Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 170

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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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Episode 170
The gatekeeper of the Huashan Sect’s mountain entrance wore an expression of undisguised gloom.
“Sigh… I never thought it would come to this.”
His mind was troubled.
The joint operation had seemed poised to succeed without incident.
And why wouldn’t it, with the Huashan Sect and Jongnam Faction joining forces?
Yet contrary to expectations, both locations had failed, and he’d returned to Huashan in solitude.
“Sigh.”
As he bit his lip along with the sigh.
“What’s that…?”
A small speck appeared down the mountain path.
Thinking it might be a visitor, he was preparing words of refusal when—
Whoosh!
The tiny speck suddenly swelled and transformed into the figure of a person.
“M-Master Cheon Hui?”
His expression brightened.
Indeed, Cheon Hui was the only one who hadn’t returned from the joint operation.
So he’d been worried.
But seeing him return without a wound in sight filled him with relief.
“Welcome back—”
He was waving his hand in greeting when—
Whoooosh!
Cheon Hui swept past him like the wind.
Moving forward with the Flying Heaven Movement deployed, he arrived at the Medical Hall.
Gasp!
The Medical Hall attendant caught his breath at Cheon Hui’s sudden appearance.
“M-Master Cheon Hui?”
“Where is Jeok Geom?”
“He’s inside, sir.”
Cheon Hui passed the attendant pointing toward the room and entered.
Several people recognized him and attempted to speak, but the chilling aura he radiated overwhelmed them into silence.
‘Is it there?’
Cheon Hui moved toward the faint trace of energy he sensed.
Reaching the door in moments—
“Ah!”
Seol Ran, who’d been dozing against the doorframe, jolted awake with a start.
“Master?”
“You seem unharmed, at least.”
Cheon Hui examined Seol Ran, who appeared untouched by injury, and asked quietly.
“And Jeok Geom?”
Seol Ran bit her lip as if holding back tears, her voice trembling with moisture.
“Inside… the room…”
Creak—
Cheon Hui opened the door and stepped in.
Inside lay Jeok Geom with acupuncture needles embedded across his entire body, while beside him Shin Ui stood drenched in sweat, taking his pulse.
“I didn’t say anyone could enter—”
At the sound of the door opening, Shin Ui furrowed his brow.
He turned his head, and when his eyes met Cheon Hui’s, he sighed and spoke.
“So it was you?”
Cheon Hui nodded.
“I hear you’ve been helping treat the injured?”
“Since the Huashan Sect provided food, I helped a little. But sit down now that you’re here.”
Cheon Hui settled down beside him with a thud.
“What’s his condition?”
“Check yourself.”
Shin Ui passed over Jeok Geom’s wrist, which he’d been holding.
As Cheon Hui checked the pulse for a moment, his face grew cold.
It seemed he’d suffered a tremendous blow—his Lower Dantian was compromised, and his Internal Force raged uncontrolled.
“He’s passed the worst of it.”
Shin Ui, speaking softly, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and continued.
“Still, he’ll need at least a year of continuous Qi circulation before he stabilizes.”
Cheon Hui withdrew his hand from Jeok Geom’s wrist.
“You must have gone through considerable effort. Getting him stable like this wouldn’t have been simple work.”
“So now you’re feeling some respect? If you’re so keen to learn medicine, I can teach you right now.”
Just as Shin Ui, seizing the moment with raised spirits, was about to coax Cheon Hui into studying with him—
“M-Master… you’ve… arrived.”
A faint voice drifted from the bed.
Jeok Geom, forcing his eyes open with great effort, looked toward Cheon Hui, his lips trembling visibly.
“I’m… so glad you’re safe….”
“Hush. In that condition, your concern for my well-being only dampens my mood.”
……
“You heard what Senior Shin said, didn’t you?”
Jeok Geom nodded his head with considerable difficulty.
“But a year is too long.”
As Cheon Hui rolled up his sleeves alongside these words, Shin Ui’s expression flickered with bewilderment.
“What are you about to do?”
“Stabilize his Lower Dantian.”
“Is… is that even possible?”
“I’ve never tried it before, but it should work.”
At Cheon Hui’s reckless words, Jeok Geom’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake were running through them.
Yet Cheon Hui paid no mind, pressing both palms against Jeok Geom’s Lower Dantian.
“No matter the pain, don’t cry out. Otherwise it’ll all be wasted effort.”
The moment those words ended.
Whoooosh!
The Plum Blossom Divine Art consumed the room.
!
Shin Ui’s eyes flew wide.
A thick, dense Inner Power wrapped around his body as though he’d plunged into deep water.
Even someone untrained in martial arts could dimly grasp how transcendent a realm one must reach to accomplish what was happening before them now.
‘Was he truly of this caliber?’
Fresh astonishment flickered across Shin Ui’s gaze as he regarded Cheon Hui.
Whoooosh!
Cheon Hui erupted with his Inner Power.
The Inner Power that wrapped around them like water suddenly formed a vortex, then poured entirely into Jeok Geom’s body.
Jeok Geom’s frame shook violently.
‘Let me see. To stabilize his Inner Power, he’d need that… found it! He still hasn’t properly absorbed it.’
Cheon Hui drew out the Qi of the Baek Geum Dan lodged in the corner of the Lower Dantian, then flowed it mixed with his Plum Blossom Divine Art’s Inner Power.
Then a change occurred.
The Internal Energy of the Maehwa Qi Art, stabilized by Shin Ui’s subtle Acupuncture Art, surged powerfully once, and soon began to generate flow.
“Even if your head aches terribly, keep reciting the Maehwa Qi Art cultivation mantra.”
At Cheon Hui’s instruction, Jeok Geom forced himself to endure the throbbing pain, repeatedly reviewing the Maehwa Qi Art mantra again and again.
And as he did.
Whoooosh—
The scent of plum blossoms bloomed between them.
‘Now if I just complete the Small Heavenly Circulation….’
Cheon Hui drew the Plum Blossom Divine Art’s Inner Power along the Maehwa Qi Art’s cultivation mantra, gathering it together.
Soon the Grand Heavenly Circulation began.
The Inner Power flowing through the torn meridians gradually expanded that passage.
‘This must feel like dying.’
Cheon Hui let out a slight, mirthless laugh.
To forcibly widen the meridians meant the pain would be excruciating enough to wish for death. And true to that expectation, Jeok Geom’s complexion was turning ashen.
‘Ugh!’
At this moment, Jeok Geom could barely think.
Pain was pain, but this was unbearable.
‘Argh! Had I known it would hurt this much, I should have just taken a year to recover!’
Regret came too late.
But what could be done?
It was already happening.
Unable to endure the agony, a single tear rolled from his eyes, dampening the pillow beneath his head.
Seeing this, Cheon Hui clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Tsk, don’t whimper like a coward. Recite the cultivation formula properly.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes gleamed as he barked criticism at Jeok Geom regardless of his pain.
‘Oh, look at this.’
Whether from the expanded meridians or some other cause, the Qi from the Baek Geum Dan that hadn’t yet been absorbed surged forth in harmony with the Maehwa Qi Art.
‘Lucky bastards can pull off anything.’
There was no such thing as this kind of fortunate meeting of circumstances.
But that would only matter once he absorbed it all—not yet.
“This time it’s going to hurt worse, so bite down hard. If you scream, it’ll all scatter.”
Cheon Hui poured every last bit of Inner Power from his completed Grand Heavenly Circulation directly into Jeok Geom’s Lower Dantian.
Jeok Geom’s eyes flew wide.
He already felt like he was dying, and now it would hurt even more?
Terrified, Jeok Geom began to tremble violently.
Whoooosh—
Inner Power crashed down in wave upon wave.
Pain so intense there were no words for it.
‘Aaaaaaagh!’
Just as Jeok Geom’s inner scream reached its crescendo, all the Inner Power converged in his Lower Dantian.
Thud!
His body lurched violently upward.
His eyes glazed over, and the foul stench of plum blossom fragrance poured from his mouth.
At the same moment, his Sect Robe was soiled with waste.
Cheon Hui immediately stepped back, creating distance.
“The stabilization is done, so that’s that.”
He dusted off his hands as he spoke, glancing at the bewildered Shin Ui before continuing.
“He’ll be quite exhausted right now, so please prepare a medicinal brew to restore his energy.”
Shin Ui hastily took Jeok Geom’s pulse, then his eyes flew open wide.
“No, that unstable Lower Dantian—it’s become this stable and solid…….”
Shin Ui, lost in admiration, focused even deeper on the diagnosis, scrutinizing his internal state thoroughly.
“You expanded his meridians to redirect the violently surging Internal Force, merged it with the Qi from the Baek Geum Dan, and then stabilized it all?”
Cheon Hui regarded Shin Ui with fresh eyes.
So this was what made Shin Ui, Shin Ui.
Merely by taking a pulse, Shin Ui seemed to grasp nearly everything that had transpired, murmuring away to himself.
Just then, Shin Ui blinked.
“But that’s strange. It’s supposed to be impossible for a martial artist to interfere with another’s Internal Force—how is this possible?”
Shin Ui’s gaze fixed on Cheon Hui.
Meeting those curious, probing eyes, Cheon Hui smiled faintly and answered.
“Because the roots of our Heart Techniques are the same.”
Cheon Hui spoke without much concern.
The Heart Technique rooted in the same foundation: Maehwa Qi Art and Plum Blossom Divine Art.
Since the Plum Blossom Divine Art differed not at all from that root, it had been possible.
Shin Ui stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“In other words, there must be a spiritual elixir or something equivalent to it within, and one must have learned the same Heart Technique for this to be possible.”
“In short, yes.”
Shin Ui let out a low whistle.
It sounded simple, but it was extraordinarily difficult.
To accomplish it, one had to have complete mastery of the meridians and possess the skill to handle Internal Force with utmost precision.
‘I suspect that even with the same Heart Technique, it would be impossible for anyone but this one.’
Shin Ui shook his head slowly, as if unable to believe what he was witnessing.
“Where is the Wulian Pavilion Master?”
Cheon Hui asked.
According to what he’d heard from Jin Gae, there were two people on Huashan whose conditions were critically grave.
One was Jeok Geom before him, and the other was the Wulian Pavilion Master.
“Then he should be at Wulian Pavilion now.”
“I heard his condition was severe. How is he?”
Shin Ui’s brow furrowed.
The Wulian Pavilion Master’s wounds were critical.
Especially for a martial artist.
“When I first examined him, the tendons and muscles of his right arm were severed. Fortunately, treatment succeeded, and with proper rest he should regain mobility in that arm as before. But…….”
Shin Ui recalled the arm at that time, the wounds so severe the bone showed through, as he spoke.
“From now on, it will be impossible for him to deploy Martial Arts or wield a sword with his right arm.”
Wounds that severe?
Cheon Hui’s brow furrowed.
The Wulian Pavilion Master’s skill wasn’t remarkable enough to stand out among the elders, but he was still an elder of the Huashan Sect.
He was absolutely not someone of a caliber to fall to ordinary fighters.
‘Something happened.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes turned ice-cold. He rose and pulled the door open sharply.
“M-Master? Senior brother is….”
“He’ll be fine. He’ll regain consciousness soon.”
“Really?”
At Cheon Hui’s words, tears welled up in Seol Ran’s eyes with relief.
“More importantly—where did Jeok Geom go?”
“…The Sa Gwi Bang, sir.”
The answer came from behind.
“Senior brother!”
At Jeok Geom’s words as he had just regained consciousness, Seol Ran was startled and moved to enter, then froze.
“What’s wrong, junior sister?”
Jeok Geom, bewildered by her sudden stop, stiffened as he tried to sit up.
His lower half was damp and uncomfortably heavy.
….
As cold sweat beaded on his forehead, Seol Ran laughed awkwardly and said, “I-I’ll fetch you a fresh Sect Robe.”
“Wait! Junior sister! This isn’t—this is from the treatment just now—!”
Jeok Geom reached out desperately, calling after her, but Seol Ran had already left.
As he hung his head in shame.
“The Sa Gwi Bang was that strong?”
At Cheon Hui’s question, Jeok Geom collected himself and answered.
“The information we had was inaccurate.”
Recalling that day, indignation welled up in Jeok Geom and he bit his lip.
“The Sa Gwi Bang had stationed a female master comparable to the Wulian Pavilion Master, and three or four peak-stage experts who nearly matched her strength. For a mere heterodox sect, it was considerable force.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes darkened.
He grasped the situation immediately.
‘So men like Shin Ui, or those behind the heterodox sects, made a move.’
The shadowy sect that Tian Yi Gai had mentioned drifted through his mind and dissolved.
‘But even so—to be overwhelmed so thoroughly? At this rate, how will the Huashan Sect ever become the Number One Sect Under Heaven?’
Cheon Hui ground his teeth inwardly.
‘Without me, nothing changes.’
The Huashan Sect’s reputation had risen recently, but it was all hollow shell.
The sect’s actual strength remained unchanged.
They had taken in the Three Disciples, but that had been less than a year ago.
Combat-capable personnel still numbered barely a hundred.
Even with Hyeon Do having reached the Heavenly Martial Realm and the Maehwa Sword Masters showing modest progress, it was still far from enough.
‘If I just had time.’
He clicked his tongue.
It hadn’t been long since he’d committed himself to transforming the Huashan Sect into the Number One Sect Under Heaven.
He’d deployed the Maehwa Chilgwan, Dark Fragrance Pills, and new martial arts, but these were not things that would mature overnight.
At minimum, more than a year was needed.
‘Tsk, I’ve been waiting for time to pass, content in my laziness, but it seems I have no choice.’
Originally, he’d only needed to advance steadily through each stage. But the Gangho—the world itself—would not sit idle.
Setting aside his reluctance, Cheon Hui began to consider whether he truly had to move now.
‘But first, I need to find out who did this to Jeok Geom.’
His eyes became unfathomably deep.
‘They dared to lay hands on my subordinate?’
From ancient times, protecting one’s subordinates had been the duty of a leader.
Cheon Hui looked at Jeok Geom and asked, “Who damaged your Lower Dantian like that?”
Whoever it was, they were no ordinary villain.
They had deliberately raked the inside of their opponent’s body with a refined Penetration Force mixed into their strikes, causing deliberate suffering.
Such a thing would not be done without deep malice.
Jeok Geom ground his teeth and answered.
“…The Sa Gwi Bang Master.”
….
….
“The Sa Gwi Bang Master? He was a skilled expert on par with the Wulian Pavilion Master?”
“No, sir. His skill was only slightly superior to mine.”
“So you let your guard down and paid the price.”
……
“All right, I’ve got it. The Sa Gwi Bang Master.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes turned cold and sharp.
He turned and walked out without another word.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“To the Wulian Pavilion.”
“I—I’ll come with you.”
“I don’t mind, but you’re going like that?”
Cheon Hui’s lip curled slightly, and his gaze drifted toward Jeok Geom’s soiled lower garments.
Realizing the state he was in, Jeok Geom’s face flushed.
“I—I’ll change first!”
Jeok Geom spoke urgently, and Cheon Hui let out a soft laugh before turning away.
“Come later, then.”
* * *
“Haah! Haah!”
In the back garden of the Wulian Pavilion, the Wulian Pavilion Master stood with his right arm in a splint, sweat streaming down his face as he wielded a sword with his left hand.
“Ugh!”
Unfamiliar with using his left hand, he kept dropping the sword repeatedly.
Then.
Thud—thud—
He turned his head at the sound of footsteps.
Upon seeing who approached, the Wulian Pavilion Master sheathed his sword awkwardly, then greeted him with a bright expression.
“You’ve returned safely.”
“I have. But how’s your arm?”
Cheon Hui’s gaze fell on the Pavilion Master’s right arm, held in a splint and bound tightly with bandages.
Noticing his scrutiny, the Wulian Pavilion Master smiled gently and spoke.
“It’s not a serious wound.”
He spoke as if to reassure, but Cheon Hui’s eyes turned glacial.
“Shin Ui told me everything.”
The Wulian Pavilion Master smiled bitterly.
“So you know it all…….”
“May I take a look?”
The Wulian Pavilion Master was about to refuse, but seeing Cheon Hui’s gaze, he nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
Cheon Hui unwound the bandages.
The wound was gruesome.
The injury ran from shoulder to wrist, stitched with thread, yet the slight separation of the edges made clear how severe the damage truly was.
‘There’s nothing more I can do for this. In this state, moving the arm at all would be a miracle.’
Cheon Hui shook his head as he rewrapped the bandages and asked.
“Who inflicted this wound?”
“……The Sa Gwi Bang Master.”
“The same one who did that to Jeok Geom.”
The name of the Sa Gwi Bang Master burned deeper into Cheon Hui’s mind.
As someone who must be executed.
‘But his resolve is remarkable. Losing the ability to wield a sword would shatter most men, yet he immediately trains with his left hand.’
His hair was soaked with sweat, and his left palm was raw with burst blisters.
Cheon Hui looked at his left hand and asked.
“How does it feel? Now that you’re wielding a sword with your left hand, is it manageable?”
The Wulian Pavilion Master wore a wry smile.
“It’s difficult.”
“Still, you were working quite hard at it.”
“‘Hard work’ and ‘skill’ are not the same, are they? No matter how hard one tries, if the ability doesn’t follow, it’s all for nothing.”
The Wulian Pavilion Master was pragmatic.
And Cheon Hui found such realism deeply appealing.
‘He’s exactly the kind of talent the Huashan Sect needs.’
Cheon Hui smiled slightly and opened his mouth.
“Then would you like to learn the true Left-hand Sword Technique properly this time?”

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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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