Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 158

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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 158
Winter had arrived in full, yet the Huashan Sect was simmering with heat.
The reason lay in three visitors who had come today.
Each of their names carried weight that could not be dismissed lightly.
An elder of the Gae Bang, a man said to know every secret in the world—Cheon Yi Gae!
One of the legendary Three Heroes of Wudang who had once upheld that sect, known for both his sense of justice and a mind sharp as a blade—Tae Geuk Gunja.
And eclipsing even those two with his renown, the foremost master of Jongnam and an absolute expert—Jongnam Geom Seong himself!
The Sect Master studied the three before him.
‘So Jongnam has finally drawn its sword.’
Every one of them possessed greater standing than he did.
If these three moved, neither the Wudang Sect nor the Gae Bang would dare utter a word of objection.
“Welcome to our humble sect.”
“Much obliged for the reception.”
Jongnam Geom Seong smiled warmly.
“It’s been ages since I’ve visited Huashan.”
Tae Geuk Gunja offered a welcoming smile as well.
“What’s with all these wretched paths? I’ve been saying for years that’s why I hate coming to Huashan.”
Cheon Yi Gae grumbled.
“Where’s your sense of propriety?”
Tae Geuk Gunja furrowed his brow in reproach, but Cheon Yi Gae ignored him entirely.
“Since when did a beggar learn manners? Never mind that—we have guests. Don’t you offer tea or something?”
Tae Geuk Gunja pressed his temples.
“This thundering old fool of a man.”
“Please wait just a moment.”
The Sect Master poured tea for them.
“Ah, lovely aroma.”
Cheon Yi Gae, who had been picking at his ears, sipped the tea and his eyes widened.
“What kind of tea is this?”
“I dried the leaves myself and brewed them fresh.”
Cheon Yi Gae regarded him with surprise.
“Well, well—nimble hands indeed. To hand-dry leaves with such a rich fragrance.”
“I’ll prepare some for you to take along.”
The corners of Cheon Yi Gae’s mouth lifted.
“Hehe, then I’m well pleased.”
Cheon Yi Gae drank the tea with obvious delight.
“I apologize, Sect Master.”
Tae Geuk Gunja bowed his head.
“That wretched beggar still hasn’t found his wits…….”
“Never mind him—try some yourself. The fragrance and taste are utterly different, I tell you.”
Just as a vein was about to bulge visibly on Tae Geuk Gunja’s forehead—
“I hear you’ve accepted our sect’s proposal, Sect Master.”
When Jongnam Geom Seong spoke, quiet fell over the room.
The Sect Master found himself startled by how completely Jongnam Geom Seong silenced the other two with a single sentence.
‘…So this is what it means to be a Sword Saint.’
In the history of the Kangho, only one man in any given era earned the title of Sword Saint.
And the Sword Saint of this age was……
‘Him.’
The Sect Master met the gaze of Jongnam Geom Seong.
“It is indeed so.”
“Then I am grateful.”
Jongnam Geom Seong bowed his head.
When the Sect Master looked at him in surprise, Jongnam Geom Seong smiled gently.
“Then we shall begin.”
The moment those words left his lips—
“Let’s see it.”
Cheon Yi Gae rummaged through his robes and unfolded a crumpled, creased sheet of paper.
Dense writing covered the page describing a joint operation between the Jongnam Faction and the Huashan Sect, and at the bottom, a blood-red thumbprint shone clear and distinct.
Then Cheon Yi Gae bit his thumb.
Blood dripped.
Watching the blood flow from his thumb, Cheon Yi Gae pressed down with force, marking the paper.
Tae Geuk Gunja pressed his thumb down next.
“I’ll go first.”
Jongnam Geom Seong finished his own imprint as well.
The Sect Master studied the four fingerprints marked on the paper, then bit his thumb.
Five fingerprints now marked the sheet.
Cheon Yi Gae handed the paper to the Sect Master and produced three more blank sheets.
“Let’s each mark one and divide them up.”
Moments later, all four had taken a single sheet.
Whoosh—
Jongnam Geom Seong rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
When Cheon Yi Gae asked, Jongnam Geom Seong smiled.
“I have a promise to keep.”
* * *
The far edge of Nagan Peak.
Perched precariously atop the narrow summit, Cheon Hui sat in lotus position.
Soon his eyelids lifted.
“You’ve come?”
The moment those words left his lips—
“I’ve come to honor our promise.”
Jongnam Geom Seong materialized before him.
“I was afraid you might have forgotten what we swore that day. I’m glad you haven’t.”
“How could I forget such a thing?”
Cheon Hui smiled.
He unfolded his legs and rose to his feet.
“Then, as we spoke before, this time it’s a sparring match?”
“Indeed.”
Without another word, Cheon Hui pushed lightly off the ground and took his position before Jongnam Geom Seong.
“I find myself already eager for this.”
Jongnam Geom Seong’s brows arched.
Then he drew his blade.
The sword that emerged from its worn scabbard was so transparent that light reflected in its surface.
“My companion since I first entered Jongnam—Okro.”
Cheon Hui let out a dry chuckle.
The words were identical to those he had spoken during his match with Hyeon Do—not a single syllable different.
Cheon Hui unsheathed his own blade.
“What is that sword called?”
“A name? It has none. Why would a sword need a name? A sword is simply a sword.”
“Yet surely, for a swordsman, a blade is more than mere steel.”
“I suppose that thinking varies from person to person.”
“Fair enough.”
Jongnam Geom Seong nodded.
Then his gaze drifted to the second scabbard hanging at Cheon Hui’s waist, and he spoke.
“Why do you not draw the other sword?”
“I’ll draw it when this one breaks.”
“Heh.”
Jongnam Geom Seong let out a low chuckle.
“You provoke a man to want to challenge you.”
“As for challenges—”
Even in the face of Cheon Hui’s goading, he maintained his smile as he spoke.
“The opening move is yours.”
“I won’t refuse it.”
Cheon Hui lifted his blade high.
Then he brought it down in a single, sweeping arc.
Taesan Pressure Strike.
A form so elementary that even a third-rate swordsman would never deploy it as an opening move.
Yet Jongnam Geom Seong understood at once why Cheon Hui had chosen it.
‘Is this the Discussion of Swords from that day?’
Jongnam Geom Seong drew upon his Inner Force.

In that instant, his Sect Robes billowed, and the snowflakes swirling around him shattered into fragments.
Slash—
At the same moment, his blade glided lightly past the Taesan Pressure Strike, seeking a new angle of attack.
“Then show me what you have.”
Jongnam Geom Seong murmured softly.
“Let me see your Discussion of Swords that once turned back this Tianxia Mimi.”
In that instant, something terrible unfolded.
The Okro Blade occupied the eight directions at once, and dozens upon hundreds of sword shadows erupted in a heartbeat, sweeping across the surrounding space in an instant.
Screeeee—
The speed was so fierce that the snow settled on the ground evaporated rapidly.
‘He’s truly managing offense and defense simultaneously.’
Cheon Hui observed the Tianxia Mimi with meticulous care.
The Tianxia Mimi he had witnessed long ago—a defensive form—was different from what Jongnam Geom Seong wielded now.
This version was superior.
‘Then let me try what he suggested back then.’
Cheon Hui withdrew the Taesan Pressure Strike.
But Jongnam Geom Seong would not allow him such a reprieve; he swung his blade faster still.
Hiss—
To that, Cheon Hui laughed and kicked off the ground.
As he unfolded the An Hyang Pyo, the moment when the Tianxia Mimi was being swung upward and to the right—
Whoosh—
He slipped through the opening.
“…….”
In that moment, their eyes met.
But rather than swing his blade further, he simply watched, as if waiting.
‘Ah, he’s letting me continue?’
The way his eyes gleamed—as if urging Cheon Hui to show what came next—made him pour the inner power of the Plum Blossom Divine Art into his blade and swing.
Youxing Luo!
Like a meteor descending from above, the blade crashed against the Tianxia Mimi.
Clang!
The collision sent sparks scattering in all directions.
The clash did not end with a single exchange.
Once, twice, three times…….
As the blows multiplied.
The weight of the Youxing Luo—a heavy blade that few could wield with one hand—became too much; the Tianxia Mimi began to lose its balance and falter.
“This cannot be……!”
Jongnam Geom Seong’s eyes wavered.
‘Using such a peculiar technique while wielding such a devilishly heavy blade…….’
During their earlier Discussion of Swords, that method had been hard to believe; but witnessing it now in the flesh, Jongnam Geom Seong could barely hide his astonishment.
Yet that surprise lasted only a moment.
He gathered the Tianxia Mimi and unleashed the Yunlong Xingbu, driving toward Cheon Hui’s flank.
Cheon Hui turned his blade sideways, letting it slide past.
Scrape-scrape—
As if it had been there all along, the Okro Blade flowed along the edge of the opposing blade and began to rise toward the sky—
Whisk!
Jongnam Geom Seong’s blade suddenly shifted with violent ferocity, targeting Cheon Hui anew.
“The Tianxia Rifeng—the third form of the Thirty-Six Swords of All Under Heaven.”
The moment Jongnam Geom Seong spoke in a measured tone, space tore open and the blade materialized.
‘……This is it.’
The corners of Cheon Hui’s mouth twisted into a smile.
How long had he longed for this?
A true sparring match against an absolute master whose martial arts had evolved far beyond his previous life.
His heart thundered with heat.
But his mind remained ice-cold.
‘Let’s see where this leads.’
Cheon Hui lowered his stance, evading the Tianxia Rifeng and pressing forward with his chest.
At the same time, his blade began to tremble.
The tremor was strange.
Not undulating like waves, not swaying side to side—
It was as if a butterfly were fluttering its wings.
But the moment the blade moved, the snowflakes were cleaved in half by the killing intent.
Jongnam Geom Seong’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“The Maehwa Scent Drunk Butterfly.”
Having pierced through Cheon Hui’s form in an instant, he swung his blade with brutal force.
Whoooosh!
As if a tempest were rising, snowflakes scattered and flew high into the sky.
And within that storm, beautiful sword flowers bloomed in all directions.
The flowers that bloomed amid the falling snow were not swept away by the surging, violent tempest that Jongnam Geom Seong unleashed, but continued to bloom.
Meanwhile, at a distance away, two figures watched the scene.
It was Cheon Yi Gae and Tae Geuk Gunja.
“……A monster.”
Tae Geuk Gunja clicked his tongue.
Though Jongnam Geom Seong was said to be holding back from his full strength, even this alone was martial prowess that had reached the level of an elder in the Nine Factions and One Gang.
“The Gang Lord said to watch closely.”
Cheon Yi Gae let out a hollow laugh as well.
The Gang Lord of Gae Bang had instructed him to seek out this boy called Cheon Hui if he ever visited Huashan.
“At that age, already beyond the realm of limitation? It’s so absurd I can’t even muster a laugh.”
The man who had been speaking glanced at Tae Geuk Gunja.
“How does he compare to that Dan Mok Lin whom Wudang treasures so dearly?”
……
Tae Geuk Gunja shook his head.
Dan Mok Lin possessed outstanding skill even among the later generation masters.
But that was only among the later generation masters.
This one……
was in a different class altogether.
If one were to compare him against skilled masters throughout All Under Heaven rather than merely later generation masters, his rivals could be counted on one hand.
Boom! Boom!
The shockwaves from the two colliding figures reached them clearly even at this distance.
Repeatedly, azure sparks erupted.
Sword flowers continued to bloom, while the tempest pressed on relentlessly as if refusing to yield.
The snowflakes that had been falling gently shattered into fragments and scattered away, torn apart by the impact before they could even touch the ground.
The sight was truly beautiful.
But only in appearance.
“……Vicious.”
“Does such a man exist anywhere under heaven?”
The sharp killing intent that erupted from the collision was so chilling that it cut into the skin of the two men, undeterred by the cold weather.
The next instant, they collided once more.
Kaaaaang!
In that moment, space itself could not withstand the impact and trembled as if shaken.
Kiiiiing—
A piercing sound burst forth.
“Those two!”
“Ugh!”
Cheon Yi Gae and Tae Geuk Gunja covered their ears.
Yet even so, they did not for a moment cease swinging their blades.
Then.
Thud—
Jongnam Geom Seong took a step back.
“Let us end this reconnaissance engagement here.”
At his words, Cheon Yi Gae and Tae Geuk Gunja exchanged glances of bewilderment.
“A reconnaissance engagement?”
“That was just now?”
Unlike the two who were taken aback, Cheon Hui looked at Jongnam Geom Seong and then rested his blade on his shoulder.
“Funny—I was thinking the same thing. I was getting bored.”
The corners of Cheon Hui’s eyes lifted.
At once, he drew upon the internal force of the Plum Blossom Divine Art, baring teeth as white as fresh snow.
“Now let’s do this properly.”

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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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