Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 187

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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 187
“A Murim Public Enemy?”
“Indeed.”
Cheon Hui looked back and forth between Cheon I Gae and the collapsed magistrate—no, Man Byeong Goe.
Then he tilted his head.
‘That creature is a Murim Public Enemy?’
A Murim Public Enemy was someone whom both the righteous and demonic paths had sensed danger from and formally proclaimed as such.
Yet Cheon Hui felt no such overwhelming threat emanating from Man Byeong Goe.
“He seems so weak, though?”
“Does evil have to correlate with strength or weakness? This creature has murdered hundreds of innocent commoners—no, far more than that. And every last one of them was someone who had never trained in martial arts. Or more precisely, he deliberately targeted only such people.”
Cheon I Gae’s voice was steady.
Yet his eyes burned like living flame.
‘If he concentrated his attacks on those without martial training, then it makes sense.’
Cheon Hui understood.
No matter how much the Kangho operated by the principle that the strong dominated and devoured the weak, that applied only to those who had entered its ranks.
One could not drag innocent commoners into such struggles.
“That’s not all. Had this creature not laid a hand on her, his crimes would have remained hidden forever—so meticulous was his work.”
Cheon I Gae spoke through gritted teeth, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Man Byeong Goe.
The flames burning in his eyes consumed the bloodied figure before him.
It was rage.
Man Byeong Goe had not been infamous in the Kangho for long.
That was because he had been thorough.
Day after day he murdered commoners and disposed of their corpses without trace.
Until then, it seemed the work of a phantom killer whose identity could not be determined.
But a long tail gets caught eventually.
By laying hands on someone he should never have touched, his identity was exposed, and his crimes came to light one by one.
And so he became a Murim Public Enemy.
More swiftly than ever before.
“We combed every trace and found nothing, yet he was hiding here all along?”
Cheon I Gae’s eyes sharpened.
After Man Byeong Goe was declared a Murim Public Enemy, the Gae Bang made efforts to find him.
But.
‘Not a single hair could we locate.’
At some point, his trail simply vanished.
Not naturally—someone had cut off all information about him.
“Who was sheltering you?”
His voice rose slightly.
The intelligence network of the Gae Bang was unmatched in the Kangho.
No matter what recent talk of the Hao Clan and such, they could pride themselves on surpassing them.
Yet someone evaded the Gae Bang’s eyes?
It was absolutely impossible for an individual.
And even among sects, few possessed such power in the Kangho.
Cheon I Gae waited for an answer.
……
But no answer came.
Rather, Man Byeong Goe could not answer.
His chest crushed mercilessly beneath Cheon Hui’s hands, he had reached a state where even breathing was agony.
Tsk……!
Cheon I Gae clicked his tongue and moved his hand.
Fingers that had been moving with the gentleness of willow branches suddenly pressed rapidly against the pressure points along Man Byeong Goe’s body as he lay there.
In that instant.
Thud.
The flowing blood ceased.
Having temporarily stanched his bleeding, Cheon I Gae glared down at him and muttered.
“Damn it. I never thought I’d use my hands to save a cur like this.”
Frowning, he sighed and quickly pressed another pressure point to restore circulation.
The contorted pain on Man Byeong Goe’s face eased, and soon both his eyes slowly closed.
Cheon I Gae withdrew his hand as though he had touched something filthy.
“My hands are dirtied for the first time.”
It was truly unprecedented for him.
A beggar had no qualms about touching filth, yet this—this alone felt like an ordeal to endure.
“Tch, yes. Sleep well. This will be your last peaceful night’s rest.”
Cheon I Gae, who had been glaring at the peacefully sleeping Man Byeong Goe with displeasure, lifted his head and met Cheon Hui’s gaze.
“May I take charge of this one?”
“As long as you hand over the information, I have no objection.”
“You needn’t worry about that.”
Cheon I Gae hoisted Man Byeong Goe onto his shoulder.
“Everything I extract from him, I’ll tell you. All of it, from first to last.”
“Then that’s settled.”
Cheon Hui had begun to turn away when he paused.
“Ah! Wait a moment.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Cheon Hui approached Cheon I Gae in quick strides, then rifled through the sleeve of Man Byeong Goe’s robe where it hung across the other man’s shoulder.
“It should be here…….”
As Cheon I Gae watched this sudden action with curiosity.
“Found it.”
Cheon Hui withdrew a gray pellet.
It was the Silhon Dan that Man Byeong Goe had hurled at Sa Yu Gok just moments before.
“A medicinal pellet……?”
Cheon I Gae stared at it.
It gave off a peculiar scent.
Fragrant, almost—yet somehow his brow furrowed of its own accord.
‘What in the world is that?’
As he continued to regard the pellet.
“I’ll need to examine it properly later.”
Cheon Hui tucked the pellet into his sleeve.
“What was that?”
“I mean to find out now.”
Just as Cheon I Gae’s brow was about to furrow deeply at this evasive reply, Cheon Hui spoke.
“There’s another one in your sleeve—you can examine it yourself.”
Cheon I Gae’s eyes gleamed.
‘If that bastard thought it worth carrying, it’s certainly no ordinary pellet.’
Cheon Hui’s mouth curved up at one corner as well.
‘With Gae Bang’s information network, finding out what this pellet is should be simple enough.’
Cheon Hui watched as Cheon I Gae hastily began searching through his sleeve.
“Lord of the Valley! We’re under attack right now——!”
The door burst open.
Cheon Hui regarded the man who had come tumbling through with a steady gaze.
“Aren’t you a bit too late?”
In that instant, Cheon Hui’s lips grew thin.
At the same moment.
Slice!
The intruder’s head flew skyward.
Watching the severed head roll across the floor, Cheon Hui gazed quietly toward the open doorway for a moment.
Step.
Cheon Hui, who had drawn his blade, moved forward. What greeted him as he stepped lightly out beyond the threshold was.
Screech!
A sharp blade’s edge.
Yet their ambush proved futile—Cheon Hui unfurled Shinhaeng Baekbyeon, evading every blade stroke while tilting his head to the side.
“If you’re going to ambush, commit to it. Why waste time dangling bait first?”
Cheon Hui’s gaze met those of the assassins who had continued to lurk behind the doorframe, waiting for their chance.
“……!”
A brief meeting of eyes.
Yet in that instant their eyes locked with Cheon Hui’s, an inexplicable terror seized the ambushers’ bodies.
Then.
Flash!
A blaze of light consumed them.
And that was the last thing they perceived.
Thud!
Their corpses, holes bored through their brows, collapsed to the floor.
Warm liquid sprayed outward in all directions.
It spattered across the faces and clothes of those waiting outside the door, spreading in scattered patterns.
Cheon Hui met their gaze.
By rough count, more than a hundred soldiers.
‘More fighters than the Huashan Sect has.’
He smacked his lips.
Seeing Sa Yu Gok now made it starkly clear how little strength the Huashan Sect truly possessed.
‘Still, there’s a difference in skill. Most of these are half-baked amateurs.’
Cheon Hui flicked his raised blade.
“Stop gawking and come.”
His voice was low.
Yet the subtle Internal Force woven through it traveled through the air, filling every corner of Sa Yu Gok.
“…….”
The sound of breath catching came from all around, and Cheon Hui scratched the back of his head.
“Annoying.”
Cheon Hui’s form blurred and vanished.
In his place came corpses collapsing from all directions and blood blooming everywhere.
And the groans and screams that followed.
“Gack!”
“Gggurgh—”
“Aaaagh! P-please! Help me!”
Cheon I Gae’s brow furrowed.
“……A brutal one.”
Blood bloomed across the landscape.
Blood scattered, heads and corpses tumbled to the ground.
Dozens of precious lives vanished in a single breath.
Of course, Cheon I Gae felt no pity for those dying now.
No matter what—they were enemies.
Men he would have to kill sooner or later.
But.
“It’s excessive.”
His gaze turned toward Cheon Hui.
Moving swiftly in all four directions, stealing their lives, yet Cheon Hui’s expression appeared bored.
He was taking human lives.
Usually, even so, some emotion would show through.
Killing Intent, perhaps. Or guilt.
But not Cheon Hui.
He swung his blade indifferently, severing their necks one by one.
Like a carpenter felling wood.
‘I’m beginning to worry. No matter how commonplace death is in the Kangho, if one becomes this numb to killing, one becomes a Murder Demon…….’
Then, after disposing of all enemies, Cheon Hui froze as he brushed blood from his blade.
“Hm?”
His gaze turned toward the base of the Cliff.
A sinister Killing Intent rose from below.
But that was not all.
Sharp sounds echoed intermittently, and a fierce energy surged upward.
“Interesting. So those two I saw earlier weren’t the only ones?”
Cheon Hui kicked off the ground.
Without hesitation he leaped toward the Cliff’s edge, then deployed the Cheongeun Chui technique.
Whoooosh!
As he fell at tremendous speed and those fighting below came into view, Cheon Hui gathered the technique and kicked the empty air.
Tap.
Light as a feather falling, he landed on a branch.
“Hm, good conditions for real combat experience.”
Cheon Hui watched closely as the Bi Geom Dan and Hwa Ryeong Dan clashed ten zhang away.
“Bi Geom Dan!”
“Form the array!”
Jeok Geom and Cheon Hyang called out loudly.
As if waiting for that signal, they scattered in all directions before quickly assembling their respective formations.
“Faster than I expected.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes gleamed.
Thanks to countless drills during all this time, their movements flowed in perfect sync. And among them, Jeok Geom and Cheon Hyang’s actions stood out far above the rest of the unit.
Then Jeok Geom lifted his sword in a flash.
“The Bi Geom Dan has no rear!”
With those words, he surged forward in one breath.
Hack!
One of Sa Yu Gok’s martial artists coughed up blood and collapsed. The sharp sweep of Jeok Geom’s blade had torn through his chest.
It was the beginning.
Screech! Clang!
The Bi Geom Dan cut through Sa Yu Gok’s martial artists ahead of them without hesitation, pressing forward.
Whether long or short, their training had been relentless.
The fruits of all that training accumulated during that time now manifested before their eyes.
“Two on the left, six on the right!”
Jeok Geom called out as he assessed the battlefield.
Through the Bi Geom Formation, his vision expanded—the enemy’s movements lay before him as clear as lines on his palm.
“The left flank is mine!”
Clang!
Jeok Geom’s eyes fixed on the enemy who had suddenly bored in from the left, blazing with sharp light as he unleashed a burst of flame.
“Hah!”
Jeok Geom released a powerful shout.
His sword swept down in a wide arc, its force mingled with the Inner Power of the Bi Geom Formation, and cut down the charging martial artist.
Slash!
A long gash was carved out, and blood sprayed in all directions from the enemy’s body.
Then.
Thud!
A blade thrust through the corpse’s abdomen and streaked toward Jeok Geom’s side.
“Damn it!”
Jeok Geom twisted his body in alarm.
But the blade that had already pierced through his defenses grazed his ribs, tearing his garment and carving a long wound.
Ugh!
His eyes flashed with a short gasp of pain.
Standing there was a middle-aged man.
At first glance, he was a figure so imposingly built that one felt overwhelmed by his massive frame.
But what seized Jeok Geom’s attention most were his eyes.
“Were there more of them?”
He bit his lip hard.
The man’s eyes held only whites, just like the sword-wielder whom the Bi Geom Dan had grimly brought down moments before.
Then.
Tap-tap-tap.
Six more figures appeared at his side.
And all of them, like the man, had lost their reason.
“Six more of them?”
Just as Jeok Geom and the entire Bi Geom Dan turned pale at the sight of seven such beings.
“What are you all doing!”
Someone’s voice cut through.
“Kill them all now!”
A Lion’s Roar infused with Inner Force spread instantly, distorting the faces of these reason-lost Silhon Persons and shifting the momentum of the battle.
Roarrr!
A devastating wave of killing intent crashed down like a tsunami, and they all rushed forward at once.

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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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