The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 657

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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 657.
Clang!
As blade tip met blade tip, a metallic ring erupted, and a storm-like shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
Bu Eunseol’s Falling Star Crossing Moon technique was a sword form that could only be deployed when perfectly identifying an opponent’s weakness.
Once unleashed, it was an extraordinarily lethal technique that would inflict a mortal wound even if it failed to kill instantly.
She had certainly detected the opening and deployed it.
Yet how could Yang Dae Ryang—
Not only had he precisely grasped the sword path of the Falling Star Crossing Moon technique, but he could unfold his own Dok Moon swordsmanship identically?
Moreover, despite initiating his sword form later than hers, how had he managed to clash blades with her simultaneously?
Whoosh!
Swallowing her astonishment, Bu Eunseol immediately retreated three paces backward.
Yet Yang Dae Ryang did not pursue, standing motionless in place with a serene smile playing at his lips.
Through this exchange, Bu Eunseol had lost her momentum, while Yang Dae Ryang had gained the advantage—there was no difference.
“Moo Hon Ryeong Ju, Bu Eunseol.”
Yang Dae Ryang’s lips curved upward.
“The new generation master of the Demon Hall was masquerading as a wanderer.”
In that instant, a flash of light pierced through Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
‘So it was Sam Gye after all.’
When Bu Eunseol first encountered Yang Dae Ryang, she had deliberately presented herself as a wanderer.
Yet she had made no attempt to conceal her identity, instead deploying her Dok Moon swordsmanship—the Musang Cheon Ryu technique.
Because Sam Gye had always been searching for and studying traces of her martial arts.
If Yang Dae Ryang were a member of Sam Gye, he would surely recognize the Musang Cheon Ryu technique… and thus she could determine which organization he belonged to.
“So you were a member of Sam Gye.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed to slits.
One of the Seven Lords—a candidate for the next Murim Alliance Master and a pillar supporting the Murim Alliance itself—had been revealed as an agent of Sam Gye.
Which meant, just as she had suspected before,
The remaining Lords could all be planted agents from outside forces as well.
“Now I understand why you spread the tale of encountering enlightenment like a thunderbolt.”
Bu Eunseol murmured softly.
“You pledged yourself to Sam Gye long ago… and have been learning martial arts that deviate from the orthodox principles of the martial way.”
“Hehehehe. What difference does it make now that you’ve figured it out?”
Yang Dae Ryang’s lips rose with evident amusement as he spoke carelessly.
“If I sever your neck, becoming the next Murim Alliance Master is hardly a dream.”
“Are you affiliated with the Infinite Realm? Or the Gwi Il Gye?”
“Think whatever you wish.”
He maintained a composed expression despite knowing her identity.
If he were a member of Sam Gye, he could not possibly be unaware that Bu Eunseol had slain Cheon Joon single-handedly.
Then did that mean he was stronger than Cheon Joon?
‘Or could it be that this absorption martial art truly exists, which is why he remains so composed?’
If Yang Dae Ryang’s words held truth,
He possessed an unprecedented martial technique—one that absorbed an enemy’s martial arts intact.
‘No, such a technique doesn’t exist.’
If such a method had ever been created, the term “Forbidden Martial Arts” would have vanished from the Murim long ago.
“Let me try once more.”
Bu Eunseol twisted her grip on the Muk Hon Sword.
Flash!
In that instant, a colossal cross-shaped blade aura erupted in succession, trapping Yang Dae Ryang and sealing off his escape route.
She had deliberately induced a collision of sword techniques using the Crescent Moon Luminous Form.
Flash!
Then something extraordinary occurred.
Yang Dae Ryang’s blade gleamed as he unleashed the identical cross-shaped blade aura.
Boom!
The colossal cross-shaped auras clashed in midair.
A tempest that seemed to sweep away all existence erupted, and the shockwave of true energy soared to the heavens.
Once again, Yang Dae Ryang had replicated Bu Eunseol’s sword technique perfectly.
Whoosh.
With the sound of waves crashing, the blade aura vanished in an instant.
“Is that all?”
As Yang Dae Ryang smiled,
Screech!
A blade cry like the wail of a ghost pierced the air, and black smoke coiled around Bu Eunseol’s body.
The Blood Dew Seven Techniques—a saber art that unleashed calamity upon all living things the moment it unfurled—had been deployed.
Hiss.
As if daring him to replicate it if he could.
Not her most confident technique, but rather the Absolute Saber Form that transformed infinitely according to the enemy’s movements.
She had unleashed the Half-Life Half-Death Form.
Whoosh!
The saber aura, spreading like ink, shifted through infinite variations in response to Yang Dae Ryang’s movements.
Screech!
Then the unbelievable happened.
From Yang Dae Ryang’s blade came the same ghostly wail,
Hiss.
And the Half-Life Half-Death Form that Bu Eunseol had unleashed was replicated perfectly.
Whoosh!
As the two endlessly shifting blade auras collided, they vanished like mist in an instant.
Crack!
In that gap, Yang Dae Ryang pierced through Bu Eunseol’s defense and unleashed a lightning-swift supreme sword technique.
It was the ultimate sword art once wielded by the Master of the Heavenly Sword Society—the Transcendent Soul Single Flash.
Slash!
A keen blade aura burrowed into Bu Eunseol’s body in one breath.
It struck with perfect timing, at a moment when I could barely move my body.
Zing!
In that instant, a black wall materialized before my form.
With no time to evade, I immediately unfurled the Yeui Jin Gyeol.
Boom!
With the explosive impact, I was sent flying back more than a dozen paces.
Whoosh.
As my body collided with an ancient tree, leaves scattered in all directions.
Though the Yeui Jin Gyeol prevented my body from being split in two,
the inner force contained in Yang Dae Ryang’s single strike had shaken my organs, leaving my complexion somewhat pallid.
“Hehehehe.”
Yang Dae Ryang did not press his attack, instead regarding my flustered expression with amusement.
“It seems you’ve grown blind with arrogance after slaying Cheon Joon.”
Thud, thud.
As I emerged from the dust, Yang Dae Ryang spoke with a contemptuous smile.
“From this Lord’s perspective, Cheon Joon was merely a pitiful old man—neither truly alive nor dead.”
His confidence was no mere boast.
The Musang Cheon Ryu technique—the culmination of Nangya Pavilion’s practical swordsmanship.
And the absolute sword arts of Chil Ji Ma Do, the Blood Dew Seven Techniques, he could deploy them instantaneously?
He possessed martial prowess worthy of being called a War God itself.
“I hear you still possess many other skills. Do display them.”
Despite Yang Dae Ryang’s mockery,
I maintained a composed expression, calmly analyzing how he possessed such abilities.
The Musang Cheon Ryu technique was his own creation, refined through constant improvement.
Moreover, the Blood Dew Seven Techniques—
unless the temperament and will of my grandfather Bu Chanyang and Shim Ui aligned perfectly, one could not unleash its true blade force. It is an absolute technique of the highest order.
How could he deploy it identically and instantaneously?
‘In the past, Jisalseong displayed such abilities.’
But that was possible only because he wielded corpses he had slain, employing bizarre dark sorcery.
Yet Yang Dae Ryang showed no traces of malevolent energy or sorcerous techniques.
He had genuinely displayed martial arts identical to mine.
How could such a thing be possible?
“Now let us end this.”
Yang Dae Ryang raised his sword consecutively.
A blade light like a ray of brilliance pierced toward my throat,
while lightning-swift sword radiance carved into my left and right flanks.
He had deployed the Cheonwoo Ja Jeon technique and the Chohon Il Seom technique simultaneously.
Whiiiing.
At that moment, an ink-black radiance bloomed from my Muk Hon sword,
Clang!
The unified sword strike shot toward Yang Dae Ryang’s body.
For a technique meant to counter the Cyan Rain Rotating Sword Technique and the Primal Soul Single Slash, it was a somewhat forced move.
“Hmph.”
As I deployed a sloppy unified sword strike as if resigned to my fate,
A sharp clash rang out!
Yang Dae Ryang, charging forward like an island warrior, deployed the exact same unified sword strike.
A brilliant flash!
With light streaking left and right, the two of us passed through each other’s bodies.
Since we had deployed perfectly identical martial techniques, neither of us sustained damage.
Yet Yang Dae Ryang had once again proven that he could instantly execute his opponent’s martial arts.
“So all your cards are now revealed, Muk Hon Ryeong Ju?”
Yang Dae Ryang approached me with supreme confidence.
“You’ve been running rampant through the Murim all this time.”
Intense light poured from the twin swords Yang Dae Ryang raised.
It was the Heavenly Sword Society’s ultimate pinnacle technique, capable of reducing even a Diamond Copper Man to dust.
The Great Shattering Heavenly Sword Force.
A brilliant flash!
But I launched a rather unexpected attack.
I suddenly drew a hidden blade from my robes and hurled it toward Yang Dae Ryang’s brow.
A sharp clash!
Yang Dae Ryang, about to unleash the Great Shattering Heavenly Sword Force, was astounded and caught the blade with his left hand.
“Was that your final desperate gambit?”
Yang Dae Ryang, a sneer playing at his lips, attempted to shatter the blade,
Boom!
The blade exploded with a thunderous roar, violet lightning crackling brilliantly.
I had not thrown the blade through ordinary means, but had instead concentrated the lightning essence within my body,
Launching it through the Explosive Flying Thunder technique.
A crackling sound.
As the lightning essence spread in all directions, a strange radiance flickered from Yang Dae Ryang’s index and middle fingers.
Those fingers, which had appeared perfectly normal, were not actual fingers at all—they were something exquisitely crafted that he was wearing.
“So that was the secret to absorbing martial techniques.”
I gazed at Yang Dae Ryang’s lustrous fingers, my lips curling upward.
“The Black Divine Artifact.”
In that instant, Yang Dae Ryang’s expression turned ice-cold.
The Black Divine Artifact—his trump card, which he had wielded while dominating the Murim and cutting down countless enemies, never once exposed.
How had I discerned it?
“Did you know beforehand?”
“I didn’t at first.”
A flash of light swept across my narrow eyes.
“The Sam Gye were committing such bizarre acts that I wondered if there truly existed a secret to absorbing others’ martial techniques.”
“….”
“But there is no restraint in how you absorb martial techniques.”
Contempt flooded Bu Eunseol’s eyes as she regarded Yang Dae Ryang.
“The ability to instantly replicate an opponent’s martial arts means you can immediately grasp their subtleties.”
Only then did Yang Dae Ryang realize what mistake he had made.
“You deliberately deployed the Divine Sword Unity.”
When he suddenly unfolded the Divine Sword Unity, I thought it was a final desperate struggle.
But it turned out he had intentionally deployed a Divine Sword Unity riddled with flaws.
“That’s right.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head with a snort.
“Even though you deployed a flawed Divine Sword Unity, you didn’t exploit those weaknesses to attack—instead, you blindly replicated my martial arts, as if compelled by some external force to employ such methods.”
The Divine Sword Unity Bu Eunseol had deployed was formidable.
Yet it was a blunder—a move that failed to match the situation and exposed its weaknesses.
If Yang Dae Ryang were truly a genius capable of instantly replicating an opponent’s martial techniques,
he would have immediately seen through the Divine Sword Unity’s flaws and dealt Bu Eunseol a fatal blow.
But Yang Dae Ryang, as he had done until now,
simply deployed identical martial arts to hers and thwarted her attack.
In other words, he had not reached an exceptional level of martial mastery…
but rather was receiving some form of external assistance to display such martial prowess.
“You discerned all that from just one thing?”
As Yang Dae Ryang tilted his head in confusion, Bu Eunseol laughed softly.
“That vaunted Young Seon Finger Technique of yours—you never used it, despite claiming it as your true skill.”
The Young Seon Finger Technique was a formidable skill capable of blocking any martial art.
Yet when Yang Dae Ryang engaged Bu Eunseol in earnest combat, he did not employ it.
Had he properly combined those techniques, he could have deployed far more exquisite swordsmanship.
“Instead, when you wielded your martial arts, you guarded those two fingers as if they were treasures.”
Moreover, despite possessing the Young Seon Finger Technique—a secret art unique to his lineage—he rarely used it.
This meant he had instead placed some form of restriction on those two fingers.
Bu Eunseol had struck those two fingers with light and impact using the Explosive Thunder technique, and immediately detected the presence of the Black Divine Artifact.
“You merely borrowed the power of the Black Divine Artifact to reach that level…”
Emptiness filled Bu Eunseol’s eyes as she looked down at Yang Dae Ryang.
“So you were not Hyung Su, who killed my grandfather after all.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“You lack the strength to annihilate the Heavenly Sword Society, let alone kill my grandfather.”
And she spoke with a voice full of disappointment.
“The deaths of Seok Song and Woo Hak were likely carried out on someone’s orders.”
Yang Dae Ryang’s body flinched.
How could this man know such things?
“Anyone capable of wielding the Black Divine Artifact independently would be at least a member of the Special Divine Guard of the Three Realms or higher…so there’s no point in questioning you further.”
Yang Dae Ryang bit his lip.
That man not only regarded me like a fish already caught in his net, but the moment he discerned that my formidable martial prowess stemmed from the Black Divine Technique’s function, his expression shifted.
Wasn’t he displaying a look of profound disappointment?
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Zzzzzzzt!
As I drew upon my inner force, an tremendous radiance erupted from Yang Dae Ryang’s index and middle fingers.
“Taste the fully unleashed Mystic Yellow Sword Fingers!”
His two fingers were bound with a terrifying aura that seemed capable of obliterating heaven and earth itself.
Realizing that Bu Eunseol, whose cultivation differed by more than twenty years, possessed martial prowess superior to my own.
Consumed by rage and shame, I unleashed the Black Divine Technique to its maximum capacity.
Whoooosh!
A sound like waves crashing from all directions of heaven and earth reverberated through the air.
The radiance pouring forth from the Mystic Yellow Sword Fingers dyed the entire world white.
In that instant, my vision turned completely white, and every sensation within my body vanished in a single breath.
‘The Black Divine Technique has even stolen my senses….’
Suddenly the entire world had turned white.
My body had become like a wooden log—I couldn’t move even a single finger.
“Die!”
Yang Dae Ryang, hidden within the radiant veil, unleashed a decisive strike toward me.
But with all my senses gone, I stood motionless, unable to hear his voice.
Thrummmmm.
Yet at that moment, something miraculous occurred.
The Muk Hon Sword I held in my grip was thrashing about like a freshly caught fish, wasn’t it?
Though all sensation and awareness had been severed, the Wind Cloud Harmony Formation sleeping within my body sensed Yang Dae Ryang’s killing intent.
The Rhombus Fish Sword Technique unfolded of its own accord.
Clang clang clang clang!
Endless metallic resonance echoed around me.
The Rhombus Fish Sword Technique was perfectly blocking Yang Dae Ryang’s attacks within the radiant veil.
“This bastard!”
Yang Dae Ryang was greatly startled and hastily retreated back into the radiant veil.
But because the Rhombus Fish Sword Technique had unfolded of its own accord, sensation returned to my body for the briefest moment.
It was merely the time to move a single finger, yet…
For me, it was an infinitely luxurious and sufficient span of time.
Zing.
In that instant, drawing upon all my strength to channel the Second Divine Technique, a mysterious pattern emerged from the scabbard of the Muk Hon Sword.
Whoooooosh.
As the Muk Hon Sword, having absorbed the power of the Second Divine Technique, cut through the void.
The radiance that had dyed the entire world white began to slowly dissolve.
And Yang Dae Ryang’s form, hidden within the radiant veil, was revealed.
‘Now is the moment.’
I seized that fleeting instant and immediately unleashed the Soaring Meteor Overtaking Technique.
Yet something unexpected occurred.
A sharp ring echoed through the air.
The Muk Hon Sword, infused with murderous intent, suddenly shifted its trajectory on its own.
Instead of piercing Yang Dae Ryang’s neck, it struck the Hyeonhwang Sword Ring attached to his fingers.
A crystalline crack shattered the silence.
The two Hyeonhwang Sword Rings adorning Yang Dae Ryang’s fingers crumbled like shattered glass.
In that same instant, a torrent of crimson radiance poured from the Muk Hon Sword, grazing Yang Dae Ryang’s fingers before extending toward the Distant Sky.
The Muk Hon Sword.
This killing instrument, placed in my hands by my mother’s arrangement.
It possessed what seemed like a will of its own.
It had altered my attack and deliberately evaded the Meteor Pursuit Technique.
Dust scattered in the wind.
The Hyeonhwang Sword Ring that had clung to Yang Dae Ryang’s hands completely disintegrated, its particles dispersing on the breeze.
Then another bizarre occurrence unfolded.
Yang Dae Ryang stood with his mouth agape, his expression vacant—like a Shil Hon In whose soul had departed.
His body had stiffened like stone, and saliva dripped from his lips.
“Uh… uh…”
Yang Dae Ryang, his eyes devoid of focus, began uttering strange sounds.
Watching this spectacle, Bu Eunseol finally grasped the full situation.
‘He could not withstand the backlash from opening the Black Divine Artifact and has become a cripple.’
According to Ma Geom Ja’s words, the Black Divine Artifact ultimately destroys its user and devastates the world.
As if to prove this very truth.
The moment I destroyed the fully awakened Black Divine Artifact, its owner Yang Dae Ryang became an idiot.
“So the Black Divine Artifact is connected to the owner’s very soul.”
A metallic click sounded.
Bu Eunseol sheathed the Muk Hon Sword and murmured softly.
“Repay your sins through the remainder of your life.”
“Uh… uh… uh…”
Yang Dae Ryang, now an idiot, stood with vacant eyes and drool streaming down his face.
As I gazed upon this sight, my eyes drifted toward the clouds floating in the Distant Sky.
There, I seemed to see the figures of Seok Song and Woo Hak, who had once taught me the Diamond Sword Technique.
‘This man does not appear to be the true culprit behind the Heavenly Sword Society’s destruction… but for now, this shall suffice.’
The faces of Seok Song and Woo Hak reflected in the clouds seemed to brighten.
After gazing at the sky for a long while, I quietly departed from Yeong Pa Island.

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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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