The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 403

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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 403
Thump.
My heart lurched as I met those bizarre eyes. They gleamed with a violet hue, their malevolence sending shivers down my spine.
In that instant.
Clank.
‘…!’
The armband bound around my wrist suddenly reacted. The Paewang’s artifact tightened around my arm of its own accord.
Though the armband’s unexpected response startled me, I understood why it was moving.
‘…Is it reacting because it’s a Divine Sword?’
The armband resembled a shaman’s Divine Sword, and it was responding arbitrarily to that strange spiritual energy.
The problem was.
‘It’s watching.’
The energy bursting from the Eunwol Sword’s body had taken the form of eyes, meeting my gaze directly.
‘What is that?’
It was a phenomenon I’d never witnessed before. Could spiritual energy take shape in such a manner?
‘If I’d been any slower, it would have been disastrous.’
Our gazes had locked for a moment, but who was I? A man who had spent his entire life evading the eyes of such spectral beings.
I could navigate past this with ease.
As I averted my eyes from its gaze and looked away.
Ssshhhhh—!!
‘Insane?’
The eye that had emerged from the Eunwol Sword’s back suddenly elongated and rushed toward me.
A grotesque form. Why was it doing this? Suppressing my alarm, I kept my gaze fixed on the arena.
Kee-eek…. Kee-kee-kee-eek….
Strange sounds emanated from the spiritual energy. Naturally, no one else could hear such noise.
My brow furrowed. It wasn’t my ears that itched.
‘It’s resonating with my soul.’
It was directly touching my spirit within, making my insides churn uncomfortably.
‘Look at this thing.’
It seemed to be trying to determine whether I could sense its presence or not.
My soul kept trembling. My body tried to react on its own, so I forcibly suppressed it.
Kee-rick.
The ring shook. Impudently.
‘Tch.’
Should I suppress it?
Such a thought flashed through my mind, but I forced myself to endure it as well. After holding out for a moment.
-Kee-rick.
The creature tilted its head and then whooshed! It flew away, seeping back into the Eunwol Sword.
Even then, the Eunwol Sword appeared serene. It seemed unaware of what had occurred.
Indeed. It appeared to possess very little spiritual energy.
‘Then.’
That aura from moments ago. As I discerned, it belonged to someone else.
‘…It’s not the Death King’s.’
From what I knew, the Death King—that old man’s power was not it. Which meant.
‘Could it be Gungwi’s?’
The woman called the Heavenly Supreme Beauty and the Celestial Demon.
The probability that it belonged to her was high.
‘If so, then for what purpose?’
If that aura truly belonged to Gungwi, then what exactly did she intend by layering it onto the Eunwol Sword?
‘The purpose and reason.’
I found myself deeply curious about the aura’s intent and motive.
And for good reason.
‘It doesn’t seem to be infused with good intentions.’
From the very nature of the aura and the way it touched my soul, I could tell immediately that the intent could not be benevolent.
‘Hmm.’
I narrow my eyes and examine the Eunwol Sword. Perhaps.
‘Cheonhye-in’s words might be correct.’
That claim about Gungwi and the Death King’s conspiracy.
It seemed to gain credibility.

* * *
Time passes as I discern the Eunwol Sword’s aura.
The martial contest continued, and a quiet standoff persisted on the stage.
Whoosh.
The Eunwol Sword lightly waves the tip of his drawn blade.
Is it an attempt to provoke his opponent? It doesn’t seem that way at first glance, yet looking at his expression, it appears to be exactly that.
‘…What is he thinking?’
A face whose thoughts are unreadable. Smiling, yet it doesn’t seem like a smile—an eerie atmosphere.
The Eunwol Sword was a considerably difficult figure to read.
“….”
The opponent furrows his expression as he watches the Eunwol Sword.
Clang—!
A blade drawn with force. The upright and rigid stance revealed considerable effort behind it.
In contrast, the Eunwol Sword.
‘…Something.’
How should I put it? His fundamentals feel relatively absent, appearing infinitely light.
Does he even intend to conduct a proper martial contest? It’s bewildering.
‘No.’
Having already clashed with him once, I could tell.
‘That man is strong.’
Through the tribulation of shedding my old form, my vessel expanded, and I could perceive far more.
The Eunwol Sword is formidable.
Formidable, yet it reveals nothing of its strength.
‘…That’s precisely why it feels so alien.’
What cannot be known becomes mysterious.
Humans were inherently creatures who feared ignorance.
The Eunwol Sword was such an existence.
‘Hmm.’
I stare intently at the Eunwol Sword.
Then.
“The match….”
The Referee raises his hand lightly.
“Begin-!”
He announces the start of the match.
“Hah!”
My opponent unleashes sword energy. Wol-an already glows with azure light, entering combat stance.
Boom-!!!
I dash forward with explosive speed, launching from the arena.
Screeeech-!!
The blade tears through the air. The speed is remarkable. Clearly, considerable training.
Clang-!
“Huh.”
The sword bounces away. The Eunwol Sword deflects his blade with effortless ease.
An opening emerges.
His upper body exposed.
The Eunwol Sword does not miss this.
Whoosh.
She cuts through the air, flicking the blade’s tip forward.
Still.
The blade halts just before touching his torso.
“It’s over.”
The Eunwol Sword speaks with a faint smile.
“…Tch.”
My opponent, understanding his defeat, contorts his face while slowly lowering his sword.
“I have lost.”
At his candid admission, the Referee renders his judgment.
“…Match concluded.”
The Eunwol Sword’s victory required merely a single exchange.
“…Ah….”
“Wow….”
An absurdly one-sided match. The fastest and most decisive battle I had fought thus far.
Knowing this, the other disciples couldn’t help but widen their eyes in astonishment.
“…I never imagined you were that strong.”
“That’s incredible…”
The Three Disciples all wore expressions of shock.
“Was the Priest really that powerful?”
“What happened in these three years?”
The Second Disciples were also reeling from the impact. Watching their reactions, I tilted my head slightly.
‘Grew stronger in three years?’
That’s not how I saw it.
It wasn’t that I grew stronger in three years…
‘I think I was always this strong.’
I had always been strong, merely concealing it.
As evidence of this.
‘Cheon Euijin knew something.’
I recalled what he had told me.
He seemed to know something about the Eunwol Sword.
As I watched the match conclude.
-How was it.
“…!”
A telepathic voice reached me. It was the Eunwol Sword’s voice.
-Did you find it worth watching? I hope so.
The Eunwol Sword smiled at me, his eyes sharper and more vivid than before.
-We’ll meet again soon, won’t we?
His voice brimmed with anticipation.
-I like how you’ve changed. I’m looking forward to it being different from last time.
“…”
His certainty that we would meet again at the end of the Cheongwol Conference.
I couldn’t understand why he kept fixating on me like this.
‘Does he really want to fight that badly?’
It was incomprehensible to me.
Truly incomprehensible.
‘I must be insane too.’
His provocation stirred something within me in a strange way.
I found myself harboring that dog-like thought—wanting to fight him soon.
‘Is it because of the rebirth?’
It’s been growing more intense since then.
Or perhaps not. Rather than the influence of rebirth.
‘…Yoo Cheon-gil.’
That demonic old man. Meeting him seemed to have changed something within me.
The Eunwol Sword finished speaking through sound transmission and descended from the arena.
I watched his back disappear into the murmuring crowd.
“….”
Without realizing it, I gripped my sword tightly.
It took only an instant to recognize that the reason was my fighting spirit.

* * *
The first day of the Cheongwol Conference concluded.
Spanning two days, tomorrow would mark the final day.
Since there weren’t many matches, I thought one day might suffice.
But they said they were taking a day’s break to maintain the disciples’ stamina and condition.
One might question what difference a day’s rest makes, but the Sowoldae martial artists were masters at the peak of their cultivation by default.
As they ascended to the peak, their inner energy permeated their very bodies, granting them extraordinary regenerative power.
This meant that ordinary fatigue and minor wounds healed within a day.
So a day’s rest allowed most to shed their exhaustion—a perfectly suited period of recovery.
Therefore.
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit?”
I offered advice to the figure before me.
“No need.”
I was coldly rejected.
It was Cheonhye-in, a woman whose expression brimmed with irritation.
Despite the wound on her chest wrapped in bandages, she moved about as though such a thing required no rest whatsoever.
Just a day’s rest would suffice.
“Why insist on moving about on a night like this…?”
Late at night, with the moon risen.
We met in that dark hour and exchanged words.
“The Cheongwol Conference is still underway. If anything, now is the perfect time to avoid attention.”
There was one reason.
“The Secret Chamber. You said you wanted to enter it.”
The Secret Chamber left behind by Sword Saint Yoo Cheon-gil—that was where she wished to go.
“…Ah, yes, that’s true.”
Cheonhye-in had called me out, saying she would tell me about that Secret Chamber.
It was a continuation of our previous conversation.
Cheonhye-in had suggested entering the Secret Chamber tonight.
And I, ignoring my fatigue, had forced myself to listen and come along.
Which is why I now found myself climbing this path so unexpectedly.
“…The entrance to the Secret Chamber is truly here?”
I asked, feigning ignorance, noting it seemed strange to enter a building.
“Yes. Surprisingly, it is.”
Following Cheonhye-in’s words that a warehouse served as the entrance, we headed toward the rear of the building.
To the eye, there was nothing there—a space I had never traversed before.
“…This is it?”
“Just wait.”
With a metallic ring, Cheonhye-in drew her blade.
She then brought the sword’s tip to the wall surface, closed her eyes, and concentrated intently.
Time flowed on like this.
“…What are you doing?”
After a considerable stretch, I ventured to speak.
“…Don’t make me talk. I need to concentrate.”
“…Right.”
She was utterly absorbed, as if searching for something specific.
What was she looking for?
Puzzled, I gazed toward the wall.
Then.
Whoooosh—!!! Only when I opened my Wol-an and looked at the wall could I understand Cheonhye-in’s intent.
‘Ah.’
So that’s what she was searching for.
‘The activation point of the mechanism.’
Her blade was tracing the line of the mechanism where this wall and floor met.
An impossibly thin line. The mechanism would only activate if struck precisely there. Knowing this, Cheonhye-in was concentrating with all her effort.
‘…She’s finding this through sensation alone?’
It would be invisible to someone like me.
Cheonhye-in had never consumed the divine pill of the Cheongwol Sect.
Yet she was searching for it nonetheless.
‘Which means Baek Yeon also knows.’
It meant he had opened the secret chamber using this very method.
‘How did he discover it?’
Without the Wol-an reopened after consuming the divine pill, it seemed impossible to find.
How had he uncovered this? Such questions occupied my mind when—
“…Found it.”
Cheonhye-in uttered the words softly.
Slash—!
With a swift blade, she carved a short line across the wall.
Click-click-click.
The mechanism stirred to life, and the space began to open. A descending staircase appeared on the floor. Only then did Cheonhye-in exhale deeply.
“Phew… Done.”
“Wow…”
I was genuinely impressed. To accomplish such a feat.
I briefly considered applauding.
“…What are you doing? We need to go down.”
Cheonhye-in looked at me and furrowed her brow before making the first move.
“….”
Truly prickly, this one.
A woman with a temperament as difficult as they come. With such thoughts, I followed after her.
The two of us stepped into Yoo Cheon-gil’s secret chamber.

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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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