Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - 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
Whish!
The Breaking Sound tore through the air.
“Damn! This blasted thing!”
Jeok Geom twisted his waist, spitting out a curse that boiled up from deep inside.
Thunk! Thunk!
A bead of sweat rolled down Jeok Geom’s forehead as he stared at the arrows embedded in the ground.
“Will this—will this ever end?!”
He cried out in barely concealed alarm.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Dozens upon dozens of arrows poured down like a torrential storm.
“I’ll cover the front!”
In that instant, Seol Ran stepped up beside him.
Clang-clang-clang!
Sword in hand, Seol Ran batted away arrows coming from all directions, her eyes hardening with focus.
In truth, evading arrows of this caliber posed no real difficulty for either of them.
They’d grown accustomed to ambushes while hunting wolves all this time.
But.
‘My body doesn’t feel right.’
Seol Ran bit down on her upper lip.
Unlike usual, her sword hand felt sluggish, and her feet were heavy as if waterlogged.
‘I sensed something amiss the moment the Master said he was creating this trial.’
Jeok Geom, already detecting the same sensation, narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.
That instant.
“……!”
“What is this now?!”
Both flinched in alarm.
Suddenly, the Night-Illuminating Pearl that had been glowing brightly at the trial’s ceiling began to flicker.
Ping! Ping!
And simultaneously, arrows were loosed.
“Hell!”
Jeok Geom, watching arrows that seemed to cut through space itself as if the interim had been severed, hastily swung his blade.
Crack! Crack!
The arrows split by his sword spun through the air, and his vision grew dizzier still.
“Ugh!”
A gasp came from beside him.
“Seol Ran!”
In the moment his alarmed head turned.
Thunk!
An impact struck his shoulder.
“Haah!”
An arrow had pierced through his shoulder, its arrowhead protruding bloodily.
“Jeok Geom, are you all right?”
“No. Not at all. And you?”
“Same here.”
They looked at each other.
And without either one beginning, they offered up wry smiles.
Both smiling at once, they gripped their swords.
“A trial of life and death.”
“Still, compared to the training the Master has given us all this time, it’s not so hard, is it?”
“That’s true enough.”
Seol Ran nodded.
Pain continued to radiate from her abdomen and shoulder, but her eyes had not dimmed.
Rather, they burned fiercely.
“Let’s pass through this together.”
“We have to. If we don’t clear this, we’ll face the Master’s wrath.”
Having already endured grueling training under Cheon Hui, the pair faced the deadly trial with perfect composure.
“Then we have no choice but to make it through.”
The two, offering such meaningless quips, raised their swords high and drew upon their Internal Force.
“Then!”
“I’ll handle the rest!”
Just then, another volley of arrows came streaming down.
Whistle-whistle-whistle!
Seeing the arrows that densely covered the cave, both their blades flashed with keen light.
Clang-clang-clang!
Following the footsteps of Jeok Geom and Seol Ran, Cheon Hui snatched the falling arrows out of the air.
“This is better than before?”
It impressed him more than he’d expected.
Arrows cascading from all directions.
Along with that, the Variation Illusion Array Formation activated, creating the illusion that arrows without tips possessed them, heightening the sense of danger.
“That part especially is nice.”
Cheon Hui’s gaze shifted toward the Night-Illuminating Pearl mounted on the wall as he tossed the arrow in his hand.
The Night-Illuminating Pearl, which should have dimmed here as a matter of course, kept flickering for some reason.
“It makes you unable to trust your own sight.”
Suddenly, another shower of arrows descended.
Though arrows poured down like a torrential rain, Cheon Hui paid them no mind.
Instead, he simply walked forward.
A defenseless stride, as if inviting the arrows.
Yet the result was astonishing.
Whistle-whistle-whistle!
The arrows passed through his body.
As if piercing through water.
“Is it there, then?”
Cheon Hui continued forward, evading the arrows with minimal movement.
“Cough. Are you… okay?”
“Ah… yes.”
At last he reached where the two stood.
How long had they been in here to look like that?
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran were in a pitiful state, leaning heavily on their swords as makeshift canes.
‘How did they end up like this?’
Whistle-whistle-whistle!
Just then, arrows shot out in dense succession.
“Huff, huff. Can you block any more?”
“Ah… no. I can’t move a single finger now.”
As the two, barely managing to stand, awaited the grim future bearing down on them.
Thunk!
A dull sound struck their ears.
Seeing the massive back that suddenly appeared before them, both pairs of eyes widened.
“Wh… what? Teacher…?”
“Teacher?”
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran struggled.
But accumulated pain left them unable to move so much as a finger.
“What are you doing?”
Watching the two, Cheon Hui tossed the arrows in his grasp and clicked his tongue.
“I can’t put any strength in it…”
“Ha.”
Cheon Hui clicked his tongue at the sight of the two in their predicament and spoke.
“If you can’t even get past this much, I must have been training you too easy.”
The color drained from both their faces.
“N-no, that’s not it.”
“It’s because we’re lacking…”
“Enough.”
With those words, he seized both by the nape of the neck.
“Gack!”
“Hack!”
Then, in one swift motion, he kicked off the ground.
Having rapidly exited the Plum Blossom Gateway Trial, Cheon Hui threw both of them before Shin Ui.
Thud! Thud!
“What is this?”
“Patients, sir.”
“Ugh.”
“Ungh.”
“Well… I understand for now.”
Shin Ui looked down at the two groaning in pain, then drew a needle from his pouch.
“You there, you. Take it easy.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon approached cautiously, bowing with an anxious fidget.
“I apologize…”
“I rather like this approach.”
Cheon Hui’s words cut through the apology, catching Je Gal Seong Hyeon off guard.
“Y-yes?”
“Instead of replacing the Mechanism Array, let’s switch to adding one layer at a time.”
“Adding…?”
Cheon Hui immediately pulled out the blueprint.
He pointed to several spots and adjusted the direction of the Array Formation that had been in place.
“Once they reach the end of this gateway, the original Mechanism Array activates additionally…”
Though initially startled, Je Gal Seong Hyeon soon became absorbed in the explanation, listening intently.
Midway through, he even offered his own suggestions.
“In that case, it might be more natural to install a different Mechanism Array and Array Formation instead of the Variation Illusion Array Formation.”
“Do you have an Array Formation that could replace it?”
“Among our sect’s Array Formations, there is one called the Gui Ren Wan Array. It cannot conjure illusions as finely detailed as the Variation Illusion Array Formation, but it will certainly be sufficient to deceive the senses.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Cheon Hui stroked his chin.
Deceiving the senses without illusions, then.
‘That could work.’
There was no real need for illusions anyway.
If it could deceive the senses, it would serve the Plum Blossom Gateway Trial’s purpose well enough.
“If that’s easier, let’s do it that way.”
At Cheon Hui’s words, Je Gal Seong Hyeon seemed delighted and began laying out opinions he’d apparently been mulling over in secret.
“And what about here? Instead of using this Mechanism Array like this, what if we approach it this direction…”
As if he’d been holding back all this time, Je Gal Seong Hyeon poured forth his ideas like a waterfall.
‘Quite the capable one who’s shown up.’
Je Gal Seong Hyeon’s suggestions were remarkably efficient and unorthodox.
‘At this rate, I can step back.’
Watching Je Gal Seong Hyeon explain with brightened eyes, Cheon Hui nodded.
“Then let’s try it that way.”
At those words, Je Gal Seong Hyeon flinched.
Enthused as he’d been offering his suggestions, on second thought he realized the gateway’s difficulty might become far more severe than it currently was.
“Oh, no. I think it would be better to keep it as it was.”
“Why?”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon swallowed hard.
“If we modify it this way, it could become even more dangerous than it is now…”
“What? Will they die?”
“No, that’s not it!”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon waved his hands frantically in alarm.
“It’s just that they could sustain far worse injuries instead.”
Cheon Hui chuckled as he watched Je Gal Seong Hyeon, dripping with cold sweat, gesture toward Jeok Geom and Seol Ran, who lay groaning from their serious wounds.
“As long as they don’t die, it doesn’t matter. Let’s try it that way for now.”
* * *
Spring had come in full to Huashan.
The mountain, where shoots had once sprouted, now bore small plum blossoms in bloom, and the disciples of the Huashan Sect were growing alongside the season.
Before long, the second-generation disciples had absorbed more than half of the Murky Fragrance Pill’s benefits and rapidly accumulated Internal Force, while the first-generation disciples of Wulian Pavilion possessed Martial Prowess incomparable to before.
Sip, sip.
And Cheon Hui, who had created this flourishing Huashan Sect, had been summoned by the Sect Master to Ja Ha Pavilion.
Observing Cheon Hui sipping his tea, the Sect Master spoke in a quiet voice.
“I hear you’ve been resting lately.”
“That’s right.”
Cheon Hui was in a state of ease.
The second-generation disciples’ training was now handled by Hyeon Cheong, and he had largely stepped back from the Plum Blossom Seven Gateway trials as well.
“Seems you have some leisure time.”
“To some extent, yes.”
The Sect Master’s eyes widened for a fleeting instant upon hearing Cheon Hui’s reply.
“The truth is, I called you today because there’s something I need to ask of you.”
“A favor, sir?”
What could it be?
The Sect Master was not one to use the word favor lightly.
Yet here he was, speaking of it.
“What is it?”
“As you know, soon we’ll be opening the doors of Huashan Sect for recruitment.”
Cheon Hui nodded in acknowledgment.
The opening of Huashan Sect had been a plan carefully carried out for a very long time.
But due to financial difficulties and various other matters piling up, it had been postponed repeatedly.
Then recently, after the sect’s halls were restored and finances secured, Hyeon Ryeo had informed him just days ago that the opportunity to finally open Huashan’s doors had arrived.
‘She’s complained enough times these past weeks about not being able to see me because of it.’
As he recalled that woman clinging to him so persistently that it made his skin crawl whenever they managed to meet, the Sect Master spoke.
“When the time comes, will you be able to distinguish the aptitude and talents of the disciples seeking to join?”
Cheon Hui’s brow furrowed sharply.
Every sect regarded aptitude as the most critical factor when taking on disciples.
And now he was being asked to take charge of that crucial matter.
‘What a hassle.’
The Sect Master, seeing Cheon Hui’s disinterested expression, spoke with the look of ‘just as I thought’.
“Of course, I’m not asking without offering something in return.”
“What will you give me?”
Cheon Hui remained unmoved.
There was nothing he particularly wanted.
It was difficult to capture his interest with ordinary things.
But at the Sect Master’s next words, Cheon Hui couldn’t help but respond immediately.
“Have you ever seen the Ja Ha Sword Technique?”
“The Ja Ha Sword Technique?”
The moment the fish bit the hook, the Sect Master smiled inwardly.
‘Ah, so what Hyeon Cheong said turned out to be true.’
The Sect Master had been pondering how to persuade Cheon Hui when he found the answer from Hyeon Cheong.
Cheon Hui’s obsession with new martial arts.
That was precisely what he had aimed for.
“If you accept this proposal, I will show you the Ja Ha Sword Technique.”
“Very well.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Cheon Hui answered at once.
‘I’ve been wanting to see the real Ja Ha Sword Technique anyway, not what Cheon Yu performed.’
The Ja Ha Sword Technique—Huashan Sect’s supreme sword art.
Since he had only witnessed it twice in the past, he was curious about how its forms had evolved.
The Sect Master rose from his seat.
“Then follow me.”
In his hand lay the Ja Ha Sword, the treasured blade that had accompanied him throughout his lifetime.
Soon the two of them headed toward the Upper Palace.
What transpired in the Upper Palace that day would be recounted for many years to come.
The day when violet and translucent plum blossoms shrouded the world in an extraordinary sight.
And twenty days later.
Rumors spread that the doors of Huashan Sect, long sealed shut, would open for recruitment.

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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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