The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 679

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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 679.
Gong Son Dan Gyeong lowered her head.
“So it has come to this.”
Back then, Gong Son Dan Gyeong had tried every conceivable method to persuade Gong Son Dan Ah, but it had all been in vain.
The people of the Gong Sun Estate had a peculiar habit—once they became fixated on something,
no amount of words could sway them; the words simply fell on deaf ears.
“I suppose I haven’t been much of a daughter.”
Since entering the Murim Alliance, I had completely erased all thoughts of the Gong Sun Estate from my mind.
Yet I felt a bond toward Gong Sun Hwa Wook and his wife that surpassed even that of blood parents.
If I had lived as So Min until the age of seven, then I had lived as Gong Son Dan Gyeong for twenty-three years.
In essence, they were no different from my true parents.
‘I always feel guilty.’
Because I concealed my circumstances from them.
Because I must pursue my vengeance.
“I even considered forgetting everything and living solely as Gong Son Dan Gyeong.”
But I could not.
The very reason I had survived was because of my desperate resolve to achieve vengeance.
Chu So, who understood all of this,
had said he would help precisely because he recognized that I was the one capable of achieving that vengeance, had he not?
And Chu So’s prophecy had proven accurate.
The thirst for vengeance that churned within my heart had not diminished in the slightest.
With each passing day, I desired it all the more desperately.
“Still… I should fulfill my duties as a daughter from time to time.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook and his wife had given me a new life and the strength to pursue vengeance.
I had never once forgotten their kindness.
Vengeance was important, but fulfilling my filial duty as their daughter was equally my obligation.
“Who is outside?”
Having steeled herself, Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with grave intensity.
“Summon Seon Woo Dae Ju at once.”
The interior of the carriage was immaculate.
It was one of the Eight Flags Carriages, reserved only for the highest echelons within the Murim Alliance.
Moreover, it was a carriage designed by Cheol Soo Ja, one of the divine craftsmen of the age, specifically engineered for smooth travel.
Not only was the interior spacious, but special mechanisms were installed to eliminate the sensation of the ground’s irregularities.
Despite its rapid movement, the carriage’s interior remained so comfortable that one felt as though floating upon clouds.
However, only four such carriages existed within the Murim Alliance, so those permitted to ride in one were extremely limited.
In that regard, Bu Eunseol was fortunate.
Despite not yet ranking in the top four of the ceremonial hierarchy, I could ride in this carriage.
Yet the seat felt like sitting on thorns, and with each breath, it felt as though a heavy weight of lead pressed upon my chest.
Had my patience been any weaker, I would have immediately thrown open the door and leapt from the carriage.
Because Gong Son Dan Gyeong was gazing at me with an intensity that burned.
Her words were utterly absurd, one after another.
―It’s an urgent matter!
Gong Son Dan Gyeong unceremoniously bundled Bu Eunseol, who had been working in the Office, into a carriage and explained the situation.
―I need to go to the Main House to clarify the rumors about Seon Woo Dae Ju.
Bu Eunseol, listening silently in the carriage, found the whole thing preposterous.
Though there had been rumors between Gong Son Dan Gyeong and Seon Woo Dae Ju in the past, she had always conducted herself with composure.
So the rumors had never persisted.
Yet now this woman, who always maintained such icy composure, was recklessly shoving her into a carriage bound for the Gong Sun Estate without a second thought?
Wasn’t this far too sudden?
“Couldn’t you simply tell them it’s just a rumor?”
“That wouldn’t work.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke frankly.
“I couldn’t have imagined my parents would send Dan Ah to verify such an old rumor.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I mistakenly thought Dan Ah had feelings for you, and I made an error in judgment as Chief.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong briefly recounted what had happened at the Man Hwa Antique Shop.
How she, misunderstanding that Gong Son Dan Ah harbored affection for me, had lied to prevent that misfortune.
She had told Seon Woo Jin that she herself had feelings for him.
“I see.”
“Will you help me?”
“No, I must decline.”
“What did you say?”
“I have mountains of work piling up.”
Bu Eunseol’s posture suggested she was ready to leap from the carriage at any moment.
Indeed, numerous tasks lay before her.
She had no intention of going to the Gong Sun Estate to play along with this farce.
“Regardless of rank, we are comrades who have endured many hardships together and overcome them through our combined strength.”
Seeing that persuasion seemed futile, Gong Son Dan Gyeong began to appeal to emotion.
“Surely you won’t abandon a fellow traveler in crisis and flee?”
“How is this a crisis?”
“For me, it is.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with utmost gravity.
“People of the Main House are like that. Once they fixate on something, they won’t listen to anything else.”
―――
“Until they’re convinced, the Chief, I myself, will be endlessly tormented by my parents.”
Bu Eunseol wanted to burst into laughter.
But her expression was so earnest that I swallowed the laugh.
She genuinely seemed to believe this situation was a truly grave crisis.
“Isn’t there a way for the Chief to persuade them alone?”
“There isn’t. If Seon Woo Dae Ju doesn’t come to the Main House, my parents would have visited the Murim Alliance instead.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression hardened.
If things proceeded that way, wouldn’t endless troublesome matters come her way as well?
“Very well.”
Realizing she had no choice, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and spoke.
“But even if I accompany you, I’m not sure there’s any particularly effective method. How do you intend to persuade them, Chief?”
“There’s no need for persuasion.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Isn’t it natural for relationships between men and women to fluctuate, growing stronger one moment and weaker the next?”
“….”
“In a situation like this, stubbornly insisting you’re nothing to each other will only create more bothersome complications.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Instead, if you simply demonstrate that you’re seeing each other casually and put their minds at ease, parents will be satisfied with that much.”
Bu Eunseol’s mouth fell open.
So she was essentially driving a wedge by declaring before the Gong Sun Estate that the two of them were lovers?
“If that happens, it won’t bode well for the Chief’s marriage prospects.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong had apparently maintained a romantic relationship with Baek Mu Sung in the past.
But since that had never become known throughout Murim, it had no real impact on her.
But if rumors spread that she had visited the Gong Sun Estate?
She would be publicly acknowledging a romantic relationship with Seon Woo Jin.
Her marriage prospects would be sealed shut from that point forward.
“Such matters are of no concern to me. I have no intention of marrying anyway.”
“You have no intention of marrying?”
“Is that strange?”
“No, not at all.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with composure.
“Isn’t Seon Woo Dae Ju facing difficulties recently as well?”
“You mean me?”
“Marriage proposals have been arriving from various quarters.”
“I haven’t felt particularly troubled by them.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with shameless candor.
After all, she was Seon Woo Jin now.
“Sooner or later, I too must establish a household, mustn’t I?”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s lips curved upward.
“Are you sincere?”
That smile carried absolute certainty.
She understood.
Bu Eunseol harbored no thoughts of marriage either.
“Why do you speak with such conviction?”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s gaze grew melancholic.
“Because….”
She gazed upon Bu Eunseol, yet her eyes were fixed upon something infinitely distant.
“Those who sprint toward a single goal never allow their gaze to wander elsewhere.”
All living creatures possess a mysterious instinct to recognize their own kind.
Gong Son Dan Gyeong had long since sensed that Bu Eunseol was one of her ilk.
Living solely to achieve one singular purpose.
Breathing, eating, sleeping—existing day after day in pursuit of that alone.
‘How terrifying.’
Gong Son Dan Gyeong possessed the ability to discern another’s capabilities, temperament, and character in mere moments.
And such an ability occasionally sent shivers down even Bu Eunseol’s spine.
“Yet I fear such a method will not suffice.”
“What do you mean?”
“To deceive the Eternal and the Patriarch in such a manner is, in essence, no different from harboring disrespect toward them both, is it not?”
“I harbor no such sentiment. It is merely….”
At Bu Eunseol’s piercing observation, Gong Son Dan Gyeong offered a bitter smile.
“A sweet lie is simply preferable to a bitter reality.”
She spoke in a murmur, her expression infinitely forlorn.
“Life is, after all, but one long dream. If that is so, then surely it is better to dream dreams as pleasant and joyful as possible.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s expression and eyes seemed on the verge of tears at any moment.
‘There is something weighing upon her heart.’
She appeared to have grown up without a care in the world, yet it seemed she harbored hidden sorrows unknown to others.
“Of course, I am aware that such matters cannot be forced.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong spoke with measured calm.
“Should you believe that Seon Woo Dae Ju cannot possibly assist, simply say so. I shall turn the carriage around at once.”
‘If that happens, she will come seeking me at the Murim Alliance.’
Though her words suggested otherwise, Bu Eunseol was already ensnared within the web Gong Son Dan Gyeong had woven.
Realizing she possessed no choice whatsoever, I released a deep sigh.
“Though I suspect I shall come to regret this…I shall render my assistance.”
“I shall not offer thanks.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong smiled softly.
“For the Chief would likewise never turn away should Seon Woo Dae Ju find himself in peril.”
After several days and nights had passed, the carriage came to rest before a manor as picturesque as a painting.
Upon descending from the carriage, I felt the illusion of millions of flower petals scattering through the air.
‘So this is the Gong Sun Estate.’
The one who cultivated the most exceptional formation mastery in all of Tianxia was none other than Soo Un Sa Sung, Gong Sun Hwa Wook.
The Gong Sun Estate had been appointed to official positions generation after generation, yet had never involved itself in martial affairs.
Thus the Gong Sun Estate did not belong to the Murim Eight Great Families, and Gong Sun Hwa Wook likewise pursued scholarship as a scholar rather than as a martial artist.
Yet whether due to innate talent, he encountered great fortune multiple times.
Around his thirtieth year, he chanced upon the Formation Mastery Legacy of Bang Il, the founder of Gui Gu Seo Won, which stood as a peer to Jeol Gal Seo Won.
Thereafter, he became utterly captivated by formation arts, abandoned his scholarly pursuits, and wandered the Gangho, ceaselessly researching formations.
And so he became the Palace Lord of Byeok Wol Soo Jeong Gung, one of the Eight Great Secret Palaces.
At a young age, Yok Jeong Young reached the pinnacle of musical arts and sound cultivation, and Gong Sun Hwa Wook fell in love and married her.
The meeting of the greatest formation master under heaven and the greatest artist under heaven.
Moreover, when Byeok Wol Soo Jeong Gung, whose wealth rivaled even the Demonic Path’s Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong, merged with the Gong Sun Estate.
They simply did not belong to the Murim Eight Great Families.
In effect, the Gong Sun Estate wielded influence comparable to the Namgung Family and the Dang Family.
And so the world grew curious.
People often wondered what the children of such an exceptional couple would accomplish.
And that curiosity was answered in this generation.
One of the Gong Sun Estate’s children became the youngest Chief of the Murim Alliance.
The other became the successor Palace Lord of Shenshui Palace.
“Follow my footsteps exactly as I walk.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong, standing at the entrance, stepped through the falling petals without hesitation and entered.
Bu Eunseol followed in her exact footsteps as she entered.
After walking for some time, a landscape like a painting came into view.
It was truly a paradise.
Passing by a beautiful waterfall and reaching the Plum Forest, the interior of a grand manor appeared beyond a stone wall.
The buildings there were constructed in a style entirely different from those of Zhong Yuan, filled with flowers, trees, and sculptures.
Things Bu Eunseol had never once seen in her entire life.
“Welcome.”
The servants there rushed forward warmly to greet Gong Son Dan Gyeong.
Among them were few young people; most were elderly.
“It has been so long. Seventh Uncle, Eighth Uncle.”
Her manner of speech and bearing were respectful, treating them not as servants but as family.
“The master awaits. Please come this way.”
The eldest of the servants took the lead and guided her.
Upon arriving at the Palace Hall in the heart of the manor, he announced in a loud voice.
“Master, the First Young Lady has arrived.”
Creak.
The doors opened, and a middle-aged man with the bearing of an immortal and a beautiful middle-aged woman slowly emerged.
They were Gong Sun Hwa Wook and his wife, Yok Jeong Young.
“Father, Mother.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong bowed respectfully, and her mother, Yok Jeong Young, quickly took her hand and embraced her.
“How long has it been since we last saw each other?”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook approached and took his daughter’s hand, smiling broadly.
“I was beginning to forget your face.”
The couple exchanged glances with their daughter repeatedly, delighted to see her.
Then, after some time, their gaze turned to Bu Eunseol.
“Elite Division Lord Seon Woo Jin pays her respects.”
Bu Eunseol offered a formal bow, and Gong Sun Hwa Wook’s eyes gleamed.
“Ah, so you are Seon Woo Jin.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook observed Bu Eunseol with a complex expression.
“To see with my own eyes a young Grand Master who shakes the heavens—it stirs emotions beyond measure.”
“You are too kind, sir.”
“Come here.”
He extended his hand toward Bu Eunseol as he spoke.
“I’ve had a banquet prepared. Let us share a meal together.”
Upon entering the Banquet Hall, I found it brimming with delicacies from mountain and sea, and fine wines arranged in abundance.
Gong Sun Hwa Wook and his wife, delighted by Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s return after years away,
exchanged several ceremonial toasts with Bu Eunseol before turning their attention entirely to their daughter.
Yet Bu Eunseol found this arrangement rather comfortable.
Had they suppressed their joy at their child’s return to attend to her instead, the gathering would have been far more awkward.
Bu Eunseol quietly savored the banquet, careful not to disturb the atmosphere.
‘How remarkable.’
Gong Sun Hwa Wook continuously asked his daughter questions from her side, while Yok Jeong Young placed food into her bowl.
In truth, I had never before experienced the warmth of another family’s harmony.
The Sichuan Dang Family, where I first went, was a place of cutting edges, and the Namgung Family, with its stern and solemn patriarch,
never conveyed such tenderness and familial warmth.
The Jongri Clan, too, possessed the peculiar stubbornness and obstinacy characteristic of Haeng Rim’s lineage,
making it an uncomfortable place as well.
But the Gong Sun Estate was comfortable and peaceful.
It embodied the ideal family that everyone dreams of.
A father revered by all, and a mother tender and gracious. Their eyes brimmed with profound affection.
‘Was I once like this?’
My gaze grew distant.
If I could recover memories of my childhood… perhaps I too had grown up in such an environment.
The banquet concluded within half an hour.
Gong Son Dan Gyeong had worn a weary expression throughout the meal.
Gong Sun Hwa Wook and his wife graciously arranged for Bu Eunseol to rest in the most pleasant Palace Hall of the Gong Sun Estate.
“I shall have a brief word with Seon Woo Dae Ju before departing. Gyeong Yi, do go inside first with your mother.”
As Gong Sun Hwa Wook spoke to his wife, Yok Jeong Young nodded.
“Very well.”
“Father.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong, sensing something amiss, spoke up, and Gong Sun Hwa Wook smiled gently.
“Do not worry. We shall merely share tea. I have some matters I wish to discuss with Seon Woo Dae Ju.”
“But…”
As Gong Son Dan Gyeong trailed off,
“It is quite all right.”
Bu Eunseol, perceiving her concern, offered a tender smile.
“I shall explain everything to him, so please rest comfortably, Chief.”
That expression and those eyes held the affection one shows to a beloved lover.
Upon seeing that smile, Gong Son Dan Gyeong nodded with a serene expression.
Bu Eunseol’s wisdom was no less than her own, and she would conduct herself with certainty in any situation.
“I understand.”
Gong Son Dan Gyeong, still smiling faintly, departed first with Yok Jeong Young.
“Come here. Let us share some tea.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook led Bu Eunseol to a beautiful Pavilion where picturesque scenery unfolded before them.
Over a cup of tea, they exchanged various conversations.
Most of the discussion centered on Bu Eunseol’s family background and personal history.
The meticulous questioning and verification resembled the careful selection of a prospective son-in-law.
Bu Eunseol answered the barrage of questions without hesitation.
The more they conversed, the more a smile played at the corners of Gong Sun Hwa Wook’s mouth.
‘His character is sound. Neither arrogant nor pretentious.’
I found his grave yet composed temperament genuinely appealing.
Moreover, since the Gong Sun Estate was not a martial family of the Murim, the fact that his household belonged to the Merchant Realm was not an unfavorable condition.
‘Yet.’
There remained a point of concern.
Compared to the stunning beauty of Gong Son Dan Gyeong, his appearance was far too ordinary.
Furthermore, his temperament was mild, offering no impression of one capable of great deeds.
‘I cannot fathom it. By any measure, he is not the sort of man Gyeong Yi would favor.’
I knew well the standards of my daughters.
Particularly how discerning Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s taste was.
Had she not continuously rejected even the exceptional Geum Jeong Shin Ryong and Baek Mu Sung, deeming them ultimately unsatisfactory?
‘Moreover, if he possesses the strength to rival Gwon Wang, his martial prowess must be extraordinary.’
Even if one reached the realm of Half-Step Return to Truth, one’s inner energy could not be so ordinary.
‘Then he must have attained the realm of Serene Mind and Tranquil Spirit.’
I gazed at Bu Eunseol and blinked my eyes.
‘Just how profound is his inner cultivation that he has reached the level of concealing his true power?’
The more I observed, the more obscure it became, and the more I attempted to gauge his martial prowess, the more it felt as though I were peering through mist.
“Seon Woo Dae Ju, I shall speak plainly.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook finally broached the main subject.
“What are your thoughts on my Gyeong Yi?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with sincerity.
“In all my years, I have never encountered a talented woman superior to the Chief.”
“You mean she is unremarkable as a romantic interest?”
“Not at all. I believe she would be an incomparable companion as a wife.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook furrowed his brow.
The response was impeccably courteous and respectful.
Yet there was no sign of a young lover deeply smitten with passion.
Of course, those bearing the bearing of heroes tended not to fall deeply for women.
‘Not a trace of heroic temperament is visible.’
Gong Sun Hwa Wook swallowed his thoughts before speaking.
“Tell me honestly. What is your true reason for coming here?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir.”
“Don’t attempt to deceive the head of this household.”
Gong Sun Hwa Wook was the finest practitioner of divination in all of Tianxia.
In other words, his profound insight and exceptional wisdom rivaled even Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s.
With piercing eyes that seemed to penetrate every layer of Bu Eunseol’s being, he spoke.
“There is no genuine affection in the way you gaze upon Gyeong Yi.”
As Gong Sun Hwa Wook continued, an aura of transcendent excellence radiated from his form—one capable of shaking the very soul of those who perceived it.
“Clever young people often harbor a dangerous misconception.”
Each word from Gong Sun Hwa Wook fell like a razor-sharp blade, striking at the vital points of Bu Eunseol’s defenses.
“That deceiving elders is remarkably simple.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol’s eyes wavered like ripples on water.
Gong Sun Hwa Wook had already discerned the truth—that she and Gong Son Dan Gyeong were performing an elaborate deception.

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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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