The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 550

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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 550.
Snap!
The man withdrew a fan from his robes and unfurled it.
But this was no ordinary silk fan—it was a metal fan, forged from iron.
Whoosh!
As he wielded the iron fan, an exquisite wave of energy rippled outward, instantly dispersing the torrent of sword qi Bu Eunseol had unleashed.
Clang!
Bu Eunseol shifted her swordplay, releasing a dozen strands of sword energy that coiled around Mu Gyeol’s form.
She was probing his martial prowess through the subtle interplay of technique and energy, without resorting to true qi projection.
“How confident you seem.”
Mu Gyeol, having discerned her intent, wielded the iron fan with effortless grace.
With that single fan, he flowed through every technique as naturally as water, deflecting all her attacks.
It was as though he were performing an entirely new thirteen-form sword technique with the fan itself.
‘So he truly is Shin San Ja’s disciple.’
The Thirteen Sword Forms were themselves a martial art refined by Shin San Ja, so naturally he would have transmitted them to his student.
In the application of the Jade Butterfly technique’s mysteries, even Bu Eunseol could not match his level.
Swish! Crack!
With each sweep of the iron fan, every attack Bu Eunseol unleashed became futile.
Screech!
The Muk Hon Sword sang with a piercing note.
At last, she had begun employing the Musang Cheon Ryu technique.
Yet Mu Gyeol’s fan technique was like a soft shield that no force could penetrate or destroy.
Defense, defense, endless defense.
He turned aside and blocked everything, rendering even Bu Eunseol’s efforts meaningless.
“Good.”
Such defensive tactics might allow him to withstand countless formidable opponents.
But not against her.
She possessed multiple cultivation techniques capable of nullifying defense itself.
‘There is no need to waste time, no need to conceal my power.’
For so long, while wearing the guise of Seon Woo Jin,
I could not unleash my true qi freely, and had to severely restrict my cultivation.
But now, such restraint was unnecessary.
Rumble!
White light and crimson light began to swirl violently around Bu Eunseol’s hands.
She had drawn upon both the Glacial Heavenly Stream and the Infernal Great Positive True Qi simultaneously.
Hum!
The white light shifted to azure, while the crimson began to blend with violet.
As she unleashed the full power of extreme yin and extreme yang, the Crystal Divine Qi and Thunder Divine Qi naturally manifested to protect her body.
Boom!
As Bu Eunseol poured forth the combined force of extreme yin and extreme yang, Mu Gyeol’s eyes widened in shock.
There is no one in Murim who simultaneously employs the same martial arts as I do.
Moreover, the scope of the overwhelming power was vast enough to engulf the entire Guan Di Temple and its surroundings.
Whoosh!
Finding no way to evade, Mu Gyeol conjured a massive barrier of inner force to block Bu Eunseol’s assault.
The mere act of creating such a barrier proved his inner cultivation exceeded three hundred years of accumulated power.
Yet unfortunately, it was nowhere near comparable to Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess.
“Ugh.”
As the perfectly harmonized force of extreme yin and extreme yang poured forth, his barrier crumbled helplessly.
Zing.
As his body reached the brink of incineration, white light suddenly emanated from Mu Gyeol’s eyes.
In that same instant, he pressed himself flush against Bu Eunseol’s body.
And was he not deliberately drawing the overwhelming power into his own body to provoke an inner force clash rather than a clash of external techniques?
‘How amusing.’
Bu Eunseol discerned his deliberate provocation of an inner force confrontation and smiled knowingly.
‘I’ll indulge him as he wishes.’
Whoosh!
As the inner force clash commenced, Bu Eunseol’s formidable martial power began to crush Mu Gyeol’s body.
Yet the disparity in martial power is no mere game of numbers.
The higher one’s cultivation, the more even trivial gaps become magnified.
Mu Gyeol’s power exceeded three hundred years by far, yet Bu Eunseol surpassed five hundred years.
From Bu Eunseol’s perspective, it was no different than a child rushing forward with overconfidence and pushing against her body.
Yet something extraordinary occurred.
Crack.
Suddenly, a vital energy poured forth from Mu Gyeol’s body, strikingly similar to the anti-polar true qi that Bu Eunseol unleashed.
And then Bu Eunseol’s inner force vital energy vanished without a trace, like a stone cast into a boundless ocean.
The vital energy Mu Gyeol had unleashed
had become the source from which the anti-polar true qi originated, embracing Bu Eunseol’s inner force vital energy.
‘So he truly was a disciple of Jeong Cheon Je.’
Mu Gyeol had deliberately provoked the inner force clash, and then
using the Heart Sutra of Heavenly Meaning, unleashed vital energy nearly identical to Bu Eunseol’s anti-polar true qi.
Inner forces of the same origin find it difficult to harm one another, rendering the advantage of cultivation level meaningless.
‘The Heart Sutra of Heavenly Meaning can be employed in such a manner.’
I had thought it merely allowed one to discern the inner cultivation secrets of others.
Yet it could also mimic the inner force origin of a formidable opponent whose power surpassed one’s own, nullifying the advantage of superior cultivation.
‘Why did Jeong Cheon Je teach the Heart Sutra of Heavenly Meaning so liberally?’
The Heart Sutra of Heavenly Meaning, created by Jeong Cheon Je, was known to have never been transmitted to anyone else.
Yet my grandfather had mastered it, and this man before me, Mu Gyeol, wielded it with perfect freedom.
‘Moreover, this person called Mu Gyeol does not exist in Murim.’
Even as Mu Gyeol claimed to be a disciple of Shin San Ja, he was utterly unknown throughout Murim.
‘Which means.’
A chilling thought crossed Bu Eunseol’s mind.
Mu Gyeol.
This man was not Jeong Cheon Je’s formal disciple—could he have been denied entry into any official registry?
Like the Blue-Eyed Man she’d once seen in the Murim Alliance, was he merely being treated as expendable? Such thoughts gnawed at her.
Screech!
In that instant, Mu Gyeol’s technique shifted.
Recognizing that the internal energy clash had become futile, he transitioned seamlessly into close-quarters combat, employing techniques designed to overwhelm Bu Eunseol at close range.
The fan, being wielded like a short dagger, granted him an advantage over a longer blade in such proximity.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With each butterfly-like flutter of the fan, hundreds of shadows materialized, ensnaring her form.
As Bu Eunseol deflected the dizzying steel threads, an unsettling realization dawned on her.
Mu Gyeol’s technique—nullifying the internal energy clash and seamlessly transitioning into close combat—
This was no improvisation. It bore the unmistakable mark of long cultivation and refinement.
Then the Heavenly Heart Sutra was…
Could it be a secret method Jeong Cheon Je devised specifically to counter opponents whose internal power exceeded his own?
The thought struck me as profoundly strange.
‘Is there truly someone in the current Murim whose internal power surpasses Jeong Cheon Je’s?’
In terms of sheer depth of internal cultivation, the Orthodox Sects’ methods transcended those of the Demonic Path.
Jeong Cheon Je, in particular, was renowned for having synthesized and perfectly mastered countless Orthodox techniques of ascension—a feat beyond measure.
By internal power alone, he could be called the greatest under heaven.
Then why would he devise such a technique and transmit it to his disciple?
Could it be that he created it not for himself, but for his disciple’s protection?
Then why does he refuse to acknowledge Mu Gyeol as a formal disciple?
Snap!
In that moment, the wind from the steel threads grazed Bu Eunseol’s cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
“Am I such an easy opponent that you can afford to lose focus?”
Mu Gyeol’s expression, which had been taunting Bu Eunseol, turned ice-cold.
Yet Bu Eunseol was smiling.
With crimson light flickering in her eyes, her face resembled that of a beast that had spotted its prey.
“Let me show you.”
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol wielded the Muk Hon Sword once more.
“The greatness of Bon Gak.”
Screech!
Bu Eunseol began unfolding her sword technique anew.
She was manifesting the Thirty-Six Hands of White Rainbow—the technique Mu Gyeol employed from the So Yo Sect—through her blade.
The So Yo Sect’s martial arts, like the Subtle Steps Across Waves, aimed to deflect all attacks.
But the assault Bu Eunseol was now unleashing possessed no fixed form.
Instead, she was inverting the very logic of the counter-techniques Mu Gyeol employed.
Where deflection seemed inevitable, she withdrew; where retaliation appeared certain, she shifted elsewhere.
If he retreated, she retreated with him. If he advanced, she clung to him like a water ghost.
“Kugh.”
A turbid breath escaped from Mu Gyeol’s lips.
Bu Eunseol grasped the essence of the Baek Hong Thirty-Six Techniques in a single breath, and by turning his own martial arts against him, she launched a counterattack.
It became difficult for him to channel his full power.
Crack! Crack!
Mu Gyeol had no choice but to prioritize offense over defense, meeting Bu Eunseol’s blade head-on.
Ching! Clang!
As the Muk Hon Sword and the iron thread collided in succession, a clear metallic ring echoed through the air.
The iron thread was sturdy like a standard blade, but it could not compare to the Muk Hon Sword.
Each time he blocked the blade, the iron thread cracked and its edges chipped away.
“Is this the martial arts of Nangya Pavilion?”
Whoosh.
Mu Gyeol suddenly deployed his movement technique and retreated backward.
His movement technique was extraordinarily swift, carrying him back thirty paces in an instant.
Swish!
Yet Bu Eunseol pursued the shadow of the retreating Mu Gyeol.
“Did you think your movement technique surpassed mine?”
As Bu Eunseol drew alongside Mu Gyeol, a cold smile played across her lips.
“Not at all.”
Mu Gyeol smiled and extended both hands.
“I was planning to use something like this.”
Crack!
As he extended his hands, dozens of blades began to surge upward from near the Guan Di Temple.
Ten Thousand Swords Ancestral Technique.
It was both the name of a supreme sword technique, but also referred to controlling a vast array of blades through hand gestures and inner force—
A superior sword art such as Hand-Wielded Sword Technique.
In this moment of crisis, Mu Gyeol had hidden dozens of blades within the Guan Di Temple beforehand to deploy the Ten Thousand Swords Ancestral Technique.
Screech screech screech screech screech!
As Mu Gyeol extended both hands into the void and moved them in a chaotic pattern, roughly forty blades shot toward Bu Eunseol.
They did not fall in simple straight lines, but rather at different speeds and angles.
Each carrying mysterious techniques and formations.
‘Impressive.’
This single move of Mu Gyeol’s possessed the power of roughly forty peerless swordsmen attacking Bu Eunseol simultaneously.
To defend against such a technique, one would need to either deploy a sword art of equal power,
Or rapidly escape the range of the Hand-Wielded Sword Technique.
And Bu Eunseol chose the former.
Shatter!
In that instant, dozens of sword auras formed around Bu Eunseol’s body, matching the number of blades unleashed by the Ten Thousand Swords Ancestral Technique.
All of them were stained black, carrying a destructive force that seemed capable of obliterating everything in existence.
Using the Yeouui True Formation, I transformed my overflowing inner energy into a tangible sword of true qi.
Clang!
As the sword forged from the Yeouui True Formation clashed with Mu Gyeol’s Ten Thousand Sword Control, an endless metallic resonance echoed through the air.
No matter how formidable the Yeouui True Formation’s power might be.
It could not compare to the might of Mu Gyeol’s Ten Thousand Sword Control, which infused actual blades with inner force.
Bang, bang, bang!
Ultimately, the water swords unleashed through Ten Thousand Sword Control shattered the blade forged from the Yeouui True Formation.
And began pouring down in a straight line toward Bu Eunseol’s vital point at the center of her chest.
Crash!
This was utterly inescapable—Bu Eunseol faced the crisis of having dozens of blades pierce through her body.
Hum, hum, hum!
But the swords arrayed in a line could advance no further.
The moment the blade tips were about to touch Bu Eunseol’s skin.
Mu Gyeol’s inner force, which controlled the Ten Thousand Sword Control, shifted toward Bu Eunseol’s body.
The Heaven’s Resonance Heart Method.
I applied this ancient secret technique that allowed synchronization with an enemy’s inner energy.
Using the extended line of blades as a conduit, I disrupted the power of Mu Gyeol’s Ten Thousand Sword Control.
“How is this possible.”
Mu Gyeol’s eyes widened in absolute shock, bulging like marbles.
Could it be that Bu Eunseol had already perfected the Nangya Heart Eye, just like Ak Moo Ryung.
And grasped the secrets of the Heaven’s Resonance Heart Method in a single breath?
Thud, thud.
As the force controlling the Ten Thousand Sword Control failed to maintain its connection.
Whoosh. Clang!
The precious blades that had been arrayed in a line against Bu Eunseol’s chest all fell to the ground at once.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol seized the opportunity without hesitation, immediately closing the distance to Mu Gyeol and thrusting her blade toward his throat.
Shing.
The blade tip hadn’t even made contact, yet its sharpness split Mu Gyeol’s face veil in two.
And in that same instant, the stern and distinct face of a middle-aged man was revealed.
Remarkably, his eyes bore considerable resemblance to Bu Eunseol’s.
Only his angular face and large ears emphasized his masculine features all the more.
Click.
Rather than piercing through Mu Gyeol’s face, I pressed the Muk Hon Blade against the point beneath his nose.
“Do you concede defeat.”
Mu Gyeol looked at the Muk Hon Blade leveled at him and shook his head.
“At this rate, I won’t die.”
“What are you saying.”
“My master told me to ask you if you can break the Ten Thousand Sword Control, then teach me how.”
“What nonsense is this.”
“Hoe Ryong San, Man Seon Bong.”
Mu Gyeol spoke with an impassive expression.
“Geom Joon resides in seclusion there. And… he possesses a single Debt Repayment Medallion.”
In that instant, flames ignited within Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“So you’re saying… I must bring the Debt Repayment Medallion to meet Shin San Ja.”
“Precisely. After all, you seek to meet your master for a reason, do you not?”
Mu Gyeol shrugged as he spoke.
“One medallion per answer. That is the principle.”
“You’ll need to reconsider your answer.”
A glacial killing intent flickered across Bu Eunseol’s pupils.
“Unless you wish to use that single phrase as your final dying words.”
“There’s no helping it.”
Mu Gyeol shrugged as he spoke.
“Just as sects possess their absolute codes, the Debt Repayment Medallion is a rule set by my master. Should an outsider attempt to break it, I have no choice but to defend it with my life.”
Each faction possessed absolute codes, and they guarded them with their very lives.
For when such rules crumbled, so too did the sect’s standing and pride.
“So without the Debt Repayment Medallion, I cannot possibly meet Shin San Ja.”
“That is correct.”
Crunch.
Bu Eunseol gripped the Muk Hon Sword tightly.
Those of Murim possessed fierce pride and guarded their codes as they would their own lives.
Especially one like Mu Gyeol—no amount of torture would ever loosen his tongue.
“Very well.”
Click.
As Bu Eunseol sheathed the Muk Hon Sword, her eyes brimmed with a killing intent fierce enough to tear the heavens asunder.
“If I bring the Debt Repayment Medallion and you speak nonsense…”
Her voice and gaze carried the weight of an ultimatum from the King of Hell himself.
“I will sever your head without hesitation.”
“Quite the bloodthirsty declaration.”
Mu Gyeol smiled with unshakeable confidence as he spoke.
“Spare yourself such worries and simply find the Debt Repayment Medallion.”
He met Bu Eunseol’s gaze with unwavering composure as he continued.
“Once you’ve found it, come to Cheon Dun Ryeong. I will be waiting.”
“Very well. But if you play tricks again…”
A sanguine gleam rose within Bu Eunseol’s eyes as she regarded Mu Gyeol.
“You may look forward to it.”
And with that, he turned away.
Mu Gyeol merely smiled calmly, offering no response.
As if to assure that such a thing could never come to pass.
* * *
The Hoe Ryong San Gorge within Shanxi stretched for over seventy li in length.
Upon arriving at Hoe Ryong San, I ceased my divine technique only to immediately head toward Man Seon Bong.
After climbing for some time, a towering cliff of red stone, standing some hundred zhang high, came into view.
I halted my divine technique to observe the cliff, then resumed my ascent up the mountain.
At last, reaching a height that seemed to touch the very edge of the heavens, a flat plateau emerged before me.
Upon this level ground, where wildflowers and peculiar rock formations dotted the landscape, stood a small cultivated field, and before it, a modest dwelling.
An air of ethereal grace—as though an immortal dwelt here—permeated the place.
If Mu Gyeol’s words held truth,
then the greatest swordmaster in all of Murim resided in this very location.
Creak.
As I approached the dwelling, the door swung open, revealing an elderly man with hands clasped behind his back.
Geom Joon, Heon Won Dam Cheong.
The transcendent swordmaster who once held all of Murim beneath his feet with the Ten Thousand Forms Eclipse—now living in quiet seclusion, having abandoned the mundane world.
“Master.”
I pressed my palms together respectfully toward Geom Joon.
Though our connection could hardly be called a favorable one, I harbored no ill will toward Heon Won Dam Cheong.
He had indeed displayed petty behavior, attacking me for the sake of Cheon Geom’s vengeance.
Yet upon recognizing his own fault and shame, he had sought only to sever a single arm.
Moreover, when he learned of my connection to Chil Ji Ma Do, he immediately abandoned his vendetta and departed.
While others might deem such restraint equally petty,
I could perceive the tremendous self-control he had exercised while pursuing vengeance.
Furthermore, thanks to that confrontation, I had learned the profound sword principles of the Ten Thousand Forms Eclipse, which had proven invaluable in times of crisis.
From my perspective, it was hardly an unfavorable connection.
“You.”
Upon seeing me with palms pressed together, Heon Won Dam Cheong furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Why have you come to this place?”
“I have come to pay my respects, Master.”
“No Bu has already departed from Murim.”
Without even asking the reason for my visit, he issued an order to send me away.
“I no longer involve myself in worldly affairs. Leave.”
“I have heard that you possess the Repayment Coin, Master.”
“The Repayment Coin?”
Caught off guard by this unexpected mention, Heon Won Dam Cheong responded with a puzzled expression.
“So?”
“It is desperately necessary.”
“Hehehehe!”
He burst into laughter, his expression one of utter absurdity.
“So you have come to seize it from No Bu’s hands?”
“That could hardly be the case. However, without it, I…”
I found myself compelled to explain the situation.
To learn the truth of her life’s origin, the Preservation Hall was absolutely necessary.
However, Heon Won Dam Cheong dismissed Bu Eunseol’s words with a wave of his hand.
“Whatever your circumstances may be, they have nothing to do with No Bu.”
“Elder.”
“Leave.”
Bu Eunseol exhaled a deep sigh.
I could not forcibly seize the item belonging to Heon Won Dam Cheong, known as Geom Joon.
Nor was he the type to yield simply because I pleaded with him.
Then I had no choice but to employ the final method I had contemplated on the way here.
“In the past, Elder, you created a new sword technique, and to perfect it, you traveled throughout Gangho seeking someone capable of breaking that sword form.”
Bu Eunseol continued swiftly.
“But ultimately you never found such a master swordsman, so you abandoned that technique and instead created the Myriad Forms Eclipse.”
“That was merely a journey through Gangho in my youth.”
Geom Joon, having seen through Bu Eunseol’s intentions, spoke coldly.
“No Bu has already left Murim. I no longer feel the need to perfect the sword techniques I created in the past.”
“Are you afraid?”
Bu Eunseol fixed her gaze directly upon Heon Won Dam Cheong’s eyes.
“That I might be capable of breaking that sword form.”
“A crude provocation.”
Heon Won Dam Cheong laughed coldly.
“Did you truly believe No Bu would consent to such words?”
“You said you spared my life because of my connection to Chil Ji Ma Do, Elder.”
Bu Eunseol appealed to the bond with Chil Ji Ma Do.
“Could you not reconsider once more, for the sake of your connection to my grandfather?”
“Your grandfather?”
As Heon Won Dam Cheong blinked, Bu Eunseol nodded.
“I am his grandson.”

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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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