The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 5

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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 005
The New Demon Small Assembly
I wasn’t certain from where the Sect Leader had been observing.
He gazed down at Song Mu Gyeong’s corpse, which still retained its warmth.
Waiting for my response.
In that moment, my mind recovered its composure with an unnaturally sharp clarity.
As though my survival instinct had activated.
“I killed him.”
“I know that. I’m asking why you killed him.”
I sensed it instinctively.
What the best answer would be to the Sect Leader in this moment.
What Song Sam-chong-gwan had urged me to understand as he lay dying.
And I spoke.
“He displeased me.”
“…!”
I picked up the dagger I had dropped earlier and wiped the blood clinging to it against my robes.
Then, with an unbothered expression, I concealed it within my garments and tucked it into my belt.
“From his very appearance to his arrogant demeanor—nothing about him pleased me. I’ve wanted to deal with him personally for quite some time. Though I should clarify, I didn’t kill him without justification.”
“What do you mean?”
“I deliberately showed him an opening. A rather extended one, at that.”
“You deliberately showed him an opening?”
“Yes. And as expected, he took the bait eagerly. Didn’t he demand that I step down from my position as Minor Sect Leader? I was astonished. I knew he was mad, but not to this extent.”
“So you killed him for that?”
“It was a fair duel agreed upon by both parties. Surely you don’t intend to reprimand me for eliminating a heretic?”
“….”
It was a curious thing.
I never imagined that I, an introvert, could stand before the Sect Leader with such confidence, spouting shameless lies with such composure.
“Hmph.”
In any case, the Sect Leader seemed quite pleased with my answer.
The way he let out a scoff while slightly lifting the corners of his mouth made that clear.
But that too was fleeting.
The Sect Leader spoke to me again, his expression and voice as though they wouldn’t yield a single drop of blood even if pierced.
“That man seemed to think you were acting.”
“I did act weak to show him an opening, so acting is accurate.”
“No—he thought your cruel and violent nature was the act.”
“Hahaha! Father, surely you don’t believe that, do you?”
The Sect Leader gazed at my face in silence for a moment.
As though trying to see through to my very soul.
After a brief yet eternal pause, he spoke in an indifferent tone.
“As I said, I originally intended to cripple your dantian and cast you out today. You know what becomes of a Minor Sect Leader stripped of power. I assure you, you wouldn’t have lasted even a year before death claimed you.”
To speak such terrifying words to one’s own son with the casual tone of an office worker choosing a lunch menu—it was almost absurd.
I struggled to maintain my composure, but in that moment, my courage shattered like ice beneath a hammer’s blow.
The Sect Leader’s words continued.
“It would be a waste to let such talent as Cheon Ma wither away. However, my patience ends here. This will be your final opportunity.”
I felt some relief at these words, but only briefly.
The Sect Leader still regarded me with eyes full of suspicion.
“…Please, speak.”
“In two days, you will fight a challenger of my choosing before all the executives of the Main Sect. If you win, I will acknowledge your qualifications as Minor Sect Leader.”
The trials were far from over.
And the Sect Leader’s words did not end there.
“…But if you lose, I will behead you where you stand.”
Perhaps this incident had allayed some of his suspicions.
But I could see that the Sect Leader’s true test was only now beginning.
“Leave the corpse as it is. I will have it removed.”
With these final words, the Sect Leader turned and departed.
My vision had returned to normal, and the voice of Cheon Ma no longer echoed in my mind.

* * *
The Sun and Moon Divine Sect had, by this era, largely shed its religious significance and had become primarily a martial faction under the leadership of the Sect Leader.
Yet it remained rooted in an ancient religion that worshipped Myeong Joon, a divine being embodying the sun and moon, and the sacred flame—the Holy Fire—served as the symbolic manifestation of that religious function.
Atop the Gwangmyeong Hall, where the Chong Dan of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect stood, burned a Holy Fire that had never been extinguished throughout all of history.
Dark bricks formed an altar the size of a house, and within the Beacon Tower, weathered by ages, the Holy Fire blazed, alternating between mysterious blue and crimson light.
“…And thus, before Myeong Joon this day, we convene the New Demon Small Assembly to determine the qualifications of the Minor Sect Leader….”
The Gwangmyeong Elder, the most senior figure in the Sun and Moon Divine Sect aside from the Sect Leader himself, presided over the ceremony on behalf of all those gathered.
Originally, the New Demon Small Assembly was held once a year, when the Minor Sect Leader would stand before Myeong Joon to have his qualifications acknowledged.
But in truth, that religious ritual was merely a formality; the real test was the Sect Leader’s trial that preceded it.
“Should the one who stands before Myeong Joon possess the qualifications of Minor Sect Leader, the sacred flame shall protect his body….”
As the Woo Sa’s words continued, my mind drifted to the contents of the letter Song Mu Gyeong had left for me.
Before he came to find me, he had secretly placed a letter beneath my pillow, and it read thus:

“Minor Sect Leader. Come forward.”
I stepped forward from where I stood and glanced back.
All the senior members of the Chong Dan were lined up before me.
Even when my gaze met the Sect Leader’s, who sat in the highest position and regarded me with an expressionless face, I did not avert my eyes.
‘Fight the Challenger before the Main Sect’s executives. If you win, I will acknowledge your qualification as Minor Sect Leader.’
‘If you fail to win, I will have your head severed right there.’
No matter how oblivious I might be, I could discern that the Sect Leader’s words held not a shred of bluff—they were absolute truth.
Yet had I not impressed the Sect Leader by slaying Song Mu Gyeong with my own hands, I would never have been granted this opportunity.
There was no need for lengthy deliberation.
I would not squander the chance that Sam Chong Gwan had created by sacrificing his life.
I would survive this trial, no matter what transpired.
“Let us begin.”
Perhaps the emotion in my voice had conveyed itself.
Woo Sa regarded my transformed demeanor for a moment before turning his gaze away.
“Let the one who wishes to challenge the Minor Sect Leader step forward.”
A man strode forward with confident strides.
He was a youth whose angular face, thick brows, broad shoulders, and firmly set lips exuded the bearing of a seasoned warrior.
“That man is to face the Minor Sect Leader?”
“The Minor Sect Leader is barely eleven years old. That fellow appears to be at least twenty?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd once more.
The man’s physique was incomparably more robust than the Minor Sect Leader’s.
He appeared to be no ordinary person.
“I am Young Ho Bin. It is an honor to face you, Minor Sect Leader.”
Following Young Ho Bin’s introduction, Woo Sa’s explanation continued.
“This man is a criminal who violated the doctrines of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect and murdered its followers. He should have been executed, but thanks to Myeong Joon’s grace, he has been granted this final opportunity. Should Young Ho Bin defeat the Minor Sect Leader, he shall gain his freedom.”
In such circumstances, the Challenger had no choice but to fight for his life.
For the Minor Sect Leader, this made the battle all the more difficult and perilous.
Of course, the Sect Leader had prepared this trial not to kill the Minor Sect Leader, but to test whether he could overcome such tribulation…surely?
It was not a battle I could not possibly win, yet neither did it seem like one I could win with ease.
“Minor Sect Leader Baek Yeon and Challenger Young Ho Bin, proceed to the Martial Arena before the Sacred Flame.”
Young Ho Bin and I walked side by side toward the Martial Arena, maintaining a slight distance between us.
The Sacred Flame, one of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s sacred objects, was peculiar in its enormous size, its fierce and writhing form, and its azure hue—yet most striking was its overwhelming temperature.
Fire was naturally hot, but this Sacred Flame burned far more intensely than ordinary flames.
The place called the Martial Arena was where the Sacred Flame had been arranged in a circular formation approximately ten meters in diameter.
Glancing ahead, Young Ho Bin too seemed flustered by the Sacred Flame’s heat.
Yet.
‘It is hot, but not unbearable.’
It was an odd sensation, but it was precisely as I felt it.
Though the intense heat coursed through my entire body, rather than pain, I felt an overwhelming surge of vitality.
It was as I approached near the Sacred Flame in this bewildering state.
-So it is you.
For a moment, I thought Cheon Ma was speaking to me again.
Yet though the sensation felt similar, it was unmistakably different.
-Truly, you possess a most peculiar spiritual constitution. Wait, let me examine this more carefully….
I sensed a completely different entity speaking directly into my mind—not Cheon Ma at all.
The voice was difficult to place as either masculine or feminine, and carried an impression of someone stubborn and ill-tempered.
Yet it also possessed a grave, resonant presence—deep and majestic in its weight.
-Not a spiritual constitution, but rather a disposition. As though you’ve spent far longer than your body’s years in introspection, erecting walls within yourself…. But is it truly possible to survive among humans with such a nature?
Struggling to remain composed before this mysterious voice, I glanced about my surroundings.
What entity could possibly address me in such a manner?
No matter how I pondered it, there could be only one answer.
‘Myeong Joon…is that you?’
-Huh….
The moment I spoke inwardly, I felt the entity addressing me falter in astonishment.
-Impossible. I must have misheard. There’s no way a human could resonate with Myeong Joon! Listen here, little one! If I didn’t mishear, answer me again!
‘Yes, I hear you clearly. You are indeed Myeong Joon.’
-This cannot be….
The entity that the Sun and Moon Divine Sect has revered as a god since ancient times was now speaking to me.
In Myeong Joon’s voice, I could sense a profound sense of grievance.

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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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