The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 94

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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 94.
Tea had been prepared in the Guest Hall where Bu Eunseol was staying.
Seated across from Dang Cheong, Bu Eunseol gazed intently at the teacup placed before her.
*Sip.*
After taking a sip of the hot tea, Bu Eunseol felt a peculiar blend of emptiness and liberation wash over her simultaneously.
Here, there was no one asking trivial questions about the taste of the tea or what expression might suit her better.
After taking several more sips, Bu Eunseol looked at Dang Cheong and nodded slightly.
“What is it you wished to discuss with me?”
“Will you continue to stay at the main residence?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Does one need a reason to remain at a friend’s home?”
“You’re not simply here to consume our provisions, are you?”
“Perhaps.”
The exchange continued—questions without substance met by answers equally hollow.
As the conversation wore on and its focus grew increasingly muddled, Dang Cheong shrugged her shoulders.
“Very well. I shall ask you directly.”
She fixed her gaze upon Bu Eunseol’s unwavering eyes and posed her question.
“Your intention to remain at the main residence—is it to aid my third brother?”
Rather than answer, Bu Eunseol took another measured sip of her tea.
In such circumstances, there was neither obligation nor necessity to answer honestly. The frustration would belong to Dang Cheong, not to herself.
“And what of you?”
Bu Eunseol instead turned the question back upon Dang Cheong.
“Is your reason for summoning me also to aid him?”
Only then did Dang Cheong realize that Bu Eunseol was no ordinary person, and she smiled knowingly.
“Fine. Let us abandon this dance of evasion.”
Drawing a deep breath, she rose from her seat and gazed out the window.
“The prosperity or decline of the main residence depends entirely upon what manner of person the family head is.”
“….”
“Other great families distribute power widely among themselves. But our family—only the family head possesses absolute authority.”
Dang Cheong spoke, her eyes still upon Bu Eunseol.
“What I desire is singular: that an exceptional individual capable of elevating the Dang Family to greater heights becomes the family head.”
Bu Eunseol, contemplating her words, allowed a cold smile to grace her lips.
“So you believe yourself qualified to arbitrate the succession.”
“Why should I not be?”
Dang Cheong winked and met Bu Eunseol’s gaze directly.
“Should I align myself with any faction, the balance would shatter instantly.”
Bu Eunseol regarded her in silence, her eyes unblinking.
“Originally, my third brother was not among those I considered exceptional. His temperament is far too gentle, and he lacks the necessary coldness to govern the main residence.”
Dang Cheong spoke, her eyes narrowing into crescents.
“But from today onward… I must acknowledge that my third brother also possesses the qualifications.”
Her voice was not only clear and distinct, but possessed an exceptional eloquence that compelled others to listen with genuine interest.
“Why, starting from today?”
“I believe you understand the reason better than anyone, Bu Eunseol.”
“I detest evasion.”
“There are two reasons.”
As Bu Eunseol’s expression turned cold, Dang Cheong immediately responded with a bright smile.
“First, my third brother has already attained martial prowess equivalent to the Dang Family’s Personal Guard Brigade.”
The martial strength of the Dang Family’s Personal Guard Brigade.
That likely referred to Bu Eunseol herself.
“And the second reason?”
In response to Bu Eunseol’s question, Dang Cheong walked slowly toward the door as she spoke.
“Because my third brother’s insufferable arrogant disposition will have vanished by then.”
Turning to face Bu Eunseol, she wore a sweet smile.
“To associate with someone of your caliber, wouldn’t my brother need to become a person of comparable standing?”
Crystal clear without needing further explanation.
Bu Eunseol found herself sending an admiring glance without realizing it.
‘Indeed… that’s true.’
Then, as Dang Cheong turned and walked toward the door, she spoke in a clear, melodious voice.
“Today was enjoyable. Farewell.”
Leaving only those brief words, she slowly departed.
Sitting at the table, Bu Eunseol gazed at the door through which Dang Cheong had exited, releasing a quiet sigh.
“A frightening woman indeed.”
Dang Cheong possessed not only exceptional martial skill and strategic intellect, but also a penetrating insight that seemed to peer into the depths of others’ hearts.
Dang Bi need not be mentioned—she was as if the strengths of both Dang Ryeong and Dang Gon had been combined into one.
*Creak.*
Then the door opened, and Heuk Pyo entered with a bright face, his body glistening with perspiration.
“Young Master!”
“….”
“Were you enjoying tea?”
Bu Eunseol stared into the void as if she hadn’t heard Heuk Pyo’s words.
“There’s a smell.”
“Ah, I’ve been training secret hand techniques with the third young master for two hours, so I’ve worked up quite a bit of sweat….”
“A very strong scent of blood, actually. Hehe.”
Seeing Bu Eunseol smile brightly while gazing at the distant sky,
‘It seems someone has provoked the young master’s displeasure again.’
Heuk Pyo swallowed hard, his expression fearful as cold sweat beaded on his brow.
* * *
Ssang Seong Pavilion.
This was the place where the ancestral tablets of successive Dang Family patriarchs were enshrined.
At the very top were the memorial tablets of two Sages who had transformed the Dang Family from a small settlement into a colossal power of the Murim—the Poison Sage Dang Cheon Gun and Dang Sim Bin, whose name meant “Blazing Blade, Life Stealer.”
*Whoosh.*
Dang Gon lit incense before the tablets, bowed respectfully, and carefully stepped outside.
“Phew.”
Dang Gon exhaled deeply as he gazed toward the distant sky. And just as he was about to move forward—
“….”
His footsteps halted abruptly.
A shadow clad in a dark blue robe embroidered with silver thread was approaching slowly from afar.
With a leonine, measured gait and an aura of piercing majesty radiating from his entire being, it was the Dang Family Lord himself—Dang Pae.
“Dang Gon pays his respects to the Family Lord.”
As Dang Gon bowed his head, Dang Pae nodded in acknowledgment.
“It has been a long time.”
An awkward current flowed between them—hardly the atmosphere of a father and son.
As the silence persisted, Dang Pae finally spoke in a low voice.
“What brings you here?”
Because he had been born to a lowly servant, Dang Gon had been forbidden from even entering the Inner Quarters of the Dang Family during his childhood.
After coming of age, Dang Pae had lifted that restriction, yet Dang Gon had never once set foot in the Inner Quarters.
So to suddenly visit the Ssang Seong Pavilion was unexpected.
“Since I have returned to the main family, it is only proper that I pay my respects.”
“Hmm.”
Dang Pae regarded Dang Gon quietly, then spoke in a low voice.
“Walk with me for a moment.”
A short distance from the Ssang Seong Pavilion stood a small pond with a modest pavilion built upon it.
Dang Pae gazed up at the plaque inscribed with “Sang Rim Pavilion” and spoke in a low voice.
“Now that you have returned to the main family, you must have decided on your path.”
So it comes to this.
Dang Gon took a deep breath, steadied his resolve, and spoke.
“I intend to continue pursuing the position of successor.”
“Did you not return to the main family intending to abandon it from the start?”
As Dang Gon flinched, Dang Pae allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.
“It was merely this Family Lord’s assumption, after all.”
“In truth, that was my intention, but my heart has changed.”
“Why?”
Dang Gon drew in a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with resolve.
“I wish to stand alongside my closest friend.”
“You speak of Bu Eunseol, whom you brought with you?”
“Yes.”
Dang Pae’s eyes took on a peculiar light.
“Is she truly such an exceptional person?”
Dang Gon smiled with unmistakable pride.
“That is correct. Among all the individuals I have encountered, he is the most exceptional and… remarkably cold-blooded.”
“Cold-blooded…, I see.”
Dang Pae’s lips curved into a subtle smile.
Cold-blooded.
Was that not the singular flaw that had always troubled him about Dang Gon, despite the man’s exceptional talents?
“Very well. You may go.”
As Dang Pae nodded, Dang Gon clasped his hands together.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Just as he turned to depart, Dang Pae spoke again.
“To become the heir of the main family, one must become a heartless being without mercy or tears.”
Kinsmen locked in mortal struggle.
To gain recognition as heir, he would now have to fight against his blood brothers.
Dang Gon’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“I have already resolved myself for this.”
“I see.”
Dang Pae withdrew a single leaf, darkened to black, from his robes.
It was a blackened Pear Blossom Tree leaf.
“This is….”
As Dang Gon accepted the leaf with an expression of astonishment, Dang Pae nodded matter-of-factly.
“I shall permit you to master one of the Dang Family Secret Techniques.”
Dang Gon’s body trembled faintly.
Despite holding the position of heir, he had been unable to build his power base precisely because he could not master the Eight Great Secret Techniques of the Dang Family, which only direct bloodline members could learn.
―Throughout the history of the main family, there has never been an instance of transmitting the Dang Family Secret Techniques to a collateral branch member.
Due to the fierce opposition of the Elder Council, Dang Gon had ultimately been barred from entering the Secret Cave where the Dang Family Secret Techniques were kept.
But if he now mastered one of the Dang Family Secret Techniques, he could stand as an equal to Dang Ryeong and Dang Bi. And he could gain the support of influential factions.
“The reason the family head did not transmit the secret techniques to you was not because the elders opposed it.”
Within the Dang Family, the family head’s authority was absolute.
Even if the entire Dang Family opposed it rather than merely the Elder Council, the will of the family head, Dang Pae, could not be swayed.
“At that time, your desire to become heir was not as fierce as it is now.”
It was the truth.
Had he truly yearned for the position of heir, he would have persuaded the family head first and mastered the Dang Family Secret Techniques from the beginning.
But instead, refusing to break his pride and stubbornness, he had ventured into the Gangho to build his own power base.
“But now, that yearning and aspiration are plainly visible.”
“I am… grateful.”
Dang Gon, who had placed the Pear Blossom Tree leaf in his robes, clasped his hands together.
“I shall never disappoint you.”
Dang Gon bowed deeply to Dang Pae, then straightened his shoulders and turned to leave.
“Can a water serpent truly become a dragon merely through the friendship of one companion?”
Dang Pae, watching the departing Dang Gon, spoke softly into the empty air.
“Woo Gang.”
Then a very small, low voice echoed from the empty air.
“I await your command.”
“From now on, report to me every single movement of that child makes. Even the most trivial details.”
“Understood.”
Dang Pae, who had been gazing up at the distant sky, allowed a smile to grace his lips.
“With the next successor, the Dang Family’s standing will rise even higher.”
* * *
“A bastard learning the Dang Family Secret Technique?”
*Crack! Smash!*
Upon hearing that Dang Gon was entering the Secret Cave to master the Dang Family Secret Technique, Dang Bi began destroying the furnishings in his office.
“Has Father already lost his mind!”
“Young Master. Please lower your voice.”
Dang Bi’s fury turned toward Dang Sa Woon.
“You’re no better! What? That wretch renounces his position as successor? Is this how someone who renounces acts?”
*Crash!*
A dragon-horn inkstone crafted by a master artisan of the White Pine Brush House shattered against the pillar standing beside Dang Sa Woon.
“My apologies.”
Blood dripped steadily from Dang Sa Woon’s cheek where it had been grazed by the broken fragments.
Seeing this, Dang Bi finally suppressed his rage and shouted.
“Where is Dang Gon right now?”
“Before entering the Secret Cave, he is selecting weapons from Gam Dong Ju.”
“I see.”
Dang Bi kicked open the door and hurried toward the Great Armory at the North Gate.
After passing dozens of Palace Halls, the blackened Great Armory finally came into view.
“What in the world are you doing!”
Upon spotting Dang Gon standing before the Great Armory, Dang Bi shouted loudly.
“You worthless wretch….”
His voice abruptly ceased.
Standing there were Dang Gon, Bu Eunseol, Gam Dong Ju who oversaw the Great Armory, and Dang Ryeong.
“Second Young Master.”
Gam Dong Ju, who wore a white beard, acknowledged him, and Dang Bi reluctantly clasped his hands.
“Gam Dong Ju. Elder Brother, you’re here as well.”
As he reluctantly greeted them, Dang Gon also clasped his hands.
“Second Brother.”
“Second Brother? What nonsense!”
Dang Bi, meeting Dang Gon’s gaze, bared his fangs and shouted.
“How dare this bastard learn the Dang Family Secret Technique!”
“Second, Father has already permitted this.”
“And you will simply allow this, Elder Brother?”
Dang Bi pointed at Dang Gon with an expression of utter indignation.
“This is a matter that the eldest brother must address with Father! He needs to stop him!”
“Second brother.”
Just as Dang Ryeong raised his hand to speak, Dang Gon said calmly.
“It seems Second Brother is displeased that I’m entering the Secret Cave.”
“What? You call that an argument?”
Dang Gon ground his teeth as he spoke.
“If you abandon this now and return to the Outer Quarters to live quietly, you might preserve your life going forward.”
“That’s precisely why I’m going—to preserve my life.”
“What did you say?”
Dang Gon, his face adorned with a smile, pointed to the sword at his waist.
“Once I master the Toxic Spirit Life-Draining Killing Intent, I won’t die by Second Brother’s hand, will I?”

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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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