The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 280

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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 280
Maehwa Ilgeom Seongheon.
The current Sect Leader of Hwasan and a Celestial Demon swordmaster.
Unlike the Celestial Demons who vanished into seclusion or retired from the world,
he was one of the rare few actively serving as a Celestial Demon alongside Shin Chang.
Known for his benevolent nature, kindness, and deep consideration for others,
he was the one who led civilian rescue efforts most vigorously when the Jeongma Conflict erupted.
His achievements on the battlefield fell short of those of Shin Chang, the Sword Emperor, and Yoo Cheon-gil.
Yet the reason he remained the most respected martial artist among the people was precisely because he had moved for civilians during the war,
and had he not declined the position of League Leader, it was the people’s will that Maehwa Ilgeom would have risen instead of Shin Chang.
‘But he did decline it, after all.’
The anecdote of how he said the position didn’t suit him and that Hwasan’s disciples were more important was well-known.
While many lamented this, there were far more who praised it as a refusal befitting Maehwa Ilgeom.
The martial artist with the greatest public favor in the current Central Plains and a formidable Celestial Demon.
And.
‘…Physician Uiseon.’
A secret most people did not know.
The greatest physician in the Central Plains, said to revive even the dead.
That too was Seongheon.
‘…I went through all that trouble to persuade him and come retrieve him.’
My task was to bring him to Hannam.
But.
‘How am I supposed to take him in that state?’
The moment I saw him, I grasped the critical problem with Maehwa Ilgeom.
A very grave and serious problem indeed.
‘…That is.’
The old man smiling kindly at me—looking at Seongheon, this is what I realized.
‘A living corpse.’
A living corpse.
Literally, a corpse that still breathes.
That was what I saw in Seongheon.
‘…On the surface, he appears perfectly fine.’
He looked remarkably healthy for his age, with no visible signs of ailment whatsoever.
‘But that’s only the surface.’
My eyes cannot be deceived. What I saw was not that at all.
Ssshhh.
I gazed not at Seongheon’s face, but at his shoulders.
Something shimmered like heat haze rising from his shoulder line.
A soft, white energy.
An energy no one else here could see, only I could perceive. That was precisely.
‘Primordial Qi.’
Primordial Qi—the vital force that formed the foundation of life, what was called life essence in ages past.
Every living human should possess it.
It was something a ghost should not have.
Naturally, since it was the qi of the living, it made sense that ghosts lacked it.
‘…But it’s leaking out that much?’
Primordial Qi was seeping from Seongheon’s body.
Life essence was a regenerative force.
Losing some of it wouldn’t cause immediate death, and it would replenish itself if one recovered, but.
‘That’s just a leak.’
Life essence was simply flowing out from Seongheon’s body.
For it to be visible to the naked eye like this meant there was a problem.
‘…Life essence is draining away.’
The rate of loss exceeded the rate of recovery.
What this meant was.
‘There’s something wrong with his body.’
I wasn’t a physician, so I couldn’t be certain, but it meant something was amiss with Seongheon’s physical form.
Life essence draining away signified death.
And that was the same as saying death was approaching.
“….”
Seongheon’s life hung in the balance.
Realizing this, I swallowed dryly without a sound.
“Why do you look troubled?”
As I stood silent before Seongheon, he asked me.
“…Ah, no. I simply lost my words for a moment upon meeting such a remarkable person.”
I closed my mouth and redirected my words. Seongheon seemed pleased, letting out a laugh.
“Hahaha. You have quite the refined manner of speech, young friend.”
“Sect Leader, please speak more freely with me….”
“Is that acceptable?”
“Of course. You are my mentor’s dear friend, after all.”
[Tch.]
Yoo Cheon-gil expressed displeasure at the words “mentor” and “friend.”
I ignored him.
“Aha…then let us do so.”
“Yes.”
“Again, you must have had a difficult journey coming all this way.”
“Not at all…but if I may, there is something I wish to ask about. Would that be alright?”
“Ask freely.”
“It is.”
I laughed awkwardly and glanced toward somewhere in the distance.
It was in the direction where Seongpung and Yoo Yeon were.
“Hmm…?”
At my gaze, Seongpung’s brow furrowed slightly.
He seemed to have grasped what my eyes meant.
“Young Master Bang.”
Seongpung was about to point something out.
“It’s fine, so please step outside for a moment.”
“…Jang Moonin…!”
The Measure of a Guest. I had asked Yoo Yeon and Seongpung to leave briefly.
Seongheon accepted this.
Seongpung tried to object.
“Daeju, I ask this of you.”
“…Understood.”
At Jang Moonin’s request, Seongpung and Yoo Yeon finally left.
“Is this acceptable then.”
“Thank you.”
I offered my gratitude for accommodating what was clearly discourteous.
However.
“But depending on what you say, I may need to question you about this matter as well. Is that also acceptable?”
“….”
Seongheon spoke in a firm tone.
He knew it was rude, yet he had agreed—meaning he would scold me if this turned out to be trivial.
“Yes. I will take responsibility.”
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
Seongheon chuckled and nodded.
At that moment.
Whoooosh—!
A subtle energy tinged with floral fragrance brushed across my body.
[Seal it.]
Seongheon had cast a seal.
It seemed to be to prevent sound from leaking out.
“So, what is this matter.”
“It is as follows.”
Within the now-secured space, I posed my question to Seongheon.
“You have not long received a letter sent by the League’s Scholar, have you not. Am I correct?”
“That is so.”
“I believe you received it around the time I had just met the Maehua Daeju.”
“The exact timing is unclear, but that is also correct.”
“Thus came my doubt.”
I had to ask Seongheon about what had been puzzling me all along.
“According to Daeju, he came to fetch us upon receiving orders from Jang Moonin. But the timing doesn’t align—I couldn’t understand how Jang Moonin knew to send someone. So I wanted to ask.”
“….”
The timing of when the letter arrived.
The Maehwa swordsmen who departed before that.
And the words that they had received orders from Jang Moonin.
The overlapping details felt insufficient. That’s why I was curious.
“How did you know?”
How had Seongheon known to send people in advance?
When I asked about this,
“How fortunate.”
Seongheon smiled and nodded.
“Pardon?”
“I won’t need to scold you.”
“…Ah.”
He’d said he would scold me for pointless questions, but it seemed this wasn’t pointless after all.
“You were curious about the reason?”
“Yes. I am curious.”
How could I not be? It made no sense, so naturally it was something I needed to understand.
Upon hearing my answer, Seongheon fortunately gave me a reply immediately.
“I saw it in a dream.”
“…Pardon?”
An unexpected answer spilled out.
“A dream…?”
“Yes. A dream.”
“…What.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
I barely managed to hold back harsh words that nearly escaped my lips.
A dream? What kind of rubbish was this?
“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“…No …well. Yes. Somewhat.”
I wanted to phrase it kindly somehow, but I couldn’t.
How could I possibly believe it?
“But this is truly the reason.”
“…You’re saying you saw it in a dream?”
“Yes. Recently my dreams have felt unsettled… it was the same then.”
“You mean back then.”
“I dreamed that a noble person was coming from Hanan. Along with it came the feeling that I absolutely had to act on this.”
“….”
“So I sent the Maehwa swordsmen.”
That’s all?
Is it because of something he saw in a dream?
‘Is that truly the case?’
Seongheon’s expression was far too serious to deny it outright.
“You won’t believe it, but that’s all there is to it. He’s always been one to trust his dreams.”
“…But still.”
It seemed absurd to send out the Maehwa sword masters, and even Seongpung, the Daeju himself, based merely on a dream.
“It is absurd, I grant you. But look—did it not come to pass?”
“….”
When faced with the results, there was nothing more to say.
It had actually happened, after all.
If that were so.
‘Did he truly dispatch them based on nothing but a dream, before the letter even arrived?’
It was something I could never imagine doing, but according to Seongheon’s account, that was exactly what occurred.
Should I believe this or not?
As I stood there bewildered.
[That man has always had a screw loose somewhere.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke to me matter-of-factly.
[He’s always done the unexpected. So this isn’t entirely unbelievable.]
Was he defending him? If so, it worked somewhat. When that man spoke like this, belief came rather easily.
“…I understand.”
I nodded my head for now.
“Is the matter resolved?”
“Yes. If it is the Sect Leader’s word, then belief is the right course.”
“Hehehehe. Yes, thank you for trusting me.”
Whether it was true or not, I honestly couldn’t believe it. But having offered this as his reason, I couldn’t press further.
This entire situation had been contrived to begin with.
‘Well then.’
Let this matter pass as settled.
‘…Now for the real business.’
This moment was what truly mattered.
I needed to clarify the real reason for coming here.
“And Sect Leader….”
“Speak.”
“You must have seen the letter the Scholar sent.”
“Ah yes. That’s right, there was that.”
“Yes. That matter—.”
Just as I was about to speak to the Sect Leader, mentioning Physician Uiseon.
Whoosh.
Seongheon withdrew a letter from his robes and placed it upon the table.
And then.
“It seems the Scholar has misunderstood something.”
“Pardon?”
He spoke to me with a grave expression.
“Physician Uiseon is not in Shaanxi. It appears your friend has made some mistake. You’ve traveled far. I apologize for this.”
“….”
“I shall send another letter to the Scholar to seek clarification on what has occurred. For now, would it not be better to rest? You must be exhausted from such a long journey.”
Hearing this, I closed my mouth.
‘How troublesome.’
At the same time, I let out a hollow laugh within.
In this awkward situation, I spoke to him.
“…I am grateful for your consideration. I shall rest as you suggest.”
I did not speak at length.
Seeing Seongheon’s reaction, I could not proceed further.
‘How troublesome.’
It seemed.
‘This will not be easy.’
Seongheon appeared reluctant to go to Henan as Physician Uiseon.

* * *
Creak.
Leaving Jang Moonin’s quarters, I was guided once more.
The other members of our party had already unpacked their belongings.
I could see my own luggage had been partially unpacked as well.
I sat down on the floor and laid my weary body down.
“Sigh…-.”
I released the sigh I had been holding back. I could not contain it any longer.
“…Ah, this is dizzying.”
The situation had become complicated. The fact that Maehwa Ilgeom was in such poor health was troubling enough.
‘He seems to want to hide that he is Physician Uiseon?’
I did not know what Jegal Jin had written in his letter.
But he showed no intention of revealing himself as Physician Uiseon, nor any desire to proceed to Henan as planned.
From the start.
‘Taking him in that condition would be problematic.’
If Maehwa Ilgeom truly is Physician Uiseon….
‘Would he have allowed his body to fall into such a state?’
It was puzzling. Whether he was aware of his illness, or if there was some other issue, I could not say.
‘Regardless.’
The problem was the attitude he displayed.
It would be better if he were not Physician Uiseon.
‘If he is Physician Uiseon but is pretending otherwise.’
It was an absolute refusal—there would be no persuading him on this matter.
“Damn it all.”
I thought it wouldn’t be easy, and sure enough, it wasn’t.
‘Nothing ever goes smoothly.’
The Maehua Daeju being entangled with Patcheon Gung was one thing.
Jang Moonin being a living corpse was another.
“…Why can’t anything just go without complications?”
Everywhere I went, it was nothing but one crisis after another.
“Ugh.”
Frustration gnawed at me, and I simply lay down, my stomach churning with irritation.
“…Ah.”
Everything exhausted me—the work, all of it.
“…Is there still some time before nightfall?”
I decided to rest for an hour or two to recover.
So I closed my eyes.
‘I don’t know anymore.’
Let me just rest for now.
I can think things through after I’ve rested.
With that thought, I drifted off to sleep.
[You’re going to sleep?]
I nodded at Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
“…Wake me in a bit, please.”
[Fine.]
I ignored his curt response as usual.
I simply closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

* * *
[Wake up.]
I heard a voice.
‘…Is that Yoo Cheon-gil?’
Upon hearing the voice, I opened my eyes. The room had grown dark—the sun that had been shining was nowhere to be found.
“Ugh….”
I cradled my aching head and pushed myself upright.
“…Old Man. How much time has passed?”
[About an hour or so.]
“Ah, is that so?”
I hadn’t slept long at all.
“Thank you for waking me….”
I paused mid-greeting. Something felt wrong.
“….”
The voice was strange somehow.
It wasn’t the voice of Yoo Cheon-gil that I knew.
I turned my head sharply toward the source of the sound.
And there stood an unexpected figure.
[Thank me? Did you sleep well?]
No, not a figure.
“…Jang Moonin?”
[Tsk tsk tsk tsk.]
Maehwa Ilgeom Seongheon.
He was looking down at me from the empty air.
[So you can truly see me.]
He existed in a semi-transparent state, like a ghost.

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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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