Chapter 89: I Am Not a Caught Fish
Chapter 89: I Am Not a Caught Fish
After parting ways with my brother, I went to find Lee An.
I wasn't entirely sure why she was the first person to cross my mind, but perhaps I simply wanted to see the one person who understood me best.
As expected, Lee An was immersed in her training.
She was always training.
Watching her, I saw flashes of my past self—the man who had tirelessly gathered materials for the Great Regression Art before my return. I saw the same image of someone who never rested, driven relentlessly toward a single goal.
She had been practicing for quite some time before she finally noticed my presence.
“Young Master! When did you arrive?”
“A moment ago.”
“What if I had been an assassin?”
“Then you would have died about twenty times by now.”
“Ah!”
Drawing my sword, I stepped before her.
“Let’s see if we can turn those twenty deaths into nineteen.”
Lee An’s eyes sparkled. She realized immediately that I was about to demonstrate the Flying Heaven Sword Technique.
“Thank you!”
It had been a while since I’d given her a personal demonstration. I didn't bother suppressing my power; I performed the technique with the full weight of the eleventh-star realm.
There was a vast chasm between the tenth-star Great Achievement and where I stood now. Of course, she wouldn't be able to feel the gap as acutely as I did. Her own progress would depend on how much of that difference she could perceive.
When I finished the forms, Lee An stood rooted to the spot, lost in deep thought.
I could tell. At some point, she had slipped into a trance—a state of total selflessness.
To avoid disturbing her, I suppressed even the sound of my breathing and sat down cross-legged. Since there was no telling when she would emerge from that state, I couldn't just stand there waiting.
I began practicing the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art. Perhaps our training styles were compatible; last time I was the one who fell into a trance, but today it was her turn.
A full twelve hours passed before I felt her consciousness return from that void.
Congratulations, Lee An.
I sent her my silent praise. Spending twelve hours in a trance was not an opportunity that came easily in a martial artist’s life.
Lee An looked around, bewildered by the darkness that had fallen over the training grounds.
“Young Master?”
“How was it? Your first experience with a trance.”
“A trance? You mean I was actually in a state of selflessness?”
“Yes.”
“I felt like I was only dazed for a moment…”
“Well, considering the span of our lives, twelve hours is indeed just a moment.”
“Twelve hours have passed?!”
Lee An was shocked. In a trance, the moment immediately after waking is always the most critical.
“Perform the Flying Heaven Sword Technique. Right now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lee An executed the technique before me.
It had certainly worked. More than just worked—her Flying Heaven Sword Technique had ascended to the eighth-star realm.
“I only watched you perform the forms. How is this possible?”
“What do you mean, how? It’s possible because you’ve been training like a stubborn bear every single day. Do you think this would have happened just by watching me once?”
“Even so…”
“All the effort you’ve built up until now finally crystallized during that trance.”
“Ah!”
My teaching, her desperate effort and brilliant talent, the deeper inspiration provided by my eleventh-star realm, and finally, the twelve-hour trance. It was a miraculous achievement born from the convergence of all these factors.
“Don't get ahead of yourself. As you know, progress in martial arts is fast at the beginning but slows down the further you go. Consider this the true starting point for the Flying Heaven Sword Technique. Forget Great Achievement; it could take a lifetime just to get from the eighth star to the ninth.”
“Even if it takes a lifetime, I will reach Great Achievement. Heaven has granted me such a precious connection; it would be pathetic and regrettable if I couldn't make it that far.”
At the same time, the moment to perform the Body Poison Purification Technique on her drew one step closer.
To perform the purification safely and without side effects, my own level of mastery was vital. However, her level was even more important for what came after. The thought of the "World’s Most Beautiful Woman" being weak in martial arts invited horrors I didn't even want to imagine.
I had planned to perform the purification when she reached the ninth star. With the ninth-star Flying Heaven Sword Technique, she would be able to protect herself no matter where she went.
But seeing her achievement today, I realized that time might come much sooner than I had anticipated.
“Instead of dying twenty times, you’d probably only die twice now.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Lee An prostrated herself on the spot.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
“There's no need for such formality between us.”
“What exactly is 'between us'? I was just a mere guard. Why are you so good to me?”
Because you threw your life away to protect me, allowing this entire story to begin.
“Lee An.”
“Yes.”
“On my way back from meeting my brother, my mind was in turmoil. Do you know who I thought of then? You. That’s why I’m good to you.”
She looked at me, her face flushed with emotion.
“And you just used two of your five questions.”
We had agreed she could only ask why I was being kind to her five times.
“You have three left.”
“I will use them sparingly.”
“Now that your Flying Heaven Sword Technique has reached the eighth star, you must use it with caution. Its power will be entirely different from before.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Lee An. This might not suit your current excitement, but… don't live a life that consists of nothing but training.”
“Yes!”
Lee An nodded with a bright smile.
This is why, Lee An.
Because you are the kind of person who nods by my side like this.
Because even though you are clever and intelligent enough to have your own thoughts, you still smile and nod at my words.
Because you are the kind of person one hopes to find at least once in a lifetime.
Because you are the kind of person I could give a hundred different answers to, even if you asked me a hundred times instead of four.
Keep it up, Lee An. Let’s reach the ninth star.
*
When I returned from meeting Lee An, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was waiting for me. His Heaven Extermination Great Blade was thrust deep into the ground near my quarters.
“Why are you here, Elder?”
“I was reminiscing about the day I first met you here.”
“Now that my brother is back, do you want to undo everything?”
“I felt I should let you know that I am not a caught fish.”
He pulled the blade from the ground and drew a long line in the dirt.
“This is where we were when I first met you.”
The Blade Demon marked the very beginning of the line. He had drawn a line on the ground just like this the day he first came to find me, poking me in the ribs.
“And this is where we are now.”
He drew a new mark a little past the halfway point.
“Oh! We’ve passed the halfway mark!”
“We barely crossed it. Is that really something to be so happy about?”
“It’s more than enough.”
“Enough?”
“On the scale of friend or foe, you’re a friend. Between life and death, you’re life. Isn't it a burden to be too close to someone? It’s overwhelming when someone keeps crossing the line into your space when you aren't sure you can look after them until the very end.”
I drew the Black Demonic Sword and made a mark near the end of the line.
“To reach this point, one would have to be a son, wouldn't they? I suppose my father would be somewhere around here.”
I drew another mark, this one even shorter than the Blade Demon’s original starting point.
“How are you so silver-tongued? Do you stay up all night rehearsing? Do you spend the whole night memorizing what to say and how to say it?”
“Please save those comments for when I come to visit you. Not on a day when you drop by unannounced like this, Elder.”
The Blade Demon shook his head as if conceding. The reason he had come to see me was because of my brother.
“I came because there is something you should know about the First Young Master.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“The first Demon Lord the First Young Master meets will likely be the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon. Prepare yourself accordingly.”
His judgment was accurate. In my past life, the three Demon Lords who had supported my brother most strongly were the Demon Buddha, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
In the life before my regression, my brother committed many cruel acts around the time he was designated as the successor. It wasn't just his decision. The influence of the Demon Buddha, the Blade Demon, and the Smiling Demon—who were all aligned with him at the time—played a massive role.
Would my brother’s fate change as well, just as the Blade Demon’s and the One Flower Sword Venerable’s had? For that to happen, the fates of the Demon Buddha and the Smiling Demon would have to change too, wouldn't they?
“So the Smiling Demon will be the closest to him after the Demon Buddha.”
“That spot used to be mine, but now the Smiling Demon will take it. I expect the First Young Master will meet all the other Demon Lords except for me. Only the order will vary.”
I nodded silently.
“The Smiling Demon is no ordinary character.”
“I know.”
There was a reason the title "Extreme Evil" was attached to his name.
“You must prepare. Do you intend to just sit still?”
“Yes.”
“You’re just going to leave it be?”
“I only need you and the Sword Venerable, Elder.”
“Those are sweet words, but if five Demon Lords side with the First Young Master, it will be difficult to handle.”
“Why five and not six?”
“Since the Pungcheon Cult Leader has arrived, hasn't the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord naturally joined our side?”
“Cheong-seon is still young and ambitious, so that’s not necessarily true. In fact, she’s the easiest person for my brother to recruit if he tries.”
She could act like she was on our side and then turn her back. My brother could even use her as a spy. There were many possibilities.
“It doesn't matter if the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord is on that side. If my brother recruits her, we can use that against them at a critical moment.”
“You’ve thought that far ahead?”
“I have to. Though, of course, I intend to make sure it doesn't come to that if possible.”
It wasn't just because of Cheong-seon, but because of the Pungcheon Cult Leader. I wanted to see the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord grow well as his disciple.
“Then the opposition has six. No matter how capable you are, this will be difficult. No, it’ll be too hard for me to handle. We must bring at least one more Demon Lord firmly to our side.”
“Who do you have in mind?”
The Blade Demon’s lips parted as if to say a name, but he stopped himself.
“That’s for a clever fellow like you to decide.”
He likely had someone in mind, but he seemed to think it wasn't right for him to say it. It was also a sign that he trusted my judgment.
“Move quickly, before the First Young Master recruits all the Demon Lords.”
“My brother will meet someone else before the Smiling Demon.”
“Who else?”
I stared directly at the Blade Demon.
“Me?”
The Blade Demon blinked, looking confused.
“You mean me?”
“Yes. My brother will seek you out first, Elder.”
“That’s impossible. He knows I’ve sided with you, doesn't he? He might go to every other Demon Lord, but he won't come to me.”
“No. He might skip the others, but he will definitely come to you. And after you, it will be the Pungcheon Cult Leader.”
Despite my conviction, the Blade Demon tilted his head in doubt.
“What makes you think that?”
“My brother will want to show our father. He’ll want to prove that the only reason you came to me was because of his absence. He’ll think that taking you back will earn him more points with Father than commanding all the other Demon Lords combined.”
The Blade Demon nodded slowly. Seeing as he didn't argue, he seemed to realize it was a possibility.
He looked at me intently and asked, “Then, aren't you anxious? Anxious that I might go back to the First Young Master?”
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“I am.”
“Really?”
I looked at him with a face devoid of any playfulness.
“Of course. You saw my brother that day, didn't you? Giving a gift to the One Flower Sword Venerable. It wasn't the gift itself that was impressive, but his meticulousness. And he will try to give you something even more impressive.”
The Blade Demon nodded. He, too, knew enough about my brother.
“I don't want you to go, Elder. No matter what kind of tempting offer my brother makes, please tell me. I will hold onto you with a better offer.”
“You aren't going to ask me to stay out of loyalty?”
“We aren't twenty-year-old kids, are we?”
“But you are.”
“Ah, right. But I’m an old soul.”
I laughed awkwardly.
“At the very least, he won't be able to take you away.”
“Why?”
“Because even if I have to stake everything I have, I will make you a better offer. And if he tries to blackmail you with some weakness, you must tell me that as well.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I will definitely resolve it for you. If you ask if I can do it, I believe I’ve shown you enough by now. If you feel reluctant to show me that weakness, just think of us as people who have already seen everything there is to see of each other.”
The Blade Demon stared at me in silence for a moment, then stood up, retrieving his Heaven Extermination Great Blade.
“We shall see. We’ll see if he really comes to me first, as you say.”
As he prepared to leave, he glanced down at the lines drawn on the ground.
“And we’ll see where this line moves next.”