Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Find the Ghost Bow Squad (6)
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"Ch, Cult Leader Heavenly Demon?"
Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon felt his heart pounding at the name he had longed for and awaited for so long.
And upon closer look, Gunryong's attire and appearance were strikingly similar...
'Doesn't it resemble the First Heavenly Demon as recorded in documents and oral traditions left by my ancestor, Ghost Bow Flying King Cheok Dae-yeon?'
Deep confusion washed over him because this era's Heavenly Demon—not the Fifth Heavenly Demon, but the First—seemed to be approaching.
This confusion wasn't just Cheok Cheon's delusion.
The elders in the Ghost Bow Squad, including Cheok Cheon, gazed at Gunryong, wondering if he might truly be the Heavenly Demon.
Of course, not everyone in the Ghost Bow Squad shared the same thought.
"Hmph, don't lie. You look barely into your mid-twenties, and you dare claim to be the next Heavenly Demon?"
In particular, Jeong Hyeok—the youngest and most junior in the Ghost Bow Squad—scoffed and outright denied it.
As Jeong Hyeok denied it, the over 100 forces of the Great Bow Sect, who had been frozen in hesitation, snapped back to their senses.
"Division Leader Go In-pyo is dead!"
"We must avenge the Division Leader!"
"Right now, turn that fraud claiming to be the Heavenly Demon into a porcupine and kill him!"
The Great Bow Sect disciples were fully armed and held the overwhelming numerical advantage.
Was that why?
The fear of the young man before them—this fraud claiming to be the Heavenly Demon—having slain Bloodied Bow Palace Go In-pyo in the blink of an eye was temporarily forgotten.
Even a master skilled in ambushes couldn't possibly evade a simultaneous assault from over 100 elite archers, they believed.
"Aim!"
In place of their already slain Division Leader Go In-pyo, his deputy, Piercing Bullet Bow Guest Yeo Jeong-u, took command of the Great Bow Sect disciples.
Swoosh!
At Yeo Jeong-u's order, the entire force—who had been waiting to suppress Cheok Cheon and the Ghost Bow Squad, and even kill them—nocked their arrows and drew their bowstrings. Their sole target was one person.
The First Heavenly Demon, Gunryong.
"What? No one believes me? That's hurtful."
The Heavenly Demon felt a twinge of hurt, seeing not only the Ghost Bow Squad but even the descendant of Cheok Dae-yeon—one of the Demonic Cult's Five Great Kings who had once followed him devotedly—tilting his head in doubt.
'Can't be helped. The world is so chaotic these days.'
He understood the hardships of this generation, with pretenders claiming to be the Heavenly Demon and shamelessly devouring the Demonic Cult's legacy left and right.
The Heavenly Demon's approach was simple.
If they didn't believe, he would make them believe.
And right on cue, the Great Bow Sect disciples launched their one-sided attack.
"All units, commence attack!"
No sooner had Yeo Jeong-u's words ended than...
Pababababang!
The Great Bow Sect disciples raised the massive bows they prided themselves on—the Great Bows—and moved in perfect unison, unleashing arrows toward the Heavenly Demon.
The sight of over 100 elite archers firing hundreds of arrows at a single target was truly spectacular.
"...!!"
Just as Cheok Cheon and the Ghost Bow Squad's eyes widened in shock at the Great Bow Sect's overwhelming barrage...
Truly astonishing events unfolded once more.
Flash!
A black aura and bloodthirsty crimson energy surged around the Heavenly Demon's entire body. Then, in an instant, the arrows flying toward his torso, vital points, and acupoints from the Great Bow Sect vanished.
Shruk!
It wasn't mere evasion or slashing them down with a sword. The arrows disappeared like a magic trick in the blink of an eye, leaving the Great Bow Sect disciples and onlookers doubting their own eyes.
"Wh-what? Where did my arrow go?"
"Why do the arrows disappear the moment they get close to that young warrior?"
"It feels like we've been possessed by ghosts."
As confusion deepened with the eerie sensation of arrows being pulled into another dimension, one person found the answer.
"The arrows didn't disappear or leak elsewhere."
The one muttering in a stunned, staggering voice was none other than Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon—the most skilled and highest realm among all archers present.
"Squad Leader. What do you mean?"
"Then what happened?"
Even his Ghost Bow Squad subordinates wondered what he meant, but Cheok Cheon had realized the truth.
"The Great Bow Sect's arrows simply melted away before touching that... person's body!"
Cheok Cheon shouted the answer.
He was exactly right.
The arrows had seemed to vanish or slip into another space because, just one step before striking the Heavenly Demon Gunryong's body, they were annihilated by his absurdly immense Protective Gang Qi Art.
"Impossible!"
"The Great Bow Sect's archery is among the top three in the world!"
"And he melted every single one of the hundreds of arrows they fired?"
Everyone doubted the physically inexplicable claim, while Cheok Cheon and the Ghost Bow Squad members who grasped it shifted to eyes filled with disbelief.
Sneer!
The Heavenly Demon stepped forward demonstratively, picked up a stray arrow, and showed it himself.
As he brought it near his neck...
Shruk!
The arrow evaporated and melted away in formless speed.
This was, of course, the Heavenly Demon deliberately activating it slowly for demonstration.
Ooooo!
As Cheok Cheon's guess proved spot-on and the Heavenly Demon's astonishing Protective Gang Qi Art was revealed, the onlookers gasped in awe, unable to close their mouths.
Tremble!
Especially Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon, who had been inwardly debating if the Gunryong before him was truly the First Heavenly Demon or the Fifth, could now only be convinced.
In the entire world, there was only one otherworldly Protective Gang Qi Art that automatically activated the moment its user was in peril, annihilating attacks.
"This is undoubtedly... the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art, said to have been lost in actual combat from our cult 200 years ago!"
Cheok Cheon's words were precise.
What had protected Gunryong's body moments ago was none other than the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art—one of the supreme Protective Gang Qi Arts alongside Shaolin's Vajra Indestructible Art.
Unlike the somewhat defensive Vajra Indestructible Art, the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art annihilated attacks before they could even touch, blending protective and offensive traits.
Thus, it was notoriously difficult to master, and after the First Heavenly Demon's sealing, no one had properly learned it.
'And for him to deploy the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art means...'
Cheok Cheon finally had certainty.
Whether the Gunryong before him was the First Heavenly Demon or the Fifth was uncertain, but one thing was clear.
That was!
"Descendant of the Heavenly Mountain Bow Clan and Squad Leader of the Ghost Bow Squad, Black-Clothed Bow King Cheok Cheon, pays respects to the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, idol of ten thousand demons."
At the very least, he was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demon.
With that realization, Cheok Cheon performed the most perfect礼节 ever, even more than before.
Thud!
He even knelt flatter than he ever had before the Great Bow Sect's leader, whom he had endured for years, prostrating himself utterly humbly.
This was one of the Heavenly Mountain Bow Clan's most profound honors for the Demonic Cult Leader.
No sooner had Cheok Cheon's greeting ended than...
"Descendants of the Heavenly Mountain Bow Clan and members of the Ghost Bow Squad pay respects to the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, idol of ten thousand demons."
All remaining Ghost Bow Squad members prostrated themselves in unison.
From the eldest member to the youngest, Jeong Hyeok, not a single one dissented.
There was good reason why Cheok Cheon and the entire Ghost Bow Squad were now fully convinced.
'The circumstances of when our ancestor Ghost Bow Flying King Cheok Dae-yeon first clashed with the First Heavenly Demon are precisely recorded in our clan's documents.'
To be exact, before Gunryong reigned as the First Heavenly Demon, he had dueled one-on-one with the Bow Clan's representative, Cheok Dae-yeon.
In that duel, Cheok Dae-yeon—for the first time in his life—felt humiliation, defeat, and utter helplessness, completely lost on how to fight.
The technique that instilled helplessness in Cheok Dae-yeon, one of history's strongest archers, was the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art—the utter counter to archery.
The documents still record it thus:
-At first glance, the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art creates the illusion that arrows vanish or slip into a sub-space.
That is merely an illusion.
In truth, it shatters or melts arrows before they strike, so even perfect mastery of our clan's pride, the Ghost Soul Bow Time-Space Art, is futile. Never challenge it.
In summary: No matter how perfectly one masters the Ghost Soul Bow Time-Space Art—our clan's glory—the Overlord Annihilation Qi Art is its natural predator. Do not oppose its user; serve as vassal.
And the one who left this record was none other than the Bow Clan's greatest warrior, Ghost Bow Flying King Cheok Dae-yeon. It was only natural they treated it as holy scripture.
"Good. Now you believe me."
The Heavenly Demon smiled warmly at the Ghost Bow Squad, who had finally realized his identity and prostrated themselves, albeit belatedly.
This was a feeling he hadn't experienced since reuniting with Ghost Sword Manor.
"I've heard you've endured tremendous hardships all this time."
The Heavenly Demon knew well how the Ghost Bow Squad had struggled to survive persecution, mockery, and adapt in the Central Plains while searching for traces of their own.
The Ghost Bow Squad's wanderings after the Fourth Heavenly Demon's death were detailed in a letter from Abyss Hall Leader Chae So-ryeong, who arrived later.
'This is all due to my own failings.'
The Demonic Cult's disarray and weakening began after his sealing, so he had no desire to blame or berate the modern cultists enduring the worst era in Demonic Cult history.
He simply wanted to say they had done well.
And one more thing.
"From now on, the name Demonic Cult will be your greatest source of pride."
The Heavenly Demon had a knack for making even corny lines sound convincing.
One reason it rang true:
His transcendent martial arts that subdued all.
Swoosh!
No sooner had his words ended than he raised the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword.
And toward those who had stopped firing arrows, blankly watching the Ghost Bow Squad's reunion with the Heavenly Demon.
In other words, over 100 Great Bow Sect disciples—he aimed his sword.
"Die."
With that simple word came an attack anything but simple.
Asura Heavenly Sword
Supreme sword technique among countless peerless arts.
This was one of the Heavenly Demon's absolute strongest techniques among his myriad peerless martial arts and sword arts: a stance from the Heavenly Demon Asura Heart Sword.
The Heavenly Demon using the Heavenly Demon Asura Heart Sword meant his intent was fiercer than ever.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The Heavenly Demon merged man and sword beyond unity, reaching the realm of harmony with all things.
At least with the sword, no one in history—martial artists or immortals—could match him.
Kuuuung!
Another spectacle unfolded.
Over 100 Great Bow Sect archers had their hearts pierced and burst, dying instantly on the spot without even a death cry.
It was utter, powerless massacre.