Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 10

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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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Chapter 10
“Is there anyone in your family worth introducing to me?”
At Cheon So-hyun’s irritated gaze, Sa Ma-ryang drew a sharp breath and spoke hastily.
“I-I apologize. That is… shamefully, my standing within the family is quite narrow. Due to limited interactions, I am unaware of what ideologies the family members harbor.”
Cheon So-hyun nodded.
“As expected. Exactly what I anticipated. So it is as I thought.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. So you’re saying there’s no one worth introducing?”
“Yes… Could it be that you wished an introduction to investigate ways to prevent the Great Calamity?”
“Correct. I heard the Military Council was discussing it, so I thought I’d meet someone and ask about it. Since the Sa Ma Family apparently makes their profession from Military Council affairs, I asked you for an introduction.”
“I would need to investigate further, but if you take direct action, the prospects are not entirely without hope. However, now that the Great Calamity has been decided, the Military Council has become the busiest organization within the Divine Sect, so whether we can meet those in key positions…”
“It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s the leadership or the lowest ranks, if I can meet anyone, I should. Right now, I need to grasp at straws—any straw at all, whether it turns into gruel or rice.”
Sa Ma-ryang met his gaze steadily. His eyes conveyed unwavering resolve, proof that this was more than mere words.
‘Has he already steeled his heart so completely?’
Sa Ma-ryang had learned of the Great Calamity from the family and spent considerable time agonizing over the catastrophe that would follow.
Yet he had not been able to harden his resolve. This stemmed not merely from weakness of character.
As a follower of the Heavenly Demon Cult, a religious organization, he could not dare defy decisions made by those in the upper echelons.
“I did not realize you had resolved yourself so firmly. There is no time for hesitation. I too shall move swiftly and seek an alternative.”
“An alternative? You have a way?”
Sa Ma-ryang’s expression began to darken considerably.
“First, I shall visit the Military Council.”
“You?”
“Yes. I will not be turned away at the gate, so I shall request an audience.”
“Well, if it’s inconvenient, I could go myself?”
“No. You were afflicted with illness and are now seeking solutions—I cannot afford to speak weakly. Your recovery is gaining momentum, so it would be best for you to continue your training as you have been.”
“You still have some shame in you, at least. Then go quickly and return.”
“Yes, I shall take my leave. Cheonma Ridge…”
“Haven’t you left yet?”
“I’m going now!”
Sa Ma-ryang immediately bowed deeply, then clenched his fists as though seized by great resolve and departed.
What trouble could exist between him and his family that required such a vow?
Was he being ostracized for lacking social awareness?
‘Yet he seems like a decent person… Tsk tsk.’
Watching Sa Ma-ryang disappear into the distance, Cheon So-hyun shook his head slowly.
* * *
The Military Council Office, filled with flickering lamplight.
A man in scholar-warrior attire scanned documents with weary eyes. He was a military strategist and advisor who had achieved mastery in both the literary and martial arts.
Thus, staying awake for several nights was of little consequence, yet the recently increased workload had driven his fatigue to its peak.
‘Reinforcements are necessary. Among the family members, someone capable…’
Several people flashed through the man’s mind. Thanks to his keen intellect, he quickly recalled suitable candidates, but.
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue and refocused on his work.
As documents piled around him obscured his entire frame, and the mountain of papers surrounding him began to resemble a prison.
The man furrowed his brow at the occasional noise drifting in.
“Who’s out there?”
Creak.
A man dressed in scholarly robes entered through the door.
“What’s all this commotion? It doesn’t seem work-related.”
“My apologies. A visitor has arrived….”
“A visitor? Who?”
“Sa Ma-ryang.”
The man’s brow furrowed subtly. A flicker of curiosity crossed his otherwise expressionless face.
“Ryang has come to see me?”
“…Yes? Yes, that’s correct.”
“Tell him to come in.”
“Understood.”
Sa Ma-yu, the scholar delivering the report, bowed respectfully and withdrew. His demeanor remained composed, yet turmoil churned within his chest.
‘Has he been calling Sa Ma-ryang by his childhood name all this time?’
A childhood name was akin to a term of endearment—one that required genuine affection to slip from one’s lips. Yet the Chief Military Commander himself had used it?
It felt all the more bewildering given his reputation for exceptional coldness.
Even members of the Military Council from the same family rarely heard a word of praise or warmth from him.
‘…This makes no sense.’
Sa Ma-yu’s footsteps suddenly halted.
In the chaotic office where documents scattered about, he spotted colleagues assigned to similar duties.
Most of them looked disheveled, as though they hadn’t bathed in days.
No, it wasn’t a matter of bathing or not.
All of them had darkened circles beneath their eyes and wide, bloodshot pupils. It was clear they had forgotten rest entirely.
They had endured countless all-nighters, racking their brains to prove their own worth.
The strength the Divine Sect revered was not limited to martial prowess alone.
Those who fell short were ruthlessly eliminated. Most of them suffered under the pressure, tormented by an insatiable thirst for the Chief Military Commander’s recognition.
Why did Sa Ma-ryang receive such desperately coveted approval and favor so effortlessly?
He was nothing but a pathetic wretch who had abandoned his family legacy and forsaken his clan.
Clench.
Sa Ma-yu passed through the wooden corridor with his fist clenched tightly.
Upon exiting the Inner Hall, he spotted Sa Ma-ryang asking a Military Council member if they could spare some time.
“Sa Ma-ryang.”
Sa Ma-ryang startled slightly and smiled.
“Brother, it’s been so long. I hope you’ve been well….”
Sa Ma-yu cut him off curtly.
“This is not a private setting. Mind your words.”
“…Yes.”
Sa Ma-yu’s gaze shifted toward Sa Ma-ryang’s attire.
The long-sleeved white robes and white physician’s cap were unmistakably the garb of a healer, yet for some reason, specks of dirt clung to them here and there.
“So you’re studying the healing arts, yet you look rather ridiculous. Did you come bounding about somewhere?”
Sa Ma-ryang glanced down at his own appearance, laughed sheepishly, and brushed the dirt away.
“Ha-ha, it’s because I came in such a hurry….”
“Never mind. The Chief Military Commander wishes to see you, so go on in.”
Sa Ma-ryang responded with a startled expression.
“The Chief Military Commander, you say?”
Sa Ma-yu merely nodded, his displeasure evident.
It was an invaluable opportunity, yet Sa Ma-ryang’s heart flooded with unease. This was the one person he most wished to avoid.
He could foresee all too clearly the disdainful gaze that would be cast upon him, the contempt that would be laid bare.
After a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head.
‘No. This is not the time to be choosy.’
Just as the Third Prince had said—one must grasp at even a straw—now was the time to attempt anything.
“Yes, I shall go. Thank you for conveying the message.”
“Tsk.”
Sa Ma-ryang turned toward the office.
Upon passing through the entrance and stepping into the Inner Hall, numerous officials came into view. They moved about in hurried, frantic activity. Though some faces were unfamiliar, most were recognizable.
They were companions with whom I had shared knowledge at the Academy, and when hungry, sat together sharing the food we had brought.
Some occasionally recognized Sa Ma-ryang and paused in their steps, but that was all. None spoke to him.
Sa Ma-ryang kept his head slightly bowed, avoiding their gazes.
At last, standing before the General Commander’s Office, he swallowed hard and knocked upon the door.
“Enter.”
An indifferent voice came from within.
Creak.
Sa Ma-ryang looked upon the Chief Military Commander, whose expression was unwelcoming, and offered a greeting first.
“I trust you have been well.”
Sa Ma-hyuk, the Chief Military Commander, at last set down his documents.
“Indeed. What brings you to the Military Council? It’s hardly a place a vagrant would visit—have you come to beg for alms?”
His voice was as cold and sharp as frost.
Sa Ma-ryang exhaled briefly, suppressing his trembling.
“I have come because there is something I must ask of you.”
“Dispense with the preamble and speak plainly. Very well. A request? What is it?”
“Could you introduce me to someone within the Military Council on behalf of the Third Prince?”
“…What?”
In that instant, Sa Ma-hyuk’s eyes flickered with ashen light. A clear displeasure burned within the wavering grey demonic energy that betrayed profound disappointment.
“Is it not enough that you tend to one who lies unconscious? Now you take on menial tasks as well?”
“This is an important matter to me.”
“Important?”
Sa Ma-hyuk’s gaze turned fierce.
“Sa Ma-ryang.”
“Yes, speak.”
“You still haven’t abandoned that weak-willed nature of yours.”
“….”
“That is not your destiny. It is no task for one who has inherited such talent. How much time have you wasted?”
Sa Ma-ryang bowed his head. Sharp words pierced through me like daggers, yet I was not so soft as to be swayed by mere reproach.
“You have always spoken thus. My answer remains unchanged. My destiny lies not in the Military Council, but in saving lives.”
“…?”
At the firm response, Sa Ma-hyuk’s eyes narrowed. Some shift in his heart seemed to occur, his gaze distinctly altered.
“Pathetic wretch. Your destiny lies in saving lives?”
Sa Ma-hyuk’s tone grew increasingly sharp.
“Then what have you accomplished since leaving the family? Learned petty skills? Served as someone’s lackey? What exactly have you done? Do you know that the kinsmen who once followed your heels have already reached the Third Tier in their cultivation?”
“If they have achieved success, then I offer my congratulations. It is no concern of mine.”
“No concern? You were born into the Sa Ma Clan, grew upon the family’s foundation, and now you deny that very root?”
His ashen eyes flashed.
“I permitted your wandering because I judged you capable of establishing your own lineage. I intended to watch the family’s influence expand through you. Yet look at you now.”
His piercing gaze swept across my entire form.
“Dressed as a Physician—poorly at that—with dust clinging to you in patches, undertaking even the Third Prince’s menial tasks. You, once praised as a prodigy of the family.”
Sa Ma-ryang listened to him in silence.
“It is not too late. Return to the family and dedicate yourself to our legacy. That is the destiny befitting you.”
“I have already decided to share my purpose with the Third Prince.”
“Share your purpose?”
At this frustratingly evasive answer, Sa Ma-hyuk’s voice rose.
“How pathetic! Are you truly saying that you, who abandoned the family legacy, would become a strategist and take the Third Prince as your lord?!”
Sa Ma-ryang paused before answering.
“I cannot say with certainty. It is a matter that requires time to decide, so I have not yet determined my answer.”
“…?”
Sa Ma-hyuk’s brow furrowed slightly. He had read sincerity in Sa Ma-ryang’s bearing. In that once-weak demeanor, aspiration now burned like a raging flame.
Sa Ma-ryang was the one who had left the family, sickened by the main house’s teachings to become a strategist for great enterprises.
Yet now he spoke of deciding with time?
It was an unexpected answer. If the Third Prince truly possessed the caliber to entrust one’s fate to, it meant Sa Ma-ryang would willingly become his strategist.
Sa Ma-hyuk could not help but be astonished at this transformation in Sa Ma-ryang.
‘Does the Third Prince truly possess something extraordinary?’
The one who had fled the family now displayed a completely different response. There was no need to wonder whose fire had ignited this flame within him.
Sa Ma-hyuk recalled the news that the Third Prince was to receive the Cult Leader’s favor and be granted the Heavenly Demon Pill.
‘It is no mere stroke of luck, then. If so….’
Sa Ma-hyuk concealed his subtle emotions and spoke.
“Very well. If I search, I should find someone with time to spare. I will arrange the date and place—go and deliver the message.”
At this unexpected permission, Sa Ma-ryang’s eyes widened before he bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for your understanding. I shall take my leave now.”
Sa Ma-hyuk watched the departing figure intently, his eyes betraying undisguised displeasure.
In that moment, Sa Ma-ryang, who had been walking with measured steps, came to an abrupt halt.
As he turned, a grey aura materialized in his gaze—a force identical in nature to the Chief Military Commander’s demonic energy.
“And I assure you, I continue to diligently cultivate the Sa Ma Heart Technique, so there is no need for concern. Now I truly shall withdraw.”
Sa Ma-hyuk’s jaw twitched. He had instantly recognized that this was no falsehood.
‘He had concealed the extraordinary within the ordinary.’
Fourth Stage… no, he had surpassed the Fifth Stage entirely.
Based on the spiritual force he sensed from Sa Ma-ryang, even the most generous assessment would place him only at the threshold of the Third Stage.
An inexpressible sense of loss pierced through his chest.
Sa Ma-hyuk redirected his gaze to the documents, composing himself.
“…Very well. Go.”

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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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