The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 727

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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 727.
Bu Eunseol looked down at the Assassin Leader.
“You must have been joking when you said you’d spare my life.”
Then she raised the corners of her mouth and spoke.
“That way, I’ll feel a thrill watching you die with a look of injustice on your face.”
In that instant, the Leader’s expression hardened.
Despite knowing they were assassins of the Youryeong Gate, she displayed such a leisurely attitude and expression?
Could it be that a master of considerable skill was merely imitating Baek Myeon the Sage?
‘No, that can’t be it.’
The Assassin Leader was a first-rate assassin who had even mastered internal cultivation techniques.
If this man had properly learned martial arts, even a faint ripple of internal energy should have leaked out.
Yet he sensed not the slightest disturbance from the man before him.
“I see. So you’ve mastered external techniques.”
A vicious light gleamed in the Assassin Leader’s eyes.
He concluded that Bu Eunseol’s composure, despite showing no ripple of internal energy, was because he had mastered external techniques like Iron Skin.
“You should have known that external techniques are only useful in one-on-one combat.”
And he immediately raised his hand.
Thereupon, dozens of assassins waiting behind drew their blades and advanced.
From the dull, sour stench emanating from the sword bodies, it appeared they had coated them with deadly poison.
And several of them grabbed a handful of projectiles from their pouches.
Believing Bu Eunseol had mastered external techniques, they intended to suppress him all at once with coordinated attacks.
Snap.
Bu Eunseol picked a single branch from a tree standing beside her.
And she spoke to the Young Boy.
“From now on, observe carefully.”
“Yes?”
Before the Young Boy could even respond,
“Attack!”
At the Assassin Leader’s command, the assassins began unleashing a torrent of projectiles.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Accustomed to attacking multiple enemies, they poured projectiles from one side.
While from the other, they maintained formation and unleashed brutal killing strikes with their poison-coated blades.
Whirl.
In that instant, the branch in Bu Eunseol’s hand suddenly began spinning at high speed from her fingertips.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Each time the spinning branch danced,
Spurt!
Blood fountains erupted from the necks of the assassins who rushed forward.
Whoosh! Spurt! Spurt!
It was not swordsmanship—it was as if witnessing a work of art.
Each flick of her fingers sent light dancing through the void, and flowers of blood bloomed from the assassins’ throats.
Sometimes the wind came gentle as a breeze, sometimes it crashed down like a violent gale, and with each sweep of her blade technique, leaves scattered like rain.
Yet the Young Boy stood as though at the eye of a typhoon, observing all her movements in perfect stillness.
Bu Eunseol had draped a sphere of protective inner energy around him as she executed her sword forms.
Whoosh!
With each movement of the branch, fountains of blood a foot high erupted from the assassins’ necks.
Thud. Thud.
The assassins collapsed like felled logs, unable even to scream.
In less than half a quarter hour, silence had consumed the forest.
Now in the clearing remained only Bu Eunseol and the Young Boy.
Along with Shim Heung and the Assassin Leader.
“How…”
The Assassin Leader’s eyes had lost all focus as he turned to look back.
In less than half a quarter hour, fifty subordinates had become cold corpses.
Assassins, who carved through people as easily as butchering meat, were numb to the deaths of others and even to their own.
One day they would die while on a mission, after all.
No assassin won forever.
They were those who lived each day with death upon their shoulders. That was what it meant to be an assassin.
Shiver. Shiver. Shiver.
Yet the Assassin Leader trembled violently.
What he felt was not the fear of death.
An unimaginable existence had appeared, displaying power beyond all comprehension.
It was the authority of a transcendent being—a realm no mortal could reach even with a lifetime of effort.
Quiver. Quiver.
The trembling intensified, and tears formed in the Assassin Leader’s eyes.
Those long, beautiful fingers holding the skeletal branch did not reveal a crossroads of life and death, of victory and defeat…
Rather, they held a new realm never before reached by anyone.
A transcendence meant to shatter all that had been created.
Thump.
The Assassin Leader fell to his knees.
He wanted to speak, but no voice would come.
It was as though invisible demonic hands had strangled his throat.
His soul was sucked into an infinite cosmos, touching an abyss from which it could never escape even after ten thousand kalpas.
Shiver. Shiver.
The Assassin Leader, trembling without cease,
Slash!
finally drew his long sword across his own throat.
Unable to bear the endless awe and crushing weight that filled his mind, he chose to end his own life.
Thud.
As the corpse of the last remaining Assassin Leader fell to the ground,
Whoosh, crackle!
Suddenly, all the assassins’ corpses began to glow like hot coals, then burst into roaring flames.
To erase any trace of Hyungsan Sect swordsmanship.
Bu Eunseol poured out her Yeolha Dae Jeong Jin Qi, incinerating every last body.
Drip, drip, drip.
Shim Heung, who had witnessed it all, wept while soiling himself in terror.
Blinded by greed, he had failed to recognize Death itself.
Now all that remained was to burn to ash in hellfire.
Tremble.
The moment Shim Heung’s eyes met Bu Eunseol’s, his face turned the color of rotted liver.
He could not even dare to beg for his life.
He could only pray that his breath would be cut short without agony.
“My lady.”
Then the young boy, trembling violently, carefully knelt before Bu Eunseol.
“P-please spare my master.”
The kneeling boy banged his head against the ground, swallowing his fear.
“I beg you.”
“Why?”
The boy could not bear to meet Bu Eunseol’s blazing eyes and lowered his head.
“Though he was not a good master… he cared for me when I was starving and taught me how to craft puppets.”
The boy spoke with earnest desperation, his head bowed.
“He spent his life crafting puppets, and when he saw great wealth for the first time, he made a wrong choice. Please… just this once, forgive him.”
The boy, barely able to speak, trembled like an aspen leaf from sheer terror.
Then Bu Eunseol’s eyes, which had burned like ear-fire all this while, slowly began to return to their natural state.
Had her grandfather not saved her, she too would have frozen to death.
Though this boy had not met a noble adult like she had, nor experienced happiness…
He felt infinite gratitude merely for being fed.
“Even the grace of a single rotten dumpling is repaid throughout one’s lifetime…”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the boy with a faint smile.
This child possessed not only exceptional talent in martial arts, but also the qualities to become a renowned hero of Tianxia.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol looked down at Shim Heung, who had soiled himself.
Tremble, tremble.
The moment Shim Heung met those crimson eyes, he quickly averted his gaze.
Yet he felt as though his entire body was burning in agony.
“Raise your head.”
At Bu Eunseol’s command, Shim Heung quickly lifted his head.
Then he saw eyes as scorching as the blazing sun.
Within them lay a meaning more solemn and grave than a thousand words.
―I will spare your wretched life.
Shim Heung shed tears once more upon understanding her meaning.
Yet it was not relief at the prospect of survival.
―I have lived wrongly all these years.
Though I brought that child here merely to operate puppet shows, his presence transformed my solitary days into something vibrant and alive.
Even when I struck him harshly and scolded him, he followed me with the loyalty of a faithful hound.
And I, drowning in alcohol,
found myself drawn back into puppet shows, and in doing so, escaped the living death that had consumed me.
―Because of that child.
In the end, he saved my life from Death’s own grasp.
Bringing that child here was the finest thing I have ever done in my life.
Swish.
As Bu Eunseol turned away, Shim Heung began to retch.
It was the exultation of a body that had barely survived Death’s touch, and a revulsion toward his own rotted self.
“Thank you for everything, Master.”
The Young Boy bowed once more before Shim Heung.
Then he turned to follow Bu Eunseol as she walked away.
“I was wrong!”
Shim Heung fell to his knees.
And he cried out with all his remaining strength.
“I am truly sorry!”
Tears streamed down.
Hearing those words, tears began to flow from the Young Boy’s eyes as he walked.
‘How fortunate.’
That the days spent together were not filled with suffering.
That those hours were not wasted….
Step by step.
After walking along the mountain path behind Bu Eunseol for some time, the Young Boy’s eyes widened.
Strangely, despite climbing the steep slope, he felt no shortness of breath.
‘How odd.’
The Young Boy suddenly noticed a faint shimmer rising from Bu Eunseol’s body ahead of him.
And that shimmer was connected to him.
‘She has used her martial arts to make my body feel lighter.’
Only then did the Young Boy truly understand.
Despite her eyes being as cold and merciless as Death itself, her heart was infinitely warm.
“Can you replicate the sword technique you saw earlier?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, the Young Boy answered quickly.
“I-I apologize. I have not learned martial arts….”
“Using puppets, I mean.”
For a moment, the Young Boy’s expression shifted to one of surprise.
As he imagined it in his mind,
Don’t you think it’s entirely possible to execute those movements through puppetry?
“I believe I could manage roughly half of it.”
Bu Eunseol burst into laughter.
To replicate half of Hyungsan Sect’s secret sword techniques after witnessing them just once.
This boy truly possessed genius-level aptitude.
“I apologize.”
The young boy misunderstood Bu Eunseol’s laughter and hastily bowed his head.
“I-I may be lacking, but I will do my best.”
“Myeong Woon.”
“Yes?”
Bu Eunseol gazed toward the distant sky.
There, she seemed to see the face of Myeong Woon, who had died thinking of Hyungsan Sect.
“Your name is Myeong Woon.”
“Myeong Woon….”
The young boy, who had worn a dazed expression, suddenly broke into a radiant smile.
“Yes.”
This boy was none other than the one who would revive Hyungsan Sect, the thirty-second generation sect master of Hyungsan Sect.
The swordmaster who would one day become the greatest blade of the Orthodox Sects—Myeong Woon.
* * *
Deep in the night.
Sitting in the office where oil lamps flickered, Shadow spoke in a low voice while reading the intelligence report in his hand.
“Seon Woo Jin.”
Shadow set the report back on the table and shook his head.
“Not only is he one of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, but he’s also tracking the movements of our Danjoo….”
As he rose from his seat, the refined features of a middle-aged man gradually emerged from the shadowed darkness.
The Holy Blade, Baek Ri Mu Jo.
The leader of the Sungwi Unit, where the seven greatest elite warriors of the Seven Great Units gather, and the grand master of swordsmanship earmarked as the next Alliance Lord.
He was reading through the intelligence report containing information about Seon Woo Jin.
“This is troubling.”
Seon Woo Jin.
Upon ascending from a candidate for Mu Cheon Danjoo to the position of Cheop Mil Won Lord, he simultaneously obtained the Cheong Shim Order, the Alliance Lord’s direct inspector.
A rising star of the next generation representing the Murim Alliance, and newly elevated to the Four Gods Seven Kings.
For such a man to be deliberately investigating his background….
“Is it the Sam Gye faction?”
Baek Ri Mu Jo’s narrow eyes grew even more slitted.
“The fact that he possesses the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars is also troubling.”
Four hundred years ago, before Mu Hwang bore an unjust false accusation.
He reigned as the greatest master of the Orthodox Sects, and his martial prowess was said to be immeasurable.
If the Cheop Mil Won Lord, known for his exceptional wisdom, is an agent of Sam Gye.
And if he has also mastered the martial arts of Mu Hwang?
He would grow into a figure who shook the power structure of the Murim Alliance, and all the plans he had meticulously laid until now could crumble to dust.
[We will handle it, sir.]
As a voice emerged from the darkness on the opposite side of the office, Baek Ri Mu Jo waved his hand dismissively.
“Enough. He is a swordmaster of such caliber that he matches the Sword Demon in skill.”
He spoke calmly, having reduced the letter to powder by rubbing it.
“He enjoys the trust of the Alliance Leader and has risen to the lofty position of Cheop Mil Won’s director. A careless move would invite a backlash we cannot withstand.”
Baek Ri Mu Jo rose to his feet.
“There is but one way to verify whether he belongs to the Three Realms or not….”
[You speak of forcing him to reveal his true martial arts, sir.]
“Precisely.”
The Infinite Realm, the Cheonghae Gye, and the Gwi Il Gye each pursue new power, and their characteristics manifest distinctly.
When faced with mortal peril, one’s true martial techniques would surface. In that moment, we would know which faction he truly belongs to.
[However, his martial prowess is formidable. Should the Danjoo personally intervene, his identity might be exposed….]
“Did you not recently acquire a useful identity?”
At Baek Ri Mu Jo’s words, an exclamation of realization escaped from the voice in the darkness.
[With that identity… we could achieve two goals with a single stone.]
Baek Ri Mu Jo allowed himself a faint smile.
“I shall handle this matter personally. In the meantime, remain on standby.”
Click.
Without hesitation, he departed the office.
Thud, thud.
As Baek Ri Mu Jo vanished, a massive silhouette emerged from the darkness toward the desk in the office.
It was a middle-aged man whose snow-white robes and noble bearing were matched by eyes and features of austere dignity.
It was none other than Baek Ri Mu Jo, who had just stepped outside the palace hall.
* * *
Bu Eunseol remained near Hyungsan Mountain for some time, teaching the young boy Myeong Woon the sword techniques of the Hyungsan Sect.
She then spent considerable wealth hiring laborers to begin reconstructing the Hyungsan Sect’s buildings anew.
To rebuild a martial sect meant more than simply recovering lost martial knowledge.
One had to establish a main base befitting the sect’s scale and create a sphere of influence matching its prestige.
The Hyungsan Sect, situated on Hyungsan Mountain within Namak, had already become ruins.
Its sphere of influence had already passed into the hands of Hyun Hyun Bang.
Bu Eunseol provided the young Myeong Woon only enough support to restore the sect’s buildings and maintain a livelihood as a martial faction.
What remained now depended solely on Myeong Woon’s efforts.
He could master the Hyungsan Sect’s martial arts and venture into Gangho, or gradually expand his influence by accepting disciples.
That too was Myeong Woon’s choice and his destiny.
There was nothing more Bu Eunseol could offer him now.
“Cultivate yourself diligently.”
Leaving only those words, Bu Eunseol gazed upon the sleeping Myeong Woon before departing quietly.
Rustle.
Rustle.
As Bu Eunseol departed, Myeong Woon rose from his bed.
He then prostrated himself in the direction she had gone.
Having completed everything, Bu Eunseol emerged from Hyungsan Mountain with a lightened expression.
‘Even Myeong Woon, sleeping in Gu Cheon, would be satisfied with this.’
Bu Eunseol headed toward Xian Prefecture to exchange identities with Seo Jin Ha.
Now that she had become the Director of Cheop Mil Won, she could investigate the movements of the Seven Lords without hindrance.
The position of Director of Cheop Mil Won was, in a sense,
far more valuable than being the successor to Demon Hall.
As a senior figure of the Murim Alliance, there were virtually no restrictions on the information she could obtain.
Moreover, she could grasp to some degree the hidden intelligence organizations of the Murim Alliance that remained concealed from public view.
The Elite Division members under Bu Eunseol’s command were conducting thorough investigations into the movements of the Seven Lords.
Xian Prefecture, Demon Hall’s Secret Safe House.
“From now on, we must be truly careful.”
It was something Seo Jin Ha brought up immediately upon meeting her at the safe house.
“Not knowing might actually be that much safer.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Just as Ma Cheon Je cut off your wings, I suddenly thought—perhaps he was protecting you just as much.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
In truth, she had harbored such thoughts long ago.
―Could it be that by placing me as successor yet restricting my access to information from Bi Young Gak, he was actually protecting me?
Not knowing, when considered from another angle, also means being that much safer.
If one reaches a hidden secret?
One becomes an enemy to those who guard it, and must bear countless dangers.
“The Seven Lords are the pillars of the Murim Alliance. If it becomes known that you’re investigating them… there would be no safety.”
The moment Bu Eunseol became Director of Cheop Mil Won, Seo Jin Ha grew anxious about the Seven Lords—
especially conducting a detailed investigation into Baek Ri Mu Jo, who possessed terrifying power and influence.
“I understand. I will do so.”
Bu Eunseol left a reassuring smile.
“I will never create a dangerous situation.”
“Good.”
Seo Jin Ha turned and chuckled softly.
“Then I’ll go first.”
Bu Eunseol turned first, watching Seo Jin Ha disappear swiftly before taking a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.”
And I spoke in the quietest of voices.
“I’ve already leaked the information. To provoke Baek Ri Mu Jo.”
Those who harbor ugly secrets will never leave those who pry into their affairs alone.
Especially those who have joined secret societies like Sam Gye? There is nothing more to say.
Baek Ri Mu Jo possesses the most formidable power among the Seven Great Lords.
Bu Eunseol deliberately—
I deliberately leaked information that I was investigating his past actions.
Baek Ri Mu Jo, the Holy Sword.
Because he is the most suspicious.
Though he appears to have a gentle nature, in reality he possesses an unfathomable temperament.
He is a supreme master of martial arts who recreated Harmony—the pinnacle of martial philosophy—in his own unique way.
“Beyond him, I cannot imagine anyone else who could have killed my grandfather.”
Baek Ri Mu Jo, contrary to his reputation, was an absolute powerhouse who had cultivated immeasurable martial prowess and a terrifying sword technique.
Among the Seven Lords, there is no one else who could dare to draw a blade against an absolute master like my grandfather.
Though I have not fought all the Seven Lords, I did not believe they had all reached the same level as Baek Ri Mu Jo.
[So Yo.]
I used a long-distance transmission to contact So Yo.
[You must have heard through Sa Hon Dae, but until I give further orders, you must not approach me.]
So Yo spoke with some displeasure, yet her voice was filled with concern.
[What are you planning?]
I did not inform any of my subordinates that I had deliberately leaked information for Baek Ri Mu Jo to discover.
The plan was far too dangerous.
Because of this, even So Yo, who was nearly always by my side, had no idea what I was scheming.
[I have a plan.]
I spoke with absolute resolve.
[Leave my vicinity immediately.]
[…Understood.]
So Yo was displeased, but she left without another word. Seon Woo Jin was considered a leader of the Murim Alliance.
As long as I maintained this identity, I could receive constant protection from the Murim Alliance’s tight security.
“I’m sorry.”
Once So Yo departed, I gazed toward the distant sky.
“For deceiving even you.”
In fact, I had conveyed my intention to refuse the protection of the Sung Wi Dan, which I naturally received as a senior member of the Murim Alliance.
If guards followed me everywhere?
Other intelligence organizations would easily be able to track my movements.
In truth, this was nothing particularly unusual.
The heads of intelligence organizations within the Murim Alliance were refusing Sung Wi Dan protection for this very reason.
‘All conditions are perfect.’
I had leaked the information about investigating Baek Ri Mu Jo, and I had created an opportune moment for someone to attempt an ambush.
If Baek Ri Mu Jo had any suspicions, he would absolutely not miss this chance.
‘From now on, I will identify the culprit among the Seven Lords one by one.’
Starting with Baek Ri Mu Jo.
I intended to investigate and eliminate the Seven Lords one by one.
Clatter, clatter.
I boarded a carriage and traveled toward Hanam.
Since I currently held the identity of Seon Woo Jin, I used a carriage from one of the Murim Alliance’s branches located throughout Seong Do.
The power of the Cheop Mil Won director surpassed even that of the Seven Lords within Gangho.
If desired, she could mobilize and command all branches of the Murim Alliance at once.
However, she held no particular authority within the Murim Alliance itself. This was precisely why Bu Eunseol had negotiated with Mu Jon to obtain the Cheongsim Spirit.
Whoosh!
Yet as Bu Eunseol sat within the carriage, an uncanny sensation crept through her mind.
It was that same unpleasant instinct she had felt whenever formidable masters appeared—those whose very presence threatened her life.
“Stop the carriage.”
Bu Eunseol immediately descended and sent the driver back.
Regardless of politics, life was precious.
Goooooo.
From somewhere, the sound of compressed air reached her ears.
‘The bait has been taken.’
A smile played across Bu Eunseol’s lips.
To arrive with such precision in an empty plain—
It meant the attacker had meticulously tracked her movements and seized the perfect moment to strike.
‘They chose a region with no Murim Alliance branches.’
Bu Eunseol carried signal flares that could summon all forces from nearby Murim Alliance branches.
She could call upon massive reinforcements whenever she wished.
The attacker knew this fact precisely, and thus attempted this ambush hundreds of miles away from any branch.
Goooooo.
With a sound that threatened to shatter her eardrums, a white shadow materialized before Bu Eunseol.
‘This person…’
The unexpected appearance of this figure left Bu Eunseol dizzy with shock.
‘Sang Je?’
Astonishingly, the figure standing before her eyes was none other than Sang Je, the ruler of the Infinite Realm.

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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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