The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 541

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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 541
Screeeeeech-!!
A massive iron gate groaned open as I stepped into the Demonic Sect. I forced down the tension rising in my throat as the doors slowly parted.
The sight before me was, in every sense, overwhelming. They had torn away an entire mountain range to construct these buildings, and the countless pillars supporting them all looked impossibly heavy.
It was striking.
Completely different from the orderly grandeur the Martial Arts Alliance displayed.
The Demonic Sect’s violent, unrefined brutality held a certain appeal all its own. Though it was absurd that I was even explaining it like this.
‘Impressive, I’ll admit.’
Was this what the interior looked like? I hadn’t paid much attention to the exterior since it was constantly undergoing repairs.
[Not bad.]
The Celestial Demon seemed to share my assessment. But judging from his reaction, it appeared he was perceiving something entirely different from what I saw.
The interior had been organized to some degree.
As we walked down a well-maintained path, the figure leading us—Guan, an elder of the Divine Sect and known as Malyeong—turned back to speak.
“What do you think? Quite impressive, wouldn’t you say?”
“…Yes. It’s remarkable.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Divine Sect’s craftsmen have been working tirelessly to construct it.”
His composure was so serene it was hard to believe he’d just killed someone.
He showed off the Divine Sect with pride, but his earlier conduct made his enthusiasm seem hollow.
“I wish I could show you everything, but given the watchful eyes of others, I must apologize for the limitations.”
“Watchful eyes, you say?”
“The elder old men are all greedy by nature, you see. They won’t take kindly to me showing around just anyone. And besides.”
Guan’s gaze shifted backward, toward the Sword Emperor walking close beside me.
“That frightening fellow makes me uneasy as well. Don’t stare at him like that. He might just sever your head.”
“That wouldn’t be particularly difficult.”
“Hehehehe. Still terrifying, I see.”
Guan continued forward but then turned back again, as if remembering something else.
“Jeolma.”
[…Yes, Elder.]
“Go to the Flower Garden Sect. Wait there.”
[Understood.]
Jeolma, who had been following us, vanished the moment he received the elder’s command. It was almost absolute in its finality.
The path was long, yet not unbearably so.
When we drew near to the towering structure, Guan spoke.
“Enter inside now. I have seen you both, so my guidance ends here.”
People were already waiting inside. They appeared to be guides for our tour.
“We are honored to receive such esteemed guests.”
“Well then, until we meet again.”
Guan waved his hand and disappeared. For a Demonic Sect member, he seemed remarkably at ease. I wondered if the Demonic Sect was different from what I’d imagined.
‘That can’t be right.’
I had witnessed his brutal and vicious hands at work. I understood that he was not merely a relaxed and carefree existence.
An absolute master. I realized he was a being of Celestial Demon caliber.
Besides, there wasn’t really any need for guidance. They had simply brought us to quarters that were already prepared within the Demonic Sect.
“I shall take my leave for now. Once you’ve settled in, I will escort you to the Shadowless Pavilion shortly.”
With that explanation, he vanished.
The Shadowless Pavilion? Was it a place to receive guests?
Once the Marins disappeared from the quarters, the others relaxed and eased their tension.
“…Is this what it feels like?”
“Phew….”
Paeng Dojin gazed around with curiosity, while Dok-ryong and Woon-ryong exhaled the breath they’d been holding.
Yoo Yeon….
‘She doesn’t seem particularly interested.’
As always, she paid no attention to other matters. I had been worried, but fortunately it wasn’t an issue.
‘I was concerned she might react.’
The Heavenly Killing Saint showed no signs because I occasionally suppressed it from beside her. I had worried what might happen if she were stimulated. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Setting that aside.’
Now I turned my gaze toward the Sword Emperor.
“Sir.”
“What is it?”
“That old man named Guan we met earlier. Who is he?”
“….”
Anyone with sense could tell the Sword Emperor had some acquaintance with him. At my words, the Sword Emperor’s eyes moved slightly.
“A peculiar fellow.”
“…A peculiar fellow, you say.”
“Yes. In terms of strength, he’s among the few masters worth counting. It was certainly true back then as well.”
“Back then? Do you mean during the Demonic War?”
“Correct. There were times when not only the Eight Demon Fists of that era participated, but the Elders as well. Guan. That man—”
The Sword Emperor paused briefly, then concluded with narrowed eyes.
“I’m certain I killed him. I severed his neck. How is he still alive?”
“….”
The Sword Emperor declared that he had killed him. His words were sincere. I could tell just from his gaze.
‘He killed him.’
The Sword Emperor killed Guan. Yet Guan is now clearly alive.
How could this be? I narrowed my eyes in thought.
‘Patcheon Gung?’
The first thing that came to mind was naturally those heretics who were up to their usual tricks. Could it be that those Patcheon Gung bastards had orchestrated something?
‘I still can’t tell.’
There were no noticeable differences or changes. If it were those Patcheon Gung men, some aura should have been detectable, but there was nothing of the sort.
‘What could it be.’
I still don’t know what’s going on.
“In any case, it seems you’re saying he’s an anomalous existence.”
“It seems.”
“…Hmm.”
Guan was a presence that felt distant somehow. Most supreme masters had that quality, but being a Marin made it feel even more pronounced.
A dangerous figure.
I could sense that much.
‘The Demonic Sect itself is like that from the start.’
The greatest sense of alienation I felt upon arrival.
‘Why is the spiritual energy so deep here?’
The moment I entered the Demonic Sect, I felt it—the spiritual energy.
The air was thick with spiritual essence.
This was usually only possible in places like Taesan where mountain deities dwelled, or where Guardian Spirits existed.
‘But here.’
Though it was a mountain, the terrain was too barren to sustain life. Stone peaks and cliffs—how could life flourish here?
Yet a spiritual energy so profound and solemn it seemed sacred permeated the entire Demonic Sect.
Each breath I took, I could feel the change in my body.
[Savor it. It comes from the product of the Divine Sect that exists in the deepest reaches of the Demonic Sect.]
The Celestial Demon, reading my thoughts, offered an explanation.
A product of the Divine Sect?
‘What is that?’
[If you wish to know, become the Celestial Demon. Then you will understand.]
‘…I think I can live without knowing.’
I dismissed it lightly and moved forward. There was nothing more to hear.
‘Let me organize this.’
Guan, the Elder, was killed by the Sword Emperor, yet he remains alive and well.
Coming to the Divine Sect in these circumstances, what we need to do is….
‘Whether we need to enter a place like their assembly hall.’
I would need to confirm what else needed doing once I was in the Demonic Sect.
Our objectives differed after all.
‘The biggest problem is….’
The Young Master doesn’t have perfect control over power. This space isn’t entirely under his will—that was the greatest issue.
‘How will this unfold.’
As I continued organizing my plans and smacked my lips.
“We welcome the honored guest. We apologize for the wait.”
The appointed time had arrived.
“We shall guide you to the Shadowless Pavilion.”

* * *
After the meeting concluded, Guan returned to his quarters.
Rustle.
The moment he arrived, he stripped off his clothes and cast them aside—he’d been feeling suffocated. Then he gripped his neck with both hands and applied gentle pressure.
Crack.
His stiff muscles responded with an audible pop.
“Ah. Now I can breathe.”
A vivid scar was visible on Guan’s neck as he smiled with relief.
“Well, well. Never thought I’d see that man again.”
The Sword Emperor. The one who had once severed his neck.
The monster who had slaughtered countless demons while cleaving through the heavens itself came to mind.
While the Sword Saint and Celestial Demon clashed, overturning heaven and earth in their fierce battle.
The Sword Emperor had been massacring the Elders and Eight Demon Fists to tip the scales of war in their favor.
The slaughter he’d displayed then still made my palms sweat at the memory.
‘Perhaps what the demons feared most was…’
It might not have been the Sword Saint, but the Sword Emperor. The brutality he’d demonstrated was truly worthy of such terror.
‘And yet.’
After the war ended and the Sword Emperor vanished without a trace, what brought him here?
It was a fact I couldn’t believe even when I heard the report.
So when word came that he’d arrived, I came to see for myself.
‘It’s really him.’
It truly was the Sword Emperor. I was more curious about him than about Geomseong’s Predecessor.
‘No matter how renowned Geomseong’s Predecessor is.’
I’d been certain he couldn’t compare to Yoo Cheon-gil.
‘Yet he keeps shattering such certainty.’
It was the same with the Sword Emperor.
And when I saw that creature called Wol-hyeop.
‘A monster spawned another monster.’
I felt it the moment I saw him. His aura and momentum were pristine.
He was said to have just passed his twenties, yet his presence rivaled that of an absolute master.
It defied reason. Reaching the ranks of absolute mastery at that age?
‘Even the Young Master was bizarre.’
The Young Master, who claimed to be of the Celestial Demon’s bloodline, seemed to prove it by possessing talents that astounded all demons and Elders alike.
‘Yet compared to that Young Master.’
Wol-hyeop appeared stronger. And it wasn’t merely strength.
‘His spirit…’
It was unshakeable. I understood that disciples from other righteous sects possessed excellence, but they were still disciples.
‘What is that child?’
Wol-hyeop stood apart from all others.
He alone seemed to occupy a different space, possessing a more rational judgment and perception.
‘I was curious, so I decided to play a little prank.’
A subtle aura I released to see if he would sense it.
Of course, Wol-hyeop was the first to react in that place.
His immediate response, as if ready to draw his sword, was exquisite.
Simultaneously, his eyes assessing the situation were beyond reproach.
A prodigy.
A genius.
There existed in him something the Sword Saint possessed—stripped of all brutality.
‘What a pity.’
Truly regrettable.
‘If only that child had been talent of the Demonic Sect.’
Then.
‘The Young Master’s position would have been his to claim.’
Would a different Young Master have been born, not the current one? For Guan, who did not support the present Young Master, it was nothing but lamentable.
And.
‘The Sword Emperor is also paying attention.’
When I threatened, I saw the Sword Emperor prepare to unleash his full power.
That selfish Sword Emperor, concerned only with himself—for what reason? The answer was obvious.
‘You too covet it.’
He harbored greed for the Sword Saint’s Predecessor left behind. A predictable tale. Anyone with eyes could not fail to recognize the value that child possessed.
“Hahahaha.”
Guan laughed.
A child coveted by all of the Celestial Demon. This child was undoubtedly the eye of the storm piercing through the ages.
Therefore.
“I must eliminate him.”
He had to be killed.
Guan’s eyes gleamed coldly.
If I cannot obtain him, I must remove him. He is an obstacle to the Demonic Sect’s resurrection.
It mattered not who became Young Master.
‘That child must be eliminated.’
Another Sword Saint appearing was something that could never be allowed.
Guan decided to remove that child.
Faster than anyone else.

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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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