Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - 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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Chapter 32
“Shhhhh.”
A long exhale carried wisps of smoke curling into the empty air.
The man lounging across the golden chair drew deeply on his tobacco leaf.
“Tedious. So tedious.”
He gazed blankly at the dissipating smoke. The way it vanished felt particularly hollow today.
“Why does time crawl so? I wish someone would just knock me unconscious.”
The years flowed past without deviation or complication, and that monotony was suffocating.
Life was pain or ennui—wasn’t that the saying?
I had spent my entire existence obsessed with something, a warrior consumed by passion.
When I served in the battle corps, I clung to martial arts to overcome my humble origins. After establishing my position, I lived for the thrill of danger.
The exhilaration I felt when I risked my life challenging for the position of Great Demon Master, when I threw myself into perilous trials and advanced my martial arts, when I became the youngest Demon Master—all of it had faded to nothing.
The result of enduring agony while casting myself into violent waves had become this heavy tedium, strangling me.
“Tch. Better to die than suffer like this.”
As I brought the tobacco leaf to my lips again, a woman’s voice cut through.
“Shall I do it for you?”
The air rippled, and a woman in black martial robes materialized.
“Stop. You’ll hurt yourself.”
Hong Yi-gyeom, the woman in black, offered a fresh smile.
“You didn’t notice this concealment, did you?”
“I’m so bored I didn’t bother checking. Even alley cats would yawn at this level. Drop it.”
“That’s only how it appears to your eyes. The other disciples were completely fooled.”
“They were pretending to be fooled. Or maybe they were betting on when I’d give up. The latter seems more likely.”
Hong Yi-gyeom’s expression darkened with frustration.
“Be careful. Next time I’ll definitely surprise you.”
“So you’ve come to report?”
Hong Yi-gyeom nodded.
“About what you asked me to investigate—it’s true. The Fourth Prince and Third Prince did clash.”
“The Dharma Protection Institute was involved?”
I asked where the information came from, and Hong Yi-gyeom answered immediately.
“We found out at Cha Hong-ru. Someone from the Iron-Blooded Demon Master’s faction came by yesterday. They were drunk and loose-tongued, spilling everything. Apparently the Fourth Prince entered closed cultivation?”
“Closed cultivation? That fiery bastard?”
“He must have been furious. After all, his opponent was who he was.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“The Cheon Family has made closed cultivation fashionable, haven’t they? The Cult Leader, the youngest, and now the fourth? So you don’t know how he lost?”
“No witnesses. They went up to this level, clashed once, and the Fourth Prince was rolling across the main hall floor. Simple as that.”
“Something doesn’t add up. There must have been another variable.”
I exhaled smoke slowly after drawing on the tobacco leaf.
“Regardless, how many have gathered now?”
“Forty-three. Seven more and we can begin.”
“Straightforward as always. Still, I won’t have a dull moment for some time to come….”
That was when it happened.
Knock, knock!
When I heard the knocking at the door from outside and granted permission to enter, my subordinate hastily pushed the door open.
“What’s all this commotion?”
“Well, a giant of a man appeared at the entrance asking to see you, sir.”
“A giant?”
“Yes. He said you’d know him if I mentioned he came from Unam Peak. He seemed like quite the formidable master, though.”
Do Je stroked his chin with an uncertain expression.
“Unam Peak—just hearing that name makes my chest tighten. No doubt he’s come begging for some favor or other. Getting entangled with that place would surely bring calamity, so drive him away and scatter some salt for good measure.”
That was when it happened.
“Your jest has gone too far.”
Yi Ma-je emerged from behind the subordinate. Do Je, who had been staring at him intently, broke into a genuine smile for the first time in ages.
“Ah, Senior! Is that you?”
* * *
Waaaaah!!
Roaring cheers erupted in succession.
At the topmost floor of the five-story gambling house, by a window overlooking the levels below, Do Je murmured softly.
“What makes them so delighted?”
“….”
“They were on the brink of ruin mere moments ago, yet now they’re laughing with unbridled joy. Pretending to maintain composure while masking their fear—such is their nature.”
The sound of wine being poured rang out clearly.
“Their opponent has gone rigid, flushed red and purple, looking ready to draw a blade at any moment.”
Do Je swirled the cup slowly, catching the pungent aroma of the wine. The sound of the glass filling rang out with crystalline clarity.
“When you think about it, gambling is no different from life itself. We take risks to advance, we scheme desperately to escape, we revel in joy only to plunge back into peril, tightrope-walking between fortune and disaster.”
“….”
“Gamblers, scorned as the dregs of humanity, live with a passion that makes one envious. Didn’t we once know such fervor? Though the memory grows hazy now.”
Yi Ma-je answered in an indifferent tone.
“I suppose. I’ve never enjoyed gambling myself.”
“Is gambling only gambling when stakes are wagered in a gambling house? Why would someone of your understanding say such a thing?”
Do Je emptied his cup while regarding him.
“It doesn’t seem you’ve come down from the mountains out of boredom. Has something shifted in your heart? What brings you to this place?”
Yi Ma-je answered briefly.
“The Third Prince visited me not long ago.”
At this unexpected news, Do Je’s expression grew grave in an instant.
“He went to that mountain valley? The young master of the Cheon Family?”
“He said he opposes the Great Sect. I agreed to lend my strength, but it seemed he could use another hand, so I took it upon myself to look into the Demon Masters of the Elder Council.”
Do Je paused before asking.
“Why did he specifically seek you out?”
“The Chief Military Commander had made a recommendation, it seems.”
A heavy silence descended.
Do Je narrowed his eyes, studying Yi Ma-je’s expression.
“So you came looking for me because you agree with the Third Prince’s intentions?”
“That’s right.”
“Ha… haha.”
Do Je let out a hollow laugh.
I had already learned that Cheon So-hyun opposed the Great Sect.
Baek Myun Valley was a street where all manner of pleasure houses, gambling establishments, and fighting pits gathered to form a city that never slept, so information of every kind flowed day and night without pause.
“I wondered what fool would throw away his life so carelessly, but it turns out to be you, senior. Your judgment has truly hit rock bottom.”
Do Je’s voice grew increasingly harsh.
“Is your discernment really so poor? Don’t you truly understand what the Chief Military Commander meant by singling you out specifically?”
Despite the reproachful tone, Yi Ma-je’s demeanor remained unmoved.
“I have some idea of it.”
“No, you clearly have no idea at all. If you understood, you would have fled to the Military Council instead of coming here to Baek Myun Valley.”
Whoosh!
Dense demonic energy flowed between Do Je’s breaths. It was not anger or contempt, but frustration that stirred the movement of his dantian.
“To be so ignorant of the world’s affairs. Senior, shall I tell you something amusing? Recently, a rumor has been spreading quite loudly—that the foremost of the Associations is retiring.”
“….”
“The Silver Scale Tyrant Blade, that is. You must have heard of him, senior?”
Yi Ma-je nodded.
“I know of him. One of the Three Great Blade Masters.”
“Exactly. A man of considerable pride in the Military Council, yet suddenly he announced his retirement. When I looked into the reason, it turned out the Crown Prince had asked him to teach him the blade arts.”
“….”
“Well, even though he’s severed ties with his family, he is still from the Huo Yue Sect after all, so it seemed like a plausible pretext.”
Do Je refilled his cup and drained it again. He wiped his lips roughly.
“But that wasn’t it. He suddenly reversed his retirement. He continues to hold his position as inspector, attending to the Association’s duties as usual.”
Do Je’s eyes flickered with a bluish-green light.
“Why would a warrior in his prime try to leave the Military Council? If not for his family, where was he going? And why did he reverse his retirement? Everything was a mystery, but now I’m beginning to see the pattern.”
Yi Ma-je’s and Do Je’s gazes intertwined in the empty air.
“I suspect the Chief Military Commander might be treating the Third Prince like a fishing rod, wouldn’t you say?”
“A fishing rod?”
“Isn’t it so? You muddy the waters with fish, fill your net completely, then burn the entire catch and the rod along with it. In the process, you fatten your own belly, distribute some to your neighbor, and fill the vacant positions with your own people.”
“If the Third Prince becomes a discarded card, that would be the case.”
Do Je let out a bitter laugh.
“Ha, senior. Let’s speak plainly. Is there another card in the Sect that’s both so plausible and so easy to discard?”
Even with diligent cultivation every single day, half a year had been lost to demonic possession.
Even if the rumors concerning Cheon Mu-tan were true, the Third Prince’s circumstances remained unchanged.
A kite with a severed string.
An isolated water dragon.
A water dragon that would never ascend to heaven.
In any case, doesn’t the Third Prince have the backing of the Four Great Demon Families to support him?
Do Je exhaled a long sigh.
“Since we’ve broached the subject, I’ll speak candidly. Your judgment seems clouded by the prospect of losing your head, but wouldn’t it have been better to simply ask for help once?”
His tone carried an edge.
“I’ve been reduced to this state because of you, and my entire body still aches because of you. Or was that your intention from the start?”
Yi Ma-je answered briefly.
“You seem to be under a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“The Third Prince told me something. He judged that he needed to demonstrate what kind of person he is in order to convince me. He certainly proved to be someone of unwavering resolve. Even after already meeting the conditions I set, he trained at my side for nearly a month.”
“…?”
“I’m well aware that certain goals cannot be achieved through mere demands alone. Why would I be any different?”
At his resolute tone, Do Je’s brow furrowed. A sudden question flickered through his mind, and his voice trembled.
“Then you didn’t seek me out as just another Demon Master, but….”
“Haven’t I often mentioned the Third Prince? That he might become someone worthy of wagering a lifetime’s gamble on.”
“…That was before he nearly became a living corpse from demonic deviation. Surely you’re not suggesting that all the rumors about the Five Stars are true and I should simply believe them?”
“Perhaps. I believe he possesses something that cannot be measured by terms like Five Stars or martial talent. I’ve often felt as though I were facing a seasoned Jianghu veteran.”
“….”
“It was as if he understood what constitutes efficient movement, how to approach matters—everything.”
Do Je, who had been about to speak, closed his mouth.
Even before becoming a Demon Master of the Council of Elders, he and Yi Ma-je had built a rapport.
Though their temperaments were polar opposites, there was something that resonated between them.
Yi Ma-je respected Do Je as a Warrior for his passion and his approach to martial arts.
Do Je, for his part, did not look down upon a gambler—a profession most regarded as the dregs of humanity—but treated him as a person, finding intrigue in his composure and his unfathomable resolve.
After such lengthy exchange, this was the first time Yi Ma-je had shown interest in another person.
“So that’s why the Cult Leader bestowed the Demon Ring Altar upon him.”
At that quiet remark, Do Je found himself asking in return.
“…The Third Prince received the Demon Ring Altar?”
The Demon Ring Altar was known as the sacred treasure of the Cult—an elixir of profound power.
Thus, unless one was involved with the Alchemy Division or among the innermost circle of leadership, the distribution of the Demon Ring Altar remained unknown to outsiders. Yet Do Je was aware that someone had recently obtained it.
Vast sums of money had flowed out, and the materials and resources needed by the Alchemy Division had been consumed.
Since no word had been heard afterward, he had assumed the Cult Leader had consumed it and entered seclusion, but….
Yi Ma-je nodded.
“I haven’t heard it directly, but I observed spiritual energy stagnating throughout his meridians without circulating. Only the Demon Ring Altar could contain such power. That must also be why he possesses the Solitary Herb.”
To that clinching remark, there was no response.
Do Je’s demeanor had shifted considerably from before.
A deep glimmer of calculation began to dance in his eyes, as though he were holding cards and tallying gains and losses.
When Do Je finally reached for the wine bottle.
“Hmm?”
Yi Ma-je offered his cup first.
Do Je asked with a puzzled expression.
“Why? Were you thinking of having a drink? I thought you said you hated it because it makes all your muscles disappear?”
“There are truths that can only be conveyed this way.”
“….”
Do Je’s eyes wavered. During his time as the previous Sect Leader, it was a phrase he had habitually offered to Yi Ma-je whenever the man refused to join him for drinks.
“Ha… It seems you’ve become quite the silver-tongued orator in the time we haven’t seen each other.”
He filled Yi Ma-je’s cup while suppressing a hollow laugh.
“Still, I can’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes. In gambling dens, it’s always the ones whose ears flutter with every word who go bankrupt first. I can’t wager my stakes based solely on what my senior says.”
“Fair enough. Hand it over.”
Glug glug.
Yi Ma-je took the bottle and filled Do Je’s cup.
Then he clinked his cup against Do Je’s and drained it in one gulp. The burning sensation, which he hadn’t felt in so long, lingered in his throat.
“They’ll be here soon. See for yourself.”

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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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