The Heavenly Demon of the Blue Sky - Chapter 48

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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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Azure Heavenly Demon 048
Half an hour later.
Uncertain what dangers might lurk along the way, I dressed in a Deep Blue Long Robe to prepare for covert travel.
Over the Pure White Scabbard, I wrapped a black cloth and slung it diagonally across my shoulder.
“Whistle!”
As I whistled, the hawk—fully recovered—came darting powerfully toward me.
It spread its golden wings in a graceful arc before alighting gently on my shoulder.
It seemed to understand we were setting out to rescue its master.
Grateful, too, for being saved, it rubbed its face against my cheek in an affectionate gesture.
‘Come to think of it.’
In my past life, I had always been remarkably popular with beasts—especially the fierce predators that would make ordinary people blanch with dread.
Finding me more palatable than dark-hearted humans, they had granted me their trust. That inclination seemed to carry forward into this life as well.
Here I was, commanding someone else’s hawk with a single whistle.
With a low growl, I gripped the Black Horse’s reins and departed through the Namgung Main Gate.
A lean expedition. Namgung Gyeong stepped forward ahead of me, bowing deferentially.
“Master, I apologize, but since I once fled to Gangnam, I know those roads well—yet I cannot claim precise knowledge of the northern routes connecting to Shanxi and Shandong. I should have expanded my scouting range. Forgive me.”
Namgung Gyeong lowered his head, beads of cold sweat forming.
“Is that so?”
Time was pressing. Not knowing the way would be troublesome. Then—
“Hyuk! I’m ready too!”
Yuhwa came galloping over, leading a sturdy tan-colored horse, and fell into line beside us.
I was about to protest at her having prepared her own supplies without my say-so, but she preempted me.
“I can serve as your guide. I’ve been that way before.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Long ago, when our Namgung Clan was trampled and destroyed by the Blood Cult… the family members didn’t flee south to Gangnam. They went north instead.”
A bitter shadow crossed Yuhwa’s face.
“Father ordered us to seek out Jinju Eon-ga first.”
“Jinju Eon-ga?”
“In the past, Jinju Eon-ga was based in Zhenzhou, Hunan Province, but they were driven back in their fierce battles against the Evil Faction and became homeless wanderers. Namgung stepped forward first and helped them establish a foothold in northern Anhui Province, offering every form of assistance so they could rebuild.”
Yuhwa sighed softly, adjusting the horse’s bridle.
“So when we faced the threat of Clan Destruction, Father believed firmly that Jinju Eon-ga would repay that debt—sending reinforcements to aid us and protecting our fleeing family members.”
“…But they turned away.”
“Exactly. The young patriarch and their leaders, desperate for their own survival, shut their doors tight.”
Fearing they might lose everything again as they once had, they turned their backs on their neighbors’ ruin and huddled selfishly inward.
“That cowardly choice became the reason why, later, other orthodox families would scorn and despise Jinju Eon-ga as ingrates who forgot their benefactors.”
Consumed by guilt and inferiority for abandoning their saviors, they festered from within.
That was why they met such a terrible end.
Fools. There had surely been better choices.
“Then where did you and the others flee to in those days?”
“To the Seomun Clan. They too waited for the Murim Alliance’s signal and could not help in time as Namgung fell. But the moment our kinfolk crossed into Shanxi, they risked everything to take us in and shelter us.”
Yuhwa smiled at me gently.
“You suffered high fever throughout that grueling journey and lay in a carriage the whole time, so it’s no wonder you don’t remember clearly.”
Now the tables had turned—it was the Seomun who were on the run.
“I see. Very well. Let us travel together.”
Namgung Gyeong, hearing this, urgently spoke up.
“Master! Even if I don’t know the routes, I’m skilled at building campfires and keeping watch. And if I learn the northern roads thoroughly on this journey, it will surely prove useful later! Please allow me to accompany you!”
“Then do so. But mind you don’t become a nuisance, or you’ll answer for it.”
“Of course!”
And so we three set out together. Taking the fastest route northward, we pressed on for several days until at last we reached Shandong soil.
“Ahh…”
An endless expanse of vast plains stretched before us.
And at their heart, a sacred mountain—Taishan—rose with towering grandeur, as if shouldering the very sky itself.
Flanking either side of Taishan like a folding screen stood two immense fortresses, their massive walls stretching in long lines.
On the left: the Shandong Ak Clan. On the right: the Hwangbo Clan.
Two houses sharing a single mountain and forging a great metropolis—it resembled an iron fortress built by brilliant generals acting as one.
Nor was it merely appearance.
Across the vast Horse Field, hundreds of Iron Cavalry churned up clouds of dust in relentless drill, and the bearing and armor of the warriors patrolling the walls resembled less the fighters of the jianghu than the regular army of a nation.
‘Even now, deep in the marrow, the discipline runs strong.’
As I watched the two clans’ martial prowess with fascination, a massive iron gate groaned open with a ponderous sound.
“Young Master of Namgung!!”
The door flew open and familiar faces burst through, kicking up clouds of dust from the ground.
It was Ak Jin and Hwangbo Gang—the ones I’d seen at the Dragon Phoenix Conference.
“We sent word, but we never dreamed you’d come in person like this!”
Ak Jin stepped forward with an eager expression, clasping his hands in greeting.
“Oh! Y-Yuhwa! I trust you’ve been well all this time!”
The moment Hwangbo Gang spotted Yuhwa beside me, his massive frame trembled like a bear’s, and his face flushed deep crimson.
“It’s been a while, Hwangbo. You too, Ak Jin.”
Yuhwa smiled brightly as she returned their greetings, and just then, heavy footsteps echoed from deeper within the fortress.
“So the new master of Cheonjin Cheonma has come calling!”
A voice that shook the earth itself.
The patriarchs and senior figures of the Ak and Hwangbo clans had heard the news and come out to welcome us personally.
Ak Cheol San, patriarch of the Shandong Ak Clan, wore his beard long as a lion’s mane and had a silk breastplate draped over his armor.
Hwangbo Mu Gwang, patriarch of the Hwangbo Clan, stood tall with a beard that stretched down to his chest.
Both were massive men with an undeniable air of strength.
Behind them, curious gazes from their retainers fixed upon me.
“A slip of a boy leads the new Namgung Clan?”
“The one who cut down Elder Sadoum and restored the family to order?”
“And that’s not all—he defeated the corpses and exposed the truth of Jinju Eon-ga!”
“Indeed… the body may be tender still, but the spirit is anything but ordinary.”
As the murmuring continued, Hwangbo Mu Gwang and Ak Cheol San stepped forward with heavy, deliberate strides.
They raised their hands to offer a formal greeting.
“Pleased to meet you.”
I looked down from my horse and offered the greeting first, my tone deliberately flat.
Such casual, blunt speech was only natural for someone like me.
“Gasp…!”
What came naturally to me seemed arrogant to them; Ak Jin and Hwangbo Gang went pale and scrambled to make excuses.
“F-Father! Please understand, the Namgung patriarch means no disrespect at all… it’s just that he tends to speak rather directly! Is that so impolite?”
“Yes! There’s no malice in it, so please don’t misunderstand!”
The two juniors were sweating profusely.
“Kahahaha!!”
“Hahahaha!”
Hwangbo Mu Gwang and Ak Cheol San suddenly burst into hearty laughter, clutching their bellies.
“In the Jianghu, if there is righteousness and honor, then all are blood and kinship! Why should we concern ourselves with the hollow trappings of propriety? How refreshing!”
Ak Cheol San stroked his rough beard with a grin.
“In fact, I prefer such raw honesty to those aged pretenders who hide their true selves behind false courtesy! Come, enter. Since we have a honored guest, let us slaughter a pig and feast in grand style!”
“There’s no time for that. Skip the banquet.”
I leaped down from my horse and drew out the Blood Letter from my robes.
“The Seomun Clan was attacked by the Blood Cult and is on the run. I set out to strike at them myself, but the distance is too great and my numbers too few to muster a proper force.”
I spoke without decoration or needless ceremony.
“I need the strength of both clans to help the Seomun Clan.”
At such a direct and forthright request, the festive atmosphere chilled in an instant.
The senior figures examined the Blood Letter with expressions of disbelief.
“This cannot be… the Seomun Clan!”
“No wonder the sky over Shanxi has seemed dark with an ominous smoke!”
“There are clear territorial boundaries between clans, and we have never overstepped them lightly—so such a crisis had befallen them?”
As sighs rose around us, I drove my point home.
“The Blood Cult wants all the righteous sects destroyed so they can seize the world for themselves. If each clan ignores the others’ plights and acts selfishly, allowing them to pick us off one by one…”
The image of Cheonma Singyeo, lost to ruin, flickered through my mind, and I swallowed bitter bile.
“Then we’ll end up just like them—our strongholds occupied, our people enslaved. We must unite our strength and crush them before that happens.”
At my words, the faces of Hwangbo Mu Gwang and Ak Cheol San grew heavy and grave.
Then one of the elders, an old general, spoke in a measured voice.
“We deeply respect that the Namgung patriarch walks this righteous path, yet… in the end, it is our warriors who will be conscripted and shed their blood.”
The other elders nodded in agreement.
“What if we lose the battle, or fail to save the Seomun Clan? Would it not be wiser to use that manpower to fortify our walls and strengthen our defenses, securing our clans’ future?”
It was not cowardice alone.
It was the most rational judgment—prioritizing the clan’s survival above all else.
I understood their position.
“Fine. No hard feelings if you refuse.”
I nodded lightly and turned my horse’s head.
“I’ll go alone and carve through them myself.”
The two clan masters froze in alarm at his casual manner, stepping forward to block his path.
“No, Lord Namgung! You’ve barely clawed your way back from the brink of clan destruction, yet here you are throwing away that precious life as if it were nothing, rushing headlong into danger!”
“Why, you ask?”
He recounted the past that Yuhwa had told him.
“In those dark days when the Namgung Clan faced annihilation and I was cast out in despair, the Seomun Clan extended their protection to my household. That debt of gratitude remains.”
The deep blue long robe draped across his shoulders billowed freely in the night wind.
“I cannot repay that kindness by turning away. I cannot live with such a debt unpaid.”
To repay both favor and grudge without equivocation—that was the iron law of the Cheonjin Cheonma.
In my past life, no one had shown me grace, and so I had let it pass; yet every grudge I had clawed from my bones and repaid in full, did I not?
“Every favor, every grudge—I will repay them all without fail. This shall be the iron law of the new Namgung Clan.”
A sharp, bloodthirsty smile played across his lips.
But to the eyes of the warriors gathered there, it appeared as the sacred smile of a Great Hero who had transcended even death itself in pursuit of the greater cause.
“Ah……!”
“Heavens! Even this young Namgung lord bears such steadfast righteousness and nobility that he would throw himself into the flames!”
Ak Jin and Hwangbo Gang could restrain themselves no longer, stepping forward.
“Father! If the Seomun Clan had fallen, the common people of the surrounding villages would have faced ruin as well. Our clan has always been honored for its genuine commitment to protecting the lives of the masses—how can we now abandon them so cowardly!”
Ak Jin and Hwangbo Gang cried out as if spitting blood, pointing toward him and Yuhwa.
“These are the very benefactors who saved us at the Dragon Phoenix Conference! How can we turn our backs when those who showed us grace now march toward danger for a righteous cause!”
The heated voices of the junior generation shook the resolve of the leadership council.
Hwangbo Mu Gwang and Ak Cheol San released heavy sighs, their expressions turning bitter.
“……You speak rightly. And yet, righteous deeds can only be undertaken when the clan itself stands firm and secure.”
Being clan masters themselves, they shared some of his thinking.
In the end, the two clan masters sided with the council elders.
“Deploy all forces to strengthen the defensive walls and raise vigilance to its peak!”
“But—how can this be…… Father!!”
Hwangbo Gang and Ak Jin had begun to lower their heads in despair when—
“One must always hear the full measure of words before judging, you fools.”
A hearty smile spread across the faces of both clan masters.
“Our main force cannot spare a single soldier. However…… our elite guard unit, led by us personally, shall stand at the vanguard and march with Lord Namgung!”
“What?!”
The clan masters themselves would step forward to make up the shortfall in forces.
“We can cut off the enemy’s pursuit and rescue the Seomun Clan.”
And we shall also be able to receive the refugees who flee this way.”
At the clan masters’ unprecedented decision, their retainers bowed in unison.
The clan masters appeared to have decided on this course some time ago and were now pushing through with iron resolve.
Ak Jin and Hwangbo Gang erupted in joyful cheers.
“As expected! We knew we could trust you!”
“From whom else would we have learned such things!”
Hwangbo Mu Gwang and Ak Cheol San approached him with measured steps.
“The young lord’s righteousness set this old heart thundering in his chest. As a senior of the martial world, how could I not lend my hand!”
“Thanks to the lord, for the first time in years I feel the blood surge at the thought of riding across the open plains, free of the suffocating clan!”
A gaze full of respect, transcending both age and station, fixed itself upon him.
‘How did it come to this?’
“No, I think you’re misunderstanding. I’m not acting out of some grand sense of righteousness or loyalty or any of that lofty nonsense. It’s simply that I find the sight of those Blood Cult bastards thriving absolutely repugnant, and I want to settle accounts clearly. That’s all.”
Since the clan masters had decided to step forward, he meant to establish the matter of responsibility beforehand.
“What’s more, your decision to offer direct aid without spare manpower could easily turn out far more reckless than my involvement, just as your retainers said. If either of you come away wounded or worse and later try to hold me accountable or complain, that would be problematic. Are you truly certain about this?”
At that very moment, as he spoke in such a blunt, intimidating manner—
“Ah……!”
Namgung Gyeong, who had been observing from the back, let slip a cry trembling with emotion.
“Lord! You entrust the full weight of this journey’s nobility and righteousness to the two clans, elevating them, yet you feign coldness to shield them from harm—such thoughtfulness, such depth! You are surely the greatest of Great Heroes!”
“You lunatic—didn’t I tell you to keep quiet?”
He shot Namgung Gyeong a look, but the man had already slipped behind Yuhwa.
Yuhwa gazed up at him, her eyes reddening.
“Hyeok…… I’m so proud of you!”
What happened among his close retainers naturally spread to the warriors of the Ak Clan and Hwangbo Clan observing from afar, and they too fell completely under his spell.
“Haha! You worry for us even as we hesitate to join you, and elevate us besides!”
“What a profound and admirable man! Truly righteous!”
‘No, that’s not it at all……’
He pressed his palm to his forehead and released a long sigh.
In his past life, whatever he did made people tremble in terror. In this one, it seemed whatever he did earned him praise and reverence.
‘Sigh. Think what you will.’
The more they valued me, the better it served my purposes.
‘I’ll show them exactly what I can do.’
I swallowed the resigned vow and let my gaze drift downward.
After days of relentless riding without rest, the Black Horse I had ridden bore the weight of exhaustion plainly — its breathing ragged and labored, offering no pretense of strength.
It was old, too old now for active service.
I reached out gently and stroked the creature’s sweat-dampened neck with a soft touch.
“This is where we part ways. You’ve served me well all this time.”
At my quiet words, the Black Horse seemed to understand, releasing a soft, gentle whinny from its nostrils.
“I’ll make sure you’re cared for until your final day.”
I handed over the reins to the grooms at the Horse Field on Taishan, who had agreed to take the beast in. Then—
“I’ve heard there are many fine steeds here at the Horse Field on Taishan, celebrated swift runners across the realm.”
I made one last request of the two clan heads who had chosen to aid me.
“Might you lend me a swift horse?”

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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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