The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 729

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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 729.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sensing the ominous aura flowing from Sang Je’s body.
The Thirteen Nocturnal Techniques rotating around his body to protect his vital points began spinning at an even more frantic pace.
‘This is the end.’
Bu Eunseol deliberately drained her internal energy to its absolute limit, exhausting her reserves to strip her physical abilities down to nothing.
The Thirteen Nocturnal Techniques weren’t a perfect shield.
Having barely grasped one function of the technique through a single moment of inspiration.
Each deployment consumed an astronomical amount of inner force and mental power.
And now, wasn’t she operating under the identity of Seon Woo Jin?
That’s why she had deliberately provoked Sang Je into unleashing his vacuum technique without delay.
Flash!
In that instant, a brilliant light so dazzling it could blind erupted from Sang Je’s right hand.
In that fleeting moment, Bu Eunseol grasped a crucial truth.
Until now, Sang Je had continuously unleashed sword auras accompanied by light.
That light could be the unique wave pattern that spreads from mastering a distinctive inner energy technique.
Or perhaps an invisible weapon.
She had considered the possibility that he wielded a weapon as smooth as glass that reflected light.
But now she understood.
From the very beginning, Sang Je could unleash sword auras without any accompanying light.
Auras that completely silenced even the sound of air being split.
Formless and soundless sword techniques.
‘Yet he continuously unleashed luminous sword strikes.’
Bu Eunseol’s mind raced at lightning speed.
‘One purpose was to deliberately induce certain movements, and the other was to sever enemies at speeds as swift as light itself.’
Crack!
In that moment, Bu Eunseol ceased her evasion and activated the Thirteen Nocturnal Techniques with all her strength.
Thud!
Bu Eunseol’s body trembled as though struck by a colossal iron hammer.
A luminous force carrying immense power had grazed diagonally across her body.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, a massive sword aura shot toward the distant sky.
‘Such a sword technique.’
Bu Eunseol’s spine grew damp with cold sweat.
Sang Je had just unleashed an annihilation sword strike capable of shattering every defensive technique a human could muster.
But because Bu Eunseol had immediately ceased her movement upon discerning the technique’s nature.
The sword aura failed to strike true, grazing past her body instead as it soared skyward.
[….]
Sang Je stood motionless, his gaze fixed upon Bu Eunseol.
The young man he had dismissed as merely a gnat until now.
I realized that without mastery of the void technique, this formidable opponent could never be defeated.
Yet through this battle, I finally grasped the truth I had so desperately sought.
[So that was it.]
Sang Je murmured softly to himself.
[One cannot cultivate a true martial artist of your caliber in that place.]
“What do you mean by that?”
As Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed, Sang Je raised his hand skyward instead of answering.
Whoosh.
The sword auras that had been spreading throughout the surroundings were sucked back into his body.
“Are you surrendering?”
[Not at all.]
Sang Je’s white shadow drifted gently into the void above.
[We shall meet again.]
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Sang Je
flashed upward
into the sky in an instant, then vanished like mist.
Then Bu Eunseol, who had maintained a composed and serene expression throughout,
collapsed.
She dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
‘That was dangerous.’
Fortunately, through this battle, I had mastered a new function of the Thirteen Mysteries.
However, I could not generate an infinite number of rotating techniques around my body.
Above all, Sang Je’s martial mastery far exceeded my expectations.
Even if I exhausted all of my original power, could I truly win? It was that overwhelming.
‘And his inner force…’
The limit of inner power a human body can contain is said to be ten cycles.
And the ability to scatter sword auras across roughly a hundred paces and suspend them in place—
even I, with over nine cycles of inner power, could not easily accomplish such a feat.
Therefore, it was highly probable that Sang Je had reached ten cycles of inner force.
“That is not what matters now.”
Swiftly,
I straightened my body, and a flash of light gleamed in my eyes.
“Sang Je.”
Crack.
I clenched my fists tightly.
From this battle with Sang Je,
I had discerned an incredible truth.
“You… were Baek Ri, the Lord of the Seven?”
A flash of light gleamed in my eyes as I gazed toward the distant sky where Sang Je had vanished.
The Holy Sword, Baek Ri Mu Jo.
As Seon Woo Jin, I had crossed blades before, and in my true identity as Bu Eunseol, I had even encountered a sacred sword while fleeing.
But when death itself drew near,
my Nangya Heart Eye had ascended to a state where I could instantly comprehend the functions of the Thirteen Nights Technique.
That was why Sang Je was not only concealing his true power, but…
the very source of that terrifying sword technique he had unleashed at the end was none other than
Baek Ri Mu Jo’s sacred sword—which I had sensed.
“No, this shouldn’t be something even the Nangya Heart Eye could discern.”
The shadow Sang Je had created could not reveal physical attributes like a spirit body would,
nor could it emit any aura or presence.
Yet strangely, from Sang Je’s shadow—something I had never felt before—
I detected Baek Ri Mu Jo’s sacred sword.
“Then that was also a deception.”
When I had clashed with Sang Je using the Blood Dew Seven Techniques in the past, what I saw in that final moment from the spirit body was the face of a young man.
Perhaps that too was another deception to prevent my identity from being exposed.
“If he is Sang Je…”
I shook my head.
“He is not Hyung Su, the one who killed my grandfather.”
And I recalled the moment I first encountered Sang Je.
—Are you seeking revenge for Bu Chanyang? Your fate will change accordingly.
—In the Ben Gye, we are deliberating whether to kill you or not.
—To put it plainly, you must not die. Rather, you must survive to the very end.
—If you can eliminate them, the Infinite Realm will not be resurrected.
—Survive to the end. Then you will meet someone you could never have imagined.
—And you must obtain the remaining Yishin Gi.
In our battle, Sang Je
had acknowledged that he saw my grandfather’s corpse and understood the cause and circumstances of his death,
and had left me with such words.
What if Baek Ri Mu Jo is Sang Je?
Then he would be a spy of Sam Gye embedded in the Murim Alliance, but absolutely not my grandfather’s enemy.
“Ha ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
It was partly because I had realized that Baek Ri Mu Jo, whom I had been certain was Hyung Su, was someone entirely different.
But more than that, I had come to realize a far more shocking truth.
“It’s not that Sam Gye’s spy was embedded in the Murim Alliance…”
I voiced aloud the assumption I had harbored all this time,
the one I had desperately tried to deny.
“Was the Murim Alliance itself… Sam Gye from the beginning?”
Drip.
As if the internal injuries I had sustained from Sang Je were rupturing, fresh blood trickled from the corner of my mouth once more.
Yet whether from shock, I felt no pain at all.
“Mu Jon knew this, and he drew power from outside.”
It felt as though all the threads connecting to the Murim Alliance were finally unraveling.
“Yes, otherwise… a premier Orthodox figure rivaling Ma Cheon Je could never have died quietly within the Murim Alliance’s headquarters.”
What Bu Eunseol had been unable to comprehend all along.
How could Jeong Cheon Je, a premier Orthodox figure, have perished so quietly within the Murim Alliance?
But now she could see the reason with perfect clarity.
Because the Murim Alliance was the Sam Gye itself.
That’s how it had managed to take root and flourish in Murim for generations.
A tremor.
Bu Eunseol fell to her knees.
Dizziness and nausea washed over her.
She had wondered why, despite rising to the high position of Chief of the Cheop Mil Won.
Even Gong Son Dan Gyeong, a supreme figure ranked fifth in the hierarchy.
Had failed to fully grasp the secrets of the Murim Alliance.
Why there were so many shadow organizations within the Murim Alliance…
It was because the Murim Alliance itself was the headquarters of the Sam Gye.
“Of course, this assumption could be wrong. But.”
She could find no other perfect explanation.
Then the reason Mu Jon employed such a dirty tactic as isolation, guarding secrets and seeking to bind her.
Must be because he too knew that the Murim Alliance was the Sam Gye itself.
“So that’s why you said the one who killed grandfather was one of the Seven Lords.”
In the end, Baek Ri Mu Jo was not Hyung Su, but someone else.
“In the end, the Murim Alliance was destined to fall anyway.”
Bu Eunseol clenched her teeth.
The leadership of Jeongsayang-do must have known from the moment she first appeared in Murim.
That she was the grandson of Bu Chanyang.
The son of Baek Ri Mu Ha, Baek Ri Geom Ha.
Yet they pretended not to know, observing how he would grow.
Just as Ma Cheon Je had done. Endlessly manipulating him as they pleased.
“Things will not go as you wish.”
Flashes of light burst from Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Because of this incident, her certainty that one of the Seven Lords was grandfather’s killer had shattered.
Of course, she couldn’t rule out the possibility, so she would continue investigating… but a new objective had emerged.
Not just the Seven Lords.
But to extract the true core hidden beneath the shell of the Murim Alliance itself.
Yet there was a fact even Bu Eunseol didn’t know…
The Sang Je she had encountered in the past.
Had been attacked by someone, his life hanging in the balance.
Because she had provoked Baek Ri Mu Jo.
He had instead been able to remain within the Murim Alliance for a prolonged period.
* * *
Bu Eunseol returned to the Murim Alliance.
I had come back to the Jeol Jeong Gak, yet the atmosphere felt different from before.
This place was no sanctuary for Team Members. It was like stepping into the jaws of a tiger.
I desperately wanted to extract the Elite Division members from this place as soon as possible.
But that was impossible.
Because I had to seek vengeance.
I needed to uncover every hidden organization and faction within the Murim Alliance, and find the enemy who had slain my grandfather.
‘Forgive me.’
Bu Eunseol gazed up at the Jeol Jeong Gak with weary eyes.
‘Please endure just a little longer. I swear I will soon lift the burden of your isolation and lead you all away from this place.’
I had believed there were no more secrets between myself and the Elite Division members, yet circumstances had forced me to conceal the truth once again.
The Murim Alliance was perhaps the headquarters of the Three Realms itself.
Therefore, I had to find Hyung Su quickly and free the Elite Division members from their solitude before—
Extracting them from this hellish place.
“It has been a long time.”
Then, a low voice sounded from behind Bu Eunseol.
Turning around, I saw a robust man in white robes smiling at me.
It was Mu Gyeol, the disciple of Mu Jon.
“What brings you to this place?”
Bu Eunseol’s emotions grew complicated.
Now that I knew the truth about the Murim Alliance, I found myself pitying Mu Gyeol, Mu Jon’s disciple.
“It seems the time has come for you to repay a debt.”
Mu Gyeol smiled softly.
In the past, I had asked Mu Gyeol to approach Yuk Cheong Ah in order to bring down Yuk Jang Cheon.
And after much deliberation, Mu Gyeol had granted my difficult request.
Because he had subtly shown that he would not walk the same path as Mu Jon.
And above all, I had—
Promised to grant him any favor he might ask of me.
“Follow me.”
Mu Gyeol led Bu Eunseol to the Cheongmyeongdang within the Man Gyeong Jeon.
Upon entering the office within the Palace Hall and touching the inkstone, a secret passage revealed itself with a grinding sound.
‘It seems all people are the same.’
Mu Gyeol too had constructed a secret chamber where confidential matters could be discussed within his office.
Once inside, he wasted no time and proceeded directly to the matter at hand.
“From this moment on, what I tell you must be known only to you, and you must guard this secret.”
Upon entering the secret chamber, Mu Gyeol abandoned his position and spoke to me as he once had, as a peer and friend.
“You need not worry.”
“It would be better not to answer so readily. Because….”
Mu Gyeol spoke with a grave expression.
“If the secret leaks, not only will you perish, but everyone who knows you—your acquaintances and subordinates—will all die.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew fierce.
“Master and disciple threatening each other with the lives of others—I’ve grown weary of such tactics.”
“Is that what you believe.”
Despite Bu Eunseol’s biting reproach,
Mu Gyeol’s gaze remained earnest, even sorrowful.
“I’ll say it once more. From this moment forward, what I tell you must remain known only to you, and you must guard this secret as you would your own life.”
Mu Gyeol spoke after drawing a deep breath.
“If you lack the confidence to keep it, speak now. I will never force you.”
“You’re saying I need not grant your request?”
“Of course.”
“Yet your expression suggests you’re certain I will fulfill it regardless.”
“Precisely.”
Bu Eunseol laughed hollowly.
“Should I thank you for viewing me as such a trustworthy person?”
“Not because I believe you to be trustworthy.”
“Then why are you certain I’ll keep my promise.”
A sharp gleam flickered in Mu Gyeol’s eyes.
“Because you will never pass up the chance to learn Mu Jon’s secrets.”
In that instant, Bu Eunseol froze.
“What did you just say.”
“What I’m about to tell you is a secret between myself and Mu Jon—a secret unknown to the Murim Alliance, indeed to anyone in this world.”
Mu Gyeol paused briefly before continuing.
“Will you swear an oath to keep this secret and repay your debt, or will you leave as you are.”
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
After learning the true identity of Sang Je—or rather, Baek Ri Mu Jo—
I had sworn to uncover the reality concealed within the shell of the Murim Alliance.
Yet now Mu Gyeol was offering to reveal one of those secrets willingly, making refusal impossible.
“Very well.”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“I swear that what I hear in this place shall remain secret, and I will speak of it to no one.”
“Good.”
Mu Gyeol spoke at once.
“I am, in fact, a disciple of the Murim Alliance Master.”
Bu Eunseol’s words caught in her throat.
Wasn’t it already common knowledge among all martial artists that he was the Murim Alliance Master’s disciple?
“Surely you mean you’re a disciple of Jeong Cheon Je, not Mu Jon.”
“Exactly so.”
Bu Eunseol’s brow furrowed.
Mu Gyeol was known to be a disciple Shin San Ja had accepted late in life.
But he’s a disciple of Jeong Cheon Je?
“Surely you’re not suggesting your martial prowess exceeds Mu Jon’s?”
Mu Jon had achieved martial mastery comparable to Jeong Cheon Je himself.
It was inconceivable that Mu Gyeol, who was inferior to him, could deceive Jeong Cheon Je.
“Of course not.”
Mu Gyeol spoke calmly.
“There was no deception to begin with.”
Mu Gyeol regarded Bu Eunseol with an unperturbed expression.
“I deliberately dismantled my own martial power to become Master Mu Jon’s disciple.”
Thud.
It was a shocking revelation.
So Mu Gyeol, originally Jeong Cheon Je’s disciple, had deliberately destroyed his own martial cultivation and become Mu Jon’s disciple to conceal his identity?
What possible reason could drive someone to such lengths?
“Mu Jon is known to be sworn siblings with Jeong Cheon Je. How could he not know his own disciple?”
“My master intended to use me strategically. That’s why he revealed my discipleship to no one.”
Mu Gyeol spoke with quiet confidence.
“Because of this, even Master Mu Jon could not discern my true identity.”
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“Otherwise, I could not deceive your eyes.”
“You know better than to speak like that.”
At Bu Eunseol’s pressing question, Mu Gyeol took a deep breath.
“I needed to uncover the truth about my master’s death.”
“The truth?”
“It’s true that my master became sworn siblings with Master Mu Jon. But my master always said that Master Mu Jon harbored misguided beliefs.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Mu Gyeol drew a deep breath.
“To be frank, I suspect that Master Mu Jon may have harmed my master.”
Thud.
As another shocking statement poured forth, Bu Eunseol felt as though her head would split.
“No matter how far Mu Jon has fallen, would he truly be so depraved—a beast wearing a human face—as to kill Jeong Cheon Je, the sworn brother who sacrificed his own martial power to save his life?”
“It seems you’ve heard the story of my master and Master Mu Jon from the Chief.”
“Yes.”
Mu Gyeol drew in a long breath.
“That’s right. My master was like a blood brother to Master Mu Jon. Yet he constantly repeated to me like a refrain.”
Mu Gyeol spoke with a sorrowful expression.
“That Master Mu Jon always held misguided beliefs and harbored far too much greed.”
Bu Eunseol fell silent for a moment.
Mu Gyeol’s account was far too shocking, and she needed time to carefully consider and analyze what he had said.
“You dismantled your martial power and sought to investigate Mu Jon based merely on such words?”
“Of course not.”
Mu Gyeol took a deep breath before speaking.
“My master once told me that the reason you could govern Tianxia and protect Murim was because you possessed the key to meeting a sage who could read the heavenly mandate.”
“A sage who reads the heavenly mandate.”
Bu Eunseol could not comprehend this.
Wasn’t the greatest sage of Murim in this era simply another identity of Mu Jon—Shin San Ja?
“Of course, my master was not referring to Mu Jon. He meant there exists another person entirely who possesses the ability to read the heavenly mandate.”
“Yet that too is merely a rather insubstantial clue, is it not?”
Bu Eunseol spoke.
“Simply because Mu Jon is greedy, and merely on the word that there exists a sage capable of reading the heavenly mandate—he would abandon his cultivation and become Mu Jon’s disciple?”
“Listen to my account.”
Mu Gyeol’s voice became extraordinarily measured.
“Though my master cultivated the foremost martial arts of this age, he always prepared for death. And should he fail…”
His eyes, as he continued, dilated as though gazing into absolute darkness.
“He instructed me to open the Spring and Autumn Annals located at the far end of this floor in the Man Hak Bookstore in Gaebong.”
Mu Gyeol’s expression twisted with anguish.
“But when I went there, the Spring and Autumn Annals itself was not present.”
“Mu Jon took it?”
“Likely.”
Mu Gyeol spoke with certainty.
“After lengthy investigation, I discovered that he visited the Man Hak Bookstore under the identity of Shin San Ja.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol grasp why Mu Gyeol harbored suspicion toward Mu Jon.
The first person to discover that Jeong Cheon Je had been killed without warning was none other than his sworn brother Mu Jon.
Yet the cause of death remained undetermined.
For the sole reason of protecting the Orthodox Sects, he concealed Jeong Cheon Je’s death.
The very fact that he has impersonated Jeong Cheon Je until now is itself sufficient grounds for suspicion.
Moreover, even the book containing his master’s final wishes had been stolen.
If Mu Jon had visited that place, then from Mu Gyeol’s perspective, it would be strange not to harbor suspicion.
“But that is mere circumstantial evidence, is it not?”
Bu Eunseol, emerging from deep contemplation, shook her head.
“Speaking coldly, even if Mu Jon holds misguided beliefs, even if he took the book containing your master’s final wishes—that does not constitute evidence that he killed Jeong Cheon Je.”
“True. Evidence is paramount.”
Mu Gyeol spoke with resolve.
“That is why I summoned you.”
“What would you have me do?”
Mu Gyeol suddenly said something unexpected.
“I have observed you for a long time. Who you are. Whether you are someone who can aid me.”
“…”
“You are not someone who would ever betray another or divulge secrets. Nor do you covet power or renown.”
Mu Gyeol wore a faint smile.
“Most importantly, I can trust you because you’re not someone who would ever share the same ideals as the Elder.”
His greatest concern had been whether Mu Jon might join forces with him or walk a similar path.
After all, Mu Jon too had been obsessed with martial arts in his youth and had reached a high level of martial prowess early on.
Moreover, now that both of them wielded tremendous power, this concern weighed even more heavily.
It was far too difficult for someone who held power to ever relinquish it.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“If that weren’t the case, the Elder wouldn’t have put a leash around your neck by using the lives of the Elite Division members as leverage.”
Mu Jon’s other identity was the Foremost Sage of Murim.
Since such a man had judged Bu Eunseol’s weakness to be emotion, Mu Gyeol could trust him as well.
“In fact, I could have trusted you even without that reasoning. All your actions have been solely for revenge or to protect those around you.”
“….”
“I’ve said too much.”
Mu Gyeol stared directly into Bu Eunseol’s eyes as he spoke.
“I want to recover that book my master left behind.”
“Are you asking me to kill Mu Jon?”
To steal a book kept by the current Foremost of the Orthodox Sects—wasn’t that essentially asking him to die?

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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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