The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 34

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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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The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 034
An Unexpected Encounter
The journey proceeded smoothly for some time after that.
Though our provisions consisted mainly of dried meat, Young Ho Bin and Namgung Eon would occasionally venture into the forest to hunt wild rabbits or pheasants, allowing us to enjoy fresh roasted game.
Young Ho Bin seemed accustomed to this foraging lifestyle, deftly plucking fur from the beasts to kindle fire and roasting them to perfection with practiced ease.
Beautiful wilderness and undemanding companions.
For several days, I continued my journey wanting for nothing and envying no one.
There was only one thing I desired.
‘If only I could reach the Holy Site without incident, without encountering anyone….’
Yet as had always been the case, this world seemed to despise the sight of an introvert living in peace.
It was around the time our party was passing through the foothills of Kunlun Mountain.
“Halt there.”
Two sturdy men blocked our path, dressed in long flowing robes with Taoist crowns upon their heads—they were Taoist Priests.
If there were Taoist Priests traveling in groups on Kunlun Mountain, there could be only one explanation.
They were disciples of the Kunlun Sect.
Young Ho Bin, who had been leading our group, turned back to me and nodded.
We had anticipated that we might encounter the Kunlun Sect while passing through Kunlun Mountain.
We had already prepared how to conduct ourselves should we meet them.
“We ask that you travelers remain in place for the moment.”
“What business do you have with us, Taoist Priests?”
The Kunlun Sect, belonging to the Orthodox Sects, could hardly harbor favorable feelings toward our Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
Thus we would conceal our identities and pose as ordinary travelers passing through.
Indeed, we had chosen this particular group composition for precisely that purpose.
Hopefully, things would proceed as planned.
“We would ask you travelers—where have you come from, and what is your relationship to one another?”
They did not reveal their own affiliations or names.
The sturdiest of the Taoist Priests, who appeared to be the eldest, simply scrutinized our party with his eyes as he spoke.
His gaze carried an air of probing inquiry.
“We are all brothers, traveling to attend a distant relative’s wedding ceremony.”
“Brothers, you say….”
The man now fixed his gaze intently upon each of our faces in turn.
“This young lady and that younger brother bear some resemblance to each other. Yet you, the refined-looking youngest brother, bear no resemblance to them whatsoever? Are you truly brothers?”
The man had made his remark about resemblance while looking at Baek So Cheong and Namgung Eon.
The refined-looking youngest brother referred to me.
“As the eldest, I have suffered hardship since childhood caring for my younger siblings, which has taken its toll on my appearance. Is that a problem?”
Young Ho Bin responded with obvious irritation.
Of course, this too was one of the lines we had prepared in advance according to our anticipated scenario.
The Taoist Priest let out a chuckle at Young Ho Bin’s natural response.
I could only hope they would let us pass without incident, but unfortunately, matters did not unfold that way.
“There is no problem with that. However, you must wait here for a moment.”
“Wait for what, exactly?”
“I believe we should present you to our sect’s Master Teacher. Cheon Seung! Fetch the Master Teacher at once.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
With those orders, one of the Taoist Priests rushed off in haste toward some distant location.
‘Something feels terribly wrong about this.’
Looking more closely, I could sense inner energy radiating from these men, and they bore the unmistakable marks of disciplined cultivation—all appearing to be in their mid-twenties.
They seemed to be second-generation disciples, and even if something unpleasant were to occur, they wouldn’t pose a particularly formidable threat.
But if this Master Teacher they spoke of was a first-generation disciple ranked above them…
They could very well be a first-rate master, and I would be wise to avoid any friction with such a figure.
“Sect Leader, though I’m uncertain of your intentions, we’ve already arrived late to a wedding ceremony. Might you permit us to pass through?”
Baek So Cheong seemed to share my concerns, offering a respectful salute as she addressed the man.
But he paid her no heed, shaking his head dismissively.
“Once the Master Teacher arrives, I’ll be able to send you on your way promptly. So please, wait a moment.”
No matter how I considered it, an ominous premonition gnawed at me.
Their rudeness toward travelers they’d just met was understandable enough—they were disciples of one of the Ten Great Sects of the Martial World, after all.
But these men had been standing in our path, and after exchanging a few words with us, they summoned a superior.
We hadn’t done anything suspicious or committed any wrongdoing.
‘It’s as though they were waiting for someone specific to appear…’
Surely that couldn’t be the case.
But what if the Kunlun Sect disciples scattered throughout the mountains were conducting an organized search for someone?
What if these second-generation disciples had been waiting for a specific condition—a group consisting of a young boy and young martial escorts—and upon spotting travelers matching that description, they summoned a first-generation disciple with the intention of apprehending us?
The thought sent a chill down my spine, cold sweat trickling down my back.
‘Information may have leaked.’
The fact that I, the Minor Sect Leader, was embarking on a pilgrimage to the Holy Site was classified information even within our sect.
If this information had somehow been compromised and reached the Kunlun Sect, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to conduct an organized search to capture the Minor Sect Leader.
Once I’d reached that conclusion, I had no time to consider other options.
“Damn it. How long are we supposed to stand here gawking?”
“?”
I muttered those words under my breath with obvious displeasure, yet loud enough for the Kunlun Sect Disciple standing before me to hear clearly.
“Little one, what did you just say?”
His expression hardened, and he fixed me with a cold, piercing gaze.
A glance at Baek So Cheong’s face revealed her obvious alarm.
“I was merely speaking to myself. Your ears must be remarkably keen from all those years of cultivation.”
I let out a scornful chuckle, then crossed my arms, shifted my weight to one leg, and turned my gaze toward the distant mountains.
A proud disciple of such a prestigious sect couldn’t possibly let such insolent behavior from a mere child pass unremarked.
“It seems you were raised in some backwater village without learning proper manners. Listen here! I’m speaking to you, aren’t I?”
The Kunlun Sect Disciple could no longer contain himself. He strode past Baek So Cheong, Young Ho Bin, and Namgung Eon in turn, advancing directly toward me.
And then.
Thud!
The moment he entered my striking distance with his guard lowered, I gathered the true energy of the Hyeon Ma Nae Hyang Sim Gong into my right fist and struck the Taoist Priest’s solar plexus with devastating speed.
Based on my rough assessment of the Taoist Priest’s inner strength, I adjusted my force to strike without causing fatal harm.
“Kugh—hack.”
The Kunlun Sect Disciple gasped sharply as the sudden blow struck his vital point, then lost consciousness entirely.
“Minor Sect Leader!?”
Our entire party witnessed this and froze in shock, their eyes bulging as they clapped their hands over their mouths.
Though they harbored no particular goodwill toward us, this was entirely unexpected—they had every reason to react this way.
How mad must I appear in their eyes, picking a fight with the Kunlun Sect Disciple out of nowhere and then knocking him unconscious with a sneak attack?
Only Young Ho Bin nodded repeatedly, as if moved by admiration.
But there was no time to explain any of this.
“Move. We’ll bypass the Forest Path and break through.”
I spoke only these words before bolting into the forest.
Sometimes action speaks louder than words.
Baek So Cheong, Young Ho Bin, and Namgung Eon soon followed after me.
However…
“Where do you rush off to in such haste?”
Unfortunately, I was already one step too late.
Someone had appeared and blocked my path.
The divine technique with which they materialized was so extraordinary that I couldn’t even discern where or when they had departed to arrive here.
The man standing before me was a tall Taoist Priest in his early forties, a blue turban wrapped around his head.
He was undoubtedly the master teacher whom the fallen Taoist Priest had called sire—a leading disciple of the Kunlun Sect.
With his eyes blazing as he firmly blocked my path, even the faint aura he emanated revealed the formidable realm of a first-rate martial master.
The inner strength I distinctly sensed was not inferior to Baek So Cheong’s—no, it was clearly even stronger.
Tah!
Before I could even react in my confusion, he moved first.
The speed at which he drew his blade was so swift it was barely visible to the eye.
I reflexively reached for the Heavenly Slayer Blade to draw it as well.
But the Taoist Priest had already closed the distance, his blade pressed against my throat in his right hand, while his left arm crossed to grip the hilt of my sword.
In an instant, I was completely subdued without even managing to raise my hands.
“Eon!!!”
I heard Baek So Cheong’s anguished voice calling my name from behind.
But I raised my left hand to signal her.
It meant not to move—everything was still under control.
“Master Teacher! Cheon Ho is unharmed. He merely lost consciousness for a moment!”
A disciple named Cheon Seung, who had gone to fetch this Taoist Priest, cried out.
Only then did the murderous intent in the Taoist Priest’s eyes diminish slightly.
Yet the cold gleam of the blade still pressed against my throat remained utterly unchanged.
And then…
“Boy. Reveal your identity.”
The Taoist Priest demanded my identity once more.
I said nothing.
I strove to conceal my fear, desperately searching for any means of escape from this dire situation.
And then.
In a flash.
I knew not where such courage came from.
With lightning speed, I seized the Taoist Priest’s right wrist—the one gripping his blade—wrenched it, and in one fluid motion, wrested his sword from his grasp.
Yet the Taoist Priest was no ordinary foe; the instant I claimed his blade, he drew the Heavenly Demon Slaying Saber from my waist with his left hand instead.
Clang!!!
In the next moment, we stood locked in an exchange—each wielding the other’s weapon—our two blades suspended in the air, straining against one another with terrible force.
“What manner of strength is this…!”
The Taoist Priest’s eyes widened in shock.
Though he had been careless, he could never have imagined that a child so impossibly young could match the strength of a first-generation disciple of the Kunlun Sect, even for a fleeting moment.
“But how long can you possibly endure….”
And at that very instant, the Taoist Priest’s words cut short.
A whistling sound.
Without warning, a wind swept from nowhere, followed immediately by a sharp, cracking sound.
Spray of crimson!
A torrent of brilliant red blood erupted directly before me, drenching my hair, face, and shoulders entirely.
In the next moment, I saw the turbaned Taoist Priest’s head—the very one that had been glaring at me moments before—tumble to the ground.
“!!”
His headless body swayed, then collapsed backward in a spray of gore.
Witnessing a man who had stood perfectly whole an instant before lose his head and perish in an instant, I froze where I stood.
Everyone present did the same.
“Do not move.”
From the chilling silence, a voice suddenly pierced my ears.
Strangely, the voice seemed to emanate from both ears simultaneously—or perhaps from within my mind itself—making it impossible to discern its direction.
It was a sensation of dread I had never experienced in my life.
“Ahhhhh!”
Yet when the second-generation disciples of the Kunlun Sect saw their Master Teacher’s head severed, they descended into immediate panic.
Both the disciple who had come to fetch the Master Teacher and the one who had lost consciousness from my strike—all of them alike.
Despite the warning they had just heard, they scattered and fled without hesitation.
And then.
Spray of crimson! Slash!
With no form visible, not even a shadow, only the sharp whistle of something cutting through empty air—they fell, every last one of them, before they could take more than a few steps, transformed into corpses.
I and Baek So Cheong and all our companions remained frozen in place, unable to move.
And then.
“You youngsters have keen instincts. Good—that’s how it should be.”
Leisurely footsteps drew steadily closer, their rhythm unhurried.
A man in his late forties, draped in a worn monastic robe beneath a leather coat, his long hair loosely bound and trailing behind him.
His eyes—hollow and devoid of all emotion—gazed upon the three he had just slain.
He approached without a word and looked down upon the corpses of the men he had killed.
In his right hand, a meticulously honed blade gleamed with an icy sheen, its edge untainted by even a single drop of blood.

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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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