Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 58

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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 58
“What does it mean that we’re holding a duel less than a day after taking the Entrance Examination?”
Sa Ma-hyeon, who had just stepped onto the Training Arena, muttered to himself, and Baek Yeol-han let out a low sigh.
“Listen.”
“It means that the Hall Master and the Vice-Master wish to assess our current abilities. As you know, the Comprehensive Assessment requires a balanced mix of many different skills, and relying solely on martial prowess to gauge ability is….”
Baek Yeol-han raised his hand, cutting off Sa Ma-hyeon’s words.
“Wait, wait. You do realize it’s our turn to duel right now, don’t you?”
“I do. That’s why I came up, isn’t it?”
Sa Ma-hyeon adjusted the Small Crown on his head as though it were obvious.
He knows, and yet he still has something to say?
Baek Yeol-han’s brows furrowed.
‘Does he really have to lecture me in a situation like this?’
Should I even listen?
“To put it another way, the Comprehensive Assessment is hardly the ideal method for gauging martial skill. But this is Maryong Hall. While Selection serves a purpose here, the true purpose is to function as a Training Center. In other words, this occasion marks the starting point for understanding the trainees’ abilities and guiding their future training. Do you understand?”
Baek Yeol-han nodded his head.
“Yeah, well, isn’t that something everyone here already knows?”
“…!”
“And you’re aware that if we keep talking much longer, the Hall Master over there is going to kill us first, right?”
Baek Yeol-han’s thumb jabbed toward Gwi-ya-gaek, who sat far off, watching the entire exchange with visible impatience.
From the way he rested his chin on his hand, a rough aura emanated—the clear message: start now because I’m bored waiting.
With that in mind.
Snap—
Baek Yeol-han took a fighting stance facing Sa Ma-hyeon.
His weapon was a sword.
An ordinary swordsman.
“My name is Baek Yeol-han. From this moment on….”
Pfft, pfffff—!
Laughter erupted from various spots below the Training Arena without warning.
Even as everyone desperately clapped their hands over their mouths, the laughter would not stop.
Baek Yeol-han—no, trainee Baek Yeol-han flinched and froze for a moment.
Baek Yeol-han’s face flushed crimson.
“Don’t laugh!!”
Baek Yeol-han cried out toward the trainees.
I know it’s funny too, damn it!
Just had to pass in the very first test as the hundredth candidate!
Still, don’t laugh!
‘This is ruining my concentration…!’
He’d worked so hard to keep the atmosphere serious…!
Baek Yeol-han swallowed tears.
This moment was a stage prepared for him alone, was it not?
An opportunity to display nothing but martial skill, the techniques he’d honed all this time!
He’d only given his name as a courtesy to his opponent, and of all the ill fortune—
Gulp.
‘Since it’s come to this.’
I’ll show them exactly what I can do.
I’ll make them forget this ridiculous name,
although it’s not even a ridiculous name to begin with.
Either way, they won’t be able to think of anything else…!
Baek Yeol-han raised his sword again.
His gaze fixed on Sa Ma-hyeon became utterly serious.
“Let me be clear—I’m going to face you with everything I have.”
He’d always meant to give his best, but now there was no room whatsoever to retreat.
“I hope you can hold out for a while.”
Baek Yeol-han’s grip on the sword tightened with force.
The fact that his opponent was a small child did bother him a little, but he had no mind for such things now.
“Then….”
Here I come!
Just as he was about to shout it.
“No, you have not understood a word I said. Not a single word.”
Sa Ma-hyeon shook his head back and forth with evident displeasure.
“…?”
“I’ve already explained this. This assessment is meant to gauge your current capabilities.”
“Yes, I understand. But….”
“But as things stand, I have no real skill to display. Martial arts isn’t my field, and frankly, I’m not interested in them.”
“…What?”
Baek Yeol-han’s expression went slack.
What was that supposed to mean—
Before he could even ask.
Thud-thud.
“Wh—? Wh-what—? What—?”
That spot—!
Thud-thud.
Whoosh!
Gyotoo’s white flag shot upward.
“Out of bounds! Match over!”
Um. What…?
Sa Ma-hyeon’s and Baek Yeol-han’s match had ended.
The victor was Baek Yeol-han.
It was a somewhat melancholy and hollow conclusion.
* * *
Salgung.
It was a force that bred assassins—originally large enough to claim one of the three seats within the Seven Families Three Palaces.
But in the present day, it had declined so severely that it could no longer claim even a place among the Ten Great Demon Palaces.
The fearsome reputation it once held through its cruel temperament and ruthless dealings was nowhere to be found anymore.
Thud!
“Out of bounds. Get down.”
“Tch!”
At Gyotoo’s judgment, both trainees descended from the Training Arena.
“Next! Number twenty-seven! Come forward!”
Tap-tap-tap.
Two figures climbed onto the Training Arena.
Yeon-woo and the mad-dog trainee who had seized Baek Yeol-han’s number badge.
“Gasp!”
As the mad dog stepped onto the Training Arena, gasps erupted throughout the hall.
Not because of Yeon-woo, the first to pass through—but because of him.
“Why… why?”
“What’s that? Who is he?”
One of the trainees who had reacted with surprise answered the others’ confused questions.
“You don’t know? That’s Gwang-o from Salgung—the Mad Raven!”
“The Mad Raven?”
A mad crow?
“He’s known as a vicious assassin who slaughters his targets—but there’s an even more horrifying rumor….”
The trainee swallowed hard.
Fear flickered across her face.
“Once he’s finished killing, he always eats the flesh of his victim…!”
“…!”
“Ugh….”
The trainees’ faces went ashen in an instant.
‘He… he eats people….’
‘He actually… eats them…?’
If someone their own age already had an alias and was known throughout—
Then he really did eat people…!
“Ugh….”
In the trainees’ eyes, a dark, blood-red aura seemed to shimmer around Gwang-o as he stood in the arena.
Merely standing there, a sinister killing aura radiated from him.
‘To be in the same cohort as that murderer. The luck we have is absolutely cursed….’
‘Better to avoid any entanglement with him.’
And they all remembered what Gwang-o had said.
“I’m the one who’ll kill this bastard.”
He’d said it with a vicious expression while seizing Baek Yeol-han’s number badge. Which meant.
‘I’m going to kill you.’
‘I’ll definitely kill you….’
The constraint of ‘not killing one’s opponent’ had already vanished from the trainees’ minds.
Meanwhile, Gwang-o, stepping onto the Training Arena, recalled something.
The sharp warning he’d received from Gungjoo when leaving Salgung.
“Mark my words. Vice-Master Candidate. Nothing else will do. If you’re going to set foot in Maryong Hall, you must seize that position.”
And so he would restore, with his own hands, the glory that Salgung had lost!
‘To enter Maryong Hall. I cut down my fellow trainees with these hands.’
And thus he had claimed his entrance qualification.
Gwang-o’s gaze turned toward the Master of Maryong Hall.
The man sat with his chin propped up, radiating unmistakable boredom—yet his eyes never left Gwang-o.
‘To earn the rank of Vice-Master Candidate, I need to catch the attention of the Master and the Instructors.’
The way to do that was simple: display overwhelming power.
But to catch even more eyes, it was better if the opponent was someone worth noticing.
There was only one who fit all those conditions.
‘The first one to pass. That bastard right there.’
Snap—swish—
With a flick of his wrists, two Crescent Daggers suddenly materialized in Gwang-o’s hands, curved like crescents.
Yeon-woo’s eyes widened at the sight.
“That’s cool!”
“You’re going to die by my hand today.”
“Let me try that too.”
Yeon-woo pulled out his Hand Axe and began fidgeting with his fingers.
Gwang-o, who had been pointing his Crescent Dagger at Yeon-woo, was left standing there awkwardly.
For a moment, he watched as Yeon-woo continued to fumble with his hands.
The fist gripping the dagger trembled slightly.
“Are you mocking me right now…? Do you have a death wish…?”
“No? I don’t want to die?”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion!!”
An awkward expression crossed Yeon-woo’s face.
His hands were still moving restlessly.
“I didn’t ask—”
You just did ask. Whether I wanted to die.
“But why do you want to kill me? Do you hate me?”
I didn’t do anything wrong?
“It’s not about liking or disliking! I have to kill you…!”
Because that’s how I’ll get real attention!
That’s how I’ll move closer to the Vice-Master Candidate position!
But Gwang-o said nothing.
No—there was no reason to lay bare his plan in a place like this.
Besides.
“Can’t you stop doing that?!”
“Look at this!”
Whish—!
The Hand Axe spun and wrapped neatly around Yeon-woo’s hand.
Yeon-woo grinned broadly at Gwang-o.
His face was full of pride.
“How’s that? Did I do it right?”
The countless scars across Gwang-o’s face twisted and contorted for a moment.
“I’ll kill you!!”
Slash—!
Gwang-o burst forward with raw Murderous Intent, rushing at Yeon-woo.
‘Fast…!’
The trainees watching the match gasped in unison as they saw him bear down on Yeon-woo.
Many trainees had attacked first before, but none had ever moved so fast that the eye could barely follow.
‘Hmm.’
‘….’
And that overwhelming Divine Movement Technique drew the Instructors’ attention for the first time.
“Die, you bastard!!”
Slash—!
Gwang-o, charging forward, leapt skyward five paces before Yeon-woo, pushing off hard against the ground.
‘Wow!’
Every student held that thought, their eyes rising in that instant.
Crack!
Gwang-o’s foot came down behind Yeon-woo’s back.
And in the same breath.
Screee-!
Gwang-o spun his body and brought the blade of his Crescent Dagger down toward Yeon-woo’s exposed neck.

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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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