The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 89
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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 89.
At Woo Hak’s words, Bu Eunseol raised her eyebrows.
“How can you defend against something you don’t even understand?”
“Of course, under normal circumstances, one would need to comprehend the sword technique first before countering it.”
Woo Hak smiled faintly.
“But there exists a method to defend even without knowing how the sword technique unfolds.”
He paused for a moment, then cleared his throat and continued.
“What if there were a swordsmanship that responds only to killing intent? Wouldn’t it be able to counter any sword technique?”
Killing intent—it was easy enough to speak of in words, yet invisible to the eye and lacking any clear definition.
Bu Eunseol, lost in deep contemplation for a moment, shook her head.
“Wouldn’t it be better to innovate an ultimate swift-strike technique instead?”
If the opponent’s swordsmanship were too superior, if there were no way to counter it—
Then one need only kill them before they could even deploy their technique.
“Of course, that’s not a bad approach either. But swift-strike swordsmanship has a fatal weakness.”
“A weakness, you say?”
“Swordmasters with extensive experience in Gangho are always wary and cautious of sudden swift-strike techniques. Moreover, if the technique fails, you could suffer a mortal wound from your opponent instead.”
A valid point.
Swift-strike swordsmanship pursued ultimate speed—so extreme that even masters with exceptional reflexes could not perceive it.
Because one must expend all their power in a single strike, failure in the technique would expose massive openings.
Indeed, wasn’t it true that in learning Cheon Woon Gwang’s deadly sword technique, the Thunderbolt Unparalleled Strike, which employs the mysteries of the Extreme Swift Flash, one’s fingers could be severed during the learning process?
“I assure you, if you master the swordsmanship I teach, you will be able to defend against any sword technique.”
“What good is mere defense?”
“It is useful.”
A light of conviction blazed in Woo Hak’s eyes.
“If you can endure with tenacity, you will surely create an opportunity to seize victory.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression became subtle.
In the end, what Woo Hak was saying was that he would teach me a swordsmanship to survive and endure against a superior opponent without dying.
‘A rather absurd technique, it seems.’
I had thought he would transmit some tremendous killing sword, given that he desired someone born with natural killing intent,
Yet it was merely defensive swordsmanship?
As if reading my thoughts, Woo Hak wore a bitter smile.
“To master this technique, one must first sense and control the killing intent inherent within the body. That is why I sought someone naturally abundant in killing intent.”
“You can actually control killing intent?”
“Of course. Killing intent is connected to human emotion. In other words, like internal cultivation methods, it can be freely controlled through the proper techniques.”
Woo Hak spoke with a powerful voice.
“When a human harbors killing intent, greater force enters the body. When one deploys swordsmanship in that state, the technique transforms.”
“But if the body is dominated by killing intent, doesn’t unnecessary strength enter and the body become slower?”
“An accurate observation. However, if you master the secret method I innovated, you can graft this emotion of killing intent onto reflexes as swift as lightning.”
“A secret method, you say?”
“I have named it the Wind and Cloud Transformation Seal.”
As I listened to Woo Hak’s continued explanation, my eyes grew progressively wider.
Windcloud Harmony. The changes of wind and cloud are difficult to predict.
The wind pushes away the clouds to illuminate the world, yet sometimes it blankets the sky with clouds, casting darkness instead.
The mysterious technique named Windcloud Harmony Scripture contained the subtle principles of controlling killing intent—that unpredictable and uncontrollable force.
“Now I shall recite the incantation for you to memorize.”
Woo Hak spoke in a low voice.
“Once you master this secret, you will soon be able to control the killing intent inherent within your body freely and at will.”
The Windcloud Harmony Scripture contained merely fifteen hundred characters.
Yet the concepts within shattered the existing framework of martial arts, presenting entirely new understanding.
“I shall recite it once more—remember it well.”
“No need. I have memorized it all.”
“You remembered everything in a single recitation?”
As I nodded, Woo Hak could not hide his astonishment.
‘A talent of the highest caliber indeed.’
With a subtle expression, he lifted his right foot and tapped the floor several times.
With a deep thud, a small door appeared in the wall to the right.
“Follow that passage and you will reach the place where Senior Seok Song awaits. There you shall learn swordsmanship.”
“Understood.”
As I turned to leave, Woo Hak’s expression darkened.
“I hope you do not make the same mistake.”
He gazed at the place where I had stood, his eyes narrowing to slits.
“To possess talent identical to that Demon.”
The Demon, whose memory was exceptional and whose talent for swordsmanship surpassed all others.
I possessed a terrifying talent indistinguishable from that Demon’s.
I walked slowly toward the opened door.
After traversing the winding path for some time, I heard the sound of water and light from afar.
Finally reaching the end of the passage, I discovered it was an artificial cave, with a small waterfall cascading down from the distant ceiling far above.
And upon a rock distant from the waterfall, Seok Song sat in composed stillness.
“Why have you arrived so quickly?”
As Seok Song furrowed his brow, I spoke.
“I came because I was told to come here.”
“Then you have already memorized the incantation?”
As I nodded, Seok Song’s eyes flashed with brilliance.
“I see.”
Rising from his seat, he spoke matter-of-factly.
“The swordsmanship this old man shall teach you is named the Luminous Sword Control. It can defend against any sword strike infused with killing intent.”
A flash of light gleamed in Seok Song’s eyes.
“Even when it emerges unconsciously, without the wielder’s awareness.”
A swordsmanship capable of defending against killing strikes unleashed unconsciously? Had such a technique ever existed in the Murim since ancient times?
Seok Song and Woo Hak had created this swordsmanship for vengeance, to survive the attacks of formidable enemies by any means necessary.
A soft metallic whisper.
Seok Song slowly drew the sword hanging at his waist and spoke.
“From now on, I shall teach you the Responsive Killing Intent Sword—a technique that reacts to murderous intent and killing aura.”
As Seok Song unsheathed his blade, a chilling killing aura emanated from his body.
“Once you master the principles of the Wind-Cloud Harmony Method, you can control your inner killing aura in this manner.”
He drew upon the Wind-Cloud Harmony Method to channel the dormant killing aura within him.
However, since he was not naturally born with abundant killing aura, the amount he could manifest was modest.
“But the true brilliance of this secret lies not merely in sensing one’s own killing aura, but in detecting the killing aura of others.”
He withdrew a long cloth from his waist and bound it around his eyes, then lowered his hands to rest comfortably at his sides.
“Ignite your murderous intent using the Wind-Cloud Harmony Method, then draw your sword and attack me without warning.”
“With my sword?”
With his eyes bound, Seok Song smiled with absolute confidence.
“Use your most assured sword technique in a sudden strike you believe I cannot possibly defend against.”
“Understood.”
I circled behind Seok Song, who kept his eyes closed.
Then, employing the principle of Accumulated Resentment from the Wind-Cloud Harmony Method, I drew forth my killing aura.
A brilliant flash of light.
With radiant brilliance, I unleashed a lightning-swift thrust toward Seok Song’s back.
The technique was devastatingly fast, and the distance so close, that Seok Song’s back seemed certain to be pierced through.
A clear metallic ring.
Yet Seok Song’s sword had already materialized to block his back.
It was not that Seok Song had moved his body—rather, his sword seemed to have sprung forth of its own accord in response to the killing aura.
“This is… the Responsive Killing Intent Sword.”
As I breathed out my admiration, Seok Song removed the cloth from his eyes, his face bearing a proud smile.
“What do you think?”
“Magnificent.”
It was admiration without a trace of falsehood.
“Now I shall impart the Responsive Killing Intent Sword to you.”
Seok Song sheathed his sword once more, his voice heavy with resolve.
“One day, you must use this sword technique to strike down that Demon.”
* * *
Midway up Geum Jeong Mountain.
A concealed door began to move slowly open.
A grinding, creaking sound.
With the screech of aged metal, the door swung wide, revealing a pitch-black void within.
Soft, measured footsteps.
From within the darkness, a shadowy figure gradually emerged into view.
Tall and commanding. Features sharp and striking, visible even from a distance. A sword with a lustrous dark sheen was slung across the back.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“That took quite some time.”
Even he, who could be called a genius when it came to swordsmanship, had required a full month to master the Neung Hyung Eo Geom.
“Master!”
At that moment, a clear voice rang out as Black Shadow descended from the towering tree. It was Heuk Pyo, dressed in night clothes.
But Heuk Pyo’s face, who had rushed over in haste, was completely drenched in sweat.
While waiting for Bu Eunseol, he had been refining his movement technique without rest, seizing every spare moment.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol, observing Heuk Pyo as he approached, nodded her head.
In the meantime, his body had become more nimble, and his eyes gleamed with confidence.
“It seems you’ve made progress.”
Bu Eunseol’s heightened senses, honed through deep mastery of the Wild Beast Blade, extended to around fifty paces.
Yet she could only detect Heuk Pyo’s presence at around thirty paces.
“It’s not yet at a satisfactory level, but… it seems to be around thirty percent mastery.”
“Thirty percent, you say.”
The movement technique Bu Eunseol had taught Heuk Pyo was a fusion of concealment secrets she had learned during a year of work with the Guusal Unit, applied to the Extreme Speed Shadowless technique.
Of course, it could not compare to the Extreme Speed Shadowless, Nangya Sect’s supreme movement technique, but its swiftness and concealment could be called a masterpiece of Tianxia. Yet to reach thirty percent mastery in less than three months?
‘Faster than expected.’
However, Bu Eunseol was not particularly surprised.
A small, nimble frame, abnormally long legs, and elastic muscles. Heuk Pyo’s body possessed the ideal conditions for executing extreme lightness technique.
From the beginning, I had suspected he possessed innate talent for movement technique, which is why I imparted the secret art to him.
“Continue to advance further from here on.”
“Understood!”
“Have all the people from the Cheon Geom Hoe departed?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, observing the desolate surroundings, Heuk Pyo nodded.
“Yes. Starting a month ago, they cleared out the internal furnishings, and the remaining people left for somewhere.”
Heuk Pyo asked Bu Eunseol with an excited expression.
“The people from the Cheon Geom Hoe said that you alone would receive instruction in their swordsmanship.”
He spoke with a broad grin, his voice lowered.
“You are the successor of Nangya Sect, and now you’ve also mastered the legendary swordsmanship of the Cheon Geom Hoe… truly, you seem invincible throughout Tianxia!”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
“Martial arts are not such that adding one makes two.”
The Neung Hyung Eo Geom operated on completely different principles from the countless sword techniques scattered throughout Murim.
In terms of function, it could be called an esoteric art like the Wild Beast Blade rather than a sword technique.
“Then, in your assessment, what kind of swordsmanship does the Cheon Geom Hoe possess?”
In truth, Heuk Pyo had little particular interest in swordsmanship.
But knowing that Bu Eunseol had mastered swordsmanship deeply and enjoyed discussing it, he asked.
“Hmm.”
As Heuk Pyo had anticipated, Bu Eunseol’s eyes sparkled as she spoke in a low voice.
“If our sect pursues the ultimate martial way, the Cheon Geom Hoe’s swordsmanship aims for survival in battles against absolute masters. Since there is no common ground between them, I cannot yet… offer a proper evaluation.”
While traveling through Gangho, Bu Eunseol continuously sought new heights of martial knowledge.
But because she pursued a realm so lofty that others could not even imagine it, she could not yet feel the changes within herself.
“First, let’s escape this place.”
Bu Eunseol pushed off the ground lightly and shouted.
“Follow me.”
Whoosh!
As I unleashed my movement technique, my body stretched like rubber before launching forward in a single breath, covering thirty zhang in an instant.
“W-wait for me, Master!”
The panicked Heuk Pyo deployed his movement technique with all his might.
Thud!
Heuk Pyo’s small frame, clad in night clothes, spun like a rotating arrow, creating a vortex as he shot forward.
Whoooosh! Shhhhh!
Two shadows, their sound of splitting air suppressed, instantly escaped Geum Jeong Mountain.
‘What on earth is happening!’
Heuk Pyo was deploying his movement technique with every ounce of power he could muster, drawing even from his deepest reserves.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch up to Bu Eunseol’s distant silhouette shooting ahead.
‘I can’t even keep up with Master at this speed?’
After studying the secret manual of movement techniques that Bu Eunseol had taught him, Heuk Pyo had become a master of the art—capable of traversing a thousand li in half a day if he so wished.
‘Master doesn’t even seem to be going all out.’
Far ahead, now a mere black dot, Bu Eunseol glided forward with hands clasped behind her back, moving with leisurely grace.
‘Ugh… ugh.’
After pushing his movement technique to its limit for about an hour, pain tore through his dantian.
“To execute movement techniques at high speed, you must not expend your inner energy at full force.”
I had merely lowered my head for a moment, yet Bu Eunseol, who had been shooting far ahead, now stood beside Heuk Pyo.
“Master, when did you turn back…”
The moment he opened his mouth, his inner energy began to leak away.
“Listen while deploying your movement technique.”
As Heuk Pyo gasped for breath, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“By nature, the human body cannot fly like a bird. Movement techniques make this possible, yet therein lies a great obstacle.”
Bu Eunseol continued with a solemn expression.
“Feathers not yet formed—the human body deploying movement techniques is like the plumage of a young bird without wings.”
Bu Eunseol explained the most crucial principle of movement techniques with measured clarity.
“That is, rather than forcing yourself forward like flapping wings, you must move with the flexibility and gentleness of a fish slipping through a great net.”
With hands clasped behind her back, Bu Eunseol’s voice resonated in Heuk Pyo’s ears as she shot forward like an immortal.
“Recall the inner cultivation methods written in the manual. Six senses purified, one step traverses ten thousand li. When your body becomes soft and pure like a child’s, you can cover ten thousand li in a single step.”
Heuk Pyo, who had been listening intently, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Bu Eunseol was speaking calmly while running at full speed, standing right beside him?
Tap.
So startled that his breathing broke, Heuk Pyo ceased his movement technique and landed back on the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
Bu Eunseol, standing before the gasping Heuk Pyo, furrowed her brow.
“Operating movement techniques is the same as moving your inner energy. How can you fail to calm your mind?”
“That is….”
Heuk Pyo spoke with a dispirited expression.
“But Master, how much inner strength did you expend to deploy that divine technique?”
“Three stars worth.”
“You deployed it using only three stars of power?”
Heuk Pyo jumped to his feet as though his backside had been seared by flames.
The speed at which I had just broken through was faster than the divine techniques of even ordinary peak masters.
‘Then just how profound is Master’s inner strength?’
As Heuk Pyo, who had been blinking his eyes, was about to speak again,
“Wait.”
Bu Eunseol placed a finger to her lips.
In that moment,
A faint metallic ring pierced the distant sky.
The sound was so subtle it could be likened to the rustling of ants crawling across stone.
But through the Savage Path’s ability to expand perception via resonance—the Void-Piercing Eye—Bu Eunseol could detect the metallic tone with perfect clarity.
“They’re fighting.”
“Pardon? Where, my lady?”
Heuk Pyo blinked, having heard nothing, and Bu Eunseol replied.
“Follow me.”
Whoosh!
As I pushed off the ground lightly, I glided forward dozens of paces in a single breath. The Extreme Shadow Step—an ancient divine technique—unfolded.
“I’m coming with you!”
Thud!
Heuk Pyo threw all his strength into launching himself from the earth, spreading the air current like a loosed arrow as he surged forward.
Though his speed trailed slightly behind mine, his stable form was no less masterful than any expert of the lightness arts.
Whoooosh!
As two shadows streaked away from Geum Jeong Mountain and reached the vast Reed Field,
Thump.
Bu Eunseol landed atop a towering ancient tree overlooking the reed field.
Clang! Whistle whistle whistle whistle! Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Below in the reed field, dozens of masters were unleashing hundreds of projectiles like a swarm of wasps upon a single man.
‘Poison Needles?’
The projectiles blanketing the reed field were none other than the Dang Family’s signature weapon—the Poison Needles.
The rocks that covered the Reed Field were none other than the Dang Family’s poison-infused stones, the Poison Corpse Rocks.
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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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