The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 583
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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 583.
“Just rest for a moment. I’ll sweep away those rabble and return shortly.”
“Wait, if you step forward… Ah!”
Dam Yoo Yeon, who had been about to stop Heuk Pyo, let out an exclamation.
“It’s nothing to worry about.”
Heuk Pyo. Wasn’t he originally from the wanderer clans in the first place?
Moreover, this conflict was ostensibly a matter between wanderer factions, so he had ample justification to intervene as the one leading the wanderer forces.
“Then, please wait just a moment.”
Whoosh!
Heuk Pyo left behind an afterimage with his hands still clasped together, vanishing into the battlefield in an instant.
His speed was like lightning itself, and his stealth was as ghostly as a phantom.
“This fellow deliberately pretended not to know.”
Do Cheon Rin laughed helplessly and shook his head.
“He said he wouldn’t listen unless it was information that would shake the very foundations of Gangho?”
Until now, he had harbored resentment toward Bu Eunseol.
She had extended her hand to him without hesitation and used her golden needle technique to save him, yet she had turned coldly away when Dam Yoo Yeon faced crisis.
But now he finally understood.
Bu Eunseol had already made up her mind long ago to help Dam Yoo Yeon.
Otherwise, she could never have summoned the wanderer king who made his name in Sae Oe at such a perfectly timed moment.
“It seems she was trying to make a grand show of helping at the moment of absolute crisis.”
As Dam Yoo Yeon spoke with a smile, Do Cheon Rin shook his head.
“No, she deliberately said she wouldn’t help.”
Now fully grasping Bu Eunseol’s intricate and far-reaching strategy, he continued.
“There’s the issue of information leaks, but more importantly… to deal with not just the Huk Ki Hoe, but also the spies embedded in Jeok Cheon Mak Ji all at once.”
When Dam Yoo Yeon made a sound of realization, Do Cheon Rin shook his head in resignation.
“I truly cannot match her.”
Though he himself possessed wisdom keen enough to be called a scholar of perfect virtue, Bu Eunseol’s profound and subtle strategies were utterly beyond his comprehension.
“Bu Eunseol. You are someone my capacity simply cannot fathom.”
Dam Yoo Yeon, observing Do Cheon Rin’s helpless expression, spoke gently.
“She is a different kind of person than us. Don’t trouble yourself over it.”
“A different kind of person….”
Hearing her words, Do Cheon Rin nodded.
“Indeed. It does seem that way.”
Thinking of her as an entirely different species, as Dam Yoo Yeon suggested… his mind certainly felt more at ease.
* * *
Once Heuk Pyo’s wanderer brigade was fully committed to battle, the Huk Ki Hoe crumbled in an instant.
They were all wanderers specialized in large-scale combat, wielding unfamiliar weapons and tactics unused in the Zhong Yuan martial world.
There was a unit that threw bizarre projectiles capable of striking only enemy combatants with precision.
There was another unit clad entirely in iron armor that shattered only enemy formations and battle arrays.
Though numbering merely three hundred or so, they were masters of unparalleled skill—one against a hundred. In moments, the tide of battle had completely reversed.
“Retreat!”
Dam Woong, who had been observing the battlefield, shouted loudly.
“Fall back!”
With that single command, Dam Woong began a full retreat with all his strength.
With the arrival of these strange forces, defeat was now inevitable.
If that was the case, he had to preserve as many troops as possible intact to appease the fury of the Huk Ki Hoe’s leader.
But that was merely a vain hope on his part.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The Wanderer Army, as if anticipating the retreat, spread out widely to the left and right, relentlessly pursuing and slaughtering them.
Screech!
Like a hawk that had spotted its prey.
Heuk Pyo instantly blocked the path of the retreating Dam Woong.
“Strike him down!”
At Dam Woong’s command, the martial artists nearby began to engage him.
They were all elite members of the Huk Ki Hoe, masters of considerable skill.
But their opponent was one known to accomplish missions deemed impossible alone.
The Wanderer King, Heuk Pyo, whose abilities were said to be immeasurable.
He was cutting through the Huk Ki Hoe’s masters—those who could eliminate ordinary martial artists with a single stroke—like stalks of straw.
Boom!
At that moment, with thunder from the distant sky, the Huk Ki Hoe martial artists who had been rushing at Heuk Pyo scattered in all directions.
Do Cheon Rin had rejoined the battlefield, unleashing the Evil Dragon Breaking Mountain technique once more.
“I’ll lend a hand.”
“No need. I’ll handle it.”
Heuk Pyo doubled his power and dispatched the Huk Ki Hoe masters surrounding him.
‘Remarkable talent.’
Do Cheon Rin, watching this display, smacked his lips appreciatively.
‘With a bit more instruction, he’d be formidable.’
It was strange.
Never having taught anyone before in his life.
Yet gazing into those bright, intelligent eyes of this handsome youth, I felt an overwhelming desire to impart all the martial knowledge I had mastered.
“Your divine technique is flawless, but your attacks are far too ornate.”
Do Cheon Rin wielded the Hwan Ma Sword in hand, deploying the Blood Flame Sect techniques as he shouted.
“And for those who maintain such rigid defensive stances, overwhelming power through swordplay would serve better than swift subtlety. Observe!”
He then unfolded a sword strike incorporating Haengjunghang and Bulgobban, among the supreme mysteries of the Blood Flame Sect.
“Ah.”
Heuk Pyo had long followed Bu Eunseol, learning to discern the subtleties of martial arts.
Therefore, he could immediately grasp the profound principles within Do Cheon Rin’s techniques.
“I see. Thank you for the instruction.”
Heuk Pyo smiled gently.
In Do Cheon Rin’s manner, he recalled the image of Bu Eunseol, who had once taught him.
“I shall demonstrate it once more!”
Heuk Pyo drew upon his inner force with greater intensity as Do Cheon Rin had instructed, wielding his short blade as though it were a longsword.
Crash! Crash!
With thunderous explosions, the escort unit collapsed in an instant.
From a single lesson by Do Cheon Rin, his power had surged dramatically once more.
‘A master I cannot hope to match.’
Dam Woong, who had been observing, stood slack-jawed.
Though he possessed a cruel disposition and indulged in carnal pleasures, he was sharp enough with calculations to manage the finances of Huk Ki Hoe.
As the escort unit fell in an instant, Dam Woong turned and fled in panic without a backward glance.
Whoosh!
But Heuk Pyo moved like lightning, seizing Dam Woong’s Blood Sealing Point.
Thud.
With his short blade pressed against Dam Woong’s throat, Heuk Pyo unleashed a lion’s roar.
―Kneel――――now!
A voice brimming with the scorching martial spirit befitting the reputation of the Wanderer King shook the mountains and forests.
The surviving warriors of Huk Ki Hoe, seeing Dam Woong subdued, cast down their weapons and fell to their knees.
―Spare us, we beg you.
The surviving wanderers who had been watching erupted in cheers.
―Waaaaah!
This was a battle they had thought impossible to survive.
Yet they had achieved a great victory against their enemies and subdued Dam Woong.
“I surrender! I surrender!”
With his Blood Sealing Point seized, Dam Woong’s mouth moved ceaselessly as he gazed at Do Cheon Rin and Heuk Pyo.
“I shall never again covet Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.”
Do Cheon Rin and Heuk Pyo turned their heads simultaneously to regard Dam Yoo Yeon.
Since she led Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, the decision rightfully belonged to her.
Step by step.
Dam Yoo Yeon walked slowly toward Dam Woong.
“Dam Yoo Yeon.”
Dam Woong spoke with a servile smile.
“I beseech you to show mercy to our organization…”
Shing.
Dam Yoo Yeon drew her sword without waiting for him to finish.
“Lord!”
One of the wanderers standing nearby cried out in alarm.
“If you kill the leader of Huk Ki Hoe, they will surely seek revenge upon our base!”
Slash!
Yet Dam Yoo Yeon severed Dam Woong’s neck without hesitation.
Then she turned to address the wanderers.
“If we lack strength, sparing Dam Woong changes nothing. Even if we forge a non-aggression pact, it proves worthless.”
It was only after experiencing this invasion by the Huk Ki Hoe that she painfully understood once more.
That without strength, one becomes vulnerable to violation.
That with strength, one can negotiate with enemies rather than fight them.
“Do not worry.”
It was then that Heuk Pyo spoke.
“The Ryeong Ju has ordered some of our Wanderer forces to be stationed at Jeok Cheon Mak Ji to assist with matters here.”
For a moment, Dam Yoo Yeon’s body stiffened.
Bu Eunseol had not merely helped Dam Yoo Yeon as a one-time gesture.
To continuously protect Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.
She had arranged for Heuk Pyo’s Wanderer forces to become the dominant power in this place.
They too were wanderers, after all.
Even with new wanderer forces stationed here conducting operations, Jeok Cheon Mak Ji would not lose its autonomy.
‘She conceals her kindness beneath a facade of coldness.’
Though she had always treated them with such severity, Bu Eunseol paid no heed to their feelings.
She had restored her pride and ensured that Jeok Cheon Mak Ji would never again suffer invasion by external forces.
All through meticulous consideration.
“That won’t be necessary.”
When Dam Yoo Yeon firmly declined, Heuk Pyo’s expression showed slight surprise.
Even in this situation, could she not abandon her pride?
Or was Bu Eunseol’s goodwill a burden to her?
“From today onward, I have pledged myself to the Demon Palace—or rather, to the Muk Hon Ryeong Ju.”
At this unprecedented decision, not only Heuk Pyo but also Do Cheon Rin and the wanderers stood with gaping mouths.
In the past, Dam Yoo Yeon would never have entered the Demon Palace, even unto death.
But now was different.
Having come to know Bu Eunseol’s character and capacity…
Even if the Demon Palace were an evil sect that raised corpses, she could still serve under her command.
“Are you certain of this?”
It was Do Cheon Rin who spoke with concern.
“Seomseong has been dominated by the Orthodox Sects for generations. If word spreads that you intend to serve under the Demon Palace, the Orthodox forces will look down upon Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.”
“I do not care.”
Dam Yoo Yeon spoke coldly.
“The Orthodox forces pretended not to see when the Huk Ki Hoe, disguised as Wanderer Market forces, openly brought their armies here.”
She spoke in a loud voice, looking toward the wanderers.
“Even as our territory suffered such grievous harm this time, they remained silent—so they have no right to speak if I enter the Demonic Path.”
Recognizing the firmness of her resolve, Heuk Pyo clasped his hands together.
“Understood. Then we shall remain stationed here only until the Demon Palace makes an official announcement.”
“That may not be necessary.”
It was then that Do Cheon Rin stepped forward.
“If you intend to join the Demon Palace anyway, it would be better to station the Do Geuk Dae here instead.”
He spoke, looking toward Dam Yoo Yeon.
“They are individuals of exceptional skill and unwavering loyalty to me. There could be no better choice for your protection.”
In that instant, Dam Yoo Yeon’s face flushed crimson.
To assign Blood-Dyed Sword School disciples as her personal guards—
She understood perfectly what such an arrangement implied.
“You….”
As Dam Yoo Yeon stammered, her face burning scarlet,
“Indeed. A most excellent decision.”
Heuk Pyo, whose perception outpaced even divine techniques, swiftly interjected.
“Please share the good news at your earliest convenience. I shall certainly come to celebrate with noodles.”
To “eat noodles” was a euphemism for holding a wedding ceremony.
At Heuk Pyo’s words, Dam Yoo Yeon turned away with flushed cheeks, while Do Cheon Rin cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
“You certainly are an impatient one.”
As Do Cheon Rin continued clearing his throat, Heuk Pyo scratched his head sheepishly.
“I simply adore noodles. The Ryeong Ju enjoys them as well, does she not?”
And he offered an innocent smile.
“In truth, my deepest wish is to partake in noodles prepared by the Ryeong Ju herself.”
Heuk Pyo, too, harbored a fervent hope that Bu Eunseol would find her beloved and celebrate their union.
“I fear I have spoken out of turn.”
Heuk Pyo wiped his nose and clasped his hands together.
“Then I shall take my leave. Ah, and….”
As though only now remembering, he scratched his head and continued.
“Please convey to the Ryeong Ju that I am seeking her forgiveness.”
Do Cheon Rin and Dam Yoo Yeon exchanged glances.
What transgression could this young and talented individual have committed against Bu Eunseol to warrant such distress?
“It is because… the Young Palace Master of Shin Nyeo Gung was able to find the Ryeong Ju through my revelation of her whereabouts.”
Heuk Pyo scratched his head, visibly mortified.
“I believed the two of you were well-suited to one another.”
Do Cheon Rin and Dam Yoo Yeon blinked in bewilderment, their eyes wide.
What on earth was this young man babbling about?
“That is to say….”
Sensing their piercing stares, Heuk Pyo began speaking incoherently in embarrassment.
“I believed the Young Palace Master Yeon, being taciturn and upright in character, would keep my involvement secret….”
“….”
“Ever since, I have been unable to face the Ryeong Ju. If you two would speak favorably on my behalf, I would be eternally grateful.”
“Pfft.”
“Hahahaha!”
Dam Yoo Yeon and Do Cheon Rin exchanged glances before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
His fumbling, awkward manner of speech revealed not the Wanderer King who shook the heavens,
But merely a bashful youth of the Murim world.
* * *
Unexpected news rippled through the Murim.
Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, the Wanderer Market established in Seomseong, had suddenly become subordinate to the Demon Hall.
That Poong Woo Ji had been created by the Huk Ki Hoe, and that the Huk Ki Hoe had been targeting Jeok Cheon Mak Ji—
These were hardly novel revelations.
The only reason the Righteous Path sects had rejected their assistance was because the Huk Ki Hoe had transformed it into a mudslinging conflict between wanderer factions.
But then something unexpected occurred.
Poong Woo Ji and Jeok Cheon Mak Ji clashed in earnest, and as Jeok Cheon Mak Ji faced annihilation—
The Wanderer King, having learned of this beforehand, intervened immediately and saved Jeok Cheon Mak Ji.
The problem came after.
Jeok Cheon Mak Ji suddenly and earnestly petitioned to become subordinate to the Demon Hall.
―Why would they seek to join the Demon Hall when the Wanderer King had just saved them?
It made no sense whatsoever.
This Wanderer King—a young wanderer by all accounts, with no revealed identity or background, who had always lived in Sae Oe—
Why would he drop everything to aid Jeok Cheon Mak Ji?
Even granting the most generous interpretation—
That helping a fellow wanderer was understandable—
Why would Jeok Cheon Mak Ji then seek to join the Demon Hall?
―Could the Wanderer King himself be of Demonic Path origin?
The Murim practitioners shook their heads.
―Impossible.
If a wanderer who works for coin began questioning allegiances, he would cease to be a wanderer.
―I heard the Blood-Dyed Sword School’s Do Geuk Dae is already stationed there?
And more astounding news followed.
The Blood-Dyed Sword School’s elite force, Do Geuk Dae, had settled into Jeok Cheon Mak Ji as if they were its primary garrison.
Throughout history, the Demon Hall had never dispatched or stationed masters from the Ten Demonic Gates simply because a faction became subordinate to it.
So why had the Blood-Dyed Sword School’s elite taken root in Jeok Cheon Mak Ji?
―What in the world happened?
The Murim practitioners were consumed with curiosity, yet the truth never surfaced.
One thing, however, was certain.
―The Orthodox Sects must be aching.
Seomseong, traditionally the Orthodox Sects’ sphere of influence, had been a region where Demonic forces, however present, held no real power.
But with Jeok Cheon Mak Ji’s subordination to the Demon Hall, the Demon Hall naturally established its own power base in Seomseong.
For the Orthodox Sects, this was a painful blunder.
The Murim Alliance, Eun Wol Gak. In Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s office.
She sat with furrowed brows, lost in deep contemplation.
There was a puzzle she could not solve, no matter how much she pondered.
It was not the matter of Jeok Cheon Mak Ji that currently stirred the Murim.
“When I look back on it, something feels profoundly wrong.”
It was not a matter of the Jeok Cheon Mak Ji, which was currently causing a stir throughout the Murim.
Looking back on it, it’s such a strange thing.
Known throughout Tianxia as the most brilliant strategist among women, called Jisalseong, what problem could possibly trouble her mind?
“Jisalseong cannot be killed simply because his martial prowess is exceptional.”
A flash of light swept across her eyes as she drew a deep breath.
“How did he shatter his body using the Vajra Seal Technique?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits.
Jisalseong could restore his body in an instant using the power of the dead.
Therefore, it was impossible to kill him immediately.
To kill Jisalseong, one had to completely suppress him first, then strike him down relentlessly until he could no longer recover…
She understood this all too well.
“Then the conclusion is one of two things. Either everything Seon Woo Dae Ju testified to was a lie…”
She murmured softly, her gaze fixed on empty space.
“Or he is one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals.”
The One Hundred and Eight Stars consisted of thirty-six Heavenly Generals and seventy-two Earthly Demons.
Gong Son Dan Gyeong had no idea that Bu Eunseol harbored the power of Yishingi within her body.
She believed him to be one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals.
“Seon Woo Jin—a man who conceals brilliant strategy and martial skill beneath an ordinary appearance…”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s eyes gleamed.
What if he possessed the ability to strike down Jisalseong immediately?
“I must make him mine at any cost.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong took a deep breath.
“Absolutely.”
What she needed now more than brilliant strategy was overwhelming power.
If Seon Woo Jin could provide that… she could give him everything.
Because she had to have her revenge.
“Since the Yang Seol Family has revealed themselves, the Jung Sun Ga must have appeared in Murim as well.”
Remarkably, Gong Son Dan Gyeong seemed to know well of the Jung Sun Ga, despite their not yet showing themselves in Murim.
“After eliminating the Infinite Realm…”
From her eyes, fixed upon the void, flowed a light of resentment both profound and dark.
“Jung Sun Ga. It is you.”
Crunch.
As her fist clenched, her nails dug in and blood streamed forth.
And memories of the past—ones she could never forget even in death—surfaced.
* * *
So Min was born into a family of farmers.
Though their circumstances were modest, she grew up showered with her parents’ love.
Moreover, So Min was exceptionally gifted.
At three years old, she could converse clearly with adults, and by four, she had taught herself to read and write.
But when So Min turned five, masked strangers suddenly invaded.
They killed her parents brutally and abducted her.
When So Min opened her eyes, she found herself in a small village built within some secluded valley.
There, children of similar age had gathered together.
Remarkably, all of these children were the same age as So Min, and possessed similar brilliance and genius.
So Min, along with the abducted children of her own age,
studied academics and martial arts under the strict supervision of five individuals called Instructors.
And when So Min turned six, she finally understood their purpose.
Jisalseong.
A being born with intelligence and wisdom beyond imagination, whose mind moved ceaselessly like a turning wheel,
capable of creating even technologies and knowledge that did not exist in the world—a remarkable existence, or so they said.
Even the famous Zhuge Liang was said to have been born with Jisalseong, and after him, it became so rare to find
that the probability of such a being being born was extremely low.
The purpose of the Instructors in this village was
to abduct children predicted to possess the aura of Jisalseong,
and to manifest their genius here, thereby identifying the true Jisalseong.
If they continuously fed knowledge into them, surely their genius would blossom.
But as time passed, no child showed particular distinction.
So they changed their method.
“If their lives are on the line, that power will surely manifest. From now on, we will winnow them out.”
When So Min turned seven,
they were subjected to trials of death.
Children who could not solve the problems disappeared without a trace the next day.
So Min took the tests diligently and practiced academics and martial arts as they commanded.
To survive.
To exact revenge on those who had brutally murdered her family.
“I will definitely survive!”
So Min swore to herself.
I will survive,
and take revenge on those who killed my family and everyone in this place.
As revenge took root in her heart, So Min’s abilities began to blossom gradually.
She acquired academics and martial arts faster than the others,
and all the while, she constantly researched how to escape this place and survive.
But soon So Min fell into despair.
Forget revenge—no matter how hard she tried,
she realized there was an opponent she could never defeat.
Chu So.
A child who always walked about with a pallid complexion and obvious signs of illness.
Moreover, the genius and abilities he had displayed so far were merely average among the children.
But So Min could see through it.
Chu So—that child possessed the most outstanding abilities in this place.
“Why do you struggle so hard to survive?”
When So Min saw through Chu So’s abilities, strangely enough, Chu So approached her warmly.
“I will have my revenge.”
So Min bit her lip.
“And I will never let them go unpunished.”
In So Min’s eyes burned a flame of resentment so bitter and fierce that no seven-year-old child should possess—a hatred that consumed her entirely.
They had slaughtered her family.
And when they had mercilessly killed even the children she had endured hardship alongside for two years, the resentment in her heart had grown beyond all control.
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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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