The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 60

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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 060
The Merchant Conference 2
“Baek Yeon. Combat between martial artists is, in truth, much like conversation between people.”
Hye Woon continued his explanation in a gentle voice.
“When you listen to another’s words and respond accordingly with your own, conversation flows naturally. But what happens when you speak while refusing to listen to what the other person says?”
“The conversation breaks down. Are you saying the same thing occurred when I wielded my blade?”
“Indeed. Not only this time, but when you faced those mysterious men who attacked the merchants before… or rather, even before that, when you and I crossed chopsticks—I noticed it then. Despite your exceptional understanding of swordsmanship, you seemed strangely closed off to sensing your opponent’s techniques. As if you feared not the opponent’s weapon itself, but the very existence of your opponent standing before you.”
Simply by observing how I wielded my blade, he could discern so much.
It was a testament to how extraordinary Hye Woon’s perception of swordsmanship—indeed, martial arts themselves—truly was.
Not to mention the penetrating insight into human nature that he must have cultivated through Buddhist discipline.
“Then how might one overcome this?”
Rather than answer directly, Hye Woon gazed into my eyes with a faint, enigmatic smile and spoke.
“I suspect you understand the answer better than I do.”
“…?”
“Consider this: have you not already overcome countless difficulties to arrive where you stand now?”
His words brought forth memories of all those years spent striving to blend naturally among people since I first opened my eyes in this world.
No—it was the same in my original life as well.
Every experience I had endured across twenty years since being born with such extreme introversion played out in my mind.
Perhaps living in this world is an extraordinarily difficult and overwhelming burden for someone like me, an introvert.
Yet Hye Woon was right. Have I not managed well thus far?
Being introverted is not purely a disadvantage, and sometimes the strengths of introversion have become the very power to overcome crises.
‘Crossing blades is like conversation too. Even if afraid, I must not turn away from my opponent.’
Of course, Hye Woon’s single statement would not solve everything, but still, I felt I had glimpsed the direction my martial arts must take.
My heart felt lighter, as though I had set down a heavy burden.
I pressed my palms together in gratitude and offered Hye Woon my farewell.
“Master. I had originally hoped to receive your teachings on martial arts and the blade, yet I have been blessed with words far more precious than I could have imagined. I am grateful for the fortune of having met you.”
“Baek Young Master. I wished to say this before as well, but the Buddhist Order does not believe in heavenly fate. It is merely karma, merely connection. I too shall cherish the connection of having met you.”
With those words from Hye Woon, I turned and began to walk away slowly.
Wait, before that….
“Master?”
“What is it?”
“Which way must I go to reach the place where the Merchant Conference is being held?”

* * *
Shortly after Baek Yeon left the manor estate and disappeared toward Pungwharu, where the Merchant Conference was being held.
Hye Woon walked to the kitchen outside Myeong Heon’s chamber and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Yes, Master Teacher.”
Myeong Heon, who had finished his meditation and was waiting for Hye Woon’s return, welcomed him.
“Did you see off Young Master Baek?”
“Yes. Since the second Merchant Conference is about to begin, it seems he will meet with the Cheong Yun Merchant Master and settle matters.”
“I see. What do you think will happen?”
Hye Woon fell silent in thought for a moment before answering with a resolute voice.
“I believe Young Master Baek will resolve this through proper means.”
At those words, Myeong Heon merely smiled faintly.
As Hye Woon gazed at that smile for a while, Myeong Heon’s clear voice reached his ears.
“To be honest, I wasn’t certain whether your judgment was correct—risking your life to save him and even giving him the antidote.”
It was when Hye Woon was keeping watch over the Cheong Woon Merchant Guild Secret Warehouse.
Seeing Baek Yeon, who had concealed himself, secretly slip into that place, Hye Woon, after much deliberation, followed him.
Until that moment, not knowing what the Cheong Yun Merchant Group was doing, Hye Woon had assumed Baek Yeon was deeply involved in their affairs.
Had Baek Yeon been participating in evil deeds, Hye Woon might have punished him with his own hands.
“What did you see in Young Master Baek?”
Hye Woon answered without hesitation to that question.
“Young Master Baek’s martial talent is far too precious to waste dying before it even blooms. Surely you witnessed it yourself, Master Teacher?”
Myeong Heon nodded, recalling the time he had taken Baek Yeon’s pulse while he was unconscious.
That strange sensation he had felt when channeling his inner energy into the young man’s body.
As if the meridians had been artificially rearranged to optimize the circulation of inner power, the vital channels throughout his entire body—save for a portion of the Governing Vessel—were twisted in an extraordinary manner.
The unobstructed, serene flow of blood vessels seemed to herald the birth of a martial genius the world had never seen before.
Should the Conception and Governing Vessels open and he cross the Gate of Life and Death, he would gain martial prowess equal to the Shaolin Eight Divine Monks, and where the end of his development would lead was something impossible to predict with human ability.
Moreover, it seemed he had gained considerable insights through his sword discussion with Hye Woon, so it was as if they had given wings to a tiger.
“That is why I ask. Young Master Baek is still young, and there is no guarantee he will not succumb to the temptation of evil. Should he grow into a villain, the Kangho Realm would witness the return of the Blood Demon from a hundred years past.”
Myeong Heon’s words were chilling to hear, but Hye Woon simply shook his head.
“He told me that he has already determined his own path. Regardless of other matters, he is certainly not someone who would be swayed by the temptations around him.”
The moment Hye Woon gained insight into Baek Yeon’s nature, he felt as though he understood far more about him than he had expected.
His tendency to find interaction with others difficult conversely signified an unwavering faith in his own will and drive stronger than anyone else’s.
While such a disposition seemed ill-suited for a Sect Leader to guide the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, it might paradoxically be the most fitting talent for the role.
“However, his rough and unrestrained temperament does seem to cause considerable hardship to those around him.”
And the reason he added such a remark was to honor his promise with Baek Yeon not to speak of his nature to anyone.
Myeong Heon smiled warmly at Hye Woon’s words, seemingly satisfied.
“This journey through Kangho has been a valuable experience for you as well. Now prepare to return to Songshan.”
“Yes, Master Teacher.”
Watching Hye Woon bow and depart, he recalled the words he had spoken to Baek Yeon.
Shaolin stands with neither the Martial Alliance nor the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
Yet he and the High Monks of Shaolin Temple harbored no doubt that the Sun and Moon Divine Sect had degenerated into the vicious Demonic Cult that the world whispered about.
He told Baek Yeon that he looked forward to their next meeting.
In truth, this was a warning that the Sun and Moon Divine Sect must not walk the path of evil as the world feared.
Should such a thing come to pass, then the next time they met, Shaolin Temple would face them as enemies.

* * *
By the time I arrived at Pungwharu, the second Merchant Conference had already begun.
The Training Platform visible from the entrance stood empty of any speakers, yet hundreds of merchants filled the hall with such clamorous chatter that it was deafening.
The merchants were too preoccupied with their whispered opinions and sidelong glances toward the platform to notice me as I pushed through the crowd toward the front.
As I made my way through the throng, the voices I caught were these:
“What are you saying? What happened to Myeong Shin Merchant Guild?”
“Isn’t it true that Hwang Heum Gyeol, the Myeong Shin Merchant Master, was caught committing illegal acts and dragged away to the Shaolin Temple’s Discipline Hall?”
“Shaolin Temple?”
“Well, Hwang Merchant Master is a lay disciple of Shaolin, so it’s hardly strange that Shaolin Temple would intervene directly if he violated the precepts of his dharma lineage.”
“Then what becomes of Myeong Shin Merchant Guild?”
“Seeing as no one from Myeong Shin appeared by the end of today….”
Today’s Merchant Conference proceeded as it had the first time, beginning with presentations from small and medium merchant groups, and when no one from Myeong Shin Merchant Guild appeared when their turn came, the merchants were sharing what they knew about the matter.
And what I heard about Myeong Shin Merchant Guild was exactly as Myeong Heon had told me.
Hwang Merchant Master of Myeong Shin Merchant Guild had fallen from power, and Shaolin Temple would entrust another lay disciple with the task of liquidating Myeong Shin Merchant Guild.
In essence, Myeong Shin Merchant Guild would be dismantled and scattered into small and medium merchant groups.
With Shaolin Temple’s intervention, the matter was handled with admirable swiftness and finality.
“Now that Myeong Shin Merchant Guild is finished, only Cheong Yun Merchant Master is delighted. There’s not a single merchant group left in Sichuan to threaten Cheong Yun Merchant Group anymore.”
“Today’s selection of the Sangdo Alliance leader will be pointless.”
“Even more people will try to align themselves with Cheong Yun Merchant Master.”
The merchants from each guild seemed to expect that Cheong Yun Merchant Group would seize the opportunity left by Myeong Shin’s collapse to expand their power.
But whether that would truly come to pass remained to be seen.
“Attention, honored merchants of this hall. Myeong Shin Merchant Guild has not arrived on time, and we have waited the prescribed period, yet they still do not appear. We shall wait one final period, and then proceed to the next order of business—the presentation from Cheong Yun Merchant Group. Should Myeong Shin Merchant Master not appear by then, Myeong Shin Merchant Guild shall be deemed to have forfeited all rights in this Merchant Conference.”
As the merchant conducting the Merchant Conference made this announcement from the platform, I had nearly reached the front row.
The tent where Myeong Shin Merchant Guild should have been seated stood empty, and beside it was the tent of Cheong Yun Merchant Group.
As I drew near to Cheong Yun Merchant Group’s tent, a woman sitting in the middle suddenly turned around in alarm and met my eyes directly.
“Oh!”
Baek So Cheong let out a sharp cry, her eyes widening in astonishment.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Young Ho Bin and Namgung Eon, who sat nearby, quickly realized that I had returned.
“Minor Sect Leader! Are you unharmed?”
Young Ho Bin and Namgung Eon leaped from their seats and rushed toward me, while Baek So Cheong stood rooted to the spot, her hand covering her mouth as her shoulders trembled.
“Sister, I’m back.”
“Minor Sect Leader….”
I spoke only those words, then raised my palm in a gesture urging them to calm themselves.
For them, it was natural to be overjoyed and relieved that the Minor Sect Leader, whom they believed had perished in the massive explosion, had returned alive, but this was not yet the moment to indulge in the joy of reunion.
I left them where they stood and continued walking toward the front row.
By that point, the executives of the Cheong Yun Merchant Group had also noticed my return, exhaling sharply before falling into silence.
And there, seated at the very front, was he.
Jang Yeon Hwi, the Merchant Guild Master of the Cheong Yun Merchant Group, sensed the disturbance and slowly rose to his feet.
Jang Yeon Hwi turned his body to confirm my face, yet there was not the slightest trace of shock in his expression.
He merely gazed upon me with the same composure and arrogance as always.
“Minor Sect Leader. I cannot express how delighted I am to see you return safely.”
“….”
Truly, the bearing of a Merchant Guild Master of a colossal trading company.
This man who had laid traps upon traps, each more vicious than the last, to eliminate me.
As a final measure, he had even detonated the entire underground warehouse, yet he could not have discovered my corpse among the ruins of that explosion.
Though he may have anticipated it to some degree, it was remarkable that upon seeing me walk through the entrance unscathed, he could maintain such an unperturbed countenance.
“So, you have come to witness this grandfather of yours being elected as the leader of the Sangdo Alliance?”
I gazed at Jang Yeon Hwi, who spoke with a sinister smile, with nothing but a composed and indifferent gaze.
Poong Cheong Jin, who stood close behind Jang Yeon Hwi, was also glaring at me.
And I approached him until I stood directly before his eyes, then slowly opened my mouth.
“No. I have come to destroy you.”

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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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