Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 136

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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 136
‘If it were Father……’
Cheon Hui’s eyes swept across the middle-aged man.
‘Is he the patriarch of the Shinchangyang Clan?’
His frame was larger than most masters of note.
And his hair, left unbound, fell loosely to his shoulders in a way that harmonized strangely with his rough-hewn features.
There was an arrogant current flowing through him.
He possessed the unmistakable presence of a patriarch of the Shinchangyang Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans.
‘That’s precisely what makes it a shame.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed to threads.
Even now his presence was remarkable, but compared to the tingling force he’d felt just moments before, there was a distinct letdown.
That vicious murderous aura layered on top had been enough to stir his competitive spirit just slightly.
Not anymore.
In the middle-aged man before him, not a trace of that earlier self remained, no matter how hard one looked.
Just a father worried for his daughter.
That was all.
‘I would have liked to see the Divine Spear Technique that’s called the greatest in the current Gangho. But there’s no point in fighting him now.’
He was still strong, certainly, but his momentum had already deflated so completely that the appeal had evaporated.
It was like drinking watered fruit wine after strong spirits—one barely felt the intoxication at all.
Cheon Hui’s interest having cooled entirely, he sheathed his sword.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man pulled the weeping Yang Se Ryeong into a tight embrace and spoke.
“Se Ryeong! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me see your face for a moment.”
Only then did the middle-aged man take in her gaunt appearance, and his eyes widened in shock as he touched both her cheeks with his hands.
“Heavens, what do you mean you’re fine? Look how wasted you’ve become!”
Yang Se Ryeong wiped her tears and smiled.
“I really am all right. But how did you find out I was here?”
“Bipark told me.”
“What? Bipark?”
Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes widened.
Though Bipark was the clan’s intelligence organization, she found it strange that they’d learned of the attack.
“How did they find out so quickly……”
“Ah……!”
The middle-aged man let out a short sigh.
Yang Se Ryeong sensed there was something he was holding back and questioned him.
“……You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged man’s eyes darted back and forth.
After a brief moment, under the weight of Yang Se Ryeong’s persistent gaze, he confessed everything.
“The truth is, Bipark has been watching all your movements this entire time.”
“What……?”
Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“……Whenever the Yongbongjihoe gathers, one member of Bipark is assigned to each of our disciples.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Yang Se Ryeong’s expression hardened slightly.
“Bipark members are assigned to us.”
“Well, you see, if anything were to happen to you in the Gangho, it would cause quite the uproar.”
Sensing her displeasure, the middle-aged man hastily added his explanation.
“Exactly like what just happened.”
Yet despite his words, Yang Se Ryeong made no move to soften her rigid expression.
“……So you’ve been deceiving me all this time. You said the Yongbongjihoe was to gain experience in the Gangho, to be careful……”
“It was only out of concern.”
Yang Se Ryeong sighed.
All this time she had thought they were venturing out from the clan to forge their own path through the Gangho, but it had all been happening in the palm of her parents’ hands.
‘But it was thanks to that, after all, that Father was able to find me here……’
Her expression softened slightly.
She disliked being watched so closely, yet if they hadn’t been there, her father would never have been able to reach her.
“Still, I suppose I have them to thank for my life.”
“That’s right.”
The middle-aged man, reading her mood, drew a deep breath and patted his chest.
Yet even that was brief; his fury now surged to the crown of his head at the current state of affairs.
“These dogs from Ilwol Mun have completely lost their minds.”
The middle-aged man’s gaze fixed upon the corpses.
When he’d first heard the intelligence from Bipark, he could scarcely believe it.
What was the state of Gangho now?
The Nine Regions Three Factions Era.
In other words, a time of the Three-Way Division of Heaven and Earth, when each power could only check the others.
Yet they’d struck directly?
And Ilwol Mun at that?
It would have been impossible without madness.
Yet it was true.
The garments of the fallen corpses were unmistakably the Martial Robes of Ilwol Mun, anyone could see that.
“How dare they lay hands upon my daughter!”
His face transformed into something ghastly and terrible.
“I’ll burn these wretches to ash——”
Just as the middle-aged man seemed ready to storm Ilwol Mun alone,
“Clan Lord!”
“If you go alone——”
A group of warriors arrived in succession.
Those clad in pristine white Martial Robes identical to the middle-aged man’s noticed Yang Se Ryeong only then, their eyes widening.
“Oh, Miss!”
“Are you unharmed?”
When Yang Se Ryeong saw the warriors of the Shinchangyang Clan rushing toward her, she broke into a radiant smile.
“Ah, the Shinchangyang Clan has come.”
The Yongbongjihoe disciples who had pursued Yang Se Ryeong watched silently as father and daughter reunited, and upon confirming the arrival of the Shinchangyang warriors, their expressions eased considerably.
“Now we can truly breathe easy.”
“Ah, what a relief.”
“It’s all finished now.”
“We’re truly fortunate.”
The taut tension dissolved in an instant.
In the same moment, exhaustion flooded through them all, and weariness showed plainly on their faces.
“We should at least offer proper greetings.”
Paeng Cheol Wi stepped forward first.
“That seems like the right thing to do.”
The Yongbongjihoe disciples followed at his heels.
Thump!
The warriors of the Shinchangyang Clan blocked the suddenly appearing disciples and remained on guard.
Their current appearance was so ragged they could scarcely be recognized as heirs of the Eight Great Clans.
“These are companions who traveled with me.”
Yang Se Ryeong spoke quickly.
At that, the warriors startled and hurriedly bowed their heads.
“Our apologies.”
We mistook you for enemies.”
The disciples laughed awkwardly.
Only then did they recall what a sight they must present.
“Not at all.”
Paeng Cheol Wi answered on their behalf, then approached the middle-aged man standing beside Yang Se Ryeong.
He performed a respectful fist salute.
“Paeng Cheol Wi of the Paeng Clan greets the Clan Lord of Shinchangyang.”
“Je Gal Seung Ho of Murim greets the Divine Spear Master.”
“Mo Yong Sang greets the Divine Spear Master.”
“Hwang Bo So Hyeon greets the Clan Lord of Shinchangyang.”
In their gazes toward the middle-aged man lay reverence.
He was the Clan Lord of Shinchangyang and an absolute master whose renown echoed across All Under Heaven.
The Sunset Divine Spear—Yang Jo Gang himself.
“You’ve all endured much.”
Yang Jo Gang surveyed the disciples.
Their condition was grave.
Haggard faces, torn Martial Robes, and scattered wounds visible across their skin.
Even at a glance, it was clear they had suffered far more than ordinary hardship.
“At the very least, we should change into fresh clothes.”
Yang Jo Gang gestured with a glance.
“We have them ready.”
One of the Shinchangyang Clan’s martial artists distributed pristine white Martial Robes, produced from who knew where.
As the Yongbongjihoe Disciples exchanged uncertain looks while searching for a place to change,
—whip!
Yang Jo Gang turned his head.
He had momentarily forgotten it in his reunion with Yang Se Ryeong, but the instant he saw the Disciples, the memory of that first encounter surfaced—the young man he’d crossed paths with then.
The youth was preparing to leave as though entirely removed from the present circumstances.
‘There was no such young man among the Disciples traveling with Se Ryeong…….’
As he studied him intently,
“Ah!”
Yang Se Ryeong, spotting him as he moved to depart, hurried over with an urgent plea to Yang Jo Gang.
“You must invite him to the Yang residence.”
“Invite him?”
Yang Jo Gang’s brow furrowed.
Yang Se Ryeong had never shown interest in young men her own age.
Yet now she spoke of an invitation!
The corners of Yang Jo Gang’s eyes drew upward.
“Who is this youth that deserves such treatment?”
“He’s the one who helped us.”
Yang Se Ryeong spoke without hesitation.
“And he’s a master who’s attained at least the Wuji Jingyi realm.”
“He’s attained the Wuji Jingyi realm?”
Yang Jo Gang’s eyes flashed with sudden interest.
“That youth, you mean?”
It was stunning to hear.
He himself had surpassed twenty years of age when he reached the Wuji Jingyi realm.
Yet this boy, so young, had already attained it?
Admittedly, when they’d clashed, the momentum he displayed had been extraordinary.
“Are you certain of this?”
“Yes.”
Yang Se Ryeong spoke with conviction.
“He repelled both the Ilwol Mun’s assault and the Tianlu Zhiwang entirely on his own.”
“Not just the assault, but he deployed against the Tianlu Zhiwang and repelled it solo?”
Astonishment flickered across Yang Jo Gang’s face.
When only Ilwol Mun deployed the Tianlu Zhiwang, it meant certain death.
Yet he had repelled it.
Alone, no less.
“That’s not all.”
Her eyes turned toward the open ground.
Corpses lay scattered across the bloody earth.
One of them was seared into her pupils with perfect clarity.
“He defeated Hyondok as well.”
“Hyondok……?”
Yang Jo Gang’s shock came belatedly.
“Hyondok came here?”
As Yang Jo Gang asked with a skeptical expression, Yang Se Ryeong pointed toward a corpse and spoke.
“Hyondok’s body is right there.”
“……I’ll go confirm it myself.”
Yang Jo Gang moved with urgency.
If Hyondok’s involvement was true, everything changed.
‘Are they preparing for war already?’
Hyondok—one of the Four Guardians of Ilwol Mun.
And if he had been sent, it meant Ilwol Mun had been intent on eliminating the Disciples completely.
He crossed ten zhang’s distance in a single burst and confirmed the corpse sprawled beside Cheon Hui.
At that instant, his pupils trembled.
The Martial Robe worn by the corpse with its pierced abdomen—the half-black, half-white pattern matched the famous appearance of Hyondok.
‘What……?’
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui, who had been preparing to depart, turned to regard the suddenly appeared Yang Jo Gang.
Yang Jo Gang happened to turn his head.
“Did you bring down this one?”
Cheon Hui met Yang Jo Gang’s penetrating gaze and answered without emotion.
“Yes.”
“Do you know who this man is?”
“They said his name was Hyondok.”
“Ha-ha-ha! You know that and yet you’re so calm about it.”
Yang Jo Gang laughed heartily.
He liked how Cheon Hui spoke of Hyondok as though he were nothing at all.
But his laughter ceased just as quickly, and he turned to Cheon Hui again.
“He is one of the Four Guardians of Ilwol Mun.”
“Four Guardians?”
Cheon Hui tilted his head.
“As far as I knew, they were called the Four Villains…….”
“The Four Villains is what people call the Four Guardians of Ilwol Mun.”
Cheon Hui’s brow furrowed.
“Why not just say Four Guardians then? Making it complicated with Four Villains and all that.”
“You didn’t even know that?”
“Who would know such a thing?”
Yang Jo Gang let out a laugh of disbelief.
Who would know.
For anyone making their living by the sword in Kangho, it was common knowledge.
“Then I trust you understand now just how much danger you’re in.”
“Danger? Is there such a thing?”
“Now that Ilwol Mun knows one of the Four Villains fell by your hand, they won’t leave you alone.”
“Ah, that’s the danger you mean?”
A smile played at the corner of Yang Jo Gang’s mouth as he watched Cheon Hui speak so casually.
If it were anyone else, he would have dismissed it as overconfidence, but this was a master who had brought down Hyondok.
And so his words now seemed grounded in genuine assurance.
“You certainly seem to have many questions about me.”
“Of course I’m curious.”
A smile appeared at Yang Jo Gang’s lips.
Though they had only exchanged a few words, he found himself drawn to this young man.
Already favorable because the boy had saved Yang Se Ryeong, but now he showed no fear of Ilwol Mun.
And more than that—he remained composed even in the presence of Yang Jo Gang himself.
His favor had reached its peak.
Yang Jo Gang smiled and opened his mouth.
“I hear you helped our Se Ryeong, you see.”
“Well, I did help her.”
Yang Jo Gang appraised Cheon Hui carefully from head to toe.
A sharp-featured handsome youth.
At first glance, he seemed not yet twenty years old, but one could never be certain.
Perhaps he had mastered the Zhuan Angong.
‘I’d like to take him as a guest of my house.’
The instinct of the patriarch of the Shinchangyang Clan was speaking to him.
He must take this young man into his fold.
“Would you not come to my house?”
Cheon Hui looked at him.
The greed evident in his eyes suggested this was far more than a simple invitation.
Intuitively grasping that accepting would lead to nothing but trouble, Cheon Hui opened his mouth.
“No.”
Yang Jo Gang, who had never expected a refusal, narrowed his brow.
“Why not?”
“I have somewhere else I must go.”
It was not a lie.
He needed to reach Cheonghai, and going to the Shinchangyang residence would only waste precious time.
“Hmm……. Still, if I simply let go the one who saved my daughter without offering proper gratitude, it would bring shame upon my house…….”
Yang Jo Gang, who had been murmuring to himself, stroked his well-groomed beard and ventured softly.
“Would you not at least stop by for a brief moment?”
“That’s…….”
“Great Hero.”
That was when Yang Se Ryeong interjected.
She had drifted near them quietly while they spoke, and now addressed Cheon Hui in a soft voice.
“If you visit our house, I think you’ll find it quite comfortable.”
Cheon Hui wavered for a moment.
Catching that hesitation, Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes brightened and a smile played at her lips.
“And our house’s cook — she really does make better food than any inn around…….”
* * *
Several carriages thundered down the dirt road, churning up clouds of dust.
The middle-aged man riding in the lead carriage studied Cheon Hui across from him.
‘He refused when I asked him.’
His high regard slipped a notch.
The fact that Cheon Hui had turned down his own invitation yet eagerly accepted Yang Se Ryeong’s proposal rubbed him the wrong way entirely.
Then, in an instant.
‘Wait… surely not!’
A bolt of lightning struck through Yang Jo Gang’s mind.
‘Is this bastard taking a fancy to our Se Ryeong?’
His face darkened as he glared at Cheon Hui.
‘That no-good scoundrel!’
But Cheon Hui paid him no attention whatsoever.
He simply gazed out the window in silence.
“Thank you for accepting the invitation.”
Yang Se Ryeong, seated beside Yang Jo Gang, expressed her gratitude to Cheon Hui.
She had rinsed herself briefly in a stream before boarding the carriage and changed into a fresh Martial Robe, so her appearance had improved somewhat.
Though exhaustion still clung to her — dark shadows pooled beneath her eyes — her expression was noticeably better than before.
Cheon Hui glanced at her and spoke.
“Just keep your word about that.”
“Don’t worry.”
At their cordial exchange, Yang Jo Gang’s body went rigid and his hands trembled.
‘Se Ryeong too……?’
His wild imaginings began taking concrete shape.
Picturing Se Ryeong holding hands with that man before him, imagining them in a betrothal ceremony, he snorted sharply and his eyes went wide.
“Absolutely not!”
At his ringing cry, Yang Se Ryeong flinched.
“What, what is it?”
“You will not do this with that man!”
“Pardon?”
“Marriage for you is still a long way off!”
Yang Se Ryeong stared at Yang Jo Gang in bewilderment, then suddenly grasped what he’d said.
“Wh-what are you talking about!”
Yang Se Ryeong cried out in a sharp voice.
“How can you say such a thing to the Great Hero!”
“How can I? You’re still too young…….”
“That’s not the point — be quiet!”
Yang Se Ryeong cut him off sternly.
“…….”
Yang Jo Gang pouted, his lips jutting out.
‘This is different from what I heard.’
When one spoke of the Divine Spear, it was the epitome of a warrior.
He was known to stand at the fore, meeting enemies head-on — a terror to foes but a stalwart presence for allies.
A good character, and as for martial skill — what more needed saying?
Beyond that, his conduct was so admirable that he had raised the Shinchangyang Clan to the top ranks.
His reputation was such that even the Murim Alliance, his very adversary, supposedly had members who respected him.
The Divine Spear he’d seen in person was somewhat different from the rumors.
No — quite different.
‘Just an obstinate fool.’
In that very moment Cheon Hui was about to dismiss him from his mind with that single judgment.
“Where is your sect?”
Yang Jo Gang asked.
“Far off, in a mountain valley.”
His brow furrowed.
The way he spoke in roundabout phrases suggested he had no wish to reveal his sect.
‘A man I don’t take to,’ Cheon Hui thought.
Perhaps because the goodwill that had filled him moments ago had just crashed to the ground.
The measured tone and manner that had satisfied him at first now struck him as crude and graceless.
“Then what is your name?”
Yang Jo Gang asked bluntly.
“I abandoned my name long ago.”
It was a clever play on words.
He had a Sect Token, but no name—or so the logic went.
“Abandoned your name? That makes no sense.”
Yang Jo Gang’s face contorted with irritation.
“If you don’t wish to say, simply say so. It would be honest, at least.”
“Then let’s leave it at that.”
Yang Jo Gang’s eyes widened.
“What sort of man has so many secrets? This is—”
As he grumbled, Yang Se Ryeong pinched his side, signaling him to stop.
“Our guest deserves respect.”
“A guest whose very identity is unknown?”
Cheon Hui glanced at him, then reached down and collected the two swords he had set beneath his seat.
“I’ll take my leave then.”
He rose as he spoke.
“No, no, please! Don’t go.”
Yang Se Ryeong hurriedly stopped him.
Yang Jo Gang, meanwhile, caught Cheon Hui’s eye, then thrust out his lower lip with a continued grumble.
“Ah, come on. Can’t a man joke around?”
Cheon Hui smiled at that.
“So was I.”
Creases deepened across Yang Jo Gang’s forehead.
“Well, that’s quite the amusing joke you have there.”
“And yours was equally amusing.”
Cheon Hui yielded nothing, and though Yang Jo Gang’s forehead sprouted two additional cords of muscle, he soon shook his head.
“Fine, then. But…”
He fell quiet, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Then he lowered his head toward Cheon Hui.
“What—why are you doing that?”
Yang Se Ryeong looked on in confusion.
Who was this man?
He was the patriarch of the Shinchangyang Clan, whose reputation in Gangho was formidable—the celebrated Falling Sun Divine Spear.
Yet here he was, bowing to a young man barely into his prime.
Both Yang Se Ryeong and Cheon Hui watched in astonishment.
“I hadn’t properly paid my respects yet.”
His voice came low and quiet.
“Thank you for saving my daughter.”

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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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