Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 50

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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 50
Thud, thud, thud.
The roaring cheers and applause from the Arena faded gradually into the distance.
‘…Damn it all.’
Gu Man-do trudged forward with his shoulders slumped.
Each step felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds, as if I might collapse into the earth itself at any moment.
When I had set out toward Baek Myun Valley, I had been certain those cheers would be mine, yet somehow I had ended up like this.
Gu Man-do slowly lifted his gaze ahead.
‘…Master.’
I could see my teacher’s silhouette walking ahead. The silence—not a single word spoken since we left the Arena—weighed heavily upon me.
Gathering courage to break the oppressive atmosphere, Gu Man-do spoke.
“I apologize.”
“….”
“I should not have let my guard down as you advised, Master. My inadequacy has brought great shame upon you. Next time, I will surely….”
“Next time?”
Moon Yeo-il stopped walking and turned to face him.
At that terrifying expression, Gu Man-do’s shoulders flinched.
“Is there a next time for you?”
“I failed to properly demonstrate the Overlord’s Blade. If I face the Third Prince again, even now….”
“How can you be so foolish?”
Moon Yeo-il released a long, heavy sigh.
“You are as good as dead. How can a fallen warrior on the battlefield have a next time? Moreover, your opponent is the Third Prince of the Divine Sect. Even if you sharpen your blade and dedicate yourself to training, do you truly believe an opportunity for revenge will come?”
“That is….”
Gu Man-do finally hung his head. Various words circled on the tip of his tongue, but he could not bring himself to speak them.
Moon Yeo-il, observing him, added with evident frustration.
“Man-do, is one defeat truly worthy of such an excessive reaction?”
“No, Master. It is true that I disappointed you with my helplessness.”
“Falling helplessly is not the problem. You were not alone in misjudging your opponent’s martial prowess. You need only take this mistake as a lesson and continue your training.”
As Gu Man-do lifted his face with a puzzled expression, sparks ignited in Moon Yeo-il’s eyes.
“But lying there the entire time—that is another matter entirely.”
His voice was as cold as ice. Gu Man-do’s heart sank.
“Why did you not rise?”
“…!”
“Was the Third Prince’s strike truly so overwhelming? Did you feel your limit after a single exchange?”
Moon Yeo-il unleashed the fury he had been containing.
“So even after regaining consciousness, you chose not to rise and fight back!”
Had you rolled across the ground like a stubborn mule dozens of times but still clawed your way up to attack again, I would not be so disappointed.
Had you shown an unbreakable fighting spirit, I would have consoled you and looked forward to your future.
Moon Yeo-il had watched his disciple with such hopes. But the moment his student closed his eyes in cowardice, all his expectations transformed into rage.
‘He knew it all along….’
Gu Man-do squeezed his eyes shut.
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Master. There are no excuses for such a shameful defeat. Upon my return, I will accept whatever punishment befits my disgrace to the sect…. I am truly, deeply sorry.”
His knuckles cracked.
Moon Yeo-il clenched his fist. Yet he had no desire to drive his disciple into a corner and witness him shrink further.
Moon Yeo-il exhaled heavily and turned away.
“The path ahead is long. Make haste.”
* * *
The Turyong Grand Tournament Arena.
“By now, you should all realize the truth. These so-called championship favorites and contenders are nothing but schemes to elevate the brats of the Three Demon Sects!”
“That’s right! He’s no Third Prince!”
“Join forces! Strike together as one!”
The arena transformed into bedlam in an instant.
Warriors seized their weapons and hurled curses as they threw themselves into a desperate melee.
Crash! Bang!
At the center of the chaos, Maeng Sa-ryeon, the chief disciple of the Red Cloud Sect, unleashed a barrage of fist techniques.
He struck a warrior’s jaw with a vicious hook, seized another’s head, and drove his fists into it repeatedly. As he hurled the crumpling body away, Maeng Sa-ryeon spoke with chilling calm.
“Worthless insects…. Very well, I shall oblige you all.”
Maeng Sa-ryeon was a rare giant among men.
Even surrounded by warriors, his head rose above theirs by a full measure, and the muscles rippling beneath his form-fitting garments were as hard and dense as forged steel.
Crash!
“Aaaaahhh!”
With speed that belied his massive frame, Maeng Sa-ryeon drove his enemies back relentlessly.
“Focus!”
“Attack from the flanks!”
As bones shattered and blood sprayed across the arena floor—
“Ahem, ahem.”
Kang Hyun released an awkward cough.
‘Did I choose my position poorly?’
While lethal exchanges erupted all around him, I alone remained untouched by the chaos. I was, quite literally, savoring solitude amidst the crowd.
Warriors spat and charged, clashed blades mere inches from my face, yet none seemed to notice me at all.
“Is he actually insane? What are you doing, you mad bastard!”
I deliberately ignored Cheon So-hyun’s distant curses, keeping my senses sharp.
There was no turning back now. I could not afford to lower my guard and appear weak.
“Heh heh.”
As if my plan were to strike only after the warriors exhausted themselves, I smiled with intensity burning in my eyes.
How much time had passed?
Just as my limbs began to tremble slightly, the arena shifted.
“Cough! What in blazes are you doing!”
“What do you mean? We’re using sword energy. Did you think we wouldn’t notice you secretly gathering power? Treacherous dog.”
“I was merely collecting my breath to fight in unison. You agreed to combine our strength, and yet…!”
A man of diminutive stature swung his blade directly at the warrior’s face.
“Gaaahhh!”
“Blather on, why don’t you. Your tongue wags too freely.”
The warriors who had been coordinating their assault faltered at the sight, their breathing catching as they began to eye their surroundings warily. They had just realized that enemies now circled behind them.
“These worthless bastards…!”
“Die!”
For most participants in the Turyong Tournament, the goal was simple: place within the top ten of the preliminaries. Given that these alliances had been hastily formed, fractures were inevitable.
Dozens clashed in an instant, descending into chaos. With limited time remaining, they had decided that culling competitors was more efficient than continuing coordinated assaults.
“Ooooooh!”
“Now this is it!”
The spectators roared as the blood-soaked melee unfolded before them.
Boom!
In that moment, Maeng Sa-ryeon kicked off the ground and broke free from the encirclement. He stood before Kang Hyun, breathing heavily, his aura dark and ominous.
“Are you a disciple of Yi Ma-je?”
“What?”
My voice came out hoarse—it had been so long since I’d spoken. I cleared my throat and repeated myself.
“Ahem, what did you say?”
“I heard that Yi Ma-je’s disciple was among the competitors in this bracket. Among these pathetic fools, there’s no one with enough skill to match you. That’s why I suspected you—you’ve been holding back this entire time.”
Maeng Sa-ryeon looked me up and down.
“Though I must say, you don’t look like someone scheming from the shadows, waiting for an opening.”
I let out a dry laugh.
“You’ve got no manners, brat. You’re not someone who should speak so casually. Address him as Yi Ma-je. But who are you?”
“Maeng Sa-ryeon.”
I remained in my half-crouch and asked again.
“So you’re Maeng Sa-ryeon—is that a name everyone in the world knows just by hearing it? Who the hell are you, kid?”
“You know no limits, do you?”
Boom!
Maeng Sa-ryeon’s form blurred as he closed the distance in an instant.
As his hand reached for my collar, I stepped into a footwork pattern and swung my blade.
Clang!
It was a seamless defense. My fluid evasion from his grip caught his attention at last.
“Interesting. I thought you were all talk.”
“Before we fight, let me ask you something. I’ve been curious since earlier—why are you wearing that?”
“…What?”
“It’s not like you received charity from beggars. One wrong move and the whole thing tears apart.”
Maeng Sa-ryeon snorted and proudly tapped the bulging muscles straining against his form-fitting garment.
“Fool. Can’t you see? It’s because of these muscles.”
“Damn the muscles. Why not buy something looser and wear that instead? You’re embarrassing people. Damn it, I can’t stop making eye contact with them.”
“You little bastard!”
Maeng Sa-ryeon’s face flushed with rage. As he unleashed his fury and drew upon his demonic energy, a golden aura instantly engulfed his entire body.
“Ohhh!”
“Is that the Four Souls True Binding?!”
The forbidden technique granted only to the First Disciple of the Red Cloud Sect—the Four Souls True Binding. Maeng Sa-ryeon unleashed an even more explosive torrent of power, his fists hammering forward in relentless succession.
Clang! Bang! Bang!!
Kang Hyun was driven backward, holding his defensive stance with grim determination.
“Ugh!”
He barely managed to deflect the onslaught, yet the shockwaves transmitted through the blades sent searing pain through his palms as if they might split open.
How could this dull-witted brute not only possess such brute strength but also move with such terrifying speed?
Kang Hyun steeled his resolve and gripped his blades tighter.
Clang! Bang!
After deflecting several more strikes, Kang Hyun opened his mouth again.
“Sa-ryeon, looking at that soft, pudgy frame of yours, it seems you’ve been eating nothing but delicacies since childhood. You should back off now. You’re not my match. If you want to keep enjoying good food in the future…”
“Shut your mouth!!”
Boom!
Maeng Sa-ryeon roared and stomped down with his heel, channeling his power.
In an instant, he drew in golden energy and gathered his strength, then unleashed a fist like a thunderbolt.
“…!”
A single punch that fell like an iron hammer directly at my face.
Kang Hyun pushed hard against the ground and twisted his shoulder back with movements bordering on artistry. Though I evaded by the narrowest margin, a scorching pain erupted across my face.
Maeng Sa-ryeon’s fist pressure had torn the skin.
“Now it’s my turn?”
Kang Hyun crossed his dual blades and launched a counterattack. Moving his hands swiftly, I probed for openings, but found none of consequence.
Clang! Clang!
The sensation of striking solid metal sent beads of sweat down my spine.
“Are you finished?”
Maeng Sa-ryeon’s fists began to cut through the air with even more ferocious intensity.
“Now I’ll turn you into pulp.”
A violent barrage of attacks swept forward. Fist techniques and sharp blade strikes converged relentlessly on Kang Hyun. Each blow carried tremendous force, yet my stance remained unbroken.
Clang! Bang! Boom!!
I maintained my center firmly with both legs and regained balance through my natural flexibility. As the patterns became familiar, Kang Hyun began slipping my blades cunningly through the gaps in his fist techniques.
“This bastard…!”
Maeng Sa-ryeon’s eyes widened in shock.
I had thought him barely worth a single exchange.
Yet his responses flowed like water—his experience against fist masters was clearly extensive.
Maeng Sa-ryeon quickly understood why. Before entering the arena, he had seen this man training with the Third Prince.
“So you’ve been training with the Third Prince all this time, have you? I saw you throwing decent punches earlier, but you still can’t match the Red Cloud’s fist techniques. How does it feel? Can you sense the difference?”
Kang Hyun’s lips twitched as he wielded his dual blades, then—
“Pfft!”
He burst out laughing.
“There is a difference, sure. Training with the Prince doesn’t even give me time to breathe, but right now I’m about to yawn. It’s quite pleasant, actually. *Yawn*.”
“You keep saying ‘let’s see,’ so here we go!”
Whoooosh!
Maeng Sa-ryeon unleashed a torrent of demonic energy from his entire body. As the shockwave sent Kang Hyun flying backward, Maeng Sa-ryeon hurled a punch into the empty air.
Boom! Crash!!
Though his fist never made contact, Kang Hyun’s body lurched violently from the force.
Cheon So-hyun’s eyes narrowed as he watched the match unfold.
‘A ranged fist technique.’
He didn’t know the name of the martial art, but its excellence was undeniable. Controlling such rampant demonic energy with such precision was extraordinarily difficult.
“So the tournament favorites aren’t just empty boasts, then.”
Now that I thought about it, the Red Cloud Sect had split off from the Baekryeon Demon Sect, one of the Four Great Demon Families.
With such a powerful backing among the Four Great Demon Families, they must have received countless resources for cultivation.
It was natural to think that Maeng Sa-ryeon might be the most outstanding among the senior disciples.
At the same time, I was curious how that madman would handle this…
“Alright, let’s settle this!”
Kang Hyun spat blood and launched himself forward, his momentum undiminished, wielding his twin blades. He was targeting the microscopic opening that appeared immediately after Maeng Sa-ryeon released his technique.
He thrust at the palm, slashed at the forearm, and struck hard at the shoulder blade. Yet Maeng Sa-ryeon’s protective energy was formidable. Only shallow wounds accumulated on his skin; there was no substantial damage.
“That tickles, you bastard!!”
Still, Kang Hyun didn’t stop. His hands moved frantically, striking relentlessly, and he deflected Maeng Sa-ryeon’s counterattack.
Several more exchanges continued.
“Huh?”
The spectators murmured in confusion. Despite the relentless back-and-forth, Kang Hyun appeared to be constantly on the defensive.
“Why did he suddenly change?”
It was Maeng Sa-ryeon whose expression twisted into something ugly.
He glared at Kang Hyun with visible irritation.
“…What did you do?”
“Why are you asking me?”
Whiiiiine!
Kang Hyun’s blade cut sharply through the air.

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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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