The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 722

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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 722.
The Yellow River Fifteen Swords lived up to its name with fifteen techniques, yet it could hardly be called swordsmanship at all.
This was because all fifteen techniques consisted of nothing more than basic movements—horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, thrusts—mixed with
the Butterfly Step that even street ruffians employed.
Swish, swish.
As Bu Eunseol unfolded the Yellow River Fifteen Swords with deliberate slowness, Wi Hyuk Gyun roared in response.
“I shall do far more than merely sever your neck!”
Clang!
Brilliant fragments erupted from the Crimson Blade in all directions, and droplet-like sword qi shot forth, engulfing Bu Eunseol’s body.
Whoosh!
Yet from Bu Eunseol’s form, moving slowly through the Yellow River Fifteen Swords, there surged forth once more the towering presence of the Thirteen Desolate Qi.
Crack!
Another wound appeared on Bu Eunseol’s body, though it was not fatal.
In the end, through the Eight Paths Swordsmanship,
I had managed to hold back the Hwa Woo Geom.
—Hahahaha!
Laughter erupted from all sides.
Bu Eunseol’s crude swordsmanship was holding back Wi Hyuk Gyun’s transcendent technique, and the warlords could not contain their mirth.
‘I never intended to win through swordsmanship alone.’
Bu Eunseol harbored a secret smile within.
During my time among the Ten Demon Immortals,
I had witnessed firsthand how my swordsmanship had reached the pinnacle, rivaling Dan Cheong, the Vice-Master of Nangya Pavilion.
Therefore, if it were a matter of true energy or the Blood Dew Seven Techniques, that would be different.
But as Seon Woo Jin, I knew all too well that I possessed no swordsmanship capable of facing a Sword Demon save for the Sword of Heavenly Origin.
‘That is why I trained the Thirteen Desolate Qi so relentlessly in the form of defensive combat.’
In the end, the only method by which I, as Seon Woo Jin, could withstand Wi Hyuk Gyun’s Hwa Woo Geom was
not the incomplete Sword of Heavenly Origin,
but rather Mu Hwang’s Thirteen Desolate Qi alone.
‘Moreover, you revere the Hwawoo Sword Sect with such fervor.’
Merely for choosing Nangya Pavilion instead of the Hwawoo Sword Sect,
you would pour your formless energy upon the Ten Demon Immortals of Nangya Pavilion, severing their meridians.
Wi Hyuk Gyun’s reverence for the Hwawoo Sword Sect ran that deep.
Bu Eunseol seized upon this very point,
devising a stratagem to break the prestige of the Hwawoo Sword Sect itself and shake the steadfast spirit of Wi Hyuk Gyun.
‘There was no need to achieve victory.’
For Seon Woo Jin, who had only just ascended to the position of the Four Gods Seven Kings, to achieve a complete victory over a Sword Demon was absurd from the start.
Rather, Bu Eunseol need only demonstrate to Ma Cheon Je
and to all the martial artists of Tianxia
that Seon Woo Jin possessed martial prowess befitting the position of the Four Gods Seven Kings.
‘Once that celebrated reputation is dragged through the mud, that shall suffice.’
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Bu Eunseol this time drew upon the third-rate sword sect in Kunlun.
Unfurling the Hwa Woo Geom of Hansoo Geommun’s Hwa Jeong Il Cheong Geom, she once again summoned the Thirteen Nights technique.
For this day, Bu Eunseol had prepared.
The supreme ultimate technique of Mu Hwang, which she had rarely employed until now, she had ceaselessly refined throughout this time.
Not only to drag the Sword Demon’s reputation to the depths, but also to achieve victory over Wi Hyuk Gyun through the teachings of Jin Gak, her first sword master.
―What do you think it means to compete in swordsmanship?
To Jin Gak’s question in the past, Bu Eunseol, who had not yet understood swordsmanship well, answered thus.
―Isn’t it to wield the sword faster than the opponent, or to fight with desperation and claim victory?
Jin Gak let out a soft laugh.
―The Black Gang ruffians might fight that way.
And he spoke solemnly.
―But the swordsmen of Murim who have mastered the upper echelon of sword arts are different.
They elevate their wisdom and spiritual strength to the extreme, then shatter the opponent’s spirit to seize victory. Do you know why?
Bu Eunseol pondered and shook her head.
―I do not know.
Jin Gak spoke with utmost gravity.
―Because a swordsman who has reached a high realm is difficult to find a single opening through which to pierce.
Therefore, when facing a peerless swordsman, one must absolutely materialize the formless spirit into tangible form.
Bu Eunseol never forgot that day’s teachings, not for a single moment.
And as the confrontation with Wi Hyuk Gyun drew near.
She did not refine the secret to breaking his Hwa Woo Geom.
Rather, she researched the method to shake and shatter Wi Hyuk Gyun’s spirit.
If she could shake the solid spirit of such a peerless swordsman like waves…
Even if his Hwa Woo Geom had reached the realm of divine mastery, she would surely find the opening and break it.
“Excellent!”
In that moment, Wi Hyuk Gyun unleashed a furious cry.
Zing.
And simultaneously, crimson sword energy flowed forth from the Jeok Su Geom in torrents.
No longer concealing
the true Hwa Woo Sword Technique he had achieved.
He unfolded the sword art that determines death and life, seeking to sever Bu Eunseol’s lifeline in a single breath.
‘Is this the end then?’
Having discerned that Wi Hyuk Gyun would employ his true sword technique, Bu Eunseol drew her power to its maximum.
Zing.
Then brilliant radiance bloomed from the Muk Hon Geom as well.
In truth, the Geom So Heon Won Sik she had first displayed was not her full strength.
As if it were her ultimate sword technique from the beginning.
She demonstrated to Wi Hyuk Gyun through the Geom So Heon Won Sik that there was no further potential,
and deliberately unfolded only mediocre techniques.
And when Wi Hyuk Gyun properly unfurled the Hwa Woo Geom and unleashed a strike of remorse.
Bu Eunseol likewise unfurled the Jin Geom So Heon Won Sik, frustrating his assault.
I had resolved to exploit the recoil from the abruptly halted sword technique to cripple Wi Hyuk Gyun’s right arm.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
A grotesque sound of bone echoed from Wi Hyuk Gyun’s arm, and the Jeok Ri Geom he held began to bend like a bow.
Just as the great earth embraces all things.
Encompassing every subtlety of the Hwa Woo Geom, this was the Tenth Technique.
The Yong Ji Yeo Ji that Chang An had personally refined and developed.
Flash!
Along with light that illuminated the entire world.
A point of light that could accelerate no further shot toward Bu Eunseol.
In that instant, the minds of all the warlords turned white.
If they were to exchange positions with Bu Eunseol…
How could they possibly evade such a sword strike?
What martial technique would they need to unfold merely to survive?
The contempt they had harbored for Wi Hyuk Gyun vanished in an instant.
Their minds filled entirely with an inescapable sense of dread.
Whoosh!
Then, Bu Eunseol’s Muk Hon Geom also moved at incomprehensible speed.
Shatter! Shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter!
Adding yet another layer of velocity to an already impossible speed, the sword strike ensnared that light in a single motion.
―It’s the Jin Geom So Heon Won Sik!
Someone among the Murim Alliance’s inner circle cried out.
Bu Eunseol unfurled the Jin Geom So Heon Won Sik once more, exactly as planned.
And it was not drawn to trace the body of Jeok Su.
Rather, it was drawn to interrupt Wi Hyuk Gyun’s sword technique midway.
Whoosh!
In that moment, an invisible current of energy erupted in the space between Bu Eunseol and Wi Hyuk Gyun.
Both figures trembled as though struck by lightning.
The supreme sword technique of the Demonic Path collided head-on with the legendary sword technique of the Righteous Path.
The sword strikes then fractured into hundreds, thousands of strands, coiling around both their bodies.
Clang, clang, clang!
Within a tempest of brilliant white sword energy, they continued their relentless exchange of deadly offenses and defenses.
‘Why?’
Yet something unexpected occurred.
Just as I was using the Jin Geom So Heon Won Sik to perfectly sever Wi Hyuk Gyun’s sword technique midway.
For some reason, the power bound within the Gyeong Seong Ok blocked the strength I inherently possessed.
‘It wasn’t merely concealing one’s nature—it was transforming it entirely.’
In that instant, all color drained from Bu Eunseol’s face, and a heaviness settled in my chest.
And the words Ma Geom Ja had spoken echoed once more in my mind.
―It is said that the Gyeong Seong Jade can alter even the most fundamental nature bestowed by heaven itself.
Gyeong Seong Jade.
It was not merely something that concealed one’s true essence—it possessed the power to completely transform one’s inherent nature.
In other words, through the Gyeong Seong Jade, I could hide my temperament and characteristics.
But in doing so, I had become someone entirely different from Bu Eunseol.
‘This was something I could not have predicted.’
Due to the energy flowing from the Gyeong Seong Jade, the Geom So Heon Won Sik that should have unfolded perfectly instead spread somewhat loosely.
As a result, I found myself unable to withstand the torrent of techniques that Wi Hyuk Gyun unleashed.
“Ugh.”
My face contorted.
I was not someone who would cry out or grimace at this level of pain.
But because my temperament had been completely altered by the Gyeong Seong Jade, I let out a pained groan.
Screech.
As I frantically poured out sword energy, I began to be pushed back gradually.
Drip.
Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
In contrast, Wi Hyuk Gyun remained leisurely, showing no sign of expending his inner power.
Since I could not halt the sword technique midway, even in the perfection of my swordsmanship,
I was being overwhelmed in inner power as well.
‘This won’t do.’
As I frantically unleashed the Geom So Heon Won Sik, I had to make a decision.
Should I accept defeat to Wi Hyuk Gyun’s blade as things stood?
Or should I draw upon my true power and inner strength to reverse the situation?
―Don’t use too much power while possessing the Gyeong Seong Jade. After all, you’ve only temporarily infused it with different energy.
In that moment, Yang Seol Rin’s words came to mind.
What if I revealed my true identity here?
Even if I achieved victory here, my identity could still be exposed.
‘There’s no choice.’
Even if my identity were revealed and I fell into an abyss from which I could not recover even after ten thousand kalpas,
survival was ultimately the priority.
Whoooosh.
I began to raise my inner power.
From three hundred years of cultivation, I increased it by twenty years, forty years, and finally reached three hundred fifty years of inner power.
At the same time, sharp true energy began to condense throughout my entire body.
Yeo Ui Jin Gyeol.
I unleashed hundreds of strands of sharp true qi like rays of light in a fan pattern, attempting to pierce through Wi Hyuk Gyun’s body.
Screech screech.
But something bizarre occurred.
As intense energy radiated from my body, the power of the Gyeong Seong Jade began to resist it.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The vibrations of the Gyeongseong Jade resonated from my chest, growing ever more intense,
when suddenly a tremendous tremor erupted, and an orange aura began spreading outward.
It was the aura of Tianhuixing, Yang Seol Rin, infused within the Gyeongseong Jade.
Boom!
In that instant, a deafening explosion shook heaven and earth,
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Suddenly, as if an earthquake had struck, the entire island began to convulse.
Clash, clash, clash, clash!
Yet amid all this, Bu Eunseol and Wi Hyuk Gyun continued their relentless exchange of moves.
The sword techniques of both had yet to fully unfold.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Meanwhile, the ground began swaying side to side,
Crack, crack, crack.
Soon it shook up and down as the earth split and crumbled.
―An earthquake!
The warlords screamed and scattered in all directions.
If an earthquake struck this small island? The island could sink beneath the waves.
Should that happen, unless the warlords could fly through the sky, they would all perish by drowning in these waters.
―Flee!
The panic-stricken masses rushed madly toward the moored ships.
The problem was their sheer numbers.
So many warlords had gathered on Po Seok Island to witness this duel.
When they scattered in all directions at once,
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The Open Ground of Po Seok Island became a hellscape as the Murim warriors stampeded like a herd of cattle.
―Ahhhhh!
Some collided and bounced backward, others tripped over their own feet.
Those unable to rise in time were trampled beneath the surging crowd.
Amid the chaos, some called out for comrades and friends, while others scrambled to snatch up dropped secret manuals and coins from the ground.
Po Seok Island had become a veritable Hell Island.
Clang!
At that moment, the two fighters’ blades met, and they simultaneously retreated.
Squelch.
Wi Hyuk Gyun’s crimson sword had pierced through my shoulder.
Pop!
Wounded by the penetrating strike, I swiftly withdrew,
“Hahahaha!”
Wi Hyuk Gyun did not pursue me, instead bursting into triumphant laughter.
Now that his blade had struck my shoulder, my right arm was useless.
It was unlikely I had spent years mastering left-handed swordplay.
The outcome was already as good as decided.
“Are you prepared to die?”
Despite Wi Hyuk Gyun’s mockery.
Bu Eunseol drew the scabbard with her left hand, her expression composed.
Rather than clumsily unfurling a left-handed sword technique.
It seemed she intended to block attacks with both hands, as though wielding dual blades.
“Hehehehe. What sword technique do you intend to display with that arm?”
Despite Wi Hyuk Gyun’s mockery.
Bu Eunseol, as though possessed of some stratagem, unfurled her sword technique once more with unshaken composure.
In that instant, Wi Hyuk Gyun’s complexion underwent a dramatic transformation.
The sword technique he had deployed was the Three Calamities Sword Method—a form that the Murim considered so shameful that merely displaying it brought dishonor.
“This madwoman….”
Wi Hyuk Gyun’s face drained of all color, his eyes rolling upward until only the whites were visible, his fury reaching its absolute zenith.
That Bu Eunseol had deployed the Three Calamities Sword Method in this moment.
Meant she had brazenly attempted to block the Hwawoo Sword Sect’s supreme pinnacle technique, the Dragon’s Descent, with such a contemptible method.
“How dare you insult this sect?”
With a thunderous declaration, a tempestuous, formless energy erupted from around his body.
Dozens of weaker martial artists in the vicinity convulsed as though struck by lightning, collapsing one after another.
Whiiing.
Simultaneously, from Wi Hyuk Gyun’s crimson blade erupted a sword aura brimming with madness and killing intent, soaring skyward.
Crackle crackle crackle.
The lightning-like sword aura soon coalesced into the form of a colossal beast.
It was an absolute annihilation sword form—a unique technique of Wi Hyuk Gyun’s own creation.
The Black Inferno Heavenly Thunder.
Crackle crackle crackle.
As the sword aura took perfect beast form, the martial artists who had been rushing forward began collapsing once more.
In truth, to unleash one’s ultimate technique here would be tantamount to exposing one’s secret cultivation method to all under heaven.
Yet to slay this whelp who had insulted him and desecrated the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
Wi Hyuk Gyun unhesitatingly revealed his trump card technique.
‘Found it!’
In that moment, I.
Discovered a single, infinitesimal fissure within the tempestuous storm of black sword aura that seemed poised to obliterate all creation.
It was Wi Hyuk Gyun’s emotion—the product of pouring his full power into his sword technique while consumed by rage.
A subtle flaw revealed within the otherwise flawless Black Inferno Heavenly Thunder form.
“Impossible!”
Though Wi Hyuk Gyun sensed that Bu Eunseol had detected his weakness, he continued the Black Inferno Heavenly Thunder to its completion.
With a penetrating wound through her shoulder, she could never properly execute a true sword form.
Boom!
With a deafening roar as though the heavens themselves were being rent asunder, the beast-formed Black Inferno Heavenly Thunder consumed the space of dozens of zhang around them.
Dust billowed forth in all directions as violent winds whipped around the two figures standing in their midst.
Yet the form of the storm raging through the dust seemed peculiar.
It was as though something transparent and crystalline had become wind itself, scattering in all directions.
Whiiing.
As the tempest of sword energy finally subsided, the figures of the two combatants slowly emerged.
Wi Hyuk Gyun stood in his pre-stance position before unleashing the Black Flame Heavenly Thunder, while Bu Eunseol had dropped the Muk Hon Sword to the ground.
“That doesn’t seem to be Mu Hwang’s martial technique.”
Wi Hyuk Gyun muttered, his brow furrowed.
“That power, you see.”
Despite her shoulder being pierced through, Bu Eunseol had deployed her sword technique with her right hand.
Using the Crystal Divine Technique, no less.
She had created a transparent hand and overlaid it upon her right arm.
It had been an infinitesimal moment.
Yet Wi Hyuk Gyun seemed to have perceived it instantly.
“It is a secret technique I happened to master during my travels through Gangho.”
“Hmm.”
Wi Hyuk Gyun let out a low hum.
The anger had vanished from his eyes, replaced by an expression as though he were lost in profound contemplation.
Rumble, rumble, crack.
Meanwhile, the earthquake intensified further, and the earth was splitting asunder.
At last, unable to bear it any longer, a young man from the Hwawoo Sword Sect came rushing out.
It was Bang Cheon Hoe, Wi Hyuk Gyun’s youngest disciple.
“Master! You must evacuate this place!”
Most of the martial artists who had gathered on Po Seok Island had already departed by boat.
What remained were the forces of the Murim Alliance and the Hwawoo Sword Sect, along with masters watching the battle from afar.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
As Po Seok Island trembled once more,
“Seon Woo Branch Master.”
Not only the senior members of the Murim Alliance,
but even Seo Muk, who had been standing by in preparation for contingencies, came rushing forward to dissuade Bu Eunseol.
“The island appears to be on the verge of collapse!”
As both sides urged restraint,
Wi Hyuk Gyun, surveying his surroundings, let out a resigned snort.
“Let us postpone our duel to another time.”
And he spoke calmly.
“To sever your head in such chaos would only earn me the ignominy of a victory seized through confusion.”
He had engaged in this final confrontation with Seon Woo Jin to demonstrate the might of the Hwawoo Sword Sect.
But to sever Bu Eunseol’s head amidst such turmoil
would not proclaim the magnificence of Hwawoo Sword Technique to Murim, but rather result in a shameful victory.
“What a pity.”
Bu Eunseol shrugged her shoulders.
“Your legendary Hwa Woo Geom proves ineffective against me.”
“What did you just say?”
At those words, a cold murderous aura erupted from Bang Cheon Hoe’s eyes as he stood beside Wi Hyuk Gyun.
“How dare you speak such insolence?”
In truth, this final confrontation was undeniably my defeat.
My entire body was covered in countless wounds both large and small, with a particularly deep penetrating injury to my right shoulder.
I had no idea how I’d managed to block the Black Flame Heavenly Thunder.
Had the battle continued?
It was obvious to anyone that I would ultimately be the one to fall.
“You dare speak such arrogance without even recognizing the Chief’s mercy!”
Wi Hyuk Gyun raised his hand to stop Bang Cheon Hoe, then turned to me with a question.
“Make your decision now.”
“Very well.”
*Click.*
I sheathed the Muk Hon Sword and spoke.
“Let us end it here.”
‘So you never intended to win from the start.’
Only then did Wi Hyuk Gyun realize—
Despite the severe wounds I had sustained, my eyes remained as clear and still as a pristine lake.
‘Everything was planned.’
He maintained a composed expression, yet he was forcibly suppressing his body’s trembling through inner energy.
Barely containing the rage that threatened to burst forth.
Currently, his right arm had lost all sensation.
The sword technique that had pierced through the Black Flame Heavenly Thunder was nothing remarkable.
But the transparent energy that followed had suddenly burrowed into his forearm meridians.
And from that moment onward, all sensation from his elbow to his fingertips had vanished.
‘So the continuous display of inferior sword techniques was also for this single move.’
Wi Hyuk Gyun clenched his left fist until it nearly shattered.
Now he understood why I had relentlessly provoked him with second-rate sword techniques.
Why I had persisted so tenaciously.
It was all to seize a single opening.
To inject that strange, transparent energy into his forearm meridians.
By surrendering victory—
Such an attack would be possible just once.
‘This damnable bastard…’
Wi Hyuk Gyun wanted nothing more than to draw his blade and sever that cunning wretch’s neck on the spot.
But the fact that such a scheme was possible meant that ultimately, Seon Woo Jin’s martial prowess rivaled his own.
And if he were to launch a surprise attack? The honor of the Hwawoo Sword Sect would be dragged through the mud.
“As expected, you cannot do it.”
I smiled faintly, as though I had seen through Wi Hyuk Gyun’s very thoughts.
“Had I been in your position, even if I had to go to Samsu Gapsan… I would have done it.”
Crack.
Wi Hyuk Gyun’s eyes nearly rolled back white as rage threatened to burst forth.
Click.
Suppressing his emotions with every ounce of his remaining strength, he sheathed the Jeok Ri Sword and turned away with measured composure.
“Let us depart.”
Without hesitation, he turned to leave.
Then Bang Cheon Hoe fixed his gaze upon Bu Eunseol, and behind her at Seo Muk and the Sungwi Unit, speaking coldly.
“Consider yourselves fortunate. Next time, this will not end so graciously.”
Bu Eunseol said nothing, her eyes following Wi Hyuk Gyun as he departed.
‘He must be seething with fury.’
His eyes burned with embers of barely contained rage.
‘He never anticipated an ending like this.’
The Sujeong Divine Technique remained undetectable to outsiders unless deliberately unleashed.
Thus, to any observer, this confrontation would be deemed a victory for Wi Hyuk Gyun.
But in truth… Wi Hyuk Gyun departed with his right arm crippled.

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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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