The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 96
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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 96.
Blood Whisker Poison.
Among all the toxins created by the Sichuan Dang Family, it was the most potent—one whose effects manifested with terrifying speed.
Because of this, the Sichuan Dang Family guarded it with extreme caution, restricting its use to direct bloodline members and forbidding even masters outside the inner circle from touching it.
“So this is the legendary Blood Whisker Poison.”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the transparent glass vial she held in her palm.
Inside the vial swirled a liquid darker and more crimson than blood itself—the Dang Family’s supreme toxin, the Blood Whisker Poison.
“Mmph, mmmph!”
Kneeling beneath Bu Eunseol’s feet was a man with a gag wedged firmly in his mouth.
His name was Dang Poong Ho.
A member of the Hwa Poong Dang located in the Outer Quarters, he was a master skilled in the covert administration of toxins.
“Who sent you.”
Bu Eunseol spoke as she slowly unstopped the vial’s cork.
“If I remove that gag and your answer displeases me… then the Blood Whisker Poison in this bottle will slide down your throat.”
“Mmph, mmmph!”
As Dang Poong Ho met Bu Eunseol’s glacial stare, his body trembled violently.
“Heuk Pyo. Remove the gag.”
“Yes.”
The moment Heuk Pyo lowered the gag from Dang Poong Ho’s mouth, the man spoke in a rush.
“Second Young Master Dang Bi! It was Second Young Master Dang Bi!”
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol nodded calmly, as though she had anticipated this. Blood Whisker Poison was a toxin that only direct bloodline members of the Dang Family could even obtain.
It was then that Heuk Pyo asked, bewilderment evident in his voice.
“Why would the Second Young Master target you, sir?”
“Because Dang Gon is not here.”
Dang Gon had entered the Secret Cave yesterday and would not emerge for another four days.
In other words, these four days represented the perfect window for Dang Bi to strike at Bu Eunseol and Heuk Pyo.
“But to attempt assassination within the Dang Family itself? Wouldn’t the Murim mock the Sichuan Dang Family for such lax security?”
Bu Eunseol shook her head at Heuk Pyo’s words.
“We are merely outsiders. Even if we die, there will be few to mourn us, and besides…”
Bu Eunseol smiled faintly as she regarded the terrified Dang Poong Ho.
“The dead tell no tales.”
Dang Poong Ho did not dare meet her gaze, only hanging his head.
“Even if it were discovered that we fell victim to the Dang Family’s poison, the blame would fall upon Dang Gon. We are his guests, and this is merely the Outer Quarters.”
Shiver.
Witnessing Bu Eunseol’s words and bearing—each one calculated, each one seeing through everything—Dang Poong Ho trembled once more.
“I… I…”
Then Dang Poong Ho looked up at Bu Eunseol, his voice quavering.
“May I… go?”
“Very well.”
Bu Eunseol nodded and extended her fingers, gently releasing the pressure points on Dang Poong Ho’s body.
“Leave the Dang Family by this route.”
“Pardon?”
“Return after one month. If I discover you remain within the Dang Family before then… I will personally sever your neck.”
Dang Poong Ho, who had been contemplating, seemed to grasp something and bowed deeply toward Bu Eunseol.
“I am truly grateful for your mercy.”
Then he sprang to his feet and vanished from the guest quarters like the wind.
“Young Master, you spoke those words to spare his life, didn’t you?” Heuk Pyo, who had been observing, remarked with satisfaction.
Heuk Pyo smiled knowingly.
“Had you simply let him go, the Second Young Master—or rather, the cruel Dang Bi—would have killed him to silence any witnesses.”
Heuk Pyo chuckled softly.
“But after one month, everything will be decided… Regardless of who becomes the successor, he will survive.”
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
“You know only half the story.”
“Pardon?”
“Killing him is also what Dang Bi desires. To slay someone bearing the Dang surname within the Family would be a direct challenge to the Sichuan Dang Family.”
“Even though he died defending against an order you issued?”
“He will find an excuse regardless of the circumstances.”
Bu Eunseol paused briefly before continuing.
“Besides, I have another reason for letting him live.”
“What reason is that?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Bu Eunseol wore a radiant smile, uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor.
Seeing that smile, Heuk Pyo felt a chill run down his spine.
For Dang Bi would surely either perish by Bu Eunseol’s hand or linger at death’s door.
* * *
The next day. The Office of Soo Woon Gak in the Inner Quarters.
Dang Bi, standing by the window with his lips pressed tightly together, finally shouted loudly at the silent Dang Sa Woon.
“That bastard who accepted the blood poison and departed at dusk—why haven’t we heard from him yet! And why is that Bu woman still alive?”
Dang Sa Woon lowered his head.
“I cannot fathom it either.”
Had he succeeded, Bu Eunseol would be dead. Had he failed, Dang Poong Ho should be dead.
But Bu Eunseol lived, and Dang Poong Ho had vanished. Dang Sa Woon could not comprehend this situation.
“Perhaps…”
Dang Sa Woon, lost in thought, spoke carefully.
“Could Bu Eunseol have seen through our scheme and sent Dang Poong Ho outside the main residence?”
“Does that make any sense?”
“Bu Eunseol could have spared Dang Poong Ho and ordered him to return after one month.”
Dang Bi erupted in fury.
“How could she possibly send away a master of the main residence with eight limbs intact and two legs fully functional?”
“That is…”
Dang Sa Woon started to speak but closed his mouth.
―Second Young Master, your temperament is ruthless enough that you might accept such a proposal. After all, the successor will be decided within a month.
He could not bring himself to voice these words.
“Summon Yeong Poong Dong Ju. And entrust him with handling that matter again.”
“Yeong Poong Dong Ju, you say?”
Yeong Poong Dong Ju was among the strongest under Dang Bi’s faction—a master who had transcended the peak realm.
However, given his advanced age and fierce pride, he seemed unlikely to assassinate a young person like Bu Eunseol.
“I suspect Yeong Poong Dong Ju will refuse this task. He is well into his fifties and possesses considerable pride…”
“Then simply tell him it is my command!”
Dang Bi gritted his teeth, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
“No matter how exceptional Bu Eunseol is, he cannot transcend the peak realm. Yeong Poong Dong Ju will be more than capable of eliminating him.”
Yeong Poong Dong Ju—Dang Sa Heon.
A master of the Dang Family’s collateral branch, he was fifty-three years old this year and had cultivated the Mansakdok Sword and Jeon Gwang Quick Sword—both considered the finest techniques of the family’s collateral martial arts—to the level of mastery.
‘I truly have no desire for this.’
Standing atop the roof of Cheong Yang So Chuk in dark robes, he exhaled a quiet sigh.
Having surpassed the peak realm in his fifties, his pride ran deep, and he was destined to assume the position of Inner Quarters Master.
Yet here he was, tasked with assassinating a mere youth barely past twenty?
‘Still, the Second Young Master will be the next Family Head.’
He had already sworn his loyalty to Dang Bi. Anyone who obstructed Dang Bi’s ascension to Family Head would have to be eliminated.
‘Let us see.’
As he carefully descended to the ground, he surveyed the area near Star Courtyard.
‘Heaven has granted me an opportunity.’
Within the bedchamber of Star Courtyard, a man in gray martial robes sat upright, cultivating his inner energy.
No matter how formidable a master, during cultivation they are defenseless. All their mental focus turns inward, making their reactions sluggish no matter the precautions.
‘Is there only one guardian?’
Near a table, Heuk Pyo sat crouched against the wall, reading a book.
Since Cheong Yang So Chuk kept no outer courtyard warriors besides Si Bi, subduing these two alone would end everything.
‘Hm.’
He took a quiet deep breath and began subtly dispersing numbing powder throughout Star Courtyard.
His technique was so refined and concealed that even a master with keen senses would struggle to detect it.
‘Now!’
As Dang Sa Heon saw the moonlight from the distant sky dim and prepared to unleash his movement technique,
“Just as expected.”
Heuk Pyo, who had been reading, let out a sigh.
“Another one has come, just as the Young Master predicted.”
‘That boy detected my presence?’
Heuk Pyo appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old.
How could he have discovered the concealment of someone who had transcended the peak realm?
“Heuk Pyo has mastered movement techniques that incorporate concealment methods. Therefore, he has become extremely sensitive to auras and the sound of displaced air.”
As if answering his curiosity, Bu Eunseol slowly rose from her seat.
“This time, it’s quite convincing.”
Bu Eunseol gazed into the darkness where Dang Sa Heon was hiding and let out a soft chuckle.
“Besides Dang Gon, is there another swordsman in the Dang Family?”
‘I’ve been discovered.’
Dang Sa Heon had no choice but to boldly open the door to the Star Courtyard and step inside.
“Are you Bu Eunseol?”
As Dang Sa Heon unleashed his killing intent, Bu Eunseol nodded with an expression of great delight.
“Since we’ve finally met, let’s dispense with words.”
“Dispense with them?”
“I do hope you won’t disappoint me.”
As Bu Eunseol drew her ink blade, an intense aura erupted from her body.
It was a towering, mountain-like force that even Dang Sa Heon, having entered the threshold of the Transcendent Realm, found difficult to bear.
‘Her inner strength is considerable. Did she consume some kind of elixir?’
“Why are you standing there in a daze?”
Before he knew it, Bu Eunseol had circled behind Dang Sa Heon, her ink blade slashing toward his throat.
‘Gasp!’
Dang Sa Heon, stifling an inward cry, twisted his body swiftly and evaded the strike.
“Huff. Huff.”
Though he had dodged a single blade strike, his forehead was already beaded with sweat. He had escaped by the thinnest of margins.
“Your reflexes are quite sharp.”
Bu Eunseol, her blade now drawn, smiled, baring her white teeth.
“But I’m somewhat disappointed.”
“Disappointed? Don’t mock me with such arrogance!”
Enraged by Bu Eunseol’s attitude, Dang Sa Heon began to unleash his swordplay with all his might.
Lightning Flash Sword.
The supreme swift-blade technique passed down through the Dang Family erupted from his fingertips in endless cross-shaped afterimages.
“Hmm.”
But Bu Eunseol had already retreated to the left.
“Don’t run away!”
As she continued to evade the Lightning Flash Sword with ease, Dang Sa Heon’s frustration boiled over and he cried out.
“If you call yourself a man, face me head-on!”
At that, Bu Eunseol suddenly stopped her movements and stood with arms crossed, regarding Dang Sa Heon.
“You believe you could win if we fought head-on?”
“My martial prowess has transcended the Peak Realm. Can’t you sense that?”
“Transcended?”
At Dang Sa Heon’s words, Bu Eunseol let out a soft laugh.
“Realms are merely boundaries used to express the level of martial skill. The outcome of a life-and-death struggle cannot be divided by martial realms.”
“All talk and no substance. Then face me head-on!”
“I refuse.”
“What did you say?”
Bu Eunseol’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Your swordplay is so pathetic that it’s hardly worth my interest.”
Dang Sa Heon was a master of the Sichuan Dang Family, long revered by the younger generation.
But as Bu Eunseol mocked him relentlessly, he lost his composure and unleashed his Lightning Flash Sword technique.
“You insolent brat!”
Dang Sa Heon’s Lightning Flash Sword consisted of seventy-two forms.
Yet each form contained the essence of swift, thunderous strikes, so executing all seventy-two forms did not require much time.
And until now, Dang Sa Heon had never exhausted all seventy-two forms in any of his countless battles.
The match would always end before he could complete the entire technique.
‘This… this bastard!’
But now Dang Sa Heon was repeating the seventy-two forms of his Lightning Flash Sword consecutively, twice over.
The problem was that he still couldn’t touch even a single thread of Bu Eunseol’s garment.
‘How naive.’
A smile played across Bu Eunseol’s lips as she deployed the Extreme Speed Shadowless Movement with her arms crossed.
She had recognized that Dang Sa Heon was indeed a considerable master, and deliberately used provocation to test him. And like a child, he had lost his reason and grown excited.
“Stop scurrying about like a rat and come at me!”
Dang Sa Heon, his pride deeply wounded, bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Have you not trained your swordplay, but only practiced fleeing like a rat?”
In that instant,
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Bu Eunseol’s face suddenly appeared before him as he unfolded his sword technique.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Ugh!”
Dang Sa Heon let out a cry at the overwhelming speed of her movement and tried to deploy his sword technique again.
But Bu Eunseol’s fist was faster.
A heavy thud echoed.
With a sound like a leather pouch bursting, Dang Sa Heon, struck in the solar plexus, was driven into the wall.
“Ugh…”
Clutching his abdomen, Dang Sa Heon spat blood from his mouth.
Bu Eunseol’s light punch had inflicted severe internal injuries.
“How… how could this be…”
Taking a blow to the abdomen during combat was something that only occurred in fights between third-rate martial artists.
Dang Sa Heon was a supreme master on the verge of transcending the peak realm into the Transcendent stage. Yet he had collapsed, clutching his stomach from a single punch by Bu Eunseol.
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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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