The Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky - Chapter 40

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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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Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky – Episode 40
At that very moment, Jegal Un stood motionless, watching the Namgung Clan’s carriage recede into the distance.
‘Truly… a remarkable man.’
The path Namgung Hyeok had carved through this Yongbong Gathering was nothing short of astonishing.
Exceptional martial prowess concealed within a frail frame, an ice-cold composure that remained unshaken in any circumstance, and a penetrating insight that cut through tangled threads in a single stroke.
Jegal Un’s heart trembled with barely contained excitement.
As an heir of the great Zhuge Kongming, he had spent a lifetime seeking a true master worthy of his unwavering service—and at last, that ancient thirst was quenched.
‘If the Jegal Clan, greatest under heaven, were to bow and take a subordinate position, every renowned Orthodox Sect would clasp their hands in welcome and rush forth with bare feet to greet us.’
Jegal Un smoothed the White Feather Fan and narrowed his eyes.
‘But the Namgung Clan Head is different. Isn’t he more straightforward and dignified than anyone? If I were to thrust a collar into his hands and beg him to employ me, he would surely feel the burden of it and keep his distance.’
What he wanted instead was to make Namgung Hyeok hungry for him first.
To fill those cool, indifferent eyes with affection reserved for him alone.
The mere thought sent an exhilarating thrill racing through his entire body.
‘To accomplish that, I must first carve deep into his bones just how invaluable a talent I am.’
The dull glimmer in his eyes sharpened into that of a cunning strategist.
Turning to his elite swordsmen, he cried out in a ringing voice:
“The matter the Namgung Clan Head entrusted to us is now the highest priority of the Jegal Clan! We must consult with our elders at once! Let us depart!”

* * *
Some time later.
Considerable time had passed since the Namgung Clan’s return home.
The confession spilled by Eon Tae Gyeong, the young Clan Head of Jinjueon who had transformed into a murderer, was enough to shake the entire Martial Realm to its foundations.
That a clan of considerable standing had embraced Blood Cult Sorcery and created those grotesque Corpse Demons was a monumental scandal that threatened to undermine the very bedrock of the Orthodox Sects.
Naturally, the Murim Alliance stepped forward. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, they moved to transport Eon Tae Gyeong to their headquarters for rigorous interrogation and investigation.
They meant to uncover the specific circumstances of his collusion with the Blood Cult and root out those behind the scheme.
But the Murim Alliance’s plan never even began—it failed before it could start.
The Seomun Clan Head had ambushed their transport convoy.
A father who had lost his only heir, his one and only child.
With his heart shattered beyond repair, what concern had he for the Alliance’s laws?
He cut down the Murim Alliance’s fighters who tried to block him, then severed Eon Tae Gyeong’s head from his shoulders on that very spot.
The moment Eon Tae Gyeong’s head flew, everything changed.
The hypocritical Alliance, claiming they had lost their justification, chose to withdraw.
They cared only for their own safety, not the order of the Martial World.
What unfolded was no longer a war between the Orthodox Sects and the Blood Cult, but a battle between clan and clan.
All-out warfare between the Seomun Clan and Jinjueon.
Before the Seomun Clan’s blade, Jinjueon was crushed utterly.
The clan met a catastrophic end—annihilation.
Yet even the Seomun Clan could not rejoice in their victory.
In the fighting, they had lost most of the masters who had been the pillars of their house.
In the end, the only beneficiary was the Blood Cult.
They had dangled a Secret Martial Technique as bait and shattered two of the Orthodox Sects’ great pillars in a single stroke.
“Pathetic fools. I knew it would come to this.”
The Orthodox Sects, who had long boasted of their unity, had proven just how rotten and fragile they truly were beneath the surface.
In the end, each clan and school locked their gates and stood wary of one another.
Fearful of becoming like Jinjueon or the Seomun Clan, they retreated into suspicion and rejection—a desolate atmosphere spreading through the Martial World.
Yet even across that thin ice, one place drew the concentrated attention of all eyes: none other than the Namgung Clan itself.
“A letter of inquiry has arrived from the Hwangbo Clan, accompanied by rare medicinal herbs!”
“The Sandong Ak Clan has sent choice fruits and oxen for tilling the fields!”
“The Jegal Clan and Sichuan Dang Clan have also…!”
The reason was obvious enough.
Hwangbo Gang, Ak Jin, Dang So Yeon, and Jegal Un.
Those four had surely returned to their clans and reported everything in detail.
The sharp-minded elders had long since done their calculations.
Determining which hand to hold to secure their clans’ futures.
“Hooray!”
The sisters bounded about with joy at the flood of gifts arriving.
“Who ever thought the Namgung name would receive such attention again? It’s all thanks to our brother!”
How they must have wrung their hands over their only brother, weak and dying by the day.
Now that he had grown strong and earned the respect of all around him, they were happier than anyone.
‘That their happiness is understandable, I do not deny.’
But I myself wasn’t so pleased about it.
“The more attention one receives, the more responsibilities pile up.”
I leaned back against the veranda where warm sunlight streamed in, exhaling smoke from my tobacco pipe.
‘The Blood Cult—these infuriating bastards.’
If I hadn’t responded in time, I would have died without a doubt.
‘Who knows when they’ll draw steel from the darkness again.’
Even as I rebuilt the village and trained martial artists, the foundation was still far too thin to wage open war.
‘Is there no good way around this?’
It was then that my mind grew muddled with worry.
“Clan Head, your thoughts seem to run quite deep.”
“And smoking at such a tender age will rot your bones clean away, mark my words.”
A voice suddenly interjected itself.
I turned to see Hye Gwang from Shaolin and Jang Ho from the Beggar Clan, both staying as guests of the Namgung Clan.
“Since you returned, Clan Head, you’ve been so busy we could hardly catch a proper moment to greet you. Now we finally do.”
Hye Gwang pressed his palms together in salute, breaking into an earnest smile.
Jang Ho revealed yellowed teeth and plopped down beside me.
“We heard of what happened at the Yongbong Gathering. A terrible affair, that……. Yet thanks to the Clan Head’s keen insight, it was kept from spreading into a greater calamity.”
“This humble mendicant too stands in admiration of your courage once again.”
“Spare the flattery.”
I replied flatly, tapping ash from my pipe.
“You must have had a hard winter. I hope you weren’t treated poorly?”
“Poorly? Not at all!”
Jang Ho waved his hands and let out a boisterous laugh.
“The Namgung household treats guests warmly wherever they go. In all my years as a beggar, I’ve never known such luxury—meat broth every day, and warm rooms besides. It’s paradise on earth, I tell you!”
“This humble monk too has received more kindness than I deserve, and it’s been a genuine pleasure to feel such warmth from the secular world again.”
Hye Gwang’s smile held genuine gratitude.
I chuckled softly at their words and tossed out casually.
“I’m glad you found such comfort here. In truth, thanks to you two watching over Namgung, I was able to travel with an easy mind. Consider this my repayment.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
When one is helped, it is only right to reward them.
I gave the two men fine robes sent from the Sichuan Dang Clan, renowned for their silk.
They were masterpieces stitched with care from materials as fine as the Namgung Clan’s own heavenly silk.
“Take them.”
As I offered them without ceremony, Jang Ho sniffled and replied.
“Look there, monk—see? Even when we cleared out those bandits, the Clan Head didn’t forget to reward us, and here he does it again!”
“Homage to Amitabha Buddha……. Truly, you are gruff on the surface, Clan Head, but your heart runs deep with compassion.”
“What nonsense. I’m simply paying for what I’ve used.”
I frowned in embarrassment, and the two men exchanged glances before bursting into raucous laughter.
“Haha! Look at him now—so bashful, yet with a heart far better than his demeanor suggests. It’s a delight to watch from the sidelines, truly. What an endearing Clan Head you are!”
‘Endearing?’
I was at a loss for words.
Here they were, calling the Heavenly Demon Pa Cheon Ma Jon—who once dyed the world red with blood—endearing.
For a moment, I considered drawing my blade and cutting out their three-inch tongues, but then a thought cut through my mind.
‘Well, since things have come to this……’
The Blood Cult’s interference had begun in earnest.
If I could bring the Beggar Clan and Shaolin into Namgung’s circle, we would be far safer than before.
The combination was hardly bad either—Shaolin’s Buddhist Aura specialized in caring for and protecting regions.
And the Beggar Clan? Their network of beggars scattered through every corner of the realm would make excellent eyes and ears for tracking the Blood Cult’s movements.
“I have something I wish to ask.”
As I straightened and posed the question, both men set aside their laughter and turned serious.
“Are there any branches of Shaolin or the Beggar Clan remaining in Anhui Province, where Namgung now stands?”
I had assumed the Beggar Clan would be scattered throughout any city, and that Shaolin, having built hermitages across the realm under the guise of caring for the common people, would surely maintain some presence.
But the moment my question ended, both men’s expressions darkened noticeably.
“……Regrettably, there are none.”
Jang Ho’s mouth twisted bitterly.
“During the war with the Blood Cult in days past, when Anhui Province fell, not only were the Alliance’s branches destroyed, but our Beggar Clan’s divisions and Shaolin’s hermitages all turned to ash. We still lack the means to restore what was lost, so they remain abandoned.”
“I see.”
After a moment of thought, I held up a finger with a proposal.
“Why don’t the two of you forget about packing and heading back? Stay here for good instead.”
“I……beg your pardon?”
“It means you’ll stay as my close neighbors. I’ll set aside land at the foot of Cheonju Mountain. The Namgung Clan will cover all the labor and construction costs. In return, establish a proper branch here where the Buddhist monks of Shaolin and the beggars of the Beggar Clan can live comfortably and conduct their activities.”
My audacious proposal left both men’s jaws hanging open.
“But in exchange.”
I ground out the tobacco pipe I’d been holding between my lips against the ashtray and fixed them with eyes gone cold and still.
“Become the Namgung Clan’s steadfast shield—keep those Blood Cult bastards from ever setting foot in Anhui Province again.”
And it wouldn’t just benefit the Namgung Clan. The common folk would gain immensely as well.
The two men stared at me blankly for a moment, then nodded their heads vigorously as though they’d made a pact.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha. It would be shameful if the Buddha’s compassion and protection did not extend to this place. We accept.”
“Heh, free food and a free house—what reason would any beggar have to refuse?”
His words were light, yet their implications for the Martial World ran deep.
It was the moment when two great sects—Shaolin and the Beggar Clan—would return to a region that had been abandoned by all when the war with the Blood Cult swept through.
“This is a deed that will be remembered in history. To think we would be the ones to begin it!”
“The Namgung Clan Head has made a great resolve. It is an honor!”
Both men rose to their feet with faces flushed with excitement.
“We shall send out carrier pigeons at once to announce the glad tidings and seek approval!”
I watched their figures disappear with a rumbling clatter, and let one corner of my mouth rise in a smirk.
“As expected, there’s no easier lot to work with than monks and beggars.”

* * *
A month passed swiftly after that.
At the tail end of winter, carrier pigeons finally arrived from both Shaolin and the Beggar Clan’s headquarters.
[We grant full approval for the reestablishment of the Anhui Province branch and temple hermitage.]
Though Jang Ho and Hye Gwang’s earnest pleas surely helped, the real reason they gave approval so readily lay elsewhere.
Years ago, when the Namgung Clan had served as a shield against the Blood Cult and faced extinction, the two sects had been unable to send reinforcements in time.
It seemed that bone-deep guilt over inaction—a heavy burden—had remained upon the backs of the Beggar Clan and Shaolin, both of whom took the work of protecting the world to heart.
Moreover, there was my recent display of prowess.
Watching the Namgung Clan, thought long dead, spring back to terrifying prominence, the leadership of both sects apparently felt the urgent necessity of reestablishing a foothold in Anhui Province and restoring their bond with the Namgung Clan.
“Waaaaah!”
After word of the approval spread, Anhui Province became a place of teeming activity.
Buddhist monks from Shaolin and beggars from the Beggar Clan, volunteering for assignment from every corner of the realm, began pouring in by the dozens each day.
I provided them lodging and, true to my word, unleashed the Namgung Clan’s manpower and wealth.
“Come on, bring more timber!”
Under the direction of Yeon Hwa and Han Seok San, construction proceeded at breakneck pace.
On the snug midslope of Cheonju Mountain, a Shaolin hermitage housing a grand Buddha statue began to rise in magnificent splendor, while in the lively backstreets of the town, a sprawling branch of the Beggar Clan took shape.
With the arrival of the great Orthodox Sects, the Namgung Clan’s security improved markedly.
But that was not all.
Outsiders who had trembled in dread since the Blood Cult’s invasion began seeking out the Shaolin hermitage.
It became a place of solace where they could find peace of mind and make offerings.
In the backstreets of town, the beggars of the Beggar Clan conducted small errands and sold information to those in need.
And so the Namgung village came alive with the vigor of any great city.
Jang Ho and Hye Gwang each claimed their posts as branch administrators and abbots respectively, settling in the Namgung Clan.
“Clan Head! I’ve come to present this month’s accounting!”
“This humble monk has also brought the precious offerings donated by the faithful this past month.”
Though Shaolin and the Beggar Clan ordinarily pursued independent paths, in Anhui Province it was different.
Since the Namgung Clan had provided full support in land and capital, they too faithfully remitted thirty percent of the offerings received at the hermitage and the wealth earned from selling information.
Hearing this, Seol Hwa, who managed the accounts, hummed cheerfully as she stacked the ledgers.
“I’d been worried about all the money going out! But now that funds and information flow in steadily, I couldn’t be more relieved! It’s all thanks to you, brother!”
A thorough and healthy symbiosis.
The Namgung Clan now held a steadfast shield, an endless stream of wealth, and an information network spanning the entire Martial Realm,
while Shaolin and the Beggar Clan were able to rapidly restore their influence within Anhui Province under such substantial support.
‘With this, I’ve assembled a defensive barrier adequate to guard against external interference and surprise attacks from the Blood Cult.’
What remained was personal advancement.
I recalled the desperate straits I’d faced during the corpse demons’ assault.
‘Still insufficient.’
I had acquired secret martial techniques of my own and was cultivating my inner power while refining my meridian circulation,
yet my small, frail body showed little sign of growing.
I had spent many days bedridden and remained weak still.
The saving grace was that I was still in my growth years, when bones still lengthened.
And more importantly, my inner power was sufficient to support the development of my body.
All that remained was to seek out the secret techniques of Divine Power that earned recognition throughout the realm.
The Secret Martial Techniques of the Namgung Clan and the Divine Sect lay dormant in my mind, but I set them aside for now.
There existed techniques far more useful for the moment at hand.
Only I didn’t possess them yet—they would need to be acquired.
The task I’d entrusted to Jegal Un was connected to this very matter.
Flap-flap! Just then, a carrier pigeon with white feathers descended through the air.
[I am executing the task you requested. I am sending you the location where we should meet, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.]
I memorized the coordinates, then cast the letter into the brazier and watched it burn.
‘Perfect timing.’
I could retrieve the technique I’d marked for acquisition and deal with those rats in one stroke.
Tap, tap. I brushed the ash from my hands and summoned the person waiting outside.
“Namgung Gyeong.”
Namgung Gyeong, who had been standing by in the office corridor, hurried in.
“Yes, Clan Head!”
“We have somewhere to go together. I’ll need you to prepare for a departure.”
“Where are we headed, sir?”
I answered, letting a dark and ominous aura settle over my words.
“To hunt the demons of the Blood Cult. I cannot let what they’ve done go unanswered.”

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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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