Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 327
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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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327
Fire
Even the lightest movement, when infused with intent by a master who had reached the pinnacle of the martial way, could produce extraordinary results.
Cheon Hui was precisely such a master.
He was merely walking, yet the effect was nothing short of miraculous.
Step. Step.
Each footfall sent violent tremors rippling outward like waves across the floor.
The vibrations, once begun, traveled beyond pillars and walls, ultimately resonating through the entire Hwacheon Pavilion.
Groan—
The Hwacheon Pavilion swayed and shuddered.
Dust rose from between the creaking pillars, walls, ceiling, and floor.
A haze of fine powder spread like mist.
It was as though an earthquake had struck this Bloodless Street itself.
Yet it was no earthquake—merely a phenomenon created by a single man.
And that man, Cheon Hui, continued forward with leisurely, unhurried steps.
Toward Poong Ri.
Step. Step.
At the increasingly amplified sound of his footsteps, Poong Ri’s brows twitched once, sharply.
His eyes, having recovered their composure as if the trembling had never happened, pierced through the thin dust and fixed upon the advancing Cheon Hui.
The sword he held loosely scattered the light from the yellow lanterns in all directions.
Because of this, his quiet approach seemed like a divine blade reflecting the sunset as it drew near.
Poong Ri, who had been silent, licked his lips.
“Speaking as though you could kill me whenever you please.”
From between his slightly parted lips flowed a rough, gravelly voice.
It carried immense martial power.
Whoosh—
In an instant, the air around him twisted, pushing away the falling dust before it could touch his body.
It was a precise, refined application of Internal Force.
Yet despite witnessing Poong Ri’s display, Cheon Hui opened his mouth with an unchanged expression.
“You understand well.”
His voice was utterly indifferent, speaking of something entirely inevitable.
At that same moment, Cheon Hui came to a halt.
The distance between them was a mere arm’s length.
Should either strike with killing intent, they would collide instantly.
Yet Poong Ri did not act rashly.
There was no guarantee that launching the first strike would succeed.
‘If I strike first, I might instead reveal an opening and fall to his counterattack.’
He focused his spirit, bracing himself.
His mind, calmly assessing the situation, turned ice-cold.
The man before him was a master.
Not merely any master, but a martial expert of the highest caliber among all he had ever encountered.
And for such a one to enter this close range without striking first surely meant something calculated lay beneath.
Poong Ri’s lips, which had curved upward in ease, gradually descended.
Soon they became a straight line, and his hardened mouth began to open slowly.
His expression was utterly devoid of warmth.
“I acknowledge your aura.”
Poong Ri glared at Cheon Hui and continued.
“But I will not yield so easily—”
Yet before he could finish his words.
Flash!
His vision suddenly turned to light.
Pure white. All of it.
It was blinding.
‘This is—’
Sensing an ominous aura, his face grew urgent.
‘I must create distance!’
At the very moment he began to withdraw, within that blazing whiteness, a long, dreamlike horizon suddenly appeared.
A phantasmagoric line that split heaven and earth.
It was a sword stroke that cleaved the heavens and the world.
Shriek—
Blood bloomed like flower petals in all directions.
“Gahhh!”
Poong Ri staggered backward, his balance broken.
His hand clutched at his chest.
Poong Ri lowered his gaze to examine the wound.
It was a gruesome sight.
His Martial Robe, layered in protection, lay shredded and matted with blood, the gashes beneath fully exposed.
Drip, drip, drip—
Watching blood spill between his fingers, Poong Ri’s brow furrowed.
In that instant.
Whoosh—
A pristine, luminous Internal Force that had been draped over his Martial Robe like a cloak suddenly stirred, wrapping around his entire body.
It was as though he had donned a suit of pearl-white armor.
Moments later, as he released his grip on his chest, his hand fell away.
The bleeding stopped.
Blood ceased its flow.
It was an extraordinarily strange thing.
Though the wound remained stark upon his chest, the hemorrhage had halted entirely.
“Quite the peculiar martial art you’ve trained in.”
Cheon Hui grasped his jaw and scratched it with his fingers, a cynical tone coloring his words.
At that cool voice, Poong Ri lifted his head in urgency, meeting Cheon Hui’s eyes—eyes that held no warmth as the young man spoke.
“Innate Celestial Energy combined with a technique that devours life itself? You don’t seem intent on living long.”
Poong Ri flinched at Cheon Hui’s words.
The youth had seen through him in a single glance.
The Yeong Sa Sim Gyeol he had cultivated.
“But you don’t need to exhaust yourself burning through Innate Celestial Energy like that. I told you already.”
Cheon Hui smiled coldly as he continued.
“I won’t kill you so easily.”
A chilling killing intent descended upon the room.
Sensing the threat, Poong Ri’s eyes narrowed in alarm as he cried out.
“Blackhand Unit!”
Immediately after.
Piiiiing!
Sharp, piercing sounds shrieked from all directions.
Arrows.
Like streaks of light, they shot through the walls as though they were paper, hurtling toward Cheon Hui.
They were Arrows imbued with Martial Prowess.
Seeing the projectiles close the distance in mere heartbeats, Cheon Hui calmly drew his blade.
His voice emerged low and measured.
“Pointless.”
In that instant.
Flash!
A single arc traced through the air.
Cheon Hui had unleashed a burst of speed.
Hwawol glowed with a soft crimson light as it cut through the void in a single motion, generating a torrent of force.
A whirlwind of devastating power.
Whoooosh!
Objects throughout the chamber were caught and swept aloft by the violent current.
Tables and chairs, Wine Bottles and cups, food and drink—all were swept into the maelstrom.
As objects collided and shattered, filling the air with thunderous noise, the gale grew ever fiercer.
Craaaaaash!
Space itself compressed in an instant.
“That is……!”
Poong Ri’s eyes went wide.
Cheon Hui regarded the stunned Poong Ri with a steady gaze before unleashing a single, space-compressing strike in his direction.
* * *
BOOM!
The earth trembled with the explosion.
Those standing on Bloodless Street watched the uppermost floor of Hwacheon Pavilion erupt in flames, their faces drained of color as they swallowed hard.
It was a calamity from nowhere.
In an instant, a fierce gust swept down from the top floor, and then it exploded all at once.
“Insane… absolutely insane…….”
“What in the world is happening?”
Several people, startled by the explosion, collapsed to their knees.
Facing such an enormous sight, their legs gave out beneath them.
And that was a grave mistake.
Crack-crack-crack!
Wood fragments and shards of shattered bottles—all manner of debris came raining down from above.
“Ugh… ah!”
Just as those crouched near the Hwacheon Pavilion faced the falling debris, frozen with terror,
Whoosh!
Rough hands suddenly appeared, seizing them by the nape of the neck.
Wi Jeok Yang and the other skilled members of Ha O Moon Do moved at Ru Ju’s command to save them.
But it was only temporary.
“At this rate…….”
Their eyes darkened swiftly.
There were more than twice as many people near the Hwacheon Pavilion as there were skilled martial artists in Ha O Moon Do.
Their numbers were woefully insufficient.
“It’s impossible to save everyone.”
Just as Wi Jeok Yang gazed at those yet unsaved with a regretful expression,
Whoosh!
Shadows suddenly materialized in the air.
Dozens of them.
They seized the trembling people by the nape of the neck and swiftly hoisted them onto their shoulders.
Dash!
Dozens of shadows moved in perfect unison, passing through and rescuing the people.
It happened in an instant.
Wi Jeok Yang’s eyes widened.
From their Speed Technique alone, he could tell these were no ordinary martial artists.
‘When did such people appear on the Bloodless Street……?’
As Wi Jeok Yang stood dazed, watching these figures who had appeared out of nowhere,
“Don’t stop—move quickly!”
A woman with her face covered by a white cloth spoke as if shaking him awake. She then swept past him at high speed, carrying four courtesans on her shoulders.
Her movements conveyed urgency.
“Or you’ll be swept away!”
Wi Jeok Yang snapped to awareness at the woman’s desperate cry as she rushed past, then whirled around in alarm to look behind him.
‘These monsters……!’
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
A violent Qi Blast poured out from the Hwacheon Pavilion, surging like a flood and bearing down on him.
His flesh crawled.
‘I… I must hurry!’
Wi Jeok Yang quickly tucked those he had rescued under his arm and kicked off the ground.
He deployed his Sinbeop.
Yet even as he moved with haste, his eyes wavered.
Despite the distance he was gaining, the Qi Blast pursued him.
As if it would swallow him at any moment.
Thud-thud-thud!
Running as if hunted, he cried out to those standing dazed before the Hwacheon Pavilion,
“Everyone, flee backward!”
“Whoosh!”
“Ahhhhh!”
At Wi Jeok Yang’s Lion Roar, those gathered were startled and fled in panic, their wits scattered.
In moments, all those who had been near the Hwacheon Pavilion withdrew like a receding tide, creating distance.
It happened in a flash.
“Huff, huff.”
Arriving at a distance from the Hwacheon Pavilion, Wi Jeok Yang dropped those he had tucked at his side to the ground and breathed heavily.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
After steadying his breath for a moment, he turned to look behind.
The Hwacheon Pavilion was visible in the distance.
Its appearance was different from usual.
The top floor, which had gleamed with crimson and golden lanterns, lay in complete ruin.
Wi Jeok Yang’s flesh crawled at the sight.
Though the distance between them was so vast, the wave of power came through with stunning clarity—as if he were witnessing something divorced from reality itself.
It was a Qi Blast that raised every hair on his body.
‘To have failed to recognize such a man…’
By the time he held his breath and stared on,
“I offer my gratitude.”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
“Thanks to you and your companions, fortunately there were no casualties.”
Ju Weol Hyang bowed deeply to the pale-faced woman who had aided them.
“It was only natural.”
Cheon Hyang, the woman, waved her hand as she spoke.
Her eyes were fixed on the Hwacheon Pavilion.
Dust rose from the Hwacheon Pavilion.
It was unmistakably the work of Cheon Hui’s doing.
‘I wish I could aid him at once.’
She shook her head firmly.
‘But I would only hinder him instead.’
Of all those gathered on Bloodless Street, she knew Cheon Hui better than anyone.
He had no need of the Myeoljjeol Corps’s assistance.
‘We need only follow our teacher’s orders well.’
As she recalled the command Cheon Hui had issued and nodded in agreement,
“Eighty people in total, then?”
Standing on the top floor of the Hwacheon Pavilion, Cheon Hui murmured quietly.
His gaze was lifted upward.
The ceiling that had blocked the night sky was now completely open, revealing stars and moon.
A single strike.
With that one blow, the roof, pillars, and walls of the Hwacheon Pavilion were utterly shattered.
At the same moment, he lowered his chin.
Before him stood Poong Ri.
His hair flowed wildly in all directions like a mane, and between the strands his eyes gleamed with fierce brightness.
“How did you learn that technique?”
His voice was a low growl.
Like the cry of a beast.
His eyes flickered with visible shock.
An expression of utter disbelief.
“This?”
Yet unlike Poong Ri, who was so greatly astonished, Cheon Hui spoke as if it were nothing.
He swung his sword lightly.
In that instant, the wind pressure born from the blade’s edge gathered into one, forming a sphere.
Containing remarkable martial power within it.
Poong Ri’s brows shot upward.
His suspicions had been correct after all.
That was a Qi Technique… one learned only by the Master of Sa Hyuk Ryeon and Baek Sa Sin—
The Gu Cheon Ap Noe.
“How did you obtain it!”
Watching the astonished Poong Ri, Cheon Hui laughed with a smirk.
He spoke with contempt mixed in.
“If you’re curious, find out for yourself.”
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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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