Chapter 29
『 Translator – Divinity 』
Cheon Ha-seong was thinking that he had done the right thing in requesting a duel with the Cult Leader. It was because he felt that if it hadn't been the Cult Leader, no one would have been able to block his Heaven-Shattering Will Art.
The Cult Leader briefly had the thought, 'Could this be the Heaven-Shattering Will Art?', but he quickly erased it. It was because he thought it couldn't possibly be.
Just then, Cheon Ha-seong spoke.
“Cult Leader, would it be alright if I tried executing it with internal energy injected?”
The Cult Leader was at a loss for words.
“Weren't you already injecting internal energy?”
“No.”
Cheon Ha-seong had asked the question seeking an answer, and the Cult Leader knew it, but for some reason, the words wouldn't leave his mouth. It was because he couldn't handle the thought of what might unfold before him the moment he gave his permission.
However, Cheon Ha-seong thought that asking such a thing of the Cult Leader was in itself a discourtesy. And then he injected his internal energy into the sword.
Seeing a blue energy begin to swirl around the blade, its color rapidly becoming more vivid, the Cult Leader realized what Cheon Ha-seong was doing.
“Ch-Cheon Ha-seong!”
The Cult Leader shouted nervously.
Cheon Ha-seong only glanced at him once as if to ask what was wrong and did not stop injecting his internal energy. And thinking that even if the Cult Leader had something to say, he could listen after the duel, he raised his sword.
The Cult Leader swallowed dryly again.
The energy imbued in the sword materialized, and it looked as if the length of the blade itself had grown immensely. The enlarged blade soon surpassed Cheon Ha-seong's own height.
The Cult Leader thought he would absolutely not be able to block Cheon Ha-seong's attack. However, Cheon Ha-seong gave him no leeway and surged forward.
In that instant, the Cult Leader's figure blurred and the spot became empty. He had executed the Form-Shifting Art.
In a duel that was merely meant to help Cheon Ha-seong's accomplishment, now all sorts of supreme martial arts, ultimate techniques, and hidden moves were being unleashed unstintingly.
Cheon Ha-seong turned his body, searching for the Cult Leader's energy.
At that moment, the Cult Leader was about to deliver a decisive blow. Seeing Cheon Ha-seong appear before his eyes, he was about to bring his sword down. There was no time to think that this was just a duel and not a life-and-death struggle.
If he fought with such thoughts, he himself would end up riddled with wounds and collapse.
‘This time, I'll flatten that bastard's nose for good. He needs to get a proper beating once so he won't run his mouth asking for a duel next time!’
The Cult Leader firmly made up his mind.
He thought he might get an earful from Hyo-eun, but his sword was already falling towards Cheon Ha-seong's head.
However, his sword touched nothing. He felt no sensation of impact, only the sound of it cutting through the air. At that moment, a sword imbued with Enhanced Qi came in, aiming for his waist.
The Cult Leader dodged based on pure instinct. It felt as if goosebumps were breaking out all over his body and his hair was standing on end. Cheon Ha-seong's sword passed through the spot where he had been, tearing the air apart.
However, he was not given a moment to breathe a sigh of relief at having barely dodged it.
Although the Cult Leader had dodged, Cheon Ha-seong moved at the same speed as him, as if he had already predicted his movement and path.
A piercing light shone from the Cult Leader's eyes.
“You little whelp of a bastard!”
Then he unleashed his Extreme Speed Sword and aimed for Cheon Ha-seong.
Seo Hyo-eun watched them, wondering if one of them would collapse if this continued. However, she did not feel the need to stop them.
She was just thinking how great a fortune it was that she could be in this very spot right now.
Seo Hyo-eun thought she couldn't tell who was benefiting more in this place, Cheon Ha-seong or her father. It was because it was so clearly visible that they were both surpassing their former selves.
The two seemed to be climbing on each other's backs. It was as if they were easily ascending to a place they could never have reached if they had trained alone.
So the feeling Seo Hyo-eun felt at that moment was one of intense envy.
The training ground they were in was a place the Cult Leader had painstakingly created for his daughter. It was made of especially strong bluestone, so the walls rarely got chipped, nor did the floor break.
But that was what was happening now.
The floor groaned where Cheon Ha-seong's Sword Aura had passed, and a furrow several meters long was created.
While Cheon Ha-seong flinched upon seeing that, a sword suddenly thrust in front of his eyes.
It was a sword aimed precisely at his face. Cheon Ha-seong was startled and threw his body backward. It felt as if the sword would have pierced his face if he had been even a little late. He couldn't ask why he was being so rough now. He was the one who had started it.
But thinking about it calmly, it was a strange thing. Since he was just a pitch-black greenhorn, he thought the Cult Leader could have gone easy on him.
But it seemed he shouldn't hope for such a thing.
The Cult Leader, thinking he had finally seized victory, seemed determined not to miss the opportunity and continued his attacks one after another. A series of sword strikes, too fast to be seen with the naked eye, followed.
A hollow breath escaped from Cheon Ha-seong's mouth as he retreated.
Thinking he had finally seen the expression he wanted on this bastard's face, the Cult Leader became triumphant.
Thinking he would end it here, he unleashed his Sword Aura.
He hadn't thought he would go as far as using Sword Aura in a duel, but in any case, now was not the time to be conservative and weigh his options.
An explosion rang out, and when the Sword Aura that had flown out was cut down, the Cult Leader retreated several meters in astonishment.
It was instinct. The instinct to live had barely extended his life.
However, that spot wasn't safe either, and Cheon Ha-seong's attacks continued.
“I am Hyo-eun's father!”
Only when a cry like a scream burst from the Cult Leader's mouth did Cheon Ha-seong stop his sword strike.
Both the Cult Leader and Cheon Ha-seong stood dumbfounded, at a loss for words.
The Cult Leader felt a sense of self-loathing at the fact that those were the words he had to say in that situation. To think that in the middle of a duel, at the thought that his own life might be in danger, he had to appeal to his status as Hyo-eun's father against a greenhorn like this.
He did not want anyone to know of this fact.
The two of them stood there for a long while without moving.
At first, it was because they were shocked by the recent situation, but after that, they began to slowly replay the contents of the duel in their minds.
The more they thought, the more it was full of shocking things.
“Cheon Ha-seong, what was that?”
He asked, so surprised and shocked that he had forgotten his tone of voice had changed.
“The only thing I have properly learned is the Heaven-Shattering Will Art.”
“That… Are you truly saying that was the Heaven-Shattering Will Art? Have you achieved complete mastery?”
“I'm not sure about that. But it is true that I have executed all the techniques up to the later stages.”
“To do that, the Gate of Life and Death must be opened. Are you saying you've already opened the Gate of Life and Death?”
“I do not know. All I know is that I have tried executing all the techniques up to the later stages.”
The Cult Leader stared blankly at Cheon Ha-seong.
This was a far worse situation than he had thought.
Cheon Ha-seong had obtained what he had desperately wanted his whole life, even at the cost of giving up everything else. But he spoke with such innocence that it was confusing what emotions he should even be feeling.
Didn't it seem as if this fool didn't even know what a great treasure he held in his hands?
However, as he continued to watch Cheon Ha-seong, the Cult Leader realized that was his own misunderstanding.
Just because Cheon Ha-seong was so young, how could he say that the path he had walked was smoother than his own?
At Cheon Ha-seong's age, where had he been and what had he been doing?
He had been born into a good family and had devoted himself to training with good support. It was not the same as Cheon Ha-seong.
‘I shouldn't have judged him so rashly.’
The Cult Leader muttered to himself, genuinely repentant.
“Good. This is truly good, Cheon Ha-seong. I am truly happy that I have something to learn. It might have been absurd of me to ask you to be my disciple.”
“Not at all, Cult Leader. How can you say such a thing? It is an honor that you accepted the duel request of someone as shabby and unqualified as myself and gave your teachings so generously.”
That was not Cheon Ha-seong's usual way of speaking. As he spoke, Cheon Ha-seong himself had that thought. It was clearly sincere, but he felt awkward as he had never spoken in such a way before. Perhaps because of that, his eyes automatically moved to check Seo Hyo-eun's expression.
As expected, Seo Hyo-eun was looking at Cheon Ha-seong with a dumbfounded expression.
“You know how to say things like that too, Head Instructor Cheon? I've really lived long enough to see everything.”
“It may be so, but this is sincere.”
“Alright… I think so. Father. Please have a duel with me too.”
Seo Hyo-eun said, perhaps envious, knowing that the two had gained a lot of enlightenment through their duel. The Cult Leader just chuckled, as if there were no need to even respond.
“What do you mean, a duel, when you should be practicing your Stealth Technique? If you wish to request a duel, you too should come after achieving some level of accomplishment in your sword art.”
Then he hurriedly left the place. Considering what the Cult Leader had said when he first arrived, one could tell just how frantically he had hurried.
“Then does this mean we don't have to leave the Divine Cult?”
When Cheon Ha-seong asked, Seo Hyo-eun answered as if it were a matter of course.
“You weren't going to go even if he told you to.”
“Right. Still, not following an order and having an order withdrawn are different.”
“We can't go. We're all Father has. Who can he trust right now?”
Cheon Ha-seong had the same thought.
Just then, the Cult Leader came back in, looked at Cheon Ha-seong, and spoke.
“What happened to the men you spoke of before? The ones you said were trustworthy. Write down their names and where they live and give it to the Captain of the Honor Guard. Their training is no longer a matter that can be delayed.”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
After the Cult Leader left, Cheon Ha-seong felt a strange feeling.
It was because it felt as if the things he had only vaguely thought about were progressing rapidly.
***
A hall near the Cult Leader's Hall was emptied and newly renovated.
Cheon Ha-seong was bewildered when he heard from the Captain of the Honor Guard that he was to stay there for the time being, and moved to that place.
The Captain of the Honor Guard asked if Cheon Ha-seong had any family living with him, and Cheon Ha-seong said he had none. It had been that way since he had entered the Martial Arts Academy.
The Captain of the Honor Guard, thinking he had vaguely heard such a story, felt anew that Cheon Ha-seong was amazing.
“If you need anything, just say the word. And the people you mentioned to the Cult Leader, Head Instructor Cheon, will come here in a few days and train with our Honor Guard.”
Cheon Ha-seong had something to say, as he wanted to teach them himself. However, the Captain of the Honor Guard was a little faster.
“Try to trust me. The Cult Leader has great faith and expectations for you, Head Instructor Cheon. You must also know how important a time this is for you. You cannot waste this important time training others.”
Cheon Ha-seong, wondering if the Cult Leader had really been that considerate, accepted his intention.