Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 103
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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 103
When Cheon Hui arrived at Maehwa Chilgwan, a disheveled figure waved frantically in greeting.
“Welcome, friend!”
The eccentric was Je Gal Seong Hyeon.
He hadn’t bathed today either.
Ever since that incident, he’d poured everything into constructing the gate formation, leaving his appearance in disarray.
His face bore the worst of it.
The unkempt beard sprouting wild and greasy hair unwashed for days made him nearly unrecognizable as someone Cheon Hui’s age.
“Is something troubling you?”
“Ah, just give me a moment, please.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon, scratching his itching scalp furiously, hurriedly pulled out the Blueprint tucked at his side and unfurled it completely.
“Around here, you see…….”
Muttering softly, he traced the dirt-stained Blueprint before pointing to one section.
“Here—can you tell me something about the Array Formation meant to be installed at this location?”
Cheon Hui glanced at the Array Formation of the three halls that Je Gal Seong Hyeon indicated and felt a slight surprise.
Wait—he grasped the center of the three halls?
What he was pointing to was a small Array Formation hidden in the corner of the three halls.
Yet that formation was precisely the one that pierced through the true center of the three halls.
‘He read the flow?’
If that intuition held true.
“Looking at how you’re working the Eight Trigrams and Five Elements to seal and block, it seems you’re aiming to obstruct the vital energy. But the flow here…….”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon pointed at the Blueprint with a grave expression, continuing his explanation before suddenly heaving a sigh of resignation.
“Beyond this, I can’t quite grasp it.”
He surrendered entirely, raising both hands.
Though he had long since mastered every Array Formation within the Je Gal Clan, this one he’d neither seen nor heard of before.
“That break in the flow is intentional.”
“A break in the flow is intentional?”
In that instant, Je Gal Seong Hyeon felt as though his skull had been struck by a hammer.
“You don’t mean……!”
Seeing Cheon Hui’s eyes narrow slightly, Je Gal Seong Hyeon swallowed hard.
“The purpose of this Array Formation is to scatter Internal Force……?”
Oh, he figured that out?
Cheon Hui looked at Je Gal Seong Hyeon in surprise.
“To disperse it.”
At the blunt confirmation, Je Gal Seong Hyeon’s face drained of color.
To scatter Internal Force—that was hardly something one mentioned so casually.
Apart from a few bizarre martial techniques recorded in texts, only the Mi Hoon San, an utterly lethal poison that the Sa Cheon Tang Family treasured, made such a thing possible.
‘But to recreate that through an Array Formation?’
Je Gal Seong Hyeon’s eyes darted in all directions, his lips trembling slightly.
“Is such a thing even possible?”
“We’ll find out once it’s built.”
The hand holding the Blueprint trembled.
“If that’s true, would it be alright if you told me the details?”
Cheon Hui let out a soft laugh.
“Do you think I’ve told you everything?”
“Then how exactly…….”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon swallowed the rest of his question.
Asking for the full secrets of an Array Formation was equivalent to asking for Secret Family Martial Arts.
“I’ll construct it according to the Blueprint.”
Je Gal Seong Hyeon asked nothing more.
Instead, he burned the Array Formation into his memory.
‘Once I return to the Main Clan House, I’ll have to experiment with this.’
Cheon Hui discerned Je Gal Seong Hyeon’s hidden intentions but chose not to interfere much.
‘Even if he discovers it, he won’t be able to use it properly.’
It was a Demonic Path Array Formation.
No matter how skilled the Je Gal Clan, without understanding the Demonic Path itself, they could never recreate it.
Just then, Dan Mok Lin and Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop, who had followed Cheon Hui belatedly, gazed at Maehwa Chilgwan and widened their eyes in astonishment.
“What is this place?”
“What on earth……?”
In a cavern where spiritual energy could be felt, countless workers were conducting construction.
Just as the two of them stood watching, unable to fathom the purpose or intention of these strange movements, one of the Je Gal Clan members suddenly abandoned his work and came running over.
“Hm?”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop turned to face the approaching man with a bewildered expression.
“Good heavens! The great master Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop!”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop regarded the man running toward him with confusion.
“Aren’t you Je Gal Goong?”
“It has been far too long since we last met.”
“Indeed, it has been quite some time.”
As Je Gal Goong offered his hand in greeting, Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop clasped it and asked, “What brings you to the Huashan Sect?”
“What business does the Je Gal Clan have here at Huashan?”
“Ha, well, our Main Clan House received a commission from the Huashan Sect, so I came on that matter.”
“A commission…?”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop was taken aback.
The Huashan Sect had requested the Je Gal Clan’s aid, and the clan had accepted?
‘What in the world is this about?’
He studied Je Gal Goong intently, bewilderment written across his face.
From start to finish, the story made no sense—yet Je Gal Goong’s expression suggested he was telling the truth.
“What manner of commission would bring the Huashan Sect to—”
“I’m afraid I cannot speak of it.”
Je Gal Goong looked apologetic.
He would have gladly revealed the details, but this was a matter concerning the Huashan Sect itself.
A careless word might create a rift not between the Dan Mok Clan and the Je Gal Clan, but rather within the Bi Cheon Society itself.
So he had to choose his words with utmost care.
“However, this does not mean there is any deep entanglement between our Main Clan House and the Huashan Sect.”
“I shouldn’t have pressed you. I never imagined the Je Gal Clan and Huashan shared such close ties. If you’d wanted to hide it, you wouldn’t have acknowledged me in the first place.”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop spoke as though to reassure him, and Je Gal Goong visibly relaxed.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Not at all. Besides, I’m here at Huashan myself—who am I to pry into such matters?”
Je Gal Goong flinched slightly.
He too had been curious about why Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop was at the Huashan Sect, but it was a question he’d never dared to ask.
“…Ha.”
“Ha.”
The two laughed ruefully in unison.
“Perhaps we should leave such matters unspoken.”
“That would be for the best, I think.”
Dan Mok Lin sensed her moment and stepped forward.
“Uncle. Who is this person…?”
“You’ve arrived at just the right moment. Pay your respects. This is someone with whom I shared a connection in the past.”
Je Gal Goong was startled to hear the woman call Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop “uncle,” and he hastily brought his hands together in salute.
“I am Je Gal Goong of the Je Gal Clan.”
“The Je Gal Clan…? Ah!”
Dan Mok Lin also appeared slightly surprised, glancing at Je Gal Goong before quickly returning the salute.
“I am Lin of the Huashan Sect.”
“Of the Huashan Sect…?”
Je Gal Goong looked between her and Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop in confusion.
If she called him uncle, then she must be his niece.
Yet she was a disciple of the Huashan Sect.
‘Ah, but then again, the great master is known to have extensive connections throughout Kangho.’
Both of them, considering what they knew of Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop’s reputation, nodded in understanding.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“The pleasure is mine as well.”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop smiled at the sight of them.
‘As I thought—word of Dan Mok Lin hasn’t yet spread through Kangho.’
Dan Mok Lin had successfully joined the Huashan Sect, but anxiety lingered.
A disciple of one of the Eight Great Clans entering the Nine Factions and One Gang was bound to draw attention and scrutiny.
But seeing Je Gal Goong and Je Gal Seong Hyeon eased much of that worry.
‘Now I can depart with peace of mind.’
The weight that had pressed on her lifted.
Yet now she needed to leave quickly.
If someone as well-known as herself remained at the Huashan Sect for long, it might give others cause to investigate.
‘I need to leave before the gates close.’
As Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop pondered the date of his departure,
“A humble wanderer of the Murim greets you. I am Je Gal Seong Hyeon of the Je Gal Clan.”
A disheveled outsider approached.
“Je Gal Seong Hyeon……?”
Though Je Gal Seong Hyeon cut a ragged figure, Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop’s eyes brightened as though he’d heard something of note, and he returned the salute.
“Ha! I never expected to meet a hidden dragon of the Je Gal Clan in this place.”
“And I never thought I’d encounter a great hero of the Dan Mok Clan here.”
“Hero? That’s too kind.”
Around the time people from the Je Gal Clan and the Dan Mok Clan at the Huashan Sect were exchanging greetings,
“Well, it looks like we’ve cleared this stage at least.”
So Hui and her entourage found Cheon Hui, who had been standing alone.
“Cheon Hui.”
As So Hui approached, Cheon Hui spoke with casual indifference.
“Why?”
“What are you doing?”
It was the sort of beautiful smile and honeyed tone that would have made any man respond without thinking,
“Just standing here.”
but Cheon Hui didn’t waver in the slightest.
From his perspective—having endured far more sophisticated seductions in his past life—such attempts were beneath contempt.
The intention behind them was far too transparent.
“If you’re looking for someone, they’re up there.”
He gestured upward as he spoke, and So Hui’s eyes crinkled with a smile, her lips curving.
“I came to see you, though.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
Cheon Hui chuckled and turned his head away.
Witnessing this series of gestures, So Hui’s brow narrowed.
‘I’m being treated like this?’
Her pride stung.
When had she ever been treated this way?
Beautiful features, the blood of an emperor.
From birth, everything had fallen into her hands.
She had been confident that given time, she could draw Cheon Hui to her side, yet there had been no progress.
‘Could it be he has no interest in women……?’
Everyone said there were men in All Under Heaven who preferred the company of other men.
As So Hui stared intently at Cheon Hui’s profile, suspicion dawning on her face,
“Cheon Hui, senior!”
Dan Mok Lin rushed over with hurried steps.
‘Senior……?’
So Hui tilted her head, watching Dan Mok Lin’s glare directed at herself.
‘Who is she? There was no such woman in the Huashan Sect.’
The woman’s beauty was exceptional.
Though still young, she was such a striking beauty that even So Hui, herself a woman, found her gaze unable to drift away for a moment.
Dan Mok Lin, who had now drawn near, noticed So Hui standing beside Cheon Hui and came to an abrupt halt, opening her mouth.
“……Who is this person?”
Her lips and eyes smiled as she asked about So Hui, but her irises were cold as winter ice.
But her opponent was formidable.
“Shouldn’t one introduce oneself before asking the other’s name? That would be proper etiquette, would it not?”
Dan Mok Lin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
The condescending expression on So Hui’s face and her words, which struck at the heart of the matter, greatly shook Dan Mok Lin’s composure.
“…….”
Feeling that she’d been outmaneuvered, Dan Mok Lin reluctantly bowed her head.
“……Lin.”
“Ah, so you’re the precious jewel of the Dan Mok Clan who entered the Huashan Sect this time.”
“How could you possibly know that…….”
“The Sect Master told me.”
The words stuck in Dan Mok Lin’s throat.
That she was the daughter of the Dan Mok Clan was supposed to be secret, known only to the Sect Master and the elders of the Huashan Sect.
For her to know meant the woman before her was no ordinary person.
“So Hui.”
“Pardon?”
So Hui watched Dan Mok Lin’s bewilderment with an amused smile.
“Didn’t you ask for my name?”
“…….”
Dan Mok Lin’s eyes narrowed at So Hui.
“What’s your relationship to my senior?”
“Your senior? Ah, you mean Cheon Hui?”
So Hui trailed off, a knowing smile playing across her lips.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
With those words, she turned her gaze to Cheon Hui.
“What are we to each other?”
What is she playing at?
Cheon Hui watched the two of them exchanging words before suddenly turning to him, and he answered in a measured tone.
“We’re simply acquainted.”
The tension drained from Dan Mok Lin’s shoulders.
But So Hui’s expression remained unmoved, as though she’d already anticipated that answer.
“I thought we’d grown quite close lately, but I suppose that’s a shame.”
She glanced at the relieved Dan Mok Lin, then smiled with her eyes as she posed another question.
“Then, Cheon Hui—what is your relationship to Miss Lin here?”
Dan Mok Lin’s head snapped up.
Her eyes held both hope and apprehension as they fixed on Cheon Hui’s lips, waiting for his answer.
“My martial sister.”
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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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