Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 111

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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 111
Jongnam Mountain lay south of Chang’an.
Two figures climbed rapidly up the mountain path, where blossoms unfurled in full bloom.
‘Hah, there’s no end to it…….’
Ha U Jin watched Cheon Hui running alongside him and couldn’t suppress his silent admiration.
Right now, he was deploying the Eunha Youyingbi Technique at its absolute limit.
At maximum intensity, no less.
His feet burned and sweat poured from his skin.
“Jongnam Mountain is quite impressive.”
Cheon Hui moved with such ease, not even breathing hard, that he could overtake Ha U Jin at any moment.
Then Cheon Hui raised a finger.
“Is that the place?”
Where the finger pointed, a massive crimson mountain gate materialized before their eyes.
“That’s right. That’s the gate to this sect.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
‘Why is it so enormous?’
Seeing the crimson gate—roughly twice the size of the Huashan Sect’s gate—Cheon Hui spoke up.
“It’s massive.”
“The old gate was small, so when we rebuilt recently, it turned out a bit larger.”
Ha U Jin knocked on the gate.
Knock, knock.
“Who calls?”
“Ha U Jin.”
Before the name had finished leaving his lips.
Creak—
The closed gate swung wide open.
“Amitabha Buddha. Has your business prospered?”
Seeing a middle-aged Taoist reciting the Sect Token, Ha U Jin held back a gentle smile.
“It has gone well.”
“Fortunate indeed.”
The middle-aged Taoist, smiling in return, caught sight of Cheon Hui and asked with mild surprise.
“Is this guest someone you’ve brought with you?”
“Yes.”
“Haha, fancy that—you’ve actually brought a guest.”
The middle-aged Taoist laughed, looking at Cheon Hui.
“Amitabha Buddha. Pleased to make your acquaintance. This humble Taoist is called Jang Un Gyeong.”
Watching Jang Un Gyeong take the Taoist salute, Cheon Hui shrugged his shoulders and offered the Sect Token in return.
“I’m Cheon Hui.”
“Ah, the young hero Cheon Hui. Cheon Hui……?”
Jang Un Gyeong tilted his head.
Then, as if something occurred to him, he looked Cheon Hui up and down before shaking his head.
At that moment, Ha U Jin spoke.
“Shall we go inside then?”
“Of course, please do.”
Ha U Jin and Cheon Hui stepped through the gate.
“So you’re the disciple of that old friend I’ve heard him praise so many times.”
Jang Un Gyeong watched Cheon Hui’s figure receding into the distance, then bowed deeply with reverence.
“Amitabha Buddha. Thank you for easing the wound that has lodged in his heart.”
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui, having followed Ha U Jin into the Jongnam Sect, couldn’t tear his eyes away.
‘Is this the Taoist sect? Or Confucian?’
The massive gate alone had been astonishing, but the interior of the Jongnam Sect struck him even harder.
Unpretentious yet antiquated pavilions stood in neat rows.
‘Wow, it’s really well-built.’
The pavilions, blending ancient charm with crisp orderliness, possessed an undeniable elegance.
‘Completely different from Huashan Sect.’
He thought of the pavilions at Huashan.
Though a few had been added recently, most of the structures were weathered and worn with age.
‘Wow, is there really such a difference?’
Cheon Hui shook his head slowly.
Comparing them to the pavilions at Huashan, all he could muster was a sigh.
‘Now I see why Ma Noe was always going on about money.’
In the past, he’d dismissed Ma Noe’s constant laments that the Tianma Divine Sect was short of funds, but now he understood.
Same Taoist sect, same region.
And both part of the Nine Factions and One Gang.
Yet the disparity was striking.
All because of money.
‘No wonder Ma Noe threw a fit whenever he returned from the Beihai Ice Palace or Taiyang Palace.’
At the time, the Tianma Divine Sect had been overwhelmingly dominant across the Nine States Eight Emperors.
‘But compared to the splendid grandeur of the Beihai Ice Palace and Taiyang Palace, it was shabby.’
There was no helping it.
They poured what little they had into sustaining countless disciples, and it still wasn’t enough.
‘So money really is everything.’
Cheon Hui sensed the gravity of Huashan Sect’s circumstances.
‘Hmm, these people should be better off than that sect.’
Then a group of Taoists appeared.
“Isn’t that Junior Brother?”
At the leading Taoist’s words, Ha U Jin stopped and bowed respectfully.
“Infinite Buddha. Senior Brother, it is an honor.”
“Did your task go well?”
“It was handled successfully.”
“Good, good then. But…….”
The middle-aged Taoist’s gaze shifted to Cheon Hui.
“Is this child a guest of yours, Junior Brother?”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“My, what a handsome young man.”
Cheon Hui studied the middle-aged Taoist.
Behind the soft gleam in his eyes lay a gaze that swept over him with chilling coldness.
‘That’s odd. This isn’t what I heard.’
Cheon Hui let out an incredulous laugh.
What sort of place was the Jongnam Sect that he’d heard about so often?
He’d been told they opportunistically seized the position vacated by Huashan Sect’s collapse.
But this——
‘Their skill is higher than expected.’
Not only Ha U Jin beside him, but the middle-aged Taoist before him now possessed martial prowess comparable to or slightly superior to Huashan Sect’s elders.
And that wasn’t all.
The young Taoists standing behind the middle-aged Taoist were fully the equal of the Maehwa Sword Masters.
In fact, they were perhaps even slightly ahead.
‘I’ve completely underestimated the Jongnam Sect.’
Cheon Hui clicked his tongue without thinking.
‘While the masters’ martial prowess is comparable, the disciples supporting them are both more numerous and significantly more skilled than Huashan’s.’
The Jongnam Sect’s rise was no mere luck.
Their current strength and caliber clearly surpassed Huashan Sect by a considerable margin.
“Hmm?”
The middle-aged Taoist gazing at Cheon Hui suddenly widened his eyes.
“That sword…….”
His eyes had locked onto the blade dangling loosely at Cheon Hui’s waist.
After a moment of observation, he turned sharply toward Ha U Jin, and his lips moved.
“Isn’t that the sword of your close friend?”
Ha U Jin nodded.
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“Then this young man is……. Hahahaha!”
The middle-aged Taoist burst into hearty laughter, then approached Ha U Jin, patted his shoulder, and broke into a warm smile.
“I had wondered why you haven’t been venturing into Kangho lately but instead remained at the sect, and now I see——it was all on account of this one.”
The middle-aged Taoist spoke while looking at Cheon Hui.
“Please look after him well.”
What? A request?
As Cheon Hui stared at the middle-aged Taoist with a puzzled expression, the man turned to leave.
“Everyone, let’s go now.”
He departed with the curious young Taoists in tow.
“……Then shall we continue on our way.”
Ha U Jin resumed walking.
The two continued up the mountain path.
Tap.
They stopped before a modest pavilion.
“Phew.”
Ha U Jin steadied his breathing, positioned himself at the pavilion’s door, and knocked gently.
Knock. Knock.
“Sect Master. It is Ha U Jin.”
“Come in.”
A voice emerged from within as if someone had been waiting, and Ha U Jin glanced at Cheon Hui before speaking.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Ha U Jin opened the door and stepped inside.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to introduce someone.”
“An introduction? Who might that be?”
“The disciple of the close friend I mentioned before.”
……
The conversation inside fell silent.
But only briefly.
“Cheon Hui, come in.”
At the sound of his name, Cheon Hui stepped forward and entered the pavilion.
Inside sat Ha U Jin at a round table, and beside him an elderly Taoist with white hair and complexion to match.
This old Taoist was the Sect Master of the Jongnam Faction—Lim Young, the Supreme Sword Master.
‘Impressive. At this level, Huashan Sect could never hope to surpass Jongnam Faction.’
He had once thought that a single Jongnam sword sage might be enough to rival the entire faction, but that had been a miscalculation.
“Sit in this chair.”
Cheon Hui, who had already intended to sit, strode forward and took his seat.
“I’m glad we meet like this.”
“I am Cheon Hui, the first disciple of Huashan Sect.”
“I am always grateful to you.”
His gaze turned toward Ha U Jin.
“Without you, this scoundrel would still be wandering the roads.”
“Sect Master!”
Ha U Jin called out in embarrassment, but the Sect Master only burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha, what’s wrong with what I said?”
“Well…….”
Ha U Jin swallowed his words.
Still chuckling, Lim Young stroked his long white beard and posed a question to Cheon Hui.
“Have you seen our sect well?”
“Not all of it, but somewhat.”
“And what did you think?”
“It’s clean and impressive.”
“Ha ha, I appreciate the compliment.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Ha ha, isn’t Huashan Sect fine as well?”
“Well, it’s fine, but everything’s fallen into disrepair these days.”
Ha ha……
The Sect Master was taken aback by Cheon Hui’s frank self-criticism of his own sect.
“What good is polishing the outside? What truly matters is what lies within, not without.”
“But isn’t the first thing people see the outside, not the inside?”
……
“If the outside is a wreck, who bothers to look at what’s inside?”
Lim Young found himself at a loss for words.
“Ha, that’s a solid point.”
He laughed wryly and fixed his gaze on Ha U Jin, then nodded slowly.
“Now I understand why you, who’ve never taken a disciple before, wish to raise this one.”
Lim Young regarded Cheon Hui with gentle eyes for a moment longer, then rose slowly to his feet.
“Ha ha, you may go now.”
Ha U Jin smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
Through his meeting with the Sect Master, Cheon Hui shed every prejudice he’d held against the Jongnam Sect.
‘This isn’t the Jongnam Sect I knew at all.’
His entire perception of the sect had shifted.
The Taoist priests of Jongnam he’d seen through the Murim Alliance were utterly corrupted by worldly concerns and hostile toward Huashan, yet the priests he met here on the mountain were nothing like that.
The Sect Master himself didn’t harbor animosity toward Huashan—if anything, he welcomed them.
That wasn’t all.
They were humble, and they possessed genuine skill.
‘……It was Huashan that was complacent.’
Meanwhile, Ha U Jin watched Cheon Hui follow along lost in thought, and allowed himself a slight smile.
‘It’ll happen sooner than I expected.’
There was one reason—and only one—he’d brought Cheon Hui to the Jongnam Sect.
To introduce him to someone.
A short while later, Ha U Jin and Cheon Hui arrived at a small hut.
‘Do all Taoist dwellings look the same?’
Cheon Hui found himself gazing at a hut roughly the size of his own.
“The truth is, I brought you to Jongnam because there’s someone I wanted to introduce you to.”
Ha U Jin broke the silence.
At that moment, a boy came bursting out of the hut.
“Master!”

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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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