The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 557

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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 557.
“It’s nothing.”
She suppressed her emotions and spoke calmly.
“I was just lost in thought for a moment. Well then.”
“I have a younger sister.”
It was then that Do Cheon Rin broached an unexpected subject.
“Because of her, I’ve come to understand the hearts of women better than most men.”
“What an odd thing to say.”
“Don’t bear your sorrows alone.”
Do Cheon Rin gazed intently into Dam Yoo Yeon’s eyes.
“Sometimes, let the pain in your heart surface and be expressed. Then… your heart will find some ease.”
Simple words, yet they carried boundless warmth.
For Dam Yoo Yeon, who had swallowed her sorrow without a single soul to acknowledge her pain, they meant all the more.
Whoosh.
Dam Yoo Yeon turned without answering.
Yet as she stepped beyond the threshold, her expression had grown far softer than when she entered.
* * *
Do Cheon Rin departed Jeok Cheon Mak Ji alongside Bu Eunseol, who had returned.
His body had fully recovered, and his martial power had grown even stronger.
This was because Dam Yoo Yeon had infused all manner of precious tonics into the food he consumed.
And under the guise of treatment, she had administered various acupuncture techniques to enhance his cultivation.
―Grow stronger.
As Do Cheon Rin departed for the last time, Dam Yoo Yeon spoke with quiet resolve.
―So that you bring sorrow to no one.
“What occupies your thoughts?”
Bu Eunseol, seated across from him in the carriage, asked, and Do Cheon Rin shook his head.
“No, nothing at all.”
Noticing that Do Cheon Rin’s eyes had grown warm, Bu Eunseol grasped the situation readily.
‘He has taken a liking to her.’
During his twenty-some days at Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, Do Cheon Rin had developed considerable affection for the woman called Dam Yoo Yeon.
Not only was she beautiful in appearance, but she possessed a refinement uncommon among martial artists.
Particularly, Do Cheon Rin had long observed his younger sister, a typical example of a formidable female martial artist.
Thus, he may have found himself more drawn to Dam Yoo Yeon, who possessed the opposite charm—composed and elegant.
―Yoo Yeon, that child I have raised almost as my own since her childhood.
Seeing the smile that graced Do Cheon Rin’s lips, Bu Eunseol’s feelings grew complicated.
The refined yet somehow languid appearance bore a striking resemblance to Jeong Cheon.
―Please look after that child.
Suddenly, the dying Jeong Cheon’s plea came to mind.
Until his final breath, he had worried only for Dam Yoo Yeon.
And he would surely…
She likely wished for Do Cheon Rin to live alongside an ordinary person rather than a man of Gangho, whose life could be snatched away at any moment.
‘Should I intervene?’
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
Dam Yoo Yeon must harbor feelings for Do Cheon Rin as well.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t tend to his wounds daily and feed him spiritual medicine.
‘Matters of the heart between man and woman are beyond my control.’
Bonds form naturally, like seeds scattered by the wind—they cannot be orchestrated.
Others cannot and should not meddle in such affairs.
Before long, the carriage arrived at the Secret Safe House.
The moment Bu Eunseol entered the safe house, she handed over the Hwan Ma Sword that had been stored there.
“Remarkable.”
Do Cheon Rin let out an exclamation of wonder.
The Hwan Ma Sword rested in a new scabbard crafted by Ma Geom Ja, from which not a trace of demonic energy leaked.
This eliminated the risk of a demonic blade user launching a surprise attack.
“Let us refine your martial arts further in this place.”
Bu Eunseol imparted her insights to Do Cheon Rin once more.
Do Cheon Rin was fundamentally a master who had long cultivated the Way of the Blade.
Yet after obtaining the Hwan Ma Sword, he had sealed the Blood Flame Sect method and primarily employed the Dream Blade Hwan Ma Sword technique.
Bu Eunseol guided him not to combine the Blood Flame Sect method with the Hwan Ma Sword, but to create his own unique sword technique.
She expounded once more on the profound principles of martial philosophy.
“Strengthening and breaking through via martial force is admirable, but one can also break through martial philosophy itself.”
Bu Eunseol began explaining the breakthrough method of the Musang Cheon Ryu style that she had created.
Do Cheon Rin’s eyes widened as he listened to Bu Eunseol’s discourse.
‘Have I been a frog in a well?’
He had believed he had accumulated considerable experience in Gangho.
Yet compared to Bu Eunseol, he felt like an ignorant child.
Her martial philosophy lectures presented concepts so shockingly unique and original.
‘Martial arts can advance in such ways?’
The more he received Bu Eunseol’s teachings,
the more Do Cheon Rin’s expression resembled that of a provincial youth arriving in the imperial capital.
The martial theories she transmitted were entirely unfamiliar concepts,
and above all, they completely shattered the existing framework of martial philosophy.
If Do Cheon Rin could shed some of what he possessed and focus entirely on sword technique,
a terrifying swordmaster would emerge to usher in a new era for Murim.
“How shameful.”
Do Cheon Rin lowered his head.
“Have I merely been a vessel, mindlessly consuming knowledge all this time?”
“There is no need for self-reproach. You have learned much as the successor of the Ten Demonic Gates, received proper transmission, and achieved sufficient progress.”
Bu Eunseol explained calmly.
“However, to elevate martial arts, one must sometimes transcend such frameworks. The Ten Demonic Gates in particular treat their successors with exceptional generosity, which paradoxically tends to impede their advancement compared to the Righteous Path sects.”
Bu Eunseol emphasized once more.
“To grow stronger from this point forward, you must cast aside not only that framework, but all the antiquated concepts you’ve clung to until now.”
With that, all the martial discourse came to an end.
Outside the window, dawn was breaking. They had spoken without pause for half a day.
“From now on, I will place the intelligence network and agents of the Secret Intelligence Organization under your command.”
Bu Eunseol then taught Do Cheon Rin how to utilize the Sa Hon Dae’s intelligence network.
“But why don’t you tell your subordinates about this?”
Do Cheon Rin had observed Bu Eunseol meeting with him separately at the Secret Safe House.
He had discerned that she was concealing his existence from her subordinates.
“It would burden them.”
Bu Eunseol answered calmly.
“If those men learned of such matters, they would have to process it, consider it, and worry about far more than they should.”
Do Cheon Rin drew a deep breath and spoke.
“They’re more like family than subordinates, then.”
“They are men who will stop at nothing if I command it. That is precisely why I concern myself with their wellbeing.”
Bu Eunseol answered without pretense and continued her explanation.
“If you use this emergency contact system, masters will certainly arrive to aid you within two hours. So from now on, if an opponent you cannot overcome appears, flee without hesitation.”
“You’re telling me to run away?”
“Did you not say you wished to grow stronger?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with solemn expression.
“To grow stronger, you must survive. Only by surviving can you progress and ascend.”
In the past, Do Cheon Rin would never have agreed with such thinking.
But having encountered Bu Eunseol’s martial philosophy, his heart had changed.
He desired nothing more than to survive, again and again, and grow stronger.
A single, unwavering goal.
At last, Do Cheon Rin possessed such a thing.
“Then from now on, you and I have become one body, to become the blade of Sam Gye.”
“One could express it that way.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with utter coldness.
“But remember this well. If you venture deep into Sam Gye and become their puppet, I will cut you down immediately.”
“Hah. That will not happen. As you say, all I desire is to grow stronger.”
“That is precisely why I speak of it.”
Jeong Cheon had sought only strength, and in the end threw himself into Sam Gye, meeting a miserable death.
Bu Eunseol knew well how dangerous it was to pursue strength blindly.
“I understand. You speak of Jeong Cheon, yes?”
Do Cheon Rin, grasping Bu Eunseol’s concern, spoke with a bitter expression.
“Dam Yoo Yeon told me of it. She said I must never walk such a path.”
Bu Eunseol remained silent.
“His miserable fate came not merely from pursuing strength blindly, but from failing to consider those who worried for him.”
Bu Eunseol nodded faintly.
Do Cheon Rin would never walk such a path, if only to spare Dam Yoo Yeon from tears.
“Then spend a month here refining your swordsmanship and familiarizing yourself with Sa Hon Dae’s intelligence network and communication methods.”
A radiance like the sun itself lingered in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“So that you can reach the conclusion of what Sam Gye is doing with the demonic blade.”
“Very well. But do not forget.”
Do Cheon Rin spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Once you become Sam Gye’s blade, grasp their true nature completely, and obtain all the information you desire.”
A brilliant light flashed in his eyes.
“Then it will be your turn.”
Do Cheon Rin had made it his lifelong goal to face Bu Eunseol in combat and emerge victorious.
And that had not changed.
Rather, through Bu Eunseol’s plan, he would grow endlessly stronger.
One day, he would surely strike her down.
“Of course.”
Bu Eunseol’s lips curved into a smile.
It was a smile brimming with childlike purity, yet simultaneously one that seemed to captivate the very soul.
Witnessing that smile, Do Cheon Rin drew a deep breath.
‘Perhaps… such a day may never come.’
Even if such a day were to arrive.
If he and Bu Eunseol had become friends by then.
He would be unable to raise his blade against her.
* * *
Demon Palace, Sole Brightness Pavilion. The office of Chong Gyo Ryeong Yeop Hyo Cheon.
Upon the table where he sat lay documents stacked like mountains.
Managing all affairs of the Demon Palace in Ma Cheon Je’s stead, he devoted most of his time to administrative duties.
“This is incomprehensible.”
Around the third watch of the night, his deep eyes wavered as he read through a letter by lamplight.
“Have I misjudged?”
Yeop Hyo Cheon’s gaze narrowed as he reviewed the letter once more, written in complex secret script.
He rose smoothly from his seat.
Turning to gaze out the window.
The serene full moon at the third watch seemed to swallow some great secret.
Pouring forth a mysterious and clandestine light.
[What will you do?]
From the darkness pooling in the corner of the office, an extraordinarily respectful and hushed voice emerged.
[If not now, there will be no second chance to confirm whether that man is truly ‘it’.]
Yeop Hyo Cheon’s eyes, fixed upon the full moon, grew even narrower.
“Are preparations complete?”
[Of course. What Hyuk Ryeon Eung has concealed so meticulously and thoroughly, hidden even from Sam Gye, is absolutely impossible to trace.]
“Hmm.”
Yeop Hyo Cheon drew a deep breath and nodded with unmistakable gravity.
“Contact the Infinite Realm and inform them of his return route.”
His voice grew even more solemn and hushed as he continued.
“With Hyuk Ryeon Eung, who handled all matters great and small, now vanished… ‘he’ will surely emerge.”
[Understood.]
In that same instant, the darkness that had lingered in one corner of the Office dissipated.
Only now did it become apparent that despite the light reaching that spot, some force had steeped it in shadow.
“There’s no helping it. Sometimes survival demands improvisation.”
As Yeop Hyo Cheon turned his body, a dark mist-like energy began to seep slowly from his eyes.
“If I die, it will matter not. But if I survive, my true nature will surely manifest.”
A smile both profound and sinister lingered at the corners of Yeop Hyo Cheon’s lips.
“Even the great Ma Cheon Je must be swallowing hard. But…”
From his eyes, fixed upon the world beyond the window, erupted a darkness far deeper than shadow itself—a ravenous hunger.
“In the end, you are mine. Bu Eunseol.”
Clatter, clatter.
A carriage with wheels dyed black raced along Gwan Do.
Upon its flag flew a black banner, and inscribed upon it was an image of two dragons contending for a pearl—
the emblem of the Twin Dragons Vying for the Pearl.
It was the carriage of the Demon Hall’s successor, the Moo Hon Ryeong Ju.
Having parted ways with Do Cheon Rin, Bu Eunseol was returning to the Demon Hall by carriage.
That encounter with Do Cheon Rin.
From that chance meeting, Bu Eunseol had woven threads not only into the Murim Alliance,
but also secured stable infiltration into the Sam Gye, whose identity remained concealed.
Like a cunning rabbit preparing three burrows.
She had cast her line into all three: the Demon Hall, the Murim Alliance, and the Sam Gye, who scattered demonic blades seeking their successor.
If they took the bait…
Along with Hyung Su, who murdered her grandfather,
she could unveil the identity of Baek Ri Mu Ha—the greatest enigma of Murim and her presumed father.
Thud, thud, thud.
When the carriage had traveled far beyond Seong Do,
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, something erupted from beneath the road,
shattering the carriage into fragments.
Whoosh. Tap.
Bu Eunseol immediately launched herself into the air, performed a somersault, and landed back on solid ground.
Then black shadows began bursting forth from the surrounding earth.
“Shil Hoon In.”
They were none other than the Shil Hoon In created by the Infinite Realm.
Because they generated no vital signs when motionless,
even Bu Eunseol, with her exceptional senses, could not detect them.
Crack.
Bu Eunseol didn’t even glance at the Shil Hoon In surrounding her.
Instead, I examined the elderly coachman who lay among the shattered fragments of the carriage.
A sickening crunch.
The old coachman who had collided head-on with the Shil Hoon In bursting from the ground had his body shattered—he was dead.
With a solemn expression, I closed the coachman’s wide-open eyes and bowed my head.
“Forgive me.”
To ordinary people, martial artists were like demons and calamities incarnate.
One never knew when or where a battle would erupt, and it was all too common for innocents to perish in the aftermath of such conflicts.
Having worked in the Yeomsa, I understood this truth better than anyone.
That’s why I avoided contact with civilians whenever possible, and if a fight seemed imminent, I wouldn’t go near Seong Do at all.
But there was an exception—the coachman.
I had been confident that as long as he remained within three zhang of my person, no one could harm him.
But they had pre-positioned the Shil Hoon In along our return route, destroying the carriage in the process.
‘My arrogance has brought harm to an innocent.’
Consumed by fury, I spun around.
A sharp whistle.
The heads of the Shil Hoon In standing around the carriage shot skyward simultaneously.
I had unleashed the Women’s Severing Formation at a speed that left no trace, severing all their necks at once.
A sharp hum.
At that moment, white radiance flowed from my eyes as my hypersensitivity expanded outward for a hundred zhang.
I sensed countless troops converging on this location—an overwhelming force.
“They’ve encircled this entire area.”
I gazed toward the distant sky.
Due to Do Cheon Rin’s matter, I had temporarily loosened Sa Hon Dae’s intelligence network.
I had assigned So Yo to Seo Jin Ha and Tak Il Hon to Do Cheon Rin.
And now, as if they’d been waiting for this moment, they had penetrated Sa Hon Dae’s network and launched a surprise encirclement?
“There must be an informant within Bi Young Gak.”
My movements were concealed so perfectly that even Sam Gye couldn’t detect them.
But there was an exception.
The moment I returned to Demon Palace.
As one of the highest leaders of Demon Palace and a Moo Hon Ryeong Ju, when I returned to Ho Nam,
Bi Young Gak would manage every possible return route,
positioning forces heavily at each one.
In other words, the ability to seal off this area in advance and launch such an ambush meant
there was a traitor within Bi Young Gak, Demon Palace’s supreme intelligence organization.
“This is a trap on an entirely different scale.”
Despite knowing my nature well,
they had orchestrated this even knowing the intelligence source would be traced to Bi Young Gak.
That meant either they were absolutely certain they could kill me,
Or perhaps he was confident he could completely cover his tracks even if discovered.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
At that moment, towering figures of Shil Hoon In—nearly eight feet tall—came bounding from the distance.
Their numbers reached approximately two hundred.
Their skin had already turned a corpse-gray, and their limbs appeared as though they had been stitched together.
A low, rumbling growl.
In that same instant, the earth trembled as though struck by an earthquake.
Massive pillars rose from all directions, piercing toward the sky.
‘They’re sealing off this entire region?’
Impossible.
Deploying a formation across such vast plains would be no simple feat, even with tens of thousands of soldiers mobilized.
Every rock, stone, and tree scattered across this expansive land would need to be accounted for.
Crash!
Then, from the fists of the charging Shil Hoon In, hundreds of crimson rays erupted skyward.
Suddenly, they poured down upon Bu Eunseol like rain.
‘Tremendous power.’
The fist strikes they unleashed
carried such formidable force that it rivaled my Demonic Fist Seven Techniques.
Moreover, the method by which they freely manipulated their power appeared strikingly similar.
‘So Shil Hoon In, not Gyeol Ma Yeon Ok In, can deploy fist techniques of this caliber.’
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, a massive crater opened where Bu Eunseol had stood.
But I had already deployed Extreme Speed Shadowless Movement, escaping beyond the reach of their fist force.
Shil Hoon In do not die even when their limbs are severed, nor do they feel pain or fear.
They are mere weapons—instruments that deploy martial techniques until their final breath to eliminate their enemies.
There was no need to stake my life on cutting them down.
‘There’s no point in engaging with these foot soldiers.’
Bu Eunseol doubled the speed of my movement technique to escape this region.
Whoosh!
Becoming a streak of light that split the half-sky,
Thud!
I suddenly collided with something, and with a dull sound, crashed to the ground.
“Overlapping formations?”
The dozens of massive pillars that had pierced the sky had vanished.
It seemed they had been devices created by layering dozens of formations to imprison Bu Eunseol.
“An ancient formation technique I cannot decipher.”
Bu Eunseol immediately deployed my blade technique to break through the formation’s power.
Crackle!
As I poured forth greater force, the color of the sky shifted, and strange formation ripples spread in all directions.
‘What is this?’
The stronger the force exerted, the more resilient the formation became, and its rebound grew fiercer.
It was remarkably similar to the wall created from the concentrated lightning divine energy that had fallen from the sky above Yao Jian Plain in the past alongside Neung Bi Hon.
‘Then.’
At that time, I had unleashed ‘Harmony’ to pierce through the wall made of that lightning divine energy.
If this formation was of comparable magnitude?
I had no choice but to either summon Harmony immediately to shatter it, or find and sever the vanished pillars.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
But both options were currently impossible.
Roughly a hundred Shil Hoon In had converged upon me, unleashing their power relentlessly.
“How tedious.”
I grew weary even of cutting them down one by one with my blade.
Whoosh.
My hair instantly transformed into silver-white, and azure light poured from my eyes.
I had drawn the Glacier Heaven Stream Technique, merged with the Crystal Divine Energy, to its peak.
Burst!
As the Glacier Heaven Stream Technique—containing five hundred years of cultivation and the Crystal Divine Energy—erupted,
Crack.
All the Shil Hoon In rushing forward instantly became frozen blocks of ice.
Shatter. Thud, thud, thud.
The bodies of the frozen Shil Hoon In shattered into hundreds of fragments, falling to the ground.
Blending the Crystal Divine Energy—which could freely transform its shape—with the Glacier Heaven Stream Technique,
I had created hundreds of sword qi forged from extreme yin energy.
Thud!
Having felled all the Shil Hoon In, I unfolded my divine technique once more to survey my surroundings.
Yet all sides remained trapped within transparent walls, and the colossal pillars used to establish the formation were nowhere to be seen.
“Excellent.”
I spread both hands wide.
Then five-colored radiance began to bloom from my body.
Whoosh.
As thick blood vessels bulged forth, the five-colored radiance emanating from my body finally took on a spherical form.
It was ‘Harmony’—created by perfectly aligning all the power within my body.
Burst!
As I poured the concentrated light skyward, millions of luminous points scattered outward,
Crackle! Boom, crackle, crackle!
Like stars illuminating the night sky.
Countless luminous points beyond measure glowed yellow, blue, red.
Finally transforming into golden points of light, they dispersed in all directions.
Boom!
As those lights vanished, a deafening sound erupted, and one massive pillar fell to the ground before my eyes, split into two pieces.
“I’ve only destroyed one?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened in shock.
Even after unleashing ‘Harmony’—a power that transcended what any human could wield.
She had managed to destroy only one of the dozens of pillars hidden within the formation?
“This is….”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes snapped open wider still.
Only a handful of forces possessed the power to seal off an entire region and mobilize formations and armies of such magnitude.
The Demon Hall, the Murim Alliance, and the Three Realms.
Which meant one of those three factions… absolutely desired Bu Eunseol’s death.

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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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