Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 309

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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 309
It was just a single word.
Yet the weight threaded through that one utterance crushed the entire conference hall at once.
Silence fell.
Those who had arrived at the conference first wore complicated expressions at the appearance of the Alliance Lord.
The Murim Alliance Lord, who had shown no sign of himself until now, had appeared without warning.
There had been no announcement. It was far too abrupt.
The Alliance Lord, who had seized the conference, opened his mouth with a serene gaze.
“There are quite a few I haven’t seen before.”
His sharp eyes swept across several of them, then broke into a brilliant smile.
It was a smile as cold as ice.
It was directed at those he had not seen before his seclusion.
And among them was Hyeon Do.
For a brief moment, as their eyes met, Hyeon Do’s gaze sank deep as an abyss.
Ju Cheon Geuk of the Divine Sword Cooperation.
An unprecedented figure who had risen to the position of Murim Alliance Lord with nothing but a single sword and no faction behind him—a swordsman whom even the Nine Factions and One Gang deferred to.
‘The rumors don’t exaggerate.’
Cold sweat trickled down his brow.
Was this the majesty of an Absolute Being?
Without even radiating his aura, he had seized the entire conference hall through presence alone—the gathering place of the Murim Alliance’s pillars.
Meanwhile, as the Alliance Lord finished surveying the assembled members of the council one by one.
“Many new faces have graced us with their presence.”
Gun Sa’s voice flowed forth at precisely the right moment.
It aligned with perfect timing, as if by design.
“Is that so.”
The Murim Alliance Lord smiled faintly and nodded.
“The Murim Alliance has changed much in the time I’ve been away.”
Just as he was murmuring those final words.
“Amitabha Buddha. It has been long, Alliance Lord.”
Suddenly, Won Jong Dae Sa opened his mouth.
With a soft golden light radiating from him and his spiritual power deployed, he gazed directly at the Alliance Lord.
The Alliance Lord smiled and spoke.
“So the Venerable Monk still remains among us.”
Won Jong Dae Sa’s eyes narrowed.
Though it was said plainly, it sounded to his ears like a remark questioning whether an old monk still clung to his place in the Murim Alliance.
“How could I fall behind when the Alliance Lord has kept his post during all this time away from sight?”
Won Jong Dae Sa’s words bristled like thorns.
It was a perfect rebuttal.
And yet.
“That too is a fair point.”
The Alliance Lord deflected Won Jong Dae Sa’s attack by acknowledging the fact with such calm composure that it drained the force from his counter-strike.
At this, Won Jong Dae Sa’s brows drew tight.
‘Still impossible to fathom.’
Though they had not met in a long while, he remained unchanged.
What he was thinking, what purpose he harbored—it was incomprehensible.
He soon turned to the Alliance Lord and asked.
“But what brings you to attend, if I may ask?”
“You speak nonsense.”
The Alliance Lord’s voice dropped with weight.
“Is it not natural for an Alliance Lord to attend the Murim Conference?”
“…It is unexpected.”
Won Jong Dae Sa’s eyes half-closed.
“I had thought, seeing how you entrusted all authority to Gun Sa, that you would not show yourself at all.”
His words shot out like arrows.
It was an accusation.
A reproach: with war against Sa Hyuk Ryeon raging, why did he delegate all authority to Gun Sa and only now reveal himself?
Several others shot sharp looks at the Alliance Lord seated on the upper platform, their eyes conveying agreement.
They had hoped for his appearance and had been overwhelmed by his aura when he came, but as time passed, resentment festered at his prolonged absence.
What time was this to be absent?
They were in the midst of war against Sa Hyuk Ryeon.
It was, in effect, a situation on which the very survival of the Murim Alliance hung.
Yet the one man responsible for the Murim Alliance—the Alliance Master himself—had only now appeared.
Tension was inevitable.
But despite their piercing glares, the Alliance Master remained composed.
He didn’t blink once.
“I was delayed by certain matters, nothing more.”
“What could possibly be so urgent that you couldn’t attend in such a crisis?”
Won Jong Dae Sa’s voice rose slightly.
He took it as an excuse.
“It’s not yet time to explain such things.”
“That’s absurd——”
As Won Jong Dae Sa moved to say more.
“Are such questions truly important now?”
A cold voice cut through.
It was Yong Ju Gae.
Though he too had been startled by the Alliance Master’s sudden appearance, he spoke now with his usual composure.
“What matters is that the Alliance Master has come forward.”
……
Won Jong Dae Sa’s lips moved soundlessly for a moment, then he closed his mouth with a dissatisfied expression.
The words rang true.
What truly mattered was that the Alliance Master had made his presence known in this formal assembly.
Yong Ju Gae glanced briefly at Won Jong Dae Sa before turning his gaze to the Alliance Master, speaking.
“Is your partial seclusion over, then?”
“It is.”
“Good.”
The exchange was brief.
But it sufficed.
The current situation was too grave to dwell uselessly on the past.
The moment the commotion settled.
“Then let us dispense with unnecessary talk and proceed to the matter at hand.”
The Alliance Master surveyed those around him, speaking.
“Gun Sa. Explain the situation.”
Direct and to the point.
Like a man who knew only how to charge forward.
And Je Gal Gong, matching his pace, drew forth the documents he’d prepared from his robes.
Beginning his briefing at once.
“The Shin Ryong Division……”
Winter had scarcely begun to fade, yet the events that had unfolded were far more than one or two.
The critical wounding of Shin Ryong Dae Ju, the failure of Cheol Hyeol Dan’s mission, the destruction of the Heaven Sword Manor—matters tumbled forth one after another.
Information poured out smoothly.
As Je Gal Gong continued his account to its conclusion, he turned his head sharply to one side.
“And the final remaining matter will be explained by these men.”
His gaze fell upon where Yuk Won, Hyeop Wi Dae Ju, and Pama Dae Ju stood.
The three exchanged a brief glance among themselves.
“I will speak,” Yuk Won said.
Yuk Won rose from his seat and made the fist salute.
Then he began his report at once.
“Regarding this mission……”
Yuk Won recounted, one by one, everything he had witnessed, heard, and felt while carrying out the assignment.
And in particular, among his explanations——
“The martial arts of Cheon Hui rendered the Master of the Immortal Heaven Sect utterly helpless.”
His account of Cheon Hui was meticulous.
Detailed descriptions suffused with praise and wonder.
Those listening felt as though they themselves had witnessed the scene directly.
After speaking at length in this manner, Yuk Won described the moment when the Master of the Immortal Heaven Sect breathed his last, then gave a brief report of the battle’s casualties and the number who had returned, before resuming his seat.
“To have struck down the Master of the Immortal Heaven Sect alone……”
“Even when he defeated Nok Lim Dae Je and Nong Jil, I thought something extraordinary was at work……”
Every person present was struck with awe by Yuk Won’s vivid account.
It read like the recounting of a dream.
Moreover, Yuk Won was not the sort of man to exaggerate or falsify a report.
In other words, it all amounted to objective fact.
As those gathered began to swallow hard,
“Remarkable.”
The Alliance Leader, having heard all of Yuk Won’s account, expressed his astonishment and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
His gaze shifted abruptly.
It turned toward the one who had worn a satisfied expression ever since the name Maehwa Shin Hyeop first emerged.
“Huashan has raised a remarkable disciple.”
Hyeon Do was startled by the Alliance Leader’s sudden praise, but soon smiled.
“Our school has done little for Cheon Hui. All of this is his own achievement, nothing more.”
“Your modesty runs too deep.”
The Alliance Leader also smiled as he spoke.
It was then.
“Alliance Leader.”
Je Gal Gong called out to the Alliance Leader.
“What is it?”
“I believe we should commend those who have returned from their mission. With the recent wars draining morale within the Alliance, this is precisely the moment to raise their flagging spirits through such recognition.”
Several eyes lit up at once.
They were those with disciples who had successfully completed their tasks.
“Hmm, a commendation, you say……”
The Alliance Leader fell silent in thought.
“An excellent idea.”
“The strategist speaks wisely.”
“With so many weary from these endless wars, should we not lift their spirits?”
They spoke up at once.
It was an opportunity not to be missed.
If the Alliance Leader issued a commendation, their reputation would rise considerably.
Soon the Alliance Leader nodded.
“So it shall be.”
“Then, since we have concluded our discussion of past events, let us now address future matters.”
Je Gal Gong moved forward without delay.
The situation was too pressing to waste time on such details.
He then began laying out, one by one, the positions he and the Alliance Leader had prepared beforehand.
“Regarding Shin Ryong Dae Ju, who sustained grave injuries in this conflict, his successor as vice-leader……”
* * *
The Alliance Leader’s return after eight years of seclusion spread swiftly through the Alliance.
“The Alliance Leader has emerged!”
“At last……”
With the Alliance Leader’s appearance, the atmosphere that had hung over the Alliance’s grounds transformed entirely.
Anxiety fled, and morale surged.
Such was the nature of the Alliance Leader.
He was the one who guided them all.
And that evening.
Cheon Hui, dwelling in quiet indifference to the commotion, slipped away from the Pavilion.
Moving silently through the darkness, unaware of those sleeping in the hush of night, Cheon Hui pressed forward.
Passing through streets where pale moonlight scattered like dust, his form was swift and furtive—like a phantom.
After treading rooftops for some time,
Tap.
Cheon Hui’s foot came to a stop.
It was at the Estate Grounds of an unfamiliar Pavilion.
Cheon Hui’s eyes fixed forward.
In the center of a placid lake, a Pavilion swayed where a lantern cast yellow light.
And within the Pavilion were two figures.
One was a familiar face.
It was Gun Sa Je Gal Gong.
But the other was unfamiliar.
‘Who is that?’
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed.
The man stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing out over the lake—his bearing was far from ordinary.
A tempest dwelling in stillness.
Though he radiated no visible aura, Cheon Hui’s instincts sensed it all the same.
A master.
And not just any master, either…….
‘An Absolute Master.’
As Cheon Hui continued to watch.
Whish―
The man who had been gazing at the lake lifted his head.
The middle-aged face illuminated by lantern light was truly striking.
A sharp jawline and high cheekbones.
Beyond that, his soft and graceful eyes suggested he had once been a beauty known throughout All Under Heaven in his youth.
Whiiii―
A wind from somewhere ruffled his neatly upswept hair, and it slipped through the gaps of his crown, brushing across the man’s face.
And that only amplified his already distinctive presence.
And in that moment, his closed lips parted.
“So you’re from the Maehwa Shin Hyeop.”
A deep voice descended upon the air.
It was a voice as still as the lake before him.
Then, revealing his white teeth, he wore a refreshing smile.
“Just as the rumors say. No—even more brilliant than the rumors suggested. To stand right before me and yet your presence is so indistinct. It feels almost like an illusion.”
He spoke in a tone of admiration.
He was savoring Cheon Hui as if beholding a marvelous landscape.
“Have you stepped beyond Celestial Martial Arts into the Realm of the Divine?”
At his words, Je Gal Gong standing beside him assisting widened his eyes.
‘The Realm of the Divine?’
It was a shocking statement.
The Realm of the Divine—the Realm of Divine Martial Arts!
Only the Eight Divine Martial Masters had ever ascended to such a stage.
Yet to hear that such a young boy had reached this realm made his head spin with shock.
Then Cheon Hui took a single step forward.
In an instant his form flickered and vanished, crossing the lake in one breath and landing atop the Pavilion.
It was a Speed Technique of transcendent grace, like something from a dream.
Standing before the middle-aged man, Cheon Hui moved his eyes to meet his gaze.
The yellow light of the lantern drifted between their locked eyes, mingling with moonlight and scattering into the distance.
As if the very light could not bear the presence of them both and simply faded away.
A moment of silence, eyes meeting without sound.
But the two who had already reached transcendent heights took in each other’s measure in an instant.
“The same applies to you, doesn’t it?”
Cheon Hui spoke calmly.
And at his words.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
The middle-aged man laughed heartily.
“Indeed, this is amusing. Truly amusing.”
After laughing for a moment, he closed his mouth.
“Do you know who I am?”
At that question, Cheon Hui twisted his lips slightly.
The middle-aged man before him was someone he had never seen before.
Yet from the moment he encountered him here, he had already made a rough guess at his identity.
No—it was almost certain.
It could hardly be otherwise.
For if a man were here at this hour with Gun Sa, Je Gal Gong, could he be anyone but the figure currently making waves throughout the Murim Alliance?
“You’re the Leader of the Murim Alliance, aren’t you?”
At those words, the corners of the Alliance Leader’s eyes curved upward.
It was a sharp and piercing eye-smile, like a curved blade honed to its finest edge.
“That’s right. I am Ju Cheon Geuk, Leader of the Murim Alliance.”

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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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