The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 260

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 260
A hero has descended upon Hanan.
It’s been the talk of the prefecture for the past several days.
The resurrection of the Demonic Cult.
The emergence of an organization called Patcheon Gung.
Hanan thrown into chaos by their assault, and the deaths caused in its aftermath.
The fact that the main headquarters of Hanan, which had been evaluated as an iron fortress, had cracked. Just as everyone was reeling from this enormous shock.
It was a day when the assault had turned everything into complete chaos.
I thought there hadn’t been such a major incident since the Jeongma Great War.
Shin Chang, who had been elected League Leader after Yoo Cheon-gil, had lost consciousness from the assault, needless to say.
The main headquarters itself had been attacked, and if things went wrong, the Martial Arts Alliance might be shaken to its core.
Moreover, there was even news that the absolute master we thought was dead, the Sword Demon, had appeared.
As problems appeared in abundance.
Yet from within such calamity, a figure bloomed like a flower.
The figure currently called a hero in Hanan.
It was me, the Protagonist.
It was he who rose as a new comet while seeking Dokwang and Dangmun in Sacheon.
I was already becoming quietly famous as the predecessor to Sword Saint Yoo Cheon-gil.
From the events in Sichuan onward, my reputation spread throughout the Central Plains.
Some say.
That I am a genius comparable to the Seven Prodigies.
Another responds.
No, I must be something that cannot even be compared to the Seven Prodigies.
Amid questions of whether the Sword Saint’s predecessor could be anything less.
This incident made it clear.
I am.
No.
Wol-hyeop is an absolute master.
Such words were spreading throughout Hanan at this point.
And.
‘What’s this Wol-hyeop business?’
As the person who had directly heard such words, I could only sigh.
Wol-hyeop, they call me.
‘My epithet changed all of a sudden.’
When I was called the Sword Saint’s Predecessor or the Protagonist, but now they call me Wol-hyeop?
‘What kind of world is this with such simple epithets?’
I tried to overlook it when they called me the Protagonist, but now they’re calling me Wol-hyeop.
‘Ugh, how embarrassing.’
Every time a new epithet appears, I feel terrible about it. I questioned what great deed I had done to deserve such a nickname.
A hero who killed the Sword Demon, saved Shin Chang and Jegal Jin, and rescued Hanan.
‘…Insane.’
I exhaled a sigh, recalling such thoughts.
‘What ridiculous rumors have spread everywhere.’
My head throbbed.
I endured the headache creeping up my temples and moved forward slowly.
At the same time, I tried to make sense of the situation.
My rumors had spread throughout Hannam, and my reputation and honor had risen?
‘Should I consider this a gain?’
I still couldn’t tell. My thoughts hadn’t reached that far yet.
‘That’s not what I need to focus on right now.’
What mattered here was.
‘Why had my rumors spread so widely?’
I needed to question the reason behind the spread of rumors about Wol-hyeop and others.
Was this truly the result of what I—or more precisely, Yoo Cheon-gil using my body—had done?
I didn’t think so.
‘Even though the things I’ve done are numerous and none of them are trivial.’
They weren’t significant enough to spread this widely. Especially not at such a rapid pace.
But if the rumors had spread this quickly,
‘someone must have intervened.’
Someone, or perhaps an organization.
And if an organization had intervened in the rumors,
‘the Information Bureau.’
The Information Bureau must have been involved. If so, why had the Information Bureau intervened?
The Information Bureau belonged to the Martial Arts Alliance. Since the Information Bureau was known as the ears of the Martial Arts Alliance, this was an implicit yet well-known fact.
If the Information Bureau had moved to spread rumors, it meant the Martial Arts Alliance had moved instead.
If such the Martial Arts Alliance had deliberately moved to spread my rumors, then the reason was.
‘Drawing attention.’
It could be seen as an attempt to redirect attention from the current situation toward me.
But then, why redirect attention to me?
That reason wasn’t difficult to discern either.
‘It’s the most convenient.’
Making attention focus on me is the fastest and easiest way.
And there were many advantages to be gained once attention was drawn.
‘They could reduce the criticism pouring down on the Alliance regarding the incident.’
The Martial Arts Alliance, once called an iron fortress, had been swept through by an attack from the Demonic Sects.
They sought to draw attention away from that matter.
Criticism would come, and the reputation the Martial Arts Alliance had built could suffer significant damage.
In such a situation, the Martial Arts Alliance—
No—
‘My maternal grandfather must have used me for this.’
Cheon Rijin-an, Jegal Jin. He must have used me as a distraction.
‘Sigh.’
He was truly a remarkable man.
The reason he summoned me to the Jeongdo Conference at this particular moment was no exception.
‘He’s determined to make use of me.’
Concealing the problems that arose within the Martial Arts Alliance.
He directed all eyes toward me.
Seven days and nights.
When you think about it, hardly a long time at all.
That I could be called a hero during that span was also.
‘Because the Martial Arts Alliance itself stepped forward.’
If we assume that as a premise, it becomes absolutely certain.
Thanks to that, I became a hero the moment I opened my eyes.
‘Ha ha.’
It was utterly absurd. No matter how I thought about it, that was the case.
And moreover.
‘I’m not even pleased about it.’
That he used me arbitrarily.
That irritated me. He used me as a shield to deflect the countless things that would pour down on the Alliance, so naturally it was infuriating.
‘…He’s cunning, that’s what.’
If there was one thing Cheon Rijin-an was truly skilled at.
‘He planted a carrot in the midst of all this.’
He mixed in a carrot at the very moment my mood would sour.
Where was this carrot hidden?
‘Being summoned right now is the carrot itself.’
Going to the Jeongdo Conference.
Along with his intention to use me, I understood the hidden meaning within it.
‘Come and take what you can get.’
I’ll give you something substantial, so don’t complain.
Jegal Jin’s intent came through crystal clear.
If one were to ask what advantage there was in attending the Jeongdo Conference.
‘…Well, that’s.’
If my prediction was correct, it would be quite substantial.
Of course.
‘I’ll have to perform well.’
It would depend on how I acted.
So I needed to keep my wits about me.
‘Damn it, I have to think about this right after waking up?’
My fatigue hadn’t even worn off yet, and I already had to use my mind.
‘Hell, there’s so much to consider.’
I couldn’t even grasp the changes happening to my own body in the moment.
Nor had I heard precisely what had become of the others.
“Tsk.”
Crack.
I loosened my neck slightly while collecting my thoughts.
Just as I was about to forcibly ease my stiff body.
“We’ve arrived.”
Daeju, who had been guiding me, spoke. Upon hearing those words, I turned my gaze, and a massive structure came into view in the distance.
A place that boasted considerable size even within the Martial Arts Alliance.
The Conference Hall itself.

* * *
As I approached the conference chamber of the Conference Hall, I saw a door ahead and those guarding it.
“Come this way.”
Daeju stepped forward toward the door, and the Alliance members guarding it reacted.
“We greet you, Daeju…!”
The man who was about to bow caught sight of me behind Daeju and froze in place.
I could feel the man’s emotions from his trembling eyes and startled expression.
“…Wol-hyeop…!”
“…”
I held back my ears from turning red. No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t grow accustomed to this epithet.
Or rather, was this the first time I’d heard it directly?
Hiding my complicated feelings, I wiped my face.
‘Sigh.’
I wondered if I should even be hearing such things, but there was nothing particularly to respond with.
Around the time I was holding back a sigh, the gatekeeper belatedly came to his senses and hastily opened the door.
Creeeeak—!
The door opened slowly. Daeju entered first, and I followed after him.
Whoooosh—!!!
“…!”
My breath caught at the air that wafted forth.
‘Ha.’
The inner energies mixed within the air were so thick that merely breathing them in made my insides feel sticky.
The weight was immense—just stepping into the space made my shoulders feel heavy.
My senses sharpened, and the moment my feet touched the floor of the conference chamber.
Whoooosh—!!!
I felt gazes from all directions.
Those seated within the conference chamber.
‘…The heavens of the righteous sects.’
Or beings called the pillars.
They had established their own factions and possessed tremendous achievements and prestige in the current Central Plains.
The leaders of these forces.
They had gathered here, pouring their gazes upon me.
‘…They assembled in just seven days and nights.’
Yet so many had arrived nonetheless.
No….
‘This must be an event significant enough to gather them all within seven days and nights.’
It was overwhelming.
I couldn’t even see who they were properly.
Only intense gazes were fixed upon me.
My body felt as though it might stiffen.
‘…This.’
A gathering of beings one could never witness elsewhere.
Among them.
‘…That upper seat.’
At the end of all these assembled people, the space closest to the platform was arranged with precise distance.
Five seats visible there caught my eye.
What were they for? My thought was brief.
‘The Five Great Clans.’
The most exalted place among the numerous families.
Those must be the seats of the five great clans called the Five Great Clans of the Central Plains, possessing overwhelming prestige.
‘…Among them, three.’
Of the five seats, three were already occupied.
The first to appear was Baekwang.
Baekwang, the Lord of the Moyong Clan, was also attending the Jeongpa Conference.
And besides him.
‘This man….’
A man with black hair who, despite being seated, cut an impressive figure with his robust build.
His features resembled someone greatly, and he bore a similar wild smile.
This man was likely.
‘…Dojol.’
Dao Jie Peng Wucheng.
Though he had not entered the ranks of the Five Heavenly Kings, he was one of the absolute masters who reached that level, and the current Lord of the Peng Clan of Hebei.
‘…The father of Heuk Taedo.’
The father of that madman, or rather, Peng Dojun of Heuk Taedo.
‘They resemble each other.’
Indeed, they resembled each other. I could well understand where Heuk Taedo’s massive frame and rough features came from.
And.
‘Beside him….’
Beside Baekwang and Dojol.
Among the well-trained figures, a middle-aged man with a relatively lean and diminutive frame stood out.
With neatly groomed hair, he looked far more like a scholar than a martial artist.
‘Which means…’
I examined the man’s clothing.
A gray martial robe trimmed with black borders. And the emblem drawn across his chest.
Upon seeing it, I could discern the man’s identity.
‘…So he’s from the Jegal Clan?’
He appeared to be of Jegal bloodline.
‘The Younger Master?’
The current Lord of the Jegal Clan is Cheon Rijin-an.
Even in his twilight years, he had not relinquished his position, so the man standing there must be the Younger Master.
His name was probably.
‘Jegal Hyeong-yeon.’
He was renowned more as a scholar or formation master than as a martial artist.
The eldest son of Cheon Rijin-an and Jegal Jin, which meant.
‘…He’s my uncle.’
In other words, my maternal uncle.
Perhaps because of this, the way Jegal Hyeong-yeon looked at me was unusually intense.
‘I’m going to be sick.’
No matter how much I tried to ignore it, there were too many eyes on me.
Not just from him, but everyone inside the conference chamber was watching me.
Just as I was beginning to feel weary and thought to steady my breathing.
“Hm.”
A soft breath escaped from the platform.
Then.
Whoooosh—!
‘What?’
Remarkably, the aura that had been filling the conference chamber vanished in an instant.
“You’ve come.”
The source of that sigh was none other than Jegal Jin.
With that single breath he released, the masters around him withdrew their auras.
Those whose very existence could effortlessly erase Mount Tai itself, subdued by a single sigh from a diminutive old man.
The God of War.
It was a sight that revealed what the title “Hero of the Jungma Great War” truly embodied.
And right then.
“Come up here.”
Jegal Jin looked at me and commanded me to ascend the platform.
“…”
Should I go up or not?
After a moment of hesitation, I took a step forward.
The platform wasn’t particularly high, yet the short distance I needed to climb felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
‘…Oh dear.’
As I ascended the platform, all those seated came into view at once.
What was I to do about those fierce and terrifying gazes?
Without realizing it, cold sweat began to form on my skin.
Just as I was about to narrow my eyes against the tension.
Tap.
Someone placed a hand on my shoulder.
It wasn’t Jegal Jin’s hand. This one was far larger and more solid.
Who was it?
I lifted my gaze to see who the hand belonged to.
“…Huh?”
The moment I saw the owner, a dumbfounded sound escaped me.
Cool, deep blue eyes came into view.
The instant I saw those eyes, I understood.
The figure who had placed a hand on my shoulder was none other than.
“…Moonju?”
The current sect leader of Cheongwol Sect and the father of Cheon Euijin and Cheonhye-in.
Cheonseongwha, the Wol Seon-geom.

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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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