The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 342

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 342
Gwima. At those words, Cheon Euijin freezes. His eyes betray confusion, as if he’d misheard.
“Young Master Bang… what did you just say?”
“I said I’m meeting with Gwima.”
“Pardon?”
He hadn’t misheard. Cheon Euijin’s face fills with bewilderment. So he really hadn’t misheard?
“…How could you…?”
“There’s a reason for it.”
“Gwima is a dangerous existence…! How could you do such a thing? He’s the very person who ambushed you before.”
One of the Eight Demons of the resurrected Demonic Cult and the man who attacked me. At my mention of meeting him, Cheon Euijin speaks to me.
“Why do you keep pursuing such perilous endeavors?”
“It’s not dangerous.”
I cut off Cheon Euijin’s words. He immediately tries to say something to me, but—
“Because he’s on my side.”
“No matter how I think about it, it’s dangerous… Pardon?”
At my continued words, Cheon Euijin goes rigid.
[Ah, I see.]
Yoo Cheon-gil also seemed flustered by my words. His expression suggests he never expected me to reveal this, but it doesn’t matter. This was something I needed to tell Cheon Euijin specifically. For the plans I’m calculating, it was necessary.
“On your side, you say?”
“Exactly as I said. Gwima is a person on my side.”
“…I cannot comprehend this.”
“This matter was about filtering out the Patcheon Gung’s moles while observing their movements. And for that, I needed the Hwasan Sect’s cooperation, but…”
I glance somewhere with my eyes. It’s where Seongheon is, and Yoo Yeon is still absorbed in eating her noodles.
She’s listening too, no doubt. But it doesn’t matter. If it’s Yoo Yeon, it should be fine.
“The Hwasan Sect also harbored moles. Moreover, that mole was positioned far higher than I anticipated.”
Maehua Daeju. His betrayal of Hwasan to become the new sect leader was quite a shock to the current Hwasan Sect.
“Proceeding while identifying them presented considerable difficulties, and for that, I needed a double agent.”
“…Surely not.”
Cheon Euijin’s eyes widen like lanterns.
A double agent. The fact that I’ve been using a double agent to observe the situation is now well-known. I need to mention it to justify my actions.
“That’s correct.”
I nod my head.
“Gwima is my double agent.”
“Then–!!”
Cheon Euijin springs to his feet.
“Ah, my apologies.”
Realizing he stood too abruptly, he offers an apology. Hearing this, I shake my head.
“It’s fine.”
Cheon Euijin carefully sits back down and glances around. He seems afraid there might be listeners.
“You’re using one of the Eight Demons as a double agent…?”
“Yes.”
“How could Gwima make such a choice? I’ve heard that all Marins are those intoxicated with madness, enslaved to the Celestial Demon.”
That’s how martial artists in the Central Plains perceived the Demonic Cult members.
Those who could never abandon the Celestial Demon as their absolute faith.
Those Marins were people who could end their own lives at a moment’s notice if the Celestial Demon commanded it.
It was understandable to find it strange that such a person would betray the Demonic Cult and come to me to become a spy.
“It’s an era where the Celestial Demon no longer exists.”
The Celestial Demon has vanished now.
An era where the Celestial Demon was slain by Yoo Cheon-gil and the very existence of the Demonic Cult was shaken.
“In such an era, it’s not unreasonable for a Marin’s thoughts to change, is it?”
“….”
Cheon Euijin hesitated at my words. It was a point that seemed reasonable. Moreover, if he had truly become a spy, I couldn’t deny it.
“Then, is it really true that Gwima has sided with Bang Disciple? What are his intentions…?”
“His purpose is to stop the one called the current Young Master—Madoo.”
“What do you mean…? Are you saying a Marin has developed a sense of justice?”
“That can’t be it.”
I laughed lightly.
“Such a thing wouldn’t exist in a Marin.”
It could exist, I thought so myself, but seeing Cheon Euijin’s reaction, it seemed I shouldn’t say it that way.
‘How contemptible Marins must be to the people of the Central Plains.’
I confirmed the perception properly. Meanwhile, I glanced at Yoo Yeon. The mention of her being the Celestial Demon’s daughter had been nagging at me.
“What Gwima desires is a complete Demonic Cult.”
“Complete…?”
“It seems the current Young Master is not. So he wants to stop the current Young Master and create a proper Demonic Cult.”
“And for that, he joined hands with you.”
“Yes. I also intended to use him.”
“…From what I hear….”
Cheon Euijin hesitated before speaking.
“I still can’t shake the feeling that he’s a dangerous person. How exactly did you come to meet Gwima?”
The time I’ve known Cheon Euijin is just under a year.
When he questioned whether I had time to contact Gwima in that span, I pulled out my trump card.
“It’s an arrangement my Mentor prepared.”
[This bastard?]
“Ah…!?”
For absurd situations, I invoke Yoo Cheon-gil. At those words, Yoo Cheon-gil grows angry, but Cheon Euijin claps his hands in understanding.
“…The Sword Saint…!”
[No. Tell him no.]
“That’s correct. It’s an arrangement my Mentor prepared.”
[How far are you dragging me down, you madman!]
Yoo Cheon-gil raged, but I ignored him.
“I’m not sure how I came to know of Gwima. He found me one day, and since I’d already heard about him from my Mentor, it was easy to make contact.”
“…How could that be. Could it be… that’s how you prevented what happened in Hanan…!?”
“…Yes… that’s right.”
Ah, so that’s how it all connects.
I nodded at Cheon Euijin’s astonishment. I hoped he would figure out the rest on his own.
“…Indeed. Bang Disciple truly had purpose in all of this….”
“Countless events will unfold in the Central Plains from now on. Not just matters of Patcheon Gung, but also those of the Demonic Sect. Hani, I would ask that the Heavenly Supreme keep this matter secret.”
“…Keep it secret, you say.”
“Yes. While it’s true that Gwima is a dangerous existence, for now we must make use of him.”
“…I understand. Since Bang Disciple has such grand purpose, I can only trust you. However.”
Cheon Euijin speaks to me, his blue eyes trembling.
“I’m uncertain whether there’s anything I can do to help you in this current situation.”
Gwima. Patcheon Gung. The Demonic Sect.
Not just that, but tremendous matters all entangled together. In such circumstances, what could he possibly do? That uncertainty is palpable in his expression.
I understand.
‘I don’t know myself.’
Even as I act, I wonder what I’m doing. Things keep erupting and growing larger as I move forward, and I have no idea how to contain them.
“No. The Heavenly Supreme will certainly be of help.”
I don’t know. For now, I simply move forward. There is no paradise in retreat.
Though I wish to flee, everything behind me blocks the way.
Moving forward and breaking through everything was my only option.
“That’s why I’m telling you of my plans now.”
“…To me.”
“Yes. I need the Heavenly Supreme.”
“….”
At those words, intensity flares in Cheon Euijin’s eyes.
“I understand. Whatever it may be. If you need me, I will gladly assist you.”
“Thank you.”
Cheon Euijin’s eyes gleam at the prospect of helping with something grand. It’s quite burdensome. I ignore that feeling and speak to him.
“What I ask of you is this.”
“Yes.”
“When it reaches around midnight tomorrow….”
I whispered the plan to him.
“Ah…?”
Cheon Euijin’s eyes fill with bewilderment upon hearing my words. It must have been something he never anticipated.

* * *
A day passed, and night fell once more.
Even as the sun set, no lights were lit in Hwasan. The vigilance grew increasingly tense, and as unresolved problems continued to mount, the voices grew louder by the moment.
“You wish me to send this to the Alliance, sir?”
I was conversing with Sochul Daeju.
“Yes. Go to the Shanxi branch and simply deliver it to Moonju. That should suffice.”
“You won’t deliver it yourself, sir?”
“No. Make sure no one sees it—deliver it only to the Alliance.”
“Understood.”
Sochul Daeju accepts the letter.
“Then I shall depart at once and return.”
At the mention of an important letter, Sochul Daeju moves immediately. At his speed, he would reach Shanxi in an instant and send the correspondence.
And so Sochul Daeju departs.
“He’s gone? Has he truly left?”
I glance toward Yoo Cheon-gil to confirm.
[Yes, he has gone.]
“Excellent. Then we should depart as well.”
The letter was merely a means to separate Sochul Daeju from us. A request to slip from his sight. And because Sochul Daeju had been listening well to me lately, it was possible.
“Very well then.”
I immediately loosen my body. Now I must move. With Sochul Daeju’s eyes averted, I slip away from Hwasan at once.
Whoooosh—!!
I leap with my lightened body.
“Oh.”
I marvel. Having reached the pinnacle, my body feels impossibly light.
‘Is this the pinnacle?’
Even at the peak, I felt strangely weightless. But this—it’s like nothing else exists.
[Your vital energy is beginning to fully permeate your flesh. Be cautious with your strength control. I’ve seen many who lost themselves showing off and then met their end.]
Hearing Yoo Cheon-gil’s words, I concentrate on my body’s sensations. Indeed, the excessive lightness demands focus.
[There are no watching eyes nearby, but remain careful nonetheless.]
“Yes.”
I nod at Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
[But you—are you planning to follow along again?]
Flying behind me, Yoo Cheon-gil speaks. His words are directed at Seongheon, who trails behind. At that, Seongheon smiles slightly.
[There’s nothing to do in Hwasan anyway, so the timing works out well, doesn’t it?]
[What are you talking about? Even if you come, what will you accomplish?]
[Still, having someone to talk to makes a difference. Tsk tsk tsk.]
[…Sigh.]
Yoo Cheon-gil still seems displeased with Seongheon.
Seongheon merely smiles watching Yoo Cheon-gil like that.
“Please, don’t quarrel. It’s distracting.”
I placate the old men and arrive at the forest.
It was the promised location. I wander through the night, surveying my surroundings. My eyes scan the darkness. I sense no presence of another soul.
A place shrouded in night’s shadow.
I gaze upon the massive boulder standing in the very heart of such desolation.
‘There it is.’
The sensation arrives.
That was the place. My eyes sharpen with focus, and I sense something—something invisible to ordinary sight.
I approach slowly toward that location. The boulder appears unremarkable at first glance, yet my perception detects what my eyes cannot see.
Shhhhhhh.
‘Vital energy is detectable here.’
What abundance of power saturates that stone.
Something has been done to it. The moment I intuitively grasped this truth—
쿠구구구구궁—!!!!!
A tremor reverberates through the earth. The ground convulses violently.
KWAAAAAA–!!!
Light erupts from the boulder, piercing toward the heavens.
[What in the world is this…?]
Seongheon stares at it in bewilderment.
[Chaos again.]
Yoo Cheon-gil clicks his tongue in disapproval.
“How repugnant.”
I contort my face with the familiarity of one who has witnessed this countless times.
It was a light I had seen innumerable times in my previous life.
The radiance of lingering thoughts.
The anguished screams of those who could neither dissipate nor achieve enlightenment.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————