Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 139
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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 139
The two arrived at the Garden shortly after.
In the silence that had settled over the Garden—vacant now of the Post-Stage Martial Artists who had been in the Separate Residence—they stood facing each other for a moment.
“Exhale.”
Yang Se Ryeong released a shallow breath and her eyes snapped open as she unfurled the Three-Section Staff.
With a sharp click, the staff that had been no longer than an elbow transformed into a massive pole that matched her height.
She gripped it with both hands.
Her left foot extended well beyond a normal stride, she tensed her stance—left hand seizing the upper portion of the staff, right hand clamping down on the lower—with perfect control.
Yang Family Spear Technique.
Or, as it was alternatively known, the foundational stance of the Pear Blossom Spear Technique.
‘Not a bad posture.’
Cheon Hui observed the stance, which was better than he’d expected, and tilted his head slightly.
“Ready.”
Yang Se Ryeong gave a minute nod.
Then she focused her mind.
The moment the Secret Family Heart Technique passed down through generations of the Yang Family—Baek Seong Man Cheon Gong—awakened, a pure white radiance blossomed from the staff.
And in that instant.
Thump!
She drove her foot hard into the ground.
In a flash she shot forward, releasing her left hand from the front of the staff and pouring rougher force through her right.
‘Ah, that’s the method.’
Cheon Hui watched with slight surprise.
By releasing the grip at the staff’s front and shifting to the rear, she created the illusion of the weapon suddenly lengthening.
‘Most would fall for it on first sight.’
As the staff arrived faster than he’d anticipated, Cheon Hui slipped smoothly to the side.
Then.
Whistle!
She twisted on her planted foot, spinning her upper body in one fluid motion.
The staff curved in a wide arc.
Immediately it swept toward Cheon Hui’s exposed flank.
Thud.
Cheon Hui retreated with a small leap backward.
The staff carved through the empty air where he’d been.
Even as it did, her eyes tracked him, and she spun her body around once more.
Then, maintaining the rotation’s momentum, she brought the staff down from above in a crushing strike.
Boom!
Cheon Hui struck the staff away with his palm.
“Ugh!”
Yang Se Ryeong staggered from the impact.
But only for a moment.
Tap!
She bounded backward and reset her stance.
Her eyes opened again, and she began swinging the spear in her hands with savage intensity.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Cheon Hui evaded the ever-shifting movements of the spear, the corners of his mouth curved upward.
‘So this is why it’s called the Pear Blossom technique.’
As the saying went, seeing once was worth a hundred descriptions.
Now he understood why the Yang Family Spear Technique carried a separate name.
Why the Yang Family Spear Technique could be deployed in any situation, at any moment, under any circumstance.
The staff, suffused with pure white radiance, moved with inexplicable grace in every instance—continuously shifting, never breaking rhythm, flowing in endless variation.
Then Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes flashed.
She gathered her Internal Force into a single point.
“Ha!”
She spun the staff and unleashed it.
Hoe Baek Yeom Chang!
White radiance burst like flame, hurtling directly toward Cheon Hui’s chest in a single breath.
‘Though it falls slightly short.’
Cheon Hui raised his index finger lightly.
It met the tip of the descending Hoe Baek Yeom Chang.
Snap.
Despite the fearsome momentum, the Hoe Baek Yeom Chang came to a halt with a faint, almost delicate sound.
“……!”
Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes widened in shock.
Crack—
The tip of the staff began to splinter, and moments later, it shattered into fragments.
“…….”
Yang Se Ryeong stared down at her empty hand.
Cheon Hui watched her stunned expression, then let his voice fall softly.
“The staff was weak.”
“……I’ve used it for a long time.”
Yang Se Ryeong brushed the dust from her hand.
The Three-Section Staff that had been with her since childhood was gone, and though there was a pang of loss, strangely her heart felt lighter.
‘If it had broken during combat, it could have been dangerous.’
“Well? How was it?”
Yang Se Ryeong asked quietly.
Even though she had unleashed her finest technique, to have it stopped by merely a finger felt deflating—yet when she considered her opponent, it was only natural.
He was a master who had toppled chaos itself.
She waited for his answer.
“You have excellent spear technique.”
Cheon Hui offered his praise without hesitation.
It was worthy of ranking among the highest in any spear arts he had encountered.
Hearing praise she had not expected, a smile bloomed on Yang Se Ryeong’s lips.
“Is that so?”
But then, something unbelievable reached her ears.
“With just a few adjustments, it could become the finest spear technique under heaven.”
“Pardon?”
Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes went wide.
The Yang Family Spear Technique was secret family martial arts passed down since the age of the military commander.
And yet he spoke of changing it.
As she stared at him in bewilderment—
“Let me see.”
Cheon Hui glanced around, then swept his hand toward a towering tree growing nearby.
Snap!
A branch fell to the ground.
Cheon Hui regarded the massive bough, as tall as he was, and began moving his hand.
In that instant—
“……!”
Yang Se Ryeong could not suppress her astonishment.
As Cheon Hui’s hand moved, the smaller branches were cleanly cut away until what remained was a perfectly straight staff.
“Yes, this should do.”
Examining the newly made wooden staff, Cheon Hui gripped it firmly and tested its movement.
Thrusting, sweeping, striking upward.
After a few movements, he nodded and took his stance.
It was the same posture Yang Se Ryeong had just assumed.
“Like this, yes?”
Cheon Hui moved the staff.
“That’s…….”
As Yang Se Ryeong watched him wield the wooden staff, her eyes grew wider and wider.
“No—the Yang Family Spear Technique?”
The forms of the Yang Family Spear Technique unfolded.
From the Hoeng So Cheon Gun, which swept the staff wide to cut down multiple enemies, to the Dok Ryong Chul Dong, which traced a circle before erupting forth in a single decisive strike.
As Yang Se Ryeong watched Cheon Hui execute the postures of every form she had demonstrated with flawless precision, a bead of sweat formed on her brow.
‘Even without the Baek Seong Man Cheon Gong, his form is so perfect it’s almost complete.’
Her pupils trembled.
Mastering the postures of the Yang Family Spear Technique alone took a minimum of five years—it was a complex and profound martial art.
Yet the form he displayed now…….
‘There’s no difference when compared to Father.’
As she struggled to contain her amazement—
“Just as I thought, it’s the same as the military commander’s spear technique.”
Cheon Hui lowered the wooden staff.
Perhaps it was because he came from a military family—his martial arts were systematic yet brutally practical.
“But that’s exactly what troubles me.”
At those words, Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes brightened and she stepped closer to Cheon Hui, asking softly.
“What troubles you?”
“It’s complicated to explain.”
Cheon Hui, wooden staff in hand, demonstrated the form he had just displayed moments before.
Whoosh—
A movement like thrusting a sword.
Yet what he gripped was a long wooden staff, and because of the wide stance he’d adopted, its power operated on an entirely different level.
Yang Se Ryeong swallowed hard.
The posture was flawless.
If the Baek Seong Man Cheon Gong were to unfold there as well…….
She shook her head vigorously.
There was no possibility of that.
Baek Seong Man Cheon Gong was the Yang Family’s secret Heart Technique.
He could never master it.
Then Cheon Hui set down the wooden staff.
“So it seems the Yang Family Spear Technique is designed to face multiple opponents, yes?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Since the Yang Family Spear Technique originated from military spearwork, it was designed for one-against-many combat rather than dueling a single opponent.
“And it uses continuous attacks to pursue the enemy relentlessly…….”
At his continued explanation, Yang Se Ryeong nodded quickly, astonishment evident in her face.
These were the words her father had solemnly impressed upon her when she first learned the Yang Family Spear Technique.
‘Seize the initiative. Take the initiative, and the Yang Family Spear Technique becomes an invincible art.’
Then Cheon Hui flicked the wooden staff toward her.
“Ah, ah?”
Yang Se Ryeong caught the wooden staff with a bewildered expression as it flew at her unexpectedly.
“Try it for me.”
Yang Se Ryeong was flustered by the request.
Whoosh—
She slowly took her stance.
And as she began to unfold the form—
“Make your stride a bit shorter there.”
Each time, advice came flowing.
“Half your Internal Force. And to the left—when you swing, keep it narrow, not wide…….”
One correction after another, relentless.
She absorbed his words closely, unfolding each form.
How long had she been at it?
‘This is……!’
She began to feel the change.
Where her stride had been broad and heavy, it had shortened, and in its place, intricate footwork flourished.
Like the nimble steps of a quick pace.
Yet precisely because of this, she could pursue more swiftly and change forms with greater ease.
Savoring the more dazzling Yang Family Spear Technique, she soon began adjusting instinctively, no longer waiting for Cheon Hui’s guidance.
“You have considerable talent.”
Cheon Hui watched Yang Se Ryeong carefully.
It was ordinarily no easy thing to shift forms so completely on a single instruction.
It required trust in the one giving instruction.
And one’s understanding of the forms had to be flawless in order to apply such changes immediately.
‘At her age, that level means she’s trained consistently for a long time.’
Then Yang Se Ryeong’s footwork transformed.
The heavy, ponderous stride that had defined her steps until now became as dazzling as the Yang Family Spear Technique she wielded.
The change was striking.
Where each form had once poured forth with total commitment, they now unfolded with a lightness of touch.
Had they weakened?
No.
Rather, because they had grown lighter, they became far more variable than before, aligning perfectly with the Chain Attacks that formed the core of the Yang Family Spear Technique.
Like waves that begin calm but then crash with overwhelming force.
Swish! Swish!
Just as he’d predicted, Yang Se Ryeong’s forms began accelerating, and soon—
The moment Yang Se Ryeong unfurled the final form of the Yang Family Spear Technique, the Bright Wave.
Bang!
A shock wave erupted through the air.
“This can’t be…….”
Yang Se Ryeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
Though she’d expended less Internal Force and executed the movement lightly, its power was far greater than before.
Cheon Hui observed her astonishment and spoke.
“Now that’s worth watching.”
* * *
Meanwhile, Yang Do Ki, the gate guard at the Shin Chang Yang Family, furrowed his brow.
Two specks visible beyond that ridge.
As he stared at them blankly, they suddenly began to swell.
Gasp!
He inhaled sharply.
The dots that had been the size of a fingernail swelled to the size of his palm in an instant, then took on human form.
‘When did they……?’
Yang Do Ki watched in confusion as the two figures had drawn so close he could now see them clearly.
An old man and a beautiful woman.
‘Masters…….’
As the two revealed their remarkable Divine Movement Art, Yang Do Ki swallowed hard.
Step— step—
They came to stand before the gate.
The old man glanced at the gate, then fixed his gaze on Yang Do Ki and spoke.
“Is the head of the family inside?”
“Who, who are you, sir?”
“Never mind my identity. Just answer whether the head is within or not.”
Yang Do Ki bit his lip.
“I cannot provide that information until you reveal your identity.”
In that instant, killing intent erupted from the old man.
Gasp!
As Yang Do Ki flinched and stepped back.
“Sir.”
The woman, who emanated a sinister aura, moved to block the old man’s killing intent.
“I’ll handle this.”
“Hmph. What will you do?”
“We don’t want unnecessary trouble dragging this out, do we?”
The old man glared at the woman.
Watching the woman let his sharp gaze slide off her smoothly, the old man withdrew his killing intent.
“Do as you please.”
“Thank you.”
The woman who had been smiling approached Yang Do Ki.
She extended her pale fingers languidly and lightly brushed them across his jaw.
“What…….”
Yang Do Ki’s eyes, which had been wide with alarm, glazed over.
The fragrance that pricked his nostrils and the gaze of the woman before him had stolen his soul.
“Has there been a recent visitor to the Yang Family?”
“……Yes, there has.”
The woman observed Yang Do Ki with half-lidded eyes as if he were a small child.
Her crimson lips parted.
“Who?”
“A young lady with Post-Stage Martial Artists in her company, and a handsome youth of unknown origin…….”
Yang Do Ki spilled the information without hesitation.
“Hmph, what a sinister woman.”
The old man, arms crossed, spoke as if displeased, furrowing his brow.
“Still, this does make things easier, doesn’t it?”
…….
The old man fell silent at the woman’s words.
At his response, the woman smiled softly, then spoke to Yang Do Ki once more.
“Tell me more about him.”
“He is…….”
Yang Do Ki’s mouth opened again.
After a brief moment, the Cold Woman, having heard all the information Yang Do Ki had spoken, caressed his cheek with a gentle touch.
“Well done.”
Yang Do Ki’s mouth spread into a grin.
“Then go at once to the family head and deliver this message to him.”
The Cold Woman stroked Yang Do Ki’s cheek once more, her voice dripping with malice.
“Tell him that the Qiong Qi and Tao Wu have arrived.”
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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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