Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 279

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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 279
The war with the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga was over.
The family head, Pae Hyeol Geom, had fallen by Cheon Hui’s hand, and every martial artist of the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga had been bound and locked away in the dungeons.
A perfect mission accomplished.
Yet the faces of the Myeoljeoldae members who had completed it were etched with gloom.
And for good reason—these martial artists were too busy under Cheon Hui’s orders repairing the walls and pavilions to bask in victory.
“Why must I do this…….”
“This isn’t what I joined the Myeoljeoldae for.”
Someone muttered their discontent softly.
Did this even make sense?
They were martial artists, not common laborers mending buildings.
Yet no one among the Myeoljeoldae possessed the courage to resist such orders.
The one issuing them was the Great Lord, Cheon Hui, after all.
“Come now, move faster, won’t you?”
Cheon Hui, having brought a plush chair from the pavilion and seated himself where he could see the entire Estate Grounds, hurried the members along.
“What are you doing there? Use your Internal Force, move those bricks briskly. And over there—fit those stones properly before cutting…….”
He offered instructions as if kibitzing a game of go.
His manner was unhurried and serene, a stark contrast to the Myeoljeoldae toiling in sweat.
Though the members knitted their brows at the sight, they kept their mouths firmly shut and worked diligently.
How could they voice complaint?
Had they not just witnessed firsthand such astounding martial prowess as to defy all expectation?
They could only sigh inwardly.
‘And there he sits, relaxing…….’
‘Curse it! Respect this!’
Cheon Hui watched the Myeoljeoldae move broken bricks and haul new ones, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
‘Look at those pouting lips.’
No matter how hard they tried to hide it, it showed through.
Especially those from the Nine Major Sects and Four Unorthodox Schools, whose faces flushed with shame at performing such labor.
Seeing them, Cheon Hui spoke up.
“This is all training. Training.”
With those words, he reclined against the chair back.
Naturally resting his arm as a pillow, he swept his gaze over the working members and continued.
“To cut stone precisely, the control of your Internal Force must be constant, and moving those stones requires basic strength. What matters most to a martial artist is foundational stamina and Internal Force control. If you cannot even manage that properly, how do you expect to improve?”
The Myeoljeoldae members flinched at once.
His words sounded true.
At that moment, Dan Ri Gwan Cheon, who had been carrying stones and cutting them into regular shapes, opened his mouth.
“Will doing this make a man as strong as the Great Lord?”
“As strong as me?”
To Dan Ri Gwan Cheon’s question, Cheon Hui laughed lightly and waved his hand.
“Ah, that’s impossible. But if you keep cutting stone regularly like this, you’ll certainly grow stronger than you are now.”
“Is that certain?”
“What would I gain by lying to you?”
In that instant, Dan Ri Gwan Cheon’s eyes shifted.
He gripped his blade properly again and regarded the stone before him with a cold stare, as though it were an enemy.
He was not alone in this change.
The other Myeoljeoldae members, drawn in by the quiet conviction that emanated from Cheon Hui’s words, began to view the tools in their hands with renewed purpose.
‘Is this truly training?’
‘Can we really grow stronger?’
Doubt had flickered through their minds.
But having witnessed Cheon Hui demonstrate the Divine Position of Absolute, their hearts gradually shifted toward belief.
Soon their movements began to change.
As their reluctant mindset transformed into earnest commitment, that shift manifested in their actions.
As the fumbling motions grew swifter and more assured, Cheon Hui nodded his head in approval.
“Much better now.”
Just as he was growing satisfied with the members’ transformation.
“Great Lord. Are those words truly accurate?”
Ho Gwang Gae approached.
His face was full of skepticism.
“No matter how I look at it, this seems no better than ordinary training.”
He had cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“That’s true enough.”
Cheon Hui spoke with perfect composure.
It was Ho Gwang Gae who faltered at this.
“But just a moment ago—”
“Training does make you a little stronger than before, doesn’t it? It’s the same principle.”
As Cheon Hui spoke, his lips curved into a crooked smile.
“Did I ever claim I was growing stronger faster than when I actually trained?”
At this shameless response, Ho Gwang Gae’s face went slack with disbelief.
Then he shook his head slowly.
“The Lord manages people far better than I gave you credit for.”
At this, Cheon Hui let out a short laugh.
It was absurd praise indeed.
To say such a thing to the man who had once been the Sect Lord of the Tianma Divine Sect.
It was as natural a compliment as praising a swordmaster for handling his blade well.
Cheon Hui, still smiling, glanced at Ho Gwang Gae and asked.
“More importantly—did you finish what I asked you to do?”
“I delivered the message as you commanded.”
Ho Gwang Gae nodded.
Unlike the other members of the Myeoljjeol Unit, who were busy consolidating control of the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga, Cheon Hui had given Ho Gwang Gae a separate task.
“By tomorrow morning, word that the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga has collapsed will spread far and wide.”
“That’s fast, even for Gae Bang.”
“Ha! We didn’t become a faction leading a hundred thousand members for nothing.”
Ho Gwang Gae struck his chest heartily, a smile spreading across his lips.
It was a smile full of pride.
It lasted only a moment.
“But there’s a reason you’re doing this?”
Ho Gwang Gae asked carefully.
Cheon Hui met Ho Gwang Gae’s questioning gaze and asked in return.
“What do you mean?”
“Whether you need to stay here much longer. The Hyeol Woo Geom Ga is destroyed—surely we can leave now.”
His reasoning was sound.
The Myeoljjeol Unit’s mission was the elimination of the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga.
Having accomplished it successfully, they should return to the Murim Alliance.
“Vice Commander.”
Cheon Hui addressed Ho Gwang Gae quietly.
His voice was perfectly level.
Yet Ho Gwang Gae found himself shrinking without knowing why.
“What was our mission?”
“To destroy the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga—”
“No. Not that. The mission of the Myeoljjeol Unit itself.”
Cheon Hui cut off his words sharply.
The mission of the Myeoljjeol Unit?
Ho Gwang Gae furrowed his brow, his mind working, and then he spoke.
“The elimination of the Sapa—?”
“What, you knew all along.”
Cheon Hui laughed at his words.
“Exactly. Our mission is the elimination of the Sapa. But you think it ends with destroying just the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga?”
As Cheon Hui spoke, his eyes gleamed.
Cold and piercing.
Like the light of jade itself.
“Our task is to deal with every member of the Sapa in Seorim.”
“But Lord, what does that have to do with staying in the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga— Wait!”
Ho Gwang Gae stopped mid-sentence, as if a realization had struck him. His eyes widened in shock.
He swallowed hard.
His mouth felt bone dry.
“How could we find them all one by one? Especially with the war raging between the Murim Alliance and Sa Hyuk Ryeon—plenty of rats will be hiding in the cracks.”
“Spreading the word that the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga has fallen… you meant to draw them together—?”
“Precisely.”
Cheon Hui laughed again.
“Dangle bait of this size, and the rats will scurry right into the trap.”
* * *
The Hyeol Woo Geom Ga fell to the hands of the Murim Alliance’s newly established Special Unit!
The Special Unit that faced the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga also sustained grave injuries and is currently convalescing!
Word of the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga spread swiftly.
Though it was the sort of rumor that would have circulated widely in any case, once Gae Bang took a hand in its propagation, it traveled faster than ever before.
And when such rumors mingled with word of the war between the Murim Alliance and the Sa Hyuk Ryeon, the hidden sects of the Unorthodox Schools began to stir.
Gangbuk has always been nearly the exclusive domain of the Orthodox Sects.
Thus the Unorthodox Schools entrenched in Gangbuk found their footing impossibly precarious until the war’s end.
For them, it was the worst of circumstances: either keep silent until the fighting ceased, or flee southward.
And most of the Unorthodox Schools remaining in Seorim chose to hold their breath.
But then such rumors reached them.
“What? The Murim Alliance’s Special Unit has been gravely wounded?”
“Then if we strike at the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga now and suppress the Special Unit, all the treasures the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga has accumulated through the long years, and their Secret Arts, will be mine.…”
The Unorthodox Schools crawled from their hiding places and began to bare their fangs.
This was an opportunity that would not come again.
The Hyeol Woo Geom Ga was an Unorthodox family that had reigned over and dominated the region of Seorim for centuries.
The treasures they had amassed would tower like mountains, and their martial arts techniques would be sublime.
How could greed not take root?
So it was that several Unorthodox Schools that had surfaced once more began to form alliances against the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga.
One strike.
Success would mean a complete reversal of fortune.
And as these hidden sects began one by one to bare their ambitions,
“Here! Bring it over!”
“Got it! Next!”
Four days had passed.
During that time, the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga was in the midst of repairs.
The clumsy movements of the first days had vanished; the Myeoljjeol Unit now moved with the ease and speech of seasoned laborers.
Compared to the first day, the change was staggering.
And that was not all.
“Not much left now!”
They encouraged one another and lifted each other’s spirits.
The unbroken succession of tasks, without a moment’s rest, bound them ever closer together.
Perhaps because of such a process,
the shattered walls and pavilions were restored with an awkward grace that at least restored the appearance of wholeness.
And so the hours passed.
While the members of the Myeoljjeol Unit toiled, the sun sank lower, painting the sky in ruddy hues, and soon the first pale stars emerged.
In the gathering dusk,
“Yawn.”
Cheon Hui, sitting in a chair and rubbing drowsy eyes as sleep pressed upon him, glanced toward the gate.
“They’ve arrived.”
He rose from the chair with a quiet murmur.
Then, dusted with the grime of labor, he gestured toward the Myeoljjeol Unit.
“All of you—prepare for battle.”
When the Myeoljjeol Unit stared at the sudden command in bewilderment,
Boom!
The main gate, barely repaired, was smashed to pieces.
“The, the gate!”
“After all the trouble we went through to fix it!”
As they gazed at the pathetic wreckage of the gate, their hands trembled,
“From today, we claim the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga for ourselves!”
“Come out! From now on, it is not the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga that will rule Seorim, but we—the Sa Du Bang and the Heuk…. Huh?”
The group that had come charging through the gate halted in confusion.
“Why do they look so…unharmed?”
“I, I heard they were gravely wounded?”
Bewilderment flickered across their faces.
They had heard that those who brought down the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga were in a state of complete incapacity from fierce combat.
But what was this?
Within the Estate Grounds, though dusted with grime from labor, stood figures who appeared remarkably vigorous, their eyes fierce and murderous as they regarded the newly arrived invaders.
Their aura was formidable indeed.
No matter how one looked at it, these did not appear to be wounded warriors in the midst of recovery.
“Ch-Chief of Sa Du Bang. What in the name of….”
The moment the leader of the Heuk Bang Hoe, who had joined hands with Sa Du Bang, shrank back his neck—
“These bastards!”
“How dare you!”
The brows of the Myeoljeoldae members trembled with fury.
They began to explode in rage.
“The gate…… damned!”
It was the gate that was the problem.
How much care and effort had they poured into repairing and fixing this gate?
It was work that had consumed a full day.
“Do you know what you’ve done?!”
The Myeoljeoldae members, their anger reaching the crown of their heads, drew forth their weapons one by one.
Swords, blades, staffs, and more.
Crack—
As those flexing their joints began to loosen their hands, the soft sound of bones echoed through the air.
Cheon Hui, observing the Myeoljeoldae with rage compressed tight to the tips of their heads, spoke quietly.
“Take care of them.”
The moment the order fell—
Whoosh!
The Myeoljeoldae charged forward as one.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Kgh! G-Great Warrior!”
“P-Please, spare us! Aaaaagh!”
Compared to the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga they had faced before, these enemies were pitifully weak and fell helplessly before the Myeoljeoldae’s martial prowess.
“I cannot forgive this!”
“I shall teach you a lesson for your crimes!”
Cheon Hui, watching the Myeoljeoldae rampage, wore a satisfied expression.
“We’ve caught one rat. When will the next one come scurrying?”
Meanwhile, unaware of the current situation, a group of martial artists was rushing swiftly toward the Hyeol Woo Geom Ga.
Clean martial robes and tense expressions.
They were orthodox sect members of the Murim Alliance stationed in the vicinity of Seorim.
“Already?!”
The middle-aged man at the vanguard read the paper from the carrier pigeon perched on his forearm and shouted.
“We must hurry! Word is that Sa Du Bang and the Heuk Bang Hoe have already departed!”
He was Un Hak Su Sa, sect leader of Yangjeong Moon, and was known in Seorim as a Great Warrior.
All nodded at his cry.
“We shall increase our pace.”
“Everyone, follow me.”
Next, the masters of the능광 Sword and the Jade Sword Gate displayed their Secret Arts.
Dozens of martial artists behind them accelerated, following the three leaders.
And moments later—
“The Hyeol Woo Geom Ga!”
“Everyone, proceed carefully!”
Un Hak Su Sa and his party leaped over the wall in a single bound, stepping upon it.
It was swift and nimble movement.
Shortly after Un Hak Su Sa entered the Estate Grounds, he drew his sword and let out a great shout.
“Fear not! We have come to aid you…….”
His loud voice gradually grew quieter, and soon it was suffused with bewilderment.
“Hold on! Can’t you move faster over there? If you’ve broken it, the least you could do is fix it instead of helping so slowly…… my goodness.”
“I can see your hands over there! What scheme are you trying to pull?”
“H-Here, should we set it down here?”
“W-We’ll hurry!”
The martial artists of Sa Du Bang and the Heuk Bang Hoe were carrying bricks and repairing the Estate Grounds.
All while receiving mockery from the Later Generation Masters, who were far younger than they.

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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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