The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 380

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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 380
I spent time appeasing Paewang. His expression remained utterly unbothered, making my genuine act of kneeling seem utterly pointless.
He appeared perfectly serene, as if he’d never knelt at all.
Was this man truly insane?
“So, you’re saying you’ll help me?”
“…No. Help or not, what am I supposed to do when you come at me so recklessly like this?”
“There wasn’t really any other method. As long as the result is good, that’s what matters, isn’t it?”
He was even shameless about it. My head throbbed.
‘Why is it that everyone connected to that old man…’
None of them fell within the bounds of normalcy. It was truly baffling.
Just as I was thinking that.
“Isn’t that so.”
Paewang smiled wickedly and spoke to me.
“If you won’t speak, I can’t beat it out of you, and I can’t kill you either, after all.”
“…”
A chilling sensation swept through me. The killing intent embedded in his words was vivid.
He was right.
‘If that man…’
If Paewang were to squeeze me, he could extract whatever he wanted from me.
The problem was.
‘How did he know?’
How did he know that I possessed knowledge about the Abyss?
‘It was certainty.’
Certainty that I absolutely knew. Moreover, he saw through my lie in an instant.
‘Did it show?’
That couldn’t be. This was certainty about myself.
‘I’m not sloppy enough to be exposed by something like this.’
My life was proof of that. If I’d been even slightly careless, I would have died long ago.
‘How on earth?’
It seemed Paewang had some card he was holding up his sleeve.
“Since you don’t seem to be the type who would give me the conclusion I desire through such means, I simply chose the best method available.”
“…”
“So I hope you’ll tell me.”
That tone of his—assuming I would know—was the problem. If I reacted carelessly here, I’d become entangled far too deeply.
‘Moreover.’
The fact that I wasn’t the only one connected to Paewang made it even worse.
What should I do? My mind raced quickly. There weren’t many options, and among them, there was little to choose from.
‘When it comes down to it, really just two.’
Pretend I don’t know.
Pretend I do know.
I simply had to choose from among them.
My mind, which had been spinning rapidly, came to a halt not long after. In terms of real-world time, it was truly but an instant.
“Muk Sunbaenim.”
“Speak.”
“If I were to offer you assistance, sir.”
“Yes.”
At the mention of help, Paewang’s eyes brightened. However.
“What becomes of your arrangement with Elder Baek Yeon?”
Thud.
At the words I followed with, Paewang’s body stiffened. Baek Yeon. It must have been because of what I said regarding him.
And then.
“Ha.”
Paewang let out a hollow laugh.
“Look at this one, will you?”
Whoosh.
It was cold. The wind had always been chill, but now it felt far more frigid. It was because of the aura emanating from Paewang.
“You know far more than I expected—”
“Not much, sir. I merely reasoned from what was apparent.”
“What was apparent?”
“Yes.”
After briefly organizing my thoughts, I spoke to Paewang.
“The reason you came to Cheongwol Sect. And what that reason might be—I was pondering this, but when I saw you seeking my assistance just now, I grasped it.”
A lie. Since I already knew about Ahdae, I had discerned the connection to Baek Yeon from the start.
“Someone told you that what you needed was here.”
“….”
“So you came all this way, and if there is someone who would convey such words in this situation—”
“It’s Elder Baek?”
“That is what I believed, sir.”
“Haha.”
As if fascinated, Paewang continued laughing. After a brief burst of laughter.
“However, there is a flaw in your reasoning.”
“I am listening.”
“With such information alone, connecting Baek Yeon and me is insufficient. How did you arrive at Baek Yeon so readily? This part remains unresolved, does it not?”
“….”
Paewang’s words were correct. With only this much, I could not give credence to my claim.
But.
“There is a reason for that as well.”
“Oh?”
“Because I have been watching Elder Baek closely.”
“Why would you?”
“That’s—”
I deliberately placed silence between my words, a calculated move to draw his full attention.
Once I had gathered Paewang’s gaze entirely upon myself,
“Because he may very well be the one who killed my Mentor.”
“….”
The moment those words left my lips, Paewang’s eyes widened like lanterns.
However,
“What nonsense. Who killed whom?”
His expression didn’t last long.
“The Sword Saint of all under heaven killed by Baek Yeon? That’s not even amusing.”
His tone was one of disbelief. Complete disbelief.
“You seem to know little of your Mentor. He is not the sort to be killed by anyone.”
An unshakeable conviction. Strangely, I could sense such certainty emanating from Paewang.
“In all the world, only time itself could kill him. I even found it curious that he seemed to have evaded that as well. What? Who killed whom?”
Ha ha ha ha—
Paewang let out a hearty laugh I had never heard from him before.
“If this is a jest, it’s an amusing one.”
“It is not a jest.”
I cut through Paewang’s response.
“My Mentor was killed by another’s hand.”
“So that’s—”
“And I am certain that there exists a collaborator within the Cheongwol Sect.”
“….”
Paewang’s expression crumpled upon hearing my words. He had clearly discerned that I spoke with sincerity.
“Do you have evidence for such a view?”
“I do. However, it seems I should not share it with you, senior.”
I had drawn a line. I was being bold. Honestly, I wondered if I should be speaking so forcefully,
“That too is a fair point.”
Fortunately, Paewang seemed unbothered by my tone.
“Yoo Cheon-gil killed—even if the world split in two, such a thing should be impossible. Yet, let us suppose it so.”
He appeared willing to entertain the notion, however incomprehensible.
“Supposing that, was Baek Yeon among your suspects?”
“Yes. He is a figure I have been observing closely.”
So I already knew that Baek Yeon had attempted to use some scheme against Paewang.
I had woven it together in such a manner.
“Ha ha.”
As my explanation concluded, Paewang wore his smile once more.
“I found it curious, but this is truly refreshing.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Whether your words are sincere or true, or neither—setting that aside, one thing is clear. I have been mistaken about something.”
“What—”
“You bear no resemblance to Yoo Cheon-gil.”
“….”
My face contorted at those words.
“Of course not. How could I resemble that man?”
Just by appearance alone, our origins were entirely different. Yoo Cheon-gil was the type of man who would flee in terror the moment a woman laid eyes on him.
[This bastard is serious.]
Yoo Cheon-gil growled at my attitude, attempting to respond.
“You speak as though you’ve seen him before. Yet to my knowledge, you haven’t?”
I had to pause at Paewang’s remark.
Right. By the time I became his disciple, Yoo Cheon-gil was already dead.
“That’s… I’ve simply heard so many rumors about him.”
I glossed over it smoothly—I couldn’t exactly tell him I’d been conversing with a ghost.
“Rumors? For something to be called merely rumors…”
His expression suggested there couldn’t possibly be unfavorable rumors about Yoo Cheon-gil.
“I’ve also met the Lord of the Dang Clan… and I believe I’ve encountered the previous Sect Leader of Hwasan as well…”
I hastily piled on excuses. Even I had to admit they weren’t terrible justifications.
Upon hearing such explanations, Paewang’s expression finally shifted to one of understanding.
“I see. So you’ve met those old fools.”
The explanation seemed to suffice.
Technically, I’d encountered Dokjon’s spirit rather than the Dang Clan Head himself, but such details hardly mattered.
“If you’ve met those mad ones, they surely wouldn’t have spoken favorably of your mentor.”
I suddenly wondered what kind of life Yoo Cheon-gil must have lived.
For a moment, I felt pity for him.
“In any case. The crux of your question was about Baek Yeon, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking what you wish me to do regarding Baek Yeon.”
“…?”
Why was he asking me that? I swallowed the words that nearly escaped my lips. He asked how I’d handle it, and now he was turning the question back to me? What kind of situation was this?
I regarded Paewang with a puzzled expression.
“I’m offering you a choice. Between you and Baek Yeon, I wish to select the one with greater potential.”
“You’re saying that in your judgment, I’m the one with that greater potential.”
“Precisely.”
“…Why do you think so?”
“Baek Yeon—that man is hollow inside—”
Hollow inside? What did that mean?
“He possesses much, yet the heavens he seeks to gaze upon are too low. And he’s not the type to have cultivated what he could ascend toward. Rather than a man as hollow as a rice cake…”
Paewang continued speaking in cryptic terms, his gaze fixed upon me.
“I don’t know what he possesses or where his gaze falls, but a man who hides a tower behind his back is far better. Especially when it’s something so massive it can’t even be concealed.”
“…What do you mean by that, sir?”
“Such things exist. So choose. What do you wish Baek Yeon and I to do?”
“Hmm…”
He seemed genuinely offering me the choice.
Then what I needed to decide here was clear.
“Rather than deciding what to do with Elder Baek, I’m hoping you’ll lend your strength to my cause.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember what I asked of you? I’m in urgent need of this.”
The request for him to become a League Leader candidate—I was betting everything on that. There was no other choice.
‘I’m in a hurry too.’
If Paewang rose to become a League Leader candidate, Wol Seon-geom said he would grant one favor, whatever it might be.
With Wol Seon-geom as a card in my hand and the ability to pass troublesome matters to him, what I desired now was singular.
“Please grant my request, as long as it doesn’t create complications with Elder Baek.”
“So you’re telling me to become a League Leader candidate after all.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Paewang fell into contemplation. His expression suggested he wasn’t entirely keen on becoming a League Leader candidate.
‘Even after all this?’
I could accept that, but why was this man refusing? As for me, even if I became a candidate, I’d never actually become League Leader—it would just be filled with bothersome matters, so I’m declining. But he doesn’t have that problem, does he?
Doesn’t he have every reason to accept?
After deliberating for quite some time, Paewang finally said:
“Very well. Becoming a candidate is worth attempting.”
“…!”
He finally gave me the answer I sought.
“If you help me obtain what I desire, I’ll resolve the matter with Baek Yeon and become a candidate in your stead. Does this suffice?”
“Ah, yes. If that’s the case, then I—”
“But.”
Just as I was about to nod in satisfaction, Paewang raised his index finger toward me and spoke.
“Even if I resolve the matter with Baek Yeon, it doesn’t mean you won’t face complications.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
Paewang helping Baek Yeon wouldn’t resolve everything?
As I tilted my head in confusion:
“Do you know what Baek Yeon originally asked of me, providing information in exchange?”
“I don’t.”
It was something I’d been curious about. I wondered what Baek Yeon could possibly gain from Paewang.
“That man…”
Paewang told me about this.
“He came to me asking for help in the upcoming struggle for the Moonju position.”
“What?”
“And he did it not for himself, but for the Daughter of the Cheon Clan.”
That was something I found rather difficult to comprehend.

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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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