Defying the Heavens Scholar - Chapter 31

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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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Against the Heavens, a Student’s Journey – Chapter 31

Chapter 31. Blades Converge.

Sichuan, the provincial capital.

Before dawn’s light had even touched the city walls, the outer gates of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s main entrance were thrust open with brutal force.

Bang!

The two gatekeepers spun around in unison.
A beggar in tattered robes stumbled through the opening, limbs working frantically.
His entire body was smeared with dust and mud, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
Three knots hung from his belt—the marks of a Gaebang member from the provincial capital division.

“Urgent Dispatch!”

The gatekeepers’ faces went rigid in an instant.
The beggar withdrew a sealed Bamboo Slip from his tunic.
The Gaebang’s crimson seal was unmistakable on the bamboo surface.

Moments later.
The Sichuan Tang Clan’s outer administrative chamber.
Tang Yun-baek, master of the outer clan, had just broken the seal and was unrolling the Bamboo Slip to read its contents.
The message was brief.

<Multiple black-robed martial artists moving from Seohjang direction. Heavy concentration along Northwestern Mountain Path. Activity urgent. Purpose unknown.>

Four short lines.
Yet Tang Yun-baek’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“The Northwestern Mountain Path……”

He rolled up the Bamboo Slip, muttering low. The most hidden passageway connecting Seohjang to Sichuan. The route most often taken by those who wished to conceal their identity. Tang Yun-baek turned sharply.

“Yes!”
“Tell them that an Urgent Dispatch from Gaebang has arrived, and inform them that movements along the Northwestern Mountain Path are far from ordinary.”

As the subordinate rushed out, Tang Yun-baek raised one hand.

“Dok Young Brigade.”

At his call, three martial artists in black robes entered and knelt on one knee.

“You summoned us.”
“Avoid direct confrontation. Ascertain only their numbers and direction of movement, then report back.”

The leader of the Dok Young Brigade answered quietly.

“We accept your command.”

Three shadows vanished in an instant. A brief silence settled over the chamber.
Tang Yun-baek gazed into the darkness beyond the window. An Urgent Dispatch from Gaebang.
Dark-clad warriors descending from Seohjang. Purpose unknown. That was always the worst omen.

At the same moment, Qingcheng Mountain.
The mountain still lay shrouded in dawn mist.
Above the cliffs where clouds wrapped around their waists, pavilions with blue-tiled eaves stood in silence.
A messenger broke that silence, racing urgently up the stone steps of the gate.
An Urgent Dispatch from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Moments later. The chambers of Gong Myeong Zhenren, elder of the Qingcheng Sect.
Since Gong Hyeon Zhenren, the sect master of Qingcheng, had taken ill, his disciple Gong Myeong Zhenren had become the true pillar holding up the sect.
He was reading the Bamboo Slip he’d just received, dressed in a blue robe.
His expression remained unchanged as he read, but the moment he closed the slip, his eyes turned cold and dark.

“The Sichuan Tang Clan has sent the Dok Young Brigade first.”

A disciple standing nearby ventured a careful question.

“Elder, is it the Demonic Cult?”

Gong Myeong Zhenren did not answer at once.

“I cannot be certain.”

He rose slowly to his feet.

“But if suspicious figures are descending from Seohjang, it is reason enough for suspicion.”

Walking toward the door, he issued his command.

“Summon the Qingcheng Sword Brigade. Four of them should suffice.”

The disciple’s eyes widened. The Qingcheng Sword Brigade, bearing the sect’s name, were its finest warriors.
Taking such men with him was proof that the elder regarded the situation as grave indeed.

“Are you leaving at once, Elder?”
“Yes. If we delay, the Sichuan Tang Clan will shed blood.”

And without hesitation, he stepped through the door.

* * *

Northwestern Mountain Path.
Long since we’d left the city.
The roads had been cut off for ages. All that remained now were treacherous mountain trails where animal tracks outnumbered human footprints. Conifers rose on either side, blocking the sky, so that even in broad daylight the forest lay dim and shadowed.
I walked ahead.
Tae Jun-mu, who’d been following behind, slowed his pace and spoke quietly.

“Myo Jin.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Before you set foot in the Demonic Cult, there is one thing you must know.”

I turned to face him slowly. Tae Jun-mu’s gaze was grave.

“It is about Dok Go Jin, the Heavenly Demon.”

The moment that name left his lips, even the forest air seemed to grow subtly heavy.
Tae Jun-mu fell silent for a long while, his eyes fixed on the distant mountains beyond, as if reaching back into old memory.
Then, slowly, he spoke.

“I have met Dok Go Jin twice.”

I stopped in my tracks. The Heavenly Demon, seen with his own eyes by Tae Jun-mu, one of the Ten Strongest Warriors of Murim.
That single statement changed the very air around us.

“The first time was on the battlefield of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War. That day, the battlefield was hell. The Orthodox sects, the Demonic Cult, even the unorthodox schools—all tangled together, blood flowing like rivers. And in the very center of it all, he stood.”

Tae Jun-mu’s eyes darkened.

“Hundreds died that day, yet the space around him was unnaturally quiet. No one could approach him.”

I asked carefully.

“Why?”
“Because no one could get near. He never moved. He simply stood there, and everyone—they couldn’t bring themselves to step into the radius around him.”

Tae Jun-mu laughed bitterly.

“The second time was fifteen years ago.”

His hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

“On the outskirts of Sinkang. That day, I encountered him at a distance of a hundred paces.”

The forest fell silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

“I reached for my blade. But the hand holding the hilt wouldn’t move.”
“Out of fear?”

Tae Jun-mu shook his head.

“My instinct knew the truth. If I drew my sword, I would die.”

I had no words.
One of the Ten Strongest Warriors of Murim. Tae Jun-mu himself.
A being who could paralyze even him, prevent him from drawing steel.
Tae Jun-mu wore a bitter smile.

“We didn’t exchange a single word.”
“And yet?”
“Yes.”

He exhaled slowly.

“He merely glanced at me. Once. Then he simply passed by.”

I didn’t need to ask. In that moment, Tae Jun-mu must have realized something.
The Heavenly Demon didn’t even consider him an opponent.
Tae Jun-mu turned to face me.

“The one you’re going to meet is like that.”

The forest air grew heavy, pressing down. I drew a slow breath.

“I still have to meet him.”

Tae Jun-mu studied me for a long moment, then let out a soft laugh.

“You’re truly insane.”

Yet beneath that laughter, there lay something almost exhilarated.
In that instant.

Crack.

The shadow of the forest to the left split open.
A man in a black long robe slowly emerged from the dense undergrowth.
He stopped three paces before us and offered a polite fist salute.

“Master Myo Jin.”

My eyes narrowed slightly. The man spoke with quiet composure.

“My name is Jin Mok.”

His voice was brief and measured.

“The First Young Master wishes to meet with Master Myo Jin directly.”

Tae Jun-mu’s brow furrowed.

“The First Young Master?”
“Our lord has no desire for unnecessary bloodshed.
If possible, he would prefer to settle this through words.”

Jin Mok replied evenly.
I studied him and asked.

“Why seek to speak with me?”
“It would be better if you heard it directly.”

Jin Mok’s manner was courteous, his inner strength concealed yet profound.
At least for now, he showed no intention of drawing his blade.
Just as I was about to speak again.

Whistle!

A sharp cutting sound tore through the air.

Crack!

A black Poison Needle struck the ground at Jin Mok’s feet.
The soil blackened and rotted in an instant. Jin Mok’s face hardened for the first time.

“… Too late.”

Branches rustled above in the forest.
A dark silhouette slowly revealed itself upon a high bough.
A tall, gaunt frame. A man with half his face covered in black cloth.
Eyes gleaming red, wet like blood, looked down from above.

“Hyeol Su…”

At Jin Mok’s call, he laughed with a bitter edge.

“So you arrived first and spoke like some righteous sect.”
“Master Myo Jin was our lord’s invitation first.”

Jin Mok stepped forward and raised his voice, but Hyeol Su answered only with cold derision.

“So?”
“Follow the order.”
“Our young master doesn’t care much for order.”

Hyeol Su’s laughter deepened.
His gaze fixed on me.

“Myo Jin. The Second Young Master said that if you won’t listen to words, he’s willing to cut off an arm or two.”

Tae Jun-mu bellowed without warning.

“You mad dog! However many years have passed, however far this lord has fallen into the back room as an aging relic, you dare wag your tongue so freely before me?”

His voice thundered so violently the very air of the mountain seemed to tremble. I seized that moment and turned to Jin Mok.

“What would happen if I killed this Hyeol Su?”

Jin Mok fell silent for a moment. Then he answered in a calm voice.

“The Demonic Cult is an organization that moves by the principle of power.”

That single statement contained everything.

“Ha ha ha!”

Hearing those words, Tae Jun-mu burst into hearty laughter, then rolled his shoulders with a broad sweep.

“So it doesn’t matter if I break a limb or two on that bastard?”
“Old man…”

Hyeol Su’s eyes turned cold, but Tae Jun-mu paid no mind to such things and stepped forward.

Thud.

And with that single step, the earth shuddered, and the air around them inverted.
For the first time, Hyeol Su’s expression changed.

‘Ten Strongest Warriors of Murim… I thought it was nothing but an empty reputation.’

The pressure was far more overwhelming than he’d anticipated.
He himself was a skilled master of some renown within the Demonic Cult,
and so he had believed he could hold his own to some degree even against Tae Jun-mu, who bore the title of Ten Strongest Warriors of Murim.

‘Then there’s only one way—strike first.’

Hyeol Su switched tactics instantly.

Whistle-whistle-whistle!

Poison Needles flew like black rain. But.

Crack!

With a light sweep of his hand, Tae Jun-mu unleashed an internal force that exploded like a tempest.
Dozens of Poison Needles shattered in midair simultaneously.
Hyeol Su’s eyes widened.

“What—?”

Before the words even finished, Tae Jun-mu’s form vanished.

Crash!

In the next instant, Tae Jun-mu’s fist drove squarely into Hyeol Su’s abdomen.
With a sound like a sledgehammer striking a fortress wall, Hyeol Su’s body hurtled into the air.

He choked, blood spraying from his mouth.

He flew backward, snapping three trees in succession before crashing down.
But it was far from over.
Tae Jun-mu was already waiting at the exact point where Hyeol Su would land.

Crack!

His foot came down on Hyeol Su’s shoulder. The earth split beneath them.

He gasped, barely managing a scream.

Tae Jun-mu looked down at him with glacial eyes.

“What was that? That I could cut off one of your arms without consequence?”

A cold smile twisted his mouth.

“Allow me to oblige.”

Snap!

Tae Jun-mu seized Hyeol Su’s right arm and wrenched it violently.
The sound of bone shattering echoed through the forest.

A scream tore from his throat.

Even as his cries split the mountain path, Tae Jun-mu did not relent.
He clamped his other hand around Hyeol Su’s collar and hoisted him into the air.
The grown man dangled like a straw puppet.

“And this is the strength you boast of? An old man? Pathetic.”

Tae Jun-mu bared his teeth in a laugh.
Then, in that same instant—

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

The shriek of something splitting the void.
A Red Silk Ribbon flashed like lightning, coiling around Hyeol Su’s body.
Tae Jun-mu’s eyes flared. His grip released instinctively.
Hyeol Su’s body was pulled upward into the air.

Rustle.

On a boulder across the forest, crimson robes settled slowly to rest.
It was Yeon Hwa-rin, her disguise cast aside, revealed in her true form.
Black hair danced in the wind as her cold gaze looked down from above.
Hyeol Su’s blood-smeared face clenched with fury.

“How did you—”

The words carried unmistakable wariness. Jin Mok, too, straightened his posture.
He dropped at once to one knee and bowed his head.

“Jin Mok bows before the Third Master.”

Hyeol Su spat blood, grinding his teeth, yet he knelt in the same posture regardless.
Blood trickled from his fractured arm, but he dared not voice a single complaint.
Tae Jun-mu’s eyebrows lifted slightly as he watched.
Not a word spoken. And yet, in an instant, the two Demonic Cult warriors who had been snarling at each other moments before lowered their heads. It was testament to how absolute Yeon Hwa-rin’s position was.

Disciple of the Heavenly Demon.
That alone sufficed for everything. Moreover, within the Demonic Cult, a single word from her carried more weight than an ordinary elder’s command. Yeon Hwa-rin gazed down at Hyeol Su and spoke flatly.

“Tell Dok Go Hwan: cease your designs on the Prince. That is all.”
Hyeol Su’s jaw tightened.
“…….”
“Withdraw.”

A brief command. Hyeol Su’s teeth clenched in that instant. Defiance flickered in his eyes.
Yet, in the end, he lowered his head.

“I shall obey your word.”

He retreated, his fractured arm clasped tightly to his body.
Jin Mok too bowed quietly.

Yeon Hwa-rin did not linger her gaze upon him. She cast only a single phrase.

“Tell Seol Woo-hyeon: the Prince shall be brought by my own hand.”

A flicker passed through Jin Mok’s eyes. But he could not protest.
He too lowered his head.

“I shall obey your word…….”

The first’s will. The second’s shadow. Neither could move further.
Only then did Yeon Hwa-rin slowly turn her gaze to me.
The coldness in her eyes softened, barely perceptibly.

“Prince.”

She spoke my name in a hushed voice.

“Our agreement still holds.”

She slowly gathered up the Red Silk Ribbon as she spoke.

“So you shall be taken by my hand.”

Tae Jun-mu laughed softly beside me.

“The three disciples of the Heavenly Demon, all moving for a single man.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Myo Jin, your price is higher than I thought.”

The forest fell silent again. But this silence was now different from before.
The first’s will.
The second’s threat.
The third’s declaration.
Three blades still pointed at one another, yet at their center stood me, undeniably.

—————
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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