Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 310

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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 310
Cheon Hui’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Beneath the crescent-moon curve of his smile, his gaze was crystalline.
Like the lake that surrounded the Pavilion.
Still. Serene.
And those tranquil eyes mirrored the Murim Alliance Leader across from him, like a night sky reflected in still water.
Silence descended.
That gaze alone had summoned it.
In an instant, the air grew heavy.
The two stood smiling at each other quietly, yet their expressions carried a weight that pressed down like stone.
‘So this is the man who leads the Murim Alliance now?’
Cheon Hui’s smile twisted deeper.
He was more formidable than expected.
The oppressive aura the Murim Alliance Leader radiated held this entire space firmly beneath his command.
Not through martial force or energy signature alone, but through the raw presence the man himself embodied.
In other words, a manifestation of intent.
‘Je Gal Go Cheon comes to mind.’
Cheon Hui’s eyes deepened.
The sight of the Murim Alliance Leader brought Je Gal Go Cheon to mind, only to fade just as quickly.
He didn’t speak it aloud, but the mere act of remembering him was high praise.
In this life, no one stirred his competitive spirit as Je Gal Go Cheon did.
Only him.
Even Nok Lim Dae Je, whom he’d fought and counted among the finest masters, fell short by a fraction.
The Immortal Cult Master, who’d displayed martial arts of remarkable interest, fell equally short.
Though that man had carved wounds into him in this life—injuries that cut deep—Je Gal Go Cheon had never once crossed Cheon Hui’s mind during their encounter.
Je Gal Go Cheon’s caliber was simply in a different class.
The word “strong” did not suffice.
A supreme master who had set foot in the realm of Beyond Heaven.
He was among the rarest of masters, counted across both this life and his past existence.
It was no accident that the Kangho of the age called him the Martial God.
But now.
Upon seeing the Alliance Leader, Je Gal Go Cheon flickered through Cheon Hui’s mind, then vanished.
‘Lately, there’s never a dull moment.’
Cheon Hui’s pulse quickened.
This pressure. This intensity.
It thrilled him.
Then it happened.
A searing blue light flashed through the Murim Alliance Leader’s eyes, then swallowed the night sky itself.
At the same moment.
Boom!
A crushing pressure came down from above.
A momentum that made his entire frame creak and groan.
The application of Internal Force at the Ultimate Realm.
Yet Cheon Hui’s expression, in response, turned cold as ice.
His smile vanished entirely.
Instead, his eyes flared wide with sharp intensity.
He’d grasped the Murim Alliance Leader’s intention in commencing this sudden display.
‘I see what you’re doing.’
The oppressive force bearing down on him carried no killing intent, no genuine threat whatsoever.
Moreover, the surroundings remained undisturbed.
He was channeling his Internal Force with precision—crushing only Cheon Hui, leaving everything else untouched.
What could that mean?
He was testing him.
Testing none other than Cheon Hui himself.
‘Who does he think he is, testing me?’
Cheon Hui’s eyes opened halfway.
In his pupils, which had reflected the lantern’s amber glow, a faint crimson gleam now flickered.
And.
Whoosh—
The hem of his robe fluttered.
It was a peculiar thing.
There wasn’t a whisper of wind in the air.
Yet now, from the hem of Cheon Hui’s trousers, a gentle breeze began to stir, gathering strength with each passing moment.
Soon, the many lanterns hanging from the pavilion swayed with a clamorous rattle.
Their yellow light scattered in all directions, spilling new starlight across the lake’s surface.
The water, which gleamed brighter than the night sky itself, trembled in the breeze.
Whoooosh—
Even the pavilion sank into the lake’s starlight.
Then a wondrous sight unfolded.
The surrounding structures faded and vanished, leaving only the pavilion suspended alone against the night sky—a landscape that resembled nothing so much as legend made manifest.
It was like the Immortal Realm itself, spoken of only in tales.
And Cheon Hui, the architect of this mystical scene, moved his lips slightly.
“You certainly know how to amuse yourself.”
His eyes, deep and fathomless as an abyss, held the Murim Alliance Leader’s gaze steadily.
After a moment had passed—
“Quite impressive.”
The Murim Alliance Leader surveyed his surroundings and spoke.
His expression showed genuine appreciation.
Then, releasing his clasped hands behind his back—
Whoosh!
The oppressive force he had been emanating dissolved in an instant, vanishing like a dream.
It was the swift harmony of will and intention.
Watching him so suddenly withdraw that overwhelming pressure, Cheon Hui spoke.
“So this wasn’t about testing yourself against me?”
“Heh heh. How could that be?”
“Then why the display?”
“I wanted to know the measure of your skill.”
The Murim Alliance Leader answered with a broad smile.
It was the generous, hearty smile of a man from Hunan.
“As the saying goes: seeing once beats hearing a hundred times, and doing once beats seeing a hundred times. I’ve heard no end of talk about your prowess, but I wanted to witness it myself, to feel it with these eyes.”
“Yet you say it confidently without seeing much.”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
……Hmm.
Cheon Hui closed his mouth.
With such candid admission, there was nothing left to say.
Tsk.
Cheon Hui, smacking his lips as if dissatisfied, withdrew the will-intent he had been projecting.
The gentle breeze that had buffeted the pavilion vanished instantly, and the landscape returned to its original state.
“Then let’s skip the theatrics and get to the real business.”
Cheon Hui spoke curtly, tossing the words forward.
“The actual purpose of this meeting.”
His measured tone carried weight beneath it.
The reason for coming here was clear enough.
To gain entry to the Bicheon Seogo.
And the one who could make that happen was not Je Gal Gong, who had summoned him, but this Alliance Leader before him.
“Let us do so.”
At Cheon Hui’s words, the Murim Alliance Leader calmly surveyed the now-quiet surroundings, then fixed his gaze on Je Gal Gong.
“Gun Sa.”
Je Gal Gong seemed genuinely startled by the turn of events, but the moment his eyes met the Murim Alliance Leader’s, he erased all trace of surprise as though it had never existed.
“You called for me?”
“Bring the tea we prepared.”
At the Murim Alliance Leader’s words, Je Gal Gong bowed once and quickly rose.
He moved toward the far end of the pavilion.
Meanwhile, the Murim Alliance Leader settled himself at the tea table in the pavilion’s center and looked toward Cheon Hui.
He gestured for him to come closer.
“Come sit here.”
“Is all this really necessary?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to discuss matters calmly over tea?”
The Murim Alliance Leader spoke gently.
Cheon Hui scratched his head and took a seat across from the Murim Alliance Leader.
The Murim Alliance Leader, who had been observing everything, watched as Cheon Hui settled fully into his seat before speaking with a gentle smile.
“I’ve heard much of your exploits.”
The Murim Alliance Leader began his remarks in a measured tone.
“Your accomplishments in quelling the heterodox sects in the Northern Region and at Ami Fortress alone were remarkable enough, yet I hear you also slew the Immortal Cult Master—a hundred-year-old demon—and brought down his main sect.”
Cheon Hui let the familiar praises wash over him with indifference, his reply cursory.
“That’s right.”
The Murim Alliance Leader maintained his smile despite Cheon Hui’s dismissive attitude and continued speaking.
“Truly remarkable. I doubt anyone your age has demonstrated such extraordinary feats.”
“Is that so?”
At that moment, as Cheon Hui expressed his disinterest in the endless praise with a flat expression—
“I’ve brought the tea.”
Je Gal Gong arrived with a teapot and tea cup, setting them down carefully on the low table.
“Good.”
The Murim Alliance Leader grasped the teapot.
And in that instant—
Glug-glug.
The sound of the teapot boiling rang out.
Sammai Jinhwa.
In a single breath, he had brewed the tea, pouring it smoothly into the cup before him.
A gentle fragrance spread throughout the space.
The Murim Alliance Leader watched the steaming white wisps rising from the tea and lifted the cup.
Then, turning to Cheon Hui, he spoke.
“You first.”
At the same moment, the cup rose into the air.
It was a breathtaking sight.
The teacup, floating gently in the void, swayed like a spring breeze as it drifted forward, settling carefully before Cheon Hui.
A technique only those who had reached the ultimate realm could perform.
Void Absorption.
The Murim Alliance Leader, demonstrating that supreme martial prowess as easily as breathing, picked up the teapot again and poured tea into the cup before him, opening his mouth to speak.
“This is Longjing Tea I treasure. The fragrance is subtle—it should calm the mind.”
“Hmm, the aroma is indeed pleasant.”
After hearing the explanation, Cheon Hui lifted the cup before him and drank it calmly.
It was, in a sense, discourteous behavior.
But the Murim Alliance Leader seemed unconcerned, simply lifting his own cup and sipping the tea quietly.
After a moment, as the two were enjoying their tea—
Click.
Cheon Hui, having finished the hot tea, set down his cup.
Then, looking at the Murim Alliance Leader, he spoke.
“Since I’ve had the tea as you wished, let’s wrap this up now.”
In response to Cheon Hui’s impatient tone, the Murim Alliance Leader set down his cup.
“You’re eager.”
“I didn’t come here just to drink tea.”
Cheon Hui spoke with obvious irritation.
The matter could have been concluded quickly enough.
Yet the Murim Alliance Leader was needlessly prolonging things with tea, wasting time.
‘When will he get to the point.’
Reading the look in Cheon Hui’s eyes, the Murim Alliance Leader set down his cup and spoke softly.
“Very well. Let us turn to the matter at hand.”
The Murim Alliance Leader chuckled as if conceding and continued.
“Your recent achievements are indeed substantial. No one in the current Murim Alliance can match them.”
The Murim Alliance Leader’s voice dropped low.
His words, deeper than the surrounding darkness, slowly tickled Cheon Hui’s ear.
“I wish to commend you for these accomplishments.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes opened slightly.
This was what he had been waiting to hear.
The Murim Alliance Leader continued.
“Je Gal tells me you wish to enter the Bicheon Seogo.”
As he spoke, his eyes brightened with a question.
“Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Then perhaps I could ask for something else as compensation……?”
Cheon Hui opened his mouth then.
“I was wondering if I might receive a different reward instead. Would that be possible?”
“A different reward……?”
The Murim Alliance Leader’s brow creased.
It was an answer he had not anticipated.
Yet he smoothed his furrowed brow and turned to Cheon Hui with a question.
“What reward do you wish for?”
Cheon Hui’s lips curved upward.
Ordinarily, Cheon Hui would have agreed to enter the Bicheon Seogo as the Murim Alliance Leader had suggested.
But now things were different.
Right now, before his very eyes, stood something far more precious than the Bicheon Seogo itself!
Cheon Hui spoke at once.
Looking directly at the Murim Alliance Leader.
“I’d like to have a martial match with you.”
…….
The Murim Alliance Leader’s eyebrows twitched.
It was a request he had never imagined.
“A match with me?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Hui’s lips twisted into a smile.
It was a grin thick with viscous interest.
“To have the chance to face off against such a remarkable master—I simply couldn’t pass it up.”
Killing intent surged from Cheon Hui’s body.
From the moment he spoke those words, his momentum erupted as though he might attack at any second.
The tea in the cup rippled slightly.
Then the pavilion itself trembled.
The energy wave released by the Plum Blossom Divine Art’s inner force was more than the pavilion could withstand.
Tension coiled taut and ready to spring.
“It cannot be.”
The Murim Alliance Leader refused quietly.
“You understand the current situation well enough, do you not?”
His voice turned cold.
Within it dwelt a chill as sharp and biting as the winter wind that now swept outside.
“We are in the midst of war with Sa Hyuk Ryeon.”
……Tsk.
Cheon Hui withdrew his aura at once.
‘So it won’t work after all?’
It was a result he’d somewhat anticipated.
A match with the Murim Alliance Leader during the war with Sa Hyuk Ryeon would be like shooting oneself in the foot.
Still, he’d thought it worth a try.
Perhaps the man would have agreed.
But the outcome was as expected.
Yet in that moment, the Murim Alliance Leader added something unexpected.
“So it cannot be now, but once the war with Sa Hyuk Ryeon is finished, I shall grant you this match.”
Cheon Hui’s eyes widened.
He had never truly expected to be accepted.
Of course, there was the vague condition that it would only happen after the war’s end, but even that much was more than he could have hoped for.
“Excellent.”
At the Murim Alliance Leader’s approval, Cheon Hui rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
The Murim Alliance Leader called out to him.
“Our business here is finished, so I thought I’d return now.”
Cheon Hui spoke as though it were obvious, and the Murim Alliance Leader asked again.
“You won’t enter the Bicheon Seogo?”
“Pardon?”
At this unexpected question, Cheon Hui tilted his head and looked at the Murim Alliance Leader.
“Wasn’t it settled with the martial match?”
“As I said, your merit is considerable. How could I honor such achievement with merely a match?”
The Murim Alliance Leader sipped his tea and spoke at his leisure.
“If you refuse, there’s no help for it…….”
But before the Murim Alliance Leader could say another word, Cheon Hui spoke up quickly.
“If you’ll do that, then I’m more than pleased.”
The Murim Alliance Leader let out a soft laugh.
“Very well.”
He continued at once.
“Gun Sa.”
At the summons, Je Gal Gong answered as if he’d been waiting for it.
“I shall have everything prepared.”
The Murim Alliance Leader nodded at his reply, then turned to Cheon Hui with a question.
“Then when will you enter?”
At that, Cheon Hui smiled slightly.
It was an answer already determined.
“Now.”

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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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