The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 703

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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 703.
“The next match shall resume after one hour!”
At Paeng Jong Heon’s proclamation, I consumed a single spiritual elixir to restore my body, then returned to my seat and waited in silence.
‘So it comes to this.’
Only one match remained—myself against Baek Mu Sung.
The problem was that I must not achieve absolute victory.
I had to demonstrate a level of martial prowess befitting the position of Cheop Mil Won’s leader, then accept defeat.
‘This is far from simple.’
As Seon Woo Jin, I needed to display a match that the senior officials of the Murim Alliance could accept as legitimate.
And that depended entirely on what level Baek Mu Sung’s martial arts had reached and what techniques he would employ.
‘Will he fight with all his strength? Or does he harbor another agenda?’
What if Baek Mu Sung had no intention of becoming Mu Cheon Danjoo either?
In that case, this match would become extraordinarily difficult.
“The match shall now resume!”
After one hour had passed, Paeng Jong Heon’s resonant voice once more echoed across the Combat Stage.
“Lord Baek, Lord Seon Woo. Come forward.”
Two silhouettes then appeared upon the Combat Stage.
Both wore white robes identical in cut.
Yet Baek Mu Sung’s garment bore elaborate embroidery symbolizing his rank as Lord.
Though we held equivalent positions, I still maintained the status of Elite Division Lord.
―Ohhh.
The assembled crowd gasped at the sight of us facing one another.
Baek Mu Sung possessed the bearing of a white dragon soaring through the heavens made manifest in human form—a robust frame and refined features.
By contrast, Seon Woo Jin bore an ordinary, composed countenance, yet an aura of power flowed from my entire being like an unrestrained river.
Both of us had astonished the world in our youth.
We had each risen to positions of young leadership, reaching a level where superiority could not be determined.
Truly, none could predict who would emerge victorious from this clash.
“Begin!”
At Paeng Jong Heon’s command, I and Baek Mu Sung approached each other and clasped our hands in salute.
“Lord Baek.”
“Lord Seon Woo.”
My gaze was tangled with complexity.
By contrast, Baek Mu Sung’s eyes burned with pure flame—only fighting spirit blazed within them.
He had already swept away all remnants of emotion, focusing entirely on the match.
‘I see.’
I drew a deep breath.
What I needed to do now was not to discern Baek Mu Sung’s emotions.
Rather, I had to prove my martial prowess worthy of recognition as Cheop Mil Won’s leader.
“Exhale.”
As I released a turbid breath, my eyes too became devoid of emotion.
Baek Mu Sung had gritted his teeth through his recovery, returning to the Murim Alliance with renewed confidence.
Given that he had thrown himself into the Sam Gye, he must have reached a formidable level of martial prowess.
He was undoubtedly a master that could not be easily matched.
“I shall strike first.”
As Bu Eunseol drew her sword, Baek Mu Sung extended his hand.
“Whenever you wish.”
Baek Mu Sung’s expression was composed.
He displayed the bearing of a new-generation sect leader who had already reached the transcendent realm beyond the mortal.
Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol’s Muk Hon sword cleaved through the air, and a sharp blade energy shot vertically toward Baek Mu Sung.
Though it appeared to be a swift strike on the surface, it was merely a preliminary technique to close the distance.
Shuu.
Drawing near at close range, Bu Eunseol condensed her blade and unleashed a tempestuous barrage of attacks.
It was a variation of the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms, each strike carrying the momentum of certain death.
Moreover, infused with abundant inner energy, the blade energy contained threads of power that would sever meridians from the slightest contact.
Boom!
In that instant, Baek Mu Sung’s hair stood on end, reaching toward the sky.
Having drawn his power to eight stars or higher, thick veins bulged across his forehead and temples.
Crash!
As he swung his great sword, a misty current filled the Combat Stage, and waves of inner energy rippled outward in all directions.
Flash! Clang clang clang!
Through the hazy currents, brilliant flashes and sharp metallic sounds erupted in succession.
The two were clashing ferociously at point-blank range.
Shuuuu.
As the currents that had filled the Combat Stage dissipated, the two figures became visible once more.
Bu Eunseol and Baek Mu Sung both maintained identical stances from before the clash.
Because of this, the watching martial artists could not discern who had gained the advantage or suffered the loss.
―What on earth happened?
Murmur murmur.
Most of the watching martial artists blinked their eyes in confusion.
Then Baek Mu Sung’s lips curved upward in a faint smile.
Splash!
Simultaneously, crimson blood streamed from Bu Eunseol’s shoulder.
Baek Mu Sung had gained the advantage in this clash.
He had skillfully defended against the barrage of sharp attacks at close range, then severed Bu Eunseol’s shoulder with a keen blade energy.
Fortunately, thanks to Bu Eunseol’s thick protective inner energy technique, her arm remained intact, though a deep sword wound had been left behind.
‘Elder Baek’s martial arts have advanced to this degree.’
Bu Eunseol silently marveled at this realization.
Even with the same sword technique, the power varies vastly depending on the practitioner.
Bu Eunseol’s sword technique was of such a high level that even when employing the Three Realms Sword Method, flaws were not easily found.
Moreover, the Iron Sword Thirteen Techniques specialized in defense.
Yet to identify a flaw in a single exchange and wound Bu Eunseol?
‘I’ll lose in spectacular fashion.’
As Baek Mu Sung displayed his exceptional swordsmanship, Bu Eunseol smiled instead.
Defeat was already predetermined; I merely needed to showcase a duel that would satisfy the senior officials.
I intended to reveal several martial techniques that Seon Woo Jin possessed and lose with flourish.
Thwip.
As Bu Eunseol extended a finger, a subtle luminescence flowed forth, and soon a gale began to sweep across the stage.
Snap!
When he flicked his finger, compressed air like a cannonball flew toward Baek Mu Sung’s face.
Clang!
Baek Mu Sung immediately blocked the wind blade with his great sword.
With a metallic ring, a tempestuous wind scattered in all directions, and he was pushed back five full steps.
“Hmm.”
Baek Mu Sung noticed the mark left on his great sword and nodded.
“Tan Wang’s Inner Qi Projectile Technique.”
In truth, it wasn’t the genuine Inner Qi Projectile Technique—Bu Eunseol had merely mimicked it using formidable inner energy.
Yet outwardly, it was indistinguishable from Tan Wang’s method, and its power was nearly identical.
Snap! Snap!
Bu Eunseol didn’t use pebbles; instead, his left hand continuously flicked compressed air.
Simultaneously, his right hand unfolded the Iron Sword Thirteen Techniques and the sword forms of Mu Gyeol’s Sword Supremacy that he had mastered at Yeongak Dojeon in succession.
As he wielded both the Inner Qi Projectile Technique and swordsmanship together, the power seemed to split the earth and collapse the heavens.
Moreover, offense and defense harmonized perfectly, leaving Baek Mu Sung unable to counterattack easily.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Baek Mu Sung remained unperturbed, spinning his great sword like a windmill to protect himself.
Each time the great sword cut through the air, the trajectory transformed into hundreds of lightning bolts, and thunderous rumbles echoed continuously.
Whoosh!
Unable to penetrate Baek Mu Sung’s defense, Bu Eunseol withdrew the Inner Qi Projectile Technique and dove into close range again.
As if waiting for this moment, Baek Mu Sung also closed the distance, condensing the reach of his great sword.
Power against power.
Such direct confrontations were tactics that martial artists avoided whenever possible.
Pouring all martial techniques at close range with one’s full strength often resulted in mutual destruction.
Clang! Clang!
Each collision of weapons produced a metallic ring as loud as a thunderous boom.
The Combat Stage trembled as if it might collapse, and the shockwaves of energy became a tempest that soared into the sky.
Yet something was strange.
The swordplay of the two who had been exchanging moves frantically seemed to grow heavier, and their speed slower?
From a distance, it appeared as though they were leisurely sparring.
―What remarkable swordsmanship!
Nevertheless, the senior officials of the Murim Alliance watching this spectacle couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Their speed was beyond swift.
They had entered a realm of ultra-high velocity that the eye could not follow.
But as the rate at which sword qi erupted exceeded what the eye could track….
To ordinary martial artists, it appeared instead as though they were unfolding their swordplay with leisurely composure.
Clang!
With a thunderous crash, Bu Eunseol was driven back two steps once more.
Baek Mu Sung and Bu Eunseol were both wielding martial power at the three-hundred-year level.
But compared to the Muk Hon Sword, Baek Mu Sung’s greatsword was far heavier and more ponderous.
Due to the weapon’s weight, I suffered a slight disadvantage in the collision.
Screech!
As Bu Eunseol was driven backward, Baek Mu Sung seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Sweeping the greatsword like wind scattering fallen leaves, he pressed an attack against her lower body.
‘Such a technique?’
Bu Eunseol felt bewildered even as she defended.
There existed no such technique specializing in lower-body attacks within the Orthodox Sects—it was a method of the Heterodox Path.
No matter how much groundwork had been laid beforehand about having mastered the Fengyun Sword Manual, which contained diverse sword techniques.
To employ such tactics without hesitation?
Crack!
At that moment, Baek Mu Sung detected another opening and instantly thrust toward her throat.
Whoosh!
Rather than evade, Bu Eunseol spun the Muk Hon Sword at high speed, striking the tip of Baek Mu Sung’s greatsword with precision.
Ring!
Thereupon, a shockwave like lightning rippled outward in all directions, and the tip of the heaven-cleaving greatsword bent like a bow.
A greatsword is heavy and possesses tremendous destructive power, but its agility falls slightly short of an ordinary longsword.
Bu Eunseol deliberately exposed an opening to seize the initiative in the sword exchange first.
Then, leveraging formidable combat force, she attempted to shatter the tip of the incoming greatsword instead.
Crack!
In the end, the tip of the greatsword shattered.
Baek Mu Sung realized that if this continued, his weapon would be completely destroyed.
Like lightning, he halted his technique and instantly retreated three paces.
―….
A silence as profound as death descended upon the Combat Stage.
The duel between the two was like a clash between dragon and tiger—their power was so evenly matched that victory remained uncertain.
With each technique deployed, perilous moments unfolded ceaselessly.
The martial artists watching held their breath, their palms slick with sweat.
Those with weaker martial prowess stood rigid with tension.
They stared at the Combat Stage without blinking once.
‘Not yet, then.’
Though the fierce battle continued, the eyes of the Murim Alliance’s senior officials watching from the tent remained calm.
Could it be that even a clash of this caliber failed to satisfy their discerning gaze?
‘So you want me to reveal my true strength.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes turned cold.
‘Mu Hwang’s martial arts.’
Seon Woo Jin was known to have obtained Mu Hwang’s true transmission.
Naturally, everyone assumed he would deploy Mu Hwang’s martial arts to become the Mu Cheon Danjoo and to defeat Baek Mu Sung.
‘Baek hyung will ultimately unfold the sword techniques of Shaolin—no, the Shin Geom Mun.’
Baek Mu Sung would naturally display the Blood Dew Seven Techniques, and the secret martial arts he learned in the Three Realms could not be used here.
When he returned to the Murim Alliance, the fact that he deliberately obtained the Shin Geom Mun’s legacy while wielding a great sword meant something.
In the end, the greatest technique he would display here was the sword arts of the Shin Geom Mun.
‘But I have no intention of revealing all my cards here.’
Even if I were to ascend to the position of Cheop Mil Won’s master.
Until I perfectly divide the Murim Alliance’s power into three factions, I must continue this daily routine of moving between the Demon Palace and the Murim Alliance.
Handling various matters as I go.
And in that process, it was inevitable that I would clash with endless formidable opponents—masters of the Three Realms hidden within the Murim Alliance and others.
I absolutely had no intention of easily revealing Mu Hwang’s martial arts in a place like this.
‘Geom So Heon Won.’
Then, as Seon Woo Jin, the maximum martial arts I could display was through the Geom So Heon Won technique.
I had no choice but to conclude the battle with Baek Mu Sung while satisfying the eyes of the Murim Alliance’s senior officials.
Crack!
In that moment, Baek Mu Sung’s great sword traced another sharp brilliance across the empty air.
Simultaneously, hundreds of sword qi poured down toward Bu Eunseol’s face.
He had layered multiple techniques into a single strike and deployed them all at once.
And the meaning was clear.
―I’m growing bored now. Show me your true power.
That was what Baek Mu Sung was saying.
But Bu Eunseol did not fall for the provocation and instead unraveled the attacks with the Muk Hon Sword.
From the beginning, I had never achieved victory over enemies through the height or depth of martial skill alone.
In every moment of combat, I developed my martial way, absorbing the opponent’s subtleties or striking at their blind spots to seize victory.
‘I cannot use Bon Gak’s martial arts, but I can employ Bon Gak’s combat methods.’
Bu Eunseol calmly received Baek Mu Sung’s attacks like a tortoise, deliberately testing his patience.
‘Baek hyung could never be the type to deploy his true power first.’
He had always possessed a strong pride, and after devoting himself to the Three Realms,
his gaze had become as cold as winter wind, and his arrogance had grown boundless.
There was no way such a man would reveal his final trump card first when I had not even deployed my true power.
‘Show me your true intentions, Baek hyung.’
A flash of light passed through Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
‘Do you truly desire the position of Danjoo? Or do you harbor some other hidden agenda as well?’
Though it was unlikely.
It was possible that Baek Mu Sung also had no intention of becoming Danjoo, but instead conspired with the Three Realms to obtain another position.
Therefore, Bu Eunseol sought to discern whether what Baek Mu Sung desired from this battle was victory.
Or to discern whether there was some other hidden agenda at play.
“Nothing but a tedious exchange.”
After more than a hundred exchanges resumed, exasperation finally burst from Baek Mu Sung’s lips.
“Did you truly believe you could become Danjoo by enduring in this manner?”
The two warriors who had exchanged hundreds of blows had reached the pinnacle of both fighting spirit and momentum.
Now only one path remained—to unleash their supreme martial arts and determine the victor.
Yet when Bu Eunseol deliberately evaded this, Baek Mu Sung’s irritation finally surfaced.
‘Enough.’
So Baek Mu Sung truly desired the position of Danjoo.
Then there was no need to prolong this endless exchange any further.
“Very well.”
Whoosh!
Stepping back momentarily, Bu Eunseol drew upon the maximum inner power level known of Seon Woo Jin—approximately three hundred fifty years of cultivation.
“Now let us end this!”
Boom!
The wave of true energy flowing from Bu Eunseol’s body soared to the very edge of the heavens.
Whoooosh.
Baek Mu Sung too seemed to have drawn upon his full power, as a pale shimmer rose from his entire form.
Click. Grasping the great sword in both hands, he assumed a stance as if to pierce at any moment.
It was a posture reminiscent of Dong Yeong’s swordsmanship.
Leap!
Bu Eunseol soared into the void.
Over these four days, he had not only devised a combat to cast Yuk Jang Cheon into the abyss.
But had also researched a method to gain recognition from the senior masters even in defeat to Baek Mu Sung.
And the fruit of that research was what he now unleashed—
A sword technique that, utilizing the one hundred eighty variations of the Geom So Heon Won style, poured forth the very essence of Orthodox Sect swordsmanship.
Immortal Beyond Heaven.
Shimmer.
A mystical radiance flowed from the Muk Hon Sword, and endless sword qi manifested around him.
“Hah!”
As Bu Eunseol released his battle cry, each strand of sword qi came alive like sentient beings, each carrying its own distinct martial principle as they poured forth.
―Ahhh.
The martial artists observing the combat stood with gaping mouths.
How was it possible for a human to unleash so many sword qi in a single technique?
How could each possess different speeds and angles?
‘Rest assured, Baek.’
Bu Eunseol harbored a faint smile within his heart.
In truth, the Immortal Beyond Heaven he had unleashed could not topple a formidable opponent like Baek Mu Sung.
Because this sword technique remained incomplete, and
The sword qi poured forth in chaotic profusion was not all directed at the enemy.
because it bursts out uncontrollably.
‘Hm?’
But Bu Eunseol’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
The technique was clearly incomplete when she had crafted it.
Yet when deployed in actual combat, with extreme concentration, her body and spirit became one…
All of her sword energy was pouring toward Baek Mu Sung, wasn’t it?
‘Oh no!’
Bu Eunseol had made two mistakes.
The first was that she hadn’t realized how drastically her swordsmanship had improved.
The second was that she developed even in actual combat, instinctively advancing her martial arts.
After exchanging hundreds of moves with Baek Mu Sung and grasping the characteristics of his movements and techniques.
Without even realizing it, she had supplemented the incomplete Heavenly Beyond Sword Technique and unleashed it precisely upon Baek Mu Sung.
Kwaaaaaah!
A divine light flashed in Baek Mu Sung’s eyes as he watched the sword energy pouring down like a meteor shower.
Shatter!
At that same moment, his body became a single streak of light, shooting toward Bu Eunseol who was unleashing sword techniques in mid-air.
Paaah!
The moment his luminous form touched Bu Eunseol’s body.
Like fireworks exploding in an instant, it began filling the entire world with piercing light.
―Is this martial arts that a human can display?
The watching martial artists gasped in awe.
Bu Eunseol, who had unleashed hundreds of meteor-like sword energies in mid-air.
And Baek Mu Sung, who had transformed into a single streak of light, piercing through the sword energy in one breath.
The martial arts displayed by these two.
Looked like a clash between gods and gods from mythology itself.
Paaaaaah!
As the two collided, hundreds of fragments of light scattered across the entire sky.
Thud.
At the same time, Bu Eunseol and Baek Mu Sung landed in mid-air.
And a long silence followed.
Psssht!
At that moment, blood burst from Baek Mu Sung’s shoulder.
Clang. Ching.
At the same time, the blade of the greatsword fell to the ground, broken in half.
In the end, even the final technique he had unleashed could not perfectly block Bu Eunseol’s Heavenly Beyond Flying Immortal Technique.
‘This is bad.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened as she looked at Baek Mu Sung, whose defeat was becoming increasingly apparent.
If she won like this…
not only would her promise with Mu Jon be broken, but she would inevitably have to assume the position of Mu Cheon Danjoo.
‘Even though I reduced my power and effort, the technique itself displayed remarkable force.’
Huff, huff.
Baek Mu Sung’s body was drenched in blood.
Moreover, the inner force contained within the sword energy had ravaged his meridians, leaving thin streaks of blood at the corners of his mouth.
It’s over.
The light faded from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
As Mu Cheon Danjoo, her movements would be constrained, she would have to meet frequently with the senior officials of the Murim Alliance, and her time would be consumed by duties.
Moreover, this place was not the Demon Palace, so she couldn’t keep Seo Jin Ha constantly at her side as a shadow within the Alliance.
Given these circumstances, she had no choice but to leave the Murim Alliance.

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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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