Chapter 40: Become Stronger, Lee An!
Chapter 40: Become Stronger, Lee An!
Early the next day, I headed to the Heavenly Demon Hall to find my father.
He wasn't in the Great Hall, but in his private training ground. I waited outside, standing patiently for him to finish his practice.
"Come in."
Having been notified of my arrival, my father summoned me inside. My heart raced as I stepped through the doors; it was my first time ever entering his private sanctuary.
The moment I stepped inside—
My father, who had been standing in the center of the training ground, lunged toward me.
The technique he used was the Underworld King Step.
And the weapon flying toward my throat was the Heavenly Demon Sword.
The Heavenly Demon himself wielding the Heavenly Demon Sword and using the Underworld King Step to strike? It was an assault that no one, regardless of their status or skill, was meant to survive.
In a flash, it was over.
The Heavenly Demon Sword stopped dead in mid-air.
I stood right beside the blade. It was so close that my breath fogged the cold steel. I had evaded his strike using Blink Step.
Did Blink Step win in a clash against the Underworld King Step? Of course not. It was simply an attack he had calibrated to be just barely avoidable.
"You keep aiming for this handsome face of mine, Father."
"Those who target you outside these walls won't be as merciful as I am."
"Thank you for sparing me, then."
I looked around the training ground as if nothing had happened.
"I thought there’d be something special here, but it’s actually quite bare."
Truly, there was nothing. It was a vast, empty space with only a few swords, blades, and spears leaning against the walls.
"There isn't even a single training dummy."
"Why keep things that aren't necessary?"
I suppose that made sense. I also trained by imagining virtual enemies in my mind. Why would my father be any different?
Then, a steel plate attached to the wall caught my eye. It was a hand-span thick and covered in deep, fist-shaped indentations. To my surprise, the material was Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
"Good grief! Just how strong are your fists? This is practically abuse of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron."
"Stop talking nonsense and come here."
There was a reason my father had brought me into the training ground.
"Perform the Wind God Four Steps."
"Yes, Father."
Opportunities to receive my father's direct tutelage were rare, so I performed the Wind God Four Steps with everything I had.
While the Wind God Four Steps consisted of four main forms, those forms contained over nine hundred variations. Depending on the practitioner's interpretation, those variations could increase or decrease.
How one interpreted and utilized those variations slightly altered the movement, which ultimately changed the power of the technique. This was why the same martial art could feel and strike differently depending on who used it.
By the time I finished the forms, my father looked impressed. It was likely because my level of mastery was higher than he had anticipated.
We spent the next hour discussing the forms I had just displayed.
At first, it was a simple debate over whether to put more or less strength into the feet, or whether to increase speed when twisting the waist.
I shared my thoughts exactly as they were. In some areas, I even disagreed with his opinions, but surprisingly, my father possessed a very flexible mind. He performed the forms on the spot exactly as I described them to test my theories.
"It seems your interpretation of putting more strength into the right foot is correct."
In this moment, as we discussed martial arts, my father felt like a different person. He was free, generous, and rational.
We talked about the Wind God Four Steps for a long while. I was so absorbed in the conversation that our discussion on martial theory only ended when I realized I was hungry.
By the end of it, I felt my mastery of the Wind God Four Steps had reached a new level.
"Thank you for your great teachings. This debt..."
I will repay it by killing Hwa Mu-gi.
"I'll pay it all back with money later," I joked.
At my banter, my father spoke up abruptly.
"Stay for a meal."
I was momentarily stunned.
"Why do you look so surprised?"
"It's the first time I've ever heard you ask to eat together, Father."
"You get surprised by the strangest things."
My father left the training ground first. Just as he said, it was a small thing to be moved by, but honestly, I felt a lump in my throat.
I ate with my father. I expected a lavish feast, but there were fewer dishes than I thought. It was a very clean, refined spread.
"There is more rice, so eat plenty."
"Yes."
I ate without my usual jokes. Since this wasn't an opportunity that would come often, I tried my best to commit every detail of this moment to memory.
My father shot me a strange look because I was eating so quietly, then went back to his meal in silence. I suppose it was because I usually went out of my way to play around, joke, and act cheeky whenever I was with him.
But in this moment, the "me" from just before my regression was dining with my father. Man to man, martial artist to martial artist. And yet, still as father and son.
Father... I missed moments like this.
In the past, I had never missed them once. But only now, experiencing it, did I realize that deep in my heart, I had been longing for this.
And so, my historic first meal with my father concluded. I would never forget this meal, where not a single word was exchanged.
After finishing, my father asked me, "Was the food to your liking?"
It was time to return to my usual self.
"Do you want to trade cooks with me?"
Don't be offended, Cook Im. It's just a joke.
"No thank you."
"Haha."
I drank the medicinal wine served with the meal alongside my father.
"I heard you drank with the Blade Demon in Ma Clan Village?"
"Yes."
As expected, my father knew my every move within the Cult.
"How much do you trust him?"
"I don't trust him."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know him. No matter how transparent a person seems, one should never be arrogant enough to think they truly know them."
When I answered according to his own teachings, my father looked satisfied. He was likely worried I might get stabbed in the back by trusting the Blade Demon too easily.
"Why did you come to see me today?"
The question finally came, four shijin after I had first arrived.
"I have a favor to ask."
"Speak."
"Please allow me to add a member to my family."
My father looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense.
"Are you saying you want to marry?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I wish to pass the Flying Heaven Sword Technique to my personal bodyguard, Lee An."
I intended to teach Lee An the Flying Heaven Sword Technique, which I had already mastered. She would need at least that much to hold her position as the Ghost Shadow Squad Leader.
The problem was that the Flying Heaven Sword Technique was a martial art passed down only to the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon. I couldn't teach it without my father's permission.
"You tear down your actual bloodline behind their backs, yet you want to take your bodyguard as family?"
"Yes. She is more precious to me than blood. And she is someone who will achieve great things in the future."
"The Flying Heaven Sword Technique is your unique martial art. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"My unique martial art will be the Nine Calamities Demonic Art."
My efforts to recruit the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable, to place Jang Ho as a Demon Monarch, and to establish a new Demonic Path—all of it would be in vain if I didn't become the successor.
Ultimately, all these actions were to gain my father's recognition. I had to become the successor and inherit the Nine Calamities Demonic Art to stand against Hwa Mu-gi.
"You are confident."
"She is a person well worth teaching."
"In what way?"
"She is a better person than I am."
Perhaps it was an unexpected answer, as my father remained silent for a moment. After taking a sip of wine, he asked, "Do you intend to make that child the head of your private organization?"
"Yes, that's correct. In the future, there may be Demon Lords who are removed by my hand. I will fill that void with my own organization. So, please give me your permission."
Then, my father gave a ready response.
"Very well."
At first, I thought I had misheard. I didn't think he would give permission so easily.
"Are you truly saying I can teach the Flying Heaven Sword Technique to Lee An?"
I confirmed once more, and my father nodded silently. I thought he would set some conditions or demand a mission be completed first... Why did he agree so easily?
"In exchange, make me one promise."
"Please give your command."
"The next time you decide to kill a Demon Lord, you must tell me first. No matter which Demon Lord it is."
It wasn't a difficult promise. In fact, I had intended to do so anyway. I had no intention of disposing of Demon Lords without my father's consent.
"Yes, I will certainly do so."
*
"You called for me?"
Having received my father's permission, I immediately summoned Lee An to my private training ground.
"Do you know why I called you?"
"Yes, I have a general idea."
"What is it?"
"Aren't you going to test what I've practiced so far?"
It was a natural guess, given that I'd called her to the training ground.
"How is it? Are you ready?"
"I've done my best in my training."
"Not that."
"Pardon?"
"I'm asking if you're ready to be taught a new martial art."
Lee An was momentarily stunned. Soon, her surprise turned into excitement. To learn a high-level martial art—could there be a more thrilling moment for a martial artist?
"Ghost Shadow Squad Leader Lee An."
"Yes."
"From this moment on, I shall pass the Flying Heaven Sword Technique to you."
Lee An stood dazed for a moment before letting out a shocked cry.
"Agh!"
It was the most surprised I had ever seen her since we met.
"You can't! The Flying Heaven Sword Technique is only passed down to the Heavenly Demon's bloodline! If you teach it to me, the Cult Leader will strike me dead with a single palm! You'll be in huge trouble too, Young Master. If you're planning to teach me in secret, please give up. There are no secrets in this world. Even if it could be kept secret, I cannot learn it!"
After she poured out her words, I asked with a smile, "Are you finished?"
"I have more to say, but I'll just say this. No! Absolutely not!"
I smiled and told her, "I got permission from my father."
"What?"
Lee An's eyes went wide. Watching her, I realized just how expressive her face could be. She had many looks of surprise, but this was a first.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"If you doubt me, we can go together and confirm it with him."
Lee An, who feared my father more than anything in the world, waved her hands and backed away.
"I'd rather you just kill me."
"I don't hate you enough to lie about something like this. Shall I tell you the ultimate reason why my words are true?"
"What is it?"
"You're right. If I taught you without permission, you'd die. There's no way I would put you in that kind of danger."
Lee An seemed to have at least that much trust in me.
"You really got permission?"
"I did."
Lee An's eyes wavered.
"But the Flying Heaven Sword Technique is your unique martial art, Young Master. Why would you pass it to me?"
"Because you need to know a martial art of this level to be the Ghost Shadow Squad Leader. And... because you're practically my family. So, it's fine for you to learn it."
Lee An was suddenly overcome with emotion.
"Young Master..."
"It's not for your sake, it's for mine. I'm going to work you to the bone from now on. So don't be too happy."
"Still, how could I dare learn your martial art?"
"My unique martial art will be the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. So you can learn this without any burden."
Finally, tears began to fall from Lee An's eyes.
"No one has ever... cherished me this much..."
Unable to continue, Lee An sobbed as I lightly patted her back. She wailed loudly. It seemed something deep inside her had finally burst. I let her cry her heart out.
Once she had calmed herself, I began teaching her the Flying Heaven Sword Technique. The transmission was conducted via Voice Transmission.
—The Flying Heaven Sword Technique consists of eight forms that contain the changes and energy of the heavens. Think of your Dantian as the sky and expand it as much as possible. Your True Qi must flow like the wind—sometimes like a spring breeze, and sometimes as powerful as a passing typhoon. The start of your internal energy is...
The brilliant Lee An perfectly memorized the oral formula of the Flying Heaven Sword Technique after I repeated it five times.
"You should be able to recite the formula even if someone pokes you awake in the middle of the night. Understood?"
"Yes, I understand."
Lee An would work herself to death, and with my occasional guidance, her skills would improve by leaps and bounds every day.
"And this."
I pulled a small wooden box from my robe and handed it to her.
"What is this?"
"Open it."
Inside the box she opened was a Poison-Repelling Pearl. It was one of the pearls I had taken from the Golden Manor Lord's secret vault.
"What is it?"
"A Poison-Repelling Pearl."
"What? The legendary Poison-Repelling Pearl?"
"Yes. From now on, if you encounter the risk of poisoning or someone who uses poison arts, fight with this in your mouth."
"Why give this to me?"
"It's a gift to celebrate your official start in learning the Flying Heaven Sword Technique."
"I can't! I've already been granted a martial art; I can't accept something this precious too!"
"You must take it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to give them to people I'm not even as close with. I can't give them to others if I haven't given one to you."
"That's strange logic."
"Well then, I'll come back later to test what you've learned. Don't neglect your training."
I hurriedly left before the place turned into a sea of tears again.
Behind me, I felt a heat that went beyond mere emotion and gratitude. I looked forward to the future that heat would create. At the very least, I wouldn't let it be a heat that forced her to throw her life away for me.
So...
Become stronger, Lee An!