Chapter 308: CheolYang Cheol the Wicked (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 308: CheolYang Cheol the Wicked (1)
Life at the Heavenly Dragon Academy followed a simple, monotonous rhythm.
We were roused each morning for two hours of training, broke for lunch, and then proceeded to military drills. The afternoons were devoted to lectures, where instructors were assigned based on our perceived intellectual capacity. We could either attend the lessons or opt for alternative training. Personally, I despised the lectures most of all.
“Therefore… to ensure a blue-tier demon’s demise, you must shatter its Demonic Stone. This eliminates the risk of post-mortem explosion and…”
How many times have I heard this?
It was torture. I knew all of this already. I was certain the other students did, too, having learned it all from their respective clans and sects. This made the lessons a special kind of hell for everyone.
While we all sat with our mouths shut, a fierce mental battle was raging within—a war against overwhelming drowsiness.
“Ugh…”
Pe Woocheol, seated beside me, repeatedly pinched his own thigh in a desperate bid to stay awake. If he kept that up, he’d start drawing blood— …Actually, I think he already was.
Hmm…
I used to wonder why such basic knowledge was necessary for killing mere demons. But upon reflection, it made sense. This was crucial information in a world where humanity’s primary enemy was demons, not yet each other.
…If I’m being honest, I did have some regrets.
Back when I first became a Demonic Human, and even before that, during my time with the Murim Alliance, I’d nearly died to demons more than once or twice purely due to ignorance. Of course, I was fine now, having brute-forced my way through and gained a mountain of practical experience.
And I do mean a mountain.
I’d been inside a red-tier demon’s mouth, close enough to count its fangs. The instructors could lecture on green and blue demons, but what could they possibly teach about the red ones? There was no established countermeasure. No martial artist in this current era had ever encountered one; a Gate spewing demons of that extreme caliber hadn’t opened yet.
That meant I was the only person in this timeline who knew about red demons. Well, that would be true only if I were the sole regressor. But because I wasn’t, all this knowledge was ultimately pointless. It was also the reason the students paid barely any attention. They were all capable of handling green demons, and those above the First-rate level could easily defeat blue demons as long as they didn’t drop their guard. Even blue demons with special abilities weren’t much of a threat to these young prodigies once they unleashed their qi.
They simply weren’t dangerous.
I probably wouldn’t have any trouble with them either, unless they charged me from all directions simultaneously. It might be a different story if there were variants, but even during my year on the frontlines, I never ran into any real trouble. In fact, they were a great help, providing a steady food source for the bastard in my stomach. The most danger I faced there was probably when Gu Huibi lost her temper with me.
The current world was, by all accounts, at peace. Demons still existed, and the Gate of Demons opened regularly, but society had learned to deal with them swiftly. While ordinary civilians still suffered harm, it was now accepted as an unfortunate part of life—a simple twist of bad luck.
A world of peace? From my perspective, it was a world of oblivion. Everyone had deluded themselves into believing this was a sustainable way to live, simply because it had been this way for centuries.
Not that I care. I already knew the true nature of the world I lived in.
I glanced around the lecture hall. It was filled with students fighting a losing battle against sleep. They sought comfortable lives through connections and bringing honor to their clans and sects, but none of them knew. Once the true calamity descended, everything would be shattered. Green, blue—they were all irrelevant compared to the red demons.
The red ones will start appearing in two or three years.
They began emerging in groups after the Heavenly Demon’s arrival, but the first appearance wasn’t that far off. Where was it again? Was it Sichuan? Or Seo-Ahn? Maybe Qinghai? The Central Plains were thrown into chaos when a red demon appeared for the first time in ages, but my memory was fuzzy; it had been too long.
“Tsk.” It was critical intel, and I’d forgotten it.
…Once a red demon appears, entire army formations will shatter.
No one could fight a red demon unless they had reached the Peak Realm, and even then, they needed to be at its very zenith. How many perfected Peak Realm martial artists were there in the Central Plains? Barely over a thousand. Only a thousand individuals capable of standing against a red demon. Could such a paltry number withstand their onslaught? A proper defense system was eventually established, but by then, the world was already burning.
It’s a problem.
If I could somehow prevent the Heavenly Demon from appearing, all of this could be avoided. But if I failed, everything would unfold exactly as it had in my past life.
Creak.
My chair groaned loudly as I leaned back. I closed my eyes and thought.
I need to start spreading information, little by little.
Information about the red demons’ weaknesses. I had to slowly leak it to the world. Of course, only those who trusted me would believe it, as I had no proof of my encounters. But I had to try. Should I go through the Beggar’s Sect? Maybe the Hao Clan would be better.
“…ther.”
Or perhaps I should tell the clans or sects ab—
“Brother.”
“…Oh.”
A rough voice pulled me from my deep contemplation.
“Are you okay?” It was Pe Woocheol.
“Huh? Is it over?”
“Yes, it just ended.”
It seemed the lecture had finished. It was supposed to be two hours long, but it had flown by while I was spaced out.
“You don’t look so good. Are you okay, brother?”
“I’m fine.”
I felt stiff. Having failed to focus, I’d spent the entire time lost in thought. There was no time to relax; I still had training. Ever since locating what I believed was the secret vault, I’d been using my free mornings for solitary practice. My injury wasn’t fully healed, but it had recovered enough for me to train again, albeit only mentally for now.
It’s not easy.
I needed to raise my level as quickly as possible. This very impatience was making it harder to break through my current wall. It was strange.
I feel like I meet all the conditions.
My physical strength was still a bit lacking, but my qi reserves were more than sufficient. It would be odd if I lacked qi after devouring so much. This much should be enough to overcome the barrier.
So where am I getting stuck?
Yet, I still couldn’t break through. As I pondered why, I remembered—I hadn’t reached the Fusion Realm through normal means in my past life.
…Ugh.
Instead of attaining that level through enlightenment and prolonged training, I’d forced my way there using the massive qi gained from my Demonic Absorption Art. Essentially, my sheer volume of qi had brute-forced the breakthrough. Given how I’d achieved it, it was no wonder I was struggling to overcome the barrier the proper way.
…Though this problem would be solved if I got my hands on the White Demonic Stone.
This issue wouldn’t exist if I absorbed the stone, but as I’ve said before, I wanted to reach the Fusion Realm first. Only then could I fully utilize its power. Being greedy now would mean losing more than I gained. So, I had to be patient.
I’m out of time. This isn’t a good situation.
I couldn’t repeat what I did in the past. If I did, I’d meet the same end. I had to find a normal path to power from now on, but that only fueled my anxiety.
If only Elder Shin was here.
Ha. I smirked at the thought. I’d lived my past life doing whatever I wanted, and now I was seeking a teacher. I was still good for nothing.
“Brother?”
“Yeah, I’m tired. Let’s go eat.” I stood up. What was the point of thinking if no answers came? I’d just have to keep pushing forward.
Instead of wasting time thinking, I need to use this time to do what I must.
I had no time for demotivation. What a truly fantastic life this was, for fuck’s sake.
“Woocheol.”
“Yes, brother.”
“We didn’t learn anything important, right?”
“Yes, as always, nothing special.”
“…” Wait, it might not be special to me, but wouldn’t it be different for him? I stared at Pe Woocheol, speechless, when he suddenly clapped his hands as if he’d remembered something.
Clap! The sound was loud, thanks to his large hands.
“Oh, it wasn’t anything special… but the instructor told us to—”
“You were here.”
Just as Pe Woocheol started to speak, someone appeared and cut him off.
“Hmm?”
I looked up and saw a handsome face with a sword at his waist. His Wudang Sect attire made his identity immediately obvious.
“Haven’t we met before?” The handsome man looked at me with a smile.
He was one of the few people in this world I could trust.
“…Sleeping Dragon.”
The Sleeping Dragon, Woo Hyuk.
“If it’s no trouble, would you like to eat together?”
A friend from my past life had come looking for me.
* * *
The Sleeping Dragon, Woo Hyuk.
He was one of my few friends from my previous life, a young prodigy who ranked at the very top, even among the esteemed Dragons and Phoenixes. He was the greatest hope of the Wudang Sect. Despite his lazy and easygoing demeanor, he became lethally sharp the moment he held his sword, making him stand out. One clear lesson I learned during the war against the Demonic Cult was that his laziness was a facade; he was always sharp. The fact that so many people survived those dire times was largely thanks to the tireless efforts of Wi Seol-Ah, the Sleeping Dragon, and the Snow Phoenix.
-Give it three chances.
-Flame.
I sometimes remembered his annoying face, always bugging me. He seemed to take pleasure in teasing me. His subsequent chuckling only made him seem like a crazy bastard in my eyes.
He was a crazy bastard.
-Leave without me, I’ll follow you in a bit.
He was definitely crazy, sacrificing his life for a worthless worm like me.
-Let’s have a drink when we meet again.
That memory haunted me to this day.
“Hey, did you know the rice here tastes really good?”
“Isn’t that meat…?”
“It’s good. Would you like to try some?”
“…No, I’m good.”
A Taoist was eating meat. As far as I knew, members of the Wudang Sect abstained from meat. Was that allowed?
“…Senior Brother, please…” His junior brother, it seemed, was on the verge of tears.
As I thought, it wasn’t okay.
He stubbornly ate even with people stopping him, though. That was a trait I remembered from before. I recalled a bastard from Wudang eating meat like it was nothing.
“Junior Brother.”
“…Yes?”
The Sleeping Dragon spoke to Woo Leehyun, his junior from Wudang, with sudden seriousness.
“Do you know what the most important rule of the Heavenly Dragon Academy is?”
“…What is it?”
“It’s to forget your background and live simply as a student of the academy.”
“So?”
“This means that while I’m here, I am not a Taoist.”
“…Which means?”
“Doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to eat meat, since I’m not a Taoist?”
“…What do you think?”
“Tell the Sect Head to come see me personally if he’s so annoyed by it!”
“Wow, he really is crazy.”
He’d even dragged his Sect Head into it. Was he truly a martial artist of the Wudang Sect? I nodded to myself as I watched. The younger Sleeping Dragon was just as crazy as the one I knew. So he’d been like this from the start. For some reason, that made me a little glad.
But putting that aside…
“So, why did you look for me?”
“Hmm?”
I had to ask the necessary questions. Meeting the Sleeping Dragon here was one of my goals, but I’d been too busy with other matters to seek him out. I hadn’t expected him to come to me first. Was he holding a grudge from our last encounter? Peng Ah-hee had mentioned that the Sleeping Dragon had been asking about me. I didn’t know why, but maybe he was upset about when I interfered in his fight with Yung Pung?
But that wouldn’t be like him, given his personality. As far as I knew, he wasn’t the type to hold a grudge.
“You must have a reason for seeking me out.”
“Of course I do. But Young Expert Gu, may I ask you something first?”
“What?”
“Why aren’t you using formal speech with me?”
The area around us fell silent after his words. His tone, in a way, sounded cold.
“As far as I know, I’m older than you.”
“That’s right.” By about two or three years. The Sleeping Dragon was indeed my senior.
“So why are you speaking informally to me?”
-So why are you speaking informally to me?
I heard his question twice—once now, and once in my memory. We’d had this exact conversation in my past life. There was no way I’d used formal speech with him back then; I’d been far more disrespectful. When he’d asked me the same question before, I’d been too proud to back down.
-You do it too if you’re unhappy with it.
Any other martial artist would have beaten me to death for such insolence. It was the equivalent of a nameless weakling picking a fight. But the Sleeping Dragon had just smirked.
“Fine then.”
He was no different now. He was cool with it, just like before, and gave a short response. The people around us were shocked. Woo Leehyun looked at his senior brother with disgust, while others stared at me as if I were insane. Even with my shitty personality, I’d never been this disrespectful before.
However, the Sleeping Dragon continued, utterly unconcerned with the stares.
“Since we’ve dropped the formalities, does that make us friends?”
His nonchalance left everyone speechless. Seeing him unchanged from the Sleeping Dragon I remembered even made me smirk. The bastard was the same as ever.
But one thing was different.
-What are you talking about, won’t you screw off already?
That was what I’d said last time.
“Yes.”
My response was different now.
“…Huh? I didn’t expect you to accept.” The Sleeping Dragon looked genuinely shocked. I’d had no intention of refusing his offer from the start…
Ignoring the Sleeping Dragon, who for some reason seemed disappointed, I pressed on.
“So, since we’re friends, I’ll ask again. Why did you come find me?”
“To see my friend, of course?”
“Save your jokes for later.” I had no intention of letting him off the hook.
“So that means you’ll listen to them later?”
“Will you tell me after I beat you up, or before?”
“Why isn’t ‘without getting beaten up’ an option…?”
The Sleeping Dragon fell silent for a moment, then smiled. The spectators watched our exchange, utterly bewildered by the nonsense unfolding before them. They looked as if they couldn’t comprehend how the conversation had reached this point.
I didn’t know either. It had always been like this with him, ever since my past life.
“It’s nothing special, really,” the Sleeping Dragon said, his expression turning serious as he got to the point. “I heard a rumor that you’re forming your own clique.”
“…What?” I frowned.
Clique? My clique? What clique?
I stared at him, baffled by this sudden nonsense, but he continued without giving me time to think.
“Let me in.”
“Into my clique…?” The Sleeping Dragon nodded. His request was so absurd it left me utterly confused. He’d come all this way just to ask to join my non-existent clique? For such a ridiculous reason…?
Why, though? He was probably the person least interested in the academy’s social politics. I struggled to understand his motive.
“What do you think?” Since the Sleeping Dragon wasn’t speaking quietly, every student nearby had their eyes on us. After all, the renowned Sleeping Dragon was asking to join the clique of the so-called brutal True Dragon.
Under their collective gaze, a thought occurred to me. It wasn’t anything profound, but I felt like teasing him a little. It would also help squash any rumors about me in the process.
“…Sorry, but I can’t accept you into my clique.”
“…!” The Sleeping Dragon’s eyes widened in surprise, as if my refusal was the last thing he expected.
“W-Why?”
“I’m not the one in charge of making those decisions.”
“What?”
“My clique… uh… um…” I thought for a few seconds, but I couldn’t afford to hesitate for long. “Y-Yes. If you wish to join the CheolYang Cheol Clique, you must receive approval from our leader.”
“…CheolYang Cheol Clique? Your leader?”
By the way, I’d concocted the name ‘CheolYang Cheol’ by combining Cheol Jiseon’s ‘Cheol’, Gu Yangcheon’s ‘Yang’, and Pe Woocheol’s ‘Cheol’. I immediately regretted it. Surely I could have thought of something better than that dumb name.
“Brother, we had a name like th- …Urgh!” Pe Woocheol tried to question me, so I stepped on his foot to silence him.
-The True Dragon… isn’t the leader?
-Then who is? Who could possibly control someone that brutal?
The area around us grew rowdy. I hadn’t bothered to set up a sound barrier. Meanwhile, Moyong Hi-ah, Tang Soyeol, and Namgung Bi-ah didn’t even glance our way. They had already sensed I was up to something nonsensical. They knew me too well.
Putting on a serious face, I addressed the Sleeping Dragon.
“…The Mad Dog, Cheol Jiseon.”
“…!”
“He is the leader of our CheolCheol Yang Cliq—”
“Brother, wasn’t it CheolYang Cheol?”
“…If you want to join the CheolYang Cheol Clique, you must get his approval.”
The Sleeping Dragon’s eyes widened further. Was he really that shocked? After his eyes darted around for a moment, he finally responded.
“…Who is that?”
“It’s a guy.”
The Sleeping Dragon’s reaction was underwhelming, but the same couldn’t be said for everyone else. Another rumor about the Mad Dog, Cheol Jiseon, was about to spread like wildfire.