Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Debt from 200 Years Ago (5)
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Blazing Flower Hall Leader Chu Jeong-yong asked.
To be honest, the moment he read the letter stating they were coming to collect a debt from 200 years ago, he had an intuition.
The Demonic Cult has been revived!
He believed that the newly revived Demonic Cult, with nowhere else to lean on, had come to Blazing Flower Hall invoking an old debt.
Strictly speaking, he was slightly mistaken.
He never even dreamed that the Gunryong standing before him was the legendary First Heavenly Demon, instead assuming he was the new Cult Leader of the recently revived Demonic Cult.
He still hasn't realized my true identity.
The Heavenly Demon knew this but didn't show it.
He wanted to reveal his identity right then and there, but it wasn't the time yet, as per the North Sea Ice Palace Lord's and Sogang's advice.
Above all, he hadn't fully recovered his prime strength.
"Indeed. I am the Demonic Cult, and the Demonic Cult is the Heavenly Demon."
The Heavenly Demon wasn't lying.
With the current Demonic Cult heading straight to destruction, he believed his existence alone was the Heavenly Mountain and the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
Moreover, it wasn't wrong because he planned to soon declare the Demonic Cult's revival, centered around Ghost Sword Manor, North Sea Ice Palace, and others.
Ooh, oooooh!
The Demonic Cult, which had met its end after the Fourth Heavenly Demon decades ago.
As it announced a glorious revival after long years, Blazing Flower Hall erupted in chaos.
Especially Extreme Blazing Flower Lord Chu Jeong-yong, who knew of their long-standing debt to the Demonic Cult, was at a loss.
Just as he expected.
"Your faction, Blazing Flower Hall, received our Cult's full support in the past but wiped its mouth clean and betrayed us when we fell into hardship, walking your own path. Therefore!"
Kwak!
The Heavenly Demon gripped the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword and spoke of the old debt.
"I have come to collect the debt unpaid for over 200 years!"
His voice was not just resounding but majestic, like the Lion's Roar. The weak-hearted suffered with their hearts and heads throbbing in pain, while those with manly spirit trembled in their souls.
"That happened so long ago, not in our generation. Why bring up events from ages past now..."
Unfortunately, Blazing Flower Hall repeated the same mistake North Sea Ice Palace had made.
Hearing this, the Heavenly Demon stepped forward in great fury.
"The betrayer forgets, but the betrayed, the one who first offered trust, never forgets! How desperately did Blazing Flower Divine Lord Eul Baek-hyeon plead!"
The Heavenly Demon recalled the past—how he had insisted on choosing Eul Baek-hyeon despite Sima Hee's opposition—and rage welled up.
"You still haven't come to your senses. Fine! This ungrateful Blazing Flower Hall that repays kindness with enmity!"
The Heavenly Demon was so enraged that he planned to erase Blazing Flower Hall from the Central Plains map.
"I shall wipe it out myself!"
With those words, he surged forward in intense fury.
"Heup!"
From Chu Jeong-yong's perspective, the Heavenly Demon—whom he believed to be the new Cult Leader—advancing made him greatly startled, but he resolved inwardly to see it through.
His realm seems higher than mine... but our Hall's Extreme Yang martial arts are no pushovers!
He believed that if he stepped up with the Hall's elders' support, victory was possible despite the difficulty.
Blazing Flame Extreme Burst!
Steeling himself with that thought, Chu Jeong-yong unleashed the initial stance of Blazing Flower Explosive Fist Technique, Blazing Flower Hall's signature absolute art created by its founding lord, Blazing Flower Divine Lord Eul Baek-hyeon.
This Blazing Flower Explosive Fist Technique was a fearsome art where both hands fired tremendous flames and fist winds like powerful cannons.
Roooar!
Flames that made legs weaken just hearing them roared forth, with scorching fist winds pouring down on the Heavenly Demon.
He believed this attack would seize the momentum, but his opponent wasn't just any Heavenly Demon of the era—he was the First Heavenly Demon.
"Is that all?"
Shockingly, the Heavenly Demon endured the insane heat of the scorching flames solely with his Protective Astral Qi and defensive power, unscathed.
Th-that monster...!
Only then did Chu Jeong-yong understand Vice Hall Leader Tae In-geol's words.
His opponent wasn't merely a martial artist but a superhuman, a monster far beyond human limits.
Chu Jeong-yong finally grasped his place.
I can't possibly win. No, he's not even an opponent I can last ten exchanges against.
As Blazing Flower Hall's representative leader, he had planned to hold off the Demonic Cult Leader with dignity to salvage some pride before receiving the elders' aid.
But the Heavenly Demon's level surpassed imagination, making the elders' support urgently needed.
"Is that all? To think that's the extent of it. Eul Baek-hyeon buried underground would weep."
"No matter that you're the Demonic Cult Leader, how dare a green brat like you mention our founding lord?"
Chu Jeong-yong still clung to his pride.
Yet as the Heavenly Demon approached with a contemptuous, condescending gaze, his body trembled.
"Elders! Please help me drive out this threat to our sect's safety!"
Chu Jeong-yong raised his voice, pleading for the elders' support.
The multicolored Blazing Flowers he had relied on were long since fainted or neutralized, and the young warriors and disciples would only sacrifice themselves in vain.
Thus, his only reliable backing was the elder hall's veteran experts.
He thought the veteran elders would rush in once he, the Hall Leader, called out, but...
"......"
For some reason, the elder hall veterans stood motionless like stone statues in their places.
Leading them was Elder Hall representative and Blazing Flower Hall's greatest senior, Eul Seung-je.
Surprisingly, the main culprit opposing the elders' intervention was Eul Seung-je.
"E-Elder Eul. Why..."
He had expected them to help defeat the Demonic Cult's villain, but reality differed.
Shocked by the elder hall's opposition, Chu Jeong-yong stared at Eul Seung-je.
"Hall Leader. Do you truly not know the final words left by our founding lord and my ancestor, Blazing Flower Divine Lord Eul Baek-hyeon?"
Eul Seung-je didn't unite to drive out the Heavenly Demon; instead, he sternly regarded Chu Jeong-yong.
"That is..."
Chu Jeong-yong recalled Eul Baek-hyeon's final words—treat Demonic Cult members well and never lose warmth—and trailed off in embarrassment.
"Elder Eul?"
Meanwhile, from the Heavenly Demon's view, he was startled by Elder Eul Seung-je's intervention—not by the act itself, but by the sight of the elderly man whose white hair was thick even on his eyebrows and eyelids, evoking memories of Eul Baek-hyeon.
If Blazing Flower Divine Lord Eul Baek-hyeon had aged, would he look just like that?
Gazing at Eul Seung-je, who exuded an atmosphere so similar to Eul Baek-hyeon, the Heavenly Demon felt as if he were reuniting with the Blazing Flower Divine Lord across time and space.
"Great Heavenly Demon, I, Eul Seung-je, direct descendant of Eul Baek-hyeon, humbly greet you."
Despite his advanced age, Eul Seung-je showed utmost courtesy to the Heavenly Demon, who looked like his grandson or great-grandson.
He even...
Swoosh!
Bowed his already hunched back even lower due to old age, astonishing the Blazing Flower Hall members.
"Elder Eul!"
To them, Eul Seung-je was the foundation, cornerstone, spiritual pillar, and greatest elder of Blazing Flower Hall.
Seeing him bow his head and show utmost respect to a young Demonic Cult Leader was a shock.
"I, I know all about it, Heavenly Demon."
Eul Seung-je twitched his eyebrows, heavy with the dust of years, and simultaneously...
[You're not the Heavenly Demon of this era, but the First Heavenly Demon, right?]
...sent a transmission to the Heavenly Demon.
Eul Seung-je had realized the Heavenly Demon was the First Heavenly Demon and sensed he wished to keep his identity hidden for some reason.
Caught off guard that his true identity had been seen through unexpectedly, the Heavenly Demon looked at Eul Seung-je with curiosity-filled eyes.
"How did you..."
"Our Eul Clan has been waiting in Blazing Flower Hall."
Eul Seung-je had intuited the moment the Heavenly Demon appeared and felled the multicolored Blazing Flowers.
The true First Heavenly Demon had revived and returned, and it was time to relay Eul Baek-hyeon's final words to him, passed down only to the Eul Clan.
I failed to keep my promise with the First Heavenly Demon.
That weighs on my heart.
If, just if.
One in a thousand, one in ten thousand, if the First Heavenly Demon revives... and visits Blazing Flower Hall.
On the verge of death, after raising Blazing Flower Hall to full glory, Eul Baek-hyeon left these words filled with regret and resentment.
Words to be passed down through generations, at least to the Eul Clan.
Then, give him everything he desires.
Everything Blazing Flower Hall and our Eul Clan possess.
If that's still not enough to sate his anger, prostrate yourselves and beg for mercy.
With the First Heavenly Demon sealed and his great image faded—even the terror he instilled in the entire martial world diluted as Heavenly Demon and Demonic Cult became relics of a bygone era—no one truly understood the story.
But the Eul Clan had passed it down orally.
"You were waiting for me?"
The Heavenly Demon reacted to this tale, so different from Blazing Flower Hall's and its leader's attitudes so far.
"Ancestor Eul Baek-hyeon regarded failing to uphold the loyalty and grace received from the Demonic Cult—unable to defy the era's flow—as an eternal regret. Thus, he left words for the Hall Leaders of his time to not treat the Demonic Cult coldly, and for our Eul Clan: if Demonic Cult members come, give them all they desire and calmly bear even their wrath."
Eul Baek-hyeon judged that over time, Hall Leaders would prioritize Blazing Flower Hall's interests, letting his story fade or break.
Thus, he secretly left his true heart only to the Eul Clan, who held key positions within.
"And he commanded us to relay this as well."
Eul Seung-je approached the Heavenly Demon with repeated utmost courtesy.
Swipe!
Then, as if throwing his entire body to the ground, he prostrated desperately.
His pure white beard and thick white hair mixed with mud and sand, evoking pathos.
"We truly apologize for failing to keep the promise. We will never forget that sin."
Finally, surpassing 200 years, Eul Baek-hyeon's descendant Eul Seung-je apologized on his behalf with utmost sincerity.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon felt as if the greatly aged Blazing Flower Divine Lord Eul Baek-hyeon was personally apologizing to him.
"El-Elder."
The sight of Eul Seung-je—older than his own father—covering himself in dirt and sand while prostrating gave even Hall Leader Chu Jeong-yong profound resonance and reflection.
"Hall Leader, hurry and offer your apology as well!"
Urged by Eul Seung-je, Chu Jeong-yong realized further resistance was futile.
"Blazing Flower Hall acknowledges all our wrongs and begs the mercy of the Demonic Cult and Heavenly Demon."
He also realized that prostrating flat like in the era of All Demons Bow in Submission was the only path for him and Blazing Flower Hall to survive.
"We will do anything, offer anything to appease the Heavenly Demon's wrath. Thus... please spare Blazing Flower Hall from destruction and the Hall Leader's life."