Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 53

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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 53
Sa Ma-hyun’s brow furrowed.
“This isn’t a path.”
What the red flags marked out was hardly deserving of the word “path.”
As if warning of danger, red flags strung across forest and cliff edge, spanning a river.
Threading through trees, piercing through heaps of stone, crossing empty air itself.
It was a perfect straight line, connecting the smoke-wreathed destination and starting point without a single bend—a true “line” in the strictest sense.
…
Sa Ma-hyun fell silent, studying that path for a long while.
“I see. So that’s what it means.”
He adjusted the Small Crown that had slipped down his head and nodded slowly.
“Now I understand. This trial was ultimately meant to separate Martial Talent from Excellent Talent.”
Sa Ma-hyun returned to the center where the three paths converged and stood facing them.
Then, scratching his chin, he murmured aloud.
“The red path isn’t truly a path, but a skilled martial artist with superior Gyeong-sin Technique could reasonably traverse it. In other words, it’s a path for discovering Martial Talent. Yet even among those talented enough to follow the red path, there could be no more than about ten across all those who enter Maryong Hall.”
Considering the age at which students entered Maryong Hall and their commensurate achievements, even the most gifted would rarely achieve enough to break through the red path.
“The red path is the choice for securing talent that has achieved exceptional accomplishment for their generation.”
In other words, it was not a path for Sa Ma-hyun himself.
“That leaves the blue path and the yellow path. But if one chose the blue path seeking safety, making it into the top one hundred and twenty would be difficult.”
So truly, there was only one choice.
Thud-thud-
Sa Ma-hyun stepped onto the path lined with yellow flags.
His pace, seemingly measured, descended the slope with surprising speed.
Following the yellow path for some time.
The first obstacle—a thorned thicket—appeared before him.
Sa Ma-hyun stopped before the thorn barrier.
“The Master of Maryong Hall surely said, ‘Forge your own path forward.’ Yet why is that? The Illusion Formation already presents three paths, and following a designated path wouldn’t be called ‘forging’ one’s own, would it?”
Would someone of the Master’s station speak carelessly?
No. No, indeed.
Because those words—
“—were spoken only after the Master said, ‘We shall now begin the trial.'”
In other words, the instruction to forge a path forward came after the trial had already begun.
Meaning it was a hint directly related to the trial itself, making it highly unlikely to be a throwaway remark.
Thud-
Sa Ma-hyun’s step left the yellow path.
Yet he had not entered the blue path, nor the red path either.
“Just because paths are presented doesn’t mean one must follow them. After all, this trial is about passing through the Illusion Formation—not about choosing a path.”
The corners of Sa Ma-hyun’s mouth curved like a crescent moon.
“From this moment, I shall forge my own path.”
* * *
Gwi-ya-gaek watched with a stern expression as a student closed the door and emerged.
“Er—Master of Maryong Hall! Gwi…gwi-gwi…?”
“…Gwi-ya-gaek.”
“Right! That was the name, wasn’t it? But never mind that—where’s the food? There’s an amazing smell! The banquet, I mean!”
Gwi-ya-gaek’s gaze shifted past the student toward the door as it creaked shut.
‘The Illusion Formation hasn’t malfunctioned.’
Then the problem lies here.
Gwi-ya-gaek observed the approaching student with an innocent expression.
“You—did you perceive the Illusion Formation?”
“The Illusion Formation?”
The student tilted her head in confusion.
“You felt nothing strange crossing that door?”
“Nothing strange?”
Hmm, the girl pondered briefly, then nodded shortly.
“I did feel it. When I went in, the air was thick with mist, but then suddenly—whoosh—a forest appeared? It was really amazing, you know? Did you see it too?”
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
As if she had just witnessed something truly wondrous.
“How did you get through that forest?”
“How did I get through?”
The girl’s expression curved in utter bewilderment.
“I just walked here? A forest suddenly appeared, which was a bit strange, but this place interested me more.”
He gestured toward one spot with a faint smile.
It was the direction where food had been prepared.
“You just… walked here?”
“Yeah. On two feet, step by step. Didn’t you come the same way, Gwi-ya-gaek? Now that I think about it, where did the other kids go?”
The young initiate seemed only now to realize he’d passed through the gate alone, and he began to look around in confusion.
Observing that the boy didn’t even seem aware of what he was saying, Gwi-ya-gaek abandoned his line of questioning.
‘From what he’s saying, he definitely passed through the Illusion Formation.’
For whatever reason, his claim to have passed through it while seeing it suggested he hadn’t fallen prey to the mirage.
And if he hadn’t been deceived by the mirage—
One corner of Gwi-ya-gaek’s mouth curved upward with interest.
‘An amusing one has entered.’
“Wait! Don’t tell me they’re already eating without me!”
Crack!
“Ow!”
The young initiate clutched his head with his right hand as sharp pain shot through it.
He was about to cry out in protest, but—
“You. What’s your name?”
Hiss, hiss—the boy bit back his anger as he spoke.
“Yeon-woo.”
Crack!
“Ouch!”
This time he cupped the other side of his head with his left hand.
A pain far too familiar.
Yeon-woo was bewildered.
Why did sword users all insist on hitting him in the head with the hilt?
That surely wasn’t what it was meant for.
“From now on, address me as Hall Master. If you speak so brazenly and carelessly again even once more—”
His hand rose.
Yeon-woo yelped urgently.
“No, I won’t! I won’t call you that! Should I stop acting like I know you at all?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I just get the feeling everyone here wants that….”
Gwi-ya-gaek’s eyebrows lowered as if asking what nonsense that was.
Then he continued matter-of-factly.
“Do as you wish about that. But speak to me with respect. I am not your friend.”
“Right. Understood.”
Yeon-woo nodded, crestfallen.
His hand rose.
“…Yes, Hall Master.”
Gwi-ya-gaek finally nodded.
Then he turned on his heel.
“The Banquet Hall is this way.”
“…!”
Yeon-woo’s face brightened instantly.
Gwi-ya-gaek observed for a moment how the boy’s downcast expression transformed the moment he heard the word “banquet,” then moved ahead.
* * *
“No matter what, isn’t one hundred twenty people far too few?!”
Upon the Elevated Platform, overlooking the Inner Courtyard of Maryong Hall.
Beyond where the platform’s railing obscured the view from below, ten martial masters stood spaced apart from one another.
They were the Demon Lords of Maryong Hall, excluding the Hall Master Heavenly Sword Demon Gwi-ya-gaek and one of the Heavenly Chosen Demon Lords—the remaining ten Demon Lords.
They had come to observe the children entering Maryong Hall and to oversee the Entrance Ceremony.
“Whatever the Hall Master decides about how many pass the first trial—one hundred twenty is barely half what we need, and they’ll all be eliminated before the exam is even done!”
A large, rough-featured man with crimson hair snorted and voiced his displeasure.
He was the patriarch of the Blood Path Demon Family, one of the Seven Families Three Palaces—Hyeol-do Majun.
“Kekeke… I wonder when Maryong Hall became an opportunity for the high houses alone.”
An elderly man with a hunched back and sallow complexion let out soft laughter.
He was the patriarch of the Ten Thousand Poison Demon Family, said to be the most skilled in poisons among the Seven Families Three Palaces—Man-dok Majun.
“Surely the mid-sized and smaller houses will protest vehemently? Not that it concerns me, but… kekeke….”
As he spoke, an inexplicable greenish haze seeped from between his lips.
Unable to bear the lingering stench of that horrifying breath, Hyeol-do Majun winced and pinched his nose shut.
“I told you not to open your mouth! If the young ones get poisoned before they even complete the Entrance Ceremony and all die, are you going to take responsibility?! How much poison does one have to consume for it to leak out with every breath?!”
“Keke… there’s no delicacy quite as thrilling as poison.”
“This lunatic. Well, I suppose it’s die this way or that way—no, actually it’s not the same at all! What in the world is he thinking?! That murky, rancid bastard!”
The murky, rancid bastard referred to the Heavenly Sword Martial Artist who had taken charge as the new master of Maryong Hall.
From one end of the Elevated Platform came a stifled chuckle in response to Hyeol-do Majun’s spirited complaint.
At the far end of the platform sat a man in a white half-mask, his legs propped casually on the table as he reclined in his chair.
One of the two Heavenly Chosen Demon Lords who were said to have sole possession of the Heavenly Demon’s trust.
In the Demonic Sect, no one but the Heavenly Demon had ever seen the face behind that mask, and nothing was known of his origins or station.
A man whose martial prowess could not even be gauged—truly an abyssal enigma.
It was Am-yeong Majun.
“This is surely all because our master’s heart is too soft.”
Though he had merely offered a single remark, the gazes of all nine gathered Demon Lords turned toward him in unison.
A man who possessed no faction, no family backing—risen to the rank of Demon Lord solely by the Heavenly Demon’s selection.
It was a gaze of subtle weight, blending curiosity with caution.
And it was only Hyeol-do Majun, the one among them least inclined to concern himself with such things, who responded in his rough voice.
“That rancid bastard having a soft heart?! What nonsense is that? What does that have to do with the number of people who pass the Entrance Trial?”
Yet Am-yeong Majun merely laughed—a low, rasping sound—offering no clear answer.
Hyeol-do Majun, who had been waiting for his reply, let loose his irritation with audible exasperation.
“Damn it. Whether this one or that one, they’re all murky and murky through and through!”

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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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