The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 491

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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 491
Ho Bang-geom.
What a ridiculous epithet. I wondered what kind of name that even was. But considering my father’s epithet, there was nothing strange about it.
To begin with, among the men of the Bangseong clan, there wasn’t a single one who didn’t joke around carelessly about such matters and actually cared about having a proper epithet.
Most of them were the type who didn’t give a damn what their epithet was. As for me, unlike those crazy bastards, I’d lived relatively normally, so it was fine.
“…Grandfather.”
“Yes. Your grandfather. Ho Bang-geom.”
“Do you really have to mention the epithet every time?”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“Somewhat.”
At my answer, the Heavenly Supreme let out a soft chuckle.
“Remarkable indeed. A man capable of shame was born among the Bangseong clan.”
“That’s quite an insult to the family. But I won’t deny it.”
This chaotic household was a place where any insult was justified.
But that aside.
“I had no idea my grandfather was involved in this matter. And I certainly didn’t expect you to have a connection either.”
“Don’t call it a connection. It’s not a relationship worthy of such noble words.”
“I see….”
The previous generation head of the Moyong clan felt the same way. Everyone seemed to harbor ill feelings toward my grandfather.
“Is it a karmic debt?”
“Even calling it that would make it seem better than it is.”
“Ah. So seeing my face must be rather unpleasant for you?”
“You understand well.”
Whoooosh.
The smoke from the long pipe grew thicker. It seemed to carry the Heavenly Supreme’s emotions within it.
“Because of that damned agreement with that man, I’ve refrained from touching the Bangseong clan itself. But if you needlessly stir up trouble, I may have no choice but to act.”
I shrugged at those words.
“Then I won’t interfere.”
“Hmm?”
The Heavenly Supreme reacted with surprise at what I said.
“A more straightforward response than expected.”
“I’ve heard this much already, so interfering would be strange. Besides, from what I can see, getting involved would just become troublesome.”
More than anything.
“Our academy still needs you.”
If I stirred things up, the Heavenly Supreme might disappear. That couldn’t happen. The academy needed him.
“I’ll take my leave then. I hope your matter resolves well.”
“Ha…?”
“Ah, I’ll be returning to Haowen soon. We’ll meet again when the time comes.”
I offered my farewell and turned to leave. That was all there was to discuss with the Heavenly Supreme.
‘Baek Manager’s talisman method does bother me though.’
I couldn’t dig into this now. Especially not if it involved Baek Manager.
‘I’d rather not get tangled up with that man again.’
Heretics were one thing, but getting involved with Baek Manager was problematic. That man was truly insane.
And I never even considered that Baek Manager might have come to this world like I did.
If that old man had arrived here,
‘I would’ve heard rumors before the heretics even appeared.’
A madman.
There was no way I wouldn’t know. He was the type to spread every rumor across the Central Plains in no time.
So,
‘If you came, show me some sign.’
If he truly had been reincarnated like me, I wished he’d at least leave some rumor behind.
I quietly swallowed such petty feelings.

* * *
After Bangseong-yeon left, the Heavenly Supreme let out a hollow laugh in the smoke-filled space.
“Absurd fellow.”
I’d sensed something odd about him from our first meeting, but it seemed his level kept rising each time.
It meant he grew stranger every year. Yet it had been years since I last saw him.
‘This time is particularly severe.’
When I saw him annually, I’d simply think he was still just an odd fellow, but now he’d evolved into quite the peculiar one.
He was someone who showed no interest in martial arts and seemed to have no intention of learning them.
And yet that very man.
‘Soon he’ll reach the Transcendent Realm.’
He was stepping beyond the pinnacle of perfection into another domain entirely. Witnessing this, the Heavenly Supreme couldn’t help but marvel.
‘To think such a specimen emerged from that cursed clan.’
Given the state of the Bangseong family, it was strange that such a man could be born. Yet at last, light had emerged from that house.
A light vast enough to rival the sun itself.
‘Could he have actually achieved Rebirth of Bone and Shedding of Flesh?’
When I first saw him, I thought it impossible. Rebirth of Bone and Shedding of Flesh cannot be achieved easily. Simply filling one’s inner essence doesn’t expand the shell of the body and the breadth of one’s vessel.
One must possess the enlightenment to fill and shape that space within. Did Bangseong-yeon truly possess such a thing? The Heavenly Supreme judged that he did not.
He couldn’t possess it. This was connected to time itself. The Heavenly Supreme himself had only reached Rebirth of Bone and Shedding of Flesh after decades of martial training.
‘That blood-soaked thing.’
What could he possibly know to achieve such a state? The Heavenly Supreme couldn’t comprehend it.
“…Does he possess talent that surpasses even that?”
Yoo Cheon-gil.
I remember that man called the Sword Saint. The greatest of all ages, they said? Though the Heavenly Supreme had little interaction with him, I acknowledged this nonetheless.
A monster.
A monster sent by the heavens.
I knew he was something that couldn’t be classified as merely human. Perhaps the Celestial Demon, the Madoo of the Demonic Sect, was similar.
Yet the Celestial Demon was ultimately defeated, so the true monster must surely be Yoo Cheon-gil.
Occasionally, such beings are born into this world—strange creatures capable of overturning the very flow of time and the course of history itself.
But here’s the thing.
‘For this to continue is rather peculiar.’
That Yoo Cheon-gil died and the Bangseong clan entered as his successor.
That the one who entered possessed a brilliance no less than Yoo Cheon-gil’s.
The Heavenly Supreme knew this was far more than mere coincidence to dismiss as miracle.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue briefly, then brought the long pipe back to my lips.
“What a shame.”
I voiced my honest impression. Had circumstances been different—had they truly been different—I would likely have extended an offer by now.
To become my disciple.
To receive what I possess, if he dared to accept such a gift.
Amusingly, I had set my sights on Bangseong-yeon. His talent, however, did not impress me.
At least by my assessment, Bangseong-yeon’s talent was unremarkable.
And yet.
‘That man is strange.’
Whether blessed with talent or cursed without it, whatever he possessed, he would find a way to accomplish his goals.
Through persuasion, through cunning, through any means necessary—he would achieve what he set out to do.
This was how I perceived Bangseong-yeon, and I had already determined that transcending the question of talent, I would offer him my teachings.
‘I’ve lost my chance.’
To lose such an opportunity to a dead ghost—it was almost laughable.
“What a shame.”
Had I acted sooner, would things have differed? I was curious how Bangseong-yeon would have reacted to becoming my disciple.
Would he have been repulsed? Or perhaps resentful?
Strangely, I could not imagine a positive response from him.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled a plume of smoke, then waved my hand to disperse it. The smoke drifted out through the window behind me.
“It is done.”
I harbor no regrets. What use is a disciple now? It is a futile matter.
‘After all.’
He may never have accepted anyway. This lingering attachment is likely nothing more than what appears when one has already departed.
“He is of that man’s blood, after all.”
The previous generation head of the Bangseong clan, now off in the Northern Sea doing who knows what.
If he shares that man’s blood, it is best I keep my distance.
It is madness to even be here now, foolish beyond measure.
Mere whimsy. That alone should not be the reason.
To become entangled with that man of all people.
‘I’m sorry, but…’
A mere child, barely thirteen years old.
‘I need to save some children. If you have nowhere to go, would you help me?’
I spoke while watching the Heavenly Supreme whimper, a blade lodged in his abdomen.
I didn’t bother asking about circumstances. Why he was bleeding and collapsed here.
The child showed no fear even watching a dying human.
“…Hmm.”
The Heavenly Supreme closed his eyes, recalling the past. A useless memory.
“I should eat something.”
I opened my eyes again. I walked straight outside.
“Oh! It’s the Dean!”
“Dean!”
The children playing outside reacted upon seeing me. At those round faces, I let out a small laugh.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“We are!”
“Let’s eat! Let’s eat!”
Bangseong-yeon probably didn’t know. That I showed the children no interest whatsoever.
Yet she took care of them quite well.
I came and went when there was work, but otherwise I made time to see their faces like this.
Those who knew her nature would have said she’d gone mad in her final years.
But I found this situation unexpectedly amusing.
“Fine. We’ll eat out today.”
“Yay! We’re eating out!”
“Dumplings! Let’s eat dumplings!”
“If you make noise, that one won’t get any.”
At my warning, the children shut their mouths immediately. They listened well. That was enough. Using my time this way.
Thinking it wasn’t entirely bad.
I was doing reasonably well.
‘So then.’
Don’t interfere.
I shot a cold gaze toward the wall.
“Oops.”
At that gaze, the person in the wall flinched.
‘I’ve been caught?’
The Haowen Branch Leader. She’d been watching me, and I caught her.
“Well. I knew I was caught anyway.”
Since I didn’t come here with any particular purpose, it should be fine.
“Should I head back?”
I’ve seen all I needed to see. I saw our prince emerge with all limbs intact, so that’s enough. The Branch Leader moved through the streets with quiet steps.
“I wonder if our prince knows.”
That there are many people looking after him here and there.
Whether he knows or not.
He probably doesn’t.
The prince was truly oblivious in matters like this.

* * *
After concluding my conversation with the Heavenly Supreme, I returned home.
Originally, I had planned to eat immediately upon arrival and prepare to return to Haowen.
That’s certainly what should have happened.
“…What do you mean by that?”
At the words that reached my ears, I couldn’t help but make a bewildered expression. The one who had spoken was none other than Eunwol Sword. He waved a single sheet of paper before me as he spoke.
This was a letter from Haowen, and I could see Cheon Rijin-an’s personal seal stamped upon it.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, I heard you clearly. I just hoped I had misheard, so I asked again.”
Hoping desperately that I had misunderstood, I posed the question once more.
Eunwol Sword laughed and continued.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case.”
“….”
“Return to Haowen at once. And.”
The final passage written in the letter—Eunwol Sword recited it once more.
“The Deputy Lord of the Cheongwol Sect and Wol-hyeop Bangseong-yeon shall depart as an envoy to the Demonic Sect in accordance with the Alliance’s will. Thus it is commanded.”
“….”
Hearing that, I had to pinch the bridge of my nose.
Damn it all.
I had heard correctly after all.
Cursed as it may be.

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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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