Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 80

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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 80
“Impressive.”
The senior students had known he would win easily.
Yeon-woo, trained by Jewang-geom, moved with greater agility and possessed more strength than the other cadets.
In terms of perception alone, he surpassed even some of the senior instructors.
The fact that he’d detected the poison the instructors themselves had missed spoke volumes.
But the three behind him—
these three cadets from renowned families were exceptional in their own right.
They’d trained in martial arts before entering Maryong Hall, and had already progressed to the stage of forming their Energy Center.
So he’d expected it would take at least a week.
Even that estimate had been optimistic. Yet—
“I never thought you’d manage it in two days.”
The latter two cadets, in particular, had fallen almost anticlimactically compared to Jeok-dae-san.
‘Could it be the insight I gained when I surpassed Jeok-dae-san?’
When facing the remaining two cadets, Yeon-woo showed no hesitation whatsoever, no mercy.
The defeat of both could be attributed almost entirely to the overwhelming momentum Yeon-woo exuded.
“Now teach me! Another way to close the distance.”
Gu-yeong smiled thinly.
Then he raised his index finger.
“First is footwork.”
“Footwork?”
Gu-yeong nodded.
“No one can stop swift feet. The larger the weapon, the truer this becomes.”
“But I already move fast, don’t I?”
Isn’t that how I beat the others—by moving quicker?
“It’s true that you move faster than the other cadets. However, it is not overwhelming.”
“Overwhelming?”
Gu-yeong nodded.
“What matters is overwhelming speed. If you spot an opening in your opponent, you must be fast enough to exploit it before it closes.”
“How do I get faster?”
“By mastering Step Technique. There are many varieties of Step Technique, so you should learn those that increase speed.”
Some techniques focus on channeling force through the ball of the foot; others specialize in maintaining balance and center.
Then there are techniques for evasion, techniques for pressing an attack, techniques for confusing an opponent.
Step Technique was as varied as it was vast.
“However, this is not something you can achieve in a month. It would be better to refine your Internal Energy further before learning it.”
“So there’s another way?”
Gu-yeong extended his second finger.
“Second is to extend the reach of your weapon.”
“Extend?”
“Do you remember your confrontation with Byeok Gyodu at the Chui-sa-gak?”
Yeon-woo nodded.
“Instead of closing the distance, Byeok Gyodu threw Hidden Projectiles at you.”
“Ah!”
Yeon-woo gasped as understanding dawned.
“That’s right! He did that to me.”
His instinct screamed danger as he tried to close in, so he’d desperately widened the gap—only for Byeok Gyodu to hurl wooden fragments, closing the distance anyway in a single stroke.
All his effort to create space had been undone in an instant.
“Exactly. If closing the distance proves difficult, you can enlarge the Axe itself, or throw it to attack—creating an opening before you press in.”
Throw the Axe to exploit the target’s weakness, then close the distance.
“But then… I’d be without a weapon…”
What if I can’t retrieve the thrown Axe?
Would I end up defenseless?
“You could tie leather cord or silk thread to the handle. Or better still, attach an Iron Chain—it would let you catch incoming attacks as well.”
“…!”
Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up.
“I see!”
With a cord attached to the Axe, he could retrieve it easily!
And—
“This sounds like fun!”
Swinging the Axe, hurling it again and again—
Yeon-woo’s eyes gleamed.
She looked ready to hurl the axe into the air at any moment.
Gu-yeong smiled faintly.
“Once you actually try it, the grip may not suit your hand. If so, this too could prove the wrong approach.”
“Yes! But it feels right.”
Apart from the novelty, it felt like a method that would sit naturally in her palm.
That was Yeon-woo’s instinct.
“Then we should go have your weapon repaired straightaway.”
Maryong Hall housed a place called the Yeonbyeong-gak for the maintenance of martial weapons.
It was the workshop where students’ weapons were crafted and repaired.
Though it didn’t use expensive materials, it was a place where any student could freely visit to make, hone, or repair their weapons whenever they wished.
“Training should begin immediately. Wielding a weapon by means other than the hand demands constant practice. Above all, remember that technique is what matters.”
Technique meant skill, proficiency, and method.
In Yeon-woo’s case, since she was using an axe, it became Axe Technique.
“Right. I understand.”
“It won’t be as easy as you think.”
One month remained.
Whether she mastered the new weapon or failed to do so would determine her success or failure in the second trial.
And so the month passed.
9. The Demon Forest
* * *
Maryong Hall Central Training Ground.
For the first time in a month, one hundred and twenty students gathered in one place.
Their momentum had clearly sharpened since a month before.
These were the hundred and twenty selected from among roughly a thousand new students.
Talented students training in martial arts under the guidance of excellent instructors—naturally their bearing had transformed in just one month.
Being able to eat well without worry for the entire month had played its part too.
Thud.
Yeon-woo stepped into the training ground.
Clink.
At her waist hung two hand axes connected by an iron chain.
She’d spent four days alone deciding whether to connect the axes with leather cord, silver thread, or iron chain.
This was the result.
Clink-clink.
As Yeon-woo lifted the axes, the iron chain—thick as a child’s thumb—clinked and swayed.
“If you’re going to deflect blades, this is better. I used light iron, so it shouldn’t be too heavy. If it snaps too easily, come back and we’ll replace it.”
The Yeonbyeong-gak Master said this as he fixed the chain to the handle.
It was an iron chain made of light metal for the sake of weight.
He noted that while it might snap easily because of its lightness, the aged handle of the axe itself might break first.
Yeon-woo gazed down at her axes.
She was using the same axes she’d wielded since childhood, and their worn condition was plain to see.
Hand axes marked in places with the fingerprints of young Yeon-woo.
The thought that she might soon be unable to use them stirred a faint melancholy.
That was when it happened.
Screech!
“…?”
A sharp aura surged from behind.
Yeon-woo spun around, pulling the iron chain taut in the same motion.
Clang!
A curved blade, bent like a crescent moon, struck down against the chain.
It was Gwang-o, her first sparring partner.
His scar-covered face twitched as he stared at the chain blocking him.
“You said you couldn’t see it coming, so what’s this cumbersome trinket?”
On his grotesquely twisted mouth, a fresh scar writhed in his expression.
A savage glint flashed in his eyes toward Yeon-woo.
Meeting that gaze, Yeon-woo spoke.
“I missed you too.”
It had been a while.
“Missed…?”
The scars on Gwang-o’s face rippled as his features twisted.
His face darkened with furious rage.
“You made a fool of me that day, and now you come at me with pleasantries? You bastard!”
Whish—
Another curved blade hurtled toward Yeon-woo.
Gwang-o was a warrior who wielded twin curved blades.
Clang—crack!
Yeon-woo let out more of the iron chain, blocking the second blade once again.
Because Gwang-o’s curved blade was bent at a sharp angle, it wedged cleanly into the links of the chain.
Gwang-o twisted his wrist, trying to wrench the blade free.
But when Yeon-woo torqued the iron chain he held taut, it only bit deeper into the blade’s edge.
Gwang-o’s face contorted and he cried out, “Let it go, damn it! Where did you pull this crude scrap iron from?!”

In that instant.
Whirl—thud!
“Ah…!”
Something struck the back of his head with brutal force.
It was the blunt edge of Yeon-woo’s axe, hanging from the end of the iron chain.
“Oops. Lost control there.”
He’d only meant to startle him a little by swinging the axe using the connected chain.
But he’d hit harder than intended.
“Sorry. This is my first time actually using it hands-on.”
“You… damn… bastard…!”
Just as Gwang-o was about to unleash his fury without restraint.
!
…!
A fierce Energy Wave rolled down from the platform.
Both men instinctively turned to look at the platform.
Thud—thud—
With the same bearing as he’d shown a month before, Gwi-ya-gaek, Master of Maryong Hall, was ascending the platform.
His languid gaze swept slowly across the gathering disciples.
Without a word spoken, the disciples straightened in an instant, their full attention fixed upon him.
Even Gwang-o clicked his tongue and sheathed his curved blades.
Gwi-ya-gaek let out a faint chuckle.
“Not entirely useless, then.”
His manner of speech remained as dismissively contemptuous toward the disciples as before.
Yet the disciples’ eyes as they gazed upon Gwi-ya-gaek now held a reverence that hadn’t been there a month ago.
They were disciples who had trained in martial arts under the Twelve Instructors and witnessed their prowess firsthand.
And Gwi-ya-gaek was none other than the leader of those Twelve Instructors—the Master of Maryong Hall.
Unlike their previous carelessness, deceived by his unassuming appearance, the disciples had now truly grasped it.
The altogether different realm of martial mastery wielded by one who bore the station of a Demonic Lord.
That immeasurable gulf in power between them.
“The atmosphere is excellent. Now, riding this momentum….”
Gwi-ya-gaek, standing atop the platform, looked down at the disciples with a faint, mirthless smile.
“Before I explain the testing method, I’ll tell you how many passed the second examination.”

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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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