Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 21

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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 21
‘Is this really something to be so shocked about?’
Cheon Hui stared for a long moment at Hyeon Cheong, whose mouth hung open and eyes had gone wide as saucers.
He found it difficult to comprehend his reaction.
The fact that Hyeon Cheong was so taken aback merely by the restoration of a martial art seemed excessive.
‘Most of them simply couldn’t even interpret the formulas in the martial manuals properly.’
For one who had set foot in the Supreme Realm, all the martial arts housed in Man Gyeong Gak lay transparent before him, like the lines of his own palm.
Particularly among the Hwasan Sect’s arts, there were some he had directly faced before—Okh Hwan Myo Bo and the Maehwa Sword Technique among them—so restoration was almost effortless.
Yet that was his standard alone.
For others who were not him—or rather, for anyone else—it was different.
To restore martial arts, one would need to reach the Supreme Realm as he had, or achieve Great Achievement and become thoroughly versed in them.
Even then, one could not be certain it would be possible.
That was when it happened.
“M-most of them, you say?”
Hyeon Cheong, shaking his head urgently as he gathered his wits, opened his mouth and asked.
“Yes.”
Cheon Hui answered flatly.
And from such a reply, Hyeon Cheong realized Cheon Hui was speaking truth, not falsehood.
‘Most of them? Not even one or two?’
Hyeon Cheong, struck by the impact of Cheon Hui’s answer, asked once more.
“Does that mean you’ve read all the martial manuals in Man Gyeong Gak?”
“Not all of them yet.”
“Ha.”
Hyeon Cheong let out a laugh of disbelief.
That statement at least he could credit.
‘So he’s read all of that.’
Were there only one or two martial manuals in Man Gyeong Gak?
There were well over several hundred manuals. He himself had needed a minimum of four years to read through them all.
‘And yet he’s read most of them.’
Cheon Hui gazed impassively at Hyeon Cheong, who could not hide his amazement.
That expression again.
Hyeon Cheong’s face was terribly familiar to him.
Most of the gazes he had always felt were like Hyeon Cheong’s now—either unable to conceal astonishment, or eyes filled with reverence and fear.
‘Being shocked by merely this much.’
Cheon Hui felt indifferent.
‘I read through all the martial manuals in Cheon Ma Seo Go in less than six years.’
His standard was Cheon Ma Seo Go.
But he did not know.
That Cheon Ma Seo Go was a treasury of martial manuals unrivaled by any other in all the realm.
Not only did it contain all the demonic martial art manuals that existed under heaven, but also the martial manuals that the Cheon Ma Sin Gyo had seized from the Central Plains when they established the Demonic World Dominion.
While Cheon Hui remained composed,
‘Is what he said true?’
Hyeon Cheong, unaware of Cheon Hui’s thoughts, was still in confusion.
Then a method to verify whether Cheon Hui’s answer was correct suddenly occurred to him.
‘If I compare it with the formulas of the martial arts I’ve recently restored, I’ll be able to tell if he’s truthful.’
He moved his trembling lips at once.
“Then do you know the formula of the Dae Ra Sword?”
“The Dae Ra Sword?”
The moment Cheon Hui heard the name of the martial art, the formula for the Dae Ra Sword swam into his mind.
The Dae Ra Sword was a sword technique that had once been renowned throughout the Hwasan Sect in ancient times, but it had been lost five hundred years ago and fallen into obscurity.
“Ah, that? I know it.”
“Then could you demonstrate it?”
……
Cheon Hui looked at Hyeon Cheong with displeasure, as if he were testing him.
‘How troublesome.’
Had he been his former self, this would have been the moment to snap out in protest, ‘Are you testing me?!’
But what could he do?
He was the disciple; the other was the master.
“All right, I understand.”
He rose from his seat with a sigh.
Hyeon Cheong started slightly when Cheon Hui suddenly stood up, his lips parting in surprise.
“Why are you getting up?”
“You asked me to show you the Dae Ra Sword, didn’t you?”
……!
Hyeon Cheong’s eyes widened.
“You mean you’re going to demonstrate it directly?”
“Is there another way?”
Hyeon Cheong stared at Cheon Hui, who answered so calmly, and his eyes grew round.
He’d thought the boy would only recite the incantation, not actually perform the martial art itself.
‘Reciting an incantation and actually performing it are worlds apart…….’
Cheon Hui looked down at Hyeon Cheong, whose shock was now impossible to hide.
Contrary to what Hyeon Cheong expected, Cheon Hui found performing the technique far easier than reciting the incantation.
‘When am I supposed to finish reciting all that?’
The incantation for the Dae Ra Sword was needlessly long.
Even at a glance, it would take a good ten minutes to recite in full.
“You’re not going to watch?”
As Cheon Hui pressed him with an expectant look, Hyeon Cheong pushed himself up from the ground with his hands and stood, asking, “Can you truly perform it?”
“Can you truly perform it?”
At yet another question, Cheon Hui’s expression turned openly exasperated.
“You’ll see if you watch.”
Cheon Hui immediately left the Mo Ok.
A moment later, the two of them emerged outside and stood alone in the courtyard, facing each other.
Though deep darkness shrouded the courtyard—so thick that one couldn’t see an inch ahead—it posed no obstacle to either Cheon Hui or Hyeon Cheong.
“I’m beginning.”
Cheon Hui announced it flatly, and Hyeon Cheong swallowed hard, waiting.
Whoosh—
At once, Cheon Hui raised the wooden sword he’d brought.
He spread his feet shoulder-width apart, then aligned the blade’s tip with his eye level.
In that instant, Hyeon Cheong’s pupils trembled.
‘This—this is it! It’s exactly the same!’
He gasped inwardly.
The stance was entirely different from what was written in the martial art manual, yet this very stance matched perfectly with the foundational form of the Dae Ra Sword that he himself had reconstructed.
Hyeon Cheong’s throat went dry.
Then the wooden sword moved with tremendous force.
Whirrr—
The blade tore through the darkness, rising toward the full moon that had broken through the gloom.
In that moment, dozens of sword lights bloomed.
Flash!
Like lightning in the dark, the sword lights split into countless strands, fragmenting the full moon into pieces before capturing it whole within their net.
The Dae Ra—a vast net of light.
‘More powerful and perfect than the Dae Ra Sword I reconstructed…….’
As Hyeon Cheong stood transfixed, watching Cheon Hui unfold the Dae Ra Sword toward the heavens.
Crack-crack—
The fragments of the moon, split into dozens of pieces, broke free from the net and fell like meteors.
Hyeon Cheong stared blankly upward.
“Is that sufficient?”
Flinch.
Hyeon Cheong snapped back to awareness, his gaze still fixed on the falling meteors above.
‘An illusion?’
The meteors that had filled the sky just moments before were gone.
In fact, they’d never been there at all.
“……So it’s real.”
Witnessing the Dae Ra Sword executed with such surreal perfection, he spoke weakly.
……!
Then his eyebrows shot up high.
Suddenly his beard trembled, and he spun to face Cheon Hui sharply.
‘If the Dae Ra Sword I mentioned first is already at this level, then the other martial arts…….’
Gulp—
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
Then he spoke carefully.
“So you’ve really restored most of the martial art manuals you’ve read using the Dae Ra Sword method?”
“You still don’t believe me?”
Hearing Cheon Hui’s matter-of-fact reply, Hyeon Cheong found himself clenching his fists without realizing it.
He felt the damp warmth of sweat pooling in his palms and nodded slowly.
Then he let out a quiet voice.
“……Hui.”
“Yes?”
As Cheon Hui turned to face Hyeon Cheong, who was calling him, the older man made his careful request.
“Could you help me restore martial arts?”
“Restore martial arts?”
“That’s right.”
In that moment, Cheon Hui’s expression twisted.
‘So this was the real goal all along.’
In that moment, Cheon Hui’s expression twisted.
Restoring martial arts was simple enough, but helping others do so was a different matter entirely.
What he held in his mind wasn’t enough—he’d have to write it all down separately, and draft separate annotations interpreting the incantations as well.
How tedious could such work be?
“I’m sorry. I need to focus on learning martial arts myself.”
Rather than refuse him outright, Cheon Hui expressed his unwillingness in a roundabout way.
‘Besides, I won’t have any reason to come to Man Gyeong Gak anymore anyway.’
Hearing Cheon Hui’s words, Hyeon Cheong fidgeted restlessly, his mind churning.
‘If I had Cheon Hui, I could quickly restore our sect’s martial art manuals whose incantations have been lost. I have to hold onto him somehow. If I could tempt him with something he’d care about……’
So urgent was his need that even the word ‘tempt’—something a sect member shouldn’t think of—surfaced in Hyeon Cheong’s mind.
Flash!
Lightning struck his head.
‘That’s it!’
There was only one thing that could possibly interest Cheon Hui.
He spoke the idea that had come to him.
“Wouldn’t you like to see new martial art manuals you haven’t seen at Man Gyeong Gak?”
In that instant, Cheon Hui’s body stirred.
His eyes then gleamed like stars scattered across the night sky, and a soft voice escaped him.
“New martial art manuals……?”
* * *
After the Five Peaks Conference ended, Un Jung Ru, which had remained empty ever since, now hosted a great gathering, and was filled with sect members.
“Haven’t there been rumors circulating about our sect recently in the Gangho?”
At Jang Moon In’s quiet opening remark, everyone shook their heads.
“It’s been quiet.”
“The other sword sects are also being cautious about discussing the results of the Five Peaks Conference.”
At the quick response that followed, Jang Moon In allowed a satisfied smile to settle on his lips.
“The rumors haven’t spread as widely as I feared.”
“It’s all thanks to Cheon Hui.”
Hyeon Ryeo, who had been listening quietly, answered with a radiant smile, and everyone agreed with her words.
And it was true—it was because of Cheon Hui.
Though they had won at the Five Peaks Conference, they could hardly boast about it.
Cheon Hui had overshadowed the highest-ranked successor at the Five Peaks Conference.
To spread word of victory in such circumstances would be nothing short of covering their own faces in shame.
Then Jang Moon In opened his mouth.
“That turned out well.”
His expression visibly eased as he stroked his beard, then added quietly.
“We mustn’t end up like Hyeon Gang.”
“Hmm……”
In that moment, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Why had Hyeon Gang accumulated so many enemies?
Because those who envied his exceptional talent and skill had targeted him.
Just as everyone was settling into relief.
“I’ve heard there have been rumors lately of smoke rising from Nakan Peak.”
To clear the slightly heavy atmosphere, Mu Ryeon Gak Ju shifted the topic.
‘Oh no, Cheon Hui.’
And at that, Hyeon Do’s face went pale.
Having been the first to spot the smoke roughly a month ago while going back and forth to Nakan Peak, Hyeon Do had long since figured out what Cheon Hui was up to.
Cheon Hui’s meat-eating.
Witnessing an absurd situation unfold, Hyeon Do had tried to stop him in alarm, but Cheon Hui remained stubborn.
‘A Taoist must abstain from taking life.’
‘Why?’
‘Taoists are forbidden from killing——’
‘Then I simply won’t be a Taoist.’
‘What—what are you saying?’
The casual way Cheon Hui carried himself—as though he’d leave in a heartbeat if meat-eating were forbidden—sent a chill down Hyeon Do’s spine.
In the end, he raised his hands first.
‘Just don’t let anyone find out.’
Hyeon Do’s throat tightened.
‘This is something I cannot afford to have spread.’
But the others, unaware of Hyeon Do’s predicament, tilted their heads in confusion.
“Smoke?”
“Did you see smoke?”
“No, I didn’t see any.”
“Who lit a fire?”
Just as Hyeon Do’s eyes squeezed shut at the innocent questions of those ignorant of the truth—
“Recently, it seems Cheon Hui has been sensitive to the cold. He boils water sometimes.”
“Cheon Hui?”
“Cheon Hui, you say?”
“Yes.”
Hyeon Ryeo, who alone besides Hyeon Do knew the truth, interjected smoothly.
At the same time, she cast a meaningful glance toward Hyeon Do.
“Now that I think of it, Cheon Hui did mention feeling chilly lately.”
Reading the urgency in her eyes, Hyeon Do seized the lifeline she offered and responded at once.
“The treatment hasn’t——”
“——It seems he’s still feeling the cold.”
Sympathy crossed the faces of the gathered sect members.
Though Cheon Hui had recently displayed remarkable martial prowess, most of what they had witnessed was him bedridden and suffering.
“Elder Brother Hyeon Do, is Cheon Hui well?”
To Mu Ryeon Gak Ju’s concerned question—delivered with his usual composure—Hyeon Do offered a gentle smile.
“It’s nothing too serious.”
“That’s a relief.”
With thoughts of Cheon Hui occupying their minds, the Taoists had already forgotten about the smoke.
‘Phew.’
Hyeon Do glanced sideways at Hyeon Ryeo, and the two exchanged a satisfied nod.
‘That went well, Sister.’
‘It’s for Cheon Hui’s sake.’
After smoothing over the situation in this manner, Jang Moon In turned his gaze to Hyeon Il and posed a question.
“What was your reason for requesting this assembly be convened?”
All eyes turned toward Hyeon Il.
As keeper of all information concerning the Hwasan Sect, he was the natural focus of attention.
Those who had observed Hyeon Il maintaining grave silence since the assembly began now felt tension grip them.
This very assembly had been convened at Hyeon Il’s insistent request.
With the floor now his, Hyeon Il nodded slowly and half-opened his eyes.
Then his mouth opened, and the air grew cold.
“Baek Gwi Sung has begun to move.”

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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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