Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 240

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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 240
Cheon Hui gazed up at the cloudless sky.
It had been twenty days since his arrival at Huashan.
The oppressive summer had passed, and autumn had descended upon the mountain slowly, gently.
Now, in the warmth of sunlight that felt pleasant rather than scorching, he paused to appreciate the moment.
A soft breeze swept past.
From somewhere came a refreshing gust that brushed lightly across his cheek.
“Mmm, what a perfect day.”
In his improved spirits, Cheon Hui hummed as he lowered his gaze and flexed his jaw.
“Isn’t it?”
But his question received no answer.
The disciples sprawled across the ground like frogs were too busy groaning to respond.
“Ugh……”
“Please… stop……”
Despite their state, Cheon Hui continued humming and picked up his sword.
“The break is over now. Time to get up, wouldn’t you say?”
The moment those words left his lips, the disciples who had been prostrate on the ground stirred like earthworms and struggled to rise.
It was an instinctive response.
“Ugh……”
“Now then……”
Just as Cheon Hui was about to speak to the disciples who had risen with short gasps—
“Sect… sect leader! Master!”
A loud cry echoed from a distance.
Looking toward the sound, Cheon Hui saw Jeok Un bounding toward him as though running on all fours, breathless and urgent.
What’s this?
Sensing something amiss from the frantic manner, Cheon Hui flexed his jaw.
“What is it?”
“The Sect Master requests your presence—and the Pavilion Master of Wulian Pavilion!”
Cheon Hui tilted his head.
That alone hardly warranted such urgency.
But Jeok Un’s next words explained why he had rushed with such desperation.
“Nok Lim has entered Shenxi!”
“Nok Lim?!”
“Why Shenxi…… Could it be……?”
The disciples’ faces grew slightly rigid.
No one had anticipated that Nok Lim would make such a brazen approach.
As their brows furrowed—
‘So he comes in person?’
Cheon Hui twisted one corner of his mouth into a smile.
Nok Lim and the Great Silver Trading Company were obstacles that would become serious problems for the Huashan Sect in the future.
He had planned to deal with them later.
‘But it seems they’ve come to their own end.’
Then Hyeon Yang, who had been in the midst of Breathing Cultivation, sprang to his feet and asked Jeok Un.
“Where should we go?”
“Everyone is gathered at Unjung Pavilion.”
Jeok Un answered swiftly, as though he’d been waiting for the question.
“Understood.”
Hyeon Yang nodded and moved at once.
Cheon Hui watched Hyeon Yang dash away, then turned to address the disciples.
“All of you—continue your Breathing Cultivation and prepare thoroughly. We may have to fight Nok Lim.”
With that, Cheon Hui deployed his Shin Beop and followed after Hyeon Yang.
Upon arriving at Unjung Pavilion, he could already hear the buzz of urgent conversation.
“……Their objective is presumed to be the Huashan Sect.”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
‘Jin Gae? Did Gae Bang send word?’
Cheon Hui quickened his pace.
Thud—thud—
The moment his footsteps rang out, the bustling pavilion fell silent, and all eyes turned toward him.
The elders of the Huashan Sect, upon spotting Cheon Hui and Hyeon Yang, stared at them intently.
“You’ve come?”
At the Sect Master’s voice, slightly lower than usual, Hyeon Yang and Cheon Hui nodded once and strode forward.
In the past, there would have been an uproar if Cheon Hui had involved himself in such matters.
But things were different now.
After all, Cheon Hui now oversaw the Military Force Unit of the Huashan Sect.
Moreover, everyone had come to dimly understand his capabilities, so they watched him quietly.
Hyeon Yang seated himself first, and Cheon Hui, following him to an empty chair, spoke.
“So what exactly is this about?”
“I was just about to hear the full account.”
The Sect Master glanced at Jin Gae beside him.
“Tell us.”
“Yes, understood.”
Jin Gae swallowed hard and opened his mouth.
“This morning, we confirmed that Nok Lim Dae Je entered Shenxi with his subordinates.”
“Nok Lim Dae Je… is it.”
A collective intake of breath rippled through the room.
In the past, Nok Lim had been nothing more than a gathering of bandits, hardly distinguishing itself.
But now their standing was entirely different.
They had grown into a force that stood alongside the O Hwang Moon and the Nine Factions and One Gang.
And at the heart of that transformation was Nok Lim Dae Je himself.
While most of the elders gathered here wavered at the mention of Nok Lim Dae Je, the Sect Master remained composed, his lips moving slightly.
“Have you assessed the number of his subordinates?”
He continued, his gaze settling into a cold steel.
“I’ve heard Nok Lim Dae Je is staying at Hyeongsan Fortress. But since we only learned of his entry into Shenxi just now, it seems he’s moving with only a handful of skilled experts. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Jin Gae looked at Hyeon Sang with eyes wide in astonishment.
‘He grasped all of that in such a short time?’
Normally, like those elders, one’s judgment would become clouded, preemptively weighed down by the very mention of Nok Lim Dae Je.
But Hyeon Sang, the Sect Master, was coldly analytical.
Jin Gae nodded vigorously.
“Your words are correct, Sect Master. Nok Lim Dae Je traveled in secret with only a small number of skilled experts.”
“How many?”
“We haven’t pinned down exact numbers yet… but we estimate at least over a hundred.”
“Over a hundred at minimum…?”
The Sect Master’s brow furrowed.
It was more than he had anticipated.
Then Jin Gae’s expression darkened, and he added to his report.
“And… all four of the Four Kings of Nok Lim are included among them.”
“…!”
“All four Kings of Nok Lim?!”
Everyone erupted in dismay.
The Four Kings of Nok Lim were known to possess enough skill to become the Supreme Master themselves, were it not for Nok Lim Dae Je.
The Sect Master’s eyes narrowed.
Bringing all four Kings meant he was staking everything on this venture.
Then Cheon Hui spoke, his lips parting slightly.
“So where are they?”
His gaze had turned ice-cold.
“If you only just learned they’d entered Shenxi, they must have come far by now.”
Jin Gae bit his lip hard.
“They will likely arrive in Hwain County today.”
“Today…?”
Everyone gasped.
Bang!
Hyeon Heo slammed the table and shouted.
“Has Gae Bang been oblivious to this the whole time?!”
Under Hyeon Heo’s accusatory words, Jin Gae shrank his neck and sweat poured down his face.
Seeing the muscles rippling so powerfully beneath his Sect Robe that it nearly burst apart, he immediately lowered his head.
“I am so—so sorry!”
“That said…”
Hyeon Heo was about to erupt in anger.
“Sit down.”
The Sect Master’s voice fell low.
“But Sect Master, if we suddenly announce that Nok Lim has come like this, what are we to do…?”
“Did I not tell you to sit?”
Hyeon Heo’s fists trembled at the Sect Master’s icy words, and he settled into his seat.
Yet his face remained flushed red as a ripened apple, displeasure written plainly across it.
As the commotion subsided somewhat, the Sect Master turned his gaze to Jin Gae and spoke quietly.
“Then, does the Alliance offer any support?”
“We, we did send a request for aid, but the situation came so suddenly that I cannot guarantee it will arrive in time……”
Jin Gae trailed off, his expression apologetic.
“I see.”
The Sect Master closed his eyes.
To stand against Nok Lim, a half-hearted sect could offer no assistance whatsoever.
At minimum, one of the Nine Major Sects and Four Unorthodox Schools would be required.
But even the nearest among them, Jongnam Sect, would take at least three or four days to arrive.
Should reinforcements come at all, it would likely be after everything here had already ended.
A bitter smile crossed his lips.
Though he understood that even the Murim Alliance could not help, he could not shake the sting of it.
The other elders seemed to share that sentiment—all of them wore grim expressions.
“So there is no support at all, then?”
Unlike the others who left it unspoken, Cheon Hui pressed the matter directly, his tone cutting.
Jin Gae forced himself to speak.
“That is… correct.”
“What? So all that talk about helping when danger strikes means nothing?”
“The situation was simply too sudden……”
“And so?”
Cheon Hui’s voice turned cold.
“The point is you broke a promise, didn’t you? The real problem started the moment you failed to detect Nok Lim’s movements in time.”
Cheon Hui regarded Jin Gae with an indifferent gaze, his words clipped and sharp.
“If things keep going like this, I’m beginning to wonder if Huashan Sect needs to remain in the Murim Alliance at all. What do you think?”
The blood drained from Jin Gae’s face.
His tone sounded as though he might withdraw from the Alliance altogether at any moment.
It was then that the Sect Master came to his rescue.
“Enough. That is not what matters now.”
Cheon Hui’s sharp gaze shifted to the Sect Master, and Jin Gae was just reaching up to steady his breathing—
“We will settle that account later.”
The Sect Master’s cold words drove into Jin Gae’s chest like a thorn.
His face twisted in anguish.
‘I did not even come here to represent the Murim Alliance.’
He had come to relay information he had obtained from Gae Bang, not on Alliance business at all.
Yet here he was, bearing reproach solely because of the Alliance, and he felt tears prickling at his eyes.
And separate from Jin Gae’s inner turmoil was the stark reality that Huashan was in grave danger.
The Sect Master rose to his feet.
He then spoke with resolute determination.
“Gather the disciples together.”
* * *
Nok Lim Dae Je gazed up at Huashan’s soaring peak, reaching toward the sky, and smiled.
“Quite lofty.”
“And steep as well, hehehehe.”
An elderly man with a shabby appearance standing beside him burst into wild laughter before speaking.
“Shall we rampage now, then, Supreme Master?”
“Gi Ryeon No!”
Jang Ho Un, the white-clad masked figure who served as Nok Lim Dae Je’s attendant, shouted at Gi Ryeon No.
“Ah, you’ll burst the old man’s eardrums at this rate.”
Gi Ryeon No paid no heed to Jang Ho Un’s rebuke, casually scratching at his ear as though annoyed.
“What a dreadfully loud voice you have.”
Seeing Gi Ryeon No remain unmoved by the scolding, Jang Ho Un’s expression darkened.
Yet he soon composed himself and spoke with measured calm.
“How does a subordinate address the Supreme Master so carelessly?”
Gi Ryeon No let out a soft chuckle.
“Hehehehe, such formalities matter little between the Supreme Master and myself. Do they not?”
Nok Lim Dae Je burst into laughter in response.
“Ha, quite right.”
“Look here. This seems—!”
Gi Ryeon No’s laughter died as his eyes widened.
A fierce presence radiated from the steady gaze of Nok Lim Dae Je looking down upon him.
“You’d know well enough what happens if one crosses the line.”
“……Would I be mad enough to cross it?”
Gi Ryeon No stepped back as he spoke.
“My life is too precious for such foolishness.”
“I know. A relief, that.”
Nok Lim Dae Je, who had been speaking quietly, surveyed the surroundings.
“The Heartless Blade and the Bramble Gate Specter—they haven’t arrived yet?”
“We received word from the Bramble Gate Specter that he arrives soon. As for the Heartless Blade……”
Jang Ho Un’s eyes darkened.
“They’ve seized the rear approach.”
“Heh heh heh. Excellent. Excellent indeed.”
A smile spread across Nok Lim Dae Je’s lips.
“Then preparations elsewhere must be complete as well.”
“They are.”
Jang Ho Un answered with a cold smile.
“At last, the day has come.”
Nok Lim Dae Je threw his arms wide open.
As if he meant to seize the entire world, he spread his hands fully, his eyes growing dark and distant.
“For centuries untold, I endured the contempt of being branded mere bandits—a member of Gangho, yet denied proper recognition. That age of humiliation ends today.”
The eyes of more than a hundred Nok Lim followers standing behind him blazed with intensity.
Nok Lim Dae Je lifted his gaze skyward.
His eyes fixed upon Huashan.
The towering peaks rose before them.
Within those heights dwelled countless Daoists.
And today, they would spill their crimson blood and paint Huashan red.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Nok Lim Dae Je burst into unrestrained laughter.
Those who watched gazed upon him with reverence.
After laughing for a long moment, Nok Lim Dae Je abruptly ceased and spoke again, slowly and deliberately.
“Now is the time to show All Under Heaven the power of Nok Lim. Leave no blade of grass on Huashan—raze it all.”

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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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