The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 59

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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 059
Learning a Lesson
Upon receiving my request, Hye Woon’s expression grew momentarily bewildered.
“Are you sincere?”
“I am.”
I recalled clearly that during our last encounter, I had said precisely this to Hye Woon.
‘When we meet again, I would formally request that you teach me a lesson.’
Yet this sudden request for a sparring match stemmed from more than merely honoring that old promise.
Hye Woon was no ordinary young prodigy—he was counted among Shaolin Temple’s Eight Great Enlightened Monks.
Meeting him now, I wished to directly test his abilities through combat.
I also wanted to gauge my own level.
For the first time, I felt a genuine, heartfelt desire to spar with someone—a realization that surprised even myself.
It seemed I had truly become a member of the Martial World.
“Will you grant my request?”
Hye Woon held my gaze for a long moment before slowly parting his lips to respond.
“Young Master Baek. You have only recently recovered from your affliction—attempting a match with me would be reckless. However, I understand your desire well. Let us do this instead. Follow me.”
Hye Woon rose and strode purposefully from the chamber.
We soon arrived at the Training Grounds situated at the edge of the Back Garden.
Several Shaolin monks were already practicing there, and they appeared to be Hye Woon’s disciples.
When Hye Woon requested the space, they respectfully bowed and departed from the Training Grounds.
“From this moment forward, you must absolutely not peek at what transpires here. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Senior Brother Hye Woon.”
Some of the monks cast curious glances toward me before departing, but Hye Woon’s stern warning proved so effective that no one lingered.
Once we were alone in the Training Grounds, Hye Woon retrieved two wooden swords from a corner and handed one to me.
“A wooden sword?”
“Practitioners of the Buddhist Order refrain from wielding lethal weapons except in unavoidable circumstances. I trust you understand.”
The grip of the wooden sword gleamed with a smooth polish—evidence of countless hours spent in the hands of devoted monks.
As I awkwardly gripped the wooden sword, Hye Woon stepped back and raised his own blade.
“Young Master Baek. Observe carefully from this moment forward.”
Hye Woon drew a breath, exhaled slowly, then stepped forward with his right foot and brought the wooden sword down in a vertical arc.
Whoosh.
The wooden sword cut cleanly through the air in a straight line, swift and crisp.
It was a flawless, economical movement—yet not what I had anticipated.
Since my physical condition made sparring impossible, I had hoped to glean instruction in swordplay by observing Shaolin’s techniques.
I had expected a master monk of such caliber to demonstrate something transcendent—something beyond mere sword energy, a technique of a higher order.
Yet I sensed no sword energy in Hye Woon’s blade whatsoever.
In fact, he was not even employing basic foundational inner cultivation techniques.
Whoosh.
Following the first form, Hye Woon continued to wield the wooden sword, rotating it horizontally before reversing direction, then spinning his body while extending one arm farther than usual to trace a grand arc.
Whoosh.
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind—Hye Woon’s movements seemed strangely familiar.
“Ah!”
The sword form Hye Woon had just displayed was none other than the third technique of the Hyeon Moon Thirteen Forms: ‘Bright Moon Reflecting Blade.’
But that wasn’t all.
Thinking back, his first technique had been the first form, ‘Transcendent Moon Flash,’ and the second was the second form, ‘Silver Moon Protection.’
Hye Woon continued swinging the wooden sword, and the subsequent techniques were no different.
‘Remnant Moon Dancing Flight,’ ‘Cold Moon Heart Shattering,’ ‘Flowing Moon Lotus Bloom’….
That was it.
Astonishingly, Hye Woon was performing the ‘Hyeon Moon Thirteen Forms,’ the fundamental sword technique of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect….
The very same technique I had spent the past two years repeatedly practicing and mastering, executed with perfect fidelity.
‘Could Hye Woon have known the martial arts of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect?’
For a moment, such a thought crossed my mind, but I quickly realized it couldn’t be.
Hye Woon, who had trained at Shaolin Temple, would have had no opportunity to encounter the martial arts of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
Moreover….
When Hye Woon performed the ninth technique, ‘Silent Moon Sinking Heart,’ I could be certain.
Silent Moon Sinking Heart is originally executed by stepping forward with the left foot about two chi, then pushing off the ground with the right foot to thrust deeply inward.
However, when I fought the assassins in the underground warehouse, I couldn’t properly execute this technique because a corpse of another assassin lay where my left foot should have landed, forcing me to extend my left foot only one chi forward.
The Silent Moon Sinking Heart that Hye Woon just performed matched my movements from that moment exactly.
So Hye Woon was now….
‘Not the Hyeon Moon Thirteen Forms. He’s simply remembering and mimicking my previous movements.’
He was recreating with his wooden sword the blade techniques I had displayed against the assassins in the underground warehouse.
Of course, those techniques weren’t literally perfect, and what appeared incomplete seemed to be a limitation stemming from the absence of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s internal cultivation.
Yet from watching my movements just once in that darkness, he had replicated not only the blade path but also the exact positioning of my feet and every minute detail of my movements.
‘Is this even possible?’
Even as I watched the sword forms Hye Woon was displaying with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.
Meanwhile, Hye Woon’s wooden sword continued its unbroken flow.
Finally, twisting the blade path that had extended leftward and striking upward and to the right, Hye Woon’s movements ceased with the thirteenth technique, ‘Moonless Heart Severance.’
Hye Woon’s final motion—bending his right hand holding the wooden sword downward—was an extraneous gesture unrelated to the actual combat, yet even this matched my movements from that time perfectly.
“What do you make of it?”
After completing a perfect recreation of the Hyeon Moon Thirteen Forms with his wooden sword, Hye Woon let it hang at his side and asked.
He hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat, and his breathing remained completely steady.
I was still reeling from the shock, unable to find words for a long moment.
At an age barely past twenty, what kind of talent would one need to be born with to reach such heights?
I couldn’t believe this person was the same vagrant monk who used to secretly order alcohol at the tavern and steal other people’s meat.
Moreover, Shaolin Temple wasn’t even a sect that specialized in sword techniques as their primary martial art.
“How is it possible for you to do this?”
After a long pause, I asked this question instead of answering.
But Hye Woon shook his head and posed another question in return.
“Those techniques of yours appeared to be the sword forms of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s lineage. Is that correct?”
“Yes, as you say. I was amazed that you remembered every movement from witnessing it just once.”
“Indeed, that is the case. Though I am unfamiliar with the sword techniques of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, the fundamental forms contain their own principles and philosophy, so mimicking the shape of a sword technique is not particularly difficult. Minor Sect Leader, there is no need to be so astonished by such a trivial skill.”
As I continued to wear an expression of bewilderment, Hye Woon began explaining again in a measured tone.
“Your inner energy cultivation is remarkable for your age. Looking solely at your skill in wielding the blade, that too is quite exceptional. However…. For example, take this technique.”
Hye Woon recreated the sword path of ‘Transcendent First Flash’ once more before adding his words.
“Considering the position and stance of the enemy before you at that moment, a sword strike downward in such a vertical manner was somewhat inefficient. Had your opponent’s martial prowess been even slightly higher, your attack would have been blocked and you would have suffered the consequences instead. As for this technique….”
Hye Woon spun his body and displayed the technique of ‘Moonlight Reflected on the Blade’.
“That single blade strike you unleashed as the enemy was retreating from before your eyes appeared to be a variation of the original technique, was it not?”
“Yes…, that is correct.”
“Aside from this technique and three or four others in the latter portion, all of your techniques were rather haphazard. You simply executed the fundamental forms your body had learned without considering your opponent’s stance, level, or anticipated movements…. In truth, it is a mistake any beginner in sword training would make.”
Hye Woon was speaking in the most pleasant manner possible, considering my feelings, yet the evaluation itself was utterly cold and objective.
But what could I do?
Hye Woon’s words had struck precisely at the weaknesses in my martial arts, and it was I who had sought his instruction in the first place.
“Do not misunderstand. Your inner energy cultivation and your skill with the blade are truly excellent, and considering your age, they are at a level so remarkable that no one in all of Tianxia could compare—not even I. However, compared to your overall martial level, this particular weakness stands out distinctly, so if you wish to grow stronger, I thought it would be wise to bring this to your attention.”
In the first half of his praise regarding my martial arts, Hye Woon nodded his head several times with apparent sincerity for emphasis.
Yet to me, the latter part of his words weighed more heavily on my mind than the flattering praise, and so I asked again in my characteristically blunt manner.
“Venerable One, how might I improve?”
Hye Woon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he smiled faintly.
I was aware that Hye Woon had been taken aback by my question.
Among martial artists, seeking instruction in martial arts without being in a master-disciple relationship was something of a taboo.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that martial artists found it so shameful to ask for help from a complete stranger that they could scarcely bear it.
‘What of it? I was originally a modern person, after all.’
Yet meeting a martial genius like Hye Woon in a place like this was an opportunity that might never come again, and the flaws in my technique revealed only through actual combat were insights I could never hear from Gyo Du or anyone else.
Understanding the desperation in my heart, Hye Woon opened his mouth again with a gentle voice.
“If you truly wish to know, can you promise not to take offense at what I am about to say?”
“Yes. Of course, Venerable One.”
“Then I shall ask. Young Master Baek Yeon, do you find it difficult to interact with others?”
“Ah….”
The moment I heard Hye Woon’s words, my face began to burn without my consent.
Shamefully, I felt my face redden and even my ears turn crimson.
This reaction of mine startled even myself, and at the same time, it frightened me.
I had remained unmoved when told my martial arts were at a beginner’s level….
Yet the moment my introversion—which I had so desperately tried to conceal—was laid bare before another, something I had struggled so hard to preserve within myself seemed to crumble and collapse.
“Yes. That is true, Venerable One….”
Tears had already begun to well up in my eyes, and I could not bear the shame I felt toward myself.
I could not even comprehend why I felt such shame.
Hye Woon stepped forward and gazed intently at my face.
“As I thought. Given your station, you must have carried many burdens you could not speak of to others.”
Hye Woon regarded me with an expression that was both concerned and comforting, mysterious in its quality.
It seemed like an expression I had seen before—much like the one Baek So Cheong occasionally wore when addressing me.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added these words.
“Ah, do not worry yourself. I detected no such inclination in your manner of speech or expression. Even I, who pride myself on reading people reasonably well, remained ignorant until witnessing your combat. No one else shall discern it. I too shall guard your secret with utmost care.”
What fortune that Hye Woon standing before me was the first to perceive my introverted nature.
He was, at least for now, neither malicious nor a threat to me.
Yet one thing was certain—this could never happen again.
I suppressed my shame and asked Hye Woon.
“How did you discover it?”
This had now become more urgent than swordsmanship itself.
I needed to understand how Hye Woon had perceived my introverted nature.
Only then could I prevent such incidents from occurring again.
Hye Woon continued to speak to me with that gentle smile and measured tone.

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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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