The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 51

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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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#051. The Wavering Mark (1)

The great hall of the Dongbang Clan.
Dongbang Cheonbaek sat in the seat of honor with a hardened expression, while Dongbang Yeonhwi stood beside him in a respectful posture.
Beyond Dongbang Yeonhwi, all five of the Dongbang Clan’s Great Guardians had gathered.
Moreover, the commanders of each unit under the Five Great Guardians’ charge had been summoned and were in attendance.
“Something impossible has occurred.”
Dongbang Cheonbaek spoke heavily, his words deliberate.
Beneath his expression and tone lay an fury so immense it had been compressed to the breaking point.
The air of the great hall grew thick and suffocating.
“Give the order and I will go at once! I will bring back the head of this wretch Cheon Mujgyeol!”
In the moment when all held their breath, one man’s voice erupted with fury, cutting through the silence.
A figure of towering stature with broad shoulders and a hearty face.
It was Dongbang Cheolyun, one of the Dongbang Clan’s Five Great Guardians.
As Dongbang Cheolyun broke the silence, another rose to support him.
“Once his location is confirmed, I will send the Shadow Guard immediately.”
More measured than Dongbang Cheolyun, yet holding the same conviction, was Dongbang Mujin, likewise one of the Five Great Guardians.
Dongbang Cheonbaek turned his gaze from one to the other before looking elsewhere.
“Anger before reason is not the way of the Dongbang Clan. Now, more than ever, we must be cold and deliberate—but certain in how we answer for this crime.”
Dongbang Jinhyuk, who stood foremost among the Five Great Guardians, spoke as if to calm the two men.
Yet he himself burned with rage at the death of Dongbang Jinwu.
“What matters is—”
Before Dongbang Jinhyuk’s words could finish, a sharp voice cut through.
All eyes turned toward it, where Dongbang Yeonho stood with a sharp, calculating expression.
“The death of the Outer Sect Master is regrettable, yes. But how we present this to the world—that is more important.”
“Is that what matters now? Nonsense! One of ours has fallen! The first priority is to cut down that bastard!”
Dongbang Cheolyun immediately countered.
Though the Five Great Guardians shared common ground in their overall sentiment, their differing temperaments meant their methods diverged somewhat.
And it was only the strategist Dongbang Yeonhwi who could gather the scattered opinions and bring order.
“Dongbang Yeonho speaks correctly.”
With that single statement from Dongbang Yeonhwi, the situation crystallized.
Yet Dongbang Cheolyun continued to glare at Dongbang Yeonho with obvious displeasure.
“Cheon Mujgyeol is already on his way here. We can exact justice whenever we wish. What truly matters is that we crush him utterly—death alone is too cheap a price for his crime.”
“Then lay out the plan.”
“We have justification now. And we must broadcast it to the world—show every stage of it openly. Make clear to all what happens when someone touches the Dongbang Clan.”
Dongbang Yeonhwi, having answered, cast his gaze across the Five Great Guardians before continuing.
“And I believe a foretaste is necessary. Before Cheon Mujgyeol arrives here, he must feel the direct weight of the Dongbang Clan’s power.”
“Hmph! That wretch won’t even make it here if he faces our strength!”
Dongbang Cheolyun shouted, still burning with unabated rage.
“Which is precisely why I cannot send you, Cheolyun. He must not die before he reaches us.”
“What do you—”
Dongbang Cheolyun bristled to respond, but Dongbang Yeonhwi cut him short.
“Cheon Mujgyeol’s death must be orchestrated on a stage utterly prepared—a stage where every facet of the Dongbang Clan’s power, authority, and honor can be displayed. If he dies here, that becomes impossible.”
At Dongbang Yeonhwi’s words, Dongbang Cheolyun clenched his teeth hard.
Having organized the situation, Dongbang Yeonhwi now turned to address Dongbang Cheonbaek.
“Through various stratagems, we have driven Cheon Mujgyeol ever closer to the brink. We made him a Murim Public Enemy, a brutal murderer, and turned all the world against him. By now, he will be exhausted—mentally and physically.”
Dongbang Cheonbaek nodded at Dongbang Yeonhwi’s words.
“When Cheon Mujgyeol arrives at the Dongbang Clan, he should arrive as one who has spent everything—utterly isolated, a hollow shell of what he once was.”
“But such a foe would be meaningless to kill, would he not?”
Dongbang Mujin asked quietly.
Then Dongbang Yeonho spoke in Dongbang Yeonhwi’s stead.
“Even if Cheon Mujgyeol arrives as a hollow shell, to the eyes of the world he remains simply a villain—one who deserves death.”
“That is so.”
Dongbang Yeonhwi affirmed Dongbang Yeonho’s words.
“What state Cheon Mujgyeol is in when he arrives here is of no interest to the world. Only his death matters to them. We must grind him utterly beneath our heel when he reaches this place—mercilessly, pitilessly. And for that, the weaker he is, the better.”
Dongbang Yeonhwi’s scheme was cruel.
It wasn’t merely about taking his life—it was about ensuring that even in death, Cheon Mujgyeol would remain thorough and irredeemably evil.
Yet no one gathered in the hall thought this cruel.
They believed that if you laid hands on the Dongbang Clan, if you dared to strike at them, you had to pay a price befitting the transgression.
“What is Cheongryu’s thought on this?”
Dongbang Cheonbaek asked for the opinion of Dongbang Cheongryu, the only one among the Five Great Guardians who had yet to speak a word.
Dongbang Cheongryu fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth slowly.
“We must see what he still clings to, not what Cheon Mujgyeol has already lost.”
“Explain yourself.”
“We must understand what conviction dwells in his sword. Only then can we truly know his power.”
As he spoke, his gaze—characteristically quiet yet cold—settled on Dongbang Cheolyun.
“Without knowing the opponent’s strength, mere emotion will not cut through.”
“What did you say?!”
Dongbang Cheolyun flared at what seemed like mockery from Dongbang Cheongryu.
“Enough.”
But Dongbang Cheolyun’s outburst was settled by a single word from Dongbang Cheonbaek.
“Good. Cheongryu.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go and deliver my greeting to Cheon Mujgyeol yourself.”
“Understood.”
“As you have said, confirm what lies within Cheon Mujgyeol’s sword and report back. To thoroughly crush him, we must know everything.”
“Yes.”
Dongbang Cheongryu answered tersely.

* * *

While the Dongbang Clan was deep in planning following Dongbang Jinwu’s death, Cheon Mujgyeol and Bukgung Danya pressed forward steadily toward the Dongbang estate.
Unlike Cheon Mujgyeol, who seemed unchanged, Bukgung Danya’s expression was heavy with worry.
“No matter how I think about it, I believe their deaths were a self-inflicted wound,” Bukgung Danya said.
Cheon Mujgyeol made no reply to his words.
Yet Bukgung Danya continued.
“His death has given the Dongbang Clan justification—now they have cause to draw their own blades.”
“They are people we were bound to face eventually,” Cheon Mujgyeol said.
Bukgung Danya nodded at this, but let out a long sigh.
“Yes, that’s true. Which is why we head to the Dongbang Clan. But doesn’t it matter how we meet them, and under what circumstances? With enemies on all sides, and now the Dongbang Clan as well…”
Before Bukgung Danya could finish, Cheon Mujgyeol stopped walking.
Bukgung Danya too fell silent.
This was not the moment for words.
Stretching out on both sides of the Official Road they had been traveling lay a vast plain.
Had there been no low hills visible in the distance, one might have seen the horizon—it was an enormously expansive plain.
The two men stopped because that plain was filled with countless people.
How many were there?
Enough to be called an army—so vast that their numbers defied counting, they had set up formation across the plain.
“It seems we can’t go much further, but I imagine the young master will press on regardless?”
At Bukgung Danya’s words, Cheon Mujgyeol said nothing.
Instead, he answered through action.
After pausing briefly to gaze out at the vast multitude, Cheon Mujgyeol began moving toward them once more.
“Hah…”
Bukgung Danya exhaled deeply.
Such a tremendous host, merely to behold it stopped the breath.
And all those countless people directed savage hostility and killing intent toward the two of them.
Setting aside Cheon Mujgyeol’s skill, it was overwhelming to contemplate how to face so many, yet he did not slow—he continued forward.
As the distance narrowed, walls of humanity filled his vision completely.
The more his sight was consumed by these barriers, the more his breath seemed to catch.
“Stop!”
When the two had drawn near enough, a cry came from the opposing side.
But Cheon Mujgyeol did not halt.
“Young master?”
For a moment Bukgung Danya’s pace faltered, but he quickly caught up to Cheon Mujgyeol again.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stop and at least attempt to talk?”

Bukgung Danya spoke urgently.
“Stop, I say!”
An urgent cry came from the other side as well.
Despite so many men arrayed in formation, they too seemed to tense the moment they faced Cheon Mujgyeol.
“Young Master Cheon. Pause for now, if you would.”
Bukgung Danya urged again, and only then did Cheon Mujgyeol stop in his tracks.
“You are Cheon Mujgyeol, are you not?”
“You knew and were waiting for me, then?”
Cheon Mujgyeol countered.
“That’s right! We have been waiting to capture you, Cheon Mujgyeol! If you abandon your resistance willingly, no harm need come to pass!”
To their cry, Cheon Mujgyeol offered only silence.
“No matter how renowned a warrior you are, two of you cannot face all of us! So surrender!”
At their shout, Bukgung Danya cast a sidelong glance at Cheon Mujgyeol.
This was not a man to bow to such words.
Then it came.
“The man standing beside Cheon Mujgyeol—is that not Bukgung Danya?”
A different voice rang out, and Bukgung Danya turned to look.
There stood a figure whose face lingered faintly in Bukgung Danya’s memory.
“You are…?”
It had been so many years ago, and he had encountered this person only a handful of times in childhood, so Bukgung Danya could not be certain of his identity.
“You do not remember me?”
“Forgive me, but if you tell me your name, I believe I shall recall.”
At Bukgung Danya’s words, the elder who had spoken opened his mouth.
“My name is Gongsun Yubaek. I am an elder of the Gongsun Clan, and I have connections to your father, Bukgung Hyundo.”
“Ah! You are Elder Gongsun, then. My apologies. I was so young that the name escaped me. Though I do recall seeing you a few times.”
Bukgung Danya bowed respectfully toward Gongsun Yubaek.
Confusion filled the face of Gongsun Yubaek as he regarded the young man.
“So it is truly Bukgung Danya. Your father’s son. But why do you stand with such a wicked creature?”
At Gongsun Yubaek’s question, Bukgung Danya exhaled deeply.
“It is all a misunderstanding. The young master here is a true survivor of Cheongeomjang and a descendant of the Great Sword Emperor. Truly, he is!”
Bukgung Danya revealed Cheon Mujgyeol’s identity once more.
Gongsun Yubaek’s confusion only deepened at Bukgung Danya’s earnest cry.
Knowing the Bukgung Family and Bukgung Hyundo as he did, it was difficult for him to dismiss Bukgung Danya’s words as falsehood.
Yet at the same time, it was equally difficult to believe that the Dongbang Clan’s claims were false.
What, then, was the truth?
The confusion began to spread slowly, not only through Gongsun Yubaek, but throughout the vast and thick formation of the formation barrier.

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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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