The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 6

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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 006
Myeong Joon
My concentration wavered momentarily at the sound of Myeong Joon’s voice.
“Then, let the martial contest begin!”
Following Woo Sa’s command, Young Ho Bin stood before me with his left hand extended and right fist clenched, rotating them in opposite directions as he displayed his fighting stance.
Then Myeong Joon’s voice reached me once more.
-Ha…! This bastard, could it be that you haven’t even entered the Heavenly Demon Realm yet?
‘The Heavenly Demon Realm? What is that?’
-How fitting for someone like Baek Mu Myeong. Driving your own blood to the brink of the abyss.
‘?’
“Since I am considerably older than the Minor Sect Leader, I shall concede the first three moves. Please, strike first.”
Young Ho Bin possessed at least some conscience—rather than attacking first, he was yielding the initiative to me.
Despite his confident words, his expression was far from bright.
Sweat poured from his entire body like rain, as though he could barely endure the heat of the Sacred Fire.
‘Hmm. My condition seems far superior to his.’
-Of course it is. Under Myeong Joon’s protection, you suffer no harm from the Sacred Fire’s flames, and instead your inner strength is amplified.
Though I understood not the reason, it seemed that as one who carried the Sect Leader’s blood, I was shielded by the Sacred Fire and held a considerable advantage.
This was indeed a battle where I possessed ample chance of victory.
‘In any case, I have no choice but to attempt an attack.’
I slowly approached Young Ho Bin, assumed the most convincing stance I could manage, and extended my fist toward his solar plexus.
My attack struck Young Ho Bin’s solar plexus directly.
“What is this…!?”
Young Ho Bin’s expression twisted in an instant.
Baek Yeon’s martial prowess was extraordinarily refined for his young age.
Even though Song Mu Gyeong had never properly cultivated martial arts as a civil official, he had been skilled enough to defeat adults with ease.
Though I had never directly learned martial arts myself, I believed this attack would inflict considerable damage upon Young Ho Bin, just as before.
Or so I thought.
“Puhahahaha!”
Yet my expectations were dashed by the explosive laughter that erupted from those behind me.
“Minor Sect Leader, how amusing!”
“Your technique for fooling your opponent is remarkable!”
At the sound of their laughter, I wished I could crawl into a mouse hole and disappear.
Why couldn’t I replicate what I had done before?
My attack had been so feeble that they believed I was deliberately mocking my opponent with pathetic martial arts, and they clutched their bellies in laughter.
All except one person—the Sect Leader.
‘!!’
I saw the Sect Leader glaring at me with clenched teeth and blazing eyes.
“Minor Sect Leader…you mock me so thoroughly.”
Young Ho Bin’s face had also flushed crimson, believing I was toying with him.
Yet he could not break his word about conceding three moves, so he remained standing motionless.
“Hmm.”
I stumbled backward two steps, caught off guard.
I had attacked with considerable effort, yet the result left me uncertain about my next move.
I planted my weight firmly on my left leg and swept my right foot forward with force.
“…!!”
“Ugh… Puhahahaha!”
I thought my kick had struck Young Ho Bin’s left leg squarely, yet still that laughter erupted from him.
And beneath that laughter, the Sect Leader seemed to be barely restraining an urge to rush at me and end my life on the spot.
“One second remains.”
Young Ho Bin’s face had gone from red to a sickly pale, trembling visibly.
This was truly becoming a serious problem.
-Minor Sect Leader, what is your name?
At that moment, Myeong Joon’s voice echoed in my mind once more.
‘I am Baek Yeon.’
-I see, Baek Yeon. You said you have never learned martial arts before?
‘That is correct.’
-Then you are quite remarkable indeed.
I could scarcely believe my ears.
‘Remarkable, you say?’
-I could easily crush such a wretch without lifting a finger… but my curiosity is piqued. For your next move, try this approach.
‘…?’
Myeong Joon’s explanation was not lengthy.
Yet I could not readily comprehend what was being suggested.
Was I truly to do that?
‘Um, Myeong Joon…? You are serious, yes?’
-What do you mean?
‘Are you perhaps jesting with me?’
-Foolish child. By human reckoning, I am older than your grandfather’s grandfather. Would I jest with one so far beneath me?
‘Truly? You really mean it?’
-Stop your prattling and do it at once!
Though I could not shake my doubts.
With no other option available, I prepared the next move as Myeong Joon had instructed.
There was little to prepare, in truth.
‘Cheon Ma, awaken.’
Thump.
At my silent call, Cheon Ma’s eyes opened.
-Kill!! Kill them all!!
The very same force that had driven me to pierce Song Mu Gyeong five days ago without my knowledge.
Before I could even register surprise, my vision flooded crimson as before.
Simultaneously, my heartbeat accelerated, and an inexplicable energy surged through my entire body once more.
In that instant, the atmosphere of the arena seemed to freeze, and a profound silence descended upon the gathering.
“The Cheon Ma!!”
“!!!”
The disciples watching gasped in shock as they beheld the Minor Sect Leader’s eyes blazing crimson, the Cheon Ma manifesting in all its bloody glory.
Young Ho Bin’s gaze, meeting my reddened eyes, was equally consumed by astonishment.
I rotated my right arm in a subtle motion, curling my index finger inward.
I brought it forward to a point just before Young Ho Bin’s head….
Tick!
With all my strength, I flicked my finger against his skull.
Boom!!!!
In that moment, a sound effect utterly incongruous with the attacking motion struck my ears.
“…!!”
Young Ho Bin remained standing, motionless.
Yet his eyes had lost all focus, their gaze drifting aimlessly into the void.
Thump.
As his body collapsed limply in unconsciousness, the Demonic Cult disciples surrounding the Training Grounds erupted in unison with triumphant roars.
The Sacred Fire’s flames wavered from the force of their cries.
“Waaaahhh!!”
Thump, thump.
Though victory in the duel was gratifying, my heart remained far from at ease.
The Cheon Ma now raging within my mind had become the true problem.
-He’s down! Now’s the moment!! Kill him!!!!
If I were to be consumed by murderous impulses and lose my reason entirely, the outcome would be worse than defeat itself.
Yet….
-Kill him! Tear open his belly!! Spill his blood!!!
‘Enough. Be quiet.’
-K-kill…!?
‘I said to be silent, didn’t I?’
-S-si…lent…?
‘Yes. That’s right.’
-Whimper….
The Cheon Ma, which had been raging so fiercely, shrank back at merely a few words from me, ceasing its demands for death and slaughter.
Only after confirming that I could indeed control the Cheon Ma did I finally find peace of mind.
“Minor Sect Leader, are you unharmed?”
“I am unharmed.”
Woo Sa, who had rushed over in alarm upon witnessing the Cheon Ma’s manifestation, now exhaled in relief as he observed my eyes returning to their normal state and my complexion fully restored.
In the meantime, the unconscious Young Ho Bin was carried away by the martial artists and removed from the Training Grounds.
“I hereby declare the Minor Sect Leader the victor of this martial duel!”

* * *
“Minor Sect Leader. Raise the sacred chalice before Myeong Joon.”
What followed was the New Demon Small Assembly’s ceremony—the ritual acknowledging that Minor Sect Leader Baek Yeon had been chosen by Myeong Joon.
‘Six….’
As the newly recognized Minor Sect Leader, I approached the Sacred Fire and performed thirty-three prostrations. That was the ceremony.
As I bowed slowly, I recalled the conversation with Myeong Joon from moments before.
-You have clearly manifested Cheon Ma, have you not?
‘Ah… yes. How did you know?’
-I can sense it from your body. How could I not know?
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
If Cheon Ma was deeply connected to the Baek Clan, the current Sect Leader, then it would be strange for Myeong Joon, the deity of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, not to know.
Myeong Joon’s words continued.
-Before the final technique, summon Cheon Ma and test it.
‘Pardon?’
-Why are you so startled?
Summon Cheon Ma?
‘But… what if I’m overwhelmed by murderous impulses when I summon Cheon Ma?’
The memory of harming someone without my control when Cheon Ma manifested still haunted me.
Yet from Myeong Joon, speaking directly into my mind, I sensed no concern whatsoever.
-Do not worry. While you bask in the protection of the Sacred Fire, Cheon Ma will never consume you.
‘But….’
-Do you not trust my words?
‘No, that is not it. If Myeong Joon says so….’
Reluctantly accepting, I listened as Myeong Joon continued the explanation.
‘And after I summon Cheon Ma, what then?’
-Then you will be able to win with but a single finger.
In the end, things unfolded exactly as Myeong Joon had said. I was glad I had listened.
I emerged from my reverie, continuing my prostrations while offering silent gratitude.
‘Myeong Joon, I never knew Cheon Ma possessed such tremendous power.’
-Neither did I.
‘?’
What do you mean by that, Myeong Joon?
-Just because I said you could win with a single finger, does that mean you actually strike with your finger?
‘Excuse me?’
-You worthless fool, is the duel to determine the Minor Sect Leader’s qualifications a joke?
‘Wait, you…!?’
Myeong Joon brazenly continued speaking in my mind with an unbothered tone.
-But it worked out well. Since you used your finger, at least he lived. Had you struck with your fist, that man would be dead. There was no need to take an innocent life.
‘Fourteen….’
‘Hmm. Myeong Joon, my ability to suppress Cheon Ma’s murderous impulses must be thanks to your protection, correct?’
-There is more to it than that, it seems.
‘More to it?’
-I cannot say with certainty, but it appears to relate to your psychological disposition. Unlike your ancestors, your sense of self pursues only inward direction….
‘Are you saying I’m introverted?’
-Introverted… now that I hear it, that is precisely the word. Because you were born with the ability to contemplate your inner self, you can control Cheon Ma. It is the same reason you can converse with me.
‘But I’m not the only introverted person. Half the world must be introverts.’
-Among those who have succeeded the Sect Leader’s position in the Main Sect, I have never witnessed one like you.
‘I suppose that could be true.’
As I pondered Myeong Joon’s words, laughter escaped me unbidden.
‘Hahaha.’
Introversion fundamentally means one’s sense of self is directed inward.
Thus, in matters of interpersonal relations and activity, introverts possess weaknesses compared to extroverts, yet conversely, their resistance to external stimuli can become an advantage.
And to think—it is precisely this introversion that allows me to master Cheon Ma.
-Why do you laugh?
‘I never imagined my lifelong introversion could become such a strength.’

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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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