Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 174

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 174
Early the next morning.
Seol Ran arrived at the Practice Pavilion before dawn broke, requesting a sparring match.
“Yesterday you were shrieking the whole time, and yet here you are again. Did you notice something different when you woke up today?”
At words that seemed to pierce straight through her heart, Seol Ran’s cheeks flushed crimson.
In just a single day, her Internal Force had grown noticeably.
On top of that, her swordplay had sharpened.
“Your Internal Force increases, you gain real combat experience, and you even hear Martial Theory that few ever get to listen to. You’ll probably never receive training like this again. Actually, no one but me could give it to you.”
Cheon Hui began to praise himself.
Who else would teach so much through a single sparring session?
No one but him existed.
“Like I said before, an opportunity like this won’t come again.”
Seol Ran laughed awkwardly.
Cheon Hui’s words were right, but hearing them spoken directly by the person himself, she didn’t know what expression to wear.
“Then, let’s begin.”
As Cheon Hui spoke tersely, the atmosphere suddenly shifted and tension settled over the pavilion.
“Right. Yes.”
Seol Ran steadied her breathing and replied.
True, she had achieved remarkable growth in just one day, but when she thought of being struck again like yesterday, her fingertips trembled slightly.
Yet she quickly straightened her mind.
‘Just as my teacher said, such an opportunity won’t come again.’
Was it merely an opportunity?
Sparring daily with a master like Cheon Hui was for her—no, for any warrior in Kangho—a chance meeting rarer than rare.
Whoosh—
She drew her sword.
Yet the blade tip pointing at Cheon Hui still trembled finely.
At that, Cheon Hui let out a soft laugh.
“Why are you so tense?”
As he spoke, he lifted his sword scabbard and flicked it casually.
“Come at me first this time.”
“Then I’ll make my move—”
Seol Ran cut herself short, her eyes brightening as she unsheathed her blade in one fluid motion.
Clang!
A sharp metallic cry rang out.
“…The same trick won’t work twice.”
“Still, you learn differently than most.”
As Cheon Hui gazed at Seol Ran, who had blocked his surprise strike, with a satisfied expression.
Swish—
She pivoted on her left foot, spinning.
Unfolding the Jade Ring Wonderful Step in one breath, Seol Ran swept her blade in a wide arc from left to right.
It was the Falling Flower Sword, deployed with all her strength.
Her opponent was none other than Cheon Hui.
How could she hold back?
‘Just one strike. If I can land just one strike!’
Seol Ran’s eyes gleamed.
She never entertained even the faintest thought of defeating Cheon Hui.
What she sought was but one thing.
To land a strike on Cheon Hui and surprise him, even a little!
‘And learn new martial arts while I’m at it.’
Her grip tightened on the sword hilt.
The blade sweeping down unleashed an even fiercer wind as it reached Cheon Hui.
“Looks like you spent some time thinking about this before bed last night.”
“I can’t just keep getting hit.”
At her reply, Cheon Hui chuckled with satisfaction.
‘She’s better than Jeok Geom after all.’
He was pleased.
Usually, after a beating like yesterday, people would rather never think of it again.
But Seol Ran was different.
She had carefully kept what she learned yesterday and made no identical mistakes.
Because of this, her shortcomings stood out clearly.
‘If I had even a fraction of Jeok Geom’s talent, I’d have made quite a name for myself in Gangho.’
Seol Ran was versatile, but her gifts for martial arts fell short of his.
‘Still, having talent and being lazy is far worse than having little talent and trying hard.’
Countless faces rose and faded in his mind.
There had been many promising masters of the later generation, yet few of them ever became true experts of renown across All Under Heaven.
The reason was simple.
Arrogance and pride.
They grew complacent with their own strength and fell into neglect, fading from memory.
‘And they died clinging to the past.’
How many had that befallen?
In just the brief moment he’d spent recalling them, he’d counted at least dozens.
‘In that regard, Seol Ran is fine. She has no talent, so she carries no arrogance, no pride. If anything, she works this hard and burns with such zeal.’
Cheon Hui sidestepped the descending Falling Flower Sword with a subtle twist of his hips.
Then he raised his sword hilt.
Thwack!
It struck Seol Ran’s left thigh.
“Ugh!”
Her balance shattered in an instant.
But she endured the pain and lifted her sword again.
And swung it with all her might.
“It’s not over yet, Master!”
Seol Ran charged forward once more.
Thwack! Thwack!
Even fiercer strikes came raining down in return.
And with them came cries of pain just as they had yesterday.
“Aah! M-Master! P-please go easier…!”
“Easy? Not a chance.”
Cheon Hui’s sword hilt moved with renewed ferocity, striking across Seol Ran’s entire frame.
“All of this is for your own good.”
As the two were in the midst of their sparring match, visitors arrived at the Practice Pavilion.
Dan Mok Lin and Jeok Geom.
“Why is the senior brother sparring with Seol Ran…?”
“When did Seol Ran reach such a level of skill?”
Both watched the match in astonishment.
Jeok Geom, especially, felt his lips tighten as he witnessed Seol Ran’s strength improved from yesterday.
‘At this rate, I’ll fall behind.’
A sense of urgency seized him.
In a single day, Seol Ran had grown.
Even he, who saw her every day, felt it plainly—the progress was unmistakable.
‘I need to cultivate my inner power at once.’
Jeok Geom hastily sat in meditation.
Part of him wanted to watch their match longer…
‘But there’s no time.’
Stirred to vigilance by Seol Ran’s growth, Jeok Geom immediately entered Breath Regulation.
‘I must learn to move my inner power as I will.’
During yesterday’s breath regulation, he had finally understood why Cheon Hui had instructed him in energy cultivation.
As the saying went: Excess is not as good as deficiency.
The Baek Geum Dan’s essence had transformed into inner power, yet with his current skill, he lacked the ability to control it properly.
If he forced the issue, he would only incur Internal Injury.
Thus Cheon Hui’s intention was that through Breath Regulation, he should learn to govern his inner power—how to properly wield it.
‘Once I master inner power…’
As he imagined the day when he would command the inner power dwelling in his Lower Dantian, he gathered his focus entirely into Breath Regulation.
“That is…!”
Dan Mok Lin’s eyes widened.
What had seemed like mindless striking held a pattern within it.
‘From a moment ago, he’s been pressing and striking acupoints that follow the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Great Circulation of the Maehwa Internal Art through his sword point.’
She, who had learned countless acupoints for the Taeeum Body Recovery Method—that ancient art of restoring the physical form—was now reading every location where Cheon Hui’s sword point pressed.
‘Could it be… Acupoint Striking…!’
The moment Dan Mok Lin grasped Cheon Hui’s intent, the sword hilt fell from above.
Crack!
A dull crack split the air.
Seol Ran, struck cleanly at the crown of her head—the Baihui acupoint—with the scabbard, staggered backward and fell.
Thud.
Cheon Hui gazed down at Seol Ran’s unconscious form and allowed himself a gentle smile.
“There’s a satisfaction to teaching.”
Though fear of being struck must have weighed on her, Seol Ran did not hesitate when she wielded her blade.
If anything, her passion only burned brighter.
A student who grasped ten principles from a single lesson—Seol Ran was every teacher’s ideal.
‘Somewhat bothersome and tiring, perhaps.’
Cheon Hui rolled his shoulders in wide circles.
Acupoint Striking, being what it was, demanded meticulous control of inner force and careful modulation of strength.
Strike too hard and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians risked rupturing or scarring; strike too lightly and the technique would bear no effect at all.
‘Well, what choice do I have? Since I’ve begun, better to press forward than dawdle halfway.’
In all things, faster was always better.
Especially in matters of martial prowess.
He had already reached the zenith; no one understood better than he how vast the gulf could grow given time.
‘I must accelerate her growth.’
Cheon Hui turned his head.
He addressed Dan Mok Lin, who had been watching the sparring match in breathless silence.
“Perfect timing. I was wondering whether to seek you out directly. You’ve saved me the trouble.”
Dan Mok Lin’s expression brightened at once.
Whatever his purpose, the fact that he sought her was a joy in itself.
“What did you wish to see me about?”
“Would you like to learn martial arts from me?”
Dan Mok Lin’s mouth fell open.
She had not anticipated such words and found herself at a loss.
“Do you refuse?”
“No, no!”
Dan Mok Lin answered in startled haste.
“But why all of a sudden—”
“I need skilled masters.”
Cheon Hui spoke matter-of-factly.
Yet hearing those words, Dan Mok Lin felt her heart quicken.
“You believe I’ll become a skilled master?”
“You will, if you’re willing.”
A faint smile played across Dan Mok Lin’s lips.
She was gladdened by Cheon Hui’s confidence and belief in her.
“I accept!”
“Though I should warn you—it will be rather demanding. Are you certain?”
“Of course. How else would one become a skilled master without paying some price?”
“Truly?”
“Yes! If it means becoming a skilled master, I’ll endure any hardship.”
Cheon Hui twisted his lips into a smirk.
“How curious—female students always prove more earnest than the rest.”
Cheon Hui shot a glance at Jeok Geom.
Jeok Geom, still in the midst of Energy Cultivation, seemed stung by something and trembled slightly.
“First, I should assess your abilities.”
Cheon Hui lifted the scabbard.
After that, he began loosening his limbs—rolling his neck left and right—and opened his mouth.
“I’ll yield the first move. Come at me.”
Dan Mok Lin nodded.
Just as she reached to draw the Baekryeon Sword, a gift from Hyeon Ryeo—
Crack!
The scabbard struck her crown.
“Ow!”
Dan Mok Lin touched the bump forming on her head, her eyes swimming as she stared at Cheon Hui.
“Se-senior?”
She had never imagined he would launch such a surprise attack, and her voice wavered with bewilderment. Cheon Hui laughed shortly.
“You mustn’t fall for such a ploy.”
With those words, Cheon Hui raised the scabbard again.
And now, let me draw out my full Inner Power.
Boom!
A tremendous force bore down upon Dan Mok Lin.
‘Even my father… has never unleashed such a presence.’
Dan Mok Lin’s face drained of color.
The sheer weight of existence before her—more intense than any master she had ever encountered—stole her breath away.
Then Cheon Hui’s eyes opened to a slit.
“Just hold on for one Exceptional Meridian stage for now.”
* * *
By then, shadow hung over Huashan.
Ever since the joint operation with the Jongnam Sect had ended in failure, the Sect Master, the elders, and even the disciples felt the weight of their predicament pressing down upon them.
Most of all, the Maehwa Sword Masters who had moved alongside the Wulian Pavilion Lord burned with fury.
“Our Lord took those wounds protecting us.”
“And Jeok Geom suffered as well…”
They were consumed by the hunger for vengeance.
The Wulian Pavilion Lord and Jeok Geom had sustained grave injuries rescuing them—how could they not seek recompense?
Meanwhile, in the Unjung Tower, the Sect Master and the elders had gathered for an urgent council.
“Jongnam has suffered greatly as well, so we shall join hands with them once more. Does anyone object to this course?”
Unlike before, no voice rose in opposition.
The Sect Master watched the elders nod in silent agreement before he continued.
“Then we move to the next order of business.”
All eyes sharpened at once.
This was the reason the council had been called—a matter that touched the very future of the Huashan Sect.
“I propose that we establish a Martial Unit within our sect. Does everyone agree?”
The elders’ expressions grew uncertain.
A Martial Unit was unprecedented in Huashan’s history.
When missions arose, the Maehwa Sword Masters had always stepped forward to handle them.
But this recent crisis had taught them something.
They had seen the necessity of a force that could move as one body, coordinated and unified.
“It seems we are all in agreement on this as well.”
As the Sect Master spoke and the elders nodded, Hyeon Hae posed a question.
“If I may ask, Sect Master—”
“What is it?”
“Who do you have in mind to lead this Martial Unit?”
“Until recently, I had thought the Wulian Pavilion Lord would serve as Commander…”
The Sect Master’s words trailed off as his gaze turned to the Wulian Pavilion Lord seated across from him, his right arm swathed in bandages.
Sighs and murmurs rippled through the hall.
“For now, that seems impossible. So I thought perhaps we should appoint someone else as temporary Commander.”
“And who might that be?”
All eyes fixed on the Sect Master.
Curiosity flickered across their faces.
And rightly so—even as a temporary position, the first Commander of the Huashan Sect’s Martial Unit was not a position one simply handed out.
The choice seemed unprecedented.
Slowly, the Sect Master’s lips parted, and a name emerged—one that caught nearly everyone by surprise.
“Cheon Hui.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————