Heavenly Demon of the Huashan Sect - Chapter 84

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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 84
The Bimu Arena, situated at the heart of the Murim Alliance.
The arena, which opened only during the Alliance’s festivals or martial contests, had been exceptionally unlocked today, drawing crowds within its walls.
The faces of those who entered were radiant with broad smiles and anticipation.
The reason was simple: the two who would publicly demonstrate their martial prowess today were no ordinary masters.
Jongnam Geomseoung, the pride of the Jongnam Sect.
And the Huashan Sword Spirit, the rising absolute expert who had elevated the Huashan Sect’s renown.
A match between these two, no less.
Because of this, those who entered the arena could scarcely contain their excitement.
“Never did I think I’d witness masters of the Heavenly Martial Realm test their skills in my lifetime.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get inside.”
“If we’re late, there might not be any seats left.”
Outside the arena was as chaotic as within.
“Why do you bar our way?”
“Let me in as well, I beg you!”
It was merely two days ago that the public match between Jongnam Geomseoung and the Huashan Sword Spirit had been confirmed.
“We cannot admit anyone else.”
Yet in less than an hour, the arena was completely full.
As the arena filled to bursting with spectators,
“I’m uneasy about this.”
Hyeon Jin, seated where he could see the arena clearly, felt unease flicker across his expression.
He knew Hyeon Do was formidable.
But his opponent was an absolute master who had long ago ascended to the Heavenly Martial Realm and earned renown across the Kangho.
His anxiety deepened.
“I wonder if my brother will be all right.”
“He looks quite impressive, actually.”
Meanwhile, Cheon Hui, seated beside Hyeon Jin, waited for the match with untroubled ease.
‘I wonder if the Jongnam Sect’s martial arts have evolved.’
His gaze, bright with curiosity, had barely settled on the arena when two silhouettes appeared.
Jongnam Geomseoung and Hyeon Do.
They ascended so swiftly and silently that most of the crowd hardly noticed.
“I’ve heard tales of your prowess and long wished to meet you.”
Jongnam Geomseoung smiled wryly.
“Though I confess, I never imagined it would be like this.”
“Nor did I, Master.”
Hyeon Do’s voice was measured and precise.
He had heard of Jongnam Geomseoung countless times over.
The great wandering knight who had emerged from Jongnam in his seventh decade and immediately revealed absolute mastery, traveling the Kangho spreading righteousness—that was he.
“They call you the Huashan Sword Spirit, the one who defeated Baek Gwi Seong, I believe?”
“You honor me too greatly with such a title.”
“Do I?”
Jongnam Geomseoung’s brow curved slightly.
Then he drew his sword.
The blade that emerged from its worn scabbard was well-maintained.
Though it could hardly be called a treasure blade or a famous sword, the moment it settled in his grip,
“Magnificent! It’s the Jade Dew!”
“So that’s the Jade Dew blade of the great master Jongnam Geomseoung!”
The modest blade had become a legendary sword.
“It is a beautiful blade.”
Hyeon Do, watching intently, offered his admiration.
The sword was ordinary.
Yet held in his hands, it was transformed.
Jongnam Geomseoung caressed the blade’s spine gently.
“Jade Dew—my companion since I first entered Jongnam, my trusted friend through all these years.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hyeon Do could not hide his wonder.
Those words meant they had been together for at least several decades.
Yet the blade looked as if newly forged.
One could clearly see how reverently it had been cared for.
‘He is different from the other masters of Jongnam. Truly, reputation does not lie.’
Jongnam Geomseoung’s tone and bearing.
Moreover, the way he regarded the sword differed entirely from other greedy Jongnam Sect masters.
A great hero of legend, by all accounts.
That was precisely what he embodied.
Hmm.
Hyeon Do drew his blade after grasping the hilt.
It was a sword his master had bequeathed to him, steel of a rare cold-iron blend.
“You carry a fine blade as well.”
At those words, Hyeon Do smiled gently.
“A sword my master passed down to me—the White Snow.”
Jongnam Geomseoung returned the smile, warmed by that luminous expression.
“White Snow—a most auspicious name indeed.”
“Ha, quite so.”
The two exchanged smiles, their conversation light and easy, and then—
A sudden shriek of sound!
Without any signal, both unfurled their Inner Energy Cultivation Methods, unleashing a raw, ferocious aura.
A violent wind began to sweep across the arena.
“Hagh!”
“Ungh! What—such tremendous force!”
The spectators shielded themselves with raised hands, their eyes fixed upon the Bimu Arena.
A whirlwind bloomed between the two swordsmen.
It crashed with the ferocity of a dragon’s claws tearing through space itself.
Then Hyeon Do raised his blade and spoke.
“I shall begin.”
“Come then.”
The moment the words left his mouth—
A deafening crash!
Shockwaves swept across the Bimu Arena.
The crowd, eyes straining open against the tempest, watched the arena—and their jaws fell slack.
The wind vanished in an instant.
But the aftermath of their blades colliding sent tremors through the spectators’ hair and seized their minds entirely.
“When did my brother ever—”
Hyeon Jin stared mutely at the Bimu Arena.
The power displayed by Jongnam Geomseoung and Hyeon Do was beyond comprehension.
A crushing sensation!
His fists clenched involuntarily under the weight of that pressure.
Cold sweat beaded on his brow and down his spine, gradually soaking into his Sect Robe.
‘Is that what a true master truly is….’
They were in a different league entirely.
Could such beings even be human?
Watching from afar made his body tremble as though shaken by an earthquake.
A wave of despair washed over him.
‘I too must become like my brother….’
He ground his teeth with resolve.
A sharp sting bloomed in his clenched fist, and he felt warm liquid seeping forth.
‘No—even beyond my brother!’
He snapped his head up, eyes wide open.
And as he observed the two in combat—
“His strength has grown since before.”
Cheon Hui also took in the clash before him.
Whether from his fight with Baek Gwi Seong or some other cause, Hyeon Do’s power had grown beyond comparison to what it once was.
Cheon Hui’s gaze tracked Hyeon Do as he moved with swift footwork deployed across the arena.
If this continued, I could let go entirely.
The sword technique that had been rigid with formulaic movements was finally becoming free.
He had transcended set forms and reached the Formless Technique—
The realm where he could manifest any technique at will.
‘Once he settles there into the forms that suit him, the Taiyi Mili Sword Technique will achieve Grand Completion.’
Learn what exists, break it down, absorb it into oneself anew—
That was the path to true mastery.
Since breaking through the barrier of the Heavenly Martial Realm, Hyeon Do’s growth had been steep and unrelenting.
Still not quite at Baek Gwi Seong’s level, but already far exceeding the Sect Master Class of any ordinary school.
‘Though there’s something disappointing about it. Of all opponents, it had to be him.’
His gaze shifted to Jongnam Geomseoung.
On the surface, the duel between them appeared evenly matched, but Cheon Hui’s eyes saw the truth with perfect clarity.
Jongnam Geomseoung was holding back.
‘Hmm. There’s no real difference in Internal Energy, but the gap in experience and skill is obvious.’
Despite being of the same generation, Jongnam Geomseoung’s Internal Energy was surprisingly modest.
But that wasn’t the problem.
There was a far greater disparity at play.
“The Jongnam Sect as it stands now must be stronger than the Huashan Sect.”
Cheon Hui’s murmured words pierced straight through to the sword that Jongnam Geomseoung wielded.
The Sword Technique he deployed was one he’d seen before—the Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords, the legendary sword art of the Jongnam Sect.
Yet it was subtly different.
And that subtlety was enough to transform the Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords entirely.
‘The variations in the Sword Technique remain incomparably fluid, yet the power has become far superior to before.’
The Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords comprised thirty-six individual forms targeting as many angles—a comprehensive and infinitely mutable art.
But what was Jongnam Geomseoung displaying now?
Sparse and economical, with fewer variations.
The result of discarding needless forms.
In their place, each remaining form had been pushed to its absolute limit, perfected to transcendence.
‘Just as I reinvented the Plum Blossom Sword Technique into the Seven-Petal Plum Blossom Sword, someone completely transformed this one. Whoever did this had real skill.’
He watched the match with genuine intrigue.
But as one round bled into the next, and then into a third, his expression grew cold.
‘What are they doing?’
It was absurd.
The martial arts on display were dazzling and intense, pleasing to the eye.
‘No wonder the Orthodox Sects stagnate.’
The more he watched, the faster his interest evaporated.
This match was mere spectacle.
Jongnam Geomseoung’s Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords pressed forward with fierce intensity, but it was only surface.
‘He never meant to win in the first place?’
Watching Jongnam Geomseoung deliberately back away despite having chances to overwhelm Hyeon Do multiple times, Cheon Hui’s interest died instantly.
That wasn’t all.
Hyeon Do, too, had opportunities to strike lethal blows against Jongnam Geomseoung—yet he never took them.
They were showing each other consideration.
‘Sigh. I was a fool to hope for anything.’
He propped his chin on his hand and gazed down with a look of disdain.
Right then, the two combatants created distance between them.
Thud.
Jongnam Geomseoung, having stepped back, opened his eyes wide with visible surprise.
“…You possess remarkable skill.”
Hyeon Do caught his breath before speaking.
“It was merely good fortune. I nearly fell to your first strike.”
“Ha ha. You’re too modest.”
Jongnam Geomseoung smiled gently.
“It’s already clear to me from our sword exchange that you’re not the sort to fall to a single strike.”
“You flatter me.”
“It would be difficult to determine a victor between us.”
At Jongnam Geomseoung’s words resonating softly through the Bimu Arena, the crowd stirred.
“W-wait, did Jongnam Geomseoung just acknowledge the Huashan Sword Spirit as…?”
“His equal!”
Roooaaarrr!
The crowd erupted like oil poured onto a raging fire.
“Then let us continue.”
As if waiting for this moment, Jongnam Geomseoung took his first step.
Silent, without momentum.
Yet he vanished in an instant.
A kind of spatial displacement too subtle to be called Different Form Illusory Position.
It was like the Space-Crossing Technique cutting across space itself.
Whoosh!
With a light leap, he vanished in an instant, only to materialize directly before Hyeon Do’s eyes.
‘…So fast!’
Hyeon Do, startled by the blinding speed, arched his back desperately, but
Screech!
The blade whistled past his forehead, shearing away strands of his hair.
“Ugh!”
‘I need to regain my stance…’
With a sharp intake of breath, he braced his knees to recover his footing when—
“Not yet.”
A voice called out from below.
In that same instant, Sword Qi erupted from all directions—not just four, but from everywhere.
“This is indeed the technique of Jongnam…”
The Sword Qi soon engulfed Hyeon Do.
“The Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords!”
Hyeon Do’s eyes trembled as he faced a pressure and ferocity that defied the very notion of mere Sword Qi.
‘I cannot underestimate Sword Qi!’
Gritting his teeth, he unleashed his Inner Energy.
The Yin and Yang force harbored within the Taiyi Mili Inner Energy suffused his hands and stained his blade.
“Hah!”
A fierce shout burst forth.
Crack-crack-crack-crash!
The sounds detonated in rapid succession.
And as Hyeon Do wheeled his sword, plum blossoms bloomed around him.
“Plum blossoms!”
“That’s the Sword Flower of the Huashan Sect!”
The crowd’s expressions lit up.
Having witnessed the Sword Flower they’d only heard whispered about, they found their fists clenching of their own accord.
Then Hyeon Do, having shattered the Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords, raised his blade and brought it down in a sweeping arc.
Whoosh!
Just as the blade was about to touch Jongnam Geomseoung’s shoulder—
Clang!
The sword rebounded with a metallic ring.
“What!”
Hyeon Do stared at Jongnam Geomseoung in shock.
The space around the man had darkened, yet stars glimmered throughout it.
It was the Silver River Heaven-Strength Divine Art—the most heterodox and domineering protective technique among all the Jongnam Sect’s profound arts.
Jongnam Geomseoung stomped hard against the ground.
Boom!
With force enough to leave an indentation nearly an inch deep in the Bimu Arena floor, he shot forward like an arrow and unleashed his blade upon Hyeon Do.
Deploying the Silver River Wandering Shadow Flight, he continued to lock blades with Hyeon Do relentlessly.
Thus the two had been crossing swords for some time now.
…
The crowd watched, their souls suspended in awe.
As all stood entranced, bearing witness to the swift afterimages and the Space-Breaking Sounds that rang out,
Step—
The two, who had been exchanging blows with frenzied intensity, withdrew to their respective positions with expressions of satisfaction.
“Truly the finest of Huashan.”
“Truly the Jongnam Sect indeed—no, this is the swordplay of a true Sword Saint.”
For a moment, the two smiled, acknowledging each other’s worth.
“This shall suffice.”
With those words, Jongnam Geomseoung sheathed his blade.
“What do you mean by—”
As Hyeon Do’s eyes widened in surprise, Jongnam Geomseoung approached him slowly.
“My apologies.”
He offered a quiet apology.
“My disciples made a mistake. While they’ve been away, we haven’t managed things as we should have inside.”
Only then did Hyeon Do comprehend his intent, and he smiled softly, reversing his grip on his sword.
“Thank you for yielding to us.”
“It was always meant for the Huashan Sect, was it not?”
Jongnam Geomseoung spoke gently.
“At last, we return.”
The sudden cessation of combat caught several spectators off guard.
“What?”
“Wait, what? Is it over?”
“That was truly magnificent!”
One person’s cry broke the spell, and cheers erupted from all directions.
“Yes, yes—that’s right. A splendid match!”
“Wahhh! These two are from the Murim Alliance—what an honor for our league!”
“Jongnam Geomseoung!”
“Huashan Divine Sword!”
The crowd’s cries of acclamation swelled.
“I’ll make certain my sect hears of this properly.”
Jongnam Geomseoung spoke while casting a sideways glance at the bewildered Jongnam priests behind him.
“Thank you.”
Hyeon Do smiled as he replied, and Jongnam Geomseoung returned the expression with equal warmth before turning away.
“Ha—perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”
And so the Pavilion returned to the embrace of the Huashan Sect after more than a decade.

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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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