Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 100
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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 100
The Banquet Hall, now emptied of all Later-Stage Martial Artists and occupied only by the Family Estate’s Elders, revealed the presence of the Family Head.
Namgung Hu watched the VIP Platform with unwavering focus, as though he could not afford to miss a single movement.
Crash! Boom!
“Ugh…!”
Namgung Seon-wi bit his lip and groaned. Under the crushing force of the fists, his sword bent as though it might shatter, and his bones screamed in agony.
The dignified and refined bearing he once possessed had long since vanished.
His hair hung in wild disarray, his wrists swollen beyond recognition, his chest stained crimson—he appeared half-dead.
As he staggered and adjusted his grip on his blade, his gaze suddenly met that of the Family Head standing below the platform.
Many words circled within his mouth. Yet he did not speak them. All that needed to be conveyed was already contained within his sword.
“You’ve made quite the spectacle. Since you’ve drawn your blade this far, you must see it through to its conclusion, yes?”
“Yes.”
Cheon So-hyun took another step forward.
He had already discerned Namgung Seon-wi’s purpose in attempting this desperate strike.
‘It was because of that Family Head.’
The condition of Namgung Hu, the Family Head of the Namgung Family, was far from ordinary.
Though I could not divine the exact circumstances, the reason was not difficult to surmise.
‘That pathetic fool is surely being swayed by petty emotions.’
Regardless of his martial prowess or renown, his narrow-mindedness and shallow cultivation were so exasperating that it was as obvious as fire—a man of such transparent weakness.
The problem was that his shameful conduct had spread to become a calamity for the entire Namgung Family.
Namgung Seon-wi’s reckless attempt at this breakthrough was ultimately connected to the Family Head’s circumstances.
“Is your target truly the completion of the Sovereign Sword Form?”
“Who can say.”
Cheon So-hyun swiftly seized the flanking position and unleashed his fist. Whatever his resolve, I would become an iron wall to block his path.
Namgung Seon-wi released his sword energy precariously.
Crash! Boom!
Under a force as mighty as Mount Tai itself, blood seeped from his trembling grip. Yet he only tightened his hold on his sword strike.
‘I have no choice but to acknowledge it.’
Against such irresistible martial power, Namgung Seon-wi instead channeled his concentration. This was the moment he had long awaited.
As though embodying the combat sequences etched into his mind, or rather, advancing them further still—a perception of martial principles that transcended mere imitation.
Namgung Seon-wi’s consciousness sank deeper and deeper.
‘The Namgung sword is the Sovereign’s sword.’
These words, which he recited as habit, originated from his father Namgung Hu’s training in his childhood.
Wielding madly, thrusting, extending again and again. His father often spent entire days in frenzied practice, immersed in cultivation like a madman.
At first, I thought he was personally demonstrating the Family’s sword techniques while imparting instruction, but one day, I suddenly understood.
My father had set up an imaginary opponent and was locked in mortal combat with them. And he had never once achieved victory against that opponent.
Who could this adversary possibly be?
And how formidable must they be, that my father suffered so greatly?
Young Namgung Seon-wi etched that image clearly into his memory and vowed that one day, he would dispel that terrible shadow with his own hands.
Clang! Clang!
Namgung Seon-wi’s sword was deflected and snapped. Under pressure as jagged as a cliff face, his wrist twisted and every bone in his body screamed in agony.
Yet the more his blade shattered, the fiercer his will burned.
The sword form he sought was one that grew stronger with each fracture—a blade that hardened only after shattering, much like the lives of countless people.
‘The answer lies in the sword.’
The Namgung sword is the sword of an emperor. Among Heaven, Earth, and Man, standing alone in the center—the King.
But one cannot remain merely a king. As a descendant of Namgung, as a master of the age, one must become an Emperor.
This was the first half of the Imperial Sword Form’s secret incantation. Each time Namgung Seon-wi recited it, he suffered from a terrible sense of incompleteness.
Whether emperor or king, weren’t they all merely people made of bone and flesh?
A perfect swordmaster cannot exist. Only ordinary people exist—those who suffer, despair, and fall into despondency.
‘That’s right. A single sword cannot stand against Mount Tai.’
The moment he accepted this truth deep in his heart, his sword underwent a transformation.
Fwooosh!
The wave reverberating below the Alchemy Division caused the Elders’ eyes to widen in shock.
“The… the Crown Prince…!”
A strange resonance. His martial spirit began to swell with tremendous power, evoking the image of a vast gorge reaching toward the heavens.
The Alchemy Division crumbled, and as dust erupted and crashed to the ground, Namgung Myeong’s fists trembled.
Moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes.
‘He… he actually did it.’
The Imperial Sword Form was a divine technique passed down only to the direct descendants of Namgung, specifically to those destined to become Family Head in future generations.
And its completion did not mean merely reaching the pinnacle of a stage.
It meant deriving one’s own form and technique based on the secret incantations passed down for centuries since the founder, thereby ‘completing’ the second half.
An impossible feat. For Namgung Seon-wi, not yet at his martial prime and still far from mastery, it was truly impossible.
“Wait… this sword pressure now…!”
“Is… is that the Crown Prince’s Imperial Sword Form?!”
A heavy sword pressure spread in all directions, as if raising one’s head would be presumptuous.
Under the pressure constricting his limbs, Cheon So-hyun’s lips curled upward in a long smile.
“So… you weren’t merely acting recklessly after all?”
Cheon So-hyun inwardly acknowledged Namgung Seon-wi’s resolve.
Life is said to be an ocean of suffering, yet within it shine countless values worth enduring that pain for.
For Namgung Seon-wi, it was the sword; for himself, it was the lives of all sentient beings and the karmic ties of his past life.
A contest neither could yield.
Uuuuoooong!!
A roar like swarming bees erupted from Cheon So-hyun’s entire body. Now acknowledging his opponent, he unleashed his full power.
His martial spirit, circulated to its absolute limit, unleashed tremendous heat. A strike driven forward with his left hand, shaking off the sword pressure—the Great Force Palm.
Namgung Seon-wi handled the palm strike’s power, incomparably greater than before, with elegant simplicity.
His snow-white blade descended diagonally, splitting the palm force into two currents that scattered into the void.
Kwaaaang!
Cheon So-hyun emerged from the side, pressing his advantage once more. The Divine Fist’s martial arts unfolded unimpeded, setting the Banquet Hall’s air ablaze with the Ninth Stage of Alchemy.
Kwaaaang! Kwaang!!
The Elders watching clenched their fists tightly. Their gazes had already split between the two combatants.
‘Seon-wi, hold on just a little longer. Just a little more….’
Those watching Namgung Seon-wi with admiration, fervor, and concern. Those gauging the Family Head’s reaction.
Divine Fist Technique was no monotonous martial art. It transformed according to the inclinations and will of its inheritors.
The Sovereign Sword Form was the same.
The founder had embedded a foundational concept within the form, hoping that future inheritors would guide one another through mutual exchange.
Pushing and blocking for each other, inscribing one’s will upon the consciousness of other inheritors. This was the ‘Resonance of Divine Fist’.
This was precisely what Namgung Seon-wi was aiming for.
And now, even the Elders who had dismissed it as futile could not suppress their admiration.
A change had occurred in Namgung Hu’s expression!
Across his face, shadowed by demonic influence, bewilderment and fervor crossed paths as his shoulders trembled and he reached his hand toward the VIP Platform.
‘Could the Crown Prince’s will have truly reached him?!’
Namgung Seon-wi’s will—which could be called nothing short of mind-reading—had finally dispelled the dark clouds that hung over the Family Head!
“Family Head….”
The Elders’ expressions brightened, but only for a moment.
Kwaaang!
In an instant, they lost sight of the Family Head.
“…?”
By the time they noticed the anomaly, it was already far too late.
With a deafening crash, the VIP Platform shattered. The floor crumbled helplessly, and a giant wreathed in violent thunder energy across his entire body emerged into view.
“…Huh?”
It was not only the Elders who fell into confusion. Namgung Seon-wi lifted his head, his face flushed crimson.
His focus had already shattered. What appeared faintly was a silhouette that should not have been on the VIP Platform—the Family Head’s back.
“Father! What is the meaning of this…!”
Namgung Hu ignored his words.
“You… you bastard….”
His gaze fixed solely upon Cheon So-hyun. Namgung Hu seized Cheon So-hyun’s shoulder with trembling hands.
“What is your connection to that Strange Monk?”
Cheon So-hyun’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Strange Monk?”
From Namgung Hu’s lips erupted a roar like a lion’s cry.
“Hye Gwang!”
“…!”
A rare bewilderment flashed across Cheon So-hyun’s eyes.
‘…Hye Gwang?’
What nonsense was this coming out of nowhere? Hye Gwang?
I felt cold sweat bead along my spine.
From my previous life, I had reached a realm where brother and I were beyond the need for martial arts.
Moreover, after rebirth, I had established new martial techniques while harboring demonic energy, so it was no exaggeration to say I had created an entirely independent lineage of martial knowledge.
‘But damn it, how?’
The shock struck like a hammer blow to the back of my head. I had been certain that even those bald-headed senior brothers would not have noticed.
For now, the best course of action was to dismiss it as the ravings of a madman and deny it outright.
“…What are you talking about? Hye Gwang?”
“Don’t you dare deny this with empty words!”
Centered on Namgung Hu, a tremendous wave of qi spread outward—a torrent of energy as rough and violent as the venting of inflamed emotions.
“Even if I deceived everyone in the Realm, my eyes cannot be evaded.”
Cheon So-hyun, who faced this maelstrom head-on, felt his expression harden, while Namgung Seon-wi coughed up blood.
“Cough…!”
His vital energy had already been depleted to the breaking point. As his barely-maintained consciousness scattered and Namgung Seon-wi staggered, the Namgung Elders moved swiftly.
“Crown Prince!!”
Namgung Myeong caught the wavering Namgung Seon-wi and quickly took his pulse to assess his condition.
The other Elders, filled with concern, rushed to gather around him.
“Are… are you alright?”
“…I’m fine. He’s merely lost consciousness from extreme exhaustion. Once he rests, he’ll recover as if nothing happened. We should move him to the Medical Hall at once.”
“Then let us make haste.”
Namgung Myeong hoisted Namgung Seon-wi onto his back and glanced toward the Family Head.
“…”
He had intended to offer a brief salute and withdraw. Yet, seeing the Family Head’s silhouette—his gaze fixed unwavering upon Cheon Gang, never turning away—he found himself at a loss for words.
“Answer me! What is your true identity? Why do you resemble that Strange Monk so closely!”
Silence spread through the chamber. The Elders each swallowed their sighs inwardly.
‘This has gone too far.’
‘It is long past time he released his grip on the specter of the dead…’
It had transcended the bounds of reason.
Not content with interfering in a duel between Warriors, he had thoroughly trampled upon an awakening—a moment one could scarcely hope to experience twice in a lifetime.
The hollowness that welled up came from the knowledge that this was the Crown Prince’s opportunity, and that the Imperial Sword Form had been honed and perfected for the Family Head’s sake.
That will, that effort, that blood-drawn agony—should they not be acknowledged, even if they received no reward?
The Elders, struggling to cast off the crushing disappointment, began to speak one by one.
“Family Head, that man has no connection to Hye Gwang.”
“Yes, he is a descendant of the Cheonghwa Sect, and the Main Family Residence has already verified his identity multiple times…”
“Silence!”
Crack!
The lightning qi rippling across his entire body intensified further. Namgung Hu cast a menacing glance at the Elders.
“Are you saying my judgment was wrong? Do you dare mock the Family Head’s authority?!”
Like the Elders, Cheon So-hyun’s complexion grew noticeably more grave.
‘Dangerous.’
His gaze was directed at the Elders behind Namgung Hu’s shoulders.
The Elders’ qi grew turbulent.
Though they made an obvious effort to contain themselves, long-suppressed grievances began to surface in their expressions.
The way they exchanged glances one by one struck him as extremely perilous.
If this continued, the Elders would grow weary of the Family Head, and Namgung Seon-wi, who had resolved to complete the Imperial Sword Form, would likewise fall into deep despondency and despair.
Should this spark spread and ignite discord within the Namgung Family—a pillar of the White Path itself—it would plunge them into an irreversible catastrophe.
Both the Black Path and even the Demonic Sect—those who had been sharpening their blades toward the Central Plains—would have welcomed this situation with open arms.
‘There’s no avoiding this.’
Cheon So-hyun fixed Namgung Hu with a piercing gaze.
“How awkward. Whatever answer you’re seeking, this isn’t a conversation that benefits from an audience. Perhaps we should find a more private setting first….”
Rumble!
Before he could finish speaking, Namgung Hu erupted with a profound aura of power, seized Cheon So-hyun by the shoulder, and took a single step forward.
“…!”
The surroundings transformed in an instant. Cheon So-hyun wrapped his entire body in protective energy to resist the impact.
The two tore through space in a heartbeat, vanishing from the Banquet Hall at extreme velocity—a speed that would rival several times Namgung Seon-wi’s own.
Moments later, they stood facing each other in a dimly lit Secret Chamber.
“Speak. What is your connection to that man?”
In the pitch-black darkness, Namgung Hu’s eyes gleamed with menace.
At such reckless behavior, Cheon So-hyun finally let out a bitter laugh.
“Pathetic fool. Your inability to discern heaven from earth remains unchanged, then as now.”
Namgung Hu’s aura grew even more sinister.
“What did you say? Have you truly lost your senses?”
“Had my Master been present at this moment, he would surely have said the same.”
“…Master?”
Namgung Hu’s pupils trembled violently. Simultaneously, the aura that had been compressed as if ready to explode dispersed into the void in an instant.
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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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