The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign – Chapter 652

“Hmm.”

The black-clad figure stared at the fresh blood dripping from the tip of his sword, then nodded as if impressed.

“Quite agile. Your senses are sharp as well.”

The man in black had aimed precisely for Do Cheonlin’s heart, but because Do Cheonlin had twisted his body like lightning, only the flesh near his chest had been sliced.

Yet the wound was so wide that blood was already flowing freely from Do Cheonlin’s chest.

“Haa.”

Do Cheonlin sighed as he looked down at the gash on his chest.

“So you’re an expert from the Hyungsan Sect.”

In the past, the Hyungsan Sect had proudly held a seat among the Nine Great Sects and One Alliance.

However, two hundred years ago, the sect’s twin supreme arts—the Lute Sword and the Fire Lotus Secret—were lost, and the sect had been in decline ever since. 

By now, the Hyungsan Sect’s main headquarters could no longer be found, and its disciples had been reduced to living as mere escorts, barely scraping by.

“The Hyungsan Sect?”

When the black-clad man frowned, Do Cheonlin spoke with leisurely confidence.

“That single move you just used—was it not a sword technique derived from the Hyungsan Sect’s lost Fire Lotus Secret?”

When one masters the Fire Lotus Secret of the Hyungsan Sect, even if they fire sword qi or form sword aura, its shape remains invisible.

Do Cheonlin had instantly guessed that the black-clad man’s swordsmanship originated from the long-lost Fire Lotus Secret of the Hyungsan Sect.

“There seems to be quite a story behind this.” Do Cheonlin continued, looking into the wavering eyes of the black-clad man. “Why not leave the Returning to One Realm now, while you still can?”

The black-clad man gave no answer.

Instead, he gripped his long sword with both hands and raised it horizontally toward Do Cheonlin’s brow.

“If you cannot sever my neck within ten moves, you will be the one to die.”

Flash!

In that instant, the black-clad man became a streak of light and brushed past Do Cheonlin’s body.

Spurt!

At the same moment, blood sprayed from Do Cheonlin’s left thigh.

“Second move.”

Flash!

Once again, the black-clad man’s body turned into light and passed by Do Cheonlin.

This time, a wound appeared on his right thigh.

It was movement that had reached ultimate speed, paired with swordsmanship that could not be seen.

Every time a gleam flashed past, blood unfailingly spurted from Do Cheonlin’s body.

The sword strikes were too fast to count, and counterattacking was impossible.

Drip, drip.

Before long, Do Cheonlin had become a blood-soaked figure.

The black-clad man gazed at him and spoke coldly.

“In three more moves, your head will fall.”

A glacial chill gleamed in the black-clad man’s eyes.

“Take your own life. That way, at least your corpse will remain intact.”

“Since you desire suicide, it seems even the Returning to One Realm avoids troublesome matters.”

If one severs their own heart meridians, no one would suspect murder.

People might grieve, but no one would question the death.

The black-clad man would simply need to retrieve his sword but if he killed Do Cheonlin outright, traces would remain, forcing him to use the bone-melting Hwagolsan to destroy the body.

That was why he urged suicide.

“Then the Returning to One Realm does not act recklessly. Like the Infinite Realm, are they disguising themselves as an ordinary faction somewhere?”

The black-clad man offered no reply and raised his sword once more.

Originally, the Hyungsan Sect’s swordsmanship was ever-changing and full of brilliant technique, yet by using the Fire Lotus Secret, this man had re-forged the sect’s sword arts into something closer to demonic swordsmanship.

Clank.

The black-clad man assumed his stance again.

“I won’t even need to use all ten moves.”

Do Cheonlin had already taken multiple strikes and become a bloodied figure; twice, the muscles of his thighs had been deeply pierced.

He could no longer move nimbly, so this next attack would sever his neck.

Flash!

The black-clad man’s sword became an arrow of light once more and stabbed toward Do Cheonlin’s throat.

But then something strange happened.

Bzzz.

Do Cheonlin merely held his sword in stance, yet it was as if an invisible, thick wall surrounded him.

The blade could not advance beyond three cun from his neck.

“Hmph.”

Unfazed, the black-clad man changed his sword form and unleashed wave after wave of rippling sword qi.

Bzzz.

Yet the sword qi he poured forth was repelled as if striking an intangible wall, scattering in all directions.

Flinch.

In that moment, the black-clad man’s gaze met Do Cheonlin’s.

Do Cheonlin’s sharp, coldly sunken eyes seemed to pierce every corner of his body.

“So this is all the Hyungsan Sect’s swordsmanship amounts to.”

At the mention of the Hyungsan Sect again, lightning flashed in the black-clad man’s eyes.

Flash! Flash!

In an instant, he closed the distance and rained sword strikes upon Do Cheonlin.

No longer the ultimate-speed swordsmanship from before, but brilliant, mountain-crushing strikes filled with overwhelming power—an annihilating sword art.

Shwick! Shwick!

Yet something strange occurred again.

As the black-clad man closed in and unleashed his barrage, his movements slowed as if submerged in deep water.

The closer he came to Do Cheonlin, the more tremendous pressure began crushing his body.

“Blade Ultimate Stance?”

Only now did the black-clad man realize that Do Cheonlin, standing motionless, was employing the Blade Ultimate Stance.

“So you plan to endure with the Blade Ultimate Stance now that your legs are crippled.”

The black-clad man gazed at Do Cheonlin’s blood-soaked thigh muscles and smiled coldly.

“How long do you think you can hold out with that?”

Shwick!

Having closed to absolute point-blank range, the black-clad man poured forth sharp sword qi like falling raindrops.

Each strike varied in speed yet carried power enough to shatter Mount Tai in a single blow.

Whoooosh!

The rain-like sword qi pierced without the slightest error toward Do Cheonlin’s vital points.

Yet Do Cheonlin’s Blade Ultimate Stance was no ordinary technique; it instantly repelled them outward.

However, the stance collapsed in the process, and the powerful blade aura that had enveloped his body eventually dissipated like mist.

Boom!

In that gap, the black-clad man executed sword-body unity.

He flew toward Do Cheonlin as if sucked in and thrust forth his demonic sword.

Crash!

Yet the man who had launched his confident killing blow suddenly brushed past Do Cheonlin and tumbled unsightly onto the ground.

“How…”

As the black-clad man quickly rose, blood poured from his side.

At the exact moment he should have pierced the throat, a flaw had appeared in his own stance instead.

Do Cheonlin had not missed that opening and landed a single precise strike.

The sword move was exquisitely timed and immensely powerful.

It instantly pierced the black-clad man’s protective profound qi and deeply slashed his flank.

“…”

Shock filled the black-clad man’s eyes.

The Blade Ultimate Stance—a technique that defends against enemy attacks using only the flow of energy from the blade and one’s posture—was highly convenient, yet it rapidly consumed inner energy and stamina, and could not be used in extreme close-quarters chaos.

Moreover, while it could deflect attacks, accompanying a counterstroke was supposed to be impossible.

How had Do Cheonlin managed to counterattack while employing the Blade Ultimate Stance?

Swish-swish-swish-swish!

The black-clad man frantically swung his sword again, attacking Do Cheonlin.

Knowing the Blade Ultimate Stance posture was no longer active, he struck all at once.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

But each time his sword neared Do Cheonlin’s body, a strange repulsive force emerged.

Whoooosh.

Suddenly, transparent heat haze rose from Do Cheonlin’s body.

Whoosh!

In an instant, blood burst from the black-clad man’s shoulder.

The black-clad man raised his brows in disbelief.

Though Do Cheonlin was no longer in the distinctive Blade Ultimate Stance posture, each time he attacked, strange currents flowed out and unleashed counterstrikes.

No such technique existed in the martial world.

“What manner of swordsmanship is this?”

Do Cheonlin answered calmly.

“Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance.”

The Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance.

It was a new blade art he had created by combining the strengths of the Blood Flame Blade Method and the illusory demonic arts of the Illusory Demon Venerable.

Unlike the ordinary Blade Ultimate Stance, it was not bound by posture and could also deliver counterattacks.

“Though since I executed it with a sword, perhaps it should be called Sword Ultimate Stance.”

In the past, lamenting his own insufficient martial arts for failing to protect his beloved Dam Yuyeon in a moment of crisis, he had devised a technique capable of countering enemy attacks in any situation.

“It wasn’t yet ready for real combat…”

Do Cheonlin curled the corner of his mouth.

“But thanks to the Hyungsan Sect’s swordsmanship that dances like a courtesan, I was able to complete it.”

Flames erupted in the black-clad man’s eyes.

So that was it.

He had wondered why Do Cheonlin took the blows without countering.

Do Cheonlin had been staking his life to complete the Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance in actual battle.

“Did you truly believe you could insult my sect and still die an easy death?”

“How amusing. You speak of ‘my sect’ while serving the Returning to One Realm. Could it be that the Hyungsan Sect is the root of the Returning to One Realm?”

“Cease your nonsense!”

In that instant, the black-clad man’s voice changed.

At the same time, an eerie light poured from his eyes.

A strange thought struck Do Cheonlin.

Though the man’s face and features remained the same, he somehow felt like an entirely different person.

Flash!

Suddenly, sharp brilliance poured forth.

The Lute Sword.

The supreme art of the Hyungsan Sect, lost two hundred years ago, was finally unfolding from the black-clad man’s hand.

‘It’s different from the Lute Sword.’

The Hyungsan Sect’s Lute Sword was brilliant and endlessly variable, but it held no secret of endlessly embroidering the air like this.

Yet the black-clad man seemed to pour forth unending light that refused to vanish.

Do Cheonlin attempted to dissipate the sword gleams with his Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance.

But they clung to him like a swarm of bees stuck to a hive, refusing to disappear and persistently following his body.

‘What demonic swordsmanship.’

Before long, Do Cheonlin’s surroundings were encircled by brilliant sword lights.

He raised the Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance, yet the lights lingered around him, ceaselessly hovering and sparkling.

They could not be repelled even by the Blade Ultimate Stance.

Truly the radiance of a devil.

‘Did the Returning to One Realm anticipate that I would create the Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance?’

Do Cheonlin bit his lip.

He had created a technique unmatched under heaven, yet it was not truly complete.

Still, he had seen through that the black-clad man’s swordsmanship belonged to the Hyungsan Sect.

By continually provoking him to create openings in his swordplay, Do Cheonlin believed he could cut him down with the Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance.

Yet the new sword art the black-clad man now displayed seemed crafted specifically to counter his Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance, possessing perfectly opposing properties.

In the end, the Returning to One Realm had predicted every culmination of Do Cheonlin’s martial learning and sent this young masked assassin.

‘A pity.’

With Bu Eunseol’s help, he had only just begun to break through his limits.

If he had trained for a few more years, he could have perfectly completed the Blood-Stained Blade Ultimate Stance and left behind a technique unmatched in the martial world.

Yet now he would end his life at the hands of a powerful foe sent by the Returning to One Realm.

‘I’m sorry, Lady Dam.’

As brilliant light gradually began seeping into Do Cheonlin’s body,

Flash!

Suddenly, radiance poured from the sky, and in an instant, purple brilliance cascaded over Do Cheonlin’s body.

‘Ugh.’

Do Cheonlin involuntarily groaned.

The pouring purple light carried terrifying heat; even without touching him, it felt as though it were melting his skin.

Whoooosh.

As the light piercing Do Cheonlin’s body vanished, a black shadow landed softly from the air.

With black hair fluttering, he seemed like a black dragon descended in human form.

“Bu Eunseol.” Do Cheonlin cried out in surprise.

It was none other than Bu Eunseol.

“How are you here?”

“Why did you not activate the emergency contact system?”

A hint of anger showed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.

“Have you already forgotten our promise?”

He had clearly told Do Cheonlin: if danger arose, activate the emergency contact system without fail and then flee.

Yet Do Cheonlin had not kept that promise.

Because he believed he could win. 

Because he wished to further his martial arts through real combat.

“How did you know to come?”

“You’re in the middle of struggling, aren’t you? Especially with this matter.”

Leading the Mercenary Corps, Do Cheonlin was constantly exhausted alongside their military strategist Dam Yuyeon.

Thus, Bu Eunseol—worried that the Martial Alliance or black path factions might act rashly—had ordered the Death Spirit Corps to monitor the pair’s movements every half-sijin and report immediately if anything unusual occurred.

Moreover, he had something to discuss with Do Cheonlin and was already tracking his whereabouts to find him.

If not for that, even with Bu Eunseol’s peerless qinggong, he could not have saved Do Cheonlin.

“At first, I thought I would win.”

Knowing full well why Bu Eunseol was angry, Do Cheonlin spoke with an apologetic expression.

“I saw it as a chance to complete the blade art I recently devised.”

Thud.

Instead of replying, Bu Eunseol flicked a small pill toward Do Cheonlin.

It was the Potential Demon Divine Pellet crafted by the Medicine Hall.

“Take it. It won’t fully heal your external wounds, but you’ll be able to move without issue.”

Catch.

Do Cheonlin caught the Potential Demon Divine Pellet and swallowed it at once.

“Go back and receive proper treatment. I’ll handle this one.”

“Understood.”

Without argument, Do Cheonlin unfolded his movement art and departed.

Since the black-clad man’s mission for the Returning to One Realm was to recover demonic swords from their wielders, his skill was terrifying.

It was indeed best to leave this fight to Bu Eunseol.

“Returning to One Realm.”

As Bu Eunseol turned, bloodlust rose in his eyes.

“I was looking for you anyway.”

It was none other than the Returning to One Realm who had dug up his grandfather’s grave and stolen the corpse.

He had long searched for their main base, suffering because he could find no clue anywhere but now an Emissary of the Returning to One Realm had come to him of his own accord—Bu Eunseol even felt a spark of joy.

“There’s no need for conversation with your kind.”

Dozens of streams of inner energy soared skyward from Bu Eunseol’s body.

The Emissaries of the Three Realms and the Special Divine Ranks would not easily spill information even if questioned.

Thus, he would subdue this one in a single strike, then, through torture or any means necessary, he would seize at least a subordinate branch and destroy them one by one.

Shaaaa!

Dozens of blades formed from the Wishful True Binding shot into the sky, then rained down upon the black-clad man like a storm.

Flash!

The black-clad man unleashed thirty strokes at once, instantly dissipating the Wishful True Binding.

Shaaaa!

Bu Eunseol responded by unleashing an even stronger Wishful True Binding, now infused with Crystal Divine Energy, making it extraordinarily resilient.

Bzzz!

Though sword qi struck, it could not cut the Wishful True Binding and only produced strange vibrations.

Papapapa!

In the end, the black-clad man swung his demonic sword directly to block the pouring Wishful True Binding.

Thud-thud-thud.

He sliced through the Wishful True Binding blades like straw, yet each time he cut the crystal-infused energy blades, sharp fragments scattered in all directions.

Thud.

As a result, the mask the black-clad man wore tore, slowly revealing the face hidden beneath.

“You…”

Seeing the man’s features, Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.

This was Myeong Un, the youngest disciple of the Hyungsan Sect who had once served him yellow wine when Bu Eunseol visited near Lake Dongjeong to become a member of the Nine Deaths Squad.

Their connection had been brief, and Myeong Un’s physique had completely changed; even Bu Eunseol, who could recognize people by muscle structure, had failed to identify him.

“A member of the Hyungsan Sect.”

Though the sect had fallen and its disciples now took odd jobs for other factions like escorts, Myeong Un had lived happily, bound tightly to his martial brothers.

Yet why had Myeong Un become a member of the Returning to One Realm?

“But why the Returning to One Realm?”

Bu Eunseol stared in confusion. Myeong Un—the black-clad man—shook his head.

“What good is digging up old history?”

Gripping his demonic sword, he continued,

“I’ve heard you are the Martial Soul Command Lord who shakes the world. Let us fight properly.”

From his words, it seemed considerable time had passed since Myeong Un joined the Returning to One Realm, and he had acquired some information about Bu Eunseol.

“…”

Bu Eunseol clasped his hands behind his back and gazed emptily at the distant sky.

Though their paths had diverged, the cheeky youngest disciple of the Hyungsan Sect who had poured him yellow wine remained a fond memory.

But that same man had joined the wicked Returning to One Realm, an organization that dissected even the corpses of the dead to recreate past masters.

“You won’t have the leisure to be distracted!”

Myeong Un immediately swung his demonic sword toward Bu Eunseol’s neck.

Bu Eunseol, eyes still fixed on the distant sky, lightly parried the demonic sword with his finger sword.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Bu Eunseol’s inner power and swordsmanship had already reached the pinnacle so no matter what mysterious sword art Myeong Un employed, it posed no threat.

“Don’t act so arrogantly!”

Infuriated, Myeong Un twisted his grip on the demonic sword.

His skin turned deathly pale, and brilliant light flashed in his eyes.

He now resembled Neung Ryeong, the greatest master produced by the Hyungsan Sect, who had vanished two hundred years ago.

‘So that’s how it was.’

From that appearance alone, Bu Eunseol understood two things.

The Returning to One Realm had largely completed a great method to fully inherit the abilities of past masters and Myeong Un had joined them to fulfill his long-cherished wish of rebuilding the Hyungsan Sect.

Otherwise, he would have no reason to choose the martial arts of Neung Ryeong, known as the sect’s greatest master.

“In the end, the Returning to One Realm also exploits human desperation.”

Bu Eunseol murmured regretfully.

Myeong Un possessed outstanding martial talent.

But because he had been taken in as a disciple of the fallen Hyungsan Sect, that talent could not bloom.

The Returning to One Realm must have recognized his gift and lured him in with the promise of rebuilding the sect.

Swiiish!

The more sword strikes Myeong Un unleashed, the paler his skin became, and his eyes and expression increasingly resembled another person.

Clang-clang-clang!

Bu Eunseol deflected the attacks with his finger sword, but this time it was ineffective.

Hiss! Hiss!

Misty sword qi passed repeatedly through the finger sword and dug toward Bu Eunseol’s vital points.

Neung Ryeong of two hundred years ago had stood tall among the Nine Great Sects as the Hyungsan Sect’s supreme master.

Through the Returning to One Realm’s great method, Myeong Un now possessed identical ability, becoming a formidable foe even Bu Eunseol could not easily handle.

Swiiish!

In the end, the sword qi began freely swirling and piercing through gaps in the finger sword.

“How long do you think you can keep evading?”

Myeong Un’s face had completely changed; he had become the perfect Neung Ryeong.

His arms began stretching like taffy, and his long fingers freely manipulated the long sword.

‘So Neung Ryeong had hands like that.’

Neung Ryeong’s fingers were abnormally long, and his muscles were as flexible as if he had mastered the ultimate Heavenly Axis Flexibility Technique.

Born with such a physique, he had been able to complete the unique Lute Sword of the Hyungsan Sect that no one else could match.

‘No choice, then.’

With finger sword alone, he could no longer block Myeong Un, who endlessly poured forth freely bending sword qi so subduing him would not be easy either. 

In the end, he would have to unfold true vacuum to suppress him.

Shiiing.

As Bu Eunseol grasped the Silent Tiger Soul Sword, it felt as though the air of the entire world was sucked into the blade.

Transcending time and space, he prepared to unleash the Meteor Chasing the Moon Escape Form against the legendary Hyungsan master Neung Ryeong of two hundred years ago.

Chiiing!

Yet an unexpected outcome occurred.

A strange metallic ring resounded.

The very tip of Bu Eunseol’s Silent Tiger Soul Sword had precisely met the tip of the demonic sword Myeong Un thrust forth.

He had blocked the ultimate-speed killing sword that, after reaching extreme evolution, had never once failed.

“Hahaha!”

Myeong Un burst into triumphant laughter.

But something was strange.

Though his confident killing blow had missed…

Bu Eunseol gazed down at him calmly with utterly sunken eyes.