The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 539

—————
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 539
The martial contest had ended. Dang Cheon-il claimed victory, and Woo Yeongjin was defeated without even managing to mount a proper defense.
“Wow… that was quite impressive.”
Paeng Dojin exhaled in admiration as he spoke.
“I didn’t expect him to win so easily.”
I knew he would win. Both Paeng Dojin and I had already grasped that much.
Paeng Dojin’s concern likely meant something different.
But I hadn’t anticipated victory coming quite so effortlessly.
“Indeed, that’s true.”
He’s grown far stronger than I expected. Dang Cheon-il’s progress was remarkable, yet…
“This is absolutely ridiculous…!”
Woo Yeongjin couldn’t believe what had just transpired, grinding his teeth with a grating sound. Then he began channeling his qi, tensing his body with renewed force.
“You used a cheap trick…! How dare you employ sorcery against me?”
“Sorcery?”
At those words, Dang Cheon-il’s eyebrows rose sharply.
“To call that sorcery… there’s no need to elaborate on how pathetically low your level truly is.”
“What did you say?”
Provoked, Woo Yeongjin’s body moved. He attempted to attack Dang Cheon-il directly, but instead, a short blade dug slightly into his throat.
Blood trickled down. At that moment, I sensed someone stirring.
It appeared to be Woo Yeongjin’s guard—the same irritating figure from before. I could see him shifting slightly, as if preparing to intervene in this duel.
Seeing that, I stepped forward. I positioned myself before the guard, blocking his path.
“…!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
As I appeared to stop him, the guard’s face hardened.
Watching that reaction, I spoke to Dang Cheon-il.
“Let him go. It’s already over.”
“…Yes.”
Upon hearing my words, Dang Cheon-il relaxed his grip slightly and withdrew. The moment distance opened between them, Woo Yeongjin tried to summon his energy again, but…
“I’d advise against that. It would look rather ugly. First impressions matter, and you wouldn’t want to leave a bad one, would you? Besides, continuing won’t change anything, will it?”
“What would you know…!”
“Know or not… pushing further would only be to your detriment. You seem like an intelligent person, yet you don’t grasp that?”
“…”
This man was driven by emotion, but he didn’t appear to be foolish.
At least, that was my assessment.
The way he paused at my words proved it.
“You’re welcome to continue if you wish… so what will you do?”
If he wanted to fight, Dang Cheon-il would step forward again. If he thought he could win a rematch, he could fight again, but would Woo Yeongjin actually attempt that?
As I posed the question with that implication, his face flushed crimson. Then…
“…I will never forget this humiliation and insult.”
He spat out a clichéd line I’d heard countless times before and moved. Only then did his guard hurry over to him.
“Young Master… you have a wound on your neck…”
“Shut it.”
Look at that attitude. Someone’s worried about you, and that’s how you respond?
‘He seems easy enough to handle.’
He appears lacking, yet he’s sharp.
He seems intelligent, yet he’s easy to manipulate. That kind of man. Perhaps it’s fine to just treat him as a fool?
Woo Yeongjin, who had made the situation a mess, left as he was, and I scratched my cheek in the remaining moment.
At the same time, I looked at Dang Cheon-il.
“…Why are you smiling?”
I could sense the bastard was feeling rather pleased with himself. His shoulders were raised high? It was quite an irritating sight.
“It’s nothing, sir.”
“Nothing? What do you mean nothing. What is it?”
“…As a member of the Orthodox Sect, I’m simply satisfied that I gave a harsh beating to a figure of the Demonic Sect…”
“…So you’re just happy you won.”
He couldn’t be anything but simple. Until just now, I was viewing him favorably since he fought well, but seeing him like this, a sigh escaped me without thinking.
“Fine…You worked hard. You fought well.”
Still, hard work is hard work, so I gave him praise. Then I could see his shoulders rise even higher. He really is a simple man.
‘Setting that aside.’
As for Dang Cheon-il’s matter, let’s leave it at that.
‘Woo Yeongjin?’
That man who just left. He bothered me somehow.
Something.
‘It feels off.’
Judging by his nature, it didn’t seem like something I could simply overlook. That’s why he bothered me.

* * *
“Damn it!”
Crash—! Woo Yeongjin returned to his quarters and drove his fist forward. The wall crumbled instantly under the force-infused strike.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
Among the falling debris, Woo Yeongjin ground his teeth relentlessly, while his guard knelt behind him.
“…Seohon.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“What was that bastard’s name again?”
“…He is called Dang Cheon-il of the Dang Clan.”
“Dang Cheon-il…. Dang Cheon-il….”
A mere foot soldier from the orthodox faction who dared speak such crude words to him. He’d heard the man was a genius, but he never expected him to be this strong.
‘Even if I was careless.’
Woo Yeongjin understood. It wasn’t merely a matter of carelessness. There was a genuine gap in strength that couldn’t be dismissed as simple negligence.
‘I didn’t sense it.’
I failed to perceive when he disappeared. He must have vanished right before my eyes. This meant his concealment technique was remarkably refined, and my failure to respond properly was the fatal mistake.
“Arrogant bastard.”
Next time, it wouldn’t end so easily. I would remember. That man Dang Cheon-il…. And moreover.
‘That man.’
Wol-hyeop.
Currently called the symbolic Disciple of the orthodox faction—an unparalleled genius and the Geomseong’s Predecessor who slew the sect leader, the former Heavenly One.
‘Is that man.’
Stronger than that Dok-ryong? Woo Yeongjin bit his lip, recalling that arrogant face. I couldn’t even gauge his level.
The large man beside me was irritating and radiated discomfort, but from Wol-hyeop I felt almost no presence at all.
Just emptiness and numbness. Was such a thing even possible? I couldn’t comprehend it.
If there was anything I could sense at all.
‘It was ominous.’
Too quiet, and therefore all the more ominous.
He was a figure with an incomprehensible impression. My instincts were screaming. Dangerous—don’t get entangled with him.
‘…Tch.’
I ground my teeth again and again. For such a light venture, I gained nothing. Instead, I returned with losses.
‘Damned bastards.’
How could I wash away this humiliation? I had to erase the insult I received from that man Dang Cheon-il.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t end with just a crack in my pride.
‘Others would bite and tear at me.’
Not to mention the Young Master’s faction, there were plenty of men grinding their teeth to seize my position right now.
I couldn’t let things remain as they were.
‘And even if that weren’t the case.’
If word of my defeat reached ‘that person’….
‘…This is serious.’
Clench.
I bite at my nails and swallow hard, suppressing my anxiety.
The situation has spiraled far beyond what my hasty actions warranted.
An unnecessary wind was blowing through the Divine Stronghold.
Yet this was an inevitability that would have occurred regardless of whether Woo Yeongjin had appeared or not.

* * *
[Woo Yeongjin? He came here?]
Returning to the inn, I found Mee Yeon-hwa. I summoned her and immediately mentioned what had transpired with Woo Yeongjin.
At that, she removed the mask she had been wearing and responded.
“What? I can take it off?”
“…What’s the point of pretense when we already know each other anyway?”
“That’s a fair point.”
“And… could you decide whether you’ll speak formally or casually?”
“I’ll speak however feels natural.”
For now, I preferred formal speech. I’m not one to use casual language with most people anyway.
I had thought she wouldn’t remove it even in death, but she took off the mask far too easily.
“What do you mean Woo Yeongjin came here?”
“Exactly as I said. A man named Woo Yeongjin came looking for us and had a skirmish before leaving.”
“…A skirmish?”
“He fought with Dok-ryong.”
“He lost, then. Woo Yeongjin.”
“Yes.”
Mee Yeon-hwa herself was counted among the Eight Demon Fists, an absolute master. Though young, her strength meant she already understood the gap between Woo Yeongjin and Dang Cheon-il.
“…What was that fool thinking, doing something like that?”
“He called himself a fool too. So perhaps that’s exactly why.”
“…No, it can’t be for such a simple reason.”
‘That’s right.’
Even as I spoke, my mind was working. He seemed foolish enough, but he was someone with power behind him.
Would such a person suddenly come charging in after hearing someone from the Orthodox Sect had arrived? I may not know much about the Demonic Sect, but they wouldn’t resort to such primitive methods.
“Someone’s stirring the wind.”
A wind-stirrer. There was someone who had provoked Woo Yeongjin into action.
Her assessment matched mine.
“Do you know who?”
“Not yet.”
“Then tell me what kind of person this Woo Yeongjin is.”
“…One of the three great families that exist within the Demonic Sect. He is of the Woo family’s bloodline.”
“So there are three great families here as well?”
“Not the same as the Orthodox families, but they do exist.”
The Woo family.
The Jeong family.
Hyeon Clan.
Mee Yeon-hwa explained the three clans. They were the elders who existed under the Celestial Demon’s command—distinct from the elite known simply as the Eight Demon Fists, they were ancient powers that had existed since the Demonic Sect’s founding.
Among those ancient powers, these three clans were called the pillars, maintaining the Demonic Sect’s structure.
Through the war with the righteous sects, they had nearly been annihilated, yet the three clans survived.
‘How?’
It was puzzling. If they had lost the war, the destruction of the most important clans would have been inevitable.
‘Three clans survived?’
Was such a thing possible? Questions arose about this, but it wasn’t important right now, so I set it aside.
“These three clans are now checking each other over the Young Master’s position?”
“….”
“Even though the Young Master is clearly there?”
“…Yes. The situation is divided into factions.”
To be precise, exactly two.
The Jeong Clan sided with the Woo Clan.
The Hyeon Clan independently desired the Young Master’s position.
‘Interesting.’
That meant the Young Master’s position wasn’t completely secure.
‘They all vaguely understand it.’
The Young Master currently held the position, but there was something unstable about it.
Mee Yeon-hwa’s eyes held dissatisfaction as she explained this.
Her expression suggested uncertainty about whether what she was saying was right.
‘She’s shaken too.’
With instability present, entry became easy. It was a moment when even a gentle breeze could work, not a storm.
‘Good.’
I understood now. This much was enough to grasp the situation.
‘If it’s like this.’
It would be convenient to make my move.
I could accomplish what the Martial Arts Alliance wanted from me. And furthermore.
‘…I might be able to achieve half of what this man desires too?’
The Celestial Demon.
This man, now a wandering spirit trapped in the Divine Sword, might have his desires fulfilled.
However.
‘On my terms.’
Not exactly what the Celestial Demon desired.
Only in the way that would benefit me.

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