Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Solitary Bamboo Forest (3)
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“Demonic art manuals?”
“…Yes.”
Mu Dam slowly tilted his head.
Suddenly? Why? Was he trying to find some sort of inspiration by looking at the manuals?
Ma Dongpil gave a slight bow before continuing.
“I heard that the Second Young Master’s nameplate was stored in the Hall of Protectors, so I went to retrieve that first and…”
Suddenly, Mu Dam’s eyes sharpened.
“The Second Young Master?”
Ma Dongpil realized his slip.
“The truth is…”
He recounted his conversation with Seo Ryang to Mu Dam.
Mu Dam frowned.
“The Young Master himself requested it?”
“He did.”
“…”
He didn’t understand. He couldn’t comprehend the Third Young Master’s actions at all.
‘Could his mind truly have been damaged?’
Ever since waking from his demonic deviation, every one of the Third Young Master’s actions had been discordant.
After hearing the Cult Leader’s words, he had asked the handmaiden, Aeng-hwa, a few things, just in case.
Recalling the most significant parts of Aeng-hwa’s account…
- He’s been acting very different from the Third Young Master I used to know…
- His manner of speaking and his actions seem a bit… confused…
- No! I don’t mean he’s being violent… just that he seems at a loss…
And now, Ma Dongpil’s report.
‘It’s as if he’s become a completely different person.’
The Third Young Master he knew was talented but excessively arrogant and greedy. Naturally, he had never shown the slightest consideration for those he deemed beneath him.
A tyrant, in a word. He would kill if you crossed him, and he would kill even without a reason. That was the kind of person the Third Young Master had been.
But since waking from his demonic deviation, it was like he had become someone else entirely.
After a moment of deliberation, Mu Dam took a golden key from his sleeve.
“Take this.”
“…!”
Ma Dongpil’s eyes wavered.
“My Lord, is that…”
“As you know, the loan period is three days. Take three or four volumes, mixed in with the other manuals.”
“…I understand. Please write me an authorization permit.”
Mu Dam immediately wrote out the permit, stamped it with his seal, and handed it to him.
“Contact me at once if anything happens.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Ah, and have you explained to the Young Master about the Solitary Bamboo Forest?”
“Not yet. I was planning to do so today.”
Mu Dam frowned.
“You know full well how dangerous the Solitary Bamboo Forest is. The area around his residence is safe, but even that isn't perfect. I’m sure he’ll manage, but explain it to him as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You may go.”
After a deep bow, Ma Dongpil disappeared.
Mu Dam walked to the window, his expression quite dark.
‘What on earth did the Cult Leader see in the Third Young Master to send him to the Solitary Bamboo Forest?’
The Solitary Bamboo Forest.
A demonic wood that had existed since before the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon settled in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
It was both a gift that had allowed the cult, once a minor power with only the peerless First Heavenly Demon to its name, to grow into a massive sect in a short time, and a scourge that had claimed the lives of countless demonic practitioners for over a thousand years.
To those with a connection, it would bestow the greatest of gifts; to those without, it would drag them into the abyss of death.
This was why one could count on one hand the number of people who had taken up residence in the Solitary Bamboo Forest and walked out unscathed.
“The Hall of Judgment, and now the Solitary Bamboo Forest. The Third Young Master has been put to the Cult Leader’s test twice now.”
He had passed at the Hall of Judgment.
What would happen in the Solitary Bamboo Forest? At this crossroads of life and death, where failure meant death and success meant survival, which path would the Third Young Master’s fate choose?
* * *
“One, two, three, four… seventeen.”
“…”
“Seventeen?!”
Ma Dongpil bowed his head slightly.
“I selected only the very best, so the number of volumes is not that great.”
Seo Ryang felt a wave of disbelief.
Not that great? Wasn’t this far, far too many?
‘Well, does it matter?’
Having many books to reference was a good thing for him. It meant he could properly dissect the system of demonic arts.
As Seo Ryang stared blankly at the manuals, his expression suddenly soured.
‘Dammit! Do I really have to learn demonic arts now, of all things?’
Grumbling internally, he shook his head at the thought.
‘Don’t be prejudiced. The moment I think of demonic arts as inferior to divine arts, it will be harder to see their true nature.’
He had to look at this with a clear and transparent mind. He would think of it as studying a new system called demonic arts.
…For now, at least.
‘Besides, the Cult Leader practices demonic arts, too.’
Rumors about the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult were rampant, but he had always thought the strongest under heaven would be from the righteous martial world.
What a grave miscalculation. At least, the Cult Leader he had seen was a master among masters, on a completely different level from any of the top experts in the righteous martial world.
‘That’s not a level one can reach with talent alone. There must be high-level martial arts among the demonic arts as well.’
It was a sound line of thought.
‘And well, if it really doesn’t feel right, I can just spit it all out.’
I have the Unhindered Arts, don’t I? When it comes to recovery, I’m more confident than anyone in the world.
Having organized his thoughts, Seo Ryang immediately picked up a book.
Just then, Ma Dongpil spoke.
“Second Young Master. There is something I must tell you beforehand.”
“Uh, go on.”
“Of the seventeen books, three must be returned in three days. If you are short on time, I thought it best to inform you to read those three first.”
Seo Ryang’s eyes widened.
“Three books? Three days?”
“That is correct.”
“Then what about the others?”
“Officially, the loan period is fifteen days, but they are all transcribed copies, so there will be no issue even if you return them in a month.”
“What in the world are those three manuals that they need to be returned in three days?”
The Young Master must truly have a problem with his memory.
Ma Dongpil carefully selected three of the books.
Seo Ryang’s eyes sparkled.
‘Oho?’
These definitely didn’t look like transcribed copies.
“These three are among our cult’s Ten Great Demonic Arts.”
The Ten Great Demonic Arts.
They were the absolute pinnacle of demonic arts, handpicked by the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. It was said that mastering just one of them was enough to look down upon the world.
“As you know, permission has been granted to the First Young Master, the Second Young Master, and you, the Third Young Master.”
“Is that so?”
“Do you perhaps not remember?”
After glancing at Ma Dongpil for a moment, Seo Ryang quickly raised both thumbs and pressed them firmly against his temples.
“I don’t. Why else would I have said I needed the manuals?”
As I thought…
A look of pity crossed Ma Dongpil’s face.
How violent the former Third Young Master had been was well-known throughout the entire Demonic Cult. There was no way Ma Dongpil wouldn’t know.
But seeing him with his memory lost stirred a sense of human compassion. He couldn’t even imagine how frustrating it must be for him, unable to remember his own past.
Of course, that feeling of pity lasted only for a moment.
‘Perhaps this is just what he deserves.’
Ma Dongpil shook his head, realizing that such a thought was itself disrespectful.
“Anyway, three days, you say? Well then, I guess I’ll just have to read these first. Got it.”
“Ah, and…”
Ma Dongpil hesitated, about to continue.
Seo Ryang was already reading one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts, the Blood Calamity Demonic Art.
The atmosphere was not one in which he could be disturbed. Seo Ryang seemed to have plunged into a state of intense focus, the movement of his eyes as they scanned the pages anything but ordinary.
His lips parted and closed as he hesitated for a moment, but in the end, Ma Dongpil let out a long sigh.
‘It can’t be helped.’
He had intended to explain what kind of place the Solitary Bamboo Forest was, but he had failed again. The Young Master was reading one of the highest-grade manuals, which had to be mastered in three days. It wouldn’t be right to break his concentration.
He looked around.
‘There’s no sign of anything yet, and the wards are well-placed.’
The time when ‘they’ moved most violently wouldn’t come for another fifteen days.
Besides, this was the safest area in the Solitary Bamboo Forest. ‘They’ rarely came here, and even if they did appear, they wouldn't be the truly dangerous ones.
*Grip.*
Ma Dongpil clutched the sword at his waist, a determined look on his face.
‘Still, I must remain vigilant.’
He carefully exited the room, so as not to disturb Seo Ryang.
How much time passed after that?
“Hm?”
Seo Ryang glanced around.
“What was that?”
Did I feel someone watching me?
Seo Ryang rubbed the back of his neck for no reason and fixed his gaze back on the book.
These demonic arts, he had thought them all utterly malevolent, but they had a surprisingly profound side to them.
Finding them unexpectedly interesting, Seo Ryang became absorbed in the Blood Calamity Demonic Art once more.
*Flash!*
Beyond the window, in the dense bamboo grove, a pair of blue lights flared.
* * *
Three days passed.
“Have you finished reading them?”
“Yeah, yeah, take them.”
Ma Dongpil looked around with astonished eyes.
It seemed Seo Ryang hadn’t just read the three volumes of the Ten Great Demonic Arts. He appeared to have devoured all the other dozen or so demonic art manuals as well.
“Did you… read all of these?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“What?”
“Ah, it is nothing.”
He really read all of this?
It was an amount that one might doubt could be finished even by simply reading through them.
And it was unlikely he had only read them. He would have needed to analyze and break down the characteristics of each demonic art.
He finished all that in three days, leaving only three or four volumes? Was that even possible?
Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Seo Ryang frowned.
“What are you doing? Take them.”
“Ah, yes!”
“And when you come back, pick out some decent weapons and bring them.”
“What kind of weapons did you have in mind?”
“The type doesn’t matter. Sword, saber, spear, whatever. If it looks useful, just bring it.”
“I understand.”
He would need to prepare himself if he was going to live here anyway. Ma Dongpil hurriedly gathered the three manuals and left the Solitary Bamboo Forest.
Reaching the entrance of the forest, Ma Dongpil suddenly stopped and glanced back.
‘He should be fine, right?’
Nothing had happened so far. As long as he stayed in his residence, there shouldn't be any problems.
And so, Ma Dongpil left the Solitary Bamboo Forest…
“Ughhh!”
Seo Ryang flopped onto the bed.
His face was etched with fatigue, but unlike his usual self, his expression was incredibly serious.
“Demonic arts… this is no simple matter.”
He was genuinely impressed with the concept of demonic arts.
The Shadow Arts he had learned in his past life was one of the foremost secret techniques in the martial world, even if it wasn't widely known.
It was only natural, as the Shadow Arts itself was a martial art created by piecing together the secret techniques of the Nine Great Sects. Of course, that didn't make it stronger than their techniques, but in terms of profundity and purity, it was second to none in its time.
Demonic arts were different.
Demonic arts valued deviation over purity. They focused on output over stability, attack over defense, and sought straightforward power over flexibility.
And in that, it shared common ground with the killing techniques of an assassin.
“The Ten Great Demonic Arts…”
Seo Ryang slowly stroked his lips.
“They were certainly incredible martial arts.”
They were, in and of themselves, martial principles of the highest order. Just by encountering various demonic arts, Seo Ryang’s own understanding had grown a step beyond what it had been in his time as the King of Slaughter.
The problem was…
“There’s no need to learn them.”
He lifted the manual he had been reading just moments before.
‘The True Demonic Art?’
Ma Dongpil had misunderstood one thing.
Seo Ryang hadn’t read all but three or four of the books. He had already finished all of them and, drawn to one in particular, the True Demonic Art, had been rereading it for half a day.
‘This one… might be alright…’
In terms of sheer level, it was a demonic art that couldn't compare to the Ten Great Demonic Arts.
But he had no intention of learning a demonic art on its own.
Staring at the manual, Seo Ryang ruffled his hair frantically.
“Ah, whatever! Let’s clear my head first.”
He shot up, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to circulate his Unhindered Arts.
*Wooooong.*
The air in the room instantly cleared, and Seo Ryang’s expression relaxed.
‘When you’re feeling down, the Unhindered Arts is the best…’
Suddenly, his eyes flashed open.
‘…?’
*Rustle.*
It was inaudible to his ears, but his instincts had picked up the faint sound of footsteps.
Slowly uncrossing his legs, he turned his gaze to the window.
*Flash!*
‘Something’ with a pair of glowing blue eyes.
Seo Ryang’s jaw dropped.
“Wha- what is that?”
*Fwoooosh!*
The owner of the glowing eyes lunged toward the window at an incredible speed.