Heavenly Demon of Mount Hua

Chapter 17

—–CROW—– 

The hour of Yin, before sunrise.

A young man was walking along the steep and narrow mountain path leading up to Nakan Peak, shrouded in the pre-dawn darkness.

A young Taoist with a neat and tidy appearance.

It was Jeok-geom.

“Huff, huff.”

Jeok-geom exhaled deeply and shook his head.

He had felt it yesterday as well, but the mountain path to Nakan Peak was quite rough and arduous.

Soon, arriving at the small hut, his destination, Jeok-geom stretched his arms wide.

“Phew…”

He took a deep breath and raised his head.

The dilapidated hut, which looked as if it might collapse at any moment, housed the person he was looking for.

Cheon-hwi.

Only fourteen years old, yet his senior disciple.

Someone he wouldn’t have cared about before, but now it was different.

Captivated by Cheon-hwi’s divine skill at the Five Mountains Gathering, Jeok-geom sought to learn from him, despite his younger age.

‘Today’s the day.’

After catching his breath, Jeok-geom carefully and reverently knelt down.

‘Senior Disciple Cheon-hwi’s skill that day was overwhelming. No matter how young he is compared to me, his skill is immeasurable…’

“Senior Brother Jeok-geom?”

Startled by the voice that interrupted his thoughts, Jeok-geom hurriedly turned his head.

A familiar woman stood there.

“Junior Sister Seol-ran? What are you doing here?”

As the two looked at each other in surprise at the unexpected encounter.

Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang.

Cheon-hwi emerged.  Seeing him in a loosely worn robe and disheveled hair, Jeok-geom and Seol-ran hurriedly bowed their heads and exclaimed,

“Senior Disciple!”

“Senior Disciple!”

Cheon-hwi glared at the two calling him, then frowned and spoke.

“Be quiet.”

***

Late in the afternoon, Hyeon-do, who had come to the hut as usual, glanced at the two kneeling figures and asked Cheon-hwi,

“I came to ask about the Plum Blossom Sword Technique you showed that day… Why are these children here?”

“I don’t know. They’ve been like this since morning.”

At Cheon-hwi’s annoyed reply, Jeok-geom and Seol-ran, startled, hurriedly added,

“W-We came to ask Senior Disciple Cheon-hwi for his teachings, Grandmaster.”

“I-I also came to seek Senior Disciple’s guidance, Grandmaster.”

“You want to receive his teachings?”

Hyeon-do crossed his arms and fell into deep thought at their replies.

As time passed and the furrow in his brow deepened, Jeok-geom and Seol-ran cowered.

Seol-ran’s face, in particular, paled.

She was an unregistered disciple who hadn’t even received a title.

Although she hadn’t been given a title due to her background, she was treated no differently from a true disciple of the sect, but ultimately, she remained unregistered.

Then, Hyeon-do met their gazes.

He stared intently at the two trembling figures, fearing a reprimand, then turned his gaze towards Cheon-hwi.

‘To receive Cheon-hwi’s teachings…’

At first, he had intended to scold Jeok-geom and Seol-ran for their request.

But after some thought, he realized it might actually be a good thing.

The two he had seen at the Five Mountains Gathering were overflowing with talent. And if the greatest genius of all time, Cheon-hwi, were to teach them…

He gulped.

‘But how do I persuade Cheon-hwi to…’

“Hmm.”

As Hyeon-do, lost in deep thought, lowered his head, Cheon-hwi spoke.

“If there’s nothing else, can I go in?”

Hyeon-do, seeing Cheon-hwi about to turn around, was startled and uncrossed his arms.

“Ah, no.”

Hyeon-do hurriedly stopped Cheon-hwi.

Because it was he, not Cheon-hwi, who would be disappointed if this training session ended.

“G-Grandmaster?”

“Grandmaster…?”

Jeok-geom and Seol-ran struggled to hide their bewilderment at Hyeon-do’s urgency.

Cheon-hwi was exceptional, but he was a first-generation disciple.

Hyeon-do, on the other hand, was the greatest master of Mount Hua.

But the current situation looked as if Hyeon-do was pleading with Cheon-hwi, not the other way around.

The two looked back and forth between Hyeon-do and Cheon-hwi with wavering eyes, but Hyeon-do was too preoccupied to notice their reaction.

“I want to know about the Plum Blossom Sword Technique you showed that day.”

“Plum Blossom Sword Technique? Ah, the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword?”

“Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword…?”

Hyeon-do’s brow furrowed.

He had no recollection of such a sword technique existing in Mount Hua Sect.

“…Is it our sect’s sword technique?”

Hyeon-do’s voice, lowered after much deliberation, echoed in the air.

Cheon-hwi replied casually,

“I recreated it.”

“…!”

Hyeon-do’s eyes widened in disbelief. Jeok-geom and Seol-ran, eavesdropping nearby, reacted the same way.

‘Recreated?’

‘He r-recreated the Plum Blossom Sword Technique?’

Ignoring their astonishment, Cheon-hwi continued,

“I refined the Twenty-Four Hand Plum Blossom Sword Technique and filled in its shortcomings, creating a new sword technique.”

Hyeon-do, who had been momentarily stunned, exclaimed,

“I-Is that true?”

“Why would I lie?”

Cheon-hwi replied matter-of-factly and looked at Hyeon-do.

“So, you want to learn about the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword?”

Hyeon-do’s eyes changed instantly.

His eyes burning with passion, he clenched his fists.

“Yes.”

Cheon-hwi chuckled at Hyeon-do.

He had changed.

In the past, he would have thrown a fit, accusing him of blasphemy, but now he simply didn’t care.

‘Well, we’ve been exchanging knowledge on martial arts rather than him teaching me.’

He was truly obsessed with martial arts.

Discussing martial arts with a fourteen-year-old like him would be a blow to the pride of someone his age, but Hyeon-do showed no such sign.

Rather, he seemed to welcome it.

‘That’s why I’m telling him this.’

If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered.

“How do you execute it?”

Hyeon-do’s eyes were bloodshot with excitement, perhaps because he realized he could learn it.

“You know how to execute the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Cheon-hwi immediately recited the mnemonic verses.

After listening to the verses for about an hour, Hyeon-do nodded and scribbled on the ground.

“Amazing. To think the mnemonic verses can be interpreted so easily.”

“The Plum Blossom Sword Technique just had too many unnecessary verses.”

“Gasp!”

“Gulp!”

Jeok-geom and Seol-ran gasped at Cheon-hwi’s outrageous words. But their worries were unfounded.

“Hahaha, it was a bit complicated.”

Hyeon-do quietly agreed.

The Plum Blossom Sword Technique was intertwined with various Taoist verses, making it difficult to learn initially.

In contrast, how was the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword?

Taoist verses? None.

Complex verses? None.

Only simple verses.

But there was something he couldn’t understand.

Hyeon-do picked up a small twig from the ground and swung it like a sword, moving it haphazardly.

“According to the verses, the Sword Flower should bloom here. But how do you gather the Sword Flowers in one place and control their movement?”

The verses were simple, but vast.

As if dozens, hundreds of martial arts were mixed together.

“Instead of dispersing your internal energy here, concentrate it and release it explosively. That’s how you execute the first three forms.”

Hyeon-do waved the twig in the air, following Cheon-hwi’s explanation, and asked,

Swish— Swish—

“You mean execute it like this?”

“No, that’s not it. While producing the Sword Flower is important, it’s more crucial to unite your internal energy.  Like watering the ground, channel your internal energy…”

As the two conversed.

Sweep—

Jeok-geom and Seol-ran’s eyes sparkled as they exchanged glances.

‘Senior Brother…?’

‘Junior Sister too?’

In that instant, they realized they were thinking the same thing and nodded simultaneously.

‘I don’t understand a word they’re saying.’

‘I have no idea what they’re talking about.’

Contrary to their sparkling eyes, they didn’t understand anything.

And Cheon-hwi didn’t understand either.

But unlike them, his confusion stemmed from Hyeon-do’s inability to execute the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword.

‘I simplified the verses this much, and the greatest master of Mount Hua can’t even understand them.’

Cheon-hwi felt frustrated.

But he didn’t know.

While the verses had become simpler, the principles contained within the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword had become incredibly profound.

Although it was easy by his standards, it was a sword technique that even a master of the Heavenly Martial Realm would struggle to master in a single day.

“Don’t you know about Formless Form?”

“Formless Form?”

“There are no fixed rules in the Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword.  It looks like a sword dance, but each movement is a complete form in itself.”

Hyeon-do also felt frustrated.

How could a sword dance be a sword form?

A sword dance was a sword dance, and a sword form was a sword form.

Weren’t they separate things?

He couldn’t comprehend how they could be the same with his current understanding of martial arts.

But what could he do?

Cheon-hwi had done it.

“Hmm, Formless Form…”

Racking his brain for any relevant knowledge, he carefully asked,

“Are you saying there are really no rules to the forms?”

Cheon-hwi sighed, looking at Hyeon-do, who clearly didn’t understand his explanation.

Then, a phrase came to mind, and he spoke,

“Ah! Then you know about Immutability Adapts to All Changes, right?”

Hyeon-do, finally hearing something familiar, smiled brightly and nodded.

“Hahaha! Of course I do.  Immutability adapts to all changes.”

“That’s it.”

“…?”

Cheon-hwi’s chest tightened as he saw the question mark on Hyeon-do’s face.

‘How can he not understand something this simple?’

Feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration, Cheon-hwi picked up a wooden sword.

“Here, look.”

He channeled his internal energy as he spoke.

“Ooh!”

“Such internal energy control!”

Jeok-geom and Seol-ran’s eyes sparkled.

Having been completely lost in the conversation, they now looked at Cheon-hwi with admiration at the sight before them.

“I’ll show you.”

Cheon-hwi’s sword moved in a wide arc, and red plum blossoms filled Mount Hua.

“Whoa…”

“Such sword forms…”

“Beautiful.”

The three watched in awe as Cheon-hwi danced a beautiful sword dance, embracing the plum blossoms and the world.

After an hour.

“…I don’t think I can execute this today.”

Hyeon-do, who had been intently watching Cheon-hwi’s Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword, muttered quietly with a discouraged expression.

It was still beyond his current level.

‘I’ve reached the Heavenly Martial Realm, yet I can barely even imitate this sword technique.’

A wry smile played on his lips.

At the same time, he felt not just admiration, but awe at Cheon-hwi’s talent.

“If you know the verses, you’ll be able to do it eventually.”

As Cheon-hwi whispered,

Sweep—

Hyeon-do, still mesmerized by Cheon-hwi’s Seven Severing Plum Blossom Sword, looked at the two dazed figures and asked,

“So, what about them?”

“They’ll leave eventually if I ignore them.”

At Cheon-hwi’s indifferent reply, Hyeon-do immediately said,

“How about having them serve you instead?”

“Serve me?”

Cheon-hwi was intrigued.

Serving him? That would be convenient.

As he pondered, he naturally recalled his former subordinates.

‘Hmm, Ghost Demon and Flying Demon were quite efficient.’

Cheon-hwi was thinking thoughts that would shock anyone in the Central Plains if they heard them.

Who were Ghost Demon and Flying Demon?

They were the great demonic leaders who had wreaked havoc in the Central Plains in just two years and forced the Spear Piercing Sect to close its doors.

And they were merely his subordinates?

Cheon-hwi looked at Jeok-geom and Seol-ran.

The two stood frozen like statues under his gaze.

‘Compared to them, these two are…’

Comparing the second-generation disciples of Mount Hua Sect to Ghost Demon and Flying Demon.

It was a thought that would bruise the pride of Ghost Demon and Flying Demon, but Cheon-hwi considered it natural.

To him, Ghost Demon, Flying Demon, and the second-generation disciples of Mount Hua Sect were all the same.

‘But it would be more convenient to have them around, right?’

As Cheon-hwi pondered, Hyeon-do’s eyes gleamed.

‘If these two receive Cheon-hwi’s teachings, they will improve drastically.’

It was more of a certainty than an expectation.

That’s how outstanding Cheon-hwi’s teachings were.

Seizing the opportunity, he asked Jeok-geom and Seol-ran, who were gulping nervously,

“What do you think?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Grasping the intent behind Hyeon-do’s question, the two simultaneously exclaimed in unison, their eyes shining.

“You’ll do anything I ask?”

Cheon-hwi asked quietly.

Hyeon-do felt a momentary pang of unease but shook his head and spoke,

“Of course.  Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes!”

“We’ll do anything.”

Cheon-hwi looked at the two, who answered enthusiastically as if they had been waiting for this moment.

He nodded as he looked at their bright, star-like eyes.

“Alright.  Let’s do that then.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you!”

Overjoyed at his answer, the two bowed deeply simultaneously.

As a result, they missed it.

The upturned corners of Cheon-hwi’s mouth.

And the bleak future that awaited them.

—–CROW—– 

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations