The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 444

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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 444.
Demon Hall, Jamma Pavilion. Great Conference Hall.
All the Lords of the Sayoung Battle Division had gathered there, and Bu Eunseol sat at the center.
“What did you say?”
The moment I sat down, I received a report from Yu Woon Ryong and my eyes widened.
I had just returned to the Demon Hall after shedding the identity of Seon Woo Jin.
Even if Seo Jin Ha became a perfect shadow for me, I had to periodically visit the Demon Hall.
But before I could even properly begin my duties, I heard a shocking story from Yu Woon Ryong.
“Master is undertaking a penance pilgrimage?”
Hyul Geum Gang was my teacher and benefactor who had established the foundation of my inner energy and martial arts.
The Bangeuk True Energy he had transmitted flowed through my body like the Twelve Hour Formation, serving as a shield to protect me and a weapon to counter powerful enemies.
Yet Hyul Geum Gang was suddenly throwing his life away and undertaking a penance pilgrimage to settle his debts with Gangho?
“Yes. Master Hyul is walking barefoot all the way to Cheon Ryong Temple in the Yunnan Region, accepting attacks from those who harbored grudges against him.”
Yu Woon Ryong bit his lip with a troubled expression.
“The fortunate part is that this is such an unprecedented penance pilgrimage, and he is showing genuine remorse, so most people are ending their revenge by striking him once or spitting on him.”
I wore a grave expression.
If it were ending so easily, Yu Woon Ryong wouldn’t have reported it with such a serious face.
As expected, Yu Woon Ryong continued speaking with a grave expression.
“However, as word of Master Hyul’s penance pilgrimage spreads, vicious individuals are gathering in Yunnan. They seek to claim the reputation of Hyul Geum Gang, who once slew countless Orthodox Sect members.”
If someone with an irreconcilable grudge against Hyul Geum Gang appeared and struck him down, that would be exactly what he wished for.
That is why he is undertaking this penance pilgrimage, willing to sacrifice his life.
But if he were killed by those who falsely attacked him for fame?
Hyul Geum Gang would not be able to close his eyes even in death.
“Master…”
I clenched my fists tightly.
Considering Hyul Geum Gang’s status and position, being struck and humiliated was…
In truth, more shameful than death itself.
Yet he was willingly undertaking this penance and moving toward Yunnan.
And now vicious individuals were gathering to falsely kill him? I could not possibly stand by and allow this.
“Assign Lord Wi and his members to protect Master.”
“I have already done so. That is how we learned of this.”
Yu Woon Ryong nodded while looking at Wi Cheon Gyeong.
Then Wi Cheon Gyeong opened his mouth with a grave expression.
“My abilities were insufficient to deceive Master’s notice. And if I were to assign protection once more… he said he would take his own life.”
I swallowed hard.
Despite Wi Cheon Gyeong’s earnest persuasion, Hyul Geum Gang’s unyielding nature could not be dissuaded.
If I were to ignore that and assign protection anyway? He would truly end his life without hesitation.
“I will go.”
I rose from my seat without hesitation.
“I am Master’s disciple. A disciple sees their teacher off on their final journey—you cannot stop me from doing that.”
“But… that won’t do.”
Yu Woon Ryong shook his head at that moment.
“If you go alone, you could fall into danger. It’s no different from stepping back into Gangho defenseless.”
But Bu Eunseol remained resolute.
“If I abandon righteousness because of danger, how could I ever become your Ryeong Ju?”
At those words, all the Lords of Sayoung Battle Division fell silent.
Bu Eunseol received overwhelming support and affection from the vast majority of Demonic Path cultivators.
This was not merely because of exceptional martial prowess and wisdom.
Righteousness.
As a Demonic Path cultivator, as a Murim martial artist, as the successor to the Demon Hall and a disciple of the Nangya Pavilion…
I had never once abandoned what I ought to do, and had upheld it until now.
If I turned a blind eye to Hyul Geum Gang’s peril? That would mean I could not be called the Ryeong Ju renowned throughout Murim.
“Don’t worry.”
Bu Eunseol nodded at the Lords reassuringly.
“I’ll escort the Elder and return promptly.”
“Then, go safely…”
Before all the Lords could even rise and clasp their hands in salute, Bu Eunseol had already rushed out of the conference hall.
Every moment mattered—if I didn’t arrive soon, Hyul Geum Gang would be in mortal danger.
“Hmm.”
The Lords of Sayoung Battle Division watching her departure all sighed and shook their heads.
Bu Eunseol was the successor to the Demon Hall who led Sayoung Battle Division, and one of the key figures who held sway over Murim itself.
Yet despite the fact that the mysterious Sam Gye organization had been constantly watching for an opening… she departed alone into Gangho without hesitation.
“Don’t worry too much!”
Won Se Moon spoke with a laugh at that moment.
“Do you know what kind of person our Ryeong Ju is? The time to fret like she’s a child abandoned on a riverbank has long passed. Isn’t that right?”
At his words, the other Lords all nodded and added their own remarks.
“That’s right, our Ryeong Ju needs no worry.”
“It’s not just martial strength she possesses.”
“And even from a distance, So Yo, our Vice Lord, is there.”
As the Lords chattered and laughed, Yu Woon Ryong spoke.
“Let us conclude this conference.”
The Lords then filed out of the conference hall, chatting as if they’d been waiting for this moment.
Yu Woon Ryong remained standing, his eyes deepening as he watched the departing Lords.
‘Myo Cheon Woo…’
He clenched his teeth as he watched Myo Cheon Woo leave the conference hall.
‘I pray that this time, you won’t make any more foolish mistakes!’
* * *
Debts of gratitude in Gangho are difficult to settle.
No, once a Gangho martial artist has eaten the rice of obligation, it becomes impossible to clear that debt.
Of course, there is an elaborate retirement ceremony called the Golden Separation Ritual.
However, that requires the premise of the Orthodox Sects—those who have done only righteous deeds their entire lives, and who maintain deep connections with all manner of forces, or possess formidable power despite their retirement.
This is because even after decades pass, the grudges and debts knotted within a person’s heart never truly disappear or resolve.
No, rather, the longer they fester, the more vivid they become.
This is why many martial artists prefer an honorable death to retirement.
And sometimes… there are those who seek to cast away all their grudges and perform acts of penance, hoping to wash away the sins of their past.
When one enters the twilight of life, the regrets of yesteryear linger in the heart.
At departure, one wishes to leave behind nothing—not a single worn shoe, not a speck of dust from one’s pocket, not even a hair’s worth of anything.
Such is human nature.
And Hyul Geum Gang was precisely such a man.
Thud-thud.
He walked the forest path in a blood-soaked monk’s robe, his body covered in wounds.
Having begun his penance in Sichuan, he had now reached the Yunnan Region, and his body bore scarcely a single unblemished spot.
Yet he walked forward like a man forged of steel, without the slightest wavering.
‘I have traveled such an impossibly long road.’
Though nearly arrived at his destination—Cheon Ryong Temple—his expression remained grim.
He had not yet achieved perfect penance.
Even during his acts of atonement, he could not shed the weight of his past.
Rather, the closer he drew to Cheon Ryong Temple, the more vividly his past returned to him.
‘Such an impossibly long road…’
* * *
Hyul Geum Gang.
He was originally a Buddhist monk from Cheon Ryong Temple in the Yunnan Region, his dharma name Hoeng Deok.
The epithet he earned through his wanderings in Gangho was Iron Vajra.
He had cultivated inner energy so thick and formidable that weapons could not penetrate his body—thus the name was bestowed.
Yet he too faced great tribulation.
Because of his exceptional talent and his unyielding, righteous, and severe nature, he was constantly subject to jealousy and envy from his senior brothers.
When he eventually cultivated the highest inner energy of Cheon Ryong Temple and was marked as the next abbot, his senior brothers’ jealousy consumed them entirely.
They made a choice they should never have made.
Not only did they accuse him of breaking the precept against killing—he who had earned his martial renown through frequent wanderings—but they also falsely charged him with colluding with demons of the Demonic Path and committing depravity with a woman.
Cheon Ryong Temple’s discipline was strict, and breaking the precept against killing and violating a woman were sins absolutely unforgivable for a Buddhist monk.
Iron Vajra protested his innocence, but the evidence and circumstances were already perfectly arranged against him.
In the end, unable to clear his name, his inner energy was crippled.
With his meridians severed, he was expelled from Cheon Ryong Temple.
―What have I possibly done wrong?
Iron Vajra wept tears of blood in his anguish.
He, marked as the next abbot, had mastered Cheon Ryong Temple’s supreme inner energy techniques.
With his limbs severed, he was excommunicated from Cheon Ryong Temple.
“What on earth did I do wrong!”
The Iron River wept tears of blood in anguish.
He, who was marked as the next head priest, had mastered Cheon Ryong Temple’s greatest internal energy secret.
I was on the verge of organizing the various inner cultivation methods preserved at Cheon Ryong Temple and creating the greatest inner power secret in all of Gangho.
Yet they accused me of crimes I never committed, crippled me, and cast me out?
As a lifetime of effort crumbled to dust, I raged with unbearable fury.
—I can never forgive them! Never!
Before the crippled and despairing Hyul Geum Gang, a great demon master from the Demonic Path suddenly approached.
[I shall restore your inner power.]
He was none other than Ak Moo Ryung, the Demon Immortal whose name shook the world.
“Begone.”
When Hyul Geum Gang spat out a curse, Ak Moo Ryung merely laughed heartily in response.
[You would abandon an inner cultivation secret destined to echo through eternity?]
Hyul Geum Gang was startled enough to jump.
Within the Jang Gyeong Gak of Cheon Ryong Temple lay not only the Buddhist Order’s inner cultivation methods, but also scattered cultivation secrets from the Sae Oe region.
I had studied them extensively over the years, combining them with Cheon Ryong Temple’s methods.
I was on the verge of completing the greatest inner power secret in all of Murim.
More than becoming crippled, the fact that I could not create that secret was what truly tormented me…
How could this great demon master possibly know such things?
[Bon Gak contains countless living inner cultivation methods. With those, you could complete your secret without needing Cheon Ryong Temple’s precious techniques at all.]
Hyul Geum Gang was shocked once more.
One reason my cultivation had been delayed was that all the inner power secrets of the various sects in Tianxia were expressed only through written characters.
To create the greatest inner cultivation secret, I needed to study the true energy circulation of various masters. Yet all of it was expressed only in writing, which presented tremendous difficulty.
That Ak Moo Ryung knew even this fact?
“Could it be… that you are the one who did this to me?”
Only then did Hyul Geum Gang grasp something, clenching his teeth hard.
Everything Ak Moo Ryung had said could never have been spoken without having watched me closely all this time.
[Hahahaha!]
Ak Moo Ryung burst into wild laughter.
[Why not ask Gak Ju about this? Should you not pose such questions to your senior brothers instead?]
His voice carried a mysterious power capable of seizing another’s spirit in an instant.
Upon hearing Ak Moo Ryung’s voice, a strange fury I had never felt before surged through my mind.
‘Phantom Possession—that’s it!’
Only then could I understand the full truth of the matter.
No matter how intensely they harbored jealousy and envy… my senior brothers, who had devoted themselves to the Buddhist Order, had fabricated the absurd accusation that I had committed murder and debauchery.
And they had even meticulously constructed the evidence?
It was far too excessive, utterly unreasonable behavior.
‘My senior brothers were also victims of his doing.’
The reason my senior brothers committed such audacious evil acts.
It was certain that they had all fallen under the power of Ak Moo Ryung’s Phantom Possession, revealing the darkness that dwelled within their hearts as reality.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
Hyul Geum Gang roared and lunged at Ak Moo Ryung.
But with my meridians severed and my inner power completely sealed, my movements were—
It was nothing more than the pathetic, sluggish writhing of a worm crawling across the ground.
Thud.
In the end, Hyul Geum Gang collapsed beneath Ak Moo Ryung’s feet without ever drawing close.
[I thought he might be worth something. Turns out he’s just a whimpering fool.]
“You crippled me and cast me out from my sect, and now you dare speak such words!”
Ak Moo Ryung looked down at Hyul Geum Gang, who protested while tears of blood streamed down his face, and let out a contemptuous snort.
[Steel must be hammered to be tempered, and trials are necessary to achieve great accomplishments. Your false accusation was merely part of that process.]
Then, without hesitation, he turned away and spat out words laced with disdain.
[Blaming Gak Ju for witnessing the monks of Cheon Ryong Temple having their spirits consumed by darkness… You were nothing but worthless scrap metal.]
In that instant, Hyul Geum Gang bit his lips until they bled.
His words were not entirely wrong.
If darkness had not shrouded the spirits of his senior brothers, they would never have fallen prey to the power of Ak Moo Ryung’s illusory phantom transformation.
‘I cannot die a cripple like this!’
Even if death came, I had to achieve great accomplishment.
And I had to land a blow against that inhuman monster.
“I will do it.”
Hyul Geum Gang forced himself to his feet.
His meridians were completely torn, making it impossible to stand, yet he trembled while staring directly at Ak Moo Ryung with unwavering resolve.
“It won’t be free, surely. State your conditions.”
Then Ak Moo Ryung, whose eyes gleamed with sharp light, bared his fangs in a grin.
[Come to Bon Gak. I will provide everything necessary to complete your cultivation method.]
“Is that all?”
[Once your cultivation method is complete, you need only transmit it to a single disciple of Bon Gak. After that, you are free. Hyul Geum Gang.]
Rip!
Despite his torn meridians, Hyul Geum Gang tore apart the sleeves of his monastic robes with all his remaining strength.
“I am no longer Hyul Geum Gang.”
Hyul Geum Gang cried out coldly, blood dripping from his mouth.
“From this moment forward, I am the Demonic Monk, Hyul Geum Gang!”
From that day onward, as Hyul Geum Gang, he entered the Nangya Pavilion.
And through the mysterious demonic arts that Ak Moo Ryung unveiled and the wondrous properties of the Ten-Thousand-Year Earthly Extreme Blood Treasure, his body was completely restored.
With his body fully healed, he remained at Geommi Mountain Iron Fortress Peak, receiving support for everything needed to create his own cultivation method.
The Nangya Pavilion could not be considered a single unified sect, as each disciple had learned different martial arts and cultivation methods.
Thanks to this, he was able to thoroughly research the countless cultivation methods of the Demonic Path and even the qi circulation techniques of masters who had refined superior internal power.
His sole objective was to complete his cultivation method.
Only by completing it—
Could he prove that all his efforts had not been in vain, and finally land a blow against that demon-like Ak Moo Ryung.
“The most important aspect of a cultivation method is the tempering of the spirit.”
Cheon Ryong Temple had perfected an internal power secret comparable to the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, yet unfortunately, the spiritual tempering portion had been neglected.
Because of this, his senior brothers, despite being monks of the Buddhist Order, could not even resist the power of Ak Moo Ryung’s illusory phantom transformation.
“One must reach a realm that no one else can complete.”
Hyul Geum Gang slept barely an hour a day and conducted endless research.
“Done!”
And finally, he completed the heart technique, yet he could not help but face disappointment once more.
Having focused so intensely on cultivating the spirit.
Aiming for a level unprecedented in Murim history…
Outstanding talent and comprehension, endurance like a camel.
And like a newborn child, a heart technique that could only be learned if the meridians contained not a single trace of impure energy had been born.
“For now, I will learn it myself.”
But that too was no easy task.
“Aaahhh, aaaahhhhh!”
Every time he circulated the divine technique, he felt the agony of burning in hellfire.
Even he, known to possess the supreme talent in the realm of inner power, found this heart technique difficult and agonizing to master.
“If I cannot comprehend it, to whom shall I pass it on!”
Crunch!
Eventually, Hyul Geum Gang began biting off his own fingers as he learned the heart technique.
And when he had bitten off all five fingers,
finally, the supreme technique of the Demonic Path.
No—the supreme heart technique of all Tianxia could be mastered by his own body.
Reverse Extreme. This Reverse Extreme heart technique, combining the inner power secrets of the Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Path…
transcends the principles of conventional inner power techniques, allowing one to harness the energy of great nature in a single breath.
Moreover, it enables perfect manipulation of yin and yang, and merely entering the second stage causes power to swell beyond control.
When Hyul Geum Gang, despite his power having crumbled, reached the fifth stage,
he obtained more than three hundred years of accumulated power.
―Once it is perfected, you must teach it.
Ak Moo Ryung sensed the completion of the divine technique with uncanny prescience and sent his disciples.
But here, Hyul Geum Gang faced disappointment once again.
‘Is it impossible?’
The exceptional martial talents of the Nangya Pavilion.
These brilliant and spirited youths…could not even master the fundamentals of the Reverse Extreme heart technique, losing their lives or becoming crippled.
If only he could pass it on to even a single person.
He could fulfill his promise with Ak Moo Ryung and depart.
Even martial talents who could easily learn any technique under heaven failed to reach the first stage, gradually crumbling away.
Eventually, as countless Nangya Pavilion disciples lost their lives or became crippled, Hyul Geum Gang remained locked away in Cheol Jang Peak, refusing to emerge.
Until he saw that fellow Bu Eunseol.
‘How could this be….’
That fellow Bu Eunseol.
Broke through the first stage in a single breath—something the Nangya Pavilion disciples had never achieved before—and reached the second stage in mere months.
This was because she possessed not only outstanding talent and comprehension, but was also learning the Yijin Jing, the supreme secret technique of Shaolin.
Moreover, as if born to receive the Reverse Extreme heart technique,
her body contained almost no turbid energy.
As if I had tempered and refined my body since childhood to cultivate the supreme inner strength of all under heaven.
Hyul Geum Gang was delighted.
At last, I had found the prodigy who would complete the Inverse Extreme Heart Method.
‘There is a deep regret in this one’s heart.’
During the process of teaching, Hyul Geum Gang could discern it.
Bu Eunseol. This young one possessed the same bitter resentment and purpose as myself.
‘So that was it.’
Only then did Hyul Geum Gang realize that the heart method I had created contained desperation and regret woven throughout.
And watching Bu Eunseol, who carried such bitter resentment, grow with each passing day.
Observing her advance without wavering in her discipline.
My own heart was transforming as well.
‘Until now, I have been such a fool.’
Hyul Geum Gang had long studied countless inner strength secrets from both the Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Path.
Therefore, my spirit naturally pursued the profound enlightenment and spiritual way of a great master of the Buddhist Order.
And upon seeing Bu Eunseol, a prodigy of the ages, bearing a form so similar to my own…
I realized I had walked such a foolish path all this time.
‘It was merely a fleeting moment.’
Looking back, it was something that could have been prevented.
Had I possessed a slightly broader heart, had I shown just a little more forbearance…
I would have embraced my senior brothers in their despair over their meager talents.
And we could have advanced together.
But at that time, I looked only forward. And I turned away from all those who gazed upon me.
Because of this, my senior brothers were consumed by despair and darkness, and I failed to perceive even their descent into demonic delusion.
A deep and shadowy demonic force had descended upon my spirit.
‘It is not the fault of Gak Ju.’
Hyul Geum Gang realized that Ak Moo Ryung, like myself, was merely a martial artist who had lived for a single purpose.
No matter how great a demon lord belonging to Samma. No matter how renowned a grand master of supreme martial arts that shakes all under heaven…
Fate is but a chess piece that cannot escape the grand game.
‘Perhaps this enlightenment comes far too late.’
Before long, even my resentment toward Ak Moo Ryung had vanished from my heart.
Perhaps that figure too had sacrificed everything to achieve great accomplishment.
Another reflection of myself, nothing more.
‘Now it is time to depart.’
Having witnessed Bu Eunseol stably master the heart method, Hyul Geum Gang left the Nangya Pavilion quietly, unburdened.
Thereafter, I wandered through all under heaven and began my austerities anew.
And I came to understand one truth.
My heart still dwelled with Hoeng Deok, a disciple of Cheon Ryong Temple.
The creation of the Inverse Extreme Heart Method had begun solely because I wished to be acknowledged by my master.
‘Now at last, I can set everything down.’
Finally gazing upon my own honest heart, Hyul Geum Gang laughed heartily.
And so he revealed himself publicly and began his atonement pilgrimage, making his way toward Cheon Ryong Temple.
―Bin Seung travels toward Cheon Ryong Temple, so let those with grievances come forth! I shall offer no resistance whatsoever!
Hyul Geum Gang understood that if he could not repay the blood debts accumulated over all these years, even upon reaching the gates of Cheon Ryong Temple.
he would have no right to step inside.
‘I must completely shed all the karmic sins I have accumulated and seek genuine redemption.’
He had not remained in the Nangya Pavilion solely to perfect the Inverse Extreme Heart Method.
As Hyul Geum Gang, he had emerged once more into Gangho, slaughtering the senior disciples who had destroyed his meridians and framed him.
And he had killed countless masters from the Orthodox Sects who claimed he had defected to the Demonic Path, or who recklessly challenged him seeking fame.
‘If I fall by their hands, that too is Bin Seung’s fate. But if I can survive after paying the price for these transgressions and return alive….’
Hyul Geum Gang gazed toward the distant sky.
If such a thing were possible…
then piercing through this endless darkness, he would have earned the right to set foot in Cheon Ryong Temple once more.

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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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