Defying the Heavens Scholar - Chapter 32

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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 Heaven’s Course, Episode 32

Episode 32. The Halted Blade.

Sacheon City.
When the Dang family’s Dark Shadow Bureau returned from the Northwest Mountain Pass and appeared at the outer hall’s administrative office, Dang Yunbaek needed only to glimpse their faces to sense that something was gravely amiss.
All three were silent.
The black robes were streaked with dust, and the commander’s expression had turned rigid.
Dang Yunbaek asked quietly.

“What has happened?”

The Dark Shadow Bureau commander hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head.

“We could advance no further than half a double-hour’s distance along the Northwest Mountain Pass.”
“Who stopped you?”
“The Demon Cult.”

The air in the office grew heavy. Dang Yunbaek’s eyes narrowed.

“How many?”
“Around twenty. Not a large force.”

One of the Dang family’s elders seated nearby furrowed his brow.

“Stopped by twenty men?”

The Dark Shadow Bureau commander’s jaw tightened.

“The numbers were small, but…… we had no choice but to withdraw.”

Dang Yunbaek asked nothing further. He already understood. Numbers were not the issue.
It meant those who stood there were no ordinary Demon Cult warriors.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gong Myeong Jinин had penetrated to the outer perimeter of the Northwest Mountain Pass with four members of the Cheongseong Sword Unit, only to find the path equally blocked.
Black robes marked with crimson insignia—the kind of garb worn only by an elite few within the Demon Cult.

The Cheongseong Sword Unit’s commander spoke quietly.

“Elder. Those robes…… they are no ordinary cult members.”

Gong Myeong Jinин watched the scene in silence.
The warriors in black did not yield an inch.
Their numbers were not great. But the identity of the one who stood behind them—that much was plain without asking.

Elite masters of the Dark Shadow Bureau, the Heavenly Demon’s personal guard.
Gong Myeong Jinин knew their terrible might better than anyone—he had witnessed how they escorted the Heavenly Demon during the Orthodox-Demon Great War. At last, he lowered his hand.

“We withdraw.”

The commander’s gaze wavered.

“Elder. If we fall back like this…….”

Gong Myeong Jinин’s voice fell low and decisive.

“The moment we draw our swords here and now, it won’t be a mere clash. It will be open war between the Orthodox and the Demon Cult.”

No one dared speak after that.
That night.
The leadership of the Dang family and the Cheongseong faction convened in secret.
A single candle flickered in the darkness.
Dang Yunbaek spoke first.

“The Northwest Mountain Pass is effectively under the Demon Cult’s control.”
“We cannot afford to act rashly.”

Gong Myeong Jinин answered quietly, and the Dang family elder clenched his teeth.

“The Demon Cult runs rampant across Sacheon, and you’d have us sit idle?”

The candlelight wavered. Gong Myeong Jinин’s gaze descended upon the elder.

“Seventy years since the Orthodox-Demon Great War ended, and the Martial world still hasn’t fully healed from those wounds. And if those we saw today were to move…… even if the Cheongseong and Dang families held firm, countless other sects throughout Sacheon would vanish overnight.”

At Gong Myeong Jinин’s words, Dang Yunbaek’s eyes widened.

“Who are they, exactly…… and I heard they numbered only twenty.”
“The Dark Shadow Bureau. Evil spirits who follow only the Heavenly Demon himself. Taking them one by one, they are masters whose strength even the elders of the Nine Great Sects would hesitate to face.”
“Such beings…….”

No one could speak easily.
The situation was that dire.

“If we clash with the Demon Cult now, Sacheon will become the first battlefield. They have only crossed the border thus far with no further provocations, so for now we must observe and wait.”
“Do you truly mean for us to merely watch and do nothing?”

The Dang family elder clenched his fist in frustration.
Yet Gong Myeong Jinин only closed his eyes slowly and spoke quietly.

“There is no other choice…….”

Those words hung heavy in the chamber.

After everyone had left, Dang Yunbaek remained alone in his study.
On the desk, a map of the Northwest Mountain Pass lay spread before him.
As he traced a finger across it, he murmured softly.

“The Demon Cult moves…….”

But he issued no further orders.
The Dang family and the Cheongseong faction both knew the truth.
The moment they drew this blade, Sacheon would become a sea of blood once more.
And that was something no one could bear.

In the days that followed.
The Orthodox sects of Sacheon maintained an outward calm, but beneath the surface all was turmoil.
The Dang family doubled their outer garrison patrols. The Cheongseong faction reinforced their mountain gate defenses.
The Gaebang concentrated beggars from the Sacheon City vicinity on the northwestern approaches.
And they informed the Martial Alliance of these developments.

* * *

The path toward Siwan Daesan began only after the world itself seemed to end.
Beyond the Northwest Mountain Pass, the terrain grew ever harsher.
The mountain range untouched by human footfall was savage and desolate. Black mist clung to the crevices between rocks, and ancient conifers towered so high they blotted out the sky.

The one leading the way was Yeon Hwarin.
The hem of her red robe swayed long in the mountain wind.
She had not lost her way once.
As Siwan Daesan drew closer, the air grew heavier.
The higher they climbed, the harder it became to breathe.
As the sun sank completely, the group came to a halt deep within the Gorge.
Yeon Hwarin spoke.

“Let’s rest here.”

Fire kindled, and red light spilled across the Gorge.
I exhaled slowly and set my sword across my knees.
But the peace did not last.
Before long, alien presences encircled us.

“Are you testing us?”

Tae Junmu shot the question at Yeon Hwarin as if affronted.

“That’s not it, sir.”
“Then what is this presence?”
“Perhaps… someone trying to obstruct me.”

In that moment.
The air tore with a shrill screech.

Screeeech!

Red light poured down like rain. I twisted my body instantly.

Above.

But something was wrong.
There was no subtle tremor a living person should have, no breath-driven movement whatsoever.

‘Like a corpse…’

Tae Junmu also murmured low.

“… That’s not the presence of a living person.”

In that moment.

Thud.

One fell. Then dozens of them leapt down from the cliff face.
Silent. Synchronized. Yeon Hwarin’s eyes narrowed.

“… Muhon Dae.”
“Muhon Dae?”

Yeon Hwarin answered my question curtly.

“They were created by the Second. Under the guise of restoring Demon Cult martial arts… he used people.”

Her voice sank low.

“He twisted their vital energy, stripped away their consciousness, until only shells remained.”

Tae Junmu’s brow furrowed slightly.

“So that’s what I sensed.”
“No emotion, no pain. Soulless beings that obey only their master’s command.”

Before the words finished, the Muhon Dae moved.

Clang!

I raised my blade and met the first attacker’s strike head-on.
They wavered at nothing, harbored no murderous intent, felt no fear of death—nothing.
I severed his neck without hesitation.
The moment the first head flew, the one behind him stepped on the corpse and pressed forward without pause.
No hesitation. Tae Junmu seized one by the face.

Crack!

Even as the skull shattered, another climbed over the body.
Their comrades could fall around them, yet they showed no reaction whatsoever.
Tae Junmu bared his teeth.

“……This isn’t a fight.”

Yeon Hwarin stepped forward. Crimson silk rose into the air.
Her fingers moved.

Screeeech!

The red ribbon shattered outward in all directions, tearing through the Muhon Dae.

Boom-boom-boom-bang!

Bodies broke apart. Blood sprayed.
But there were no screams. Not a single one.

Then five of the Muhon Dae shifted direction in perfect unison.
Identical speed. Identical movement.
All aimed at me.

“……You were targeting me from the start.”
“Yes.”

Yeon Hwarin answered curtly.
Her eyes grew cold and still.

“By Dokgo Hwan’s command, only you are the prey.”

The Muhon Dae poured down the cliff once more.
I raised my sword and cut through their necks without end.

Boom!

Tae Junmu’s strength detonated, sending the Muhon Dae flying backward.
In that gap, Yeon Hwarin advanced another step.
Her eyes had changed completely.
From those eyes, cold and distant, flowed a visceral killing intent.

The red ribbon rose slowly into the void.
In an instant, a crimson storm engulfed the Gorge.
The bodies of the Muhon Dae were torn to shreds. Bones shattered. Flesh rent asunder.
Yet not a single cry or scream escaped their lips.

But only briefly.
Corpses piled like mountains, and the numbers of those called the Muhon Dae had visibly dwindled.
Dozens fell to my blade alone. The bodies torn apart by Tae Junmu—I couldn’t even count them.
Tae Junmu spat onto the ground after ripping apart the last one’s limbs, shaking his head.

“Finally it’s over.”

I caught my breath and spoke.

“I fear we mustn’t let our guard down just yet.”

Both their eyes turned toward me.

“Dokgo Hwan never intended to win from the start.”

Yeon Hwarin asked.

“Precisely what I said. Dokgo Hwan was never trying to defeat us.”

“He doesn’t mean to kill us. He only wants to wear us down—to sap your strength and the elder’s as much as possible before we reach the Demon Cult’s main stronghold. It makes it easier for him to abduct me that way.”

Tae Junmu let out a dry laugh.

“Huh……He’s a clever one, isn’t he.”
“Then what comes next……”
“Stronger ones. They’ll be coming.”

Silence settled over us for a moment.
I gripped my sword without speaking.
In the distance, a dark mountain range loomed.
The Siwan Daesan. And somewhere upon it, he who watches all from on high.
Beneath the crimson moonlight, we began to move again.
Faster. Deeper into the darkness.

* * *

The path toward the Siwan Daesan grew narrower.
A ridgeline road that stretched on after we left the Gorge.
On one side, a sheer cliff face; on the other, dark forest yawned wide.
A cold, heavy wind brushed against my cheek.
And then, at some point, the wind died.

Tae Junmu’s footsteps halted. I stopped at the same moment.
Yeon Hwarin’s gaze fixed forward. There, a single figure stood.

White long robe draped without a single wrinkle.
As if an invisible line had been drawn, the space between us and our opponent felt utterly severed.

“Seol Uhyeon.”

Yeon Hwarin’s guarded call went unanswered. He simply stood there.
Tae Junmu took a step forward.

Thud.

In that instant.

Rip.

The air tore open. Something invisible slashed past him.
Tae Junmu’s hand shot up like lightning.

Boom!

A burst of force detonated in empty space, yet nothing was visible.
Tae Junmu’s lips curved upward.

“……So that’s what it is.”

I didn’t miss that exchange.

‘Just now…….’

Even invisible, it was perceptible. The point where air split. The flow where vital energy converged.
That technique…….

‘That silhouette—I’m certain I’ve seen it before.’

A Demon Cult martial art that had been buried among countless bamboo tablets and texts.
Among them, a single record whose name had grown faint in my memory.

<The blade remains unseen. Instead, it leaves only a line across space.>

While I searched my recollection, Yeon Hwarin spoke with concern.

“Master. Don’t go in. It’s dangerous.”

But I had no choice but to shake my head.

“I need to verify something.”

As I stepped forward, Tae Junmu spoke quietly.

“Be careful.”

Leaving his warning behind, I moved my steps toward the invisible boundary.
That instant.

Screech!

Still an invisible line, yet this time it was different from before.
My eyes clearly caught the seam in space.

‘Yes, this is it.’

The point where air splits. This was the boundary dividing Seol Uhyeon’s realm from ours.

Rip.

But I didn’t evade. I simply slowed my pace by a fraction.

Screech!

The blade line passed within inches of my face.

Crash!

The boulder behind split cleanly in two.

‘As I thought. My instinct was right.’

Now that certainty had taken hold, I stepped forward once more.

Screeeeeech!

This time I penetrated deeper. And then I saw it—lines upon lines crisscrossing this space, and their nexus.
My foot twisted subtly.
In that same instant, another blade line grazed past my shoulder.
Had I not twisted, my neck would have been severed.

The lines filling this space could not keep pace with my movement.

And I stopped. At the point where all the lines originated. Before Seol Uhyeon, at their very center.

“…….”

Seol Uhyeon’s vital energy trembled ever so slightly.
That perfectly refined flow—a crack had appeared in it for the first time.
The corner of Seol Uhyeon’s mouth rose in the faintest smile.

“Now you mean to take him with you?”

“No. Right now I’ve simply come to verify. Whether there’s any true value to you or not.”

I said nothing, merely watching as he turned slowly to leave.

“……Come all the way through.”

The wind stirred again.

“I want to see it myself—how far you can truly go.”

Soon his form vanished, and silence settled over the ridge.
Tae Junmu exhaled heavily.

“……These Demon Cult bastards. Can’t afford to underestimate their disciples.”

I stared out toward Siwan Daesan without speaking.
A path from which there was no turning back.
And the real trial was only beginning now.

—————
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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