Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 12

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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 12
Dawn was breaking across the sky.
Cheon Hui wandered down a winding path that stretched before him.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have been at Man Gyeong Pavilion by now, but today he had turned his steps elsewhere.
Waaaaah―
A roar of cheers echoed from the distance.
Cheon Hui’s eyes lit up.
Today, instead of heading to Man Gyeong Pavilion, his destination lay where that roar was coming from.
The Dorim Plain, where the Five Peaks Martial Arts Conference was being held.
‘I wonder what the other sword sects’ martial arts are like. Probably similar to Huashan?’
As he imagined the techniques he would witness at the conference, anticipation welled up inside him.
After walking for some time with such eager steps, he spotted a large gate.
‘Here it is.’
Cheon Hui reached out toward the wooden plaque above his head that read “Dorim Plain.”
The tightly shut door slowly opened.
Squeak―
His eyes narrowed involuntarily.
‘There’s really a lot of them.’
The sight that greeted him as the gate swung open was far from pleasing.
The area surrounding the enormous training arena was packed with disciples.
Just a quick scan revealed well over a hundred of them.
‘Hmm? There are other colored robes too.’
More than half wore the crimson martial robes that Huashan Sect took pride in, but they were not alone.
Blue, white, black, and green.
Around the training arena, grouped distinctly apart, stood disciples in four different colors of martial robes besides the crimson.
As though walls had been erected between them.
‘It looks like each sect has staked out its own territory.’
Still, since this was Huashan’s ground—
Despite being a grand gathering of the Five Peaks sword sects, they remained separate schools.
And since they competed against each other, it was only natural.
‘So I should head over there?’
Just as Cheon Hui, scanning the disciples in their various colors, began moving toward where Huashan’s disciples were gathered—
Waah!
An excited cheer erupted from the arena, and the watching crowd surged.
‘It’s already started, then.’
Cheon Hui quickened his pace.
The moment he arrived behind the Huashan disciples and lifted his head to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the sparring ground—
‘Damn it.’
A curse escaped him unbidden.
All he could see were people’s backs.
His view of the arena was completely blocked by the crowd in front of him.
He had overlooked this because he rarely had to deal with such situations.
Now he was merely fourteen years old.
And owing to his long history of illness, his frame had never quite reached five feet, making it impossible for him to see over the heads.
‘I need to move forward.’
He quickly surveyed his surroundings.
Then he spotted a small gap.
Slide―
He slipped through it.
“Huh?”
The Huashan disciples standing at the back, who had been watching the arena and cheering, suddenly felt something pressing against their side and turned, their eyes widening.
A small child was down there.
Large, luminous eyes and an elegantly defined nose.
Cherry-red lips besides.
Though still a young boy with traces of baby fat on his features, his appearance was the sort that one could confidently say would make many women weep when he matured.
The female disciples were the first to react.
Their eyes gleamed as they gazed down at Cheon Hui.
“Oh my!”
“Who are you?”
At the murmuring of the female disciples, the male disciples nearby also turned their attention to Cheon Hui.
They too expressed admiration at Cheon Hui’s appearance like the female disciples, but before long they tilted their heads in confusion.
“Who is that?”
“Do we have a disciple like that in our sect?”
Many eyes turned toward Cheon Hui, yet no one knew his identity.
It was unavoidable.
Originally, Cheon Hui had been sickly and confined to his quarters, so few people within the Huashan Sect even knew his face.
After he recovered, things only got worse.
Moving only between his quarters and the Man Gyeong Pavilion day after day, how could anyone recognize him?
Cheon Hui seemed uncomfortable with the concentrated attention, a furrow deepening between his brows.
He’d only tried to slip inside for a look at the Training Arena, yet he felt the stinging gazes multiplying by the moment.
‘Why are they all staring like that?’
But Cheon Hui didn’t know.
That very frown only drew their eyes more.
“Oh my! Is he pouting?”
“He’s absolutely adorable!”
Just as the female disciples began to fuss over Cheon Hui’s shifting expression.
“Wait—isn’t this a martial disciple?”
An enormous shadow swallowed Cheon Hui and the surrounding female disciples whole.
“The Lord of the Medicine Hall?”
At the arrival of Cheon Go, the Lord of the Medicine Hall, the female disciples huddling around Cheon Hui flinched.
Then, recalling what he’d just said, they widened their eyes.
“But…….”
“He called that child a martial disciple…….”
As realization dawned on them, their eyes grew wide.
“Could it be…….”
“Cheon Hui, the junior master?”
At the appearance of Cheon Hui, whom they’d only heard rumors about until now.
‘That man in dark blue from back then?’
Cheon Hui’s eyes grew rigid as he looked at Cheon Go.
“Ha ha ha! Your complexion has grown quite luminous these past few days, my junior master.”
Unaware of Cheon Hui’s thoughts, Cheon Go greeted him warmly and asked a question.
“Have you come to observe the Five Peaks Martial Arts Conference?”
“That I have.”
Cheon Hui answered as though it were a nuisance.
At his words, Cheon Go’s eyes swept rapidly across Cheon Hui and those around him whose gazes gleamed with interest, then he smacked his lips.
“You won’t be seen well here. Come along.”
With that, he moved.
As the muscular giant, towering well over six feet, shifted his bulk, the crowd packed around them parted, opening a path.
‘Now I can finally move forward.’
After following Cheon Go’s long, purposeful strides for a few paces.
Tap.
Cheon Go came to a halt.
Then he stepped aside.
Ah.
Cheon Hui’s eyes brightened.
The Training Arena lay in clear view directly ahead.
“A fine spot, wouldn’t you say?”
“It’s much better to see from here.”
As Cheon Hui nodded and turned his gaze from the Training Arena to survey the surroundings.
‘Hmm?’
He felt a stare at the back of his head and turned.
One row back, seated among the sectmasters and elders of other sword schools, was Hyeon Sang, the headmaster.
In that moment, their eyes met.
Before the easy smile of the headmaster who seemed to be greeting him.
“Ha ha ha, I’m glad this pleases you, my junior master. But I must confess, I never imagined you would attend the conference…….”
Cheon Go called out in his heavy voice.
“I just wanted to see some martial arts.”
“……Martial arts, you say?”
At Cheon Hui’s answer, Cheon Go stroked his thickly grown beard.
Then he clapped his hands together sharply and added further words.
“That’s unfortunate, then. When Jeok Un defeated that Songshan Sect disciple in the first match just now, the Heavenly Stream Sword Method he displayed was absolutely masterful…….”
Cheon Go spoke with an air of satisfaction.
He continued on with his explanation.
‘What?’
Cheon Hui, who ought to have been listening, instead fixed his gaze on the Training Arena while Cheon Go rambled on, his brow furrowing.
‘They’re just kids.’
A boy who looked barely of age and a girl who appeared somewhat younger stood on the arena floor.
The moment he saw the two of them exchanging blows, his interest evaporated entirely.
Just as Cheon Hui was losing what little fascination remained—
Clang!
The girl who had been pressed into a defensive position staggered backward.
“……Seol Ran is losing ground?”
Cheon Go let out a low breath.
Though Seol Ran was the weakest of the disciples in attendance, he had never imagined she would find herself at such a disadvantage.
“That boy from Taishan Sect possesses no ordinary skill. To deploy the Taishan Sword Method with such proficiency…….”
The Taishan Sword Method was counted among the finest sword techniques of the Taishan Sect itself, and it was said to require a minimum of ten years of dedicated study to master properly.
Yet here was a boy who had only just reached manhood wielding it.
And with considerable skill, no less.
“It’s possible Seol Ran may be defeated.”
As Cheon Go struggled to voice this assessment—
“Yawn.”
Cheon Hui let out a yawn, boredom written across his features.
The sparring was so utterly peaceful that it bordered on tedium.
Though both wielded real steel, neither made any attempt to draw blood or target vital wounds.
They merely displayed their martial techniques with perfect propriety and grace.
‘No wonder those so-called righteous sects lose to inferiors. There’s a reason for it.’
He couldn’t even muster a laugh.
For all that it was called sparring, it was pathetic.
Sparring existed to prepare for fights where life hung in the balance.
But what was this?
No variables. No edge to it whatsoever.
Take the exchange unfolding before him now.
‘She’s withdrawing her blade there?’
Seol Ran had struck first with her sword.
Yet to defend against her opponent’s blade as it aimed for her shoulder, she withdrew the sword she had just unleashed.
‘Tsk, tsk. If she’d simply continued, her opponent would have taken a fatal strike. Instead she gives up the advantage.’
He watched their exchange with disdain.
‘Kids these days have no spine, no spine at all. Back in my time, we’d thrust a blade in knowing our bellies might be punctured for it. Here they are throwing a fit over a mere cut.’
The last vestiges of whatever hope had lingered within him withered completely.
On the surface, it appeared fierce.
Each time their swords collided as they moved with swift footwork, sparks scattered, and the crowd held their breath.
But that was only by their standard.
Cheon Hui, who had watched nothing but blood-soaked sparring every day in the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, was utterly unimpressed.
It was nothing but child’s play.
‘Perhaps the next match will be different?’
As Cheon Hui entertained this thought—
Clang!
Seol Ran flew backward.
Tumbling—
Defeated in the clash of internal energy, she retreated several steps.
Her hair, which had been neatly bound, came undone and hung loose about her shoulders as she gasped for breath.
“Hah, hah.”
After a moment, her breathing steady again, Seol Ran raised her sword.
Her hand trembled slightly from the impact of that last collision, and the internal energy flowing through her was barely visible.
Yet her eyes blazed with intensity.
Chill—
A cold aura spread from her form.
Drawing forth every last reserve of the Jade Maiden Heart Method’s energy, she gritted her teeth and swept her blade in a wide arc.
Her most confident technique.
The Virtuous Woman Sword.
Screech!
Do Mu of the Taishan Sect, who had been watching from across the arena, drew his sword in response.
Clang!
A sharp ring cut through the air.
“A worthy match,” Do Mu said.
He reversed his grip on his sword and executed a formal bow toward Seol Ran, who was on one knee.
……
Seol Ran clenched her teeth and pushed herself upright.
Her hands, still trembling from the impact, came together as she returned the bow.
“A worthy match,” she replied quietly.
In that moment—
“Well done!”
“Sister, that was magnificent!”
Cheers erupted from the Huashan Sect’s corner.
Everyone had sensed from the middle of the match that Seol Ran would lose.
Yet watching her cling to the fight until the very end, they found themselves won over.
“Hmm, splendid,” Cheon Go murmured beside Cheon Hui, satisfaction warming his smile.
Seol Ran was merely a Named Disciple without formal rank, while her opponent was the First Disciple of the Taishan Sect.
Her defeat had been inevitable from the moment he stepped into the arena.
Yet Seol Ran had not capitulated easily.
She had held her ground tenaciously to the end, even forcing her opponent onto the back foot several times.
“The future of our sect is bright indeed,” Cheon Hui remarked, his gaze sweeping across Cheon Go and the assembled disciples with an air of mild bemusement.
‘Bright? What future could possibly be bright?’ Cheon Hui’s own doubts rose unbidden.
Their joy, it turned out, would not last long.
The very next match proved it.
“I have lost,” came the admission.
Jeok Jae, reckoned among the finest talents of the Second Generation alongside Jeok Un, had fallen to a disciple of the Hangsan Sect.

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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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