The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 834
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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 834.
Bu Eunseol was startled to see an unexpected visitor arrive at Sayoung Hall.
So Ok Rim, who had transcended the heavens through years of cultivation.
After dismantling the Gwi Il Gye’s cruel conspiracy—where they had taken children abandoned by the Infinite Realm and subjected them to horrific experiments—
she had departed to refine her martial arts alongside Yu Cheong Rim, and now she had finally returned to Sayoung Hall.
And she had become an extraordinarily formidable master in the process.
“Instructor So.”
Bu Eunseol rose from her seat and greeted her warmly.
“It has been far too long.”
And she let out an exclamation of astonishment.
“What manner of cultivation could possibly grant such tremendous strength in so brief a span?”
It was genuine praise, spoken from the heart.
Scarcely a few months had passed since parting with So Ok Rim.
Yet she had achieved such phenomenal advancement—as though she had trained for years.
“It is nothing remarkable.”
So Ok Rim demurred in a manner uncharacteristic of her.
“This level is merely…”
As So Ok Rim continued, her expression darkened considerably.
“What troubles you?”
“Yes, there is something I must tell you.”
Sensing the gravity etched upon her countenance, Bu Eunseol immediately rose and moved to a more private setting.
Once they had entered the Secret Chamber within the Office and taken their seats, So Ok Rim opened her mouth with an expression of utmost seriousness.
“The truth is, I am not a descendant of Seong Hwang.
Though the revelation was unexpected, Bu Eunseol merely nodded without concern.
It was hardly shocking that she was not a true bloodline heir of Seong Hwang.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I was selected as the successor to complete the restored martial arts of Seong Hwang, so when I ventured into Gangho, I claimed to be his descendant.”
“I see.”
“I am the successor of the Seonryeon Jeong Sect.”
Bu Eunseol tilted her head in puzzlement.
The name sounded much like that of a Buddhist holy site or the Hyunmun Sect, did it not?
“The name suggests a Buddhist sect. Did they transmit Seong Hwang’s martial arts there?”
“It is not a Buddhist sect…”
So Ok Rim drew a deep breath, her expression growing heavier still.
“It is the true Three Realms—what is known as the Jeong Hwa Sam Gye, the Purified Three Realms.”
Thud.
At this shocking revelation, Bu Eunseol’s face turned rigid and pale.
Since entering Gangho, So Ok Rim had never possessed knowledge of the Three Realms.
In fact, only when Bu Eunseol herself had broached the subject did So Ok Rim begin to investigate the Three Realms—had she not?
If that were true, then all of it had been an elaborate deception?
“To be precise, it’s a new Sam Gye created by righteous people who grew disillusioned with the corrupted Sam Gye…”
“A righteous Sam Gye.”
Bu Eunseol finally recalled what she had heard at the Pond in Park Yeon Chong Ji.
Originally, Sam Gye was created to protect Murim in place of the Baek Ri Family, but it had fallen into corruption.
Moreover, it had turned its blade against the Baek Ri Family itself.
But the righteous could not bear it, so they created a new Sam Gye and continued the will of the Baek Ri Family.
After that shocking confrontation between Ma Cheon Je and Geom Joon, she had set aside those memories for a time.
So Yok Rim was the successor to this righteous Sam Gye?
“Have you been deceiving me all this time?”
“How could that be? I only learned of it recently myself.”
So Yok Rim lowered her head with a melancholic expression.
“My youngest grandfather, the sole survivor after the massacre, revealed it to me as he was dying.”
She explained her circumstances simply.
After teaching martial arts to Yu Cheong Rim.
While training martial arts in the Secret Cave that the Seonryeon Jeong Sect had covertly established in Zhong Yuan’s Murim.
Her youngest grandfather, Jung Cheong Ja, came to her as death approached.
He transmitted information he had never revealed before through methods like the Jeong Ryeong Shim In Dae Beop.
But because his breath ceased so quickly, she could not receive all the knowledge—only fragmented pieces remained.
After sharing the entire story, So Yok Rim’s expression became profoundly sorrowful.
“Until now, I thought I belonged to a faction that researched and restored the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, including Seong Hwang, and protected Murim.”
“Indeed.”
Bu Eunseol finally understood one mystery.
When So Yok Rim first saw her, she had immediately recognized Mu Hwang’s martial techniques.
She had said it was because Mu Hwang and Seong Hwang had researched and shared each other’s secret methods at the time.
But in truth, she was already proficient in all the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars.
“Yet I cannot comprehend something.”
Bu Eunseol took a deep breath and asked.
“If you were truly restoring the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, should you not have approached me as well?”
Bu Eunseol was the sole inheritor of Mu Hwang’s martial arts, which no one else had ever obtained.
If you had known this from your first meeting, you would naturally have sought to obtain that dharma.
“Actually, the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars aren’t merely martial techniques. They’re an expression in martial form of the mysterious power passed down through Murim’s generations.”
So Yok Rim said.
“In other words, the source of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars martial arts lies elsewhere. What we seek is precisely that.”
―The martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars are a conversion into martial form of the power of the main family, divided into eleven branches.
So Yok Rim’s explanation aligned with what had been discussed at Park Yeon Chong Ji.
“What is this source of martial arts you speak of?”
“It’s not martial arts but a kind of supernatural power. Like Jin Ma’s Soul Demon Technique, it can supposedly destroy all things in existence.”
So Yok Rim said.
“And within the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars lies the secret to recovering that power. Our grandfathers were in the process of restoring those secrets.”
“The secret.”
So Ok Rim nodded.
“Yes, you could call it a heart’s resolve of sorts.”
“A heart’s resolve.”
Bu Eunseol repeated the words softly to herself.
The heart’s resolve of Mu Hwang’s martial arts, Mu Hwang Jeong Gak, could be summed up in a single word: ‘joy’.
By recalling pleasant memories from the past and letting her heart swell with emotion, she could amplify the power of her martial arts.
“If that’s the case, then the true power of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars might be a manifestation of each person’s distinct emotions.”
So Ok Rim nodded with an admiring expression.
“Exactly. According to the youngest grandfather’s words, the power of that origin converts human emotions into force itself.”
And she added something unexpected.
“Perhaps that’s why the power you displayed with the Thirteen Nights was weak. You never aligned your heart’s resolve with your martial technique.”
Bu Eunseol was taken aback.
She had perfectly mastered Mu Hwang’s heart’s resolve, Mu Hwang Jeong Gak.
It was simply that when she first met So Ok Rim, her proficiency with the Thirteen Nights was abysmal.
That was why she hadn’t displayed the power she possessed now.
Yet So Ok Rim was judging that she hadn’t properly learned the heart’s resolve.
‘Could it be that I’m still misunderstanding Mu Hwang’s martial arts?’
That couldn’t be right.
Hadn’t she already mastered even the counter-technique of the Thirteen Nights, the Void Piercing Elastic Shadow?
‘Besides… why doesn’t she question Seon Woo Jin’s identity?’
So Ok Rim was the only person who knew that she had inherited Mu Hwang’s legacy.
Because in the current Murim, Seon Woo Jin was recorded as Mu Hwang’s successor.
But since she trusted So Ok Rim, she wasn’t particularly worried about that point.
Yet So Ok Rim brought up something unexpected once more.
“Seeing that fellow called Seon Woo Jin from the Orthodox Sects has also learned Mu Hwang’s martial arts, it seems the roots must be spreading quite widely.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You didn’t know? That young man called the Sword King in the Murim Alliance also found Mu Hwang’s Secret Vault and inherited Mu Hwang’s legacy…”
So Ok Rim let out an exclamation upon seeing Bu Eunseol’s eyes mixed with bewilderment.
“Don’t tell me that was you?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Of course not. How would I have known that?”
So Ok Rim opened her mouth in disbelief.
“That person was clearly someone from the Orthodox Sects with a confirmed identity.”
“Isn’t there a common point in learning Mu Hwang’s martial arts?”
At that, So Ok Rim shook her head as if equally bewildered.
“I thought you had each found different Mu Hwang Secret Vaults.”
At those words, Bu Eunseol’s expression became as if she’d been struck from behind once more.
“Are there multiple Mu Hwang Secret Vaults?”
“You didn’t know?”
So Ok Rim, responding to Bu Eunseol’s question, delivered a shocking statement.
“The Baek Ri Family has stored the martial techniques of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars in various locations. And only those chosen among the Baek Pal Sung are permitted to learn them.”
“Only the Baek Pal Sung can learn them? What do you mean by that?”
“It’s obvious. If ordinary people were to learn martial techniques containing heart methods that recklessly disturb human emotions like that, their very character would be utterly destroyed.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
She was not one of the Baek Pal Sung. The Gyeongseong Jade had shown no reaction to her, after all.
Yet the martial techniques of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars could only be learned by the Baek Pal Sung?
“Fortunately, the Baek Ri Family has taken precautions to prevent such a thing from happening.”
She spoke with a slight smile.
“If one is not born as one of the Baek Pal Sung, they cannot enter the Secret Library at all.”
Bu Eunseol realized something and asked.
“What happens if someone forcibly enters the Secret Library?”
“It seals itself. Instantly.”
At So Ok Rim’s words, Bu Eunseol’s expression became hollow.
Only then did she understand why the Wu Huang Secret Chamber, which she had entered together with Tan Wang, had been filled with such terrifying death traps.
Why that place had collapsed in an instant.
‘From the beginning, that place was somewhere only the Baek Pal Sung could enter.’
Thinking about it, the level and brutality of the internal traps were far too high to be described as merely a process of selecting martial artists with exceptional skills.
‘If one had reached the level of martial prowess to break through that place, there would have been no need to covet Mu Hwang’s martial techniques.’
At that time, I had entered the Extreme Heaven Realm.
I was in a state where I could deploy the Musang Cheon Ryu technique stably.
Therefore, even if I had obtained Mu Hwang’s martial techniques, it was merely the addition of one more weapon.
I had not been obsessed with Mu Hwang’s martial techniques.
But as it turned out, the martial techniques of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars could only be learned by those born as the Baek Pal Sung.
And if someone who was not of the Baek Pal Sung entered the Secret Library, it would collapse?
Bu Eunseol had forcibly broken through that place together with Tan Wang without knowing this fact.
“I see now.”
I had always found it strange.
Why Sam Gye, who so desperately desired the martial techniques of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars, had not approached Seon Woo Jin.
From the beginning, the Secret Libraries of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars were scattered throughout various places.
And those places could only be entered by those born as specific members of the Baek Pal Sung.
‘Then perhaps the reason I cannot properly unleash the power of the Thirteen Night Technique is because I am not of the Baek Pal Sung….’
“It’s alright. I won’t tell anyone.”
So Ok Rim did not realize that Bu Eunseol was not of the Baek Pal Sung.
Instead, she thought Bu Eunseol was worried about revealing the identity of Seon Woo Jin to the outside world.
“I’m not worried about that. I have faith in you, Sect Leader So.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head and changed the subject.
“But who destroyed Sect Leader So’s sect?”
“She did not tell me.”
So Ok Rim lowered her head.
“Perhaps she did not tell me because she was afraid I might seek revenge.”
“Then.”
“Right. Either they’re a powerhouse I can’t currently match, or a force I can’t topple.”
She suppressed her indignation.
Then calmly explained the circumstances of her youngest grandfather, Jung Cheong Ja’s, death.
“Then why hasn’t Jeong Hwa Sam Gye built a massive faction like the Sam Gye that currently dominates Murim?”
No matter how scattered they’ve become, they’re still the Sam Gye.
Why don’t they unite into one formidable force instead of remaining fragmented?
Did they deliberately invite being picked off one by one?
“What. How did you know there’s more to it?”
Appearances were deceptively rough.
So Ok Rim possessed keener intuition and sharper wisdom than anyone.
With that single remark, she’d discerned that Bu Eunseol knew Jeong Hwa Sam Gye wasn’t a unified faction.
“Actually, I received such knowledge at a mysterious pond called Park Yeon Chong Ji.”
Bu Eunseol spoke of the mysterious cave that the Muhon Society had discovered back then.
“A legacy left by the Baek Ri Family?”
“Yes.”
Instead, Bu Eunseol crossed her arms and regarded her with suspicion.
“If you’re the leader of Jeong Hwa Sam Gye, shouldn’t you naturally know that the Baek Ri Family left such a legacy?”
“I don’t know either.”
So Ok Rim swept her hair back as if gripping it with both hands.
“The grandfathers never told me such things. If my youngest grandfather hadn’t passed on that knowledge before he died, I still wouldn’t know.”
Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.
“The grandfathers only ever researched martial arts and taught me. They never even spoke of the Sam Gye.”
Her eyes were deeply dimmed, as if suppressing profound anguish.
The sect she’d thought was merely the Hyun Mun Sect had actually branched from the Sam Gye, committing all manner of atrocities.
And without understanding why, her entire sect had been suddenly annihilated by a mysterious figure called Hyung Su.
“In any case, based on the knowledge my grandfather left, I trained in martial arts at hidden locations, then searched for the Baek Ri Family’s Secret Library.”
“Did you find it?”
“Not yet, but I’ll find it soon. Because I’ve discovered clues of my own.”
“Then what you’re asking of me is….”
“Right. I think you might be the person my grandfather mentioned… someone from the Baek Ri Family.”
So Ok Rim stared directly into Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“Aren’t you?”
Bu Eunseol couldn’t answer immediately.
In the past, she’d believed herself to be a descendant of the Baek Ri Family, blood of Baek Ri Mu Ha.
But Ak Moo Ryung had stated definitively that she wasn’t a descendant of the Baek Ri Family.
And despite the words of Baek Ri Mu Ha embedded in her mind, though she’d achieved high martial prowess, no corresponding memories returned.
Of course, Baek Ri Mu Ha’s martial arts had reached the Heavenly Human Realm back then.
If one said her current martial achievement was nothing remarkable by comparison, there was nothing to argue.
“I am not.”
“Not true?”
“That’s right.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with candor.
“I once harbored the same misconception myself. But it wasn’t so.”
Bu Eunseol recounted a brief passage from her own past.
So Yok, who had been listening in silence, actually brightened considerably.
“This works out perfectly!”
“What do you mean?”
“What’s certain is that whether you’re Shadow or not, you have some connection to Baek Ri Mu Ha, who was a descendant of the Baek Ri Family—isn’t that right?”
“If you insist on framing it that way… I suppose it’s possible.”
“Then let me find it quickly, and we’ll go take a look.”
So Yok flashed a brilliant smile, baring her large teeth.
“Who knows? Maybe when we get there, you’ll be revealed as a true descendant of the Baek Ri Family.”
Bu Eunseol smiled faintly.
So Yok possessed a somewhat reckless streak, yet she remained fundamentally optimistic and never surrendered to despair.
And her luminous disposition acted as a refreshing tonic for the rather somber Bu Eunseol.
“What do you think?”
She spoke with a grin.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re not. I just want to verify the possibility.”
Watching So Yok beam with unbridled joy, Bu Eunseol found herself unconsciously wearing a subtle smile.
“Very well.”
Once we reach the Secret Library, I’ll be able to determine whether my blood truly flows from the Baek Ri Family.
There was no reason to refuse a journey to a place that could confirm such a truth.
“In return, I have a request of my own.”
“A request?”
“Indeed.”
Recalling Yeop Hyo Cheon’s sinister scheme, Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed with purpose.
So Yok was not only thoroughly versed in the martial arts of the Eight Emperors and Three Stars from the outset.
Thanks to her entry into the Secret Library of the Jeong Hwa Sam Gye, her martial prowess had surged dramatically.
With her abilities, she could perfectly deceive Yeop Hyo Cheon’s eyes and become Seon Woo Jin.
* * *
Having finished her reminiscence, Bu Eunseol unfurled the Extreme Speed Shadow Evasion to dodge the cascading Thirteen Night Technique.
What Chong Gyo Ryeong deemed crucial was not victory or defeat in combat, but the truth of which of the two was the real Bu Eunseol and which was Seon Woo Jin.
Therefore, demonstrating her identity through pure martial force alone would suffice.
Crash!
So Yok did not cease her deployment of the Thirteen Night Technique, pressing Bu Eunseol with all her might.
‘Tch.’
The Thirteen Night Technique pierced from an unexpected angle, keenly exploiting the slightest opening.
Unable to meet it head-on, Bu Eunseol twisted her body at an angle, barely evading the assault.
Whoosh.
Witnessing this, Seon Woo Jin—or rather, So Yok Rim—smiled faintly.
She was one who savored combat more intensely than Bu Eunseol, where blood and flesh burned in the crucible of battle.
No, she craved the exhilaration of combat itself.
A battle fanatic possessed of a warrior’s primal instinct to dance upon the battlefield.
This time, she had no intention of engaging in a mere ceremonial duel—she sought a true test against Bu Eunseol.
Whoosh.
In that instant, ink-like mist began to swirl within Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
To counter the formidable Thirteen Night Technique that So Yok Rim was unleashing, she was deploying the Yeouui True Seal in its fullest form.
Crack!
The black vital energy Bu Eunseol released shattered into fragments, cascading down upon So Yok Rim.
Though she had not yet fully entered the Demonic Path, and thus could not manifest it in the form of Thunderbolt Moon Blade as Hyuk Ryeon Yu Baek—or rather, Yu Seol—could.
By applying the principles of Rending Truth Transmutation, she unleashed hundreds of vital energy fragments like hidden projectiles in her own manner.
Shatter!
With a sound that threatened to rupture eardrums, a tempestuous aura erupted from So Yok Rim’s body in a whirling vortex.
She too refused to evade, instead meeting Bu Eunseol’s assault head-on and dispersing it.
Boom!
With a thunderous crack, the fragments of the Yeouui True Seal that had poured down like a swarm were compressed by the tempest and shot skyward.
Zing.
As So Yok Rim dispersed the hidden projectiles of the Yeouui True Seal in one breath.
Bu Eunseol gathered darkness in both palms, manifesting a storm of vital energy once more.
Roar!
As she extended her hands again, this time black vital energy in the form of living plants erupted forth.
She had transformed the Yeouui True Seal yet again.
Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, the razor-sharp Thirteen Night Technique that So Yok Rim unleashed.
Shattered the black tempest and vital energy blades that Bu Eunseol had released in a single stroke.
Snap.
As she closed the distance once more, pure white auras whipped forth from her body like lashes.
She had deformed the aura of the Thirteen Night Technique, transforming it into pristine white blades, and targeted Bu Eunseol’s vital points.
Whoosh!
As close combat commenced, a web-like pattern spread from behind Bu Eunseol’s back.
She had waited for So Yok Rim’s approach.
Then deployed a technique that could be called the ultimate form of the Yeouui True Seal—unleashing countless blades like a net.
“Hah!”
With a roar that shook the heavens.
Thousands upon thousands of black and white winds collided between the two, beginning to form tangible vital energy waves.
The spreading light caused the sky to flicker as day and night crossed, while the earth trembled and cracked beneath them.
Crackle. Crackle-snap.
Finally, cracks began to form in the barrier of vital energy that Yeop Hyo Cheon had erected around the Training Grounds.
―Stop!
At that moment, with a long whistle, Yeop Hyo Cheon unleashed a shout.
That cry became a tremendous explosive pressure and resonance like the lion’s roar of the Buddhist Order, spreading in all directions.
The sound ceased.
Simultaneously, the storm of true energy halted, and the two figures clashing before them froze mid-motion.
Had the match continued as it was, both would have suffered mutual defeat—Yeop Hyo Cheon had stopped the fight at precisely the right moment.
“Let us end it here.”
As Yeop Hyo Cheon stepped forward, Bu Eunseol and So Ok Rim glared at each other before slowly retreating.
And at the same moment, they clasped their hands together.
“I learned much.”
“As did I.”
Like representatives of the new generation of the Orthodox Sects.
They exchanged respectful bows as though they had never been fighting to the death.
“Does this satisfy your conditions?”
So Ok Rim, who was taking on Seon Woo Jin’s role, turned her head and asked Yeop Hyo Cheon.
“I ask whether this meets the conditions the Chong Gyo Ryeong specified.”
Yeop Hyo Cheon had nothing to say.
The battle between these two was nothing less than a reincarnation of Ma Cheon Je and the reborn Mu Hwang.
With each collision, the sky lost its light and the earth crumbled.
It was a flawless, perfect battle befitting the martial prowess and status now known to all.
His fist clenched tightly.
Yeop Hyo Cheon’s complexion flushed red and pale in turns.
‘What a foolish move…’
This intelligence had been delivered to him directly by the formidable forces coiled within the Murim Alliance.
Unlike Ma Cheon Je, who no longer concerned himself with Bu Eunseol’s movements or whereabouts.
Yeop Hyo Cheon wished to keep even the slightest of Bu Eunseol’s actions within his grasp.
But such a perfect battle.
Had fallen entirely outside the scope of his predictions.
If things proceeded this way… all the plans he had prepared would be completely twisted.
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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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