The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 69

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 69.
The Seven-Severing Sword Form.
One of the sword techniques created by the elder masters of the Murim Alliance for eighteen supreme experts.
A practical transformation of the Orthodox Sects’ sword form with extremely suppressed killing intent, characterized by an endless barrage of sword strikes.
Slash!
Young Ji Wi’s blade tore through the hem of Bu Eunseol’s garment.
No matter how swiftly I shifted my stance with the Extreme Speed Shadow Evasion, the Seven-Severing Sword Form’s strikes clung to me like leeches.
Slash! Slash!
The Seven-Severing Sword Form transformed once more in mid-air, scattering my hair.
In that instant, my eyes gleamed with clarity.
‘So that’s what the Seven-Severing Sword Form truly is.’
As I elevated my Beast Path senses, I could grasp the underlying principles of the Seven-Severing Sword Form.
‘It’s just like when I first learned swordplay.’
I had first learned swordplay on Hell Island.
Even an ordinary technique like the Thirteen Flower Strikes would transform into unpredictable killing strikes when I wielded it.
This was because I had just awakened to the Beast Path, and at that time, an uncontrollable murderous intent filled my heart.
Unable to suppress the killing aura, I had mastered the Beast Path so rapidly that it deviated from the principles of martial arts, transforming every strike I unleashed into bizarre killing strikes.
‘The essence lies in movements and strikes that transcend martial principles!’
Having discerned the principles of the Seven-Severing Sword Form, I sent my long blade behind my back.
Zing.
Immediately, a tremendous pressure erupted, completely reversing the trajectory of all the strikes Young Ji Wi unleashed.
I had deployed the pinnacle of the Heavenly Tyrant Sword Aura.
“A sword aura?”
Young Ji Wi was greatly startled when I deployed the sword aura technique that only sword masters could manifest.
“I thought you were a swift blade expert.”
Young Ji Wi drew upon his inner power to push back the pressure of the sword aura, then swiftly wielded his blade again.
Clang clang!
Freed from the sword aura’s pressure, Young Ji Wi once more enveloped the space around me with the Seven-Severing Sword Form like a net.
“A sword aura cannot stop the Seven-Severing Sword Form!”
Young Ji Wi’s Seven-Severing Sword Form completely dominated the space surrounding where I stood.
In that moment, a minute gap in the sword aura became visible, and Young Ji Wi cried out in triumph.
‘It seems you lack practical combat experience!’
Seeing me continue to deploy the sword aura without realizing the flaw had been exposed, he quickly extended his long blade forward.
Whoosh.
Only then did I belatedly assume a defensive posture,
‘Hmph! You think you can block the Seven-Severing Sword with such a move?’
Young Ji Wi, wearing a contemptuous smile, struck down my blade with his power fully amplified.
Boom!
In that instant, an explosive sound erupted, and Young Ji Wi was sent flying backward, pushed back a considerable distance.
―Ahhhhh!
At that moment, cheers erupted from the spectators’ stands surrounding the arena.
To push back a master swordsman representing the Orthodox Sects in a single stroke! The exquisite technique Bu Eunseol displayed was as refreshing as drinking a cool cup of wine, delivering a sense of cathartic satisfaction.
“Ugh.”
Young Ji Wi, who was attempting to regain his stance, coughed up blood.
When his sword clashed with Bu Eunseol’s blade, a tremendous force had pierced through his body like a phantom.
“Heavy sword technique….”
Young Ji Wi’s expression turned hollow.
He had realized that what Bu Eunseol wielded was the Heavy Sword—among all sword techniques under heaven, the one bearing the most formidable and tyrannical power.
“Moreover, this level of inner strength….”
Kneeling, Young Ji Wi’s eyes had lost their focus. His inner strength could not match Bu Eunseol’s level, let alone his swordsmanship.
Since learning the sword, he had never found himself in such a defensive position.
“Ugh….”
Young Ji Wi gazed down at the sword in his grip.
No matter how hard he thought, he could not devise a way to break through Bu Eunseol’s Heavy Sword and sword momentum.
Perhaps because he had always walked a smooth path without a single setback? As his sword techniques crumbled one after another, sweat beaded on his forehead as panic seized him.
“Ah, what a shame. I should have practiced martial arts a bit more.”
Barely composing himself, Young Ji Wi gazed at Bu Eunseol and offered a bitter smile.
“I have not been in the martial world for long, you see. That is why, compared to other masters, I have not cultivated my martial arts….”
Whoosh!
His excuse went unfinished.
Bu Eunseol had closed the distance in an instant and cleaved toward Young Ji Wi’s head.
“Tch.”
Caught off guard, Young Ji Wi hastily raised his sword.
Ching!
A clear metallic ring echoed as Young Ji Wi’s precious blade shattered into two pieces.
“This cannot be.”
Swords clashing and damaging weapons—such a sight could only be seen in fights between third-rate martial artists.
Moreover, Bu Eunseol had severed Young Ji Wi’s precious blade with a worn iron sword.
This proved that the inner strength Bu Eunseol had infused into the iron sword was more than twice that which Young Ji Wi had poured into his own.
“If you wish to live, return to Jeomchang Mountain.”
Bu Eunseol, having shattered Young Ji Wi’s precious blade, spoke coldly.
“And for three years, cultivate your sword and inner strength. After that, return to the martial world.”
“What, what did you….”
At Bu Eunseol’s insulting advice, Young Ji Wi bit his lip.
He was young and possessed talent with the sword.
But compared to Bu Eunseol, he was merely a novice.
‘Ugh….’
Only now did Young Ji Wi feel it bone-deep.
The reason he had survived until now was because he had never encountered a truly skilled master in the martial world.
“Was it because I am a master swordsman that you spared me?”
In the Gangho, masters of great righteousness were always given a handicap. Since it had always been so, today’s humiliation felt all the more bitter.
Yet Bu Eunseol spoke coldly.
“It was not the name of a master of great righteousness that saved your life, but Jeomchang Mountain.”
And without hesitation, she turned away.
As Bu Eunseol left the Combat Stage, Cho Mun Cheon cried out in a loud voice.
“The victor is Madam Bu!”
Yet a strange silence swept through the plaza.
Masters of great righteousness were truly the rising suns of the Gangho and those destined to shoulder the Orthodox Sects.
For such a celebrated master of great righteousness to fall to an unknown youth?
“Is there anyone who would challenge Madam Bu? Come to the Combat Stage now!”
But only prolonged silence filled the plaza.
Bu Eunseol’s movements and sword technique surpassed even the renowned masters of the Gangho. There was no need to challenge someone radiating such overwhelming momentum.
“Madam Bu advances through the preliminaries!”
At Cho Mun Cheon’s proclamation, Bu Eunseol turned calmly and departed the plaza.
“Remarkable.”
In a tall pavilion overlooking Donghyo Seorang.
A shadow watching the Combat Stage from afar spoke in a low voice.
“To defeat Young Ji Wi, who has mastered the Four Swords and Seven Absolute Sword Forms, in a single exchange—even having learned the Heavy Sword and Sword Extreme Stance.”
The shadow’s eyes gleamed in the darkness as it spoke again.
“And that sword technique—it appears the foundation was learned separately, focusing only on the Void Method. If that’s the case, then there exists a separate true technique….”
At the shadow’s murmuring, an elderly servant standing before it bowed.
“Shall this old servant investigate?”
The shadow shook its head.
“No need. Everything will be revealed at the Grand Tournament anyway. For now, simply keep watch.”
“Understood.”
At the old servant’s words, the shadow departed into the darkness as if dissolving away.
* * *
Bu Eunseol spent the entire afternoon resting at the Inn.
It was not from fatigue or exhaustion. Rather, I had spent the whole day deliberating whether to continue in this Grand Tournament.
‘This is far too coincidental.’
It was unsurprising that the Murim Alliance would dispatch a master of great righteousness. After all, the sharpest blades must be sheathed in the strongest scabbards.
The problem was that, as if they had tracked my movements, a master of great righteousness appeared the moment I entered the Grand Tournament.
‘Has my identity already been exposed?’
The probability was low.
During my year with the Guusal Unit, I operated under a false face, and the name Bu Eunseol was known only to a select few among the upper echelons of the Demon Hall.
Moreover, Baek Yeon, leader of the Fengyun Corps, was actively obscuring information about me.
If assassination were the goal, there would have been countless opportunities on the road to Donghyo Seorang.
‘In the end, it must be pure coincidence.’
Rising from my seat, I shook my head.
‘I haven’t broken the habits of the Guusal Unit.’
I had ventured into the Gangho to navigate unforeseen trials and dangers.
Yet I had not shed the habits of a Guusal Unit member—analyzing every situation and predicting every threat.
“I’ll consider this matter after the Orthodox Sects Tournament concludes.”
Bu Eunseol stepped out of the Inn and made her way to the plaza where the Orthodox Sects Tournament was being held.
The preliminaries had already concluded, and the bracket for thirty-six masters was complete. After tomorrow’s matches, sixteen participants would remain.
“My next opponent is…”
After checking the bracket, Bu Eunseol turned away without hesitation.
Deep in the night.
Whoosh.
A faint footstep sounded before the door of Bu Eunseol’s guest room.
It was a sound even masters with keen hearing would dismiss, but to Bu Eunseol, who had mastered the Beast Path technique, it was as obvious as an open announcement.
“Hmm.”
Yet Bu Eunseol did not exit through the door—instead, she walked toward the window.
“Ah!”
There, a dark silhouette emerged from the shadows.
“Your perception is quite remarkable.”
The moment Bu Eunseol detected him, the dark figure rose from the darkness.
“From that single move alone, one can tell you possess extraordinary skill…”
The figure’s confident voice did not continue. Bu Eunseol had drawn her blade in an instant, pressing it against the shadow’s throat.
“The Heavenly Axis Flowing Technique?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes burned like glowing embers.
She had clearly seen the shadow compress its body and slip through the narrow window in the darkness.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Answer me.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes blazed with the intensity of the sun.
“If what comes next is not an answer but nonsense, you will die.”
The killing intent radiating from Bu Eunseol seemed capable of piercing through the ceiling itself.
Crushed beneath that terrifying pressure, the shadow spoke in a trembling voice.
“How could someone of my station learn such esoteric techniques as the Heavenly Axis Flowing Technique? It is merely the Muscle-Consuming Bone-Shrinking Method.”
Bu Eunseol, staring intently at the shadow, spoke in a low voice.
“Who are you?”
“I am a ronin belonging to Donghyo Seorang.”
“I asked who you are.”
“I… I am called Heuk Pyo.”
“Heuk Pyo?”
“Most ronin of Donghyo Seorang conceal their pasts and use aliases.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed coldly in the darkness.
“What is your business?”
“I… I came to make a request.”
Bu Eunseol slowly sheathed her blade and spoke in a chilling voice.
“If you wish to live, refrain from employing such crude grappling techniques in the future.”
Click.
As the long sword slid into its sheath, Heuk Pyo felt as though his neck were being severed anew.
‘I’ve never been caught before in all my years.’
Heuk Pyo had always trusted in his Small Bone Technique, yet only now did he painfully realize that to true masters, it was nothing more than a parlor trick.
“I shall remember your words.”
He bowed respectfully and spoke in a low voice.
“I have a request. Of course, I will provide appropriate compensation.”
“I am no mercenary.”
“Surely this is no difficult task for you.”
As Heuk Pyo stepped closer, the face shrouded in darkness came into view.
Could he be thirteen or fourteen years old?
Dressed in black martial robes, he was a youth whose childish features had not yet faded.
Bu Eunseol, who had been staring intently at him, spoke briefly.
“Come inside.”
“Thank you.”
Heuk Pyo spoke in a hushed tone.
“Tomorrow, please kill your opponent—Yeop Hwa.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol asked with a bewildered expression.
“Do you even know who Yeop Hwa is?”
Tomorrow, Bu Eunseol’s opponent would be Yeop Hwa, whose epithet was the Wanderer’s Hero.
To ask him to kill such a man—the foremost chivalrous wanderer—in the Combat Stage tournament?
“Of course I do. He has spent a long time in the martial world and is one of the wanderers who dominates Donghyo Seorang.”
“Why would you want him dead?”
“He has committed countless heinous acts.”
Heuk Pyo spoke with clenched fists.
“Whenever he ventures into the Gangho, he commits obscene crimes in secret. He particularly preys upon children, relentlessly and without restraint.”
Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed.
Though a wanderer, Yeop Hwa received treatment equal to that of the Orthodox Sects’ renowned heroes. Yet he was a beast committing such vile depravities?
“Where is your evidence?”
“There is none.”
Heuk Pyo spoke through gritted teeth.
“He is too experienced in the martial world to leave any trace. Moreover, his martial prowess is so formidable that no one dares investigate his activities.”
Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice.
“So you want me to kill a man without evidence at the tournament?”
Instead of answering, Heuk Pyo withdrew a small wooden box from the table and slowly opened it.
Within lay three gleaming round stones resembling cat’s eyes—cat’s eye stones, each worth a thousand gold taels.
“Surely this will serve as evidence enough.”
The Bu Eunseol of old would have smiled wryly at this.
But Bu Eunseol, who had accumulated experience in Gangho as a member of the Guusal Unit, understood all too well the tremendous power that wealth possessed.
Money can move even the gods.
With enough coin, one could command even spirits—a saying that held true throughout Gangho.
“With that much wealth, one could kill a man without leaving a trace of evidence.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, color flushed across Heuk Pyo’s face.
“Thank you!”
“But your calculation was wrong.”
Bu Eunseol, who had been gazing down at Myo An Seok, wore a cold smile.
“If you want to buy a man, you don’t lead with money.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————