The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 9

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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 009
Facing the Wall
‘Yes, Myeong Joon? What did you say?’
-No, you’re doing well. Don’t mind me and just continue.
How much time had passed?
It wasn’t until I had sat motionless for what felt like several hours, struggling to control the flow of my inner energy, that I finally felt it.
A tremor.
The sensation of my inner energy suddenly amplifying with each heartbeat, followed by the momentary surge of its flow.
After that, the current of my inner energy grew fierce all at once, and I could sense a wave-like undulation throughout.
I felt the demonic energy surging through my entire body.
A long exhale.
I steadied my breathing and carefully opened my eyes.
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked around, I was startled.
‘It’s already night?’
My throat was parched and my stomach hollow—I had no idea how much time had elapsed.
‘Myeong Joon?’
Even when I called out to Myeong Joon, there was no response.
He had said his manifestation time wasn’t very long.
Still, I sensed he was probably watching.
Thinking I should rest for a moment, I walked to the place where meals were left at designated intervals.
There, neat trays of food were arranged.
Six of them.
‘One tray each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… so more than two full days have already passed?’
I swallowed dryly.
I hadn’t realized how quickly time was slipping away while I was absorbed in training the Heavenly Demon Realm technique.
Despite having trained for such a long duration, my body felt no fatigue—in fact, my condition felt so good that it was as if I had just woken from a deep, refreshing sleep.
‘This is troubling. I only have a month to work with.’
At this rate, my wall-facing retreat (?) might end far too quickly.
I quickly grabbed what appeared to be the most recently placed tray and sat on the rock.
The meal I ate after finishing my training was incomparably delicious.
After finishing my meal, I lay down and indulged once more in my solitude.
‘Training… I want to train!’
Remarkably, practicing the Heavenly Demon Realm technique was so enjoyable that it overcame my desire for solitude.
Aside from sleeping and eating, I devoted myself to training the Heavenly Demon Realm technique, and in doing so, days passed in a blur.
Myeong Joon would appear briefly every few days to observe my training and offer a word or two, which typically went something like this:
-What?
-That’s… working?
-Wow, this?
-Insane!? How is that even possible?
Honestly, his remarks didn’t seem particularly helpful.
However, I did gain instruction on how to control Cheon Ma using the Heavenly Demon Realm technique.
-Cheon Ma grows stronger with each passing moment. Right now you control it without difficulty, but if your demonic cultivation doesn’t continue to advance as Cheon Ma strengthens, you may one day be consumed by it.
‘I understand. I will be cautious.’
-But if you continue as you are now, there should be no problems….
‘Is that so?’
-Yes. It seems your introverted nature aligns well with demonic cultivation. Even better than I anticipated….
Beyond that, I also received counsel on what lay ahead.
In any case, throughout the month I was given, I encountered no one, and no one disturbed me.
In this perfect environment, my training in the Heavenly Demon Realm technique showed gradual progress.
The training itself was enjoyable, but witnessing my own achievement—awakening bit by bit to demonic cultivation—was utterly exquisite.
My first period of seclusion.
A month passed with astonishing swiftness.
To speak honestly, it was the happiest month of my life.

* * *
Having completed my month of seclusion, I was making my way out of the Hall of No Mind back to Jeokwol Palace, where the Minor Sect Leader resided.
Was it the confidence that came from entering the Heavenly Demon Realm technique?
My bearing had become incomparably more imposing than before—truly befitting a Minor Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult, and I was nearly intoxicated by this commanding presence.
“My Lord!!!”
“Urrgh!”
The moment I turned the corner, I nearly lost my composure upon seeing a massive man prostrated before my chamber.
More troubling was that I myself had unconsciously uttered some strange exclamation.
“…Are you well?”
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
Fortunately, no one but this giant had witnessed it.
I quickly resumed my dignified bearing as Minor Sect Leader and looked down upon him.
“Do you wish to die? I nearly unleashed a killing technique without thinking!”
One of the techniques I had mastered while playing the role of Minor Sect Leader.
When in doubt, simply bark orders first.
“My sincerest apologies!”
But why has this fellow suddenly appeared again?
And “my lord,” no less?
“I am Young Ho Bin! As I mentioned before, I have received permission to serve the Minor Sect Leader as my lord, and I humbly beseech you to take this lowly one into your service!”
Ah, was that it?
This Young Ho Bin had said he would repay the debt of gratitude for saving his life by dedicating his existence to me.
And I had told him I would make him regret not dying.
It had been a month ago, so I had momentarily forgotten.
‘That was just something I said in passing, you fool!’
Would it seem ridiculous if I said so now?
But it would also be awkward to actually take his life now, wouldn’t it?
‘I suppose I’ll just have to persuade him to leave….’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I noticed the crowd gathering around us watching intently.
That won’t do.
‘How would a ruthless Minor Sect Leader behave?’
I had to focus on that alone.
“Where exactly do you expect me to use a wretch like you? A fool whose only talent is turning red in the face and shrieking like a madman?”
“Ah…!”
My cold words shocked not only Young Ho Bin himself but also the maidservants around us.
“I-I! I will do anything, my lord! Even kitchen work as a cook!”
“Silence! Even beggars wouldn’t eat rice prepared by the likes of you.”
I wondered if I’d gone too far… but I couldn’t stop here.
Just then, I spotted the Steward among the gathered crowd.
“Shall I hire him as a guard to watch the outhouse? What say you, Steward?”
“The Yeongwol Guard currently has no vacancies. Even if we did, strict procedures would need to be followed before any appointment.”
“Did you hear that? You’re not even fit to guard the outhouse!”
“Ugh…”
At this point, most would have given up, but Young Ho Bin’s stubbornness only grew fiercer. Gritting his teeth, he cried out:
“Please accept me as your slave!!!”
This madman….
His desperate cry carried such inner force that my ears rang momentarily, and even the glass windows trembled.
The sound was so loud that people opened windows in the surrounding buildings to look this way.
Beyond the sheer volume, the content itself was shocking.
Where in the world would you find a madman begging to be made someone’s slave?
As more eyes turned toward us, my discomfort grew by the moment.
Such is the sorrow of an introvert.
“You see? The Minor Sect Leader would never accept someone like you, would he?”
The Martial Artist standing beside Young Ho Bin grabbed his arm and pulled him up, then spoke to me.
“Minor Sect Leader. Please pay no mind. This man is merely scheming to avoid execution.”
“Execution?”
“Yes. He challenged you and lost, so by proper procedure he should face execution. Yet he stubbornly insists that his life now belongs to you….”
“I, Young Ho Bin, do not fear death nor cling to life! I had resolved to die, yet I live by your command, Minor Sect Leader! Therefore, if you will not use me as your slave, I beg you—command me to die!”
As Young Ho Bin spoke these words and pressed his forehead to the ground, I felt the sincerity behind them.
So if I didn’t accept Young Ho Bin, he would die?
I asked the Martial Artist:
“What crime did this man commit?”
“He murdered his superior officer after assaulting several village women. Damn wretch deserves to be beaten to death!”
“Hmm….”
I had known that Young Ho Bin was exceptional in martial skill and had high expectations placed upon him, but I’d only learned he’d committed a serious crime.
To think there was such a story behind him.
“Get up, you fool!”
“Wait.”
I stopped the Martial Artist who was trying to drag Young Ho Bin away.

* * *
The Sect Leader’s Hall, located in the deepest reaches of the Il-Wol Divine Sect Headquarters at Gwangmyeong Hall.
Despite being designed to block out sunlight, dozens of candlestands within cast a soft, gentle glow throughout the chamber.
Along one wall stood the memorial tablets of previous sect leaders in orderly rows, while at the center hung the emblem of the Sun and Moon that symbolized the Il-Wol Divine Sect—a place that radiated absolute authority.
In that hall, also known as the Cheon Ma Hall, Sect Leader Baek Mu Myeong sat in meditation with his eyes closed.
Around the Sect Leader, the air trembled, and his internal energy fluctuated in rhythm with his breathing, swaying back and forth.
The parched air emanated a faint crimson hue.
A phenomenon that appeared when cultivating the Heavenly Demon Heart Method—the Sect Leader’s secret internal cultivation technique.
Those with weak internal energy could suffer internal injuries merely from touching the energy waves.
This was one of the reasons the Sect Leader spent most of his daily life alone.
Though the energy circulation was terrifying, the Sect Leader himself found it as natural and comfortable as breathing.
Moreover, for some time now, his mind had been occupied with thoughts beyond cultivation.
Rumors circulating within the Il-Wol Divine Sect.
‘They say the Minor Sect Leader couldn’t suppress his murderous impulses, so the Sect Leader eliminated all the maidservants and guards.’
‘They say the moment he finished his wall-facing cultivation, he made the Martial Artist who challenged him into a slave and has been torturing him all night.’
The disciples’ interest in the Minor Sect Leader—a genius who manifested the Cheon Ma at merely eleven years of age—was extraordinary.
In particular, countless rumors about the Minor Sect Leader’s brutal nature continued to spread.
‘They say the Minor Sect Leader suffers from a madness that craves blood when the full moon rises, and wanders the streets at night.’
‘They say ever since the Minor Sect Leader nearly fell to an assassin from the Martial Alliance, he’s been capturing and killing Orthodox Martial Sect martial artists indiscriminately and turning them into taxidermied displays.’
Even completely baseless stories like these had begun to circulate.
Though most were exaggerated rumors, the Sect Leader found them rather pleasing to hear.
However, there was one detail about the Minor Sect Leader’s conduct that he learned through his subordinates which deeply displeased him.
‘He often didn’t even eat meals on time during his wall-facing cultivation?’
The Sect Leader had ordered meals brought to the Minor Sect Leader at every mealtime during his wall-facing period, but received reports that the Minor Sect Leader rarely touched them.
Whether he didn’t eat or was doing something else, proper cultivation couldn’t have occurred in such a state.
The Baek Yeon the Sect Leader had observed thus far was a child who showed little enthusiasm for cultivation.
His innate talent was incomparable, yet he seemed troubled by something, lacked patience, and was not serious-minded.
Defeating the Challenger so decisively at the Divine Demon Assembly?
That was the power of the Sacred Fire and the Cheon Ma—not an achievement earned through his own effort.
‘What does that bastard Baek Yeon possess, aside from the Cheon Ma and his cruel nature?’
Indeed.
The Sect Leader still did not trust Baek Yeon.
To be precise, he had somewhat set aside his suspicion that the Minor Sect Leader’s brutal nature might be an act, but beyond that, he had little faith in him.
When the Minor Sect Leader nearly died at the hands of an assassin from the Martial Alliance not long ago, the Sect Leader had been greatly disappointed by his weakness.
The position of Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect was one that ruled over ten thousand demons—a position that demanded standing at the very pinnacle of martial prowess.
Whether in internal energy, physical excellence, or any other aspect, there could be no deficiency.
This could not be achieved through innate talent alone; it required effort that ground bone and sinew.
“The Minor Sect Leader has arrived.”
“Let him enter.”
The Sect Leader had deliberately ordered a month of wall-facing cultivation, and summoning the Minor Sect Leader today was precisely for this reason.
‘I will coldly verify the fruits of his wall-facing cultivation. Whether he truly possesses the qualifications to become Sect Leader….’

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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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