Chapter 10
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Meeting the Cult Leader (5)
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“Young Master.”
“……”
“Young Master?”
“……”
“Um… Y-Young Master?”
Aeng-hwa was fidgeting nervously.
Three days ago, after his audience with the Cult Leader, the Young Master had changed a great deal.
Normally, he would practice his internal arts, eat his meals heartily, and visit the privy five or six times a day. He always made sure to sleep for at least six hours.
In short, he ate well, relieved himself well, and slept well. It was an ideal schedule for a healthy life.
But what about the Young Master now?
He sat on his bed, staring blankly out the window, drool dripping from his slack-jawed mouth.
She couldn't dare wipe it away without permission, but if she left it, he looked like he might cause a flood.
He wasn't eating much, and she wasn't even sure if he was sleeping. He only went to the privy two or three times. It made sense, since he wasn't eating properly.
The only silver lining was that he never, ever skipped his internal arts practice.
But once his practice was over, he would go back to staring blankly and drooling. It was enough to make her worry he’d developed a serious mental illness.
While Aeng-hwa was wringing her hands, unsure of what to do, Cheon Hajin’s mind was racing.
*What? What is it? What could it be? What in the world? What?*
He didn’t know. He really didn’t know.
What on earth did the Cult Leader’s words mean?
The part about going back to his residence to rest was straightforward enough; there was nothing to interpret.
But no matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn't figure out what the Cult Leader meant by sending someone in three days.
No, beyond that.
*‘Is he going to let me go or not?’*
Couldn't he have just given a straight answer? Yes or no? Was it really necessary to torment my brain like this?
Cheon Hajin’s eyes darted around ceaselessly.
He’ll let me go, right? He will, won’t he? He must.
*‘Of course, he will. I saw it, didn't I? The disappointed look on that bear-like Cult Leader’s face.’*
He could guarantee it wasn't an act.
Mastery of martial arts doesn't improve one's acting skills. In fact, it’s the weak who are skilled actors, having to read others to survive.
Ultimately, the Cult Leader was not the type of man who could act well, nor was he in a position where he needed to.
Cheon Hajin clenched his fists.
*‘I’ll be able to leave.’*
Who knows, maybe he wanted to get a nice set of clothes for his once-beloved disciple before he set off on a long journey.
He didn't think a fine silk garment could be made in just three days, but it might be a gift of similar value.
The man was drowning in money, what couldn't he provide?
Yes, that must be it. The Cult Leader was human, too. He must have some lingering affection.
As he fervently tried to rationalize, Cheon Hajin forced a smile.
“I must be right. Yes, that’s it.”
Then why do I feel so anxious?
Just as Cheon Hajin was nervously chewing on his fingernails.
“Young Master!”
Startled, Cheon Hajin turned his head toward the source of the sound.
Aeng-hwa, who had mustered the courage to shout, looked slightly pale.
“W-What is it? Did someone come?”
“What? Ah, no?”
“Then what?”
“You… need to eat. You skipped breakfast.”
Cheon Hajin rubbed his stomach.
Come to think of it, he had been so busy wracking his brain that he hadn't even thought about food.
“Ah, let’s eat.”
“Yes! I’ll bring it right away.”
A short while later, a simple meal was served.
His long, thick chopsticks moved ceaselessly between the rice and side dishes.
Cheon Hajin, his cheeks puffed out with food, continued to think with an utterly serious expression.
*‘Before I returned, my guards were all dismissed.’*
An order must have come from above. And that order surely came through the Cult Leader.
Why dismiss the guards? He was still the Third Young Master, after all.
*‘He’s letting me go.’*
Furthermore, the physician who used to visit every other day had stopped coming. This, too, must have been an intervention from above.
*‘A master of the Cult Leader's level could probably see the state of my body at a glance.’*
In fact, not just the Cult Leader, but any decent master at the pinnacle could tell.
This body no longer needed treatment. There was room for improvement, but it could be managed through personal effort.
He got rid of the guards and stopped the physician. In other words, he intended to reduce the waste of manpower.
The answer that intention pointed to was singular!
“I can lea…”
“Pardon? Young Master, do you have an order for me?”
“Huh? N-… *Gulp!* No, nothing.”
“Ah, yes!”
He went back to shoveling food into his mouth.
The hopeful and positive interpretation gave him strength. There would be much to do in the future, so he needed to start by eating well.
After finishing his meal with the intensity of a soldier, Cheon Hajin sat cross-legged.
“*Buuurp!* Shall we begin.”
Food is nourishment, and nourishment is what a person obtains from outside the body to sustain life.
The moment food enters the stomach, the internal organs work more actively to absorb nutrients.
And what could accelerate that process were internal energy and cultivation techniques.
First, let's get this body in shape. A person can't get anything done if they're ailing.
Cheon Hajin closed his eyes.
A moment later.
*Sssst.*
A faint haze shimmered up from his shoulders.
Aeng-hwa, standing to the side, bit her lip.
*‘It's going to get stuffy.’*
Whenever Cheon Hajin circulated his technique, the air always became stuffy. It didn't smell bad, but the air grew so humid and heavy that it became difficult to breathe.
*‘He said it was because he was expelling turbidity, right?’*
A look of reverence filled Aeng-hwa’s face.
Though her skills were only for self-defense, she too was a member of the Demonic Cult who had trained in internal arts.
She knew just how difficult it was to expel a large amount of turbidity from a body with almost no internal energy.
Perhaps the Young Master's recovery wasn't due to acupuncture and medicine, but to his own efforts.
Some time passed.
*‘Hm?’*
Aeng-hwa tilted her head.
*‘That’s strange.’*
She had expected the air to become heavy, but today it wasn't.
If anything…
*‘Ah, how refreshing.’*
Aeng-hwa found herself flaring her nostrils. The air was so clear that she felt the urge to take deep breaths again and again.
As Aeng-hwa grinned foolishly at the unexpected freshness.
*‘Huh?!’*
Cheon Hajin was inwardly shocked.
*‘What is this?’*
The circulation of his Unhindered Arts was different from usual.
To be precise, his level had suddenly leaped forward.
*‘The Third Stage?!’*
The Unhindered Arts were divided into five stages, from the first to the fifth.
Reaching the third stage wasn't difficult with consistent practice, but from the fourth stage onward, one needed a unique enlightenment in the Unhindered Arts itself to advance even a single step.
In his previous life, when he was running rampant as the King of Slaughter, the level he had reached was the very end of the fourth stage.
Considering his skill had placed him among the Ten Great Masters of the World, it was clear just how troublesome the Unhindered Arts were.
And yet, he was now at the end of the third stage. It felt like with just a couple more sessions, he could settle into the fourth stage.
*‘How is this possible?’*
It was utterly absurd.
He had said reaching the third stage wasn't difficult, not that it was easy.
It was a level he had thought would take at least five years to reach, even with enlightenment.
The reason was that the synergy between the martial art and the body was just as important as enlightenment.
Even if he had clung to the Unhindered Arts for three whole months, how could he already be on the verge of the fourth stage?
*‘Could it be…’*
Cheon Hajin’s expression turned serious.
*‘Because I’m a genius?’*
Not the time for jokes, you idiot.
*‘I really don’t understand.’*
*Vmmmmmm.*
A pleasant vibration emanated from his body.
When he inhaled, the fine turbidity floating in the room seeped into his body.
When he exhaled, the purified energy cleansed the air in the room.
Cheon Hajin’s expression brightened.
*‘Even the Purification True Art is activating on its own.’*
The Purification Art of the Unhindered Arts.
The essence of the Unhindered Arts was to expel turbidity from the body and maximize healing abilities.
However, the Unhindered Arts also contained a unique study called the Purification Art, a true art that literally purified the surrounding air.
Contrary to expelling turbidity, it drew it in. Naturally, the air, freed from impurities, became clean.
Wouldn't absorbing turbidity, which should be expelled, burden the body?
*‘Not at all!’*
The dregs of turbidity remaining in his body were shrunken by the power of the Unhindered Arts and converted into internal energy.
Of course, the amount was minuscule, smaller than a sparrow’s tear, and the internal energy gained from normally circulating the Unhindered Arts was far greater.
Nevertheless, the Purification True Art was important because of its virtuous cycle.
By purifying the air in the vicinity, one could absorb higher quality energy when cultivating true energy with other internal arts.
Naturally, the mastery of divine arts would be faster, and the body would become stronger.
It might not be noticeable right away, but after a year, or ten years, the difference would be jaw-dropping.
*‘What a windfall!’*
He felt like dancing a jig. After clinging to the Unhindered Arts for three months with the feeling of coughing up blood, such a blessing had come his way!
*‘This is it! I can get it all back much faster.’*
He had estimated it would take roughly three to five years to regain his former power.
Of course, that period was based on the premise of obtaining elixirs from his family estate.
But if he could use the Purification True Art, that period would be even shorter.
*‘This body is twenty-three, right?’*
Assuming he regained his power in a generous three years, he would possess the martial skill of one of the world's Ten Great Masters at the age of twenty-six.
*‘Wow… At this rate, I could be called the greatest genius of all time.’*
Cheon Hajin’s expression turned greedy.
He might have grown weary of the martial world, but how could he not have a desire for fame?
Besides, wielding the power of a supreme master in this young body and shaking the martial world would truly make life worth living.
The martial world would cheer for the appearance of a genius, right? Women who weren't murderers would give him a second glance, right?
As his fame grew, money would follow on its own, right?
*‘…Gulp.’*
Cheon Hajin, who had been lost in his own fantasy, shook his head violently.
*‘You fool. You’ve been through so much, and you still don't get it? The martial world is no place for people to live.’*
Cheering for the appearance of a genius?
They would. They would cheer while holding a dagger behind their backs.
Women would be happy to have found someone to leech off of; they wouldn't truly understand him.
Fame? Can you even eat that? There's plenty of money back at the family estate.
Crucially, whether it's three years or five years, he'd still be a young man. To be tempted just because the training period shortened a bit—you're an easy one, aren't you?
*‘Know your place and live accordingly.’*
Let's not ruin my life over a moment of desire.
Half a day later.
“Uggghhh!”
Cheon Hajin stretched.
Aeng-hwa bowed low.
“Congratulations, Young Master!”
“Hm? For what?”
“What? I mean… just…”
She couldn't bring herself to say that it just felt like he had achieved something.
Cheon Hajin playfully ruffled Aeng-hwa’s hair.
“Haha! Why are you so nervous? Anyway, thank you.”
Aeng-hwa’s body stiffened for a moment.
*‘…The Young Master patted my head?!’*
It was an incredible honor.
At the same time, she felt a little crestfallen.
*‘I spent so much time on my hair today…’*
It had taken her over an hour to get her hair just right.
Still, if the Young Master was happy, that was all that mattered. She could always fix her hair later.
As one young man wept with joy and one young girl was flustered with complex emotions, it happened.
*Thump!*
Cheon Hajin’s head snapped toward the window.
In the distance, he saw the main gate of his residence.
“A message from the Palace of the Demonic God! Third Young Master Seo Ryang, open the gate at once and receive the Cult Leader's sacred command!”
A huge grin spread across Cheon Hajin’s face.
“Come in! Please, come right in!!”