Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 51

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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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Episode 51
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The Twelve Demon Lords upheld the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Though it meant twelve demon lords, it truly referred to the twelve powers that formed the Demonic Sect.
Ten of them came from the Seven Families Three Palaces—seven martial houses and three sacred palaces.
And two Heavenly Chosen Demon Lords, personally selected and appointed by the Heavenly Demon himself.
Thus were determined the twelve demon lords.
“Gwi-ya-gaek. A name earned for moving like a ghost. Originally appointed as a Heavenly Chosen Demon Lord, though for reasons unknown he refused the position, and not long after seized the top seat of his own family through sheer strength—the Heavenly Sword Demon Family—rising to the rank of Heavenly Sword Demon Lord. He is the Demonic Sect’s foremost master of the blade.”
In the tense silence, a small murmuring voice drifted softly from the edge of the crowd.
Dark shadows pooled beneath sharp eyes, and something sinister hung about the young boy’s presence.
A head shorter than most and slight of frame, he appeared smaller still for his stature.
The loose-fitting robes he wore, oversized for his diminutive form, only made it worse.
The young boy adjusted the Small Crown perched on his head again and again, muttering ceaselessly.
From his explanation of the Twelve Demon Lords to the Seven Families Three Palaces, and on through Gwi-ya-gaek—every detail linked.
The disciples gathered around listened and thought to themselves.
‘We never even asked…!’
‘Is there a Demonic Sect member alive who doesn’t know this?!’
Because what the boy rattled off was knowledge every member of the Demonic Sect possessed.
With the Heavenly Sword Demon Lord’s sudden arrival already making the courtyard tense, the sinister murmur seeping into their ears was maddening.
Yet no one dared shout at him to be quiet—the oppressive silence of the courtyard was too overwhelming; they couldn’t even breathe loudly.
And just as everyone silently suffered, it happened.
“So… that person is one of those twelve demon lords?”
“!”
“…!”
At the innocent, utterly obvious question, every disciple’s attention snapped in one direction.
The speaker was a girl in worn Martial Robes, her expression as naive as her voice—and she had asked the shrunken, sinister boy.
The moment she spoke, the young boy’s incessant adjusting of the Small Crown stopped dead.
Then.
“Indeed. That is none other than Gwi-ya-gaek, head of the Heavenly Sword Demon Family, one of the Seven Families Three Palaces. For your information, while Gwi-ya-gaek holds the position of family head, he does not hold the formal title of patriarch. Therefore, the current patriarch of the Heavenly Sword Demon Family is Gwi-ya-gaek’s elder brother.”
Rapid-fire—the boy’s explanation continued.
As the relentless murmur poured forth, the disciples thought again.
‘He’s excited.’
‘Happy someone asked him….’
And though the explanation was as obvious as before, the girl nodded emphatically.
“I see.”
“Is there anything else you wish to know?”
“What is the Seven Families Three Palaces?”
“The Seven Families Three Palaces consist of seven martial houses and three sacred palaces—the Heavenly Sword Demon Family of the blade, the Blood Path Demon Family of the way, the Ten Thousand Poison Demon Family of poison, and….”
The boy’s explanation ran on without end.
And the girl listened intently, her expression serious, nodding along.
The other disciples found this strange.
Who was this student not to know such basic things?
Where could she possibly be from?
‘That oppressive presence….’
How could anyone not know of the Heavenly Sword Demon Lord?
The aura was unforgettable once witnessed.
“Welcome, maggots.”
A low voice, oddly drained of energy, burrowed into the skulls of all gathered in the courtyard.
Though the voice was small and tinged with annoyance, it rang vivid and clear, strange in its intensity.
Gwi-ya-gaek swept his gaze over the assembled disciples, scratched the back of his neck, and yawned.
Even that small gesture carried such crushing weight that the disciples flinched and trembled.
Gwi-ya-gaek smacked his lips and continued.
“First, let me be clear—I have no expectations for snot-nosed brats like you.”
The disciples’ expressions darkened.
They had only just stepped through the threshold of Maryong Hall, and already to hear they were not expected of was natural.
Yet the one who had spoken seemed unconcerned, picking at his ear as he continued, pointing a finger at the disciples.
“So don’t bother putting in effort. Just coast through and leave. Your efforts would only annoy me anyway.”
The courtyard’s atmosphere turned ice-cold.
No expectations, annoyed by effort—just do the bare minimum.
‘Isn’t Maryong Hall supposed to be a place to select talented disciples for the sacred palace?’
‘Is it really okay to dismiss them like this? Maybe even a successor candidate for the young master could emerge from this.’
‘And even so, this is a gathering of the scions of major families….’
Wasn’t he being far too indifferent?
The trainees thought so.
It seemed this cohort had simply drawn the short straw with their hall master.
Of course, the trainees had no choice in the matter of who would be hall master.
By tradition, the hall masters of Maryong Hall rotated among the Demon Lords of the Seven Families Three Palaces in established order.
Following that custom, the Heavenly Sword Demon Lord—the chief representative of the Heavenly Sword Demon Family—had simply assumed the role this time.
‘If he finds it tedious….’
‘Then he shouldn’t take the position at all….’
The trainees swallowed hard.
The difficulty of examinations at Maryong Hall varied wildly depending on the hall master’s temperament.
A master eager to recruit many talents tended to set easy exams, while one seeking fewer but more capable recruits offered harder trials—though often with superior training systems in place. But when one was like Gwi-ya-gaek here, neither one thing nor the other, merely indifferent….
Then the difficulty had to be impossibly high.
“Oh, and by the way—one hundred twenty will pass the first examination.”
The difficulty couldn’t help but be staggering.
Why? From the hall master’s perspective, it’s simplest to just fail everyone and be done with it.
“O-one hundred twenty…?”
“There are over fifteen hundred people here alone? Only one hundred twenty pass?”
The courtyard stirred for the first time.
The trainees couldn’t hide their dismay.
Ten years ago, in the previous cohort’s first examination at Maryong Hall, six hundred had advanced.
That was fully half of those who entered the hall.
Now the number had shrunk to a mere one hundred twenty—no wonder they were shocked.
“And….”
Their dismay had barely begun.
“I’m starting the examination now.”
“What?! Now?!”
“That’s insane…! We haven’t prepared at all!”
Looking down at the roiling trainees, Gwi-ya-gaek broke into a slow grin.
As if their confusion and shock were a delight to him.
“As you know, Maryong Hall conducts twelve examinations in all. And each is proposed by the Twelve Demon Lords.”
Twelve trials carried out with the Twelve Demon Lords proposing and the hall master executing them.
Gwi-ya-gaek raised his thumb, pointing behind him.
It was a door leading deeper into Maryong Hall.
“Pass through that door, and you’ll enter an Illusion Formation.”
An Illusion Formation was a formation array that conjured illusions.
Yet though they were illusions, they differed not at all from reality—injuries sustained in illusion persisted in the body.
For instance, if one fell from a cliff within an Illusion Formation and died from the fall, it would be exactly as if one had truly plummeted to death.
In essence, an Illusion Formation deceived and disrupted human sensation, but once someone within accepted it as real, it became real.
“The Illusory Palace’s trial, right from the start!”
“W-what exactly is an Illusion Formation? Have you heard of it?”
“A forest maybe? A snow mountain? As long as it’s not somewhere cold….”
At the mention of the Illusion Formation, the courtyard descended into pandemonium.
One hundred twenty to pass.
The first examination conducted on the spot.
And an Illusion Formation.
It was an entrance examination no one—not a single scion of any family—had anticipated.
“Those who pass through the Illusion Formation fastest advance. Additionally, we’ve prepared a banquet to welcome even insects like yourselves, so if you could manage to arrive before the food gets cold….”
But the trainees, already reeling from the shock of the examination, had stopped listening to Gwi-ya-gaek’s words.
Right now, fitting within the one hundred twenty was far more pressing than some mere welcome feast.
Watching them stand dazed and thoroughly unmoored, Gwi-ya-gaek let out a low chuckle.
“Do your best, you little brats.”
* * *
Thump—creak.
Passing calmly through the mist, the hall master Gwi-ya-gaek pushed open the opposite door.
As the door swung open, the aroma of lavishly spread dishes assailed his nose first.
‘I told them to arrive before the food cooled, though.’
It was essentially impossible.
Breaking through an Illusion Formation crafted by the Illusory Demon Lord would require at minimum half a double hour, no matter how fast.
‘No one would clear it faster than half a Double Hour….’
Gwi-ya-gaek recalled the disciples he’d observed.
Among them were some who looked remarkably solid compared to the rest.
Those who had mastered martial arts and consumed Spiritual Medicine to build their Inner Power before even entering Maryong Hall.
Most of those disciples were likely from families known throughout the Demon Cult.
Families whose names appeared on the Cult’s register bore the obligation to send their children to Maryong Hall without fail.
‘This class had quite a few strong ones.’
Given how many familiar faces he recognized, it seemed there were descendants from the Seven Families Three Palaces among them as well.
Yet for all that, not a single one would pass faster than half a Double Hour….
That was when it happened.
Creak—
The door that had sealed shut after passing through the Illusion Formation opened again.
“…!”
The moment the hinges creaked, Gwi-ya-gaek instinctively stopped and turned sharply.
Creeeak—
The door swung open.
And then, from beyond the billowing haze, a single disciple in worn Martial Robes abruptly emerged into view.
“The fastest!”

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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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