Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 82

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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 82
Hyeon Do emerged into the courtyard a short while later and smiled with quiet satisfaction at the sight of the Plum Blossom Sword Masters standing in a line, each holding the Horse Stance.
“A fine sight.”
He murmured softly to Cheon Hui beside him.
“Was it you who taught them this?”
“Yes, sir.”
Cheon Hui surveyed the Plum Blossom Sword Masters, sweat pouring down their faces as they strained against their limits.
“Their fundamentals were a mess to begin with.”
“Heh. That’s natural enough for anyone.”
Hyeon Do spoke quietly.
Had he not been the same?
Once a person learned the Heart Techniques and martial arts of the higher ranks, they inevitably grew careless with basic training.
Visible sword energy.
Invisible foundational strength.
People naturally fixated on the results they could see.
“Master.”
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters, catching sight of Hyeon Do at last, began to stir in greeting.
“It hasn’t been a full double hour yet.”
Cheon Hui stopped their movement.
“Listen to what Cheon Hui says.”
Hyeon Do drove home the point immediately after.
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters, caught in their attempt at a shortcut, their faces fell.
Hyeon Do opened his mouth, watching them.
“How long have you been at it?”
“One double hour, sir.”
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters turned their eyes toward Hyeon Do.
Seeing the pleading look in their eyes, Hyeon Do spoke with feigned surprise.
“Why so short?”
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters’ jaws dropped.
‘Master! That can’t be right!’
‘A whole double hour is short?!’
Who held the Horse Stance for an entire double hour?
They’d thought no one could be more merciless than Cheon Hui, yet here he stood before them.
But at Hyeon Do’s next words, they fell silent.
“Didn’t you have Seol Ran and Jeok Geom hold it for at least half a day?”
“Those two had no foundation at all, so there was no choice about it.”
Their starting point had been entirely different from that of the current disciples.
“And besides, we’re nearly ready to move past the Horse Stance now. We can’t have them doing nothing but this forever.”
Hearing Cheon Hui’s words, the Plum Blossom Sword Masters cheered silently within.
“Hmm. Already?”
“I won’t be here forever, and there are proper martial arts I should be teaching them.”
Then.
Thud!
The Plum Blossom Sword Masters collapsed to the ground.
“Huff, huff.”
“F-finally it’s over!”
Cheon Hui looked down at Cheon Yu, sprawled on his back in a wide spread.
“Senior Martial Brother.”
Cheon Yu, looking up at Cheon Hui with hair cascading down, spoke hesitantly.
“Ha, young one. I need to rest a moment.”
“I was thinking of teaching you some Palm Technique. But if you’d rather not…”
“What? Palm Technique?”
Cheon Yu sprang to his feet.
As Cheon Hui watched him with a cold gaze, Cheon Yu’s expression twisted awkwardly.
“Ha, haha. That is…”
“Never mind.”
Cheon Hui raised his hand, cutting him off.
“Watch closely. This is the Palm Technique you’ll be learning.”
Before the words had even finished falling, a pale white palm unfurled, and purple energy began to spiral across its surface.
“The Zixia Divine Art…?”
Flustered, Cheon Yu rubbed his eyes.
But the energy blooming in Cheon Hui’s palm was identical to moments before.
In that instant, an indescribably intense force surged from Cheon Hui’s palm, crushing the space around it.
Boom!
The air tore open and the earth split.
In the handprint pressed clearly three inches deep into the ground, violet energy still poured forth even now that everything had ended.
‘It… it looked just like the Zixia Sword Technique….’
Cheon Yu’s eyes glazed as he glanced back and forth between Cheon Hui and the handprint, swallowing hard.
“What… what kind of palm technique is this?”
“What kind of palm technique, you ask?”
Cheon Hui hesitated for a moment.
This palm technique had been created to maximize Cheon Yu’s Zixia Divine Art.
Because of that, it had no formal name.
‘I’ll just make one up.’
He spoke the martial arts name that came to mind.
“The Zixia Divine Palm.”
“The Zixia Divine Palm?”
Cheon Yu’s pupils trembled.
“There was a palm technique within the Zixia Divine Art?”
“I’ll recite the mantra for you.”
“Wait, hold on.”
Cheon Yu gave Cheon Hui no time to think and immediately began memorizing the mantra as he recited it.
Hyeon Do’s gaze, fixed on the palm technique Cheon Hui had deployed from afar, gleamed with interest.
The palm technique Cheon Hui had just displayed looked identical to the Zixia Sword Technique.
“Was it one from the Mangyeong Pavilion? Or is this another creation of Cheon Hui’s?”
Hyeon Do shook his head slowly.
Whether it lay in the Mangyeong Pavilion or was something he’d devised himself.
What did it matter.
Cheon Hui was a disciple of the Huashan Sect.
“This is a blessing upon our sect.”
As Hyeon Do smiled, Cheon Hui sought out each of the Plum Blossom Sword Masters, as well as Cheon Yu, and transmitted to them the martial arts suited to each.
Sword technique, blade technique, palm technique, foot technique, movement technique….
The martial arts Cheon Hui was displaying and teaching were not merely one or two.
‘Even if they master only the martial arts he’s taught them, they’d have few rivals under heaven.’
After teaching martial arts to everyone, he finally approached Cheon Geuk.
“You have something you want to ask me, don’t you?”
Cheon Geuk’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“You kept trying to speak to me but couldn’t seem to settle yourself.”
“I’ve recently managed to raise the Sword Fragrance.”
“That’s quite an achievement.”
Despite his placid expression, Cheon Hui was genuinely surprised.
Until recently, Cheon Geuk had struggled even to properly deploy the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, let alone achieve the Sword Fragrance.
Yet in the days since returning from the Yangtze, he’d awakened the Sword Fragrance.
It was quite a remarkable breakthrough.
‘He may well be the one with the greatest natural talent among them.’
“Your progress has been quite swift indeed.”
“Ha, it’s all thanks to your teaching, Master.”
Cheon Geuk smiled softly.
It was only natural that he should be pleased with his own progress.
In merely two weeks, he’d achieved far greater results than three months of previous training.
“So, Master—when do you think I’ll be able to raise the Sword Flower?”
“Yes?”
Cheon Hui stared at Cheon Geuk intently.
“You could do it now.”
“No, I’ve never raised one before.”
“That can’t be right.”
Cheon Hui squinted as he spoke.
“Show me your Plum Blossom Sword Technique once.”

Cheon Geuk immediately drew his sword.
Then he unfolded the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
In an instant, blooming internal energy and the Plum Blossom Sword Technique embroidered the courtyard, and a faint plum blossom fragrance tickled the tip of his nose.
“Tsk. That’s not how you wield it.”
Cheon Geuk was taken aback.
“I learned it exactly as written in the martial arts manual, so if that’s not it…….”
“Well, then that makes sense.”
“Huh……?”
“That’s what troubled me.”
“What is?”
“Why do plum blossoms bloom and fragrance emerge when you perform the Huashan Sect’s sword technique?”
“Because it’s the Huashan Sect’s sword technique…….”
Cheon Hui’s eyes turned cold.
“You don’t actually think that, do you?”
…….
“Sigh.”
With that breath, Cheon Geuk shrank back.
“Of course, after accumulating internal energy through the Plum Blossom Heart Technique and learning the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, once you reach a certain level, you can bloom the Sword Fragrance and Sword Flower. That’s what this technique inherently is, after all.”
Cheon Hui shook his head.
All this happened because he was practicing martial arts superficially, just blindly following along.
“But what truly matters is understanding and executing the martial art. If you don’t do that, you’ll end up with only half-formed martial arts like what your senior martial brother just displayed.”
“Understanding, you say?”
“Yes.”
He took up the sword together with its sheath.
“Open your eyes and watch carefully.”
The black scabbard moved smoothly from left to right, enveloping Cheon Hui’s body.
It was the first form of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique that Cheon Geuk had just displayed—the Plum Blossom Path.
“This is just like when your senior martial brother swung it by the sword form moments ago. It’s identical, right?”
Cheon Geuk nodded without thinking.
“And this…….”
The scabbard trembled.
The Plum Blossom Path that had just been resolute and rigid suddenly became infinitely light.
Like flower petals scattered by the wind.
As he watched the scabbard move gently, mesmerized.
‘Plum blossom?’
A rich plum blossom fragrance pierced his nostrils.
“This is the true Plum Blossom Path.”
“How—how did you produce the fragrance without even manifesting internal energy…….”
Bewildered, Cheon Geuk was startled.
“That’s simply how it is, after all.”
Cheon Hui remained unmoved.
“The sect founder of Huashan was apparently obsessed with plum blossoms—every martial art he created was related to them. That’s why when you properly execute the Huashan Sect’s sword technique, the sword fragrance blooms.”
Cheon Geuk was struck with horror.
To speak of the sect founder in such a way.
“M-master. The sect founder…….”
“It’s the truth, what can I do.”
He didn’t know who the sect founder of Huashan was, but one thing was certain—the man was mad.
Who would create martial arts such that plum blossoms were woven into every technique they invented?
And it wasn’t just the Heart Technique and Sword Technique.
There was the Palm Technique, the Movement Technique, and even the Finger Technique.
One could not have conceived of such martial arts without being thoroughly obsessed with plum blossoms.
“In any case.”
Cheon Hui resumed his interrupted explanation.
“No matter how fragrant the sword may be, the fragrance isn’t truly real. And even if the Sword Flower blooms, it isn’t a true flower.”
“That means…….”
“The Interplay of Being and Non-Being.”
Cheon Geuk fell into contemplation.
As a master of the Dao himself, he understood what the Interplay of Being and Non-Being meant in detail.
It was the philosophy of Laozi, to observe the principles of all things in the world from the perspective of others.
‘But why… now?’
That question dissolved the moment Cheon Hui drew his sword.
He swept the blade through the air.
Whoosh—
Plum blossoms embroidered themselves across the void.
Beautiful and fatal blossoms.
“What matters is only presence and absence.”
Cheon Hui’s sword stilled.
The blossoms vanished in that same instant.
“If I can conjure false fragrance, why couldn’t I conjure false flowers?”
“……!”
Lightning struck inside Cheon Geuk’s mind.
He was right.
Sword Fragrance and Sword Flower—they were illusions, both of them.
Yet he’d fixated on one alone.
“What matters is presence and absence.”
Cheon Geuk’s momentum shifted.
The hesitation that had clung to him moments before fell away, and he gripped his sword with renewed strength.
“So you understood it that quickly?”
Wonder flickered across Cheon Hui’s eyes.
His Internal Energy was barely a handful, his body unremarkable.
But there was one thing.
His martial talent—his aptitude—was exceptional.
“Is what you just said truly so?”
Hyeon Do came rushing in, breathless.
“Sword Fragrance and Sword Flower are the same?”
He too had been shaken by the explanation Cheon Hui was giving Cheon Geuk.
The teaching that had been passed down through the Huashan Sect since old was that Sword Fragrance arose first, then Sword Flower bloomed after.
But what Cheon Hui was saying now meant that Sword Fragrance and Sword Flower were originally one and the same.
“That is…….”
Cheon Hui was about to answer.
Bang!
The front gate suddenly burst open, and Hyeon Jin, who had gone outside, came rushing back in urgently.
Hyeon Do watched Hyeon Jin approach, unfolding his Movement Technique as he spoke.
“What’s wrong…….”
But he couldn’t finish.
Hyeon Jin’s next words were far more shocking.
“The Sword Saint of Mount Zhongnan has come to our sect!”

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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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