Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 307

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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 307
Cheon Hyang’s arrival was sudden.
“It’s been forever!”
The moment Cheon Hyang spotted Cheon Hui, she flung her arms wide and rushed toward him as if to embrace him.
It was a gesture of joy, but Cheon Hui sidestepped her with an unmoved expression.
“Huh?”
Cheon Hyang hadn’t expected him to dodge, and her eyes widened before she crashed hard into the back panel with a bang.
“Ugh!”
Cheon Hyang rubbed the spot on her forehead where she’d struck it.
A small bump was forming.
As she touched the bump, she turned to look at Cheon Hui, her expression shifting to one of petulance, and she thrust out her lips in a pout.
“That’s too much, Master.”
Cheon Hyang continued with a whine.
“To dodge the embrace of such a beautiful disciple after all this time apart.”
Though she groused and complained, Cheon Hui, the one in question, said nothing in response.
His mind was elsewhere.
“What are you doing here?”
It was a direct question.
She should have been at Huashan, not the Murim Alliance—which was very strange indeed.
And she wasn’t alone.
Outside were the familiar presences of nineteen others.
The Hwa Ryeong Dan.
‘Has something happened to Huashan?’
That was his first thought.
Whenever the Huashan Sect came to the Alliance, it was almost always for that reason.
Cheon Hui was studying her with a somewhat serious expression.
“Why, you ask.”
Cheon Hyang twisted her crimson lips.
It was a playful laugh.
“To join forces with you and help the Murim Alliance, of course.”
“What did you just say?”
For a moment, Cheon Hui blinked.
Then, as if he’d heard something strange, his brow furrowed.
Whether he reacted that way or not, Cheon Hyang continued to smile.
She was being sincere.
“So you brought the Hwa Ryeong Dan here to help the Murim Alliance?”
“How did the Hwa Ryeong Dan even….”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“You should be rebuilding Huashan, not….”
Cheon Hui, as he watched her, muttered with an expression of utter disbelief.
The most urgent task for Huashan at present was its reconstruction.
It had been devastated in Nok Lim’s assault.
The damage was clearly such that it would take years merely to repair.
Yet she claimed to have come to aid the Murim Alliance—it was absurd.
“Stop this foolishness and return to Huashan. I’ll handle things.”
It was as Cheon Hui spoke, as if driving her away.
“I can’t do that.”
Cheon Hyang flatly refused.
Cheon Hui’s brow creased, but—
“It’s an order from the Sect Master.”
Cheon Hyang dismissed the matter with a single statement.
“From the Sect Master?”
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
Once the Sect Master’s orders were invoked, there was nothing more to say.
After all, he too was a disciple of Huashan.
Cheon Hyang watched Cheon Hui, who had fallen silent, and nodded with confident assurance before adding:
“He instructed me to join forces with you and help the Murim Alliance in its hour of peril.”
Cheon Hui let out a small sigh.
It was an unnecessary order.
“You’re making an unwelcome move.”
“Pointless concern. You’re worried about the sect and the Murim Alliance.”
“That is pointless.”
Cheon Hui spoke evenly.
“There are other things to worry about. Don’t concern yourselves with me. Rather, just protect Huashan…….”
“Master.”
Cheon Hyang suddenly cut him off, thrusting her face forward.
Right before his nose.
Her expression carried a hint of irritation, flushed with emotion.
“Of course we all know how remarkable you are—the Sect Master, myself, everyone in Huashan. But you’re also a disciple of Huashan. What sect master wouldn’t worry about his own disciples?”
She spoke rapidly, the words tumbling out.
“And the sect doesn’t need your concern. Most of our affairs are already settled. You should accept our help instead.”
She tilted her chin up, exhaled sharply through her nose, and thumped her chest as she spoke with confidence.
It was her way of saying he should trust her.
But then.
“I doubt you’d be much help.”
With a single remark, Cheon Hui demolished her confidence entirely.
Cheon Hyang’s lips puckered.
“Can’t you just trust me for once?”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“……Tch.”
As Cheon Hyang clicked her tongue and scratched her head, a quiet voice drifted over.
“A pleasant sight.”
Yuk Won, who had been watching their exchange from the start, gazed at Cheon Hyang and spoke gently.
“A disciple of Huashan?”
“Yes, sir.”
Cheon Hyang broke into a smile.
Radiant and welcoming, warm as morning light.
She then turned toward Yuk Won and the man seated beside him, performing the Fist Salute.
“Amitabha Buddha. I am Cheon Hyang of Huashan.”
She bowed her head respectfully.
“Forgive my late greeting. I was so delighted to meet my youngest martial brother that I forgot to introduce myself properly.”
Yuk Won waved his hand dismissively.
“Not at all. Anyone would be pleased to see a disciple like Cheon Hui. Wouldn’t you agree?”
He glanced subtly toward the man beside him as he spoke.
Chu Gye Gwang smiled briefly and nodded up and down.
“Indeed. If I had a disciple like Cheon Hui, I too would have eyes for no one else, just as this young lady does.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Yuk Won and Chu Gye Gwang regarded Cheon Hyang with faint smiles as she bowed to them.
Then Cheon Hyang lifted her head and asked Yuk Won a question.
“If it’s not too impertinent, might I ask the great hero’s name?”
“Ah, I was remiss.”
Yuk Won performed the Fist Salute.
“I am Yuk Won.”
“The Heavenly Power Divine Hero?”
The moment she heard his name, Cheon Hyang’s eyes lit up as recognition dawned.
“An undeserved epithet.”
“Not at all. I sensed from the first glance that you were no ordinary person.”
“Ha, I’m pleased to hear it said that way.”
Maintaining her smile, Cheon Hyang shifted her gaze toward Chu Gye Gwang.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Indeed it has.”
The two, who had already acquainted themselves at Huashan, exchanged a light greeting.
Cheon Hyang then turned her head to the side.
Beside Cheon Hui sat a woman whose shoulders were tensed with the strain of the current situation.
It was Im Ha Ryul.
When her eyes met Cheon Hyang’s, she started slightly, but immediately performed the Fist Salute.
“I am Im Ha Ryul.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Cheon Hyang met her gaze and offered a sly smile, then leaned in and whispered.
“What is your relationship to my master?”
“Yes, yes?”
“Seeing as you’re sitting so close beside him, you two must be quite intimate.”
“What! No, that’s absurd.”
Im Ha Ryul waved her hands frantically.
Her voice wavered with embarrassment, pitching upward in a rush.
“The leader and I—we’re simply in a leader-and-subordinate relationship.”
“Hmm, does being a Daoist lack appeal?”
“No, that’s not it at all.”
Im Ha Ryul stammered, her cheeks flushing crimson.
As if a Daoist could lack appeal.
A disciple of Huashan, called the greatest talent under Heaven, and the Kangho’s New Star who had just felled the Immortal Heaven Sect Master—that was Cheon Hui.
Lacking appeal was the last thing he did; charm overflowed from him naturally.
At this, Cheon Hyang broke into a grin.
‘If my senior sister finds out about this, she’ll lose her mind.’
She watched Im Ha Ryul while picturing Dan Mok Lin, who became practically fanatical whenever Cheon Hui’s name came up.
Had Dan Mok Lin seen the two of them like this, she would have thrown an absolute fit.
Just then, Im Ha Ryul opened her mouth.
“And… isn’t the leader a Daoist?”
She voiced what seemed like a solid point.
Certainly, Cheon Hui was a Daoist of Huashan.
But that was a misconception born of her unfamiliarity with how Huashan truly worked.
“That doesn’t really matter. As long as he doesn’t become Sect Master, he can become an affiliated disciple and marry whenever he wishes—most of the lay sects under Huashan became that way.”
Cheon Hyang spoke as if it were nothing.
Huashan was considerably more liberal than other Daoist sects.
So long as one never became Sect Master, becoming an affiliated disciple and even betrothing oneself was possible.
Just as Im Ha Ryul was absorbing this.
“I… leader. May we depart now?”
A very cautious voice came from the driver’s seat in front of the carriage.
Pa Ma Dae Won, who had been frozen in uncertainty since Cheon Hyang’s sudden arrival, finally summoned the courage to speak.
“Oh! My apologies. Please, depart!”
Cheon Hyang hastily settled into her seat and called out.
Right beside Cheon Hui.
Pa Ma Dae Won released a breath of relief at her reply, then opened his mouth.
“Very well, we’re departing.”
Soon the carriage lurched back into motion.
And throughout it all, Cheon Hyang remained glued to Cheon Hui’s side, chattering on without pause.
“Ah, brother. I heard you performed remarkably this time. Your reputation has already reached Huashan. At the Ami Sacred Hall…”
Cheon Hyang began speaking loudly, and before long Yuk Won and the head of the Sword Association joined in, the conversation flowing onward.
Most of it centered on Cheon Hui.
“It was truly astonishing news.”
“More than that, Cheon Hui once…”
* * *
“This tea is quite fine.”
A middle-aged man with gentle eyes savored his cup.
After taking several more sips, he set the teacup down on the table with a soft clink.
Then his gaze fixed straight ahead.
Across from him sat Je Gal Goong, who now held the greatest authority in the Murim Alliance.
Je Gal Goong met the middle-aged man’s stare.
The current Murim Alliance Master, Shim Ui Geom Hyeop.
That was the middle-aged man’s true identity.
After studying the Alliance Master in silence for some time, Je Gal Goong carefully opened his mouth.
“The main hall of the Immortal Heaven Sect has fallen to the hands of the Maehwa Sword Association, and the Immortal Heaven Sect Master has perished.”
In that instant, the Master’s movements stiffened.
“That old demon is dead? At the hands of a mere child called the Maehwa Sword Association?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Heh heh.”
The Master broke into a hearty laugh.
“Remarkable. Barely past twenty and she’s already toppled Nok Lim Dae Je, Nong Jil, and the Immortal Heaven Sect Master—that old demon besides. I doubt anyone could have predicted such a thing.”
Unexpectedly, the Master spoke words of genuine praise.
It was an achievement extraordinary enough to warrant it.
“And thanks to that, I was able to identify several spies hiding within the Alliance.”
Je Gal Goong’s eyes brightened as he spoke.
Cheon Hui’s exploits had been an enormous help to him in rooting out those conspirators.
‘I’ve filtered out at least three or four of them.’
It was then, as Je Gal Goong recalled the spies the Black Crow Unit—the Murim Alliance’s covert organization—had uncovered, that his gaze turned glacial.
“What was your impression of the Maehwa Sword Association?”
The Sect Master asked abruptly.
“A rare talent of the highest order. I would venture to say they possess greater aptitude than anyone I have observed in a lifetime of service.”
“Military Strategist.”
The Sect Master’s brow twitched.
He then stroked his long, well-groomed beard once and half-closed his eyes.
“You understand perfectly well that I am not asking for that—yet you answer in precisely that manner regardless?”
The Sect Master regarded Je Gal Goong with a penetrating stare.
His gaze was serene, yet bitterly cold.
The warmth that had pervaded the moment before evaporated; an icy chill descended over the table.
And in that instant.
The tea in the two cups resting on the table rippled faintly, trembling.
Space itself had fallen under his will.
It was as if the table where they sat had been severed from the world entire—a strange, uncanny sight.
“I do not know.”
Je Gal Goong spoke softly.
“You don’t know?”
The Sect Master’s eyes narrowed to slits.
This was an assessment he had never anticipated.
“You failed to see through them?”
Je Gal Goong nodded.
At first, he had dismissed them as foolish, attributing their arrogance to their martial prowess.
But now his judgment had changed.
The way they wielded the Extinction Blade and their conduct during the mission revealed no foolishness whatsoever.
If anything, it approached perfection.
“Well, now. How intriguing.”
The Sect Master’s lips twisted into a slight smile.
It was a smile brimming with interest.
“A figure even the Military Strategist cannot fathom…”
The tension dissolved in a heartbeat.
In a mere instant.
Without so much as a breath passing, the Sect Master—who had just displayed the remarkable feat of gathering in his Internal Force—lifted his teacup once more and sipped.
“Then I shall have to meet them myself and form my own judgment.”
He finished the tea and muttered softly—and for the first time, Je Gal Goong’s expression shifted visibly.
It was clear astonishment.
“You intend to leave your seclusion?”
“Hm. Indeed I do.”
“But…”
“Have you not yourself reached the limits of governing the Alliance alone?”
“…”
Je Gal Goong fell silent.
The Sect Master spoke truth.
As the war with Sa Hyuk Ryeon intensified with each passing day, the problems arising from the Sect Master’s absence had only grown.
Several warriors of the Alliance grew anxious without their leader’s presence, and in turn, the Nine Major Sects and other factions had begun pressuring him about when the Sect Master would emerge.
Watching Je Gal Goong’s silence, the Sect Master let fall a low murmur.
“Sooner than originally planned, perhaps…”
His voice trailed off as he lifted his chin.
His eyes, which had been gazing at the distant blue sky, widened perceptibly.
It was a cold, mirthless smile.
“Now it is my turn to step forward.”

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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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