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Jin Seol. You harbor quite the grand delusion.”
He scoffed and looked down at her.
“Because others praise you as some divine maiden or whatever, do you think every man loves you?”
“….”
“Did you truly believe I clung to you because I genuinely adored you? How absurd!”
Sim Wol scoffed as he spoke.
“I merely valued the conditions you possessed.”
“Sim Wol.”
“I trained myself to exhaustion all this time to win your heart.”
Taking a deep breath, he gazed toward the distant sky with an aggrieved expression.
“Your nursemaid who raised you, the attendants who serve you. I cultivated connections with all of them, studied their preferences and temperaments, and devised plans to match….”
Crack.
Sim Wol shattered the blue stone tiles beneath his feet, his eyes gleaming with resentment as he spoke.
“Like a male courtesan!”
In that instant, a single tear rolled down Jin Seol’s cheek.
Though Sim Wol was not the man of her dreams, he had been more affectionate than anyone else, with a gentle and mild temperament.
She had wanted to elevate him to the supreme leader of the Demonic Path and spend her life relying upon him.
Yet all of it had been nothing but a performance to obtain Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts?
“I see.”
Jin Seol lowered her head.
Bu Eunseol’s words were entirely correct.
Until now, I had been dreaming without ever knowing the true nature of this cunning man called Sim Wol.
“Call your accomplices without hesitation. I’ll kill them all at once.”
Sim Wol assumed that since Jin Seol had pursued him, she would naturally have brought along at least a first-rate combat division from the Demon Palace.
But an unexpected answer came back.
“There are none.”
Jin Seol lowered her head.
“If there were, I wouldn’t have even considered trying to persuade you like this.”
She had genuinely believed she could convince Sim Wol and had come alone.
While this would have been quite moving to Sim Wol, he instead wore a sinister smile.
“Hehehehe. How convenient that the naive princess made this so easy.”
Crash!
As he unleashed his power, another disciple suspended in mid-air became a spray of blood and fell to the ground.
Shudder.
In that moment, despair flickered in Jin Seol’s eyes.
She had risen to her position as Sang Hwa through the care and affection of the Demonic Path’s leadership.
Yet her experience of the world was sorely lacking, and she had failed to truly understand people.
In the end, like a naive child, I had come here on impulse to convince him without even formulating a proper plan.
‘I should have listened to her words from the beginning.’
Only now did Jin Seol understand why Bu Eunseol had said such things.
It was not arrogance or certainty about Sim Wol’s nature.
It was because I alone had no way to cope with this situation—she had spoken out of concern for that very point.
“Now I’ll show you properly.”
Sim Wol smiled and spread both arms wide.
“Just how powerful I truly am!”
And without hesitation, he unleashed the killing intent and rage he had been suppressing all this time.
Boom!
A crimson light erupted, and invisible waves of force spiraled outward in a vortex around him.
He unleashed his supreme martial technique without restraint, intent on slaughtering Cheong Hyang Mun and Jin Seol with brutal finality.
* * *
Rustle, rustle.
Bu Eunseol, seated in the Office, continued turning pages of documents.
While he traveled through Gangho, Myo Cheon Woo and Yu Woon Ryong operated the Sayoung Battle Division flawlessly.
And upon returning to the Demon Palace like this, they resumed the duties entrusted to them.
‘Perhaps it’s time to step back.’
Bu Eunseol, who had been studying the documents, nodded in agreement.
When Myo Cheon Woo and Yu Woon Ryong combined their efforts, there was scarcely any difference from her own management. They were managing the Sayoung Battle Division that competently.
‘If even Muhonjung is functioning properly, that is.’
Bu Eunseol wore a satisfied smile.
Now the time had come when she could gradually withdraw entirely from the Demon Palace’s affairs, operating only the intelligence organization, or traveling through Gangho as freely as she wished.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, accompanied by the sound of knocking at the door, Yu Woon Ryong’s voice was heard.
“It’s Yu Woon Ryong.”
“Come in.”
As Yu Woon Ryong entered through the opened door, he hesitated upon seeing Bu Eunseol.
“What is it?”
“Well… even as your deputy, this seems like overstepping. I tried not to concern myself with it, but…”
“What are you saying?”
“You went to Jin Sang Hwa and told her everything, didn’t you?”
Yu Woon Ryong hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I was worried that if Sim Wol suddenly fell into ruin, her position would become difficult.”
“That’s correct.”
“I thought as much.”
Yu Woon Ryong spoke with a grave expression.
“I’ve felt this for some time now. You understand everything well, but you seem particularly poor at discerning the true hearts of women.”
“What do you mean?”
“You showed consideration toward Jin Sang Hwa. But women see it differently. She likely felt insulted instead.”
“…”
“Moreover, women value their reputation and dignity in others’ eyes. Sometimes more than life itself.”
In that instant, an ominous thought flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
“Surely not.”
“Yes.”
Yu Woon Ryong spoke with an expression of utmost darkness.
“Jin Sang Hwa has left the Demon Palace, pursuing Sim Wol’s trail.”
Bu Eunseol sprang to her feet.
Bu Eunseol rose from her seat immediately.
Jin Seol possessed exceptional strategic acumen and maintained close relations with the Demon Palace’s leadership.
Because of this, there had been confidence that she would not act rashly or commit foolish deeds.
But there was something Bu Eunseol had overlooked.
Before she was the strategist of the Demon Palace, she was merely an ordinary woman concerned with others’ gazes and reputation.
“Which direction did she head?”
“I don’t know. However…”
Yu Woon Ryong drew a deep breath and spoke.
“Just to be safe, I asked Sa Hon Dae to track her movements. It’s presumptuous of me, but….”
“You did well.”
Bu Eunseol gripped Yu Woon Ryong’s shoulder.
Whoosh!
In one fluid motion, she deployed her movement technique, kicked off the door, and rushed out.
‘You’ve made the worst choice, Jin Sang Hwa.’
Bu Eunseol, who had already soared above the rooftops and burst free from the Demon Palace, cried out silently in her heart.
‘Please don’t be too late!’
* * *
“I’ll kill you in one strike!”
Sim Wol, wreathed in crimson radiance and baring his fangs in a grin, looked like a demon about to devour someone whole.
Clang!
At that moment, accompanied by a piercing sound, two brilliant streaks of light bloomed from Baek Su Su’s hands as she hovered in midair.
While Sim Wol’s attention was diverted, she had swiftly hurled the hidden blades from her bosom.
Ping.
But one of the hidden blades bounced off weakly due to the true energy flowing from Sim Wol’s body.
Thud.
However, the other hidden blade lodged itself in Jin Seol’s shoulder.
Baek Su Su had aimed one blade at Sim Wol and the other at Jin Seol.
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled out, but Jin Seol felt no pain.
He had once been her beloved.
Yet it had all been an act, and he was nothing but a demon who slaughtered the innocent.
“Yes. That expression….”
Seeing the heartbroken look on Jin Seol’s face, Sim Wol’s eyes blazed with fury.
“She always made that face when she saw that bastard!”
As his rage and murderous intent intensified, a crimson haze began to shimmer around his body.
Though Cheong Hyang Mun had three hundred disciples, none dared to challenge him.
Even the sect leader Baek Su Su remained suspended in the air, unable to engage.
“Kill me first.”
Jin Seol walked forward before Sim Wol and spoke with unwavering confidence.
“That’s why I came here anyway.”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Sim Wol’s gaze.
Eyes that remained steady even in the face of death—noble and serene. A countenance and bearing both elegant and radiant.
It was a beauty so profound it could shatter even his heart, stained as it was with cruelty.
‘I was half sincere too.’
The claim that he had approached her only for Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts was a lie.
Had it been true, he would never have accepted Jeok Bung’s plan.
Jin Seol, whom I encountered coming and going from the Demon Palace.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, and Sim Wol had harbored affection for her all along.
Had he not consumed the Artificial Core Elixir, had he been able to control his murderous intent… he would have chosen Jin Seol without hesitation.
‘What if I simply left Murim with her instead?’
In that fleeting moment of clarity, Sim Wol felt torn between conflicting desires.
Having slaughtered countless innocents and martial artists, the situation was irreversible.
Yet what if he abandoned everything and fled Murim with Jin Seol? If he surrendered all his ambitions, wouldn’t she follow him with genuine devotion?
‘Perhaps.’
Sim Wol took a deep breath and approached Jin Seol.
If she accepted his proposal? If they could abandon everything and leave together…
Then he too would be willing to cast aside all his ambitions.
But something entirely unexpected occurred.
Thwip!
As Sim Wol drew near, Jin Seol—who had seemed to surrender completely—suddenly unsheathed her blade with the speed of lightning and drove it toward his throat.
The strike was so devastatingly swift that even with his eyes wide open, Sim Wol could not evade it.
This technique was the one-strike-fatal sword art that Ma Cheon Je had personally taught her—the Liu Zhao Tan Ji.
“So this is how it ends.”
Sim Wol gazed down at the blade embedded in his throat.
“Nothing ever goes according to my will.”
A crimson mist rose not only from his body but from his very eyes.
Crack-crack-crack.
With the sound of bone shifting, his body expanded, and a scarlet haze erupted across his entire form.
The last thread of reason wavering in Jin Seol’s heart vanished, and he became a complete Demon King.
Crunch.
At that same instant, the blade lodged in his throat shattered like brittle candy.
“Once one masters the Heavenly Wheel Extreme, the body becomes shrouded in an impenetrable force that repels not only external power but any attack whatsoever.”
Jin Seol’s blade could not pierce through the Heavenly Wheel Extreme that enveloped his body and simply crumbled to dust.
Since the blade had been completely destroyed, it appeared from the outside as though only the hilt remained embedded in his throat.
“I will kill you last.”
Snap.
Sim Wol unleashed a wind strike, sealing the Blood Sealing Point beneath Jin Seol’s throat.
She could move only her face; below her neck, she was completely paralyzed and unable to move her body.
Float.
At the same moment, one of his disciples hovering in mid-air shifted position directly above Jin Seol’s head.
And Sim Wol channeled his power once more.
Crunch. Splaaaash!
The disciple’s body crumpled like tissue paper, and blood cascaded down like a waterfall.
Directly onto the head of the paralyzed Jin Seol.
“I will pour the blood of all three hundred Cheong Hyang Mun disciples here upon you. Every last drop upon your body.”
Though his words were utterly horrifying, the disciples of Cheong Hyang Mun could not move a single finger.
This place had become hell itself, and Sim Wol was the Demon King who ruled it.
Screeeech!
As Sim Wol’s hand swept through the air again, the body of the Cheong Hyang Mun disciple convulsed, spraying blood.
Yet Jin Seol’s eyes remained unchanged, even as her body lay paralyzed.
“Is it still not enough to extinguish that proud gaze?”
Screech! Splatter!
Sim Wol brutally murdered another of his disciples directly above her head.
Jin Seol’s hair was soaked in congealed blood, and her entire body was covered in bodily fluids and fragments of organs.
Yet she remained unbroken, showing no fear, her eyes fixed steadily upon Sim Wol.
“Remarkable. Yes, so that is what Sang Hwa means.”
An ordinary woman could never maintain her sanity in such circumstances, yet Jin Seol stood upright, her eyes wide open and unwavering.
“Good. An even more amusing idea has occurred to me.”
Sim Wol smiled cruelly at Jin Seol, whose cold gaze remained fixed upon him.
“If I use the power of Cheon Pa Geuk Ryun to shake the cerebral meridians, she will become an idiot.”
Thud. Thud.
“Even Ma Cheon Je himself could never discover the reason for the damaged cerebral meridians.”
Rip.
He approached Jin Seol and tore the fabric at her shoulder, his cruel smile deepening.
“You were ravaged here by Mu Young Sal Gwi, and the trauma rendered you an idiot. Yet I shall proceed with the marriage as planned.”
Shudder.
Jin Seol trembled at the depravity of Sim Wol’s scheme.
He would violate her, shatter her mind into idiocy, and then proceed with the marriage as arranged.
All so he could pose as a devoted man, faithfully loving a woman who had suffered such horrors.
If he succeeded, Ma Cheon Je would have no choice but to grant him the martial arts secrets.
“I should consummate the marriage here first.”
Sim Wol smiled, surveying Baek Su Su and his disciples, who trembled in frozen terror.
“After I dispose of all these wretches, of course.”
Clear tears streamed from Jin Seol’s eyes as she gazed upon him.
They were tears of fear for what was to come, and regret for her foolish past.
And in her mind, the face of a man appeared.
‘Was it wrong to hide my heart?’
Jin Seol possessed pride stronger than anyone else.
Especially regarding a lifelong companion—she believed such a person should be worthy of obtaining Ma Cheon Je’s martial arts.
Therefore, she had believed Bu Eunseol would surely seek her hand in marriage.
But as time passed, she realized this was merely a hollow fantasy.
Bu Eunseol.
That stubborn man would not spare her a single glance, even if she offered him martial arts that could make him the greatest master of all time instead of Ma Cheon Je’s techniques.
He would never marry for the sake of obtaining what he desired.
Like a seeker of the Way alone.
He would walk his own path, striving and striving ever onward.
‘That is why I made a different choice.’
Jin Seol had no desire to cling to Bu Eunseol the way Yeon So Ha did at Shin Nyeo Gung.
She did not wish to express her innermost feelings without reservation like those women, nor did she crave love as they did.
‘I didn’t want to desperately grasp at someone who didn’t love me.’
Instead, she had endeavored to forget Bu Eunseol.
And in the end, she had promised a future with Sim Wol, who treated her well. She had tried to forget him that way.
But only now did she understand.
She had merely feared rejection, and had been dishonest with her own heart.
Like Yeon So Ha, like Dan So Ok—she too had wanted to express her feelings and wait for him.
‘But now, everything is finished.’
Having abandoned all hope, Jin Seol closed her eyes.
Boom!
Yet in that moment, the sound of lightning crashing echoed from the distant sky.
It moved with such tremendous speed that it shattered the compressed air in a violent explosion.
Crash!
With another thunderous strike, a grey bolt of lightning that had split the heavens descended instantly before Sim Wol.
Crackle.
The shadow that fell from the sky had deployed such an extraordinary movement technique that their robes fluttered wildly, and brilliant waves of inner force rippled across their entire body.
Yet their eyes blazed with spiritual essence, and an unapproachable majesty radiated from their entire being.
It was Bu Eunseol.

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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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