The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 728

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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 728.
[Seon Woo Jin.]
A voice like an otherworldly resonance struck Bu Eunseol’s mind with direct impact.
[You die today.]
Bu Eunseol could not comprehend it.
Seon Woo Jin had never opposed Sam Gye, nor had there been any significant conflict.
So why would a figure like Sang Je execute an assassination?
Could it be that Baek Ri Mu Jo was a person of the Infinite Realm, and Sang Je was sent to protect him?
“How remarkable. To weave such tremendous vital energy into a phantom-like form.”
Though her mind raced with questions, Bu Eunseol displayed an expression of genuine surprise.
Seon Woo Jin knew of Sam Gye, but was not deeply versed in its affairs.
Moreover, she was not currently in Bu Eunseol’s identity, so naturally this was her first encounter with such a figure as Sang Je.
She had to respond appropriately to the situation.
“I am Seon Woo Jin, Director of Cheop Mil Won under the Murim Alliance.”
Bu Eunseol projected the bearing of a cloudless sky and clasped her hands together with confidence.
“You appear to be an elder of Murim. Pray, reveal your identity.”
It was a response befitting a young pillar of the Murim Alliance and leader of the new generation.
Sang Je gazed intently at Bu Eunseol’s composed face, then nodded slowly.
[Indeed, one with the talent to match Geom Ma in single combat.]
“And you are?”
[There is nothing for you to know.]
As the cold voice returned, Bu Eunseol felt somewhat bewildered.
In the past, though Sang Je had come to kill her, his demeanor and voice had been consistently generous and composed.
But now Sang Je spoke with the icy, merciless tone of an assassin on a killing mission.
“It seems you just said you would kill the Director. Is that correct?”
Sang Je nodded without hesitation.
[It is.]
“If I must die, at least let me know the reason.”
As Bu Eunseol asked boldly, sharp eyes formed within Sang Je’s pale shadow.
[You are somewhat different from what I heard.]
Sang Je, who had been staring intently into Bu Eunseol’s gaze, wore an expression of puzzlement.
“What you heard?”
Bu Eunseol tilted her head in confusion.
“Why would you kill me when you don’t even know me well?”
Sang Je glared at Bu Eunseol, then slowly opened his mouth.
[If you wish to hear the reason, I shall tell you.]
Sang Je’s voice was utterly frigid.
[One who can match Geom Ma will become a great obstacle in the future. Your existence hinders the great enterprise of Ben Gye.]
“Great enterprise?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed to slits.
It was merely an excuse since he wouldn’t listen anyway.
What remained uncertain was whether Sang Je’s appearance was connected to Baek Ri Mu Jo,
or if the timing had simply aligned by coincidence.
‘A figure of Sang Je’s caliber would never become a lackey of Baek Ri Mu Jo.’
Bu Eunseol, having dismissed her musings, nodded her head.
“Very well. Then let us test our skills against one another.”
The moment the word finished leaving her lips, Bu Eunseol unleashed the Iron Lightning Eighteen Palms of Gwang Yang Mun in rapid succession.
In the past, Sang Je’s prowess had been formidable enough to force her to deploy the Blood Dew Seven Techniques with resolve to perish together.
Of course, he had achieved another dramatic leap in power since then, but now she bore the identity of Seon Woo Jin.
Unable to employ her true martial arts… she had struck first.
Crack!
As Bu Eunseol unleashed the eighteen palms in succession, six strands of razor-sharp force erupted from both her arms,
burrowing toward Sang Je’s body.
She had deployed the Thirteen Night Technique.
Whoosh!
Yet at that moment, something astonishing occurred.
Just as Bu Eunseol was unleashing the Thirteen Night Technique, she abruptly shifted into a movement technique and began fleeing with remarkable speed.
[A formidable one. Swift judgment as well.]
Sang Je watched Bu Eunseol’s retreat without hesitation, his eyes narrowing to slits.
When one ascends to high station at a young age, no matter how humble one’s character,
arrogance inevitably takes root in the subconscious.
Yet despite being elevated to the position of advisor to the Four Gods Seven Kings, despite bearing heavy responsibilities in the Murim Alliance,
and despite having fought Geom Ma to a draw not long ago,
she had not overestimated her strength and had immediately chosen flight.
Whoosh.
Bu Eunseol’s form was already departing this region faster than even the Island Transmission technique.
Yet in that very moment,
Bwuuuu!
A strange sound like a trumpet blast echoed from the distant sky, and suddenly bizarre light began erupting around the thirty-zhang radius.
Boom!
Yet Bu Eunseol’s movement technique, though unadorned, was swift as lightning.
Before the strange light could confine her, she was already rapidly escaping its influence.
Flash!
Then brilliant light blazed from the distant sky, shooting forth toward the front of Bu Eunseol’s retreat.
‘Sword qi?’
This was extraordinary.
Sang Je had consistently employed strange forces akin to mystical techniques in their previous encounter.
But now he was manifesting the subtleties of martial arts, unleashing a tremendous sword qi toward her.
‘Is he instantly comprehending the opponent’s martial foundation like Gak Ju does, then deploying tactics and techniques accordingly?’
Splat!
My thoughts ran deep, but my actions were swift.
As Bu Eunseol landed back on the ground to evade the sword energy and attempted to change direction,
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of sword energies that Sang Je had already created hung suspended in the air, blocking every escape route.
[There is no escape. Simply accept your death.]
Boom!
The dozens of sword energies suspended in the void suddenly poured down toward Bu Eunseol’s body.
Swish! Swish!
In that instant, a sharp aura whirled around Bu Eunseol’s body, erasing each incoming sword energy one by one.
I had deployed the Thirteen Night Technique once more.
Crash!
But suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted, and the shockwave of true energy spread in all directions.
Mixed among the sword energies Sang Je unleashed were some infused with the mystery of Shattering Fracture.
[He is formidable.]
Bu Eunseol swallowed hard.
Sang Je not only wielded sword energy as if it were a living creature, but like the Ten Finger Shadow Circle, the grandmaster of hidden weapon techniques,
he was distributing the principles of martial arts separately to each sword energy.
Of course, I could deploy such methods as well, but it would require vigorous stances and some time.
Yet Sang Je was executing these techniques continuously and freely without revealing any movement whatsoever.
[And the matchup is unfavorable as well.]
I wielded the Thirteen Night Technique, which required deploying fist and leg techniques to generate sharp aura,
while Sang Je moved freely like a phantom, unleashing sword energy.
Because of this, the opponent always held the initiative, always one step ahead of me.
Crack!
In that moment, Sang Je created thousands of sharp sword energies in the air, arranged like a fan.
Those sword energies, which carried a sickly yellow light,
clearly possessed enough power to shake heaven and earth with merely a brush.
Whirrrrr!
In that instant, ink-black sword energy erupted from Muk Hon’s blade.
Finding no way to block such sword energies, I immediately deployed a variation of the Sword Essence Returning Circle—the Heavenly Beyond Flying Immortal Technique.
“Hah!”
With a shout, I drew my sword, and brilliant radiance spread in all directions from the blade’s tip, releasing a sharp sound.
A luminous membrane spreading in concentric circles began to annihilate all thousands of sword energies.
[You learned it incompletely.]
But at that moment, a low voice rang out,
Boom!
An explosion erupted, and Bu Eunseol was instantly hurled back more than ten paces.
“Pah.”
Quickly regaining my stance, I spat out a small clot of blood.
The sword technique Sang Je had deployed was flawless as heaven’s garment, overwhelming the Heavenly Beyond Flying Immortal Technique in a single breath.
[A man capable of causing trouble, it seems.]
Sang Je uttered a word of admiration.
[To block the Demonic Realm Spreading Heaven with a crudely patched together Sword Void Rotating Circle technique—remarkable.]
Bu Eunseol was startled twice in that instant.
The first reason for her shock was that Sang Je spoke as though he had witnessed the complete secret manual of the Sword Void Rotating Circle technique.
The second shock came because Sang Je had unleashed swordplay from the Demonic Realm Spreading Heaven Scripture, authored by Young Se Hyul Ma,
the former sect master of the Heuk Ryeong Mun from ages past.
Of course, it was not surprising that Sang Je, the leader of the Infinite Realm, had mastered swordplay from a demonic secret manual that had been obliterated centuries ago.
The problem was that Young Se Hyul Ma was known to be the Dae Ma Jong who inherited the lineage of the Demonic Path.
“A descendant of the Demonic Path. To see you’ve mastered their swordplay.”
As Bu Eunseol muttered as if ignorant of his true identity, sharp eyes formed within Sang Je’s shadow.
[Indeed.]
Sang Je slowly extended his right hand, surrounded by radiant light.
[Enough chatter. Now die.]
Then a sword with a needle-sharp form slowly began to manifest from his palm.
Simultaneously, needle-like sword qi erupted before Bu Eunseol’s eyes in a blinding explosion of light.
Because it shattered finely in the sunlight,
it was impossible to distinguish which was the true sword qi and which was illusion.
It rivaled the Demonic Realm Spreading Heaven technique—
the Sharp Light Explosive Flow technique of Jin Hong Ja, the legendary swordmaster of the Righteous Path.
‘There is no escape.’
Bu Eunseol, who had anticipated another deployment of the Demonic Realm Spreading Heaven technique and prepared accordingly, found her weakness exposed.
Those needle-like sword qi had already closed to within arm’s reach,
too late to deploy the Sword Void Rotating Circle or even the Thirteen Night Techniques.
In that moment, golden light erupted from Bu Eunseol’s eyes,
and time flowed slowly as the entire world appeared to freeze.
Facing imminent death, the Nangya Divine Eye activated of its own accord.
‘Sang Je’s martial arts have reached an unfathomable realm.’
As Bu Eunseol confronted a single strike of the Sharp Light Explosive Flow technique, she comprehended just how transcendent Sang Je’s martial prowess had become.
The Demonic Realm Spreading Heaven technique deployed earlier
was a trap and a preparatory move designed to make it absolutely impossible to evade this Sharp Light Explosive Flow,
rendering the body and legs heavy and sluggish.
‘The Thirteen Night Techniques cannot block this.’
As Bu Eunseol gazed upon the brilliant cascade of light, a subtle revelation suddenly flashed through her mind.
And time flowed even more slowly still.
Because of his martial prowess from breaking through the Extreme Heaven Realm, and because of the Nangya Divine Eye’s ability to pierce through all martial techniques in an instant,
his mind rotated dozens of times faster than an ordinary person’s, and time within his consciousness flowed infinitely slowly.
‘How would Mu Hwang have handled this single strike?’
Sang Je’s Sharp Light Explosive Flow technique had been refined to the realm of Divine Entry,
seizing the perfect instant to become an absolutely inescapable killing sword of supreme speed.
Yet despite Bu Eunseol inheriting the supreme techniques of Mu Hwang that Sam Gye guarded so vigilantly,
she found herself inexplicably defeated by the absolute martial arts of Jeongsa Yangdo that Sang Je unleashed.
‘Must I truly engage with this?’
In that moment, Bu Eunseol recalled the dharma teachings of Mu Hwang Jeong Gak, which formed the foundation of the Thirteen Night Technique.
‘Is not the pinnacle of martial arts ultimately a return to the realm of non-being?’
Mu Hwang had synthesized the diverse martial arts of the Orthodox Sects, creating a technique that unleashed keen sword energy.
Yet there had always been a question.
Despite possessing five hundred years of inner force, why did the Thirteen Night Technique not expand to thirteen sword energies?
Could it be that the Thirteen Night Technique was not thirteen sword energies at all, but rather manifested in a different manner?
Whoosh!
In that instant, hundreds of needle-like sword energies poured down upon Bu Eunseol’s body.
Patter patter patter!
Pierced by the Needle Light Torrential Technique, Bu Eunseol was driven back more than twenty paces, drenched in blood.
[Heh heh.]
Sang Je let slip a faint smile.
Having been struck by the Needle Light Torrential Technique, even if that Seon Woo Jin had cultivated the Diamond Indestructible Divine Art,
there was absolutely no hope of survival.
[…!]
Yet as Sang Je’s shadow observed Bu Eunseol’s condition, a peculiar eye-like form materialized within it.
Despite her entire body being struck by the Needle Light Torrential Technique, there was not a single fatal wound?
[What has gone wrong.]
His thoughts were lengthy, but his actions swift as lightning.
Flash!
Sang Je unleashed the Needle Light Torrential Technique upon Bu Eunseol once more.
Patter patter patter!
Again, hundreds of points of light burrowed into Bu Eunseol’s body.
No—they passed straight through.
Whoosh whoosh!
With a strange whistling sound, Bu Eunseol’s form became translucent in an instant, the sword energy passing through her as if she were not there.
The Thirteen Night Technique.
One of the mysteries of Mu Hwang’s supreme absolute technique from four hundred years past was not merely unleashing intense sword energy,
but rather, in times of crisis, creating a powerful vortex-like sword energy across the entire body to perfectly deflect an enemy’s attack—this was the secret contained within it.
[Ah.]
Sang Je immediately grasped the situation and nodded.
[So that is Mu Hwang’s martial art.]
A curious matter indeed.
When Bu Eunseol had previously deployed the Thirteen Night Technique to block attacks, he had said nothing particular.
Yet now, having suddenly gained enlightenment and deployed the Thirteen Night Technique, he was questioning whether it was Mu Hwang’s martial art.
In other words, to Sang Je’s eyes, the Thirteen Night Technique that Bu Eunseol had deployed until now
was not the true Thirteen Night Technique, but rather the basic form of some other martial art.
‘I see now.’
My eyes blazed with brilliant radiance as understanding crystallized within me.
In truth, the power of the Thirteen Night Techniques remained unchanged.
By merely applying one of Mu Hwang Jeong Gak’s dharmic methods to generate an intense whirlwind,
it had become a unique esoteric art capable of dispersing any martial technique whatsoever.
‘Even with identical martial arts, the efficacy differs as vastly as heaven and earth depending on how one employs them.’
Until now, I had wielded the Thirteen Night Techniques
by consolidating diverse Orthodox Sect techniques into a single mass and unleashing them,
using them solely as an effective offensive weapon accompanied by the ability to cleave through all things.
Yet the true function of the Thirteen Night Techniques was something entirely different.
Unbound by form, it transformed freely in countless ways
according to the individuality and enlightenment of the one who wielded it—a martial art of infinite metamorphosis.
‘How fortunate to be a disciple of Nangya Pavilion.’
The Nangya Heart-Eye, this wondrous realm of instantaneously grasping the subtleties of martial arts,
perceived not only
the enemy’s techniques but also refined the utility of my own martial arts.
[Hah.]
Sang Je exhaled sharply.
He sensed that Bu Eunseol’s martial prowess had grown more profound in this brief span of time.
[My attack granted him understanding, did it?]
A keen gleam flashed across his eyes as he sighed.
[Then I must ensure he experiences no further enlightenment or insight.]
Boom!
In an instant, explosive brilliance like the sun erupted ceaselessly from Sang Je’s hands.
He began unleashing an endless barrage of attacks so overwhelming that I could no longer defend against them.
Clang!
The Orthodox Sect’s Shadowless Adamantine Sword poured down,
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
followed by the Dark Path’s Crimson Glow Boundless Sword.
Yet I no longer attempted to shatter each of Sang Je’s ornate sword techniques or meet them head-on.
‘I cannot defeat Seon Woo Jin through direct confrontation.’
My true martial arts stem from the Demonic Path, each possessing lethal power.
But Seon Woo Jin’s techniques focus primarily on defense, and I still lack martial arts capable of felling an opponent of equal rank.
Thus I employed the Thirteen Night Techniques to defend vital acupoints while deploying only movement techniques.
[A cowardly tactic like a rat’s.]
As I widened the distance and attempted to flee, Sang Je pursued relentlessly with a contemptuous smile, employing his unique sword method that unleashed sword energy like living organisms,
sealing off my escape routes in advance
and trapping me within a radius of three hundred paces.
As if he had imprisoned me within a formation woven from sword energy itself.
‘I am confident in my endurance.’
Yet Bu Eunseol treated the space overflowing with sword energy as though it were her own front yard, moving through it with practiced ease.
For a master of such martial prowess,
deliberately evading and weaving through attacks was no simple matter for her pursuer to follow and counter.
Crash! Whoosh!
Sang Je’s blade grew sharper and more fluid, as though his frustration had kindled his fighting spirit.
Yet the faster he pressed, the swifter Bu Eunseol’s movements became.
Her footwork was not exceptionally fast, but she pivoted freely through the air, shifting direction with fluid grace.
Though her body came perilously close to being pierced by his keen sword strikes, the Thirteen Night Techniques allowed her to evade the killing blows.
Abruptly,
Sang Je halted and fixed his gaze upon Bu Eunseol.
[So she was concealing such martial mastery all along.]
Had she unleashed these Thirteen Night Techniques during her battle with Geom Ma,
she would never have suffered such grievous wounds.
[Hmm.]
This situation had completely deviated from Sang Je’s calculations.
To capture that nimble Seon Woo Jin, he would need to employ his true power.
―Should I kill her? Or should I withdraw?
If the martial techniques she had displayed thus far represented her maximum strength, he could kill her instantly with his true power.
But if this was not the entirety of her abilities…?
A flash of light.
Sang Je’s eyes became luminous and transparent.
He stared intently at Bu Eunseol’s heaving form as she gasped for breath.
It was the legendary technique of Inner Observation.
Her depleted inner energy reserves, the wounds upon her body, the trembling of her fingertips, the resolute gleam in her eyes facing death.
He perceived it all in an instant.
[So that was everything….]
Whether she concealed other martial techniques or not, she had certainly exhausted every ounce of her physical strength.
[Very well.]
Sang Je extended his left hand.
White energy flowed from his palm, spreading outward and beginning to envelop Bu Eunseol’s body.
[If she can withstand this, I shall depart quietly.]
After his deliberation, he had made his choice.
Rather than employing his true power, he would instead use the Absolute Annihilation Secret Art—a technique that could kill without unleashing his full strength.

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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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