Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 104

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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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Episode 104
“……Is that truly all?”
Dan Mok Rin couldn’t hide her disappointment, asking carefully once more.
“What more could there be?”
Cheon Hui’s answer was not what she hoped for.
“But you saved me, senior…….”
“That was because of our bargain, wasn’t it?”
“…….”
Dan Mok Rin’s words caught in her throat.
She believed that Cheon Hui was her savior who had pulled her from death’s abyss, a fate sent down by heaven itself.
But that fated counterpart, Cheon Hui—
‘……doesn’t care about me at all.’
Dan Mok Rin’s expression grew despondent.
“I see…….”
She murmured softly, her shoulders drooping with defeat as she fled.
“You’re a cruel man.”
So Hui’s voice reached him.
“Even someone ignorant like me could see how much affection she held for you. And yet you cut her down so coldly…….”
Cheon Hui let out a dry laugh at hearing this.
That much, he’d known all along.
‘I’m not an idiot, after all.’
How could he not notice when she gazed at him with eyes dripping honey?
“But I’m a man of the Way.”
“……I heard that the Huashan Sect’s masters of the Way are lenient about betrothals.”
“So you want me to become betrothed?”
“No, not that far…….”
Watching the flustered So Hui, Cheon Hui’s gaze followed Dan Mok Rin’s retreating figure.
‘Her head’s in the clouds.’
Dan Mok Rin was a woman of such pure innocence, utterly ignorant of how the world truly worked.
That’s why she’d misunderstood.
When she fell into deepest despair, he appeared by mere chance—
and she mistook it for fate.
‘It was just coincidence, that’s all.’
* * *
The next day, as Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop prepared to leave the Huashan Sect, Dan Mok Rin and Hyeon Ryeo came to see him off.
“Haha, I was trying to slip away quietly.”
“How could we let you depart without a proper farewell?”
Hyeon Ryeo smiled softly, then looked up at Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop and bowed with formal reverence.
“Boundless Buddha. We are grateful for the trouble you took bringing Lin all this way to distant Huashan.”
“Heh, what a thing to mention…….”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then returned a fist salute.
“……My thanks.”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop broke into a pleased smile.
‘The Huashan Sect shows true gratitude.’
He’d honestly never expected they would accept Dan Mok Rin as a disciple so readily.
No matter how exceptional her talent or how thoroughly she’d severed ties with the clan, the disadvantages that came with it far outweighed the benefits.
The suspicion and vigilance of the other Nine Factions and the One Gang.
And now, the Huashan Sect itself had opened its doors and declared to all the Kangho that it would return to the world—
“Thank you for taking Lin as your disciple.”
“It is only natural.”
A smile bloomed on Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop’s lips.
He liked this response.
The way they conducted themselves—as though no hardship that might come in the future could shake them—pleased him deeply.
‘Is this what true mastery of the Way looks like?’
The Huashan Divine Sword, Cheon Hui, the Sect Master, and others—
the masters of the Huashan Sect he’d observed over these four days were plainly different from the worldly monks and masters scattered throughout the Kangho.
Not only the Way, the heroic spirit—
but also the human heart.
They were neither rigid nor soft.
Flexible masters of the Way, pure and simple.
‘Close enough that I’d want to be friends with her.’
He shook his head as the thought took shape.
‘But that won’t be possible.’
It might have been different in the old days, when the Orthodox Sects stood unified, but reality was not kind.
The Dan Mok Clan and Huashan Sect were enemies.
Growing closer was impossible.
Hyeon Ryeo, and now Dan Mok Rin as well.
‘I hope that day never comes.’
Yet he couldn’t be certain of it.
He could only pray.
That they would never become foes.
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop, smiling wryly, reached over and stroked the hair of Dan Mok Rin, who had kept her head bowed this whole time.
“What troubles you?”
“Uncle… I’m sorry. If only I hadn’t been so stubborn…….”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“For severing the ties…….”
“You regret it?!”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop’s voice rose sharply.
“Did you sever those ties and become a disciple of Huashan with so little resolve?”
“That’s not…….”
“With such half-hearted determination, what do you hope to achieve?”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop fixed his gaze upon Dan Mok Rin.
He had remained at Huashan for only four days, yet he had seen through the relationship between Dan Mok Rin and Cheon Hui with perfect clarity.
In truth, anyone who witnessed them speaking would have understood it at once.
That it was Dan Mok Rin’s unrequited love.
“Do you fear he’ll be taken from you?”
Dan Mok Rin’s teeth clamped down on her lower lip.
That woman called So Hui, whom she’d seen yesterday.
And the gleam in the eyes of the other female disciples of Huashan whenever they looked at Cheon Hui was far from ordinary.
Dan Mok Rin’s head snapped upright.
Beneath her slightly raised brows, her eyes burned with determination.
“No.”
“There. That’s it.”
Having reminded Dan Mok Rin of the gravity of her situation, Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop withdrew his hand from her hair and stepped back.
“Then I should depart before the mountain grows any quieter.”
“……Please take care of yourself.”
“I’ll be careful enough, if only to hear good news from you later. Don’t worry.”
He laughed playfully, brushing past the embarrassed Dan Mok Rin, and took his place before Hyeon Ryeo.
He bowed respectfully to her and made his request.
Like a father entrusting his daughter to safekeeping.
“I leave Rin in your care.”
Hearing the affection in his words, Hyeon Ryeo’s lips curved naturally into a warm smile.
“Have no concerns.”
Hyeon Ryeo smiled brightly and offered a respectful bow.
“Infinite Buddha. I pray your journey be free from calamity.”
“Haha, no need to worry about that.”
Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop laughed heartily.
“And I wish good health upon you as well, Immortal.”
Shortly after Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop departed Huashan, a bitter silence fell thick and heavy.
Hyeon Ryeo and Dan Mok Rin stood watching, like stones that wait for the wanderer’s return.
Soon Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop vanished from sight.
“Let’s go now.”
“Yes.”
At Hyeon Ryeo’s words, Dan Mok Rin, who had gazed long after Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop’s disappearance, turned slowly around.
‘I can’t afford to be choosy about methods.’
After parting with Cheol Geom Ki Hyeop, Dan Mok Rin’s offensive, which had been quiet for a time, resumed anew.
“Senior Brother!”
Every morning she would seek out Cheon Hui, and she began to employ a temptation more powerful than anything in All Under Heaven.
“I read through a Martial Arts Manual called the Sak Pung Tui technique, would you like to hear about it?”
It was Martial Arts itself.
And that choice proved effective.
“Sak Pung Tui? What kind of martial art is that?”
Cheon Hui, who under normal circumstances would have paid no attention to Dan Mok Rin’s words, found himself helplessly knocked backward.
“It’s a leg technique wielded by someone called the Sak Pung Wanderer—a mysterious ronin who came down from the north long ago.”
Cheon Hui’s ears perked up.
Leg techniques, like leg arts, were martial arts that used the feet, but they focused solely on destructive force and speed rather than precision.
‘Leg techniques, it’s been a while since I’ve heard of those.’
Most martial arts consisted only of hand techniques—sword, blade, spear, and fist—making it rare to encounter martial arts that utilized the feet.
While hands could move with perfect freedom, feet were far more constrained by nature.
Leg arts had been transmitted from various schools, but leg techniques had not.
And for good reason—they were too simple.
Swinging, striking downward, thrusting.
And the Sak Pung Tui she was explaining now was no different.
‘Simple as it looks, when combined with footwork it could unleash unimaginable destructive power.’
He recalled an old man who had risen from a mere acolyte in the Tianma Divine Sect to become an elder.
Ma Il Seok, the Yin Wind Summoner.
Known as the demon who called forth dark winds, even past eighty years old, his entire body was hard as stone.
His forearms, chest, and back were all covered in muscle, but his legs in particular were works of art.
‘The Gae San Tui he unleashed with those legs was truly magnificent.’
Those thickly muscled legs, like a horse’s, would split the wind and carve mountains whenever they swept forth.
Of course, the Sak Pung Tui didn’t reach that level.
It fell slightly short of being called an advanced martial art, yet it was an excellent leg technique once mastered.
‘Especially compared to Huashan Sect’s arsenal.’
There were few leg arts and leg techniques within Huashan Sect.
Even those that existed were only things like the Pyo Mi Gak, which was wielded through the Nine Palaces Step.
Or something equally basic like the So Yeop Tui Law.
It was serious, even for a sect renowned for swordplay.
‘How do you fight without a sword?’
Leg arts had nothing to do with sword technique, but what if situations arose?
There could come a time when he suffered a shoulder wound or couldn’t use his arms.
‘Maybe I should create one.’
The old Cheon Hui would have dismissed it as bothersome.
But now he found himself willing to take action.
He disliked seeing Huashan Sect disrespected.
Lost in thought for a moment, Cheon Hui looked at Dan Mok Rin and asked.
“What about the mantra?”
At Cheon Hui’s show of interest, Dan Mok Rin’s expression brightened like the sun at midday.
“The mantra of Sak Pung Tui is…….”
As Dan Mok Rin began to recite the mantra of Sak Pung Tui, there were those watching the two of them.
“Wi Jin. What do you make of that?”
So Hui’s eyebrows furrowed.
Cheon Hui was someone who ignored everything, saying it was all a bother.
But what about now?
He was actively engaging in conversation.
“…They appear quite intimate.”
Sim Wi Jin, who had been watching the two with a look of surprise, spoke quietly.
“What do you think is the reason?”
“Perhaps it’s because of martial arts…….”
“You see it that way too, don’t you?”
So Hui’s eyes darkened.
Soon black flames flickered in her pupils, and she opened her mouth.
“You know quite a few martial arts, don’t you?”
“Well, since I’m a martial artist of the Imperial Palace, I do know a fair amount…….”
Sim Wi Jin was taken aback mid-sentence.
He had caught the intent behind the question.
“But my lord, if I carelessly reveal Imperial Palace martial arts, then they…….”
“Who said anything about Imperial Palace martial arts?”
So Hui opened her eyes wide.
“You must have learned other martial arts as well.”
Sim Wi Jin snapped to attention.
The Gangho and the Imperial Palace maintain an inviolable separation.
For this reason, separate martial arts existed—techniques practiced when operating in the Gangho to ensure no trace of the Imperial Palace remained.
“Follow me.”
So Hui led the way ahead.
“So Hui.”
At her call, the two who had been conversing turned their heads.
“Are you interested in the Imperial Palace’s martial arts?”
Interested?
Of course it was a natural question.
“I’m more than interested.”
“Good.”
A smile bloomed at the corners of So Hui’s mouth.
“Wi Jin.”
“As you wish.”
Sim Wi Jin drew his sword at once.
Even at a glance, the blade—well-maintained—moved with impressive power.
Whishhh—
A sword swept with effortless grace.
Yet from that single motion, the plum blossoms that had been fluttering and falling created a whirlwind centered on the blade, sharp enough to cut flesh.
Hmm?
In that instant, Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
The Song Feng Sword Method—it was exactly that.
The supreme technique of the Song Feng Men, a sect that once dominated Zhongyuan.
They had suddenly suffered faction destruction.
‘Did they have a connection to the Imperial Palace?’
After striking the sword several more times, Sim Wi Jin stopped and caught his breath.
“What do you think?”
“It’s excellent swordsmanship.”
Observing Cheon Hui show interest for the first time, So Hui rejoiced silently within herself.
‘But this alone isn’t enough.’
So Hui opened her mouth to drive her hook deeper into Cheon Hui’s interest.
“There are many more martial arts in the Imperial Palace’s martial hall. Would you like to come see them sometime?”
She tested Cheon Hui with a subtle tone.
“No.”
Only a firm refusal came in reply.
See them?
Though curious about the martial arts housed in the Imperial Palace’s martial hall, he had no desire whatsoever to become entangled with the Imperial Palace.
‘I’d sooner break in and steal from the Imperial Palace’s martial hall myself.’
Recalling the Imperial Palace—bothersome as a persistent mosquito—Cheon Hui shook his head.
One avoids filth not out of fear, but because it’s repellent.
So Hui, who had not expected such a refusal, was initially taken aback.
“Is that so?”
But she quickly retreated.
‘I mustn’t rush.’
This was the moment she had finally discovered what piqued Cheon Hui’s curiosity, what sparked his interest.
“Then what if you saw a different martial art instead?”
“That would be fine.”
So Hui signaled to Sim Wi Jin.
Sim Wi Jin, his expression one of resignation, nodded and drew his sword again.
‘……This woman.’
Meanwhile, Dan Mok Rin recalled So Hui’s words from moments before, watching her with narrowed eyes.
‘……Is she trying to take Elder Brother away?’
She quickly positioned herself at Cheon Hui’s side.
“Elder Brother, don’t do that. I know other martial arts too.”
Cheon Hui turned to her at once.
“What martial arts are they?”
“These are external techniques…….”
So Hui spoke up, unwilling to yield.
“If they’re external techniques, we also…….”

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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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