Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 67

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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 67
Crack!
Namgung Jin Gyeong, struck full across the blade, went flying and rolled across the Training Grounds floor.
“What—what is this!”
“Young Master!”
At the commotion, Namgung Jin Gyeong staggered to his feet, still tumbling across the ground.
‘Quite sturdy, then.’
As Cheon Hui watched him rise without hesitation.
“You bastard……!”
Namgung Jin Gyeong bellowed.
The force of his roar made the air throb, the Training Grounds shudder, and streams of Internal Force radiate from his entire body.
The Internal Force of the Cheonrae Empyrean Divine Method surged upward, and a blue aura began to spiral across his frame.
“That—that’s the Heavenly Thunder Qi!”
“Heavenly Thunder Qi?”
“He’s mastered the Cheonrae Empyrean Divine Method!”
The eyes of the Namgung Clan retainers widened as they sensed the pressure he gave off.
The Cheonrae Empyrean Divine Method was the most difficult Heart Technique to master within the Namgung Clan.
“They do say the Young Master’s talent is scarcely different from the First Young Master’s.”
As several of them held their breath.
“You’ve got decent durability, I’ll grant you.”
Cheon Hui slung his sword across his shoulder and murmured, indifferent to their fuss.
Even with some restraint applied, it was a blow that would have knocked Jek Gyeong or Seol Lan unconscious on impact.
“Durability is solid… Pfft!”
When Namgung Jin Gyeong lifted his head at last, Cheon Hui burst out laughing.
The young man who might have been called handsome was nowhere to be found—instead stood a grotesque figure with his right cheek and lips swollen a hideous shade of blue.
“Are you mocking me right now?”
Namgung Jin Gyeong trembled.
“How could I not laugh at a face like that?”
Cheon Hui helpfully pointed to it.
Alarmed, Namgung Jin Gyeong hurriedly drew his sword and used it as a mirror to look at himself.
“My—my face!”
Veins stood out across his forehead.
His cheekbones and cheeks were not merely swollen but had begun to sag.
Grinding his teeth, he gripped his sword.
“Fine, I’ll admit I underestimated you.”
Namgung Jin Gyeong raised his blade high.
“But things will be different now!”
Namgung Jin Gyeong detonated his Internal Force.
In that instant, a faint blue energy began to frost the blade.
But that was not the end.
The energy, which had scattered like tangled thread, soon wound around the blade like silk, and then poured forth a tremendous force along its length.
“That—that is—!”
“Sword Qi……!”
The faces of the Namgung Clan retainers brightened as if flowers were blooming.
The Sword Qi he had manifested was no vague shimmer—it was utterly clear.
And the fact that Namgung Jin Gyeong, who until recently had been merely first-rate, had now manifested Sword Qi so distinct.
“The Young Master has reached the Apex Realm!”
The Namgung Clan retainers grew animated.
And in stark contrast, shadows fell across the faces of the Maehwa Sword School disciples.
“Is that what talent means.”
“At such a young age, to manifest Sword Qi so clear…….”
Some of them grew despondent.
Sweat beaded across Hyeon Jin’s brow as he beheld the vivid blue Sword Qi.
He had heard the rumors of the Azure Heaven Sword Dragon countless times.
The finest martial talent among the Five Dragon Hall’s disciples.
One of the two suns of the Namgung Clan, and so on.
Various epithets had been applied, and he had thought him no ordinary prodigy.
But the Apex Realm at that age!
Hyeon Jin bit his upper lip hard, then turned sharply and placed a hand on his sword hilt.
“If Azure Heaven Sword Dragon cuts down Cheon Hui…….”
The Maehwa Sword School disciples who had been holding their breath at Hyeon Jin’s words flinched and swallowed hard.
“Don’t worry about what’s behind you. Just move.”
That instant.
Thud!
Namgung Jin Gyeong planted his foot firmly on the ground.
Moving with even greater vigor than before, he closed the distance between himself and Cheon Hui.
At the same time, swords flashed from all directions.
“Take this!”
The force behind the strike was so tremendous that Cheon Hui’s hair and Sect Robe billowed backward, unable to withstand the pressure.
“Refreshing.”
Cheon Hui observed the new Sword Technique with ease, moving his feet lightly.
Whoosh—
Cheon Hui’s form vanished in an instant, reappearing behind Namgung Jin Gyeong.
“……!”
For a moment, having lost track of Cheon Hui’s movement, Namgung Jin Gyeong’s eyes trembled.
Cheon Hui’s movements now were miraculous.
One moment he seemed to be on the left, then suddenly he was on the right; he appeared to be approaching, then in an instant he was far away.
‘He’s mastered advanced footwork!’
The footwork Cheon Hui displayed now was the Seven Star Step, which anyone could learn upon joining the Huashan Sect.
Watching Namgung Jin Gyeong busy trying to follow him with his eyes, Cheon Hui’s lips curved upward.
“That technique from before—what was it called, the Thirteen Somersaults or something?—this is far better.”
Namgung Jin Gyeong clenched his teeth.
“You seem quite at ease.”
“At ease? Yes, I’d say so.”
Cheon Hui spoke without concern.
“By the way, what’s the name of that martial technique?”
“……The Infinite Void Sword Method!”
“Ah! So that was the Infinite Void Sword Method.”
He’d thought it looked familiar somehow.
The Infinite Void Sword Method was the pride of the Namgung Clan, and in his previous life he had witnessed it unfold many times.
‘But it’s different now.’
His mind quickened.
Where the previous Infinite Void Sword Method had felt lofty and brimming with power, what unfolded now was weighty and ferocious.
‘I need to watch carefully how it’s changed.’
Cheon Hui flicked his sword lightly as he spoke.
“This time, show me the real thing. Not half-hearted like before.”
Crack!
At this provocation disguised as a casual comment, Namgung Jin Gyeong’s thread of reason snapped.
Eyes blazing, Namgung Jin Gyeong drew his sword while drawing up all his Internal Force.
The blade held high embraced the clear sky, shimmering with brilliant blue Qi.
“That Qi is…….”
“……Azure Heaven Flying Thunder!”
Several of the Namgung Clan elders who recognized the sword form Namgung Jin Gyeong was about to unleash rose to their feet.
One of the forms of the Infinite Void Sword Method—the supreme Ultimate Technique that destroys all things.
It was nearly impossible for someone of Namgung Jin Gyeong’s age to execute.
“Does this young master possess such talent?”
“Unbelievable…….”
Having seen their reaction, Hyeon Jin and the Maehwa Sword School disciples sensed something ominous.
“Intervene!”
Following Hyeon Jin’s command, the Maehwa Sword School disciples rushed onto the Training Grounds with drawn swords.
“Hui!”
“Cheon Hui!”
But before they could reach him, Namgung Jin Gyeong’s blade was already descending, and brilliant lightning crashed down.
Crack-boom-rumble!
Lightning flashed in Namgung Jin Gyeong’s eyes.
“I’ll finish you!”
Looking down at Cheon Hui with a smug expression, he wore a victor’s smile.
‘I’ll knock him senseless—just enough that he won’t die!’
In his mind’s eye, the image of Cheon Hui coughing blood and collapsing was vivid and clear.
“Tsk. I can’t even tell anything with this.”
His expression hardened, nothing like what she’d expected.
Cheon Hui was looking at him with disappointment—he who should have been intimidated by the Azure Heaven Flying Thunder.
“So your skills fall short of what I hoped.”
Cheon Hui made no effort to hide his letdown.
This was weakness, true weakness.
It was almost embarrassing compared to the Infinite Void Sword Method he’d witnessed in his past life.
‘So a late-stage cultivator’s martial perception has its limits after all.’
He whipped his sword up in a fluid arc.
In that instant his blade curved and met the lightning descending from the heavens.
Crack-crack-crack!
The azure bolt that had been looming over them split down the middle and vanished.
“Impossible—! You stopped the Azure Heaven Flying Thunder!”
“Now it ends.”
Cheon Hui surged toward Namgung Jin Gyeong.
Thud!
With the sound of leather tearing, Namgung Jin Gyeong’s body lifted clean off the ground and flew.
“Young Master!”
Without even a cry, Namgung Jin Gyeong sailed beyond the Training Grounds, where a middle-aged man sitting nearby caught him.
“Goodness! Young Master, are you all right!”
The middle-aged man was lost in confusion as he looked down at Namgung Jin Gyeong, whose eyes had rolled back in his head.
“Quick—fetch a physician!”
Cheon Hui watched the crowd rushing to attend Namgung Jin Gyeong, then tilted his head as he noticed Hyeon Jin climbing onto the Training Grounds.
“Why have you come up here?”
“I—to protect you……”
Hyeon Jin stumbled over his words in his confusion.
“Me?”
Cheon Hui’s brow furrowed.
What? Protect me?
“That was unnecessary.”
Hyeon Jin clamped his mouth shut like a man who’d swallowed bitter fruit.
“But never mind that.”
Cheon Hui turned his head sharply.
Then he fixed Namgung In with a fixed gaze, his lips twisting into a smile.
“Is this sufficient?”
Namgung In stared back in silence.
Cheon Hui met that stare with a downward glance and a look of mild indifference.
So what if you’re watching?
A thin smirk played across his eyes.
He had already made a declaration.
He’d told Namgung In to take responsibility.
And through the martial match, he’d displayed his power and upheld that responsibility thoroughly.
‘So now you mean to go back on your word?’
The man himself had explained the weight of his words, and now he refused to acknowledge it?
It was spitting in his own face.
Especially for the head of the Namgung Clan—he’d never be able to hold his head up again.
‘You need to bear the weight of what you’ve said.’
Cheon Hui recalled the words Namgung In had spoken to him, and his smile twisted deeper.
“Would you like me to do more?”
* * *
When the group arrived at the Separate Residence, every last one of them sagged, shoulders dropping as if the tension had simply drained away, and they exhaled.
“Phew. I thought my heart was going to stop.”
“Indeed. Senior, my chest is still pounding even now.”
The members of the Maehwa Sword School looked at one another and pressed a hand to their chests, steadying their nerves.
“But what a marvel. That Cheon Hui possessed such martial prowess.”
At someone’s low murmur, the eyes of the Maehwa Sword School members sharpened like a cat’s, turning to focus on Cheon Hui as he came up behind them.
“Master!”
“When did you learn such skills?”
“You should have told us you had such martial prowess!”
Questions poured out like machine-gun fire.
Cheon Hui let the barrage of words slide past him, his brow drawing inward in a thin line.
“Everyone, compose yourselves.”
Hyeon Jin spoke at once, his tone grave.
“Cheon Hui looks displeased.”
Only then did the members of Maehwa Sword School, catching sight of Cheon Hui’s expression, scratch the backs of their heads in embarrassment.
“Haha. But this is remarkable.”
Having calmed their excitement with words, Hyeon Jin turned to Cheon Hui and broke into a broad smile.
“I’d heard you were receiving direct instruction from Hyeon Do, but I never imagined you’d reached this level of skill.”
It was false information, but Cheon Hui, too lazy to correct it, said nothing.
And that silence bred misunderstanding.
‘So Hyeon Do has been secretly cultivating Cheon Hui for the future of our sect.’
Already, when Hyeon Do had brought down Baek Gwi Seong and earned the title Sword Immortal of Huashan, Hyeon Jin had found himself developing an admiration that hadn’t existed before.
But now that Hyeon Do had raised Cheon Hui to this level of mastery, that admiration only continued to grow beyond measure.
‘That elder brother—once so consumed with martial prowess and hot-blooded temperament—has truly changed…….’
Hyeon Jin, retaining vivid memories of Hyeon Do as he once was, felt his emotions stirred anew.
“Haha. This is indeed the great fortune of our sect!”
“Precisely as you say!”
“It is all thanks to the boundless compassion of the heavens, watching over our humble school.”
The members of Maehwa Sword School, harboring the same thoughts as Hyeon Jin, nodded in agreement.
Their excitement ran high for a time.
“At any rate, let’s organize our luggage.”
After laughing for some while, Hyeon Jin’s smile faded from his lips as he spoke.
“It seems we shall have to remain at the Namgung Clan longer than I had anticipated.”
“Sir?”
“How much longer?”
“Confirming the body will take at least four days, or so I’m told.”
“Four days?”
“At least, you say…….”
Deep sighs escaped from all around.
No matter that they were guests, this was enemy territory—the Namgung Clan’s seat.
Moreover, there had been that awkward Martial Match between Cheon Hui and the Azure Heaven Flying Thunder Sword.
The Namgung Clan would never regard their visit with favor.
“Sigh.”
“There’s nothing for it.”
But what choice did they have?
The matter was already decided.
As the members of Maehwa Sword School began to stir their weary bodies and gather their belongings,
A figure slipped away quietly.
It was none other than Cheon Hui.
Cheon Hui.
‘When else would I have a chance to explore the Namgung Clan?’

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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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