Obtaining Heavenly Demon Martial Arts in the Magic Era - Chapter 25

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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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25
The fact that this man knew his father—the realization that Gwak Chul and his father had inhabited the same world—sent a chill racing down his spine.
“I have no memories of my father.”
“I suppose you wouldn’t.”
…
The man studied Cheon Do-hyeon’s reaction in silence. His gaze held both sharpness and an odd warmth at once.
“I cannot leave a guest standing. Please, sit. And if I’m not mistaken, it seems Lee Ye-rim has been rather discourteous.”
At those words, Lee Ye-rim’s body went rigid.
“I instructed her to receive you with proper respect. By her own measure, was that truly how she treated you?”
“But because of that man, Gwak Chul—!”
“Say no more. That’s enough. Take your leave.”
“Yes.”
“Understood, Bangju.”
The two men who had brought Seon Young-hun and Kim Jun-pyo responded at once, but Lee Ye-rim remained silent.
“Tch. Take her with you.”
Bangju clicked his tongue and gestured. Lee Ye-rim was dragged from the room, her arms firmly restrained, yet her gaze remained fixed on Cheon Do-hyeon with undisguised resentment.
Once she had completely vanished, the atmosphere settled. Bangju pressed his hand to his brow and sighed.
“She’s followed Chul closely since childhood. My apologies for the late introduction. I am Seon Young-hun, entrusted with the position of Bangju in Gae-bang.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Thank you for receiving us.”
Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo appeared visibly tense.
Gulp.
Bangju drank from the tea he had offered.
A pleasant aroma of leaves mingled with warmth lingered on his tongue.
“Then, shall we begin with why you’ve come all this way? What brings you here?”
Seon Young-hun asked as he lifted his cup. It was clear he was asking for far more than a simple plan.
How could it be otherwise, when he had witnessed the information network of Gae-bang with his own eyes, felt its reach firsthand?
The man before him was the Bangju of such an organization.
There was a high probability he had already grasped everything about Cheon Do-hyeon before this meeting. So what answer should he give to such a man?
Should he simply state his reason for coming?
His resolve in life?
Cheon Do-hyeon remained silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
“I want to know what relationship my grandfather and Gwak Chul had. And how my family is entangled with this world.”
His voice did not waver.
Seon Young-hun did not answer. He simply set down his cup and regarded Cheon Do-hyeon. It was the gaze of someone taking measure of another.
“Before I speak of this, I’m afraid these two will need to step away for a moment.”
Seon Young-hun turned to Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo, who had been sitting quietly in the back, and made his request with courtesy.
They had already sensed the unusual gravity of the moment and were waiting for the chance to leave.
“Of course. Let’s go.”
“Y-yes!”
They rose hastily and excused themselves.
With only the two of them remaining in the space, a brief silence fell.
Seon Young-hun steadied his breathing, then slowly began to speak.
“Gwak Chul was an old colleague of mine. There was a reason he left his belongings to you before he died.”
Seon Young-hun paused, as if choosing his words carefully.
“He carried a debt to the Cheon Clan. Not only him—all of us in the Murim owed a debt as well.”
…!
Cheon Do-hyeon was deeply startled, having never imagined his family held such an important position in the Murim world.
“You may wish to know everything, but you must consider why Cheon U-hyeok concealed the Cheon Clan’s affairs so thoroughly.
He wished for his grandson to live an ordinary life. Your father, Cheon Song-gyeong, shared that same will.
In other words, you must understand that uncovering the Cheon Clan’s connection to the Murim directly betrays the wishes of your father and grandfather.”
“My grandfather—”
Cheon Do-hyeon cut him off decisively.
“Left me with a final instruction. To live without hesitation. That was my grandfather’s will.”
Upon hearing this, Seon Young-hun let out a sigh.
“Heh.”
He fell silent in thought for a moment, then murmured to himself.
“The Cheon bloodline standing before this world once more at such a time… it cannot possibly be coincidence.”
Cheon Do-hyeon listened quietly.
“However, as Bangju, I cannot be certain whether you can bear all the truth.”
“I can bear it!”
“Everything about your everyday life will vanish! From now on, forever—you’ll have to turn your back on the life you’ve known and walk a path stained with blood.”
Cheon Do-hyeon couldn’t utter a word, crushed beneath the sheer force of Seon Young-hun’s presence.
Hearing those words, his grandfather’s dojo and school life flashed through his mind.
The place where he’d endured the discrimination of being Noma. A place where he’d had no good memories until recently.
But then Kim Seung-yeon’s and Kim Jun-pyo’s faces drifted into focus. For some reason, even the sight of Kim Byeong-hak—whom he despised—came to mind. He was beginning to understand what an ordinary school life actually meant.
Seon Young-hun seemed to read the marks of his struggle, softening his expression as he spoke.
“Once you’ve made the resolve to turn your back on all of it, come to me. It won’t be too late even then.”
“…Yes.”
This time, Cheon Do-hyeon decided against answering hastily.
After a moment, Seon Young-hun infused his voice with inner energy and called out to someone waiting outside.
“Lee Sang-won!”
The man whose name had been called entered the room immediately. He was one of the men who had been standing beside Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo. He appeared to be in his early thirties, broad-shouldered with a solid frame, his gaze sharp yet his eyes clear.
“This is Lee Sang-won, one of the three known as the Three Dragons of Gae-bang. He will remain at your side for the time being.”
Lee Sang-won gave a slight bow toward Do-hyeon. It was a greeting stripped of both arrogance and excessive courtesy.
“More dangers will come your way from now on. When they do, make use of this man. All the Gae-bang members throughout the country will come to your aid.”
“…That’s a heavy burden to carry.”
“What? Ha-ha-ha.”
After his laughter subsided, he spoke again.
“You must stay alive if you’re to find the answers you seek. Don’t worry about feeding him, clothing him, or sheltering him. That’s the only real advantage Gae-bang has to offer.”
Do-hyeon looked at Seon Young-hun, then turned his gaze to Lee Sang-won, and faced forward once more.
“Thank you.”
Seon Young-hun raised his teacup one last time and took a sip.
“I’m curious. What are your plans going forward? I hear you’ve tangled yourself with some troublesome individuals…”
Seon Young-hun clearly already knew that Cheon Do-hyeon had come into conflict with a member of the Ma-do-myeong-ga.
What would be the point of hiding anything now?
Cheon Do-hyeon laid bare his honest plans.
“First, revenge. I intend to avenge Gwak Chul. I’ll decide my commitment after that. Would you try to stop me?”
“Didn’t I just say it? Through this man, every member of Gae-bang will aid you.”
That was all. Yet that single statement felt more binding than any contract. A promise that Cheon Do-hyeon would be supported in whatever he undertook.
Cheon Do-hyeon left the room. He’d received everything he could gain from this place.
Now all that remained was for his own resolve to crystallize. As he stepped into the corridor, Kim Seung-yeon greeted him quietly. Kim Jun-pyo stood behind her.
The three of them didn’t speak for a while.
In that space beneath Yongsan Station Underground, where candlelight flickered, Do-hyeon felt for the first time that he had taken one true step into this world.
#
“Did you talk things through?”
Kim Seung-yeon asked.
“Thanks to you. I’d like to get outside now…”
Just then, Lee Sang-won emerged from the room. He paused at the doorway for a moment, then walked toward the three of them.
Kim Seung-yeon stepped back half a pace. It was a reflexive movement.
“I know the exit.”
A single sentence. No explanation, no reason, no indication of willingness to escort them. He simply stated that he knew where the exit was.
Do-hyeon nodded.
He followed Lee Sang-won’s lead toward the exit.
After walking for some distance, Do-hyeon felt a concealed presence emanating from the far end of the corridor.
A single pillar created a shadow at a precise point.
A deep corner untouched by candlelight.
As he sensed someone watching him from that direction and looked over,
A figure quietly emerged, as though making no attempt to stay hidden.
It was Lee Ye-rim.
Her expression was invisible. There was distance between them, and she stood beyond the reach of light.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
Had she been waiting to deliver these words? Cheon Do-hyeon felt laughter escape him unbidden.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not really compensation, but…”
As she spoke, Lee Ye-rim leaned her body sharply toward Cheon Do-hyeon.
At that movement, both Lee Sang-won and Kim Seung-yeon tensed, immediately adopting protective stances around Do-hyeon.
Kim Seung-yeon shouldn’t even be close enough to throw a punch, yet here she was reacting anyway.
Do-hyeon found her behavior absurd in his mind, but he took care not to let it show.
Paying no mind to the reactions of her companions, Lee Ye-rim spoke what she had come to say.
“Club Babylon. That’s where you’re aiming, isn’t it? You need to hurry. He’s started erasing his traces.”
Cheon Do-hyeon marveled at her words with genuine admiration.
He could gauge just how formidable Gae-bang’s intelligence network truly was.
“What? Club Babylon? How on earth did I find the server room’s location!”
Kim Seung-yeon shrieked in a high-pitched voice, her excitement bursting out.
Cheon Do-hyeon turned to Lee Sang-won and posed the question.
“We need to move before they make their play. Can you help us?”
“Of course.”
Lee Sang-won smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. With those few words from Cheon Do-hyeon, the entire organization stirred into motion. The response was as though the leader himself had issued a direct command.
Cheon Do-hyeon would not have known it, but his request was precisely what every Gae-bang member had been longing for.
The owner of Club Babylon was implicated in Gwak Chul’s death.
Most of the Gae-bang people already knew this fact.
“Revenge!”
“Revenge begins!”
From their perspective, it was vengeance for Gwak Chul’s death.
And so the Gae-bang members began to move with unprecedented speed and determination.

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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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