Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 257

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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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257
Episode
‘Is that the strategist?’
Cheon Hui studied the man who had just stepped through the door, taking in every detail.
‘Distinctive features, that’s for certain.’
The man with long hair bound in strands of white and black equally mixed defied easy judgment—whether he was old or middle-aged remained impossible to discern.
‘But Je Gal…?’
Cheon Hui was tilting his head in confusion when—
“What brings you out here?”
Yong Ju Gae spoke with sharp precision.
He had spent recent years in seclusion with the Alliance Lord, keeping to the inner chambers. Yet now this man presented an entirely new direction and had emerged to meet visitors himself—suspicion mingled with wariness in Yong Ju Gae’s chest.
But the strategist addressed Yong Ju Gae’s skepticism with unflappable calm.
“I couldn’t very well keep the invited guests waiting indefinitely.”
The strategist drew closer, offered a fist salute to Hyeon Do, and turned his gaze toward him.
“It has been some time since we last met.”
“…Indeed, some time ago.”
Hyeon Do nodded and replied in measured tones, though his mind churned beneath the surface.
He had seen the strategist only once before—that single, fleeting encounter when he first visited the Murim Alliance, standing alongside the Alliance Lord.
And that meeting had been remarkably brief.
‘Breaking his partial seclusion to seek me out in person…’
Certainty struck him like ice: something of consequence was unfolding. His heart grew cold as a frozen lake.
Then Je Gal Goong turned his head.
His eyes met Cheon Hui’s gaze for a moment, flickering with great intensity before settling once more into stillness.
“Je Gal Goong, strategist of the Murim Alliance, at your service.”
Cheon Hui met his introduction and posed a question.
“Je Gal? You’re from the Je Gal Clan? The Je Gal Clan belongs to the Bi Cheon Society.”
At this, Yong Ju Gae fixed Cheon Hui with an expression of utter disbelief.
It was common knowledge that Je Gal Goong had remained as strategist of the Murim Alliance rather than following the Je Gal Clan when they departed.
Any soul with even a passing connection to the Kangho should know this.
“You don’t know that?”
Yong Ju Gae’s tone carried unmistakable rebuke.
Yet Cheon Hui betrayed not a hint of embarrassment.
“If I didn’t know, why would I ask? Would I ask if I already knew?”
At Cheon Hui’s brazen reply, Yong Ju Gae found himself at a loss for words.
‘…I’ve never met someone ignorant of my own circumstances before.’
The strategist too felt a private jolt of bewilderment.
Yet he swiftly swallowed the shock and answered, regarding Cheon Hui.
“I am no longer of the Je Gal Clan, though I was once.”
“Ah, I see.”
Cheon Hui accepted the explanation and swept his gaze over the strategist from head to foot.
What abundance of talent did the Je Gal Clan possess?
There was Pae Gun, an absolute master of singular brilliance, and Je Gal Seong Hyeon, who mastered Array Formation at a tender age.
And now this strategist, Je Gal Goong, as well.
A clan perfected in both scholarship and martial prowess.
‘Thank heavens. Whatever rift exists between them, had this one remained with the Je Gal Clan, Huashan would have faced considerable obstacles in its path to becoming the Number One Sect Under Heaven.’
As Cheon Hui studied the strategist, turning over these thoughts about the Je Gal Clan—
“…So you are Cheon Hui, Little Lord of the Maehwa Sword School?”
The strategist asked softly.
“That’s correct.”
“Younger than I expected.”
The strategist likewise swept a quick, assessing gaze over Cheon Hui from crown to heel.
Younger by a considerable margin.
‘If what I’ve heard is true—that he does not yet wield the Ban Ro Hwan Dong—then this young master who felled Nok Lim Dae Je truly is a prodigy of remarkable attainment…’
The strategist’s eyes grew deeper and more distant.
‘Father himself had not reached such a realm at this age.’
His keen mind turned naturally to comparison with Pae Gun, one of the Eight Martial Gods.
‘Could he perhaps become an absolute master destined to surpass even the Eight Martial Gods…?’
But the thought startled him, and he quickly suppressed it.
‘No—such a thing is impossible. However remarkable the attainments reached at so young an age, the realm of the Eight Martial Gods lies within their grasp alone.’
He recalled the deeds wrought by the Eight Martial Gods.
They were not human.
Something that transcended the mortal realm.
Beings worthy of the name divine.
‘Even if they never reached such heights, they would certainly possess remarkable power.’
Je Gal’s eyes settled on Cheon Hui once more.
Though he might never ascend to the realm of the Eight Martial Gods, he possessed the talent to chase after it.
‘In any era but this, he would be enough to rival the greatest under heaven…….’
While Je Gal continued to study Cheon Hui.
“So you came just to pay your respects?”
Yong Ju Gae fixed Je Gal with a hard stare and spoke.
Je Gal regarded Yong Ju Gae—who was conducting himself as though this were his own pavilion—with utter indifference.
“Why are you staring so intently? Don’t tell me I have something on my face.”
“No.”
Je Gal, watching Yong Ju Gae’s feigned innocence with an expressionless face, finally spoke.
“In fact, it works out well. I was hoping to meet with you separately anyway.”
“What?”
Yong Ju Gae’s eyes widened in genuine surprise at words he had never anticipated.
“Would it be acceptable for me to sit?”
Je Gal asked softly of Hyeon Do.
Hyeon Do started slightly at the sudden question, but soon answered with composure.
“Feel free.”
“Thank you.”
Je Gal took his seat and looked between the three men at the table before speaking.
“The Murim Grand Conference will convene early tomorrow morning.”
“Hmm.”
Hyeon Do swallowed hard at the conference being held sooner than expected.
“Why so rushed?”
Yong Ju Gae grumbled from beside him.
Yet beneath his words, he was on edge.
‘……There must be a reason for this haste.’
Though he prided himself on gathering and wielding information from across the world, there were still a handful of people he could not fully read.
And this man was one of them.
Just then, Je Gal’s mouth opened.
“We hastened it to prevent the spies who have infiltrated the Alliance from moving freely.”
The words that spilled forth struck like a thunderbolt.
“Sp, spies?”
Hyeon Do’s eyes went wide with alarm, while Yong Ju Gae’s eyes darted about.
“Spies? What nonsense is this…….”
“Do you not know, sir?”
“What? You’re saying I know?”
At Je Gal’s calm counter-question, Yong Ju Gae scratched his head vigorously in response.
“What in the name of heaven are you talking about…….”
Watching Yong Ju Gae continue to feign ignorance, Je Gal’s expression turned cold.
“The Society.”
……The Society? What was that?
As Cheon Hui’s hand rose to stroke his chin at the unexpected word.
Whoosh!
Yong Ju Gae’s aura underwent a sudden transformation.
His previously casual demeanor crystallized into something heavy and oppressive, bearing down upon Je Gal.
“How long have you known?”
Yong Ju Gae’s tone turned sharp as a blade.
An ordinary martial artist would have been suffocated by such pressure, but Je Gal remained unmoved.
“A little over ten years.”
“……You knew all this time and said nothing?”
“If I had acted, wouldn’t they have simply vanished?”
At this casual response, Yong Ju Gae clicked his tongue.
“You’re saying you stayed hidden so they could operate freely…….”
“Exactly.”
Je Gal cut him off sharply and pressed on.
“And because of that, I have now created the opportunity for them to reveal themselves.”
“……A tail? What do you mean by that?”
“Are you aware of their objective?”
Yong Ju Gae’s eyes darkened at Je Gal Goong’s question.
“The collapse of the Nine Factions Three Hegemony System.”
“……?!”
Hyeon Do, who had remained silent throughout, unable to follow the exchange between the two men, widened his eyes.
“W-what do you mean by that?”
Je Gal Goong, observing the flustered Hyeon Do, spoke in a measured tone.
“Precisely as stated. Conspirators bent on the collapse of the Nine Factions Three Hegemony System have infiltrated the Murim Alliance. Their aim is likely the collapse or usurpation of the Alliance itself.”
Hyeon Do’s jaw fell slack.
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui’s interest quickened with each word that followed.
‘Ah, so those men the Sword Saint and Cheon Yi Gae mentioned before have penetrated all the way into the Alliance?’
As Cheon Hui recalled what he’d heard in the past, Je Gal Goong continued his explanation.
“And they cannot afford to miss this Murim Grand Conference. A war with Sa Hyuk Ryeon would accelerate their objectives considerably. They will undoubtedly seek to provoke one by any means.”
At that moment, Yong Ju Gae’s brow furrowed.
The words rang true.
But if that were the case…….
“Are you saying there are conspirators among those attending the Murim Grand Conference?”
“Indeed.”
Yong Ju Gae’s face hardened.
Those attending the Murim Grand Conference were among the most esteemed figures within the Alliance.
Yet conspirators among such men?
“Regardless, those attending this conference hold positions of elder rank in their respective sects at minimum. How could such men possibly be conspirators…….”
“They have been embedded within the Alliance for a very long time, entrenching themselves deeply. And they have worked in secret all this while to orchestrate its collapse.”
Though Yong Ju Gae spoke as though unconvinced, Je Gal Goong responded with conviction.
“Has not the Lord only recently discovered the presence of conspirators within the Alliance?”
“…….”
As Je Gal Goong’s words struck home and Yong Ju Gae fell silent, the military strategist pressed on, his gaze settling on Hyeon Do.
“Moreover, though I cannot yet be certain, the Yulin Blood History in which the Maehwa Sword Masters fell may well have been orchestrated by them as well.”
Bang!
Hyeon Do slammed the table and leapt to his feet.
“Is this truth?”
Hyeon Do’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as he glared at Je Gal Goong, his teeth clenched.
“As I said, we have only suspicions at present. But the possibility exists.”
“You’re not spouting nonsense, are you?”
“I stake my position as military strategist on it.”
No answer could have been clearer than that.
“……Tsk.”
Hyeon Do gritted his teeth and settled back into his seat.
Then his voice dropped to something cold and cutting.
“If that’s the case, why have you kept this hidden all this time? If our sect suffered at the hands of conspirators, shouldn’t you have informed us…….”
Je Gal Goong shook his head.
“Speaking of mere suspicions would only invite chaos, would it not?”
Hyeon Do’s brow twitched.
“Then why speak of it now if you cannot be certain? Are you inviting chaos at this moment?”
For a moment, Hyeon Do’s voice rose sharply.
With Baek Gwi Seong’s collapse, that affair had seemed ended. Now, only now, was Huashan beginning to escape the shadow of the Yulin Blood History.
Yet here he was being told that it might all have been engineered by someone’s scheme.
How could his anger not ignite?
Observing the heated Hyeon Do, Je Gal Goong answered in an unhurried tone.
“Once we capture the conspirators, we will be able to discern the truth.”
Only then did Hyeon Do grasp the reason Je Gal Goong had broached Huashan’s affairs at all, and his eyes grew rigid.
“……In other words, you’re asking for our help in capturing the conspirators.”
A faint twist appeared at the corner of Je Gal Goong’s mouth.
But it was far too fleeting for more than a single observer to catch.
‘Wait—did he just smile?’
Cheon Hui regarded Je Gal Goong with eyes now grown cool and wary.
‘That counts as a smile?’
Cheon Hui sensed that something was afoot and fixed his gaze upon Je Gal Goong intently.
Yet whether Je Gal Goong failed to notice Cheon Hui’s scrutiny or simply chose to ignore it, he resumed speaking in the same measured tone as before.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’ll lend my support.”
Hyeon Do answered without hesitation.
Since it concerned his youngest disciple, Hyeon Do’s chest burned with a fierce heat.
The flames of anger.
“Aren’t you rushing this? It would be better to think it through before deciding…….”
Yong Ju Gae interjected urgently with his warning, but it never reached the ears of Hyeon Do, blinded by rage.
“What must I do?”
“All that’s needed is for you to lend your voice to my position at the Great Assembly.”
“That’s all?”
“That will be sufficient.”
“But I doubt matters will shift in your favor just because I step forward alone.”
“You still don’t understand the true nature of the Alliance, True Man.”
Je Gal paused after speaking, then turned his gaze toward the window.
“Look outside for a moment.”
At that sudden remark, Hyeon Do and Cheon Hui leaned toward the window in bewilderment.
“Roaaaaahhh!”
“Huashan Sect has arrived!”
Shouts of acclaim erupted.
“What?”
Cheon Hui gazed out the window with confusion as the cheers reached him so loudly his ears rang.
Outside, a throng of people had gathered.
Most were young martial artists, bearing the same fierce light in their eyes that he had grown weary of seeing throughout the journey among the Alliance members.
“The Divine Sword of Huashan and the Maehwa Sword Masters!”
“The Lord of Gae Bang is here too! But wait—that person there……. Gasp! J-Je Gal?!”
Yong Ju Gae’s brow twitched at the gasps erupting from every direction.
“……Did you summon them?”
“All I did was inform everyone that the Divine Sword of Huashan and the Maehwa Sword Masters had arrived at the Alliance. And yet, they are all coming to see these honored guests.”
Je Gal smiled faintly.
“And these are not all of them.”
The moment he finished speaking, a succession of groups could be seen approaching the Pavilion.
“Sorim and Cheong Seong……and Konglun?”
Hyeon Do’s eyes widened in astonishment.
It was not only they.
Behind them, the warriors of the Nine Major Sects and Four Unorthodox Schools—all except Gae Bang—were converging on this place.
Je Gal opened his mouth as he watched them approach, their resolve etched upon their faces.
“As you can see, the true center of the current Alliance is none other than Huashan Sect itself.”

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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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