The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 39

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

Chapter 39
At the heart of the Demon Palace stood the Great Training Arena, a vast space capable of accommodating three hundred martial artists practicing simultaneously.
The legendary Ten Demon Experts tournament had once begun in this very place.
Countless talented warriors who had entered the Demon Palace with dreams of glory had shed their blood and perished upon these grounds.
“We have arrived.”
Sim Wol, who had been guiding Bu Eunseol, pointed toward the stairs ascending to the Great Training Arena.
“Once you ascend to the Great Training Arena, those awaiting you will be present.”
Bu Eunseol nodded and began to move forward, then suddenly posed a question.
“What is the relationship between the Demon Palace and the Ten Demonic Gates?”
“By relationship, you mean….”
“Do the Ten Demonic Gates maintain permanent representatives within the Demon Palace?”
Sim Wol blinked for a moment before speaking.
“Of course. It would be no exaggeration to say that the major positions within the Demon Palace are held by masters from the Ten Demonic Gates.”
“Then are they people of the Ten Demonic Gates, or people of the Demon Palace?”
Sim Wol’s eyes brightened as he grasped the intent of her question.
“At present, they would be considered people of the Demon Palace. Once one assumes a position within the Demon Palace, they cannot involve themselves in sect affairs.”
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Whether those conducting the Five Forms test were affiliated with the Demon Palace itself
or were masters dispatched from their respective sects would determine her fate dramatically.
‘If that person were a master directly dispatched from the White Horse Sect… I would find it difficult to survive.’
At that moment, Sim Wol clasped his hands together.
“Then, I wish you good fortune, Bu Eunseol.”
Bu Eunseol nodded and slowly ascended toward the Great Training Arena.
Step by step….
As she drew closer to the Great Training Arena, memories of what had transpired here flooded back.
Young boys and girls who had died miserably in that hellish chaos, and on that day, I alone had survived.
‘Let me survive this day as well.’
Tap.
Upon reaching the Great Training Arena, I found a small platform and table set up, upon which four people sat in a row.
“Ahem.”
An elderly man standing in the center cleared his throat and spoke to Bu Eunseol.
“Are you the Ten Demon Expert from the Nangya Sect?”
The old man’s appearance was gaunt and unremarkable, yet his eyes radiated an overwhelming presence that dominated all who beheld them.
“I am Bu Eunseol, a disciple of the Nangya Sect.”
Bu Eunseol respectfully clasped her hands and bowed, and the old man nodded in acknowledgment.
“I am Gok Gyo Bong, residing in the back chambers of the Elder Council. I have come to oversee the test you shall undergo today.”
Though he introduced himself as an old man dwelling in the back chambers, he was in fact a master from a previous generation who had once been called the “Thunderous Bloody Hand” and had struck terror throughout the martial world of Yangguang.
However, Bu Eunseol, entirely unaware of this fact, simply bowed respectfully.
Gok Gyo Bong then pointed to the middle-aged man seated to his left.
“This is Yu Woon Sung, the unit commander of the Secret Shadow Unit here at the Nangya Pavilion.”
Yu Woon Sung wore a sword at his waist—longer than a standard longsword by about three inches, and narrower by roughly half an inch in width.
He was unmistakably a master who had emerged from the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
“Commander Yu.”
Bu Eunseol bowed her head, but Yu Woon Sung merely regarded her with cold eyes.
“This is Neung Gak, the hall master of the Hyeonhyeon Hall here at the Nangya Pavilion. He hails from the same sect as you.”
Where Gok Gyo Bong gestured, a tall man in scholarly robes stood with a warm smile playing at his lips.
“Master Neung.”
“Delighted to meet you. Your exploits have reached our ears quite frequently in this place.”
He smiled broadly and nodded with an expression of admiration.
“The Nangya Pavilion has truly unearthed a remarkable disciple.”
“This is Go Gun Pyeong, the unit commander of the Muk Ryong Unit here at the Nangya Pavilion.”
At the far end of the row, Go Gun Pyeong had a gleaming whip suspended from his waist—fashioned as though from crushed diamonds.
He was a master who had come from the White Horse Sect.
“Commander Go.”
Bu Eunseol bowed her head, but Go Gun Pyeong remained seated without even granting her a glance.
“Then shall we begin?”
Gok Gyo Bong surveyed the surroundings and spoke matter-of-factly.
“This matter commenced at the request of the White Horse Sect and the Hwawoo Sword Sect. The White Horse Sect sought to evaluate her qualifications as one of the Ten Demon Experts, while the Hwawoo Sword Sect claimed there had been unacceptable favoritism.”
“It is not a claim but a fact. This child learned the Thunderbolt Peerless Form despite not being a disciple of our sect.”
At Yu Woon Sung’s words, Gok Gyo Bong shook his head.
“Let us not debate the justification of today’s proceedings. If it must be done, then it shall be done.”
His words carried a subtle rebuke toward the Hwawoo Sword Sect’s obstinacy.
“I ask once more. Should she pass this trial, do you agree to refrain from imposing any sanctions regarding her mastery of the Thunderbolt Peerless Form?”
“I do.”
With Yu Woon Sung’s agreement, Gok Gyo Bong turned his gaze toward Go Gun Pyeong.
“And you—should she pass this trial, will the White Horse Sect refrain from holding her accountable in any manner?”
“Yes.”
Go Gun Pyeong answered readily, and Gok Gyo Bong nodded.
“Then let the trial commence.”
With that, Go Gun Pyeong rose slowly from his seat and walked toward the Martial Arts Arena.
“Five moves.”
He spoke to Bu Eunseol, who stood in the center of the arena.
“If you can defend against five moves, it will be over.”
“Understood.”
As Bu Eunseol answered, Go Gun Pyeong drew a deep breath.
Whoosh.
The white whip coiled at his waist then came alive like a serpent, wrapping around his forearm.
He had revealed the realm of Heart-Guided Whip mastery, wielding the weapon with absolute freedom according to his will.
“Draw your weapon.”
“I will draw it when the time comes.”
“Hmm.”
Go Gun Pyeong nodded, recalling that the martial arts of Nangya Sect did not rely on weapons.
“Do as you wish.”
“Then, I shall learn from you.”
Bu Eunseol pressed her palms together respectfully and slowly lowered her stance.
Though her posture was impeccable, in Go Gun Pyeong’s eyes, it was merely the gesture of a novice who had yet to master the profound secrets of true martial arts.
‘Hmm.’
Go Gun Pyeong, who had been observing the White Horse Whip, let out an inward sigh.
Though it was called a test, the gap between his strength and Bu Eunseol’s was like that between a child and an adult—no, far greater than that.
‘I cannot fathom what this is supposed to accomplish.’
Go Gun Pyeong was counted among the finest masters of the White Horse Sect, and had long been selected for the Demon Hall, where he commanded the Muk Ryong Unit.
‘No matter how much it is the master’s command…’
He could not conceal the dissatisfaction welling up within him.
Go Gun Pyeong was a master recognized even throughout the Gangho, yet here he was forced to face a mere novice.
“Then I shall begin.”
Go Gun Pyeong, gripping the White Horse Whip, narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Neung Gak sitting at a distance.
‘For the sake of Nangya Sect’s honor, I shall let her pass through the fourth form, then sever both her arms on the fifth.’
The White Horse Sect Master’s original instruction had been to slit Bu Eunseol’s throat.
But for him, who held the position of Great Master of the Demon Hall, to take the life of a mere nameless novice was far too humiliating.
‘Living without both arms will be more agonizing than death. The master will surely understand.’
With his resolve set, Go Gun Pyeong lightly extended the whip and unfolded his technique.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
‘The Swift Sword Form?’
Whoosh.
In that instant, with a tremendous sound of tearing air, something swift burrowed toward the space between Bu Eunseol’s brows.
‘Tch.’
She twisted her body to the maximum to evade it, but with a sharp crack, her cheek was split wide open.
Drip, drip.
Fresh blood seeped thickly from the gash in her cheek.
Had she not learned the fundamentals of practical combat from Dan Cheong and been unable to predict the movement, she would never have dodged it.
“First form: White Demon Heart Seizer.”
Go Gun Pyeong murmured in a low voice.
He announced the technique name after executing the form in order to count the moves precisely.
‘She has grasped the basics quite well.’
Go Gun Pyeong nodded and opened his palm, which had been gripping the White Horse Whip.
Crack!
At the same moment, the White Horse Whip in his hand transformed into five streaks of radiance that burrowed toward Bu Eunseol’s body as if to seize her.
‘All feints!’
Bu Eunseol, who had already mastered the Night Beast Blade deeply, discerned that all five streaks of whip shadow were feints.
“Whoa!”
Sensing the murderous intent erupting from the ground, Bu Eunseol threw her body backward.
Ping!
Simultaneously, a streak of white demonic energy grazed the tip of Bu Eunseol’s nose and burrowed into the earth.
“Second form, White Demon Descent.”
Go Gun Pyeong, muttering softly, nodded inwardly as he watched Bu Eunseol evade with remarkable skill.
‘She’s certainly mastered the Beast Path.’
As Bu Eunseol easily dodged even the second form, his eyebrows rose sharply.
‘Perhaps I should press her a bit harder.’
Go Gun Pyeong opened his hand holding the whip, revealing his palm.
“From here on, you’d best be careful.”
He muttered lowly, this time calling out the technique name first.
He was confident Bu Eunseol would be unable to evade safely.
“Third form, White Demon Chaotic Shadows.”
Whoooosh.
Bu Eunseol felt as though hundreds of whip shadows were pouring down from the sky like rain.
No matter how carefully she examined the falling shadows, she could discern no way to tell which were real and which were illusions.
‘If I cannot discern them, I must evade them all.’
Endless whip shadows pouring from unknowable directions, writhing like hundreds of serpents.
Bu Eunseol drew upon her inner energy at full force, watching the cascading shadows.
Swish.
A pale mist seemed to rise from the shadows of her feet, and soon her entire body became translucent.
At the same moment, hundreds of whip strands falling from above began to pass through her body.
Boom!
With the sound of a passing tempest, the shadows that had filled the Martial Arts Arena vanished as if washed away.
“Impressive indeed.”
Go Gun Pyeong could not hide his astonishment.
Even if one evaded the first strike of White Demon Chaotic Shadows, he had expected significant injury.
Yet Bu Eunseol stood unscathed, her clothes reduced to tatters—not a single fatal wound upon her.
“Huff. Huff.”
Bu Eunseol breathed heavily.
She had drawn upon her inner energy at full capacity, and this was her first real-world application of the still-unfamiliar Extreme Speed Shadow technique.
‘Had he unleashed the follow-up form immediately after that strike…’
Thick beads of sweat poured down Bu Eunseol’s forehead like rain.
‘I would have suffered a fatal wound instantly.’
Bu Eunseol, who had only just mastered the Extreme Speed Shadow technique at the third-star level.
That she could evade White Demon Chaotic Shadows was due to two reasons.
First, Go Gun Pyeong had not unleashed his full power, and second, he had stopped immediately after executing the first form.
‘This won’t do. Ordinary techniques won’t be sufficient.’
Go Gun Pyeong himself was genuinely taken aback.
Bu Eunseol possessed far greater skill than I had anticipated. Had I carelessly allowed even the Sorcerer’s Technique to slip past, I might not have been able to sever both her arms.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Go Gun Pyeong slowly raised his arm into the empty air.
“Demonic Technique, White Demon Heart Strike.”
A deep, resonant hum filled the space.
In that instant, a tremendous surge of energy began pouring forth in all directions.
Upon witnessing that movement, Bu Eunseol’s complexion changed for the first time.
‘I cannot read the technique.’
Ever since learning the fundamentals of practical martial arts from Dan Cheong, Bu Eunseol had been able to predict techniques to a certain degree.
Yet Go Gun Pyeong’s current posture revealed not the slightest hint of an impending attack.
‘If I cannot sense the attack, I will die!’
In that critical moment, Bu Eunseol recalled a secret manual she had read in the Library Pavilion—the Nangya First Transmission.
―Beast Instinct is not omnipotent. To move by sensation alone is what beasts do. A master of the martial world must engage in a little more ‘thought’. Amplify your senses only when necessary….
Recalling the dharma, Bu Eunseol closed her eyes.
And she drew forth the Beast Instinct she had kept sealed away to its absolute maximum.
A sharp intake of breath.
In that moment, Bu Eunseol’s eyes flew wide open.
Simultaneously, she perceived a vision of a sharp shadow piercing through her body from above her head.
A thunderous crack.
In that instant, the whip Go Gun Pyeong had unleashed was embedded in the ground beneath Bu Eunseol’s feet.
The moment she perceived the vision, Bu Eunseol instinctively stepped backward.
‘She evaded the White Demon Heart Strike?’
Go Gun Pyeong’s eyes widened like saucers.
The White Demon Heart Strike was a secret killing technique rarely employed in the current martial world—a forbidden application of the Phantom Sword.
Even among the White Horse Sect, few masters could evade this technique, yet a mere child who had not even properly learned martial arts had dodged it?
‘So that was it.’
Only then did Go Gun Pyeong understand why the Hwawoo Sword Sect had also joined in the White Horse Sect Master’s revenge plot against the loss of his grandson.
They had been wary of this extraordinary prodigy of martial talent succeeding the legacy of the Nangya Sect.
‘A source of calamity must be eliminated before it takes root.’
Having witnessed firsthand just how exceptional Bu Eunseol’s talent was, Go Gun Pyeong’s entire body seemed to blaze with hundreds of tongues of flame.
In that moment, he resolved to claim not her arms, but her life.
In the end, he had made up his mind not just to take Bu Eunseol’s two arms, but to take her life.

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