Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 212

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

Chapter 212. The True Enemy Was Different (2)
That night.
“Sigh.”
With each gentle exhale, a faint wisp of breath escaped into the air.
Ja Dam smiled.
“The night is still cold.”
Yet it was far warmer than the nights on Moodang Mountain. Perhaps because of the river nearby, the humidity was quite substantial.
“It must be quite hot in summer.”
Ja Dam’s eyes grew distant as she gazed up at the moon from where she sat.
‘Master.’
Her teacher, Heo Do Jin In, came to mind.
How busy must he be by now? Does he ever think of this disciple?
‘I haven’t even tasted what the world has to offer yet… and already I feel suffocated in this place.’
The source of that suffocation was Moyong Su Jeong.
Moyong Su Jeong had revealed her feelings toward the Wudang Sect honestly. She had no intention of hiding what would inevitably become known anyway.
Ja Dam had come to understand just how resolute this small yet tenacious Family Head truly was.
Every time I spoke with her, I felt like nothing more than a child.
‘She resents the Wudang Sect. Yet even as she expresses it openly, she neither scorns me directly nor rebukes me.’
Ja Dam felt an immense burden from Moyong Su Jeong’s attitude.
Why am I even here? Do I exist merely to ease Moyong Su Jeong’s heart?
Over these past few days, I had thought of so many things.
Ja Dam sighed and murmured to herself.
“Don’t seek reasons from others. In the end, all problems lie within myself.”
That was when it happened.
“Well said.”
“Oh!”
Startled, Ja Dam turned her head.
Moyong Bi was approaching from somewhere.
“Uncle, you’ve come?”
“How is it?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m curious what you’ve felt during these days at the Main Family House.”
Ja Dam answered honestly.
“I still don’t understand anything.”
“Confusion breeds ignorance, and ignorance breeds frustration. You must wonder why you’re even here.”
“…!”
“Is Elder Sister a burden to you?”
Ja Dam felt ashamed that her heart had been laid so bare.
“Yes.”
“And yet you won’t feign humility either.”
“Modesty isn’t a word that applies to this situation.”
“A commendable mindset.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes gleamed with light.
“If you can maintain such an attitude toward others, why can’t you be honest with yourself?”
“I beg your pardon?!”
“Do you truly believe your Elder Sister speaks with you each day merely as a target for frustration, or as a plaything to be discarded when she tires of it?”
Ja Dam was taken aback.
“I… I had not thought of it that way.”
“But you suspected it, didn’t you?”
“…I confess that I did.”
Moyong Bi smiled.
“Let me tell you one thing. Our Elder Sister, despite enduring such agonizing times, loves her blood relations with terrible devotion.”
“I know this.”
“And yet she possesses the wisdom to perceive the world with clarity and detachment.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our Elder Sister once understood morality but not chivalrous justice. Upon becoming Family Head, her eyes opened to the world. Though she still lacks much and stumbles often, she is someone whom anyone would regard as worthy of respect.”
Ja Dam pondered Moyong Bi’s words carefully before asking cautiously.
“In other words, the Family Head has some particular expectation of me?”
“It is not a demand—it is a hope.”
“…?!”
“If you continue as you have been, your Elder Sister’s rage toward the Mu Dang Sect will be compounded by disappointment.”
“…!!”
Ja Dam’s face drained of color.
Moyong Bi settled beside her and gazed upward at the moon.
“Rage and resentment are emotions one can only truly feel toward those worthy of them. In your Elder Sister’s eyes, you may have seemed pure-hearted, yet still too inexperienced to bear the name of the Mu Dang Sect.”
“I am… still too lacking to bear that name…”
“Even during my days of recklessness, I bore the name of Moyong.”
“…!!”
“It is not the capable who bear such names. Whoever receives the teachings of their sect and understands what those teachings mean can bear the organization’s name.”
Moyong Bi let out a soft laugh.
“Namgung Gwan is cut from different cloth. He bears the name, yet does so with restraint—that is what makes him remarkable. Speaking of him, I find myself missing that fellow.”
Ja Dam stared at Moyong Bi’s face before asking bluntly.
“Why do you speak to me in such a manner?”
Moyong Bi regarded her with a puzzled expression.
“Your growth is the Mu Dang Sect’s growth, and the power the sect will wield henceforth shall serve All Under Heaven. Should I not aid where I can?”
“…!!”
“You said the reason must be found within yourself—so why do you not turn that same gaze upon the world?”
In that moment, Ja Dam felt a tremor run down her spine.
“Heo Do Jin In entrusted you to me. I am a person with much to do. I cannot hold your hand and teach you at every step. I will make the effort, but what matters most is you.”
“…”
“What do you seek to gain from this place?”
For a moment, my vision brightened as if illuminated by sudden clarity.
A smile graced Ja Dam’s face.
“I thought I had mastered the Three Talents Sword Technique, but it seems I never truly grasped how to hold a sword properly.”
“It matters only that you understand it now.”
“From tomorrow onward, things will be different. Though I may show you an even more pathetic version of myself.”
“Change always carries danger with it. Yet for those who strive to change, the path always opens before them.”
“Wise words. Thank you.”
“Save your gratitude for later.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes shifted in an instant.
Ja Dam instinctively sidestepped.
A sharp crack split the air.
A fist that cleaved through empty space barely grazed her cheek as it passed.
Several golden strands of hair fluttered in the void—she had not fully evaded the blow.
“What—!”
Rapid strikes thundered in succession.
Moyong Bi’s face remained serene as he attacked without warning.
Ja Dam, seized by panic, hastily retreated while treading the Seven Star Steps.
As if he had anticipated this, Moyong Bi moved like a serpent, closing in and unleashing both fists in a relentless barrage.
The air exploded with each impact.
The sound of colliding forces was exhilarating and overwhelming.
His attacks allowed no moment for composure—he disregarded rhythm, struck at the face only to pivot toward the lower body, and fists aimed at the abdomen suddenly curved upward to target the jaw.
Ja Dam had never encountered such a style of combat.
Successive impacts echoed through the air.
The graceful movements of the Tai Chi form as she wrapped and deflected Moyong Bi’s forearms were truly beautiful.
A third party would have gasped in admiration, but Ja Dam felt as though she were losing her mind.
‘I cannot block this!’
Though she had deflected his forearm, her own wrist ached far more from the impact.
His arm was harder than steel. With such strength, she should have been able to withstand it, yet she could not understand why he had so readily withdrawn his attack.
Strikes accelerated and intensified in rapid succession.
Ja Dam’s limbs grew dizzy in response. She had never intended to counterattack, but counterattack itself was impossible. Even the Divine Art of the Mu Dang Sect could not create an opening for reversal—Moyong Bi’s assault transcended the principles of ordinary martial arts.
How much time had passed in this exchange?
A sharp gust of force.
Behind her pale face, her brilliant golden hair was swept violently backward.
Ja Dam swallowed involuntarily.
A fist that obscured nearly her entire vision touched the tip of her nose. Had it advanced even half an inch further, the penetrating energy force would have shattered everything from her nasal bridge through her cheekbones to her eyes.
“I am still lacking.”
Moyong Bi withdrew his fist and dusted off his hand.
“I miscalculated the distance slightly. Your nose bridge is too high and sharp. That was rather dangerous.”
“I measured the Street slightly off. Your bridge of nose is too high and pointed. That was a bit dangerous.”
“W-why so suddenly…?”
“That should be sufficient.”
“Pardon?”
Moyong Bi turned his body.
“Starting tomorrow, stop wasting food and teach the Fire Sword Group.”
“…?!”
“It doesn’t matter what you teach them. Whether it’s the Tai Chi Fist, their movements, or how their True Energy flows—do as you see fit.”
“M-me?”
Moyong Bi stopped walking.
“Ja Dam.”
“…Yes.”
“Now that you’ve entered the Main Family House, you are one of the Moyong Family for the time being.”
Moyong Bi turned his head to look at Ja Dam.
“You know the Demon People are running rampant, don’t you?”
“…!”
“Do you intend to tolerate them?”
Ja Dam’s jade eyes blazed with cold light.
“That is impossible.”
Before the Demon People themselves, she despised the very concept of Evil. The Mu Dang Sect had crumbled because of them, and far too many had suffered unbearable torment at their hands.
Moyong Bi turned his body.
“Grow stronger as you build the Main Family’s power. When the time comes, I will bring you before the Demon People.”
* * *
The following morning.
Ching, ling, ling!
Between two swords colliding fiercely, phantom sparks erupted like a mirage.
Dark Shadow pressed attack upon attack, his sword strikes restrained in flow yet each one a technique that would render his opponent combat-ineffective.
Guo Lao, receiving Dark Shadow’s strikes with an at-ease expression, suddenly blazed with intense eye light.
Ching! Slash!
The sword that parried and descended now touched Dark Shadow’s crown.
Remarkably, Dark Shadow’s blade also rested against Guo Lao’s flank.
Guo Lao smiled.
“At last, the Fortress Sword Technique has become serviceable.”
“R-really, sir?”
“Before, you created countless openings through overly extreme methods, but now you employ quite vicious techniques while maintaining a proper defensive stance.”
Genuine joy bloomed across Dark Shadow’s face.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me—you did all the hard work. I never expected you to improve this quickly.”
“I-improve? You were merely guiding me, Elder Brother.”
It was then.
“How tedious.”
Neung Hyeong’s voice, watching the two from the side, was as blunt as always.
“Defense? Attack is the perfection of defense itself. There’s nothing special about Guard Martial Arts. Martial Arts are just Martial Arts—they change based on the practitioner’s mindset. What meaning is there in such teachings?”
Guo Lao spoke flatly.
“Stop interfering and leave.”
“Interfering? This is help.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t wish to receive help from you.”
“I’m genuinely sorry, but I really hate watching your pathetic Martial Arts and offering unsolicited advice.”
“We’ve reached an agreement then. Please go now.”
Neung Hyeong rose from his seat.
“That’s no longer possible.”
“What do you mean?”
“That bastard Young Master you’re so fond of attached me to you.”
Confusion flickered across Guo Lao’s face.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know either, so ask your master about it and give me a Sword Sheath.”
Guo Lao’s eyes turned cold.
“The Young Master assigned you to us?”
“Ask him directly if you don’t believe me.”
“…I don’t think you have the magnanimity to lie while invoking the Young Master’s name.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Guo Lao, who had been quietly observing Neung Hyeong, spoke to Dark Shadow.
“Give him a Sword.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes!”
Dark Shadow hurried over to Neung Hyeong and handed him the Sword.
Neung Hyeong took the Sword without even glancing at it, then laughed coldly.
“Right, when two Martial Artists with clashing temperaments meet, we need to exchange some blade work to get answers. Isn’t that so?”
“Whether you win or lose doesn’t matter. But I still don’t trust you.”
“Do you have a habit of repeating yourself often?”
“If the Young Master says so, then it must be so. But I too must read something of your true nature from your Sword.”
Guo Lao spoke to Dark Shadow.
“Watch carefully. See what kind of Sword your senior wields, and what kind of Swordsmanship a villain unparalleled in all the world under heaven uses.”
“Yes, yes!”
Neung Hyeong laughed with a pale grin.
“Too much talking during a fight.”
Whoooosh!
The two hurled themselves at each other as if to kill.

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