Heavenly Demon Divine Saint - Chapter 73

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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 73
Boom! Crash!
Cheon So-hyun was driven back repeatedly, deflecting the relentless onslaught that crashed down like waves.
In martial arts, raw power was certainly not the only measure of strength.
The ability to channel energy without obstruction, the discernment to deploy techniques at precisely the right moment and place—these too were of paramount importance.
In this regard, Cheon Woo-shin’s instincts were exceptional.
He bound his movements with precise timing, then exploited openings with brilliant tactical awareness.
His attacks flowed as naturally as breath itself, revealing that he pursued the pinnacle of martial arts and walked the righteous path with unwavering dedication.
And yet.
“You still have far to go, fool!”
Boom!
The warrior called Divine Fist, who had reached the culmination of that path, was Cheon So-hyun in his previous life.
Whoooosh!
With a thunderous punch, Cheon Woo-shin’s body was sent flying, and around him, dark fist shadows cascaded in succession.
It was Shaolin’s Dragon Flower Fist. At a glance, more than ten fist shadows, expanding in size, targeted Cheon Woo-shin’s entire body.
“…!”
Cheon Woo-shin glided across the ground with desperate footwork, his senses sharpened by the overwhelming pressure transmitted through his skin.
‘Even a graze means the end. Faster…!’
Dozens of fist shadows blurred his vision. Yet as he continued to weave smoothly through them, the moment the energy trail vanished, he calmly twisted his body and unleashed a palm strike backward.
His judgment was precise.
“Not bad reflexes?”
Crash!
Cheon So-hyun bared his white teeth and thrust out his palm. As the palm forces collided, the distance between them widened in an instant.
Cheon Woo-shin, sent flying horizontally, drove his feet into the ground and barely managed to stop.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
“Cough!”
Cheon Woo-shin’s entire body trembled faintly. The vibrations spreading from his palms shook even his internal organs.
“What is this…?”
“Dizzying, isn’t it? I’ve woven Layered Resonance into my palm technique.”
It was a method of embedding instantaneous force into the body and stacking it multiple times over.
“You’ve mastered truly wondrous martial arts. Every movement is unfamiliar, so holding back was nothing but recklessness on my part.”
“Right, exactly. You said you’d be my match, didn’t you? You’ll need to pour everything you have into this. With this level of power, you’d surely perish the moment you step into Jianghu.”
The corners of Cheon Woo-shin’s mouth rose slightly.
“Yes, I’ll go all out.”
Whoooosh!
Golden energy blazed forth from his entire body with renewed brilliance. Cheon Woo-shin, drawing upon all his martial prowess, charged forward immediately.
Boom! Crash!
He shattered incoming fist energy and seized openings to deploy techniques, exchanging blows dozens of times.
There was no hesitation in Cheon Woo-shin’s strikes. Though he was unaccustomed to fighting with such intensity, his movements were unrestrained.
As warriors, this was the place where they manifested their will. To hold back under the guise of respecting that will would be an insult, so he drew his strength to its absolute limit.
“Not a chance! You fool!”
Whoooosh!
Yet most of his attacks scattered uselessly into the void.
Booooom!!
Tremendous heat radiated from Cheon So-hyun’s entire body.
Like a dormant volcano erupting after eons of slumber, each successive assault thundered with devastating force, shaking Cheon Woo-shin’s frame violently with each impact.
“Hah… gasp…”
His bones screamed in protest and consciousness wavered beneath the onslaught of pain, yet Cheon Woo-shin did not suffer.
Instead, he suppressed the surging joy and smiled.
‘He has truly returned.’
This pressure transmitted through his skin was infinitely welcome—the very sensation he had envisioned during his seclusion.
‘Thank heavens. Truly, thank heavens.’
The elder brother who once shone so brilliantly had gradually dimmed for reasons unknown. He had withdrawn from the world, refused meetings, and when they did encounter one another, he no longer conversed as before.
His complexion had grown darker, and though I asked the reason, no answer came—yet I believed he would eventually rise again.
For he was that strong.
My meddlesome words stemmed from that very faith.
-Elder brother, they say the sun and moon never compare themselves to one another. They simply shine in their own time. It is a trivial saying, yet it somehow eased my heart. I thought perhaps…
-Wise counsel. A family maxim?
-Indeed. A teaching that one need not compare oneself to others. I felt it also meant not to despair at falling short of past aspirations. Should you ever find the world dark and cold…
-Yes, thank you.
Had my words been presumptuous?
Not long after, I learned that elder brother had fallen into demonic delusion. That memory had become a heavy stone pressing upon my heart.
Booooooom!
But not now.
‘He has shed all the demonic affliction. He has truly returned.’
Once, Cheon So-hyun had been like Mount Tai itself to me.
Not a distant, unreachable peak that bred despair, but one whose path, if climbed, would surely grant a view of all the Realm below.
Golden light flickered in Cheon Woo-shin’s eyes.
‘Now I too must change. I cannot accomplish anything while shackled to the past.’
As the surging joy swept away the knot within, the soul-binding formation that had ravaged his limbs began to transform.
Boom!
A deep, drum-like resonance erupted from Cheon Woo-shin’s entire being.
Boom! Boom!
‘…What is this, suddenly?’
Sensing something amiss, Cheon So-hyun’s brow furrowed.
Just as he moved to create distance, Cheon Woo-shin closed the gap in a single step. Simultaneously, his hands blazed with radiant light.
Cheon So-hyun’s eyes widened at the speed—twice as fast as before.
Had he achieved enlightenment in that brief moment?
As though shedding armor that had constricted his entire body, Cheon Woo-shin unleashed a torrent of attacks with movements far lighter and more fluid.
Heon Won-rim watched the spectacle unfold with eyes wide in astonishment.
‘Transcendence… he has achieved transcendence.’
The phenomenon of casting off the delusions that weighed upon one’s mind and attaining enlightenment in a single stroke was called transcendence.
Such miracles were said to occur only when a Warrior poured forth arduous effort and possessed the rare talent to match.
This was cause for the family’s joy and unprecedented fortune, and yet….
‘Is the gap truly so vast?’
Heon Won-rim’s stern face remained unmoved.
Even with transcendence achieved, it was still the Third Prince who dominated the sparring match.
The martial techniques born from refined power and supple physique relentlessly overwhelmed Cheon Woo-shin.
He had already heard tales of the Third Prince’s martial prowess, so he harbored no illusions of certain victory, but the problem was that he had not yet revealed everything.
‘I heard he wielded the Samadhi True Transformation, yet he has not drawn it forth.’
In other words, the gap was far greater than what the eyes could perceive.
“Dangerous.”
At the low murmur, Heon Won-rim reflexively turned his head.
A faint rustling sound.
Heon Won-cheong stared at the training ground with bloodshot eyes, as if suppressing a violent urge.
At the demonic aura leaking from his body, Heon Won-rim cautiously addressed him.
“…My lord?”
And at the reply that followed, Heon Won-rim’s expression twisted.
“Chief Administrator, reconsider the Third Prince’s proposal.”
“Pardon? You mean I should accept the proposal?”
“Indeed.”
“But why… Young Master Woo-shin is being pushed back, true, but surely you know that the Main Family’s martial arts are of the late-blooming variety. He has not yet entered the Golden Adamantine Seal stage. What he requires is….”
“Time.”
Heon Won-cheong continued with finality.
“Remember this well. Defeat now does not mean ruin. True ruin comes when one turns away from one’s shortcomings and loses the opportunity to advance. Set aside personal sentiment and judge as the Chief Administrator of the family.”
“….”
“What will benefit the Fifth Prince… no, the family most.”
Heon Won-rim’s lips pressed firmly shut.
Having witnessed transcendence, he understood well enough that the argument was sound.
Yet the surge of resistance was far too weighty to dismiss in a single breath.
“Then all the more reason we should not consent. It is as if we were to tarnish the Main Family’s honor while granting him wings. What exactly have you seen that compels you to speak thus?”
Heon Won-cheong’s gaze pursued Cheon So-hyun with relentless intensity.
“His inner cultivation is meager, and his bones and sinews have yet to reach that realm. There are traces of effort, but it is difficult to say he surpasses the Fifth Prince. His internal power lags behind.”
“Then how could such a result….”
“His fundamental understanding of martial arts compensates for all of it and exceeds it besides.”
Boom!
Cheon Woo-shin’s paired hands cleaved the void, unfolding graceful techniques.
Fierce yet occasionally sinister.
Within the martial techniques that swept forth like a tempest lay a devastating momentum.
Annihilation.
Annihilation through incineration, or failure through crushing. This was the ideal pursued by the Baekryeon Demon Sect’s martial arts, and the core of their teachings.
Every technique was constructed with an extreme martial principle that disregarded bodily defense entirely, focusing solely on devastating offense.
And those techniques, imbued with such principles, were being systematically dismantled.
By the diverse fist methods that Cheon So-hyun unleashed.
“He’s either neutralizing the extremes that the Main Family pursues with similar fists, or crushing them with even more overwhelming force. That’s likely why the Red Cloud Sect Master sensed a resemblance in his movements.”
“…!”
“I doubt even I could have managed such techniques at his age. The greater problem is… that every single one appears to be a martial art encountered for the first time.”
“You mean even you don’t know the origin of those techniques, sir?”
Heon Won-cheong nodded at the pale-faced Heon Won-rim’s question.
“Whether they’re his own secret techniques or teachings from the Cult Leader, I haven’t the faintest idea. What’s certain is that the Third Prince is not the sort of material that should exist for the Fifth Prince’s hegemony.”
Heon Won-rim flinched at the passion in his voice.
“Then… are you saying I should accept the proposal…?”
“Keep him close, and bide your time.”
“”…!”
CRASH!
At the deafening explosion, both men’s gazes immediately turned toward the Training Ground.
“Ugh.”
Cheon Woo-shin groaned, embedded against the wall.
Cheon So-hyun rolled his shoulders and began walking forward. His gait was unhesitating, as though intent on concluding the match.
At that moment, Heon Won-cheong stepped in, blocking Cheon So-hyun’s path.
“Shall we end this match here?”
“You speak of ‘this match’ as though there will be another?”
“Having proven you can be a worthy opponent for the Fifth Prince, there likely will be.”
Cheon Woo-shin lifted his heavy body.
“…Please, step aside.”
With trembling hands, he clasped his fist in salute toward Cheon So-hyun.
“I have… learned much. To recognize my shortcomings and gain such insight—this debt cannot be repaid even with gold….”
Blood surged up, cutting off the rest of his words. Yet the meaning came through clearly enough, and Cheon So-hyun returned the courtesy with equal respect.
“I have learned much as well.”
“I look forward to our next encounter. I shall refine this enlightenment and present myself in a better light.”
Cheon So-hyun smiled faintly. The bearing of a true warrior was quite impressive.
“Yes, let’s cross hands again. I enjoyed seeing the traces of your careful cultivation and refinement.”
Heon Won-rim spoke carefully to Cheon Woo-shin, who was smiling softly.
“You’ve worked hard. The Physician is standing by, so please have your injuries examined first.”
“Very well.”
Cheon So-hyun watched Cheon Woo-shin’s receding figure intently.
His faltering steps and drooping shoulders seemed burdened, as though weighted down by stone.
It wasn’t from the defeat. During the match, when he’d turned his back to the onlookers, he’d often smiled.
‘Is he feeling the weight of being the Fifth Prince?’
Now that I thought about it, he hadn’t called him “older brother” except when they were conversing.
He presented a different face before others, yet there was no need to question which was his true self.
His gleaming eyes told the story plainly enough.
Did he breathe so freely and follow so devotedly only in Cheon So-hyun’s presence?
Heon Won-rim stepped before Cheon So-hyun, who had fallen into contemplation.
“That was a splendid match. What I heard of it failed to capture even half of the Third Prince’s true prowess. I never imagined you could elevate your martial strength to such heights.”
“Were you satisfied?”
“Satisfaction would be a lie. Still… it was a match from which much could be gained.”
Cheon So-hyun studied him intently. Moments ago, Heon Won-rim had rejected every word that left his lips, yet now his demeanor had shifted.
“The atmosphere seems to have changed between then and now. Has your perspective undergone some transformation?”
“The circumstances have altered, so naturally my stance must alter as well.”
….
“You possess sufficient capability, and I have confirmed that you would aid the Fifth Prince’s endeavors. However, the proposal remains one I find difficult to accept.”
His voice dropped lower, more measured.
“That is why I must clarify something. Do you truly believe, my lord, that it is possible to defy the Great Sect?”

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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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