Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: The Successor's Throne
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Simwol avoided a direct answer, deftly changing the subject.
“What is certain is that the elder offered you such a proposal because he values your exceptional talents, Young Master Bu.”
Bu Eun-seol stared at Simwol without a word.
His gaze was not only as sharp as the tip of a sword but also glinted with a light that seemed to pierce through to one's very soul.
But Simwol's eyes were filled with affection, as if he were gazing at a lover.
“I see. Now I understand.”
There was something about Simwol that Bu Eun-seol had never been able to comprehend.
Why a mere disciple of Manbak Hall possessed an aura that rivaled his own, a Ten Demonic Scion.
“What do you mean?”
“Your identity.”
A smile similar to Simwol's played on Bu Eun-seol's lips.
“A disciple of Manbak Hall, but perhaps also a member of the Amcheon Unit. Or maybe... a disciple of the Elder Hall Lord.”
For a moment, Simwol's smile vanished.
But it was only for the briefest of moments. In the next, an even brighter smile graced his lips.
“Well, now.”
Simwol said nonchalantly, his eyes curving into crescents.
“Whatever work I do, whatever position I hold, the fact that I am a loyal disciple of this Hall remains unchanged.”
In the meantime, Bu Eun-seol and Simwol arrived in front of a small pavilion.
Through the open gate, a beautiful garden and a small pond were visible.
Simwol looked at the tall pavilion rising to the south and said.
“Not only is the scenery here beautiful, but it is also not far from the Seongma Pavilion, where the Demonic Emperor resides.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“There are maids stationed inside, so please feel free to ask for anything you need at any time. And...”
Simwol spoke in a calm but somewhat cold voice.
“This will be the last favor the elder bestows upon you, Young Master Bu.”
In other words, the Elder Hall Lord, Jeok-bung, had pulled some strings to arrange this residence.
Realizing the meaning behind Simwol's words, Bu Eun-seol gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Please convey my thanks to the elder. Tell him I will rest well.”
“Understood.”
Simwol cupped his hands in respect and departed quietly.
Watching his retreating back, Bu Eun-seol suddenly realized two things.
Jeok-bung was a man who controlled those around him like pawns on a chessboard.
And that he was someone who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
***
The next day, the Demonic Cult delivered a rather baffling schedule.
It was an invitation to a banquet being held for the Ten Demonic Scions who had come to the Cult.
The banquet was supposedly for the purpose of fostering camaraderie among the Scions.
What's more, no one from the Demonic Cult's leadership would be attending, so there was no obligation to go. Naturally, Bu Eun-seol did not attend.
They might all be Ten Demonic Scions, but they were people who had fought to the death against each other on Hell Island.
He held no fond feelings for any of them, save for Seo Jin-ha, with whom he had fought back-to-back.
Like Yu Un-ryong, whom he had seen earlier.
*'Could this be another test?'*
A sense of unease crept up from deep within his chest.
If the only goal was to deal with the Dae-ui-go-su, there was no reason to summon the Ten Demonic Scions to the Demonic Cult. They could have simply sent an order to each sect.
And yet, they were deliberately brought to the Cult, given residences, and offered a banquet?
If so, all of this had to be orchestrated by someone, a meticulously crafted plan.
*'It would be simpler to just belong to the Demonic Cult.'*
Bu Eun-seol thought of Seo Jin-ha and shook his head.
Having joined the Cheonsal Unit early on, he could be said to have been the first to cast off the shackles of being a Ten Demonic Scion.
*'He's probably not here.'*
Given Seo Jin-ha's personality, if he were at the Demonic Cult, he would have surely come to find him.
*'They also said Hall Master Neung is away.'*
Neung Gak, who had been recruited from Nang-ya-gak's Cheongi Hall to become the Hyeonhyeon Hall Master of the Demonic Cult.
He was a man of great martial arts and wisdom who had helped Bu Eun-seol during the test at Baekma Temple.
If Neung Gak were here, he would have offered much advice and help in this situation.
*'Perhaps the Demonic Cult anticipated this and planned things accordingly...'*
In the meantime, the sun set and night fell.
Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by the low voice of a maid.
“A warrior from the Jeokseong Company has come to see you, young master.”
“Come in.”
At Bu Eun-seol's words, the door opened, and a warrior wearing a crimson-hued sword bowed his head.
“I am Jang Yu, a disciple of the Jeokseong Company.”
“What is it?”
“An order has come down to summon the Ten Demonic Scions to the Dokmyeong Pavilion.”
*'So, it begins.'*
Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat and nodded.
The one orchestrating all of this had finally summoned the Ten Demonic Scions.
***
Following the warrior outside, Bu Eun-seol headed not toward the central area where the Demonic Cult's main buildings were located, but to the western outskirts.
There, a seven-story pavilion, its exterior dyed black, stood tall.
Grand in size and soaring as if to pierce the heavens, the pavilion resembled a colossal sword with serrated double edges.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
Bu Eun-seol asked, watching Jang Yu guide him at a brisk pace.
“Don't tell me I'm the last one?”
“That is correct. We were informed late that Young Master Bu had been assigned a separate residence...”
“I see.”
Bu Eun-seol let out a faint, wry smile.
It seemed the common warriors had not been informed that he had been assigned a special residence through Jeok-bung's consideration.
“You can enter this way.”
After entering the pavilion, Jang Yu opened an inner door. Bu Eun-seol nodded and went inside.
Stepping through the door, a vast hall came into view.
Inside the hall stood pillars as transparent as crystal, and the walls and ceiling were studded with luminous pearls that cast a bright light.
And below the altar, seven warriors stood tall. They were the Ten Demonic Scions.
*'Seven of them?'*
A look of confusion flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
The Demonic Cult had planned for twelve Ten Demonic Scions. Two were said to have been chosen to become direct subordinates of the Cult.
However, due to Hyuk-ryeon Eung's intervention to save Bu Eun-seol, fourteen had survived.
Excluding the two who became direct subordinates belonging to the Demonic Cult's Biyeong Pavilion and Seo Jin-ha, who became a member of the Cheonsal Unit...
...eleven Scions, including Bu Eun-seol, should have come.
*'They said the Hwau Sword Sect didn't select a Ten Demonic Scion.'*
Even considering that, there should have been ten.
*'It must be one of two things.'*
Bu Eun-seol's eyes grew as sharp as scattering blades.
*'They were either co-opted by the Elder Hall Lord, or, like my own sect, they were accepted as true disciples somewhere.'*
The situation didn't matter.
After all, what they wanted was the annihilation of the Dae-ui-go-su.
“Bu Eun-seol.”
Just then, a young man with a white whip at his waist approached Bu Eun-seol, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. It was Yu Un-ryong.
“So you rejected the Hwau Sword Sect and joined Nang-ya-gak... looks like they abandoned you like a dog.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They say those who didn't show up are all under the protection of the Ten Demonic Sects. Or that some have even become direct warriors of the Demonic Cult.”
Bu Eun-seol, too, had received an offer from Nang-ya-gak to be designated as a successor.
And he had rejected the Elder Hall Lord Jeok-bung's offer to become a direct warrior of the Demonic Cult, choosing to come here on his own.
But Yu Un-ryong, completely unaware of this fact, was sneering at him.
“You acted so high and mighty on Hell Island, but in the end, you're just waiting to be boiled in a pot like a hunting dog.”
When he received no response, Yu Un-ryong's veins bulged as he spoke more forcefully.
“What are you going to do, now that the Chief Instructor was exiled to the remote frontiers for trying to save you? In the end, you bastard...”
“How noisy.”
Suddenly, a man carrying a short spear on his back appeared between Bu Eun-seol and Yu Un-ryong.
His complexion was pale and his body was thin, but a bluish aura emanated from his eyes.
It was Yeong Mun-ho, the Ten Demonic Scion of the Saryeong Sect.
“Yu Un-ryong. Are you saying that because you're lamenting your own situation?”
“What?”
“Not everyone here was dragged here against their will like you.”
As Yeong Mun-ho retorted with a cold gaze, a spark ignited in Yu Un-ryong's eyes.
“What did you say?”
Enraged, he gripped the White Serpent Whip at his waist and shouted.
“Yeong Mun-ho, you bastard...”
“Still, I don't know if this is what you'd call proper treatment.”
A man wearing light green martial arts robes covered in strange patterns inserted himself between Yu Un-ryong and Yeong Mun-ho.
It was Seok U-haeng, the Ten Demonic Scion of the Geuksal Secret Pavilion.
“Regardless of how we got here, we are the Ten Demonic Scions. But to be secretly stashed away in the Demonic Cult like thieves and made to wait in a pavilion like this without any explanation...”
At those words, even the agitated Yu Un-ryong paused.
Seok U-haeng's words echoed the common sentiment of all the Ten Demonic Scions gathered there.
They hadn't expected a hero's welcome, but they had at least anticipated being treated in a manner befitting the Scions of the Ten Demonic Sects.
But aside from a pointless banquet, they were being treated like day laborers heading out to sell their wares.
*Rumble.*
Just then, a sound like grinding stone came from a wall near the altar, and a door opened.
And a man in black robes slowly emerged from within.
“......!”
For a moment, a suffocating silence fell over the hall.
A sharp aura rising from the black-robed man's body swept through the entire hall.
*'He's strong.'*
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the suddenly appeared man in black.
Not only was the aura rising from his body powerful, but he was also emanating a sharp killing intent, as if unleashing thorns from his entire being.
He was clearly a cold-blooded butcher who could take hundreds, even thousands of lives without hesitation.
The man in black stepped onto the altar set up in the hall and spoke in a low voice.
“I am Deung-ryun, Lord of the Myeol-hon Unit.”
A chilling air instantly froze the hall.
The Myeol-hon Unit, one of the three great combat divisions of the Demonic Cult whose name resounded throughout the world. The leader of that dreaded assassination squad had suddenly appeared?
*'He's not the one in charge.'*
Unlike the others, who were stunned, Bu Eun-seol inwardly shook his head.
He had a gut feeling that the Lord of the Myeol-hon Unit was not the one who had summoned the Ten Demonic Scions to the Demonic Cult and executed this entire plan.
*'There is definitely someone else.'*
“I'll be brief.”
Just then, Deung-ryun swept his gaze over the Ten Demonic Scions in the hall and spoke.
“From this day forward, you are to go out into the Murim and, by any means necessary, annihilate the Dae-ui-go-su.”
It was indeed a brief command.
After a moment of silence, Deung-ryun spoke again.
“You may ask questions if you have any.”
At that, Yu Un-ryong, who had been wearing a disgruntled expression the whole time, stepped forward to ask.
“I'd like to ask why it was necessary to summon all the Ten Demonic Scions here. It seems like something that could have been handled by simply sending orders to each sect.”
His tone was less of a question and more of a challenge.
If this were Hell Island, he wouldn't have dared to speak like this, even if his gall had burst.
But now, they were all Ten Demonic Scions who had mastered the ultimate arts of the Ten Demonic Sects.
No matter how fearsome a master Deung-ryun was, they had the position and right to speak their minds.
“There are two reasons you were summoned to this Hall. The first was to assign which Dae-ui-go-su you would face based on your level of martial arts.”
Deung-ryun paused, looking at Yu Un-ryong with a strange smile.
“However, with one exception, you have all reached a consistently high level. So that plan was canceled.”
At those words, all the Ten Demonic Scions except Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed.
—*Someone has been observing us again. Just like on Hell Island.*
But there was one person whose eyes gleamed for a different reason. It was Yu Un-ryong.
Because when Deung-ryun had said, 'with one exception,' his gaze had been fixed squarely on Yu Un-ryong.
—*You are the weakest.*
That was what Deung-ryun was saying.
Feeling humiliated, Yu Un-ryong bit his lip.
But his opponent was the Lord of the Demonic Cult's Myeol-hon Unit, whose name shook the world. He didn't have the courage to throw a fit at him.
“I know you are dissatisfied. Given time, you could build up your martial arts a little more.”
Deung-ryun said.
“But the same goes for the Dae-ui-go-su. They have been training their martial arts as joint scions of the Murim Alliance for a long time.”
He swept his gaze over them once more and continued.
“That gap is not easily closed in an instant. In fact, as more time passes, they may become even stronger.”
Deung-ryun's statement was, to some extent, correct. Time alone does not guarantee infinite progress.
The problem was that they hadn't even been given adequate time to develop.
“May I ask one thing?”
This time, Seok U-haeng stepped forward.
“I have heard that not only you, my lord, but also the members of the Myeol-hon Unit under your command possess martial skills that shake the heavens. So, was it really necessary to train us just to kill the Dae-ui-go-su?”
“That is the second reason you were summoned.”
“What do you mean...”
“Listen carefully. The Ten Demonic Scion who kills the most Dae-ui-go-su...”
Sweeping his gaze over everyone in the hall, Deung-ryun uttered a shocking statement.
“...will become a candidate to succeed the Demonic Emperor!”