The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 419

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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 419.
Meanwhile, Jong Jeong Yak, who sat by the window of the Tea House pretending to read a book while secretly observing Bu Eunseol, sensed something amiss.
‘No matter how I look at it, she doesn’t seem like someone who would fit that description.’
Having spent years rooting out spies and investigating suspicious individuals,
she possessed an almost physiognomist’s ability to discern a person’s character and temperament merely by observing their face.
‘Talented young people should possess that distinctive confidence and aura.’
According to the Murim Alliance report, Elite Division Lord Seon Woo Jin possessed exceptional martial prowess and strategic acumen.
He was said to possess such audacity that he wouldn’t be intimidated even before the lords of San Dok Mun.
Yet no matter how I observed Seon Woo Jin, I could detect neither the superior qualities nor the aptitude one would expect.
‘Something feels off….’
Her sharp intuition began to activate.
She sensed instinctively that this person called Seon Woo Jin was concealing something.
‘Moreover, he’s far too composed.’
If this were a newly appointed third-rank Lord venturing into Gangho, one would expect a mixture of excitement and tension.
Yet this person carried himself with the leisurely ease of someone taking a casual stroll through the neighborhood, did he not?
‘There’s definitely something here.’
Jong Jeong Yak had completed her investigation into the Seon Hwa Trading Company and Seon Woo Jin using the intelligence networks of the Inspection Bureau and Mangyeong Jeon.
The Seon Hwa Trading Company operated with such honesty that not a speck of dust could be found even under the most thorough scrutiny.
Seon Woo Jin’s personal history was equally transparent, offering no opening for criticism whatsoever.
It was flawless to the point of being beyond suspicion—yet Jong Jeong Yak found that very perfection troubling.
What if Seon Woo Jin’s spotless identity and background were deliberately constructed?
‘A spy.’
Only such individuals meticulously fabricate their identities and backgrounds to escape all suspicion.
And if this Elite Division Lord were indeed a spy, then having ventured into Gangho, he would inevitably make contact with the forces he served.
By the time he finished his meal, Seon Woo Jin had left the Inn and was moving toward some unknown destination.
Jong Jeong Yak also exited the Inn and discreetly followed him.
‘I’ll uncover the truth.’
Jong Jeong Yak was no longer the overeager Jip Beop So Ryeong of her past.
After the incident involving Hwa Mil Won Ju, she had keenly felt the inadequacy of her abilities, experience, and martial prowess.
Driven by bitter determination, she ventured into Gangho, handling cases and accumulating experience and knowledge.
In the process, she had refined the Shadow Concealment Secret Technique—which she had previously left incomplete—to the tenth level of mastery.
The art of concealing one’s body yields vastly different results depending on one’s innate nature and temperament.
Particularly because one must skillfully exploit the ever-shifting circumstances of one’s surroundings, exceptional observational and analytical acuity are essential for true mastery.
She possessed the natural qualities of an intelligence operative—keen observation, sharp intuition, and an innate gift for concealment.
Thus, no matter how formidable a master might be, once she deployed the Shadow Concealment Secret Technique, she could pursue them without ever being detected.
* * *
Upon leaving the Inn, Bu Eunseol sensed that Jong Jeong Yak had discreetly attached herself to his trail.
And he was somewhat surprised.
‘Her martial prowess has developed considerably.’
The concealment technique Jong Jeong Yak was employing had reached a considerable level of mastery.
If she hadn’t realized I was being pursued, it would have taken considerably longer to detect her surveillance.
‘I can’t afford to waste time.’
As I walked slowly through Market Street, observing my surroundings, my mind began to race.
For Seo Jin Ha to become my perfect shadow, I would need at least three months.
If I couldn’t dispel Jong Jeong Yak’s suspicions quickly, given her nature, she would cling to me until she was completely satisfied.
If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to return to the Demon Palace and would have to continue wandering Gangho, or worse—return to the Murim Alliance.
‘That approach would work best.’
While walking through Market Street, I completed a scheme to shake her off in an instant, then turned my steps toward the Station.
And I sent a transmission to the Sa Hon Dae members waiting nearby.
The plan was to execute it immediately and send Jong Jeong Yak back to the Murim Alliance.
* * *
‘Quite capable, isn’t he.’
Following Seon Woo Jin discreetly, Jong Jeong Yak nodded as she observed his actions.
Seon Woo Jin, Lord of the Elite Division.
Despite his delicate appearance, he was a remarkably passionate and enterprising individual.
Having begun investigating the backing behind San Dok Mun, he had purchased information with his own funds to ascertain the facts.
And what he couldn’t obtain through information networks, he investigated through direct inquiry.
Moreover, during his investigations, he wielded his credentials to appropriately leverage the Murim Alliance’s authority, and occasionally used money to sway people.
Truly, he was conducting his investigation in the most ideal manner possible for a wealthy third-rank Lord of the Murim Alliance.
Even if she herself had conducted the investigation, she couldn’t have done better.
‘More passionate than expected, and quite ambitious too.’
Jong Jeong Yak understood well why Seon Woo Jin pursued his investigation with such fervor.
Because she had once been the same.
The desire for advancement.
Like her past self, Seon Woo Jin was—
Struggling with all his might to climb higher, even if only slightly faster.
‘Is it because he’s from the upper districts? There’s certainly a sense of desperation.’
Watching Seon Woo Jin move ceaselessly between people and information networks, continuing his investigation without rest, Jong Jeong Yak felt a peculiar emotion.
On the surface, he appeared to be fully utilizing his status as a Murim Alliance Lord and the heir to a wealthy merchant guild, seeming to enjoy the investigation itself.
But to Jong Jeong Yak’s eyes, he was nothing but a desperate figure struggling to climb higher.
‘I was like that once too.’
When I first entered the Murim Alliance.
I was the same as Seon Woo Jin.
I was enthusiastic about everything, and it seemed as though if I worked hard enough, I could rise endlessly.
‘But that was the naive thinking of a foolish child.’
Murim was not so forgiving.
And in this world, effort alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll obtain what you seek.
It would take the young master from the upper districts considerable time to learn this lesson.
‘Who are they?’
A gleam flashed across Jong Jeong Yak’s eyes as she watched Seon Woo Jin from a distance.
At some point, black shadows began to follow Seon Woo Jin as he traveled from place to place conducting his investigation.
Given how they trailed him with utmost discretion, avoiding any detection, they were clearly not acting with benign intentions.
‘Have the masterminds behind San Dok Mun finally revealed themselves?’
He had come to Gangho to investigate those suspected of being behind San Dok Mun.
And if those masterminds truly existed? A third-rank Lord of the Murim Alliance investigating their operations would certainly irritate them.
Yet Seon Woo Jin, completely unaware that a tail had attached itself to him, continued his relentless inquiries.
The black shadows pursued him with stubborn persistence.
It seemed they were keenly watching for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
And eventually, disaster struck.
As Seon Woo Jin left the village to continue his investigation and began crossing the mountain pass,
A faint shimmer rippled through the air.
The shadows that had been following him in secret finally revealed themselves before him.
They all wore masks and assassin garb smeared with mud.
‘These people…’
Jong Jeong Yak’s eyes widened as she observed them.
‘Pungma Group. They are assassins of the Pungma Group.’
Upon seeing the clothing and the distinctive curved blades these men carried, Jong Jeong Yak recognized them as the contract assassination unit led by Gwang Do, known as the Soul-Seizing Blade.
The Pungma Group.
Gwang Do, who had encircled Seon Woo Jin, immediately issued orders to his subordinates.
“Even if he is affiliated with the Murim Alliance, eliminate him without a trace.”
Steel rang out sharply.
Immediately, some twenty martial artists simultaneously drew their curved blades.
These were the distinctive swordsmen that Gwang Do had cultivated with all his effort.
Rather than trained in concealment and assassination techniques like common assassins, they relied solely on superior blade mastery and unique coordinated formations, openly revealing themselves to kill their contracted targets.
‘This is dangerous.’
Jong Jeong Yak furrowed her brow.
Gwang Do and the swordsmen of the Pungma Group were masters who could effortlessly slaughter even those at the peak of transcendence.
Even if Seon Woo Jin was an exceptional master among his generation, facing the Pungma Group alone would be overwhelming.
‘They intend to commit murder and erase all evidence.’
If it became known that they had killed a Lord of the Murim Alliance, the Pungma Group would be annihilated without leaving a single ant behind.
Therefore, they seemed intent on killing Seon Woo Jin in secret and destroying all evidence entirely.
A sharp whistle cut through the air!
Realizing the situation was dire, Seon Woo Jin quickly deployed his movement technique to escape.
But his opponent was the Pungma Group, who had never failed a contract.
Metal shrieked as blades clashed repeatedly!
They swiftly sealed off his escape routes and swung their curved blades.
“Tch.”
Faced with their airtight encirclement, Seon Woo Jin pulled a black orb from his robes and hurled it into the air.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted, and brilliant white light flooded across the entire landscape.
The assassins used a flash bomb—a Burst Light Orb—a common escape tool.
“Tch.”
The guests of the Murim Alliance, unprepared for the Lords to employ such a device, squinted and turned their heads away.
Seon Woo Jin seized the opportunity and immediately unfurled his movement technique to escape.
“Quick judgment, this one.”
Gwang Do, rubbing his eyes, watched the fleeing figure and bared his yellowed teeth in a grin.
“But you won’t slip away.”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Suddenly, a barrage of sharp projectiles rained down before the fleeing Seon Woo Jin.
Snap!
Startled, Seon Woo Jin leaped into the air to evade the projectiles.
Whip-crack!
Then a long whip surged upward, binding the airborne Seon Woo Jin’s legs.
“Ugh.”
As the whip coiled around his legs, Seon Woo Jin gasped in pain.
Sharp inner force coursed through the whip, piercing his meridians.
Whoosh!
He rapidly spun his body in mid-air to free himself from the coils.
But internal injuries sent him staggering as he crashed to the ground.
“Hehehehe. Such a pretty-faced boy.”
At that moment, a shadow slowly emerged from the darkness.
It was an old woman with white hair, dark circles beneath her eyes, and a cruel aura emanating from her presence.
She wore violet-dyed robes, with the lower half cut extremely short, exposing her skeletal legs entirely.
Her appearance alone suggested she was far from ordinary.
‘Ja Yeom Pa Pa?’
Jong Jeong Yak, watching from the shadows, widened her eyes at the sight of the old woman.
The grotesque-looking crone was a master of unorthodox techniques who had long terrorized the Murim—a hired killer of infamy.
It was Ja Yeom Pa Pa, Eum Yak Bing.
“Caught.”
Gwang Do approached with a laugh.
“Anyone struck by Ja Yeom Pa Pa’s Thunder-Summoning Whip becomes paralyzed—even an ox.”
At Gwang Do’s words, Ja Yeom Pa Pa, Eum Yak Bing, laughed, baring her black teeth.
“I’d like to keep this young man. Must we kill him?”
“Absolutely not.”
Gwang Do spoke firmly.
“We must not only kill him but erase all traces. Otherwise, both you and I will be marked for death by the Murim Alliance’s relentless pursuit.”
“Hmm.”
Even a mad old woman knew better than to invite the Murim Alliance’s obsessive vengeance.
Eum Yak Bing, having gazed upon Seon Woo Jin’s docile face, reluctantly extended her hand.
“I suppose there’s no choice.”
Screech!
The Night Thunder Blade, pouring down like a sword edge, pierced through Seon Woo Jin’s brow.
Whoosh!
Yet with a peculiar sensation, the Night Thunder Blade that could pierce even stone suddenly passed through empty air instead?
“You’re using Flower Butterfly Jade in such a manner?”
Eum Yak Bing’s expression shifted to one of shock.
The speed and force of the Night Thunder Blade carving through the void at high velocity surpassed even the sharpness of a sword strike.
Yet to deflect attacks using the same principle as Flower Butterfly Jade?
“Then I’ll have to strike back!”
Gwang Do, witnessing this, attempted to deploy the White Blade Method.
Flash!
Then a brilliant radiance gleamed,
Whoosh, boom!
The road guest standing behind Gwang Do collapsed as though struck by an invisible hand.
Seon Woo Jin had seized that fleeting moment to unleash Moo Ae Ja’s secret body technique—the Heavenly Edge Shadow Blade Art.
Unfortunately, he failed to strike Gwang Do’s neck properly, and the technique pierced the road guest behind him instead.
“Scatter and attack!”
Realizing the prowess of his shadow blade technique, Gwang Do shouted, and the road guests moved swiftly, circling around Seon Woo Jin’s body in spiraling patterns.
Flash!
As the shadow blade carved through the void once more, another road guest collapsed.
Jong Jeong Yak, observing the battle from afar, could not suppress her admiration.
‘Truly remarkable shadow blade technique.’
Three hundred years ago, inheriting the true transmission of Moo Ae Ja, the legendary figure of Dae Mak, Seon Woo Jin’s shadow blade art was nothing short of a one-strike kill.
Yet regrettably, he could only release one shadow blade at a time.
Moreover, when facing a multitude of enemies, shadow blade technique was hardly an optimal method.
Boom! Boom!
Seon Woo Jin had already felled six road guests.
Yet his body bore wounds both large and small.
Drip, drip.
The blades wielded by the road guests were coated with a vicious poison.
As the blood flowing from his wounds turned black, Seon Woo Jin pressed the Blood Sealing Point near his neck and quickly consumed an antidote.
Yet his complexion had already darkened, and his expression was grim.
Still, he did not yield, throwing shadow blades while calmly searching for an opportunity to escape.
‘At this rate, his life is in danger.’
Jong Jeong Yak bit her lip firmly.
Should she stand by and watch him die? Or should she intervene and aid him?
As she hesitated for a moment, about to reveal herself,
‘Surely not.’
Jong Jeong Yak’s eyes turned cold as realization dawned upon her.
―Seon Woo Jin. When investigating him, you’ll need to exercise caution multiple times. He is a person of truly exceptional martial prowess and cunning.
The Lord of Yeonseong Hall, who possessed such exceptional wisdom and martial prowess that he had ascended to leadership at a young age, had warned Seon Woo Jin about me multiple times.
This alone proved that Seon Woo Jin was a formidable individual.
‘Could he have deliberately constructed a trap to evade suspicion?’
A terrifying thought flashed through Jong Jeong Yak’s mind.
Perhaps Seon Woo Jin.
What if he had discovered that he was being observed, and while pretending to conduct investigations throughout Gangho, he orchestrated all of this? The thought consumed her.
The Pungma Group and Ja Yeom Pa Pa.
They were all mercenaries who could be easily hired for the right price.
Crack!
At that moment, the Night Thunder Whip wielded by Eum Yak Bing grazed Seon Woo Jin’s body once more.
Simultaneously, Gwang Do’s Escape Blade thrust swiftly into the opening.
Slash!
As the sharp blade scraped across his neck, black poisoned blood streamed continuously from Seon Woo Jin’s throat.
The poison used by the Assassin Group was so virulent that the antidote seemed utterly ineffective.
Stagger.
The moment Seon Woo Jin’s body wavered, unable to overcome the poison’s influence,
“Die!”
Gwang Do and Eum Yak Bing, seizing the perfect moment to unleash their decisive strikes, attacked simultaneously.
Flash!
As if he had been waiting for this very instant, Seon Woo Jin spread both arms wide.
Dozens of flying blades erupted at once, creating a silvery brilliance.
“What is this!”
Gwang Do and Eum Yak Bing wielded their whip and blade frantically.
Yet the flying blades, though released simultaneously, scattered with different trajectories and speeds.
It was a throwing technique reminiscent of the Dang Family’s Thousand Blossoms Rain.
Remarkably, Seon Woo Jin had been concealing this technique of hurling multiple flying blades at once to create an escape route.
Clang clang clang!
While they desperately deflected the flying blades,
Whoosh!
Seon Woo Jin broke through the encirclement and fled.
“Seize him!”
Gwang Do shouted loudly to his subordinates.
“Do not let him escape!”
From the beginning, the reason he had accepted this contract was
his confidence that he could easily kill a mere third-rank Lord of the Murim Alliance and erase all traces.
But if he failed?
From that day forward, not only would he have to abandon his profession as a hired killer, but sleepless nights would stretch endlessly before him.
The Murim Alliance’s pursuers would chase him to the ends of hell itself.
Blur!
Though he deployed his movement technique desperately, Seon Woo Jin’s trace had already vanished from sight.
In the end, I let him slip away.
“Damn it!”
Crash!
Gwang Do struck a tree with the hilt of his sword, muttering in a voice thick with rage.
“If we don’t capture that bastard, we’ll have to abandon the Murim!”
“Hmm. I was hoping to accomplish one great deed and then retire.”
Eum Yak Bing also grew restless, scanning her surroundings.
Seon Woo Jin’s body already bore countless traces of the Night Thunder Blade technique.
Even if Seon Woo Jin had breathed his last, if someone from the Murim Alliance discovered his corpse, her crime would be exposed.
“Of all things, he’s been poisoned by the Escape Life Blood Flower toxin.”
Gwang Do gritted his teeth.
“He won’t have made it far before collapsing… We just need to find the body.”
Whoosh.
As Gwang Do and the Pungma Group deployed their movement techniques, Eum Yak Bing immediately followed with her lightness skill.
Once they had all departed, the forest along the mountain pass fell silent once more.
Thud.
Then the earth beneath a massive tree trembled violently,
Scrape scrape.
The ground caved in in a circular pattern, and a figure emerged gasping for breath.
It was Seon Woo Jin.
Remarkably, he had mastered not only the Flash Burst technique used by assassins, but also the Earth Concealment technique that thieves practiced.
“Ugh.”
Leaning against the massive tree stump, he groaned heavily as he pushed himself upright.
After briefly diverting their attention with the Hidden Blade technique, he feigned escape before immediately burrowing underground and deploying the Returning Breath technique to evade pursuit.
But the poison embedded in his acupoints remained undetoxified, and the Night Thunder Blade had inflicted severe internal injuries.
Though he had temporarily escaped their pursuit, the toxin had spread so thoroughly that he could barely move his body.
Staggering.
As he struggled forward step by agonizing step, trying to leave the forest,
He collapsed.
His legs finally gave out beneath him.
“Haah, haah.”
With furrowed brows, Seon Woo Jin gasped for breath as he slumped against the tree stump.
After deliberating deeply on something, he withdrew two daggers from his robes and began carving sharp characters into the hilts.
Pungma Group. Ja Yeom Pa Pa.
Having inscribed the two names, he hurled the daggers upward into the branches above him.
Thunk.
Watching the daggers embed themselves firmly in the branches, Seon Woo Jin whispered softly.
“I… did my best.”
Thump.
And then, unable to overcome the toxin’s power, he lost consciousness.
Whoosh.
A faint shadow materialized before the fallen Seon Woo Jin.
It was Jong Jeong Yak, who had been observing every moment of the unfolding situation.
“The fact that she’s mastered techniques like Explosive Light and Earth Concealment confirms she’s from a merchant guild.”
Murim practitioners from merchant guilds, much like the couriers who traveled the trade routes,
encountered countless perilous situations, and thus learned all manner of miscellaneous techniques from the Murim.
“But her experience in Gangho is far too shallow.”
She gazed up at the secret blade embedded in the tree.
It was likely intended as insurance—if the Pungma Group discovered her corpse, the blade would allow the Murim Alliance to identify the culprit.
“Hidden between the branches though it may be, when moonlight reflects off it, it gleams with a piercing brilliance.”
Her words rang true.
As she lifted her head, the secret blade caught the moonlight, radiating a sharp, cutting gleam.
At this rate, the blade embedded in the tree would be discovered before Seon Woo Jin’s corpse.
Swoosh.
As Jong Jeong Yak summoned a vacuum force, the secret blade lodged between the branches flew into her grasp.
She studied the characters inscribed on the blade for a moment, then shook her head.
“Cunning serpents like them will surely return to this place once more.”
With a sigh, she examined Seon Woo Jin’s condition closely.
The poison had already spread completely throughout his body—without immediate antidote, death was imminent.
“There’s no choice, then.”
The situation left no room for further suspicion.
Seon Woo Jin was merely a man consumed by ambition.
Rushing about desperately to achieve success, he had overreached, and now his life was slipping away as a consequence.
Click.
She withdrew a jade vial from her robes and poured its clear liquid into his mouth.
It was Ja Yang Jade Liquid—a potent antidote she always kept prepared for cases of extreme poisoning.
“Ugh…”
But it was useless.
The toxin had permeated his entire body; even the Ja Yang Jade Liquid could produce no meaningful effect.
Thump thump thump.
From the Shatter Liquid poison, blood vessels burst across his body and his eyes rolled back white.
His breath would cease within moments.
‘There is only one place that can save him.’
Jong Jeong Yak bit her lip.
Not a single moment could be wasted.
Burst!
Hoisting Seon Woo Jin’s body onto her shoulders, she immediately unleashed her movement technique toward the opposite side of Seong Do.

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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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