Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13

 

 

Cheonseong Hall Lower Class.

Though divided by skill level, it was where children around ten to twelve years old gathered to receive basic cultivation training.

During break time, several children who bore the Zhuge surname gathered in one place.

“That bastard, he’s that piece of shit, right?”

“Yeah. Uncle from Military Strategy Hall’s son. The one who beat up Mungi.”

Mungi is still recovering in the medical room.”

Rumors floating around the Zhuge Family.

The Military Strategy Division Head’s son was such an irredeemable piece of trash that he didn’t know his place.

“Damn it, that lowly bastard is acting so arrogantly.”

“Exactly.”

“But his skills seemed pretty decent? To master the basic form of Heavenly Mystery Bewildering Steps in just one day.”

“That’s stupid talk. As if it was really just one day?”

“Huh?”

“The Military Strategy Division Head secretly taught him. Same with the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion incident. How could a mere seven-year-old beat up ten-year-old Mungi? It doesn’t make sense.”

“But the Chief Instructor seemed quite surprised?”

“Hmph! Uncle from Military Strategy Hall has always been good with words. You can tell from how the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion incident just got brushed aside.”

“So he was deceived?”

“Of course. How could a warrior win against a scholar in words?”

“But he’s not someone who would lie.”

“Don’t you know what kind of person Uncle from Military Strategy Hall is? He cherishes Aunt dearly. That’s why he’s quite sensitive about talk regarding origins.”

“Hmm…”

“How much more so for his child? Born with that lowly blood.”

“Is that so?”

“Are you doubting my words right now?”

When Zhuge Munho, who had been leading the conversation, frowned, the children quickly waved their hands in denial.

“No way. Of course not… Munho, your words are always right.”

“Tsk.”

“…Sorry.”

When Zhuge Munho clicked his tongue, the children hung their heads with dejected expressions.

It was a clear indication of who held the higher position.

“Anyway, I’ll have to put him in his place soon.”

“Will you do it yourself?”

“What, should I leave it to you guys? Want to end up like Mungi? You lot who barely mastered Heavenly Mystery Bewildering Steps…”

 

* * *

 

The day the first lesson ended.

“What’s all this?”

Zhuge Munhyeon, who returned home before dinner, asked in surprise at the sight of a table full of food.

“What do you mean? Mother prepared this for you to celebrate safely finishing your first lesson.”

“But even so, this much food?”

“Don’t you understand your mother’s heart? She prepared all day. She said martial arts cultivation requires a lot of stamina.”

At Father’s words, Zhuge Munhyeon sighed.

Even if there was a lot, this was too much.

Even though the table was already full, Mother was still busily taking out steamed chunks of meat with Sohye.

The problem wasn’t stamina but getting fat.

But there was someone at this joyful gathering who shouldn’t be there.

The people staying in the pavilion were just Parents, Sohye the exclusive servant girl, and Zhuge Munhyeon.

All other workers returned to their own quarters after work hours ended.

But why…

“Master Han, what brings you here?”

“What do you mean? I invited him.”

“Invited?”

“Of course. Isn’t he your first writing teacher?”

“Ah…”

At Father’s words, Zhuge Munhyeon narrowed his eyes.

The ulterior motive was too obvious to even pretend to be fooled.

“Is that really the only reason?”

“Ah, well… that is…”

“How strange. What’s sticking out of that wrapping cloth over there looks like formation books.”

“Ah, you saw?”

At Zhuge Munhyeon’s words, Father smiled awkwardly.

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t given up? I really have no intention of becoming a formation master.”

“Oh my, who said anything? I have absolutely no such thoughts. It’s just… since reading this wouldn’t hurt, I thought it might be good to take a look… you know, if you have questions, you could ask…”

Seeing Father sweating while explaining made him sigh involuntarily.

He had explained it so clearly.

“Instead of that, won’t you listen to this father’s words?”

“…”

“After all, learning something can’t be a problem, right? Think about it. Is there a law saying the world’s greatest master shouldn’t be trapped in formations? If you ever face such danger, your current studies would be of great help… that’s the kind of concern I had…”

Well, that made sense.

There had actually been many such occasions.

But he had no memory of nearly dying trapped in a formation.

Breaking techniques?

Even without such things, he could just break through with force.

After all, wasn’t there the old saying of the Demon Cult: “When the body suffers, the mind is at ease”?

“Listen, Munhyeon. Why don’t you try showing some interest just once? How desperate must this father be to do this? Your talent doesn’t seem to be limited to just martial arts… Who knows? You might be born with the talent of the Ten Excellences?”

“Ten Excellences?”

“That’s right.”

This was absurd.

Poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, martial arts…

Ten Excellences didn’t necessarily mean exactly ten things, but referred to someone skilled in various fields.

Father certainly had big dreams.

Even for himself, who remembered his past life, that wasn’t the case.

Everything except martial arts had been hobbies. They only seemed impressive because he was seven years old, but they weren’t at a level worthy of the character for “excellence.”

Still, being looked at with such bright, expectation-filled eyes was burdensome… As a dutiful son, showing some interest might not be bad.

However, that too should help with his own cultivation.

“Sigh, fine. Alright. Then, is there perhaps a formation or something where I could practice Heavenly Mystery Bewildering Steps?”

“Huh?”

“I think it would be good to practice movement techniques in advance.”

“But don’t you do that at Cheonseong Hall?”

“I do. But it seems like the training process is predetermined. I can’t ask them to teach me in advance, and not reviewing what I’ve learned is also problematic. It would be good to have a suitable opponent, but I can’t exactly learn by fighting with kids.”

“That’s true…”

“I need to review what I’ve learned. And doing such training might make me a little interested in formations.”

At his casually mentioned words, Zhuge Doyun and Han Siheon widened their eyes and looked at him, answering simultaneously.

“There is! Of course there is! There’s something called the Ten Thousand Phenomena Infinite Formation!”

“Master, what do you mean the Ten Thousand Phenomena Infinite Formation? That’s still too early for him. If he needs an opponent, the Demon Dream Formation would be better.”

“Demon Dream Formation? Oh my, this man! That could cause heart demons! Are you trying to kill my son?”

“No, but you’re suggesting an absolute formation like the Ten Thousand Phenomena Infinite Formation…”

“Quiet. How about the Heaven Bewildering Phantom Formation that doesn’t make materialized attacks?”

“That’s not bad either, but what about the Bewildering Eight Directions Formation?”

“Ho? That’s good too.”

They were extremely excited.

At this rate, it seemed like they would bring out every formation technique the Military Strategy Hall possessed.

“Father, Master Han!”

“Hm?”

“What?”

“Which formation technique is the easiest to deploy?”

“The Heaven Bewildering Phantom Formation.”

Han Siheon nodded vigorously in agreement with Father’s words.

“Then let’s go with that. I’ll start training in it tonight. I’ll develop some interest in formation techniques too.”

“Really?”

“…Should I not do it?”

When his expression suddenly became indifferent, Father cried out in alarm.

“Squad Leader Han! Why are you still here? Hurry and set up the Heaven Bewildering Phantom Formation in that spacious area over there…”

Before he could even finish speaking, Han Siheon was already setting up the formation.

This is really good.

Where else could there be a better training ground?

I could train my movement techniques against phantoms without needing to duel with people.

‘Why didn’t I think of this brilliant idea in my previous life?’

Studying formation techniques and training martial arts – how wonderful is that?

Of course, I have no intention of becoming a formation master.

I should make good use of this frequently from now on.

He’s my very first master, so I should keep him entertained, right?

“Oh, and Father.”

“Yes?”

“Could you possibly get me some iron rings to wear on my arms and legs?”

“Iron rings?”

“Yes. I think I’ll need them to build strength in my limbs. It would be good if they’re the type that can be worn inside clothes.”

“Hmm…”

“About two geun (1.2kg) each in weight would be good.”

“You’re saying you’ll carry a total of eight geun on your body? What if you injure your wrists or ankles? You’re still growing, and if the weight presses down on you and you don’t grow tall…”

Father’s expression was full of worry.

It’s only eight geun.

Since my body hasn’t been properly trained yet and considering my young age, I thought of the minimum weight.

And if my wrists and ankles would give out from just that much, they’d be too pathetic to carry around anyway.

“Munhyeon. Who on earth uses such a brutish training method?”

It’s the traditional training method of the Demonic Sect.

I once climbed a cliff using only finger strength while carrying a massive iron ball tied to my waist.

Feeling the limits of the body and surpassing them.

It’s not brutish – it’s a great training method.

“Won’t you do it for me?”

“It’s not that I won’t…”

“Come to think of it, formation technique training isn’t really necessary…”

“I’ll visit the blacksmith shop tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Father was really an easy person to understand.

What’s so important about formation techniques that he’s making such a fuss?

He has such a desperate expression.

 

* * *

 

From that day on, Zhuge Munhyeon’s daily routine was established.

Upon waking, he would build internal energy through Qi Circulation Breathing. This wouldn’t improve immediately.

When I asked if there were any formation techniques to quickly build internal power, he just laughed heartily and dismissed it.

That means there’s no such thing.

Afterwards, in the morning he would train at Cheonseong Pavilion.

After showing his abilities, all he had to do was surprise Yu Ganghu, who was going crazy trying to teach him this and that.

Fierce Fist?

Pfft!

After returning from Cheonseong Pavilion, he would eat dinner, recite a few words, and train movement techniques within the formation techniques that Father was dying to teach, and the day would pass in the blink of an eye.

Physical training?

Thanks to the iron rings Father got for me, every moment of movement was training. Even lifting a spoon.

Though I fell asleep exhausted every day, nothing compared to the thrill of getting stronger.

But then.

“Munhyeon.”

“…?”

It was during a break time on a day when I had entered the advanced level of Heavenly Mystery Bewildering Steps and was training together with other students.

“Hey, look at me. I’m Zhuge Munho.”

A boy with a confident expression approached me.

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been sitting in the shade taking a rest, raised his head and looked up at the other person.

Zhuge… so who is that supposed to be?

This bastard, does he expect me to know just from his name?

He should also reveal whose family he’s from for me to know.

“Ha, this kid… when you see your cousin brother, you should greet him immediately.”

“…”

“I’m five years older than you.”

He says he’s twelve years old.

I don’t know what he wants me to do about it.

Is he a guy who’s going crazy because he didn’t receive a greeting?

“Tsk tsk, you really haven’t learned any manners at all, have you?”

At the mocking words, Zhuge Munhyeon felt a momentary surge of anger, but held back for now.

He had really grown tremendously in terms of character.

In the past, he would have first planted a punch in his face, kicked him a few times to make him kneel, then started the conversation.

“Go fetch some water.”

“Water?”

“Yes. That’s usually what the youngest ones do.”

“Hmm…”

Zhuge Munhyeon glanced around briefly.

Five people.

They were probably cousins of similar age.

He had seen them gathered together several times while attending Cheonseong Pavilion.

And since their expressions were full of mockery, it was easy enough to tell this was pointless provocation.

After thinking briefly, Zhuge Munhyeon stood up silently.

Zhuge Munho wore a victor’s smile as he watched the figure walking away from the shade.

‘That bastard is just a seven-year-old brat after all.’

But contrary to his expectations, Zhuge Munhyeon didn’t go to fetch water and instead plopped down in another nearby shade.

Zhuge Munho’s face turned bright red, feeling he had been ignored.

The kids were watching too…

“He can go get his own damn water to drink, why order other people around and throw a fit? A young kid should learn cute things like ‘I can do well on my own,’ but instead he only learns bad habits.”

In the midst of this, he ended up hearing the muttered soliloquy.

“You, you bastard! What did you just say!”

Zhuge Munhyeon looked up irritably at Zhuge Munho who came running over in a rage and said:

“You obviously heard everything. Why are you asking again?”

“This bastard!”

Zhuge Munho grabbed Zhuge Munhyeon by the collar and lifted him up.

His strength was considerable.

And Zhuge Munhyeon, lifted up helplessly, stared intently at the hand gripping his collar.

Snap his wrist!

But now he knew he shouldn’t fight recklessly with the Family Clan brothers.

Still, even so.

Someone grabbing me by the collar when I’ve never avoided a fight in my life?

If I could beat him legally…

“Ahem, this counts as a Martial Duel challenge, right?”

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