Chapter 284
Chapter 284
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 284
Chapter Title: Farewell from Mount Hua
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The next day, at Azure Harmony Pavilion.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong, who had abruptly returned to his daily routine after the sudden sparring match, took up his brush as usual to handle his duties.
But it didn't last long.
"...Hmm."
Letting out a low hum, Baek Hyeon-gyeong calmly set down his brush.
He exhaled a breath at the stray thoughts swirling in his mind.
"Half a day has already passed since the spar ended, yet its afterimage still lingers."
Right now, Baek Hyeon-gyeong found it impossible to focus on his work.
Everywhere he looked, the movements from yesterday's spar appeared like illusions, obstructing his vision.
And each time, he paused what he was doing, locking eyes with the lingering image of Cheon Su-myeong and continuing the phantom duel in his mind.
Soon enough, he let out a sigh, feeling a sense of futility at his own actions.
'Just one spar, nothing more.'
This was the first time a spar had left such a profound aftereffect.
It wasn't simply because it had been a long time since his last one.
For a warrior who had reached the same transcendent realm as himself, it had been an opportunity to grasp fragments of enlightenment.
At first, he had accepted the spar negatively, but in hindsight, he realized it had been an excellent decision.
No one in the world could have predicted that he would spar with the Demon Sword Venerable, an opponent of equal realm.
"...No, one person knew."
Hyeok Mulin, the true instigator who had orchestrated this spar.
He had persuaded both the Demon Sword Venerable and himself in one place, making it possible.
Honestly, even now that Baek Hyeon-gyeong knew his true identity, he still felt occasional astonishment.
He had sensed a mysterious aura that he couldn't quite identify, but it wasn't demonic qi, so he hadn't thought him a fiend.
Yet to think he was the Heavenly Demon, the pinnacle of all fiends.
This was the first time his judgment had been so completely off.
'A man impossible to read.'
Looking back, Hyeok Mulin had been unpredictable from their first meeting to now.
He had come searching for the missing Baek Hyeon-gyeong, piercing straight to his innermost thoughts, and even offered advice on his burdens and responsibilities toward the Mount Hua Sect.
In retrospect, it was only natural he hadn't seemed like the Heavenly Demon.
Where in the world would a Heavenly Demon extend a helping hand to the Mount Hua Sect, a pillar of the Orthodox Alliance?
Honestly, Baek Hyeon-gyeong still felt like he knew more unknowns than knowns about this man called Hyeok Mulin.
The more he learned, the deeper into the labyrinth he fell.
But one thing was certain.
'Clearly an enemy, yet not quite feeling like one.'
That sentiment encapsulated all of Baek Hyeon-gyeong's feelings toward Hyeok Mulin.
As he sank into these thoughts for a moment, someone knocked from outside.
"Come in."
Having already identified the presence, Baek Hyeon-gyeong posed a question as his attendant elder entered the office and paid respects.
"Greetings, Sect Leader."
"What is it?"
In response to Baek Hyeon-gyeong's question, the attendant elder got straight to the point.
"Lord Hyeok and Elder Cheon say they are departing the main sect."
"Is that so."
They're finally leaving Mount Hua.
No reason to stay any longer, I suppose.
Hyeok Mulin's goal from the start had been to make the spar between himself and the Demon Sword Venerable happen.
The moment that was achieved, there was no more reason for him to remain here.
Baek Hyeon-gyeong slowly rose from his seat, draped on his robe, and stepped out.
"Let's go see them off. We should bid farewell to departing friends."
"Even in such a short time, calling him a friend already... It seems you've grown quite close to Elder Cheon, Sect Leader."
"No, the one I called a friend isn't him."
"Pardon? Then...?"
He would never call the Demon Sword Venerable a friend, neither before nor in the future.
Leaving the puzzled attendant elder behind, Baek Hyeon-gyeong continued on his way.
Before long, they spotted Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong standing in the central area of the main grounds.
Spotting Baek Hyeon-gyeong and the attendant elder in turn, they turned and exchanged final greetings.
"We've been in your care."
"Mount Hua's scenery is quite something."
Baek Hyeon-gyeong was about to respond to their words.
But he closed his mouth briefly and held back his words.
The leaders of the Demonic Cult who had roamed the Mount Hua grounds were finally departing, so it should have been natural to rejoice at this farewell.
Yet for some reason, Baek Hyeon-gyeong felt a bittersweet pang.
Looking back, he had felt the same when Hyeok Mulin left before.
Regret at their parting, anticipation for the next meeting.
'To feel this way toward the Heavenly Demon of all people.'
As Baek Hyeon-gyeong wore a somewhat complicated expression, Hyeok Mulin spoke up.
"It was an unreasonable request, yet you accepted so readily. Thank you. Handing over the Plum Blossom Token felt like coercion, so my conscience isn't entirely clear."
"Not at all. Even without the token, I would have deliberated long but ultimately accepted your proposal anyway."
"I see."
Both the participants and the observers of the spar had gained much.
If everyone was satisfied with the outcome, there was nothing more to say.
Hyeok Mulin nodded lightly.
At that moment, Baek Hyeon-gyeong added a postscript.
"But if you visit the main sect again next time, I hope you come alone."
Cheon Su-myeong, overhearing from the side, immediately shot back.
"I had no intention of stepping foot in Mount Hua ever again anyway. If he hadn't dragged me here, I wouldn't have even come near this place."
"That's fortunate indeed."
Their spar had concluded, but their verbal sparring showed no signs of ending.
After that, Hyeok Mulin briefly exchanged thoughts with the attendant elder, then turned back to them for a farewell greeting.
"Then we'll be off."
"We'll be waiting. Come visit anytime at your leisure."
The attendant elder nodded and replied.
But as Baek Hyeon-gyeong's lips remained sealed, sending curious glances his way.
Hyeok Mulin heard his voice transmission in his ear.
『There are many eyes watching you. And there will be even more in the future.』
Having returned from an Orthodox Alliance conference centered on the Heavenly Demon, Baek Hyeon-gyeong knew the eyes of the orthodox faction were now turning toward Hyeok Mulin.
Thus, before his departure, he sent a final warning via transmission.
『It's fine.』
Hyeok Mulin's response transmission was utterly calm.
『The position I've ascended to is inherently like this.』
『...I see.』
In a way, he wasn't just drawing attention from the orthodox faction.
Naturally, the unorthodox were watching him too, not to mention within the Demonic Cult itself.
It was inevitable, the convergence of gazes since ascending to the Heavenly Demon's throne and seizing its power.
And separately from that.
'No need to worry after all.'
The one Baek Hyeon-gyeong had formed a bond with was not the Heavenly Demon, but the warrior Hyeok Mulin.
He had felt human concern for him, but through their brief exchange, Baek Hyeon-gyeong realized it was needless worry.
For the gaze Hyeok Mulin met him with held not arrogance or self-assurance, but conviction.
Thus, slowly lifting the corners of his mouth and casting aside all concerns, Baek Hyeon-gyeong bid farewell.
"I'll await the day we meet again."
With that farewell as the last, Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong turned their backs and walked away.
Strolling through the grounds, they soon arrived at the Mount Hua Sect's entrance.
And there, they saw familiar faces.
The two youths who had received their guidance on the final day of training.
Hoe-gang and Hoe-ak had been waiting at the entrance for their arrival.
"Lord Hyeok!"
"Elder Cheon!"
Spotting Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong, they ran up joyfully.
Though the time was short, they expressed gratitude for the teachings and regret at their departure from Mount Hua.
Gazing at Hoe-ak, Hyeok Mulin said.
"No need to be so downhearted. We'll meet again before long."
Though the meeting place then would be Mount Yanluo, not Mount Hua.
As Hoe-ak tilted his head at Hyeok Mulin's words, Hoe-gang, standing beside him, humbly bowed deeply once more to express profound thanks.
"We received teachings beyond our worth. I will never forget the grace Elder Cheon has bestowed upon me."
Gazing at the back of Hoe-gang's bowed head, Cheon Su-myeong smirked.
"Hoh..."
Having observed yesterday's spar, they surely knew he was a fiend.
Yet here they were, coming to see him off and offering deep gratitude.
"Not all orthodox fools are ungrateful."
Hoe-ak looked puzzled at his words, but Hoe-gang, who had witnessed his true nature, couldn't help flinching.
Even so, his gratitude remained unchanged.
No matter if the world, the Central Plains, the orthodox faction, the Orthodox Alliance, or even Mount Hua viewed him as the enemy Demon Sword Venerable of the Demonic Cult—even if offered a thousand gold, he wouldn't trade the teachings received.
Though he could never utter "master" again, his thankful heart endured.
In truth, Cheon Su-myeong's teachings differed greatly from what the Mount Hua Sect emphasized.
Unlike the existing focus on flexible swordsmanship, leisure, and blooming plum blossoms, his sword was about crushing those bloomed flowers.
Thus, whether to accept it or not.
The choice was now wholly Hoe-gang's.
"Kekeke. Even one day of learning sword from me means you won't go getting beaten everywhere."
What fiend could receive such direct gratitude from a Mount Hua disciple?
As Cheon Su-myeong replied with a satisfied expression, Hyeok Mulin spoke up.
"It might be best to get moving now."
"Understood."
With those words, Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong departed, and Hoe-gang and Hoe-ak bowed in fist salute toward their receding figures.
A brief farewell with the two titans who had left a massive ripple across the entire Mount Hua Sect.
Afterward, as Hyeok Mulin descended Mount Hua side by side with Cheon Su-myeong, he posed a question.
"Are you satisfied with following me?"
"Satisfied?"
Cheon Su-myeong let out a subdued chuckle before continuing.
"Denying it would be a lie."
When he had suddenly arrived at Mount Hua, Cheon Su-myeong thought Hyeok Mulin's head had gone strange.
But now, looking back after everything concluded, his path had been impeccable.
Of course, it had flowed entirely according to Hyeok Mulin's intentions, dancing on the palm of his hand until facing the Sword Immortal in a spar—but what did that matter?
It was an extraordinarily memorable experience he never would have had without Hyeok Mulin.
"Then back to the cult now?"
His voice carried a hint of reluctance, and Hyeok Mulin responded with a faint smile, saying nothing.
Seeing that, deep curiosity colored Cheon Su-myeong's face.
"Something more remains."
"Indeed."
"What is it?"
"Having seen the orthodox faction after so long."
Hyeok Mulin slowly added.
"Now we must face the opposite side, no?"
"...As expected, you never fail my expectations."
To think a jaunt out of seclusion after over a decade would be this enjoyable.
Cheon Su-myeong felt no regret whatsoever for following Hyeok Mulin.
On the contrary, it felt like the finest choice among countless crossroads in his lifelong journey.
"Where to? The Four Black Alliances? Hall of Wandering Souls? Or the Bone Erosion Alliance?"
Cheon Su-myeong listed the great unorthodox organizations one by one.
Wherever they headed, with Hyeok Mulin, it was bound to be endlessly intriguing.
"You."
Hyeok Mulin made a gesture near his mouth as if drinking liquor and said.
"Do you like alcohol?"
A grin spread.
"Of course."
Cheon Su-myeong raised the corner of his mouth without hesitation.
"I only don't drink when there's none to be had."
"Then you're in luck."
Hyeok Mulin nodded and slowly parted his lips.
"Our next destination is."
The holy land for roving drunkards of the jianghu, where all famed liquors of the world converge.
And the domain ruled by Drunk Tyrant Radiance, one of the Three Saints and One Drunk Emperor.
"The Full Wine Assembly."