The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 41

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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 041
How It Will End
The Kunlun Sect Leader had arranged an evening meal the next day, gathering the entourage from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, Ha Yeon Ryeong, and disciples from the Kunlun region.
I spent the entire day in turmoil because of what Ha Yeon Ryeong had said to me yesterday.
Not only had I been reborn as the Minor Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult, but I never imagined I would receive a marriage proposal from a thirteen-year-old girl.
Of course, Ha Yeon Ryeong’s proposal was entirely different from the love-based proposals common in modern times.
She was simply using me as an excuse because she wanted to nullify her betrothal to Do Woon.
“Father, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Not long after the evening meal began, Ha Yeon Ryeong finally opened her mouth with a resolute expression.
“What is it, Yeon Ryeong?”
I set down the spoon I had been holding.
Thinking of the trouble that would unfold, my appetite vanished entirely.
“Please cancel the betrothal with Do Woon.”
“Yeon Ryeong. What in the world are you saying?”
“I believe the selection of a marriage partner has been rushed.”
“Rushed? We even held the martial arts tournament—how could this be a hasty decision?”
Ha Seung Ji’s voice was calmer than expected.
He must have known all along that his daughter disapproved of this marriage.
Yet that composure did not last long.
“At that time, I hadn’t anticipated that I would develop feelings for someone.”
“Feelings? You have someone in your heart?”
“Yes. I wish to marry only that person. I cannot marry anyone else. I’m sorry. Father, I’m sorry. Do Woon.”
“Who, who is this person?”
The mouths of those seated around the table fell open in real time, their faces displaying astonishment, shock, and keen interest all at once.
Among them, Ha Seung Ji and Namgung Eon looked the most stunned, so much so that they didn’t even notice the chopsticks slipping from their hands.
Do Woon merely narrowed his brow slightly, appearing surprisingly composed.
But the real surprise was only beginning….
“It’s… the Minor Sect Leader here.”
???
Dozens of eyes that had been fixed on Ha Yeon Ryeong moments before suddenly turned toward me in unison.
Though I had anticipated this development, I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.
Ha Seung Ji, having heard his daughter’s bombshell declaration, barely regained his composure and asked me.
“Minor Sect Leader. What is the meaning of this?”
“I’m equally bewildered. Lady Ha, would you kindly explain what this is about?”
Ha Yeon Ryeong herself had no genuine desire to marry me.
She simply needed an excuse to back out of her betrothal to Do Woon, and to do so, she had to present her father with a better alternative match.
That alternative was me.
This was apparently a scheme devised by Baek So Cheong and Ha Yeon Ryeong after their discussion.
As the Minor Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, currently the greatest sectarian force in Kangho and Tianxia, with exceptional righteousness and benevolence, and as a benefactor to the Kunlun Sect who had saved Ha Yeon Ryeong’s life, it was not an unreasonable claim.
“Then, Minor Sect Leader, you’re saying you haven’t developed romantic feelings with Yeon Ryeong?”
“Of course not. I exchanged only a few pleasantries with Ha Yeon Ryeong yesterday—nothing more than that.”
“Oh, please don’t misunderstand, Father. The desire to marry the Minor Sect Leader is my own wish alone. I haven’t mentioned it to him yet.”
I insisted on clarifying this particular point, if nothing else.
While I harbored a genuine desire to help Ha Yeon Ryeong, I could not become the sort of dishonorable man who seduced a maiden already betrothed to another.
“But I’ve already sent invitations throughout Kangho and opened the martial tournament. I cannot simply cancel it now.”
“Father, you didn’t send an invitation to the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, did you?”
“Well, that’s… true.”
“In all of Kangho and Tianxia, there is no one whose martial prowess and righteous spirit surpass those of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s Minor Sect Leader. Unless the Minor Sect Leader himself found this girl displeasing and rejected her, the tournament cannot proceed without an invitation to the Sun and Moon Divine Sect. Therefore, this martial tournament is void.”
“Well, I suppose…”
“Then the marriage proposal with Do Woon, who won the tournament, must also be rendered void. That is only logical, is it not?”
Sigh…
Ha Seung Ji heaved a sigh so deep it seemed the very earth might collapse beneath him.
Had the person Ha Yeon Ryeong spoke of admiring been anyone other than me, his reaction would have been entirely different.
Up to this point, the plan devised by Ha Yeon Ryeong and Baek So Cheong had achieved half its success.
‘So from now on, please discuss this between yourselves. I shall withdraw.’
I desperately wished to say these words.
Yet, as always, the world showed no mercy to the introverted.
“Now that I hear it, every word rings true, Elder Sister.”
The other party involved, who had remained silent until now,
Do Woon, the First Disciple of the Kunlun Sect, suddenly slammed his palm upon the table and rose abruptly from his seat.
He then bowed respectfully to the Sect Master before speaking with both deference and confidence.
I felt suffocated and anxious, so I reached for the water cup before me to moisten my throat.
“I too agree that a martial tournament lacking the participation of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s Minor Sect Leader—one who possesses both exceptional martial skill and virtue, and whom Elder Sister Yeon Ryeong holds in her heart—would be meaningless.”
“Do Woon, then what do you propose?”
Do Woon glanced at me sideways before answering loudly.
“Therefore, the Minor Sect Leader and I must engage in martial combat once more. Should I lose, I shall cleanly relinquish my claim to marriage with Yeon Ryeong.”
Cough!
The water I was drinking went down the wrong way, and I sputtered and spilled it everywhere.
Fortunately, it didn’t splash on anyone… but wait, that’s not the important issue here.
“Did you say martial combat, sir?”
“Indeed, Minor Sect Leader. Let us two settle this once and for all.”
“A sound proposal, truly.”
“Minor Sect Leader, are you certain about this?”
No, this is… problematic.
I merely intended to help Ha Yeon Ryeong, and now they speak of martial combat.
Against the First Disciple of the Kunlun Sect, no less?
By any measure, this is unreasonable.
I wanted to cry out immediately.
This is absolute madness!
The words had risen all the way to my throat.
But.
In that moment, the image I had painstakingly built as the Minor Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult flashed before my eyes.
If I showed weakness before a fight after coming this far.
The tower I had so carefully constructed would crumble in an instant, and I would revert to my former timid, introverted self….
I would lose all confidence as Minor Sect Leader, return to my old cowering self, and before long lose my position, only to be stripped of my martial arts by a disappointed Sect Leader and cast out from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect—this future played vividly in my mind.
And before anyone could stop me.
“That sounds entertaining.”
I found myself answering thus, flashing a confident and self-assured smile.
“Ooh….”
Even I couldn’t believe my own words.
But seeing the amazed expressions on everyone’s faces, their eyes gleaming with anticipation and excitement, I could no longer take back what I had said.

* * *
Do Woon, the First Disciple of the Kunlun Sect.
From what I had heard long ago when receiving martial arts training from Do Yul Gyotdu, the first disciple of a major sect typically possessed martial prowess ranging from the late Second Rank at the lowest to the late First Rank at the highest.
Considering the Kunlun Sect’s reputation, one should estimate at least the mid-to-late First Rank.
So for me, now in the late Second Rank, to claim victory against him in a martial contest was fundamentally impossible.
But did I really need to win?
Moreover, this contest was neither a life-or-death duel nor a battle of great pride.
Let me think about this.
There was no need to measure martial prowess.
One side of the contest was merely a twelve-year-old boy, while the other was a martial artist in his early-to-mid forties in his prime.
Among those watching, none would expect the twelve-year-old boy to emerge victorious.
So this contest required no deliberation on how to win.
No—considering the consequences of winning, I should not win.
Rather, I needed to think about how to lose gracefully.
‘Step into the contest with the bearing of a martial artist, and lose cleanly and impressively.’
This was my plan.
Ha Yeon Ryeong’s marriage?
Honestly, I felt a twinge of regret, but hadn’t I done enough?
Thanks to me, she had made her opposition clear.
From here on, it was up to those involved to sort things out.
“The format of the contest shall follow that of the previous martial tournament.”
Ha Seung Ji, who was overseeing the contest, positioned Do Woon and me on opposite sides and began his explanation.
The format was nothing complicated.
“Both sides will be provided wooden swords of identical material. Victory goes to whoever shatters the opponent’s wooden sword by striking it against theirs. As this is a friendly contest, note that inflicting injury upon the opponent’s body shall be considered a loss.”
Injuring the opponent meant defeat—I was delighted with this contest format.
I would need to be careful not to use Cheon Ma.
Using Cheon Ma before non-disciples was problematic in itself, and revealing killing intent could unnecessarily heat the atmosphere, and most importantly, if I somehow ended up winning this contest, it would be extremely troublesome.
“Then both sides, prepare yourselves.”
I stood about ten paces away from Do Woon, wooden sword gripped firmly in hand.
When two wooden swords of identical material collided, which one would shatter?
By ordinary logic, if I struck the opponent’s wooden sword at a point where their force wasn’t concentrated, using the full weight of my own blade, I could break theirs.
But such common sense only applied in a world where the mysterious phenomenon of inner energy didn’t exist.
In a confrontation between those wielding the supernatural forces of inner energy and sword qi…
It would inevitably become a battle of technique targeting the opponent’s wooden sword’s weak points, while simultaneously a contest of inner energy—particularly the strength and precision of sword qi.
Whoosh.
I concentrated my mind and circulated the true energy of the Hyeon Ma Nae Hyang Sim Gong throughout my entire body.
Because all my qi and blood channels except the Governing Vessel had been reconfigured, I felt an intensity of inner energy coursing through me that was incomparably stronger than before.
The Kunlun Sect Leader and his disciples watched my demonic energy with expressions of wonder.
Do Woon, facing me directly, showed both wariness and curiosity in his gaze.
The demonic energy wielded by the Sun and Moon Divine Sect wasn’t something one could easily witness anywhere.
Conversely, this was also an opportunity for me to observe the Kunlun Sect’s inner energy.
Do Woon’s inner energy, befitting orthodox Daoist martial techniques, was pure and serene.
Yet it was far from weak.
It felt like gazing into the deep bottom of a still lake.
Soon, the two wooden swords would collide and the match would be decided in an instant.
Of course, I would lose.
I had to lose.
“Hah.”
Do Woon and I simultaneously raised our wooden swords.
Since we were both right-handed, our blades extended diagonally downward to the left and met in midair.
Crack!
A dull impact rang out, and the severed end of a broken wooden sword flew high into the air.
A hollow sensation spread through my hand holding the sword.
Naturally, since my wooden sword had been split in half and sent flying.
I stepped back and retrieved what remained of my wooden sword, then confirmed the result of the match.
I had fully expected my wooden sword to be the one that broke.
But then.
“This can’t be!”
Someone among the spectators voiced what I was thinking exactly.
Remarkably, while my wooden sword remained intact, Do Woon’s was snapped in half at the middle, and the broken end fell to the ground a moment later, piercing through the dirt of the Training Ground and embedding itself firmly.
“The Minor Sect Leader is victorious!”
“Hurrah!”
Following Ha Seung Ji’s dazed voice, the cheers of Namgung Eon and Young Ho Bin erupted.
Meanwhile, the Kunlun Sect disciples’ faces darkened rapidly as they frowned.
They never imagined their respected senior brother would lose to a twelve-year-old child, yet this reality had manifested before them.
Of course, at this moment, the most bewildered person was neither Ha Seung Ji nor Do Woon.
It was me.
‘I won? Am I insane? I actually won?’
I had naturally assumed I would lose, and since I was only contemplating how I would lose, I hadn’t anticipated the outcome of winning.
“Impressive indeed.”
Watching Do Woon, the one directly involved, cleanly accept his defeat made it all the more absurd.
“The Minor Sect Leader appears to be at the late stage of the second tier. I was astounded by the exquisite skill with which you wielded your inner energy and sword qi in such perfect harmony. This humble one’s horizons have been broadened.”
Don’t gracefully accept defeat to a junior who was far beneath you in age!
‘Wait, that’s not the important part right now, is it?’
Was I truly going to become the son-in-law of the Kunlun Sect Leader with no way out?
At that thought, cold sweat began trickling down my back.

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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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