Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 14

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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 14
Above the martial duel ground on Dorim Plain.
Cheon Hui stood alone there, his brow furrowed.
‘How did things come to this?’
He traced back through the moments just past.
The Five Peaks Martial Tournament had ended in disappointment, nothing like what he’d imagined, and he’d been planning to return to Man Kyung Pavilion to read martial texts.
Then Jang Mun-in had suddenly called for him and ordered a duel.
‘He was impatient, it seems.’
Cheon Hui had grasped Jang Mun-in’s intent well enough.
He had once been the patriarch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Religion himself, so he understood the man’s thinking.
A duel to wash away the shame of defeat.
Looking at the reaction around him, it seemed to have worked.
There was far more interest now than during the Five Peaks Martial Tournament.
‘Tiresome.’
Cheon Hui surveyed them all methodically.
Countless people from all directions stared at him intently.
The disciples of the Huashan Sect looked at him with anxious eyes, but the disciples of the other four sword sects regarded him with smirks or expressions of bewilderment.
It was only natural.
He was still a boy of fourteen.
And such gazes were not confined to them alone.
Now that another duel had been arranged, the four elders of the sword sects, who had taken their places at the high seats once more, exchanged glances and spoke quietly among themselves.
“Does the Huashan Sect truly have a First Disciple so young?”
When Jeok U-ja posed the question, all the others shook their heads as if they had no idea.
“Ah!”
Go Kyung-ja, the elder of the Hangsan Sect, let out a short exclamation as if something had come to mind.
“Do you know?”
At Mu Yeong-ja’s urging, Go Kyung-ja nodded and whispered very softly.
“Don’t you remember? There was that rumor long ago—that the Plum Blossom Sword Hero once took a newborn as a disciple. If memory serves, the boy’s Taoist name was Cheon Hui.”
“The Plum Blossom Sword Hero……!”
“You mean he’s a disciple of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero?”
In that instant, the light in everyone’s eyes changed.
The Plum Blossom Sword Hero was an epithet etched vividly in their minds.
He had appeared like a comet at past Five Peaks Martial Tournaments, displaying overwhelming skill, and was even known to be the talent destined to lead the Huashan Sect.
Had he not fallen eight years ago in the assault on Baekgwi Fortress alongside the Plum Blossom Sword Dancers he led, the prestige of the Huashan Sect would surely not have declined as it had.
“Then this child…….”
“Was a disciple of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero.”
The four elders of the sword sects tensed.
Though he was but a young boy, knowing he was the Plum Blossom Sword Hero’s disciple cast him in an entirely different light.
As they gazed upon Cheon Hui.
Step.
Gang Un ascended onto the duel ground.
He too was far from pleased with the situation unfolding before him, much like the boy Cheon Hui.
In truth, he knew what the matter was.
That the Huashan Sect could not accept the challenge now because it lacked the Plum Blossom Sword Dancers.
In other words, he had issued a provocation.
To tarnish the honor of the Huashan Sect and elevate the reputation of himself and the Xingshan Sect.
But things had taken a strange turn.
Whoosh—
Gang Un regarded the boy before him.
A boy a head shorter than himself.
By any measure, the delicate youth—appearing to be no more than twelve or thirteen—wore a sword at his side whose tip seemed to brush the ground.
Observing this boy, who hardly seemed capable of wielding a blade, Gang Un’s brow tightened.
‘They’re asking me to face a pipsqueak in place of the Plum Blossom Sword Dancers.’
“Sigh.”
He exhaled a deep breath and shook his head slowly.
‘If it were the Plum Blossom Sword Dancers instead, at least I’d gain some renown. As it stands, winning this duel gets me nothing whatsoever.’
Once his thoughts settled, he approached Cheon Hui. His mood was considerably sour, but he clasped his hands together solemnly and offered a respectful bow.
Though his opponent was far younger, the boy outranked him.
“I look forward to your instruction.”
Whoosh—
Cheon Hui glanced at him dismissively, then took up a casual fist stance as if it were a chore.
Gang Un’s face darkened at the sight.
‘This brat…’
But he quickly smoothed his expression and lowered his fists.
As he retreated with a forced smile, his voice dropped into a quiet, irritated murmur.
“I should finish this as fast as possible.”
The words barely audible.
Yet Cheon Hui, whose hearing surpassed that of ordinary men, caught every syllable.
‘So that’s how it is?’
The utter contempt in Gang Un’s tone twisted one corner of his mouth.
‘My mood’s already sour, and this falls right into my lap.’
He needed an outlet for his frustration.
He’d come all this way for the Five Peaks Martial Tournament, the grand assembly of the Five Sword Sects, only to witness children trading blows like schoolyard brawlers.
There was no real skill on display, and no genuine intensity either.
‘If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have bothered coming to watch.’
That alone had vexed him.
Now he found himself matched against a green youth, blood barely dry on the boy’s head, in a formal duel.
Jang Mun-in’s command had left him no choice but to accept, yet that very fact only deepened his irritation.
Step—step—
The two, each lost in their own thoughts, stood facing each other at a distance of five paces.
They regarded each other in silence for a moment.
Shhring—
Gang Un drew his blade first.
The pristine White Lotus Sword caught the sunlight and gleamed, its blade thrumming with formidable internal energy.
Gang Un gazed at his sword for a moment.
Thud!
He stamped the ground with force.
His body shot skyward.
Showing no intent to hold back, he drew upon his internal energy in one smooth motion, unfurled the Soaring Cloud Swift Movement, and closed the distance.
Five paces collapsed into nothing.
‘I’ll end this in one strike.’
With that thought, he bore down on Cheon Hui.
The boy still stood motionless, apparently unaware that Gang Un had moved.
Gang Un swung his blade in a wide arc at the boy’s completely exposed shoulder.
Whoosh!
The air split, and internal energy exploded outward.
Flying Cloud Transcendent Wind.
It was the signature technique from the Wind Cloud Sword Method that he wielded with the greatest confidence.
Just as the Flying Cloud Transcendent Wind was about to meet the defenseless boy’s shoulder—
Clang!
“Hnn—”
Gang Un’s breath caught, and his face went rigid.
When the boy had drawn his blade, he had no idea—yet somehow, effortlessly, it blocked the Flying Cloud Transcendent Wind.
‘How…?’
Gang Un’s pupils trembled.
He hadn’t seen the boy draw, hadn’t seen him move his blade at all.
Cold sweat beaded across his brow.
Thud!
He collected himself and hastily retreated.
Gang Un was not the only one startled.
The crowd watching the exchange on the dueling ground gasped in unison.
Most shocked of all were the disciples of the Huashan Sect.
“Did he… block it?”
“Thank the heavens.”
“But how did he manage that?”
Their hearts were pounding.
Although Jang Mun-in’s order had made the duel between Cheon Hui and Gang Un official, none of them had expected Cheon Hui to win.
The disparity was evident even now.
Gang Un radiated tremendous internal energy and dominated the dueling ground, while Cheon Hui gave off only the faintest presence.
Like a rabbit standing before a tiger.
“Please, let the next strike pass safely as well…….”
“Infinite Buddha.”
The two disciples of the Xingshan Sect, their expressions tinged with worry, were bringing their clasped hands together as they watched the martial duel ground.
“How did he block that?”
“The Wind Cloud Sword Method of the First Disciple……!”
The disciples of the Xingshan Sect flinched in surprise.
Gang Un was the one displaying unparalleled skill among the First Disciples.
Yet to see his sword form blocked by a mere child — confusion rippled through them all.
Just then, one of the First Disciples burst out laughing.
“Haha, it seems our senior Gang Un must be going easy on him because he’s just a boy.”
Now that he thought about it, the explanation made sense. Otherwise, what had just happened would be impossible to comprehend.
“Haha, you’re something else, senior.”
“Just good fortune, I suppose.”
As the disciples of the Xingshan Sect, one by one reassured, began to watch calmly once more.
Drip, drip—
Gang Un wiped the sweat from his brow.
Unlike what the Xingshan Sect disciples believed, he had not gone easy on him.
Rather, he had poured everything into that strike.
To end it with one blow.
‘But how did he block it?’
Drawing a sharp breath, he stared at Cheon Hui.
The still-young boy held the long sword in his small, fern-like hands.
Neither presence nor internal energy apparent.
‘……Was it mere chance?’
His eyes narrowed as he contemplated.
It couldn’t have been mere chance.
‘There’s no such thing as twice.’
Gang Un drew up his internal energy.
The inner strength of the Clear Mind Heart Method, cultivated since childhood, enveloped him.
Whoosh!
His gaze, now brimming with internal force, flared with a razor-sharp light.
Resolved not to let his guard slip again, he fixed his eyes on Cheon Hui and stepped forward with his left foot.
The Soaring Cloud Swift Movement unfurled once more.
Tearing through the wind, he gripped his blade tighter and slashed toward Cheon Hui’s defenseless ribs.
Screech!
Just as the sword was about to connect.
“……!”
Gang Un gasped.
Cheon Hui’s head had tilted, and his eyes now pierced directly into his own.
‘My movements…….’
Grin—
In that instant, Cheon Hui’s lips curved upward.
Flash!
Lightning erupted in brilliance.
The two blades clashed midair, and they began to test their strength against one another.
‘The Flying Wind Slash Sword being blocked like this?’
Panicked, Gang Un pressed harder against the blade, trying to overwhelm him.
“You said you wanted to see the Plum Blossom Sword Method?”
A frigid voice pierced his ear.
Then a tremendous force surged through the blade.
Boom!
His body was hurled backward.
“What in the…….”
Gang Un mumbled blankly.
The internal energy he had just felt.
Though an incredibly small amount of internal force, it carried a rebound so tremendous it defied belief.
‘It wasn’t mere chance…….’
His face hardened, ever so slightly.
But then he shook his head.
Now, at last, he understood why Jang Mun-in had sent out this young boy.
His grip on the sword tightened.
‘So Huashan Sect indeed trains them differently.’
Cheon Hui watched Gang Un assume a proper stance—deliberate, focused, utterly transformed from before—and let out a soft laugh.
Then he drew upon the Plum Blossom Divine Method.
Whoooosh!
The internal energy he had been cultivating all this time surged through his body, flooding every limb, and an ethereal presence rippled outward in all directions.
The aura shifted entirely. The very atmosphere transformed.
The spectators watching the duel gasped in shock.
“Such a presence…”
“Remarkable martial prowess for one so young.”
Murmurs of admiration rose from the crowd.
The aura now radiating from him, the sheer weight of his existence—
It was tyrannical and overwhelming, the complete opposite of Cheon Hui’s earlier demeanor.
“Was he hiding his strength all this time?”
“So Jang Mun-in’s challenge wasn’t made lightly after all!”
The crowd’s mood shifted by degrees.
The anxious eyes of Huashan Sect disciples brightened with hope, while the disciples of Xingshan Sect trembled visibly.
“With an aura like that…”
“Could Gang Un actually be…?”
Cheon Go, who had been observing the duel alongside them, opened his eyes wide.
“It was no coincidence.”
Cheon Hui filled his gaze completely.
He had thought the boy possessed an uncommon eye for martial contests, but he’d never imagined he harbored such exceptional skill.
Even now, the internal energy Cheon Hui was channeling felt remarkably modest in volume.
Yet for all that restraint, the presence and sheer weight he emanated were utterly overwhelming.
Enough to dominate Gang Un, who had trained for at least a decade.
In that moment of astonishment—
‘Is such a thing even possible?’
The question escaped him unbidden.
For one who knew Cheon Hui as well as Cheon Go did, the present scene defied all understanding.
He’d known the boy had learned martial arts.
But the speed of his growth was absurd. Impossible.
‘Do any of these spectators realize that the boy radiating such a dominating presence has been practicing martial arts for barely a month?’
As Cheon Go wrestled with this thought, he swallowed hard, his throat tight. His eyes, trembling, fixed upon Cheon Hui—
Thud!
Cheon Hui’s form sank deep into the earth.
“…!”
In that instant, Gang Un’s eyes flew wide as Cheon Hui vanished from sight.
He had disappeared only to materialize an arm’s length away, staring directly at Gang Un.
“Hah!”
Gang Un let out a sharp cry, swinging his sword in readiness for an immediate counter.
He poured everything into the stroke.
Yet the blade never reached Cheon Hui.
For Cheon Hui, sword in hand, was already deflecting the strike with effortless grace.
Having turned aside Gang Un’s blade using the Two Flower Grafting technique, Cheon Hui spoke softly.
“Watch carefully. This is the Plum Blossom Sword Method.”
Before his words could fully settle—
Whoooooosh!
A tremendous wind swept across the arena.
The crimson plum blossoms that had been falling with the sunset mingled with the gale Cheon Hui had summoned, swallowing heaven and earth in their dance.

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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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