The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 90

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 090
Gaining Recognition
Through my encounter with Jin Seol, everything had indeed worked out favorably in the end.
I had passed the trials set by the Five Great Family Heads, and received secret martial techniques directly from the Dongbang Family Head, solidifying my position as Minor Sect Leader.
“I don’t believe everything, but since there’s some credibility to it, I suspect the rumors will spread.”
Yet it was equally undeniable that standing before me was a woman who had gained far more from that encounter than I had.
Jin Seol narrowed her eyes slightly and extended her tongue to lick her upper lip.
“Then, have you heard this rumor as well?”
She spoke while wearing that captivating smile that seemed to enchant all who beheld it.
“I’m only attracted to those stronger than myself.”

* * *
Two massive silk tapestries, each three stories high, bore embroidered crests of the sun and moon that emanated an indescribable sense of sublimity and solemnity.
The Sect Leader’s Hall—also called the Cheon Ma Hall—was the residence and training ground of the Sect Leader, a space that never grew familiar no matter how many times I visited.
“Enter.”
The Sect Leader sat in formal meditation at the center of the Sect Leader’s Hall.
Since the betrayal of the Kang Family Head, one of the Five Great Families, had been exposed, the Sun and Moon Divine Sect had been in turmoil for some time.
The Kang Family Head and his direct descendants had all been stripped of their martial abilities and exiled to an uninhabited island across the sea where no human footsteps reached, and all family assets had been confiscated.
The Eun clan had joined the Family Alliance Meeting in place of the Kang Family, and they now commanded the Mok Gate.
The Left Elder, Right Elder, and other leaders of the Sect Headquarters had handled all these matters.
Throughout it all, the Sect Leader remained secluded in the Sect Leader’s Hall, devoted entirely to cultivation.
This alone made clear how coveted the position of Sect Leader truly was.
“I pay my respects to the Sect Leader.”
In any case, once the turbulent atmosphere of the Sect Headquarters had settled somewhat, the Sect Leader summoned me to the Sect Leader’s Hall.
Even setting aside my status as Minor Sect Leader, a private audience with the Sect Leader was not something that occurred frequently, even as his eldest son.
I wondered what purpose the Sect Leader had in calling me here.
“Come closer.”
The Sect Leader spoke without rising from his seat or opening his eyes.
As I crossed the vast hall, I observed dozens of candles flickering around me, casting dancing shadows.
A subtle fragrance that tickled the nose wafted from the incense burner.
Only when I reached the low platform before the ancestral tablets of the First Sect Leader and his predecessors could I properly observe the Sect Leader’s form.
And I could sense the flow of energy spiraling around him.
I stopped approximately three paces away from the Sect Leader.
Each time the Sect Leader exhaled his inner force, the energy waves swirling around him glowed with a crimson hue.
The energy waves of the Heavenly Demon Heart Method flowed directly before me.
The Sect Leader’s voice reached me from close by.
“Come even closer and sit facing me.”
I swallowed dryly without realizing it.
In the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, there existed an unspoken rule that one must not approach too closely when the Sect Leader was cultivating the Heavenly Demon Heart Method.
But of course, such an unspoken rule held no weight whatsoever against a direct command from the Sect Leader.
I cautiously stepped forward into the Sect Leader’s aura.
Whiiish.
A faint whistling sound accompanied the flutter of my robes as they danced and billowed around me.
The air against my skin felt not merely dry, but scorching.
To accomplish such a miraculous feat merely by circulating one’s inner energy through cultivation technique—it was breathtaking.
I could scarcely imagine how many years of training would be required to reach such a realm.
“Now, activate the Hyeon Ma Nae Hyang Sim Gong.”
“Yes, Father.”
Simply entering his aura felt like a breach of etiquette; now he wanted me to circulate my energy here as well?
Unable to discern the Sect Leader’s true intentions, my unease deepened, yet I could not refuse his command.
I had no choice but to sit in meditation posture as he did and focus my mind.
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve demonstrated this before the Sect Leader.’
The Hyeon Ma Nae Hyang Sim Gong—a secret cultivation technique I had created by refining the Hyeon Ma Gyeong, the family’s hereditary inner method passed down through the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s leadership—had reached what I considered its culmination, though calling it “perfection” seemed presumptuous.
I had demonstrated it to the Sect Leader several times during my training phases.
But this was the first time I would show him the state where I had completely restructured all the acupoints of both the Conception and Governing Vessels.
Yet I felt no anxiety.
Having astonished Ma Joon countless times during my cultivation, I possessed considerable confidence in its power and completeness.
Kuuguugung.
As I circulated my energy, I felt the true qi flowing unobstructed through my body, yet circulating with perfect stability and without the slightest waste.
The Sect Leader had been watching me with penetrating eyes, as if seeing through everything.
It was not mere metaphor—he seemed to be meticulously perceiving every acupoint within my body.
All three hundred sixty-five acupoints of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Every one of these acupoints in my body had been completely restructured through three years of relentless cultivation.
To express it in my own terms, I had twisted and transformed them to face inward.
Through this, I achieved maximum amplification of my inner energy while maintaining perfect control over it.
My cultivation achievement thus far transcended what could be merely called “first-rate.”
In demonic cultivation alone, it represented a flawless realm that all martial artists could only imagine.
Though I disliked the somewhat crude expression, the term “Heavenly Demon Body” felt entirely fitting.
The Sect Leader watching me always wore an expression of wonder.
“You’ve restructured both the Conception and Governing Vessels entirely.”
At the Sect Leader’s words, I nodded slightly.
The twenty-four acupoints of the Conception Vessel that ran down the center of the body’s front—from the Huiyin, Qugu, and Zhongji to the Tiantu, Lianquan, and Chengjiang.
And the twenty-seven acupoints of the Governing Vessel that flowed along the spine from the Changqiang, Yaoyu, and Yanguan to the Houding and Baihui.
The Sect Leader knew that cultivation of the Conception and Governing Vessels had been the critical factor and the most time-consuming aspect of my training.
“That will suffice.”
Following the Sect Leader’s instruction, I ceased my energy circulation, and he too stopped his Cheon Ma Sim Gong cultivation.
Now I understood—his invitation into his aura had been to meticulously observe my Hyeon Ma Nae Hyang Sim Gong.
Which naturally meant he intended to offer guidance on my cultivation.
As the Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, one of Kangho’s greatest powers, and as someone who had ascended to the ranks of Tianxia’s masters through his own martial prowess, his counsel was not easily obtained, and it behooved me to listen carefully.
The Sect Leader, who had seemed lost in thought for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
“To reach the First Tier at fourteen years old.”
“…I still have much to learn.”
“I reached the First Tier at twenty, so you’ve achieved it six years earlier than I did. Excessive humility becomes discourtesy.”
“…Thank you.”
In that moment, I couldn’t help but wear a vacant expression.
I never expected such praise to come from the Sect Leader’s lips.
“What does it mean to cultivate inner strength?”
The Sect Leader posed an ambiguous question before I could even gather my thoughts.
“Through breathing exercises, one generates vital energy, converts that energy into power, and accumulates it in the dantian… that is what it means.”
“Yes. At your current stage, that is the correct answer.”
Yet the Sect Leader’s questions continued relentlessly, and unable to discern his precise intent, I could only offer fundamental explanations.
“Then what does the First Tier truly signify?”
“Generally speaking, it means accumulating one full cycle of power in the dantian… typically, once that much power accumulates, one becomes capable of wielding sword energy. It refers to a realm where one transcends the mere physical enhancement stage through inner strength and achieves the ability to manifest power so distinctly that it becomes visible to the naked eye.”
The Sect Leader nodded.
“Well said. Then do you possess one full cycle of power?”
“I do not.”
One full cycle of power requires approximately sixty years of cultivation to obtain.
While it can be acquired through elixirs or mystical substances containing highly concentrated vital energy, this did not yet apply to me.
“Then your realm must be attributed to your innate talent. Do you agree?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Do you understand why I speak of such matters?”
“Yes.”
Not long ago, I might have struggled to comprehend the Sect Leader’s meaning.
But now I could understand both the substance of his words and the reason behind them with perfect clarity.
Yet the Sect Leader seemed surprised by my response.
“You understand?”
“Yes.”
I had reached the First Tier with extraordinary speed through innate talent alone—more precisely, through the unique combination of the Hyeon Ma Gyeong and my introverted nature—before ever accumulating one full cycle of power.
And if I were to build upon that foundation through acquired effort?
Naturally, depending on my dedication, I could become a master surpassing even the current Sect Leader.
What the Sect Leader had long perceived in me, I now perceived in myself.
And just as Dongbang Cheon had said, I could now understand how the Sect Leader could treat his own son, Baek Yeon, with such severity.
“I am well aware of the expectations you hold for me, Father, and I will strive not to disappoint them.”
“Heh heh. Expectations, you say….”
The Sect Leader spoke with an amused chuckle in his voice.
“It seems the Dongbang Family Head has shared unnecessary details with you.”
“….”
Honestly, I’m not sure how he deduced what Dongbang Cheon told me from this conversation alone.
In any case, it appears that the Sect Leader and Dongbang Cheon, two men who seemed unlikely to get along, actually understand each other quite well.
Still, there was no need to mention the promise I made to Dongbang Cheon in this moment.
However, the Sect Leader did not wait for my response and spoke thus.
His voice and manner of speech carried more sincerity than ever before, though such earnestness was not entirely unfamiliar to me.
“When the time comes, you too shall understand what I sought to obtain by renouncing so much as a human being, by raising the banner of Demonic Way Conquest.”
“…?”
“I hope that when that moment arrives, you will possess the preparations necessary. That is all I expect of you now.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————