Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 11

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 11
In the early dawn, Cheon Hui’s eyelids trembled as he sat upon the great boulder, performing his customary Qi Breathing Cultivation. A moment later, his eyes opened—sharp and distinct, the pupils gleaming black and white.
“Exhale.”
He released the air that had filled his lungs in one long, measured breath, then rose from his seated position.
That was when—
“Have you finished your Qi Breathing Cultivation?”
A familiar voice called out.
“Hm? Hyeon Do?”
Cheon Hui turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Hyeon Do always came at the Hour of the Dog, without fail.
Yet here he was, arriving in the early dawn before even the Hour of the Tiger had broken.
Noticing his confusion, Hyeon Do smiled and spoke.
“I have business this afternoon and meant to tell you yesterday before I left that I’d be coming early this morning. I forgot—haha!”
He approached slowly.
Watching Hyeon Do draw near without hesitation, Cheon Hui shook his head slightly.
Hyeon Do had grown remarkably friendly toward him of late.
‘Since that day, perhaps.’
He recalled the day he had deployed the Maehwa Sword Technique.
The moment he opened his eyes after exiting the No-Self Realm, he saw Hyeon Do and the Sect Master standing before him.
‘You truly are a genius, just as you said.’
‘Haha! Did I not tell you so!’
The two of them had made quite a fuss at the time.
But that enthusiasm was short-lived. The Sect Master’s expression had grown stern, and he had impressed upon Cheon Hui a grave warning.
‘Never—ever—unfurl the Maehwa Sword Technique before others’ eyes.’
He hadn’t understood the reason, but too lazy to press further, he’d simply assented.
Besides, when he’d last deployed the Maehwa Sword Technique, he had planned to refine it with his newfound understanding.
‘The forms within the Maehwa Sword Technique overlap rather a lot, and each swing wastes more inner energy than necessary. If I were to streamline the Maehwa Sword Technique’s forms, I’d reduce the energy consumption and…….’
As he was pondering how to condense the Maehwa Sword Technique and execute it more efficiently,
“Then today, as I mentioned yesterday, I’ll teach you our school’s footwork.”
Hyeon Do spoke with a grin spreading across his face.
Of late, training martial arts with Cheon Hui had become his greatest joy.
A prodigy who mastered a technique after seeing it only once.
He had never felt such pleasure in teaching before.
‘And I’ve learned much from teaching him as well.’
The smile never left his lips.
Every time Cheon Hui was taught a martial art, he interpreted it in ways entirely unexpected.
Thanks to this, Hyeon Do’s perspective on martial arts had broadened, and he gained much from their sessions.
‘What extraordinary interpretation will he show me today, I wonder?’
His anticipation swelled as he began to speak.
“First, the Seven Star Step—the foundational footwork that all disciples of our school learn immediately upon entry.”
Hyeon Do promptly drew upon his inner strength and demonstrated the technique.
Whoosh—whoosh—
His footwork quickened, his figure growing hazy as afterimages trailed behind him.
As the afterimages multiplied,
Whirr!
Cheon Hui spun to look behind him.
“Well done.”
Hyeon Do, pleased with himself, stood behind him now, looking down at him.
“Did you observe how I placed my feet in that sequence?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Hui answered flatly.
“Then try it.”
Hyeon Do folded his arms and stepped back.
His method of instruction was simple.
Show a martial art, then have the student replicate it.
It was rather crude, in truth.
Originally, Hyeon Do had not intended to teach this way.
When he first taught the Maehwa Energy Technique or the Six Combinations Sword Technique, he had planned to provide the Technique Scriptures and offer guidance, just as he had before.
Yet after only three days, he changed his approach.
‘This is a talent that defies all convention.’
That Cheon Hui visited Mangyeong Pavilion every day was no idle claim—he already knew most of the martial arts that Hyeon Do taught him.
More than that, he fully understood not just the techniques themselves, but the principles and theories embedded in the scriptures.
So he skipped the explanations.
And the results satisfied him.
He’d already mastered most of Hwasan School’s foundational skills; now only the footwork remained.
And Cheon Hui himself was thoroughly content with their current approach.
‘Skipping the tedious parts does make things easier. Though of course, this only works for someone like me.’
It was no exaggeration.
For such a training method to succeed, one needed not only exceptional natural talent—the ability to grasp how a technique was executed merely by witnessing it once—but also deep knowledge of the scriptures governing those arts.
Could such a person even exist?
‘Apart from me, no one.’
Had this training fallen to anyone else, he would have failed to master the techniques properly, let alone achieve real progress.
‘I moved my feet like this.’
Recalling the Seven Star Step from moments before.
Whoosh—
He drew upon the internal force of the Maehwa Divine Energy.
About two hours passed as he practiced the footwork, beginning with the Seven Star Step.
Waa!
The cheering that had been echoing from outside made Cheon Hui’s brow furrow.
“It’s rather lively today, isn’t it?”
“Haha, isn’t the Five Mountains Sword School Conference coming up soon?”
“The Conference?”
Hyeon Do’s face showed bewilderment.
“Surely you know of it?”
“I’m hearing about it for the first time.”
“How could you not know about the Conference? Oh—”
Hyeon Do let out a short sigh.
He’d forgotten—until recently, this boy had been sickly, groaning from constant ailments, let alone studying martial arts.
And since they’d only trained together of late, how could he know of the Conference?
Hyeon Do turned his head and coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem. Having spent time only at Mangyeong Pavilion and Mo Cottage, I suppose you wouldn’t have heard. Didn’t I mention I had business this afternoon? That business was helping to select the disciples who would participate in the Conference.”
He glanced sideways at Cheon Hui.
But there was no reaction whatsoever.
‘And what of it?’
Cheon Hui had no interest in whatever business Hyeon Do had in the afternoon.
His sole concern was one thing.
“So what exactly is the Five Mountains Sword School Conference?”
“Ahem, ahem.”
Embarrassed, Hyeon Do cleared his throat repeatedly before composing himself and speaking.
“The Conference is a great gathering held in turn by each of the Five Mountains Sword Schools every four years for mutual exchange and fellowship.”
“A gathering?”
“To be precise, the purpose is the exchange of martial techniques among the Five Schools. Pre-selected disciples from each school—four from ours—face disciples from other schools in one-on-one martial duels…”
‘Hmm?’
As Cheon Hui listened to the explanation, something about it stirred a distant memory, and he tilted his head.
‘It’s similar to the Five Family Great War.’
Long ago, the five houses that upheld the Celestial Demon Divine Sect had fought each other daily in deadly struggles.
Eventually, when the Tian and Qiang houses faced mutual defeat, the sect leader of that era intervened.
The leader ended the wars and declared that five masters from each house would be selected to fight and settle the hierarchy.
That was the Five Family Great War—a bloodied conflict to determine the order of the five houses.
The difference from the Conference was that five disciples participated in the battles rather than four, and they were held once every ten years instead of every four, not every four.
And most crucially, these were Life-or-Death Battles, where death was acceptable, not mere martial duels.
‘Opposites attract, they say.’
While Cheon Hui’s mind drifted to these other thoughts, Hyeon Do continued his explanation.
“The Conference wields considerable influence. Disciples who distinguish themselves every four years gain renown and earn titles even before their formal Jianghu Debut.”
Hyeon Do’s expression grew increasingly distorted.
Watching his features darken grimly, Cheon Hui spoke up.
“You don’t seem particularly pleased about it.”
“As I said, the Conference was originally meant as a gathering for the Five Schools to deepen their bonds. But starting from the last Conference, the behavior of the other schools grew strange.”
Hyeon Do’s face hardened all at once.
Having lost the youngest disciple and half of the Maehwa Sword Masters, Hwasan’s influence waned, and the other schools began increasingly to look down upon his sect.
Especially since the Five Mountains Sword School Conference held at Taesan School four years ago, the change in how this school was treated had become strikingly apparent.
‘They dismissed our school’s opinions and the three sword schools ganged up with their numbers, placing our tournament order first of all.’
A disciple who had attended that Five Mountains Sword School Conference back then had lamented this, and the memory surfaced now.
“They’re likely watching for an opportunity to seize this school’s wavering position.”
Hyeon Do muttered the thought aloud without realizing it, then flinched.
‘I spoke carelessly.’
Realizing his mistake, Hyeon Do quickly added something to reassure Cheon Hui.
“But there’s no need to worry about such things now. Since I’ve reached the Heaven No Limit Realm, this school will never waver.”
Hyeon Do spoke with his chest thrust out proudly, stealing a glance at Cheon Hui. Fortunately, Cheon Hui’s expression remained unchanged from his usual demeanor.
At that, Hyeon Do let out a relieved breath.
But he didn’t know.
His understanding had been wrong from the start.
Cheon Hui had never been concerned.
Far from worrying, he was laughing inwardly.
‘No different from the main sect.’
Isn’t that what they say—people are the same everywhere they gather.
However high their rank as Daoist masters, however orthodox their school might be, they remained human all the same.
Then Hyeon Do’s eyes widened.
“If you’re curious about the Five Mountains Sword School Conference, go to Dorim Plain on the day itself. Any disciple of Hwasan can observe the conference.”
“Observe?”
Cheon Hui’s brow furrowed.
A chance to see the martial skills of the Five Mountains Sword Schools.
And if Hyeon Do spoke of it with such depth and importance, the Five Mountains Sword School Conference would surely showcase their true abilities against one another.
‘A pageant of Daoist tricks, then….’
* * *
Hwasan, known far and wide as the Western Peak.
Anyone approaching it found themselves overwhelmed by the steep, jagged cliffs that seemed carved by a blade.
Those who overcame the oppressive aura and set foot on Hwasan learned that the rumors whispered in the world held truth.
Only the Daoist masters of Hwasan School could freely ascend and descend the mountain.
The mountain paths were every bit as narrow and treacherous as the rumors claimed.
It was difficult enough that even trained martial artists from Hwasan School would struggle to climb them.
So most abandoned the attempt.
But as they say, every hardship brings its reward.
Those who continued climbing eventually beheld a vista rarely seen in a lifetime.
A soft whisper—
Beautiful plum blossoms bloomed across the mountainside.
The crimson plum blossoms, contrasting with the clear blue sky, gently draped the mountain ridges like fine silk robes adorning Hwasan.
And the massive rocky peaks thrust skyward seemed like enormous blossoms in full bloom.
Upon seeing this, visitors inevitably recalled the old stories of Hwasan.
‘The “Hwa” in Hwasan doesn’t mean the plum blossoms, but the towering peaks that bloom above the mountain.’
It was a jest passed down through the ages.
Yet once you reached this place, you understood that the saying held no lie.
To any eye, those distant peaks resembled flowers in full blossom.
Lost in the rapture of this scenery, climbers continued up the mountain path.
Then a firm tap—
They were forced to stop.
A massive gate blocked the way.
At first encounter, anyone would hesitate, but upon seeing the weathered plaque hanging above the gate, they understood why this gate stood here so prominently.
[Hwasan School]
It was the entrance to Hwasan School, one of the Nine Orthodoxies.
A soft whistle—
The gate opened, and a hot wind swept over them.
The breeze, thick with the fragrance of plum blossoms, tickled the nose as it passed, and the unobstructed view revealed the interior of Hwasan School.
Plum blossoms bloomed along the pathways.
Ancient pavilions of classical grace.
Simply crossing the gate created the illusion of entering an entirely different world.
And the enormous training ground visible beyond—that was Dorim Plain, where the true disciples of Hwasan honed their martial arts.
Normally, the training ground would have been filled with disciples, but today it lay empty.
Instead, the area around the training ground was packed with the Daoist masters of Hwasan School.
And for good reason—today was the day the Five Mountains Sword School Conference was held at Hwasan for the first time in twenty years.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“The senior will win, won’t he?”
“Of course! Not just the senior, but Jeok U Ja will win too!”
Dorim Plain was soon buried beneath the chatter of voices and cries full of anticipation.
Boom!
The air thrummed with the sound of the drum.
In an instant, a heavy silence fell over Dorim Plain like cold water poured over the gathered crowd.
Then.
Footstep — footstep —
Footfalls broke the quiet.
All eyes turned toward the sound.
Five Daoists were walking into the entrance of Dorim Plain.
The elder of Heongsan School, Jeok U Ja.
The elder of Hangsan School, Go Gyeong Ja.
The elder of Taesan School, Mu Young Ja.
The elder of Soongsan School, Tae Gyeong Ja.
These four were the elders of each sword school who had brought their disciples to Hwasan.
And the fifth Daoist was Hyeon Sang Jinin, the Sect Master of Hwasan School.
Walking with measured strides, they ascended onto the training ground and stood in a line.
The Sect Master surveyed the hushed crowd around him.
After a moment, he smiled gently and spoke.
“The Five Mountains Sword School Conference begins.”
The moment the Sect Master’s quiet voice struck the ears of all who listened.
Ahhhhhhhhh!
A tremendous roar erupted across Hwasan, and the Five Mountains Sword School Conference had begun.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————