Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 91

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 91
Heon Sa-yul, the young master of Yueum Maga, laughed with a light “ha ha” while waving his hand.
Sitting beside him with an expressionless face was Do-gyeom, his close friend and bodyguard.
Yeon-woo looked up at the two of them, tilting her head in confusion.
“…What are you doing up there?”
Heon Sa-yul leaned back against the net with deliberate leisure, gazing down at Yeon-woo.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“I don’t know—loafing about?”
“I wish it were that simple. As you can see, we’re trapped.”
“How did that happen?”
Heon Sa-yul pulled something from his robe and shook it lightly.
“An egg!”
It was a Strange Bird Egg.
“That’s right. My eyes went wild the moment I saw it—weak enough to fall for a trap made by mere monkeys.”
Yeon-woo’s brow furrowed.
Her gaze shifted to Do-gyeom, who stood with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
A sword was gripped in his hand.
“Why not just cut your way out?”
“I’ve tried. But strange as it sounds, it won’t cut.”
Heon Sa-yul shook the crude net he held.
“Gwi-rim is truly Gwi-rim. Look at the state of the vegetation.”
It wasn’t only beasts that carried demonic aura.
The deeper you went inward, the more colossal the trees became—plants that moved of their own accord.
Gwi-rim was no place for small, weak creatures to survive.
Just the same, to endure in this hellish place, even the plants had to find their own path to survival.
“Cutting through requires considerable spiritual power. For us, it’s impossible. What we can do is…”
Heon Sa-yul gazed down at the monkeys scattered across the ground.
A light laugh escaped him as he shook the Jade Flute he held in one hand.
“Simply keep those creatures from touching us.”
Heon Sa-yul was a martial artist who fought with Sound-Based Martial Art.
Against the monkeys approaching those caught in the trap, he had ruptured their meridian points with the Jade Flute.
Beasts had ears and blood like any creature; they could not escape the melody of his playing.
“So then, would you mind lowering us? I’m starting to get hungry.”
“Hungry won’t do. Wait a bit.”
Yeon-woo turned her body without hesitation.
Though she was the one making the request, Heon Sa-yul asked in some surprise,
“Just like that? I thought you’d demand a price in exchange for helping us.”
Yeon-woo, who had been heading toward the tree where the vines were tied, stopped abruptly.
“What will you give me if I help you?”
“Caught by your own words,” Do-gyeom muttered.
He sighed with an air of exasperation, shaking his head.
Yeon-woo pointed at the Strange Bird Egg.
“Will you give me that? The egg.”
“That’s a bit difficult. I need it myself. Instead, what if you tell me where there’s another egg?”
“Fine.”
Yeon-woo turned back toward the tree.
At her ready agreement again, Heon Sa-yul and Do-gyeom exchanged a glance.
In truth, Heon Sa-yul had been forced to deploy his Sound-Based Martial Art repeatedly to deal with the monkeys.
As a result, his inner energy was being consumed at an alarming rate.
It hadn’t helped that his inner power to begin with was not particularly abundant, so it was rapidly depleted.
It meant he no longer had the strength to contend with demonic creatures.
However, Yeon-woo was satisfied merely to learn the location of a new egg, so fortunately their interests aligned.
Whoosh—
The vines were wrapped around the thick tree at least five times more.
Yeon-woo stood before them, gripping an axe.
Hiss—
Spiritual power gathered swiftly around the axe in her grasp.
“I told you it won’t cut! Don’t try to force it—you need to untie it—”
Rip—! Thwack—!
The vines severed cleanly.
With a light swing, the axe came down and severed the vine wrapped around the tree in one clean stroke.
In that instant, Heon Sa-yul’s eyes widened with shock, and Do-gyeom, who had seemed indifferent until then, instinctively straightened his posture.
Tap—thud!
The two of them landed lightly on the ground.
Heon Sa-yul descended with a graceful flutter of his robes, while Do-gyeom’s movements carried no wasted motion.
“Impressive.”
Clap—clap—clap.
Heon Sa-yul applauded softly, striking his hands together a few times.
“How did you manage that? Since when are you this capable?”
“It wasn’t me. That thing was strange.”
Do-gyeom came from the Sound-Based Martial Art sect, yet he was known for his swordsmanship.
Because of that, he’d been raised since childhood to serve as a bodyguard to the family heir. He’d only been able to grow close to Heon Sa-yul because of the latter’s flexibility.
Since they were both sent to Maryong Hall together from the start, even though Do-gyeom was from a sound-based sect, he’d been given an excellent sword master as a tutor.
He’d received support beyond what he deserved, and his skill surpassed his peers accordingly—yet he couldn’t cut through the vine.
“Now that I think about it.”
Do-gyeom spoke as though the thought had just occurred to him.
“That one. She was the first to pass through the barrier.”
“Ah.”
Heon Sa-yul now recalled as well, looking toward Yeon-woo.
She had severed the vine as naturally as one might breathe, then bounded down below the embankment.
Her expression suggested she didn’t even realize what she’d done.
Heon Sa-yul clasped the Jade Flute behind his back as though standing at ease, then bowed slightly at the waist.
“Thank you, my lady.”
“I’m a girl?”
Heon Sa-yul’s eyes widened for a moment.
Then he burst into genuine laughter.
Perhaps it was because he was from the sound-based sect.
Since childhood, he’d learned to appreciate leisure and amusement, and people said he possessed a rather disarming charm.
But it seemed none of that mattered before this small girl.
Having sized up his opponent in a single word, Heon Sa-yul promptly shifted his manner.
“I’m Heon Sa-yul. This one here is.”
“Do-gyeom,” the other supplied.
“Yeon-woo.”
The three exchanged formal introductions, then set off down the path.
As they walked, Heon Sa-yul explained about the location of the Strange Bird Egg.
“A wolf pack is guarding the egg. It was a large pack—with the pups, I’d say there were about a dozen or so, wouldn’t you say?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“It was too difficult for us to handle alone, so we decided to give up for now and look for a different egg instead.”
That’s when we fell into the monkeys’ trap.
“Since you helped us, she’ll help you find the Strange Bird Egg.”
As he said this, he gestured slightly toward Do-gyeom at his side.
Do-gyeom merely sighed as though he’d expected as much.
“What about you?”
“My condition isn’t great at the moment.”
Having exhausted his spiritual power, it was difficult for him to deploy his Sound-Based Martial Art.
And as for wielding a sword—Heon Sa-yul’s swordsmanship wasn’t particularly impressive to begin with.
It was rather embarrassing to admit, but he’d neglected his training in everything except the Sound-Based Martial Art.
“…But please don’t think of me as utterly useless.”
Seeing Yeon-woo’s expression crumple, Heon Sa-yul laughed good-naturedly.
‘If only it hadn’t been the last pack…’
He wouldn’t have needed to pour out all his spiritual power.
The wolf’s lair was still some distance away.
If he recovered his spiritual power along the way, he could bind the pack’s legs with his Sound-Based Martial Art and enter on better footing.
“Let’s find something to eat as we go. I’m starving.”
“That won’t do.”
Though Heon Sa-yul had meant nothing by it, his words had touched upon Yeon-woo’s weakness.
“Let’s look for food first.”
Yeon-woo immediately turned in a different direction.
* * *
‘Damn….’
Deep within Gwi-rim.
Beneath the heavy shadows, Hwan-yeong Majun watched from behind a tree, eyes fixed on a single point.
A towering cliff face, forbidden to disciples, pressed against the crimson boundary line.
Gwi-ya-gaek, master of Maryong Hall, stood atop the cliff, gazing down into Gwi-rim.
‘I should have known from the moment he set such a generous boundary.’
That he was guarding it personally.
They’d said he’d reduced the number advancing through preliminaries to avoid senseless deaths among the disciples.
Was that actually true?
‘Troublesome fool.’
Hwan-yeong Majun clenched his already-tattered lips between his teeth.
The original plan had been simple: lure that fledgling Yeon-woo to the Strange Bird’s nest.
A single disciple entering the nest alone would be written off as an accident—clean, effortless.
‘To deceive Gwi-ya-gaek’s eyes….’
He’d hoped not to resort to this.
But there was no choice—he’d have to cover his tracks perfectly.
Hwan-yeong Majun clicked his tongue softly.
He flicked his hand lightly.
The air rippled around him, and his form vanished without trace.
The grass beneath his feet, the undergrowth that had hidden his body—all returned to their original appearance, as if denying Hwan-yeong Majun’s very existence.
Crunch—
Within that remarkably perfect illusion, Hwan-yeong Majun moved.
The fledgling had crossed the boundary.
It was time to act.
* * *
Meanwhile.
“…?”
Gwi-ya-gaek’s gaze, which had been surveying Gwi-rim, suddenly snapped to a single point.
It was the tree beside which Hwan-yeong Majun had hidden moments before.
His brow furrowed slightly.
“….”
A discordant presence, faintly sensed even through the dense demonic aura.
Even heightening his perception revealed nothing obviously amiss, yet an inexplicable unease gnawed at his nerves.
Thud—
Someone descended behind Gwi-ya-gaek.
The head of the family who had proposed the second trial.
It was Gwi-hon Majun.
“All well?”
Gwi-ya-gaek glanced at him briefly, nodded, and turned his gaze back to Gwi-rim.
“Thanks to your concern.”
“How could I not be concerned? This Maryong Hall has recruited its instructors splendidly. They’re constantly patrolling Gwi-rim day and night. Is that your order?”
“They seemed to have nothing to do, so I gave them work. They’re men I brought here for that purpose, after all.”
“That much is true enough.”
Who would willingly serve as an instructor at Maryong Hall if it were easy?
The instructors are men too, servants under someone’s command.
In this Demonic Sect, one cannot survive on wit alone—not without being the supreme authority.
The head of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is the Gyojoo alone.
The dragon’s head.
‘Even so.’
Gwi-hon Majun’s gaze swept across Gwi-rim.
Had Hwan-yeong Majun accounted for this situation?
This situation, with instructors patrolling and the hall master standing watch?
‘That fool couldn’t possibly have thought that far ahead.’
Gwi-hon Majun’s throat contracted faintly.
An alien discomfort, like a thorn pricking his fingertip, scraped against his nerves.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————