The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 237
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 237
After staring at the stone wall for a long time, our conclusion was that we didn’t know.
No matter how brilliant Eok I-geon was, how could he understand its meaning unless he was the First Cheonma himself?
For now, we couldn’t come to any answer.
“Will you still try it?”
“Yes, I want to.”
Whatever the reason, this was an opportunity for me.
At times like this, confronting it directly could also be a method.
Having gone out to Jungwon once, I seemed to understand why martial artists so desperately tried to become stronger.
Whether it was the Demonic Sect this way, the Jeongpa that way, or whatever about the Seopa, ultimately the most important thing was power.
There was a reason the martial arts world was called the Mountain of Blades and Forest of Swords.
Once you learned martial arts, you had to become strong first.
“Are you really sure you’ll be okay?”
“Of course. You’ll be right beside me.”
“Naturally. If you think it’s too much, think of the rock terrace. Then you’ll return.”
“Yes.”
Eok I-geon seemed to regard my challenge as admirable.
He gently stroked my head several times before taking a step back.
“Whoo!”
I took a deep breath.
Standing before the cliff again, my tension heightened.
Though it had been virtual, the terror of the sword that stabbed at me was real.
I had lost consciousness several times without even being able to block it properly.
The probability of that happening again was high.
Even so, the reason I repeatedly stood here was because of ‘something’ that had flashed by.
I hadn’t told Eok I-geon because it might have been a mistake, but I had seen something else in the First Cheonma’s sword.
Just before fainting, I desperately wanted to confirm that intense but blurry thing.
‘Hm?’
Did he think my hesitation meant I was scared?
Eok I-geon’s warm touch reached my back.
Thanks to that, my tension eased considerably.
“Thank you.”
“Be at ease.”
“Yes.”
Encouraged by Eok I-geon’s support, I raised my head and faced the stone wall.
Swoooosh—
My danjeon was forcibly awakened and the cliff poured toward me once again.
‘I won’t be caught off guard so easily the second time!’
Bang!
Unlike the first time, I didn’t panic and faced the flying sword head-on.
I knew it would happen, but a strong impact that made my wrist ache was transmitted.
Still, it was bearable.
I was quite proud of myself for not being pushed back.
‘Left!’
Without even looking, I struck away the sword that shot out from the left.
‘Behind!’
Then I dodged the sword stabbing from behind and swung the Mahu Phoenix Sword.
It wasn’t that I had gotten faster, nor had the First Cheonma’s sword become slower.
I had simply predicted the sword’s path in advance.
‘I can see it!’
I tilted my head back and looked up at the black sky.
There, the sword I had seen before losing consciousness appeared again.
And behind it, a blurry silhouette hidden against the black background was captured.
I hadn’t seen it wrong!
Though it wasn’t clear, what was certain was that the silhouette was holding a sword.
‘This is where it will step with true force, right?’
Boom!
The black silhouette stepped powerfully through midair.
The atmosphere rippled and tremendous force pressed down on me fiercely.
‘This is exactly the Cheonma Dominion Step.’
I might not have known before.
But knowing it, there was no reason I couldn’t withstand it.
Mahu Dominion Sword, Mahu’s Mighty Force!
I exploded my internal energy and fought against the tremendous force pressing down on me.
They say the best defense is offense.
I unleashed the final technique of the Mahu Dominion Sword that I had been saving.
No one can reign above Mahu.
Mahu Rules the World!
Grrrrack!
Sword energy tinged with red light enveloped the entire Mahu Phoenix Sword. Sharp killing intent that seemed to devour even the surrounding air swept through the area.
With momentum that seemed to cut through everything in the world, the Mahu Phoenix Sword struck the First Cheonma’s sword.
Whoosh—
…What?
The swords clashed, but there was no metallic sound, not even any noise at all.
Like pressing the mute button while using a phone, all sounds disappeared.
Had something gone wrong with my ears?
Crack—
Just as that question arose, with a sound like something splitting, the black world came crashing down.
“Huh?”
At the same time, blue sky was revealed and Macheongtian spread out before my eyes.
Did I really win like this?
Me?
I felt more bewildered than joyful.
Honestly, I had expected greater trials to be waiting, so I was perplexed.
“Young Master!”
Eok I-geon came into my view.
He was looking somewhere with his hands clasped behind his back, unaware that I had returned.
“Young Master, I’m back!”
I ran to him at full speed.
Whatever had happened, it was true that I had defeated the First Cheonma’s sword, so I intended to boast about it.
“…?”
But the moment my eyes met Eok I-geon’s, I was swept by a strange feeling.
Because I sensed something unfamiliar from him, even though we hadn’t been apart for long.
‘His face is subtly different.’
He looked identical enough to believe he was an identical twin, but my eyes could see the differences.
It wasn’t just his appearance.
The expression looking at me, his unusual posture, and most of all, even the clothes he wore weren’t Eok I-geon’s.
“Who are you!”
I shouted while pointing the Mahu Phoenix Sword at him.
“Who dares to bewitch me with that face!”
“That’s what I should ask, child. Who are you?”
The opponent with Eok I-geon’s face tilted his head and asked me leisurely.
Where do you get off cutting in line?
I asked first, you know?
I thrust my sword closer as if warning him and glared at the man.
“Hmm, how did such a child come to this place?”
The man kept tilting his head as if my presence was fascinating.
Why is he talking like that?
Like an old man who’s lived his whole life…!
“Wait a moment.”
I was too busy being wary of the man to notice earlier.
The scenery of Macheongtian visible behind him was strange.
It was as if things that should be there were missing.
For instance, there was no blazing sun, no blowing wind, and none of the occasional insect sounds I used to hear.
C-could it be?
I flinched and stepped back.
Then I hurriedly looked around again.
‘This isn’t the Macheongtian I was in!’
The shapes and sizes of the trees were different, and the sword marks carved into the walls were also different.
While the Macheongtian I knew was full of traces of time, this place felt younger than that.
“You’ve noticed.”
The man’s deep voice reached my flustered ears.
I couldn’t help but ask.
“…A-are you perhaps Cheonma?”
“That’s what I was called in my later years.”
Seeing the First Cheonma answer readily, I clearly realized I still hadn’t escaped the virtual world he created.
“Child, how did you enter this place?”
Cheonma brought his face close to mine and asked again.
Ah, why are you coming closer!
Don’t come close with that face!
“I-I don’t know.”
You’re the one who created this, so why are you asking me?
I thought at least the First Cheonma would know.
“How strange. This is a place only my successor can enter.”
That’s what I’m saying.
Why don’t you know that?
“Can women now ascend to the position of Cheonma?”
“I don’t think so?”
As far as I knew, there hadn’t been such a woman yet.
There was almost one once, but she ultimately became Mahu instead of Cheonma and pioneered her own path.
“Excuse me, may I ask you something too?”
I was too curious to just let it pass.
“Is that face your real face?”
“My face, you mean?”
“Yes, I wondered if you might have altered it with transformation techniques…”
“No. This is my original face.”
What.
I was speculating that he had read my memories and appeared with Eok I-geon’s face, but what is this?
How can they look this identical?
This was copy-paste level.
It was so amazing it was shocking, as if the First Cheonma’s genes had been completely concentrated in Eok I-geon.
“What a strange connection.”
Cheonma said to me as I marveled at him.
“I would like to have many conversations, but the time allowed to me is not long. So think carefully and answer. How did you come to be here?”
At his serious question, I revealed my honest thoughts.
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably because of the martial arts I learned.”
“What martial arts is that?”
“Mahu’s martial arts.”
“Mahu?”
Curiosity appeared on the First Cheonma’s face.
I explained in detail where Mahu’s martial arts came from and what connection it had with Cheonma’s martial arts.
“Oh! May I see it once?”
“Yes.”
If it were anyone else, it would absolutely not be allowed, but my opponent was the being who created the Cheonma Divine Art.
Moreover, he wasn’t even a living person, just a lingering thought or will left behind when Cheonma died.
Not only that.
He was also the master who had taught martial arts to Eok I-geon across time and space.
‘This is how I support him.’
I demonstrated Mahu’s martial arts to him as sincerely as I could manage.
“I see.”
After seeing Mahu’s martial arts, Cheonma nodded and fell into deep thought.
From my perspective, it seemed like he was somehow moved.
“It seems that sword awakened me.”
Mahu’s sword awakened Cheonma?
To my bewilderment, Cheonma made a proposal.
“Could you visit again in a few days?”
“…If you permit it, anytime.”
“I think I’ll have something to give you then.”
“To me?”
What is he going to give me?
“Keep it secret from my successor outside.”
With a warm smile that didn’t quite match his handsome face as the last thing I saw, the First Cheonma’s figure gradually became blurry.
The Macheongtian that had surrounded me also changed in an instant.
“Have you returned?”
Eok I-geon’s warm voice welcomed me.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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