Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 173

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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 173
After finishing his Breathing Cultivation a few moments later, Cheon Hui felt his body grow light.
“That’s refreshing. Maybe I should exhaust all my Internal Force like this every now and then.”
Having depleted his Internal Force while roaming about with the Bicheong Movement, Cheon Hui tasted the true essence of Breathing Cultivation for the first time in a long while.
“Good.”
Cheon Hui leapt down from the peak and approached Jeok Geom and Seol Ran.
“So you two got a beating while I was gone.”
The pair started to avoid his gaze but ended up biting their lips instead.
Then, simultaneously, they lowered their heads.
“We apologize.”
“We apologize.”
Cheon Hui waved his hand dismissively as he spoke.
“Ah, forget the apologies. It’s fine.”
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran stiffened slightly in confusion—they hadn’t expected him to say such a thing.
“It’s my fault for raising you two too weakly.”
Cold sweat broke across their foreheads.
Though he claimed it was his fault, the tone and hidden meaning behind his words were unmistakable.
“Ideally, I wanted to have you progress through the stages carefully and deliberately, but given the circumstances, I need to accelerate things somewhat. Otherwise, I can’t predict what might become of you both.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes fixed on Jeok Geom.
“For the next four days, do no other training whatsoever—concentrate solely on Breathing Cultivation while practicing the Maehwa Internal Cultivation.”
Jeok Geom’s eyes widened slightly.
“By ‘absolutely nothing’… you mean I shouldn’t even practice stance work?”
His voice grew louder as he spoke.
“What? Are you happy to get a break?”
“No, no, that’s not it at all.”
Jeok Geom waved his hands in denial, but Cheon Hui, having witnessed his face light up, didn’t believe him in the slightest.
“Apart from eating and sleeping, you’ll be doing nothing but cultivation for those four days straight. If you shirk it even a little… well, you know what happens then.”
Jeok Geom’s expression, which had brightened at the mention of skipping training, hardened again, and his lips curved upward unnaturally.
“Ha, haha. Of course I understand.”
“Good. We’ll see when the time comes whether you actually did it or not.”
“Understood…sir.”
Darkness fell across Jeok Geom’s face.
‘I thought I’d get a little rest…’
Cheon Hui would surely notice if he slipped even a single day of training.
‘But at least I don’t have to do stance work.’
Jeok Geom was doing his best to look on the bright side when—
“And Seol Ran.”
Cheon Hui turned his gaze toward Seol Ran.
Seol Ran’s head snapped up.
“Yes? You called?”
“Do you want to become stronger in a short time?”
“…!”
Meeting his serious expression, she swallowed hard and carefully opened her mouth.
“Is there… a way?”
“Why wouldn’t there be?”
Cheon Hui’s gaze fell toward her lower abdomen.
“The Baek Geum Dan is embedded in your Lower Dantian, and you have its energy there. If you properly absorbed it alone, you’d be twice as strong as you are now.”
Seol Ran’s lips tightened as she bit down on them.
She knew this truth well.
The Baek Geum Dan was indeed an elixir containing more Inner Power than imagination could conceive. That’s why more than half of its energy remained unabsorbed, clinging to her Lower Dantian and meridians.
But there was a problem.
“However, Master, even with cultivation, the absorption rate is slow. At this pace, it will take at least a year.”
“No. One week is enough.”
“Truly?”
Seol Ran’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Had anyone else said such a thing, she would have rebuked them for spouting nonsense.
‘But if Master says so…’
She swallowed hard once more.
To her, Cheon Hui was someone who made the impossible possible.
“How would that be possible?”
“Do you know what Pressure Point Unsealing is?”
Seol Ran nodded.
“I’ve heard of it. It’s when you strike to unblock stagnant qi and meridians…….”
Seol Ran’s complexion drained of color.
He was saying he’d perform Pressure Point Unsealing on her.
The thought of Cheon Hui—already merciless—deploying such a technique made her face pale beyond white, draining into something ghastly.
“Exactly. That’s what I mean. You don’t like it?”
Cheon Hui rolled his wrists loose.
“If you hate it, I’ll stop. But then don’t come crying about wanting to get stronger anymore.”
It was a threat barely disguised as an offer.
In other words, little different from barring her from this place entirely.
“……I’ll do it.”
Seol Ran spoke with resignation.
“Smart choice.”
Cheon Hui picked up his scabbard.
“Since time’s short, come at me while I’m using my Martial Arts. I’ll show you where you’re vulnerable as we go.”
“That’s possible?”
“You think I can’t do that?”
“No, no—I didn’t mean—”
“Then draw your sword.”
“Yes!”
Seol Ran grasped her blade and drew it.
“Right, you said you entered the Maehwa Chilgwan too, didn’t you? How far did you get?”
“……The third gate, Master.”
Seol Ran’s voice grew smaller.
“Sigh. Still stuck there? At that pace, you’ll never pass even by your deathbed.”
Cheon Hui shook his head.
“Let me see your real strength then. Come at me like I’m an enemy. Better yet—treat me like that fool Jeok Geom would’ve made into a laughingstock.”
“M-Master!”
Jeok Geom cried out in shock from the side.
His face flushed red with shame.
‘It was fading with time since nobody mentioned it…….’
Cheon Hui’s brow creased.
“You stay quiet and focus on your cultivation. Why are you throwing away an Opportunity like this?”
“An… an Opportunity?”
“If you keep concentrating on Breathing Cultivation, your realm will rise by a stage.”
“Is… is that truly so?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
Jeok Geom paused, thinking hard.
No—he never had.
“Understood!”
Jeok Geom immediately crossed his legs into meditation.
Soon, as he sank into Breathing Cultivation, Cheon Hui’s eyes shifted to Seol Ran. His lips curved upward.
“That one will be strong in half a year. But you’ll stay as you are?”
“No!”
Seol Ran’s eyes changed.
Jeok Geom and Seol Ran had been building their martial skills in friendly rivalry all along.
But only Jeok Geom would grow stronger?
She couldn’t accept it.
As resolve hardened in her gaze and power gathered in her limbs, Cheon Hui nodded slightly.
“There. That’s the look. Come on then.”
“I’m re—gasp!”
The instant Seol Ran moved.
Crack!
Cheon Hui’s scabbard swung first, striking her ribs.
“If that had been a real blade, you’d be dead.”
Seol Ran’s brow furrowed.
True enough—but wasn’t that a cheap tactic?
“But an ambush is cowardly…….”
“Planning to say that after you’re dead?”
Cheon Hui’s eyes turned cold and sharp.
“Win first, then worry about whether it was cowardly or not.”
It was a cutting remark.
But he was right.
Seol Ran gritted her teeth, suppressing the pain radiating from her left side.
“I understand——!”
Smack!
The scabbard struck her back.
“Tsk, tsk. You fought the Sapa dogs and still can’t get your head on straight? You think they’ll wait around for you to prepare yourself?”
Cheon Hui slung the scabbard over his shoulder.
Whoosh!
Stung by two blows, Seol Ran’s eyes blazed with venom as she swung her sword in a wide arc.
Cheon Hui smiled and spoke.
“Good. So you can do it when you want to.”
He stepped back lightly, sidestepping her attack.
“But your sword is too honest. I didn’t teach you that way.”
Smack!
The scabbard struck her entire body as she passed.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
It was not sword technique or sword form—it was pure bludgeoning.
“Aaagh!”
Seol Ran let out a sharp cry, then quickly readjusted her grip and spun her body.
“That reaction was good. But if you’re going to employ the Jade Ring Wonderful Step, you need to dig deeper into the flow and move with it. Tsk, tsk. Now your footwork is suffering while your sword does its own thing.”
Cheon Hui evaded her attack and struck her ribs.
“And your waist has been wide open this whole time. Are you begging me to kill you?”
Seol Ran’s brow furrowed.
The pain was one thing, but his relentless nagging had burrowed into her ears and showed no sign of leaving.
“I told you—the most important thing in martial arts is footwork. But if you just blindly pour strength into each step, what good is it? Think of it as starting from your feet and flowing through to your sword. Extend from there.”
Cheon Hui explained the profound principle in simple terms and conveyed it to Seol Ran.
But her head was already spinning, and she couldn’t grasp it properly, swaying on her feet.
“Ah, I understand, but couldn’t you explain this to me later——”
As the relentless instruction continued, Seol Ran finally couldn’t take it anymore and was about to spit out the words she’d been swallowing back inside.
“Later? What later? You need to listen now so you don’t forget and remember it well.”
Cheon Hui replied in a frigid tone.
“Open your ears and listen well. Right now, this is becoming your blood and flesh. At this rate, when are you ever going to become a true master——”
“Arrgh!”
Already in pain and now forced to endure more nagging, Seol Ran’s eyes rolled back.
“Yes, that’s it. Move with that murderous intent, like you’re about to kill me.”
Watching Seol Ran rush at him with eyes blazing with venom, Cheon Hui smiled with satisfaction and swung the scabbard.
“Now, block it well.”
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash!
Cheon Hui unleashed dozens of consecutive strikes in an instant, then touched the end of the scabbard lightly against Seol Ran, who was trembling violently on the ground.
Then he pressed down on a pressure point along her meridian.
“Ugh, uh——”
Seol Ran clutched her head and staggered to her feet.
“W-What was that just now——?”
“Now cultivate your breathing.”
Whether from the beating just moments ago—no, the Pressure Point Unsealing—Seol Ran reflexively obeyed Cheon Hui’s command and sank into cultivation.
And a moment later.
Inhale!
Seol Ran’s eyes flew open as she completed her breathing cultivation, and she touched her Lower Dantian with her hand.
“My inner power……it’s grown!”
She jumped up and down with joy.
It was unbelievable.
Internal Force increased only in minute amounts day by day, making the difference hard to perceive.
But what was this?
Nearly a month’s worth of breathing cultivation had accumulated all at once——as if a dam had burst!
“The Baek Geum Dan was truly absorbed——”
“What do you think? Wasn’t I right?”
Seol Ran nodded vigorously at Cheon Hui’s interjection, her eyes shining bright.
“But—but how did this happen? Even with Pressure Point Unsealing, this much Inner Force in such a short span of time…….”
“I stimulated the meridians attached to your body, drawing that energy into your Inner Force and…….”
Cheon Hui, mid-explanation, seemed to lose patience and changed course.
“Just accept it as is.”
“But still…….”
“Tell you what. Land a single blow on me, and I’ll explain everything.”
Seol Ran’s expression turned dubious.
Striking Cheon Hui—of all people—was nearly impossible.
Then Cheon Hui added something more.
“Actually, if you succeed, I’ll teach you a Martial Art that suits you.”
Seol Ran’s eyes brightened with fresh intensity.
“You mean it?”
“Have I ever lied to you about something like this?”
Seol Ran shook her head.
Until now, Cheon Hui had never once deceived her about Martial Arts or training.
She then spoke with blazing determination.
“Then please don’t forget that promise!”
As Seol Ran burned with fresh resolve, Cheon Hui let out a soft laugh.
‘He was going to teach it to her anyway, but watching her passion like this is rather satisfying.’
Cheon Hui, keeping to himself a thought Seol Ran would have bristled to hear, picked up his scabbard.
“Now, let’s begin again. This time I’m checking whether you remember what I taught you before.”
“You mean……?”
“Same as before, so dodge well.”
In that instant, Seol Ran’s face drained of all color.
Cheon Hui had already unfurled a sword identical to the one before—yet far more violent.
“It’ll hurt more this time.”
What greeted Jeok Geom, who had just completed his Breathing Cultivation, was a scene of utter carnage.
Crack! Crack!
“Kyah! Kya-agh! M-Master!”
Seol Ran, who had rushed in with such spirit, could not endure the relentless barrage and her face twisted in agony.
“Did you forget what I said earlier? Combining footwork and blade into one…….”
Slash!
After taking a blow square across her back, Seol Ran caught Jeok Geom’s eye and signaled silently for help.
‘H-Help me! Brother!’
A desperate plea.
Yet Jeok Geom pretended ignorance, turning his gaze aside and squeezing his eyes shut.
‘My apologies, Sister.’
Even so, her cries only grew louder, echoing across Huashan for some time.
Thump.
Seol Ran collapsed to the ground, sprawled flat on her back.
“Huff—huff. P-Please, stop now…….”
Her chest heaved in great, labored breaths, expanding and contracting in rapid succession.
“That was rather decent.”
Having finished the Pressure Point Unsealing—not a beating, mind you—with his scabbard, Cheon Hui brushed his hands lightly and smiled.
Lying on her back and catching her breath, Seol Ran flinched at Cheon Hui’s smile.
It was a refreshing smile, yet it felt so wickedly malevolent.
And moments later, when Cheon Hui’s mouth opened and spoke, she realized her instinct had been true.
“You’ve rested enough now? Get up.”

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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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