The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 288

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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 288
Crunch.
I slipped away from Hwain Stream and entered the forest. It was a location so dark at night that visibility was poor.
Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp.
Amid the faint sounds of crickets, the three of us continued pushing deeper into the forest along the rough dirt path.
-Wol-hyeop… are you certain this is the right way?
Yeo Hyeok asked uncertainly.
Sochul Daeju wore a similar expression, though he said nothing.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t a path at all—a place where no signs of human presence could be felt.
For both of them, it was a place worth suspecting.
Of course.
‘…That’s why.’
I wasn’t much different. Is this really the right way? All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
[It’s right, so stop complaining and follow.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke to me with irritation, as if annoyed.
He must be confident in what he saw.
As we continued moving forward.
‘I wonder if Maehwa Ilgeom is alright.’
I found myself thinking about Seongheon. He had been with us in his Saengryeong form until just moments ago, but now he was no longer at my side.
‘…I never expected a bound spirit characteristic to attach to a Saengryeong.’
Seongheon was a Saengryeong, yet he also possessed the characteristics of a bound spirit.
A bound spirit.
Literally, ghosts bound to a fixed location, unable to venture far from it.
That was Seongheon.
‘He cannot leave Hwain Stream.’
Seongheon’s limit was precisely Hwain Stream. When he tried to step beyond it, he hit an invisible wall and could go no further.
‘A Saengryeong and a bound spirit combined.’
It was rare for those two to coexist, but seeing this made it clear how Seongheon felt about Hwasan. It was a testament to his conviction.
Because of that, Seongheon couldn’t follow us here.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
It seemed we wouldn’t have major problems even without him.
[Here.]
I stopped at Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
I immediately raised my hand. At my gesture, Yeo Hyeok and Sochul Daeju came to a halt.
-It appears to be just ahead.
As I spoke, the two looked forward. Nothing in particular was visible.
Even I was bewildered after saying it.
‘…There?’
I can’t see anything. Is it really there? To me, it just looks like forest.
‘…What’s supposed to be there?’
For someone who claimed to have found something, Yoo Cheon-gil revealed absolutely nothing.
Yeo Hyeok and Sochul Daeju seemed to share the same sentiment—I felt their gazes pressing against the back of my head.
I ignored it for now.
‘That’s the right place?’
Rolling my eyes toward Yoo Cheon-gil, he nodded.
[It is, I’m telling you.]
‘I don’t see anything.’
[Look properly.]
‘….’
How exactly was I supposed to look more properly? It was absurd.
I glared at Yoo Cheon-gil, wondering if he was joking, but his expression remained grave.
‘Hmm….’
Look properly, he says?
I turned my gaze forward again.
The seemingly empty space remained unchanged.
But.
Whoooosh—!
I slowly focused my eyes with force. Wol-an opened, illuminating my vision completely.
Then.
‘Ah.’
I saw it. Beyond Wol-an, through Wol Seon-geom’s path. It was showing me the way.
‘So that’s what he meant by looking properly.’
How ridiculous. He literally meant to look?
I suppressed a hollow laugh and moved forward.
‘Any signs of danger?’
Yoo Cheon-gil gave no response. Did that mean I could proceed?
I walked slowly. Yeo Hyeok tried to react to my movement, but—
‘Still can’t see anything.’
Wol Seon-geom’s path showed me the way.
Should I go?
‘No, something feels wrong about just walking forward.’
It felt familiar somehow. It wasn’t just showing me a path.
This was—
‘Sword marks?’
What glowed with a blue light was unmistakably sword marks. They shone as if urging me to cut through that place.
Shink.
I immediately drew my blade. The Mukcheol Sword. I unsheathed the divine sword and swung it gently.
Scrape.
‘Oh.’
Following the sword marks, I felt something give way beneath the blade.
The order was likely determined by the intensity of the light. Recognizing this, I immediately began slashing at other locations in rapid succession.
Scrape—! Scrape scrape—!!
As my blade carved through the final trace mark,
A deafening roar erupted—!!!
The space itself began to warp and distort.
‘This is.’
“A formation…?”
Sochul Daeju, who had approached from behind at some point, spoke to me with astonished eyes.
‘A formation.’
Yes, so this was a formation. I wondered what it could be.
“How on earth did you manage that…?”
Sochul Daeju questioned me, his expression betraying complete bewilderment.
“What do you mean, sir?”
“To dismantle a formation with a blade alone. One misstep and you would surely suffer a backlash. How did you…?”
‘…Huh…? Really?’
A backlash? That sounded terrifying. When I glanced back at Yoo Cheon-gil, the old man was looking elsewhere.
As if deliberately avoiding my gaze.
‘That old man…?’
He hadn’t spoken again. It was absurd.
‘Sigh.’
Sochul Daeju’s expression bordered on shock at how difficult this apparently was, while Yeo Hyeok stared at me with trembling eyes.
‘Is it really that difficult…?’
From my perspective, I had simply slashed as I saw fit, yet it seemed to be an extraordinarily arduous feat.
“…It was manageable.”
Having nothing else to say, I answered thus, but my words only seemed to amplify their shock.
“Let us move forward….”
With no way to explain myself, I suggested we proceed.
The scenery had completely transformed, and an entrance now lay before us.
‘A path has opened.’
Just as Yoo Cheon-gil had said, this appeared to be the way forward.

* * *
I followed the path inward. Once the formation was dispelled, the revealed passage was rather ordinary.
Just a forest trail.
All I had to do was follow the laid path.
‘Are those men from Patcheon Gung beyond this point?’
The men of Patcheon Gung.
The space where they were waiting was right before my eyes. At that thought, tension gripped me without my realizing it.
‘Phew.’
I regulated my breathing. What was strange was—
‘Oddly, there’s no presence or sign of people.’
For what was supposedly the residence of Patcheon Gung, there was nothing.
If there were anything to sense, Yoo Cheon-gil would have told me. Since he hadn’t, didn’t that mean there truly was nothing?
As I walked in bewilderment—
-What should be done about them?
Sochul Daeju spoke to me. His tone had changed, likely because he was using telepathic transmission.
-About what?
-The ones ahead, sir.
-…Ahead…?
Ahead?
I see nothing. In that instant—
Whoosh—!!!
“…!!”
Something flies at me. Fast. I immediately draw my blade to counterattack, but—
Crack—!
“Ugh….”
The figure who had ambushed me was split in half, meeting death.
Clang.
Someone was already standing before me. Sochul Daeju, who had been speaking to me, was sheathing a blade I hadn’t seen him draw.
‘…He’s fast.’
I didn’t see it. When did he move? When did he kill? I hadn’t even seen the assailant.
Simultaneously, I glared at Yoo Cheon-gil.
Why hadn’t he warned me? My eyes conveyed that meaning, and Yoo Cheon-gil snorted.
[You want everything spoon-fed to you, don’t you? If you’ve come to a situation like this, you should have been cautious on your own.]
“….”
His words were right, so I couldn’t refute them. He was correct. I should have been wary on my own in a situation like this.
It was my fault for trusting Yoo Cheon-gil too much.
‘…Tsk.’
As I felt chastened and disgruntled—
[Besides, there was no need to tell you anyway.]
Yoo Cheon-gil found my reaction amusing and spoke with a faint smile.
[Think about who is protecting you right now.]
“….”
I heard those words and turned my gaze toward Sochul Daeju.
[As long as he is here, it matters not what appears before us.]
A massive back.
A weighty presence.
The second-in-command of Cheongwol Sect.
Sochul Daeju, sensing my gaze, glanced back at me.
I beheld his azure eyes, piercing through the darkness. Then—
[So finish what you were doing.]
An inexplicable sense of reassurance bloomed within me.

* * *
We had dissolved the formation and infiltrated enemy territory.
In that process, certain consequences were inevitable.
Screech—!
“Krraaaagh!”
Whoooosh—!!!
Of course, the enemy would inevitably become aware of our presence.
A blade flashed brilliantly, cleaving through empty air. Azure light streaked past several times, and blood drenched the space where it passed.
Thud—!
Those who lost their lives in a single stroke lay scattered in all directions.
At the center of it all, Sochul Daeju stood, flicking the blood from his blade.
Tap.
His expressionless composure radiated an overwhelming presence.
‘…A monster.’
I realized that treating him as a mere disciple and dismissing him had been madness.
‘He is a monster.’
Sochul Daeju is an Absolute Master.
Absolute Master. The weight of those words struck me with piercing clarity.
Standing above the hundred greatest martial artists of the realm—a martial artist positioned in an absolute tier. I had momentarily forgotten this truth.
Now, witnessing it directly, I understood.
‘…I have gravely underestimated him.’
Sochul Daeju was formidable. Overwhelmingly so.
I had seen the spear masters of Patcheon Gung, the Sword Demon in Sacheon—
Such absolute masters I had observed, yet Yoo Cheon-gil handled them, so I remained ignorant.
‘…That such beings could clash with one another—it defies reason.’
Chills ran down my spine.
So this was the true power of an Absolute Master.
I had to reconsider everything as I watched Sochul Daeju fight.
A dance of azure.
Concise and swift waves sweep through all enemies.
More than ten have appeared so far.
Yet none have touched Sochul Daeju. Not even a single drop of blood.
‘Are my opponents weak…?’
I cannot say. At least I didn’t sense that earlier ambush, which meant they weren’t weaklings.
Yet these same individuals were dealing no damage to Sochul Daeju whatsoever.
This meant.
‘The gap between us is as vast as heaven and earth.’
Sochul Daeju was a monster incomparable to me.
Then.
“Do you intend to advance further?”
“…!”
Sochul Daeju spoke to me.
“Ah, yes…. For now, at least.”
Perhaps because I witnessed Sochul Daeju’s true power, I found myself reading the situation carefully.
Setting that aside for now.
‘That man fights well too.’
Not just Sochul Daeju, but the young man in the Maehwa robes as well.
Yeo Hyeok is no less formidable.
Sochul Daeju is simply too overwhelming. Yeo Hyeok has been cutting through enemies as well.
I’m the only one who’s merely been watching.
[Tsk tsk tsk…. How incompetent.]
At Yoo Cheon-gil’s sarcasm, veins bulge across my brow.
What’s worse is I have nothing to say in return.
‘I really am incompetent, aren’t I?’
When was I ever satisfied with just a slight increase in realm?
It’s as if reality suddenly crashes down on me.
Or perhaps not.
‘Maybe it’s just that the people in front of me are too monstrous.’
That could be it.
Do I really need to feel inferior watching superhumans who’ve already transcended the level of disciples?
[Of course you do. They’re the ones you must surpass.]
“….”
He never lets me off easy.
As I suppress my irritation.
“Beyond this point…. Hm?”
Sochul Daeju furrowed his brow as he surveyed ahead.
I felt the same.
“A cottage?”
Something came into view.
A small cottage.
“What is that…?”
Though it blended perfectly with the landscape of this place, its presence here was deeply unsettling.
What was that cottage doing here?
I stared at it in confusion.
A chill ran down my spine.
“…!”
Goosebumps erupted across my back.
‘This is insane.’
What was that?
A dizzying aura emanated from the cottage.
‘What is that revolting energy?’
Dark, murky qi enveloped the small dwelling.
Cold sweat beaded on my skin. This was dangerous—having something like this here was a serious problem.
That was—
‘…A malevolent spirit had taken root.’
The building itself harbored a malevolent spirit.
And an exceptionally virulent one at that.
My breathing grew ragged the moment I perceived it, nearly gagging from the sight.
“Ah, well, well.”
A voice sounded.
Sochul Daeju immediately drew his blade.
Creeeeak.
The cottage door swung open and someone emerged.
“We have guests, it seems.”
A young man of unremarkable age stepped out, his features bearing a melancholic expression.
“…You…!”
Sochul Daeju gasped in recognition upon seeing the young man.
It appeared they knew each other.

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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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