The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 421

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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 421.
Hyuk Ryeon Eung was presumed to be among the highest echelons of Sam Gye—a formidable adversary from Bu Eunseol’s perspective.
Yet Bu Eunseol approached him with an untroubled expression.
“Lord of the Hall.”
She bowed deeply, offering a gesture of utmost respect.
“I trust you have been well all this time?”
This was not a greeting offered to the leadership of Sam Gye, nor to a mere crown prince.
It was a salutation directed at Hyuk Ryeon Eung—the Grand Sect Master who had saved her life on Hell Island, and the Lord of the Dharma Protector Division of Demon Hall.
“Hehehehe.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung, perceiving the depths of her heart, smiled warmly and nodded in return.
“It has been far too long.”
The Hyuk Ryeon Eung she had seen on Hell Island was a martial master whose entire being radiated the majesty of thunder, whose eyes blazed with an unapproachable brilliance.
But now he appeared as an entirely different person.
His features were remarkably gentle, and his eyes brimmed with the luminous depths of profound wisdom—like a military strategist commanding hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Had he altered his voice.
Had he changed his gaze and expression.
It would have taken me considerable time to recognize him as Hyuk Ryeon Eung.
“You have grown magnificently.”
The expression in Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s eyes as he regarded Bu Eunseol held the admiration of one contemplating a masterwork of art.
“Far beyond my expectations.”
In that moment, Bu Eunseol’s gaze wavered.
The memory surfaced—how on Hell Island, he had halted the tournament to save her, his urgent desperation evident in every movement.
That memory alone prevented me from striking at him first.
“Why me?”
With a drawn breath, she voiced the question that had dwelt within her heart all this time.
“Why did you save me?”
That question contained multitudes of meaning.
“Hm.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung exhaled softly through his nose, his expression a complex tapestry of emotions as he regarded Bu Eunseol.
“Your enlightenment was the most exceptional among all the talents on Hell Island.”
He turned his gaze toward the distant sky.
“But what truly mattered was your aptitude—the capacity to transcend even the limitations of bone structure and martial learning, to become a Demon Master of the transcendent extreme.”
“….”
“Hell Island possessed many exceptional talents, yet among them, you alone possessed the constitution to reach the pinnacle of the Tyrannical Way as a Demon Master.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s eyes gleamed as he swept his gaze across Bu Eunseol.
“As expected, you became the successor of Demon Hall. But there was something I had not anticipated.”
He shook his head with a soft exhale.
“You possessed far greater ability and aptitude than I had foreseen.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s expression grew bitter as he looked upon Bu Eunseol.
“As the successor, you should have clashed endlessly with the Ten Demonic Gates and sown constant discord within Demon Hall. Yet neither conflict nor discord came to pass.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s eyes flickered like rippling water for a brief moment.
“Moreover, whenever the opportunity arose, you subdued the Ten Demonic Sect Lords one by one. This was absolutely not how things were supposed to unfold.”
Bu Eunseol could dimly comprehend Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s meaning.
He had likely anticipated that she would become the successor of the Demon Palace and engage in endless conflicts with the Ten Demonic Sect Lords.
Yet she had demonstrated an entirely different course of action.
Because the position of successor to the Demon Palace held no importance to her. Her sole desire was to find Hyung Su, the one who had murdered her grandfather.
However, there was a reason even Bu Eunseol herself had not recognized—she possessed the temperament of a righteous hero.
Bu Eunseol’s spirit contained qualities that could make her either a great demonic master or a righteous hero of the Orthodox Sects.
Ultimately, Bu Eunseol had chosen the middle path, and this was why Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s plans had gone entirely awry.
—You moved in a way completely contrary to my expectations.
This was what Hyuk Ryeon Eung was saying.
The Sam Gye had always manipulated forces and individuals to suit their desires.
“So that is why you summoned me.”
A flash of brilliance gleamed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“A puppet who was supposed to obey has moved of his own accord—so you’ve come to pull the strings properly once more?”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung nodded cleanly.
“Indeed.”
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
With Hyuk Ryeon Eung admitting so straightforwardly, there was nothing more to say.
Even if she were to ask about the Sam Gye, he would not answer.
Because in his eyes, she was merely a puppet whose strings could be manipulated.
He would not even feel the need to respond to her questions.
“Are you confident you can pull the strings?”
“Hehehehe. I know your martial cultivation has advanced at a pace beyond imagination. By now, you have likely reached the pinnacle of the Extreme Heaven Realm.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Even if I have reached the Limitless Realm, it would not be impossible for you to escape with your own strength—such calculations brought me to seek you out.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
Even if Hyuk Ryeon Eung were a master of the Limitless Realm—even if all the warriors of Wei Wang Palace poured forth to surround her.
She possessed the confidence to pierce through that encirclement and had come here alone with such assurance.
“Few in the history of Murim have advanced their martial cultivation as swiftly as you. You may take pride in that, but….”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung gazed at Bu Eunseol with a faint smile.
“…unfortunately, there is far too much you do not know.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s vision darkened.
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s voice and gaze.
All that she had heard and witnessed until now became a transparent net, ensnaring her spirit.
‘Spirit Binding Technique.’
Only then did Bu Eunseol obtain the answer to a great mystery that had long remained unsolved.
The reason Hyuk Ryeon Eung had been able to maintain a dual identity within the Demon Palace where Ma Cheon Je resided.
It was not only that Hyuk Ryeon Eung had constructed a mental barrier so formidable that even Ma Cheon Je’s abilities could not penetrate it.
But that he had reached the pinnacle of spirit manipulation arts, able to control the spirits of others with absolute freedom.
“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing to be done about it.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s voice seeped into Bu Eunseol’s ears like silk dissolving into warmth.
“No matter how exquisite a chess piece may be, it becomes useless if it moves of its own accord.”
Boom, boom, boom….
With each resonance of Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s voice, Bu Eunseol felt her spirit shaken to its very roots, and the sensations throughout her body gradually faded away.
Spirit-Severing Soul-Binding Seal.
Astonishingly, Hyuk Ryeon Eung wielded the forbidden technique of Hwan Wang and Sa Ok Cheong.
He commanded it with far greater mastery and power than Hwan Wang himself.
“Were you fellow disciples under the same master?”
“Fellow disciples? Hehehehe.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s laughter carried a sinister edge.
“That pitiful wretch who mastered the Spirit-Severing Soul-Binding Seal only to fifty percent proficiency, yet earned the grandiose title of Hwan Wang before falling to your blade?”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s honeyed voice gradually transformed into demon claws tightening around Bu Eunseol’s throat.
“Sa Ok Cheong was merely one of my disciples who learned the Eighty Techniques from me.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes wavered.
Hwan Wang was nearly ninety years old.
Yet how could Hyuk Ryeon Eung, not yet seventy, have become Hwan Wang’s master?
Had he transcended age itself and taken on Sa Ok Cheong, who was older than him, as his disciple?
“You may be curious, but what good would knowing do you?”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung took another step toward Bu Eunseol.
“After all, you’ll soon become a puppet incapable of speech.”
Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed.
The reason she had kept speaking to Hyuk Ryeon Eung was her curiosity about how he would refer to himself.
But he had not used any title like “Sect Lord.”
From beginning to end, he employed only the simple expression “I.”
Perhaps it was a habit ingrained from concealing his identity for so long.
Crack.
As Bu Eunseol drew upon her inner strength, thick crimson veins erupted across her entire body.
Gradually, her rigid form began to move once more.
Remarkably, she was slowly breaking free from Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s Spirit-Severing Soul-Binding Seal.
Shring.
The moment she unsheathed her blade, Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s smile only deepened.
“I valued you highly not for your martial prowess, but for that indomitable spirit of yours.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung approached Bu Eunseol, who now held her unadorned sword, with complete indifference.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol attempted to unleash her sword technique in one fluid motion.
But in that instant, she could not move even a finger.
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s Spirit-Severing Soul-Binding Seal operated on an entirely different level than Hwan Wang’s.
Hwan Wang created illusions indistinguishable from reality, ensnaring victims in hallucinations before exploiting the gaps in their spirit…
But Hyuk Ryeon Eung had already seized control of Bu Eunseol’s mind with nothing but his gaze and voice.
“You would make an excellent puppet, I must say.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung smiled softly.
He knew full well that Bu Eunseol would not yield to any form of persuasion.
Without hesitation, he had already seized complete dominion over her mind.
‘I will not surrender.’
Bu Eunseol bit her lips until blood flowed.
Clatter.
Yet regardless of her will, the ink-black sword she had been holding tumbled to the ground.
“Truly remarkable. Your body refuses to obey, yet your spirit remains perfectly intact.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s voice became a mystical force, binding Bu Eunseol’s consciousness.
“It seems pain is what’s needed.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung extended his left hand with a smile.
“To shatter the barriers of the soul, there is nothing quite like the agony of scorching flame.”
Whoosh.
Searing flames erupted from his palm, swiftly coalescing into a sphere as radiant as the sun itself.
‘The Flame Emperor’s Flame Emperor Qi?’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened as she beheld the sight.
Was he not only a master of soul-seizing techniques, but also capable of wielding the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars?
“A puppet has no need for such elaborate adornments.”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung extended his hand.
Sizzle.
White smoke suddenly began rising from Bu Eunseol’s face.
The Flame Emperor Qi that Hyuk Ryeon Eung unleashed was melting the skin of Bu Eunseol’s face, sparing only her eyes.
“Ughhhh.”
Bu Eunseol released a stifled groan as agony that seemed to incinerate her very soul consumed her.
She had made a grave miscalculation.
She had been confident that no matter how formidable Hyuk Ryeon Eung was, no matter how many masters the Wei Wang Palace unleashed, she could escape any crisis.
But Hyuk Ryeon Eung possessed martial techniques far beyond her expectations—techniques of a special caliber.
Martial arts that transcended even the Heavenly Martial Scripture itself.
He wielded freely the very martial techniques she had been wary of all this time.
Sizzle.
As her skin grew increasingly crimson and began to char, even Bu Eunseol’s steel-like spirit gradually began to melt away.
―Resist. Do not resist. Abandon resistance…
Her sense of self was fading, merging with Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s spirit before her.
But it was only momentary.
In Bu Eunseol’s eyes, an indomitable will blazed forth once more.
‘Never… shall you dominate my spirit!’
Crack! Snap!
In that instant, golden radiance flashed brilliantly in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Simultaneously, the fingers that had been immobilized began to move, ever so slightly.
This time, Hyuk Ryeon Eung had miscalculated.
No matter how formidable Bu Eunseol’s mental fortitude might be, he had been confident she could not withstand his Gongryeong Chohon Mireul.
Yet Bu Eunseol had been struck directly by spiritual attacks from masters of the Wuji Realm countless times in the distant past.
Consequently, the thickness of her mental barriers far exceeded Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s expectations, and even as her face burned with the agony of the Yeom Hwang Ji Gi,
she continued to resist the demonic energy of the Gongryeong Chohon Mireul without cessation.
A sharp intake of breath!
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s rigid body regained its sensation in a flash.
‘This is the only way!’
A burst of momentum!
Bu Eunseol pushed off the ground with all her strength and bolted in the opposite direction.
In one motion, she hurled herself over the cliff’s edge.
“Damn!”
Hyuk Ryeon Eung, his composure shattered, swiftly deployed his movement technique.
In a single breath, he unfolded the Suction Seal, grasping as if to seize the back of Bu Eunseol’s neck.
But the moment his fingers were about to touch her collar,
A sharp whistle of air!
Bu Eunseol’s body spun violently, plummeting downward with accelerating speed rather than falling naturally.
Unable to employ any martial technique, she had executed aerial somersaults to amplify her descent.
A tearing sound!
As her garment ripped, only a scrap of fabric remained between his fingers.
A sharp whistle of air!
At last, Bu Eunseol vanished beneath Man Jang Cliff.
Hyuk Ryeon Eung could only stare blankly as Bu Eunseol’s form dwindled to a speck.
A splash!
Beneath the fathomless Man Jang Cliff, a torrential river surged with violent currents.
The river that had swallowed Bu Eunseol churned with fierce rapids, flowing eastward as if nothing had transpired.
“Pursue her at once!”
At Hyuk Ryeon Eung’s cry, Black Shadow descended from behind him.
“By any means necessary. You must bring back her corpse.”
Black Shadow bowed and vanished swiftly.
Hyuk Ryeon Eung gazed down into the mist-shrouded depths below the cliff, his expression one of frustration.
“A formidable adversary. To repel my Gongryeong Chohon Mireul and hurl herself from the precipice…”
Only now did Hyuk Ryeon Eung realize the magnitude of his error.
He had gravely underestimated Bu Eunseol’s strength.
Rather than using the Gongryeong Chohon Mireul to seize control of her spirit, he should have struck her down the moment he laid eyes upon her.
* * *
Byeok Gye Village.
This settlement lay at the foot of Byeok Gye Mountain in southern Guangxi—a hamlet of beggars.
The beggars here were so numerous that they could not cluster together near the village proper.
Thus they had formed their own separate settlement, living as a communal society.
And into the Beggar Gang’s village came a young beggar with a hideously disfigured visage unlike any seen before.
His face was covered with burn scars from fire and thick scabs that had yet to heal.
He spent the entire day without uttering a single word, merely crouching in place.
When hunger struck, he would catch and devour flying insects or dead rats.
Because of this, he neither begged nor sought alms—he simply sat with a vacant expression, letting the hours pass.
“With that attitude, that beggar won’t even get a bowl of cold rice.”
Even the villagers themselves would click their tongues and shake their heads at the sight of such a repulsive beggar.
A beggar’s fundamental duty is to beg.
Therefore, a smooth tongue and courteous manner were not optional—they were basic necessities.
Yet this young beggar constantly ignored people, and his appearance was far too grotesque…
Even meeting his gaze brought discomfort.
Knowing this, perhaps, the young beggar himself sat alone at the Village Entrance where few ventured, staring blankly into empty space.
“Mu Mu! Are you doing that again?”
Then, approaching the hideously disfigured beggar came a rotund beggar whose face and belly were swollen like steamed buns.
His name was Tung Bo.
He was the very man who had discovered the grotesque young beggar, Mu Mu, dying by the River Bank and had saved him.
“Why do you always sit there alone, staring blankly into nothing?”
To Tung Bo’s question, Mu Mu offered no reply.
Yet as if accustomed to this, Tung Bo sighed and shook his head.
“I swear. I named him well, even if I do say so myself. No name, no answer….”
Tung Bo gazed at the grotesque beggar who crouched without even glancing his way.
He recalled the memory of when he first met Mu Mu.
* * *
A month prior, while walking near the River Bank, Tung Bo was greatly startled.
Near the River Bank, his clothes were torn to shreds, and his face bore melted marks with scabs clustered together—he discovered a man of truly horrifying appearance collapsed there.
“He still seems to have breath in him?”
Tung Bo rushed forward in alarm toward the collapsed man.
“His clothes look quite fine too….”
Tung Bo grinned wickedly.
Despite his grotesque appearance, the man’s attire seemed quite respectable.
If he were to care for him until he regained consciousness, he might receive a substantial reward.
So he had diligently gathered medicinal herbs and treated the man—but an entirely unexpected situation unfolded.
“What is your honored name, sir….”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know your own name?”
Tung Bo’s face fell.
He had thought that once the man regained consciousness, he would receive a generous reward.
But this grotesque man not only didn’t know his own name—he was a complete fool who knew nothing at all.
Or rather, it seemed he had completely lost his memory.
He didn’t even know who he was or why he had collapsed by the River Bank.
Yet something strange occurred.
Once the man regained consciousness, he looked around as if famished—and began plucking insects from the riverbank to eat.
Tung Bo, who had been observing him intently, slapped his forehead with a rueful expression.
“Good grief, a nobleman? He was just a beggar all along!”
The insects this man consumed.
They were the sort that caused no harm even when eaten raw.
And only vagrants and beggars possessed the knowledge to distinguish which insects were safe to eat uncooked.
“Sigh. It seems I’ve rescued yet another unfortunate soul.”
Tung Bo shook his head as he gazed at the man’s gaunt face framed by disheveled hair.
Now that he knew the man was a beggar, he had to abandon any hope of receiving a reward.
‘But wait, no—’
A brilliant idea struck Tung Bo.
What if he brought this man into the Beggar Gang? Then he would gain a direct subordinate of his own.
“After all, isn’t a beggar’s life just drifting like duckweed anyway?”
Now that Tung Bo recognized him as a fellow beggar, he spoke to the man casually.
“I don’t know which region you’ve been scrounging in, but now that you’ve come to Byeok Gye Village… join our gang.”
Whether he heard or not, the man continued stuffing insects into his mouth.
“Hey! Are you listening to me? Hey! Hey!”
Tung Bo shouted at the man for a long while before feeling something was amiss.
He had no name.
I couldn’t keep calling my future subordinate “hey” indefinitely.
“He has no name. No name at all…”
Muttering softly, I opened my eyes wide and nodded.
“That’s it! Your name is Mu Mu—because you have no name, no memories, nothing at all!”
Thus I gave the man the name Mu Mu and brought him into my Beggar Gang.
And after spending considerable time with Mu Mu, I discovered one more thing about him.
Mu Mu—this fellow had a personality like a wooden block, and he paid no heed whatsoever to what others said.
Munch, munch, munch.
And whenever he grew hungry, he would devour everything around him without begging or hesitation.
When Mu Mu felt hungry, regardless of who was watching, he would squat down and diligently gather insects to eat.
“Sigh, what can you do.”
Finishing my reminiscence, I squatted down beside Mu Mu.
They say a beggar’s lot is fortunate, but in truth it’s a profession where even a single spoonful of rice is hard to come by. And it’s a harsh life, constantly beaten and abused.
Yet Mu Mu possessed true emptiness of mind.
He lived peacefully, as if untouched by any suffering or hardship.
And gazing upon him in silence like this… I too felt a strange tranquility wash over me.
Munch, munch, munch.
In the meantime, Mu Mu had grown hungry again and was gathering insects to eat.
I watched him in silence, my gaze fixed.
“Huh? That fellow again? Eating insects once more?”
At that moment, five members of the Beggar Gang were approaching from the Village Entrance.
They were the beggars of Byeok Gye Village, the very group to which Tung Bo belonged.

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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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