Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 25

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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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Episode 25
The Inner Chamber of Bifeng Trading Company.
What had once been a place inhabited solely by the company master and his wife lay in complete devastation.
Corpses scattered across the floor.
Viscera and blood smeared across walls and ground.
The Inner Chamber, stripped of its former brightness and beauty, was now filled only with the stench of blood and a suffocating silence.
“Agh…”
A man and woman, forced to witness the atrocity unfolding in the Inner Chamber, clung to each other, their bodies trembling.
“…My lady.”
Go Gyeyoung, master of Bifeng Trading Company, pulled his terrified wife closer, his arms shaking, while his gaze fixed on the one who had wrought this carnage.
The middle-aged man, who appeared to be approaching forty, had the sort of unremarkable face one would forget within days of seeing it.
Yet Go Gyeyoung knew just how terrifying such an ordinary-looking man could be.
Leng Mian Dao Gui.
The epithet had been given to him for his ghastly mastery of the blade, wielded with a cold, expressionless face—and he was among the most renowned Blade Masters in Shaanxi.
‘I’d heard that Bai Gui City had recently recruited him. But why is he here with the Overlord Gate? Could it be…!’
As a terrible hypothesis bloomed in Go Gyeyoung’s mind, his blood ran cold.
“It seems he didn’t quite finish him off.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui, drenched in blood from head to toe, drove his blade into the abdomen of the Wanderer who had begun to stir.
Squelch!
“Ack!”
The Wanderer, clinging to barely a thread of life, coughed up blood violently, convulsed once more, then fell still, his body going limp.
Confirming the Wanderer was truly dead, Leng Mian Dao Gui stomped on the corpse and yanked the blade free in one fluid motion.
Splash—
Blood fountained up in a spray, and Blood Rain descended upon the Inner Chamber like mist.
“For a trading company that holds dominion over Shaanxi, you certainly did collect quite a few masters.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui swept the blood-soaked hair from his face, then locked eyes with Go Gyeyoung, whose expression had turned to stone.
A chill ran through the air.
Go Gyeyoung’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of Leng Mian Dao Gui’s eyes, burning with Killing Intent.
‘The masters I spent two years painstakingly recruiting…’
The world swam before Go Gyeyoung’s eyes.
The five Martial Artists who had fallen to this man were all renowned Wanderers, celebrated throughout Shaanxi Province.
Yet Leng Mian Dao Gui’s fearsome reputation had not spread without reason—in less than a fraction of an hour, all five had breathed their last.
Trickle—
Witnessing this unbelievable spectacle, cold sweat ran down his temple.
“…My lord.”
At the sound of his wife Yeon Suran’s voice, Go Gyeyoung snapped back to awareness and exchanged a glance with her, attempting to convey reassurance with his eyes.
He then released Yeon Suran from his embrace, positioning himself in front of her before he spoke.
“…And you don’t fear consequences for such an act in broad daylight?”
Leng Mian Dao Gui let out a cold laugh at the question.
“And if I should?”
“Do you know who stands behind this trading company?”
“I know well. The Huashan School, isn’t it?”
“…!”
Go Gyeyoung fell silent, his expression draining of all color as he stared at Leng Mian Dao Gui, who answered as though it were the most trivial matter.
The fact that he knew the Huashan School stood behind them, yet committed this atrocity regardless, meant he was prepared for all-out war.
Or perhaps…
“…You intend to slaughter everyone in Bifeng Trading Company.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui answered only with laughter.
As Go Gyeyoung watched the pristine white teeth revealed between his lips, he furrowed his brow and spoke.
“I heard recently that you had entered Bai Gui City.”
“News travels fast.”
Go Gyeyoung bit down hard on his lips, observing how coolly Leng Mian Dao Gui acknowledged this.
His anxiety had become reality.
In its worst possible form.
“…Has the Overlord Gate joined hands with Bai Gui City?”
“Joined hands?”
Leng Mian Dao Gui laughed with a chilling rasp.
“Do you truly believe the Overlord Gate could stand as equals with Bai Gui City?”
“You mean…!”
Go Gyeyoung’s face went pale.
‘The Overlord Gate is under Bai Gui City’s command!’
In an instant, countless pieces of information in his mind clicked into place.
“Could it be… that the rising Overlord Gate came to prominence with backing from Bai Gui City…?”
“Impressive.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui let out a low whistle of admiration.
It had been only a few words of dialogue, yet Go Gyeyoung had grasped the meaning beneath them.
“Then the reason you attacked our trading company was to pressure the Huashan School…”
“You built the Bifeng Trading Company from nothing into the vast enterprise it is today—you’re sharp, I’ll give you that.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui gazed at Go Gyeyoung, who was still trying to extract information despite their predicament, and his expression turned regretful.
“A shame, truly. Had you severed your ties with the Huashan School and accepted the proposal the Overlord Gate offered, you could have avoided all this.”
“That will never happen.”
Go Gyeyoung spoke with absolute certainty.
And as if Leng Mian Dao Gui had expected as much, Go Gyeyoung nodded slightly.
Before the assault, he had already confirmed that his eldest son had pledged himself to the Huashan School.
Leng Mian Dao Gui drew closer to Go Gyeyoung.
He’d been amused by what Go Gyeyoung was doing and had indulged him, but now it was over.
There was no time to waste further.
Step… step…
Go Gyeyoung glared at the approaching Leng Mian Dao Gui and spoke with force.
“…The Huashan School will never let this rest.”
“Contrary to your hopes, they won’t do a thing.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui’s smile faded.
“As you yourself said, the Bifeng Trading Company will vanish without a trace today.”
With those words of complete annihilation, he raised the blade in his hand high.
Drip, drip.
Go Gyeyoung, watching blood fall from the sword’s edge, widened his eyes and whispered.
“Things will not go as you intend.”
“It’s rather fitting to die nursing a futile dream.”
Leng Mian Dao Gui’s eyes opened to half-slits.
Whoooosh!
In a single moment, the vicious Killing Intent he unleashed flooded the Inner Chamber.
“Cough!”
As Go Gyeyoung took the full brunt of that Killing Intent, his face drained of color and his sword clattered to the ground.
Screech!
“Go!”
Yeon Suran, who stood behind Go Gyeyoung, cried out, her eyes squeezed shut in that moment—
Clang!
Suddenly, sparks erupted.
And with it, Leng Mian Dao Gui, mid-swing, was sent flying backward by the impact, crashing hard into the blood-stained wall.
“Hack!”
Leng Mian Dao Gui coughed up blood from an Internal Injury, his body collapsing helplessly to the floor as he fell to one knee.
A scene that unfolded in a single heartbeat.
“What in the world…?”
“Go?”
Go Gyeyoung and Yeon Suran, finally comprehending the situation that had just transpired, stared with blank astonishment at the figure who had appeared.
Pale, unblemished skin and sharp, defined features.
The young man in the black martial robe that contrasted with his complexion surveyed the surroundings before speaking.
“What’s a trading company doing with this much firepower?”
Startled by an attitude so at odds with his appearance, Go Gyeyoung asked cautiously.
“Are you… are you from the Huashan School?”
“Huh?”
Tian Hui, the young man, turned his head.
That face…
The middle-aged man, his expression fully bewildered, found the youth’s appearance somehow familiar.
‘Huh? Jeok Geom?’
The middle-aged man bore a striking resemblance to Jeok Geom.
The only difference lay in the creases of his face and the weathering of years.
Tian Hui looked down at him and asked.
“You’re the Master of the Bifeng Trading Company, correct?”
“Y-yes, I am.”
“Then he’d be the enemy, wouldn’t he?”
“Huashan School?”
That was when Leng Mian Dao Gui came to his senses.
Using his blade as a cane, he pushed himself upright, fixing Tian Hui with a wary stare as tension coiled through him.
“How did you penetrate this deep? My subordinates were posted outside.”
“Outside? Ah, those ones?”
Tian Hui, recalling someone, added casually, as if it were nothing.
“They were getting in the way, so I disposed of them.”
……!
Leng Mian Dao Gui’s face went rigid.
If what he’d said was true, then his subordinates had been eliminated so discreetly that even he, standing in this very chamber, had noticed nothing.
‘They were hastily assigned by the Overlord Gate, but every one of them was first-rate.’
Sweat bloomed on his palm where he gripped the blade.
Tense now, Leng Mian Dao Gui adjusted his grip and swept his eyes quickly over Tian Hui from head to foot.
‘Not a Plum Blossom Sword Master.’
Examining the White Lotus Sword with a flick of his gaze, he noted the absence of the plum blossom insignia that any true Sword Master would necessarily bear.
Which meant he was merely a Swordmaster.
Yet Leng Mian Dao Gui could not afford complacency.
‘His skill is not to be underestimated.’
He recalled the ambush just moments before.
The instant he thought he glimpsed something indistinct, impact had already blossomed across his abdomen.
He bit down hard on his lip.
He turned the moment over and over in his mind, trying to reconstruct it, but couldn’t fathom how he’d been struck at all.
‘What technique was it? Fist? Palm? Finger? Or perhaps kick?’
The more he ruminated, trying to identify what had hit him, the deeper the dread burrowed in.
Not to have seen the opponent’s attack meant a significant gap in power.
The man was undoubtedly his superior.
‘Damn it all—but there’s no running from this.’
Leng Mian Dao Gui’s expression twisted.
Every fiber of him wanted to flee right then, yet his feet would not budge.
No—he couldn’t afford to move.
‘If I fail this task, he’ll kill me.’
Leng Mian Dao Gui’s body trembled.
The world believed that Bai Gui City had taken him into its fold, but the truth was different.
He had submitted to the Lord of Bai Gui City, and in exchange he was bound to obey commands without hesitation.
Even when those commands meant death.
Recalling the middle-aged man who had crushed him with overwhelming force, he shuddered, then steadied his grip on the blade.
‘Better to face him than to flee and meet that one instead.’
Having made his choice, he raised his sword.
Drawing every ounce of Internal Power from his Lower Dantian, he released a killing gaze like ice.
Bang!
The floor exploded beneath him.
In a single burst of Movement Technique, he hurled himself at Tian Hui.
Closing the distance in one breath, Leng Mian Dao Gui poured his strength into the blade, and in that instant, frigid force wrapped around it.
Then the sword was drawn like a bowstring released.
Ssshhiiieee!
It was the manifestation of the Cold Soul Blade, the Life Technique he had devoted a lifetime to perfecting.
As the Cold Soul Blade swept out in the blink of an eye, poised to pierce straight through Tian Hui’s abdomen, a triumphant smile spread across Leng Mian Dao Gui’s face.
But the smile did not last.
Thud—
Tian Hui caught the Cold Soul Blade in his bare hand.
Horror-struck, Leng Mian Dao Gui stared at the blade now halted mid-strike, then lifted his head.
……!
And in that moment, his face drained of all color.
The cold radiating from his blade paled beside the chill that had frozen over in Tian Hui’s eyes.
“You must have a death wish.”
As Tian Hui spoke, he extended his index finger.
In that instant, Leng Mian Dao Gui beheld a plum blossom blooming before him.
Red as blood, hauntingly beautiful.
And that blossom was the last thing Leng Mian Dao Gui ever saw.

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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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