Obtaining Heavenly Demon Martial Arts in the Magic Era - Chapter 64

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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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64
Withered leaves tumbled through the final stretch of late autumn. When I opened the window that morning without thinking, I felt a cold that seeped deep into my bones. Winter was coming—I could feel it now.
“Sigh….”
My breath came out white.
A week had passed since returning to Korea, yet mornings at Cheongyun Jang remained bitterly cold.
Cheon Do-hyeon straightened his bedding, threw on his coat, and stepped outside to warm up his body.
“Breathe, breathe.”
After a brief stretch, jogging brought warmth flooding back through his muscles, and the cold receded.
As the lingering drowsiness lifted, his mind cleared as well.
Cheon Do-hyeon reflected on everything that had happened over the past week.
The moment he’d returned to Korea, he’d introduced Jegal Seo-rin to his colleagues.
“The Jegal Sega…!”
Her very presence alone was proof of their alliance with the Jegal clan.
Beyond that, there was what had transpired at Shipman Daesan.
When he shared details of the friction with the Hwanun Danga and bringing Dan Cheon-woo into the fold,
“Were you dreaming?”
“Even movies would flop if made like that.”
Skepticism poured forth in waves.
Eventually, he’d had to pull out several Divine Objects he’d brought back from Shipman Daesan,
“You’re really giving us these?”
“I can feel an artificial aura about them….”
And put Dan Cheon-woo on a direct call with them.
— The Heavenly Demon returns! Ten thousand blessings upon him!
“Stop it, stop!”
But throughout the entire conversation, Dan Cheon-woo only shouted praises—”Holy one,” “ten thousand years,” “ten thousand blessings”—making any proper dialogue impossible.
“So… another soul is living inside that body?”
“He’s definitely not in his right mind.”
Seon Young-hoon likewise briefed them on what had transpired during their absence.
“After Jang Gi-jun proposed the alliance….”
The situation in Korea had apparently been more relaxed than expected.
After Jang Gi-jun had proposed an alliance to the Cheorhyeol Jang,
“They’ve been deliberately searching in all the wrong places….”
With materials Kim Seung-yeon had prepared, they could now see Cheorhyeol Jang’s movements laid out clearly before them.
“But recently….”
Cheorhyeol Jang’s forces had begun searching through Seoul Outskirts and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province region.
“Hmm….”
“That’s probably….”
Jegal Seo-rin proposed one possibility.
“Dan Jin-myeong seemed to recognize Lord Cheon.”
From the Hwanun Danga, one of the demonic orders, they had been observing Cheon Do-hyeon.
“If this fact was reported to the Household Head of Cheorhyeol Jang?”
“…Then pressure would have been applied to Jang Gi-jun, who’s been grasping at straws all this time.”
“From now on, we’ll need to conduct proper searches.”
“……”
Seon Young-hoon released a brief sigh.
“I thought we should wait until the members who went to China return… but it seems we’ve reached our limit.”
“It’s my fault for acting so conspicuously. I was careless.”
Looking back, the root cause of all this lay with him.
There could have been a way to save Jegal Seo-rin without revealing his face directly.
“At the time, my heart got ahead of me….”
Watching Cheon Do-hyeon bow his head deeply, Kim Seung-yeon quietly approached and linked her arm through his.
“?!”
“Lord Cheon, don’t say such things. I was so grateful.”
Kim Seung-yeon’s eyes widened as if they might burst from her head. Those who were seeing Jegal Seo-rin for the first time that day shared her reaction. They turned their gazes toward Lee Ye-rim and Lee Dae-gwang, who had just returned from China with Do-hyeon, as if demanding an explanation.
Lee Ye-rim shook her head gently.
She seemed tired of the whole thing.
Watching that reaction, Kim Seung-yeon’s face stiffened rapidly as she intuited that incidents like this were happening all the time.
“Miss Seo-rin, thank you.”
Failing to read the shift in atmosphere, Cheon Do-hyeon drew strength from her words and spoke.
“We can’t delay any longer, it seems. Let’s send word back. Tell them we’d like to meet and talk.”
Cheon Do-hyeon made his decision.
“I’ll go meet Jang Gi-jun in person.”
#
Before meeting Jang Gi-jun.
With the Cheolhyeol Jang’s movements escalating, opinions arose that they needed to prepare for potential attacks.
“Leave that to me.”
Jegal Seo-rin rolled up both sleeves and stepped forward.
“Let me show you the Jegal Sega’s way of fighting.”
Defense itself is the best offense.
The Jegal Sega constructed dense Ki-Gate Formations across their territory.
Like a spider hunting its prey, they were a household specialized in toppling attacking enemies.
“With time short, let’s set up a triple-layered defense for now, and we’ll consider adding more formations later….”
Seo-rin emptied the Jegal Sega’s coffers without hesitation.
“Oh, the mist is growing thicker…!”
“It’s just like looking at Yung Jung-san.”
Thanks to the intricate Ki-Gate Formation, Cheongyun Jang became even safer!
“Which way did you say to go?”
“I’ve completely lost my bearings.”
However, unless one stepped exactly where Jegal Seo-rin had instructed, even allies would fall into illusion,
and since the Gaebang disciples who were ignorant of the very concept of Ki-Gate Formations hadn’t memorized the answer key,
accidents kept happening where they’d find themselves trapped in the formation.
“These stupid fools! They’re bringing shame to Gaebang!”
Lee Ye-rim vented her frustration.
Meanwhile, while Jegal Seo-rin was quickly establishing herself at Cheongyun Jang,
someone else was contracting rapidly in the opposite direction.
An empty lot far from Bangjusil.
Thunk. Thunk.
Kim Seung-yeon watched a stone rolling from her kick, lost in thought.
“A rolling stone stops the stone in place….”
As she muttered such bitter words to herself,
“What are you doing here?”
“Whoa! You scared me!”
When Cheon Do-hyeon appeared without warning and spoke to her,
the startled Kim Seung-yeon’s body lifted about ten centimeters off the ground before settling back down.
“I nearly died. Could’ve had a heart attack.”
Kim Seung-yeon wiped away tears glistening in her eyes and looked at him with a resentful gaze.
“Haha, sorry, Vice Captain. I saw you moping around and got curious.”
“Moping? …. I guess so. It just occurred to me suddenly.”
“You went to China and did even more than what you set out to do, but what did I do here?”
Anxiety had crept in.
She wanted to help. It had always been that way.
She knew this was beyond her capacity,
yet she wanted to help Cheon Do-hyeon.
With that pure heart, she had thrown herself into it,
but once the game began, there was nothing she could do.
She felt keenly how lacking her abilities were.
And that self-loathing only deepened when she saw Jegal Seo-rin, who had come from China, active and thriving.
Doing nothing,
just taking up space.
So wouldn’t it be better to quietly step back around now….
“No.”
Cheon Do-hyeon spoke firmly.
“You don’t need to feel that anxiety. I don’t keep people by my side because they’re useful. I keep you there because you’re mine. Don’t try to prove your worth. Don’t stress yourself with such things. Just being here, in this place—that alone is already such tremendous strength for me.”
What did Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo mean to Cheon Do-hyeon?
He had spent his whole life dismissed as a hopeless defective who couldn’t even wield Magical Power,
but when he stepped into the Murim world,
he inherited not just the blood of a Murim hero,
but became the 58th Heavenly Demon of Cheonma Shingyeyo.
A destiny came with it: to stop the ambitions of the Madao Myeongga.
A fate far too cruel for an eighteen-year-old boy who hadn’t even become an adult.
In the old days, these elders never would have asked his opinion. Now they came to him for counsel.
So he fretted constantly, terrified his youth and weakness would show through.
Every single day felt like walking on thin ice.
But when he was with Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo, he became a boy his own age in an instant.
They were the breathing space he needed.
So
“Don’t run away. Stay by my side.”
Kim Seung-yeon read the sincerity in Cheon Do-hyeon’s eyes.
……
For some reason, heat rushed to her face.
Whoosh—
Kim Seung-yeon turned her head away, startled by her own reaction.
‘What’s wrong with me? It’s not like I was just confessed to or anything….’
When she pressed her palms to her cheeks, they burned like the blood was boiling beneath her skin. That was when it happened.
“Sob—s-sniff, sniff, thank you Do-hyeon!”
“?!”
From nowhere, Kim Jun-pyo emerged from the undergrowth, his shoulders shaking with loud sobs.
He stumbled toward them and suddenly pulled both Kim Seung-yeon and Cheon Do-hyeon into an embrace.
“What am I doing—! Sob, I’ll try harder!”
“No, you don’t need to do that!”
“But still, still—”
Cheon Do-hyeon didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“……Did you know Jun-pyo was here?”
“Haven’t they been together the whole time…? Oh, they weren’t?”
……
With his senses that transcended the normal human realm, Cheon Do-hyeon had perceived Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Jun-pyo within the same area.
He simply hadn’t known why Kim Jun-pyo was hiding in the brush.
Which meant those words he’d just spoken
weren’t meant only for Kim Seung-yeon,
but for her to hear together with Kim Jun-pyo.
Kim Seung-yeon felt the heat drain from her face.
“Sob, but why is Seung-yeon’s face so red?”
“Yeah, Seung-yeon. Are you hot?”
The two oblivious men asked.
“…Please, just leave me alone.”
Kim Seung-yeon fanned herself frantically as she quickly put distance between herself and them.
#
Let’s rewind time a little.
Before Cheon Do-hyeon’s group returned to Korea.
The Household Head’s private quarters of Cheolhyeol Jang.
Inside the compulsively organized quarters, only wooden furnishings remained.
Tap, tap, tap.
Jang Jae-young sat in a chair, lost in thought.
He was replaying the phone call from Hwanun Danga that had come through moments before.
— Cheolhyeol. Is the plan to eliminate the Murim stragglers that you said you’d handle proceeding without incident?
Hwanun Danga was geographically close to Cheolhyeol Jang, but they weren’t the sort of contacts who would make personal calls.
“I’ve no patience for roundabout talk. State your business plainly.”
— Hah… It appears those rat pups that should have stayed in Korea have crossed over.
The two had spoken once more after the Madao Myeongga council ended.
So Dan Jin-myeong knew which faction the Murim remnants that had been established in Korea belonged to.
Which meant
the reason he was calling now was….
— The Cheonma Shingyeyo remnants…. We expressed it that way, but now that I’ve experienced them firsthand, they’re nothing to dismiss lightly.
“……What’s your point?”
— Hwanun Danga will lend its support. This elimination job of yours—if we’re not careful, those fleas might hop up onto our roof as well….
As he recalled that unpleasant call, a knock came at the door of the quarters.
“Household Head, Young Master Gi-jun has arrived.”
“…Tell him to come in.”
There was a brief murmur of voices outside,
and Jang Gi-jun entered through the door.
He wore a military uniform that had long since grown threadbare.
“At your command, Father! I came running the moment you called.”
Despite his playful tone, Jang Jae-young’s eyes were ice.
“That uniform doesn’t suit you.”
……
The smile flickered from Jang Gi-jun’s face for a moment, then forced itself back.
“Surely we’re not in a state of war, Father. But I thought I’d face this moment with the resolve of a soldier. Ha ha ha.”
As Jang Gi-jun manufactured that strained laughter,
Jang Jae-young flicked his wrist, and the metal buckle at his son’s waist leapt free,
hurtling toward Jang Gi-jun’s throat before he could even react.
Whoosh—
It pressed firmly against the carotid artery, stopping just shy of catastrophe.
Jang Gi-jun’s smile vanished.
“Why are you doing this…?”
Jang Gi-jun looked up at his father, his expression taut with tension.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“…Notice what…?”
Crunch—
The moment those words left his mouth, the pressure on the artery intensified.
Scrape—
The sharp edge drew across his neck, and blood began to drip.
“Don’t play games with me. Whatever delay you’re scheming, the outcome is one of two things: you complete the task I’ve given you and prove your usefulness, or you fail and live like garbage before dying like garbage.”
……
“This is my final warning. See that you never give me reason to summon you to this room again.”
Jang Jae-young’s Magical Power flared with savage intensity.
“Yes, Father.”
With Jang Gi-jun’s reply, it was as if Jang Jae-young had simply released his grip—the tremendous force that had dominated the space vanished without a trace.
Ting—clink clink.
The buckle piece that had threatened his life moments before clattered to the floor and rolled away.
Jang Gi-jun staggered out of the Household Head’s study, struggling to gather up the evidence of what had just transpired.
Tsk.
The door closed with that sharp sound,
……
and Jang Gi-jun stood in the hallway, slowly raising his head.
In those narrow eyes gleamed not fear, but a rage so profound it had no name.

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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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