Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Eternal Divine Thief (6)
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“Un, unbelievable! The Demonic Cult Leader, the Heavenly Demon, surely met his end after the fourth generation.”
“Don’t make me laugh. The title of Heavenly Demon isn’t some single-line hereditary family art like the Eternal Divine Thief.”
“Kuh!”
Stung by the harsh words, Lee Shin could find no rebuttal and clamped his mouth shut.
“First things first, if you don’t return Lord Seok Myeongju right now, you’ll die here. Your twin brother will join you.”
With the Heavenly Demon’s prowess, he could certainly pull it off.
He would scour the world like a net to find Lord Seok Myeongju and exact complete vengeance without fail.
Lee Shin had no other choice.
“……Understood. Then, order your subordinates to withdraw, and follow me.”
In the end, Lee Shin crumbled. To save his own life and prevent the Eternal Divine Thief’s secret arts from dying with him, he chose submission.
“Wise decision.”
Despite his words, the Heavenly Demon remained vigilant.
Lee Shin might bolt at any moment, so he gripped the man’s wrist tightly. Even if he severed the arm with his abilities, escape would be impossible.
“Your lightness skill was faster than mine earlier, yet you call yourself no genius in it, but a genius in disguise?”
The Heavenly Demon couldn’t quite believe that part.
Just moments ago, Lee Shin had displayed the Yi-hyeong Man-ri Haeng—a lightness skill faster and more variable than his own.
“At my level of walking…… my brother, Lee Yeong, flies.”
Lee Shin declared confidently.
If their talents hadn’t convinced the previous Eternal Divine Thief, both twins wouldn’t have become thieves of the era.
“Follow me.”
As the Heavenly Demon ordered the surroundings cleared as promised, Lee Shin moved as if he’d been waiting.
Surprisingly, his destination was the manor lord’s quarters—the residence of Lord Seok Myeongju.
‘Bold indeed. Kidnapping the lord of the Stone Family Manor and not hiding him far away, but right in his own room?’
No matter how dark it is under a lamp, this act required absolute confidence in success.
Swoosh!
The Heavenly Demon schooled his surprise and reached to fling open the door—
Flash!
The shocking event wasn’t over yet.
As the door opened, something with astonishing speed and variability poured out.
It was none other than,
—Yi-hyeong Man-ri Haeng!
The technique of Yi-hyeong Man-ri Haeng.
Lee Shin, specialized in disguise, had insisted his brother was the true heir to lightness skills.
The Heavenly Demon hadn’t fully believed it, but this?
“……!!”
He gaped, unable to close his mouth at the superior lightness skill, illusions, and afterimages—at least two or three levels beyond Lee Shin’s version.
Far faster than Lee Shin, of course.
—Three Nourishments Severing Fist!
Mastering an advanced fist technique and layering it with qi made it as deadly as twin daggers coated in poison.
No, even without weapons, his flesh alone became an excellent armament.
Screeech!
His swinging fists were so swift and profound that even the Heavenly Demon, caught off guard, nearly took hits helplessly.
But for the true lightness skill master, Lee Yeong, it was unfortunate: the Heavenly Demon had already observed and experienced Yi-hyeong Man-ri Haeng multiple times.
What did that mean?
‘I’ve grasped its changes and deceptions!’
Though initially flustered, the Heavenly Demon adapted quickly, familiarizing himself with Lee Yeong’s movements.
And one more thing.
Lee Yeong should have used those swift feet to flee.
His naive resolve to save his brother only invited disaster.
Snap!
As Lee Yeong thrust a fist in threat, the Heavenly Demon seized the opportunity and snatched his wrist.
Thus, both Eternal Divine Thief twins were captured in the Heavenly Demon’s hands.
“Aaaak! Aaaaah!”
Lee Yeong writhed in agony as the Heavenly Demon applied pressure.
He flailed wildly to fly away and escape, but the water had already spilled.
“Hm? I meant to snap it, but why……”
The Heavenly Demon was surprised too.
Expecting the faster-footed brother to need early suppression, he’d aimed to break a limb from the start—yet Lee Yeong’s arm didn’t break.
Still, he remained pinned, unable to pull free.
“Yeo, Yeongie.”
“Brother!”
Lee Yeong, who’d overreached to save Lee Shin only to get caught too, panicked visibly.
‘No choice.’
p>Cornered, Lee Yeong resorted to his hidden power.
The power of the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor he wore.
The Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor was one of the Demonic Cult’s three great treasures the Heavenly Demon sought—a supreme item with absolute defense and the ability to instantly erase all presence for perfect stealth.
It had many other hidden powers, earning praise as a lifeline in disasters.
Lee Yeong’s unbroken arm was thanks to it, as was kidnapping Lord Seok Myeongju undetected amid peak experts in pitch darkness—Yi-hyeong Man-ri Haeng atop its stealth.
—Stealth!
Judging escape impossible even if his arm were severed, Lee Yeong poured all his effort into the armor’s stealth.
Even pinned, vanishing completely would fluster even that monstrous young warrior momentarily.
‘If you loosen your grip just a bit, we’ll flee together, brother!’
With that plan, Lee Yeong activated the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor’s stealth.
Or tried to—the armor reacted in a way neither twin had ever seen.
Krunch!
Known to seep into the wearer’s skin and hide within, granting immense defense and stealth without bulk—that’s why it was a Demonic Cult treasure.
Yet the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor rampaged, shifting forms wildly inside and out like wind-tossed leaves, churning ceaselessly.
“Wh-what? What’s happening?”
For Lee Yeong, who’d wielded it flawlessly for years, this was unimaginable.
The truly astonishing sight came next.
Slither!
The armor, hidden deep in the wearer’s skin, slithered up Lee Yeong’s arm—then onto the hand gripping it.
Onto Gunryong the Heavenly Demon’s arm.
In short, the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor betrayed its wearer Lee Yeong and went to the Heavenly Demon.
“What? What is this?!”
Lee Shin, witnessing it up close, gawked, doubting his eyes at the armor’s lifelike behavior.
Smirk!
Unlike the flustered Eternal Divine Thief twins, only Heavenly Demon Gunryong smiled leisurely.
He knew all the reasons.
“I told you. I’m the Heavenly Demon.”
“What?”
Lee Shin, who knew Gunryong was the Heavenly Demon, and Lee Yeong, who didn’t, both stared in shock.
“Every item has its rightful owner. The Cult’s three treasures naturally recognize theirs.”
The Heavenly Demon explained.
The Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword—another treasure and his beloved blade—was prime example.
Among the three, it was most tamed to the Heavenly Demon’s hand, most ferocious and aggressive, rejecting the unworthy.
“Opposite my Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword, this Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor is quite docile and gentle. When the Eternal Divine Thief stole and wore it 200 years ago, it probably cooperated somewhat, lending strength.”
The Heavenly Demon’s words rang true.
Unlike the sword born to slay, the armor was made to protect—thus more yielding, responding to wearers and sharing power.
“But meeting its true, qualified master? Kicking off a temporary owner—no, a thief—is only natural.”
To the Heavenly Demon, nothing was amiss.
All Cult treasures were inherently his; the divine relics especially favored First Heavenly Demon Gunryong, their true master.
‘Even as Cult Leader back then, I couldn’t wear it. Now, over 200 years later, I finally reclaim it.’
Reunited after so long with the lost Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor, the Heavenly Demon beamed with satisfaction.
‘Now!’
Was it because the Heavenly Demon was too elated and let his guard down?
Lee Yeong noticed his brother’s loosening grip on his wrist.
He hurriedly unleashed lightness skill to flee—but that instant!
—Shadow Bind!
Another unbelievable event unfolded.
Lee Yeong, the Eternal Divine Thief’s twin whose lightness skill unmatched any predecessor.
The moment he pushed off the ground—his every motion froze, trembling like a bound captive.
How was this possible?
“Lee Yeong!”
Twin brother Lee Shin scanned around in shock, noticing something odd.
Incredibly, Lee Yeong’s shadow was nailed to the floor, pinning him despite his struggles.
“This is the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor’s hidden ability: Shadow Bind. Exactly as named.”
Shadow Bind.
A spell binding the foe’s shadow to halt movement or flight instantly.
Another hidden power of the armor, unknown even to the Heavenly Demon—until it melted into his skin, revealing all usages.
“Urghhh! My body, it won’t move!”
Lee Yeong, desperate to escape control, panicked at the alien sensation of his body hijacked.
He didn’t realize the Heavenly Demon had released him to test the ability.
“Impossible! Neither Master nor I had such power when wearing it……”
“Repeating yourself? You’re thieves; I’m the natural master. Do thieves get treated like owners?”
“……”
The Heavenly Demon’s cold, precise point silenced the two Eternal Divine Thieves.
Shhh!
The Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor settled fully onto Gunryong from Lee Yeong’s arm.
Like a puppy reuniting with its owner, it joyfully seeped into the Heavenly Demon’s entire body.
Past thieves never fully unleashed its powers, but the Heavenly Demon was different.
It felt like garb worn from birth—natural, all abilities activating effortlessly.
Hummm!
With the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor returned to its master after ages, the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword sang—a sword cry.
The nameless cloth shrouding it unraveled, revealing its sleek form after so long.
Thus, the Heavenly Demon reclaimed two of the Demonic Cult’s three treasures: the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword and the Ghost Soul Shadowless Armor.