Chapter 158
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Return, and... (4)
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The liquor bottle trembled slightly as it poured into the cup.
“Hmm.”
He always filled the cup to the brim without ever spilling a drop, but today, a little liquor trickled down the side.
Setting the bottle down, Lee Cheonsang looked at his own hand.
A single saber wound was etched into his palm. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't shallow either. It was the mark left from when he had blocked Seo Ryang's strike.
“A death saber seeking to become a demonic saber.”
Back when he had given his third son a lesson.
The boy had managed to slice his sleeve. Even though he hadn't been serious, it had been a long time since a master had gotten that close.
But now, having reached the pinnacle of demonic arts, he had even managed to leave a wound on his hand.
Unlike before, Lee Cheonsang had been serious this time. While he hadn't used his full strength, Seo Ryang's strike was threatening enough that he'd had no choice but to raise his hand and block it.
‘To pierce through the Aura of the Demonic Sovereign... quite impressive.’
The Aura of the Demonic Sovereign was, without a doubt, the greatest demonic art in the world.
While it was difficult to call anything in this world 'absolute', the Aura of the Demonic Sovereign was different.
This demonic art, passed down since the first Heavenly Demon, had only reached completion during the era of the seventh Heavenly Demon.
The Nine Hells Demonic Art that Seo Ryang had created was formidable, but the Aura of the Demonic Sovereign possessed a history that the Nine Hells Demonic Art lacked.
Their levels might be comparable, but in terms of sheer breadth of martial knowledge, the Nine Hells Demonic Art was no match for the Aura of the Demonic Sovereign.
However, even arts of a similar level could manifest on a completely different plane depending on the practitioner's capabilities.
Just for piercing through the Aura of the Demonic Sovereign, manifested through Lee Cheonsang's own enlightenment, Seo Ryang deserved praise.
‘What a strange boy.’
A deep sense of interest colored Lee Cheonsang's face as he tossed back the cup.
‘His skill is a ten, yet he always displays the strength of a twelve.’
There were people like that sometimes—those who delivered results beyond their capabilities.
It was an ability that couldn't even be compared to simple martial talent. It required judgment, willpower, creativity, execution, and all other elements to be at their absolute peak.
‘But it's still not enough.’
Lee Cheonsang himself never thought he would be thinking this about Seo Ryang. After all, most people couldn't even reach his son's heels.
But the very fact that he had this thought was a testament to Seo Ryang's excellence. It was like finding a single, regrettable flaw in a masterpiece, which then seemed all the more glaring.
‘He's more than enough to be a vanguard, but he doesn't have the capacity to be the leader of an organization.’
Lee Cheonsang refilled his cup. The hand with the saber wound was still trembling faintly.
‘Can you broaden it?’
The successor hadn't been decided yet. His third son had shown explosive growth recently, but his other children would not be pushovers either.
Still, he felt a sense of anticipation. It had been a long time since someone had come along like a storm, shaking this heart of his that had become like a barren desert.
‘If you cannot broaden your capacity, you will never become the Cult Leader, even if you win the succession battle.’
If he were just strong but full of flaws, he might have already designated him as the next Cult Leader.
In any case, things had become interesting. He was very much looking forward to what kind of moves Seo Ryang would make now that he was back in the Cult.
Just then, a knock came from the doors of the grand hall.
“Cult Leader. It is the Grand Marshal.”
“Enter.”
The doors opened, and Ho Yoseong walked in.
“The Grand Marshal greets the Cult Leader.”
“What brings you here?”
“I have something to ask you.”
Ho Yoseong held up a document with a puzzled expression.
“Permission was granted for entry into the Demonic Sutra Pavilion. Was this your order, Cult Leader?”
“It was.”
“Oh? It seems someone has achieved great merit. Was it perhaps the Lord of the Hall of Protectors?”
“You already know.”
Ho Yoseong, who had been making a fuss, grinned.
“It was the Third Young Master, of course.”
Lee Cheonsang nodded.
“Indeed, the Third Young Master accomplished something great this time.”
Ho Yoseong had been vehemently against confronting the Sword Palace.
But Seo Ryang had not only clashed with them and survived but had also wiped out the Sword Palace's forces, so he couldn't help but feel pleased.
“You seem pleased.”
“I am, in fact.”
“Wasn't he the troublemaker who ruined the plan you so carefully crafted?”
“Plans like that can be remade anytime. It's better than a war breaking out.”
He playfully stated his opposing view even before the Cult Leader.
Ho Yoseong knew well that this kind of behavior would further earn Lee Cheonsang's trust.
And that, even without such displays, Lee Cheonsang's faith in him would not waver.
“But why send him to the Demonic Sutra Pavilion? As far as I know, the Third Young Master has already mastered a sufficiently formidable demonic art.”
“He insisted he was lacking something, so I let him go.”
He let him go because he insisted. Ho Yoseong was inwardly astounded by words so uncharacteristic of Lee Cheonsang.
‘Third Young Master, you truly are an incredible person.’
Lee Cheonsang, who used to be extremely taciturn, was now engaging in something resembling conversation. Ho Yoseong knew this change had started after Seo Ryang awoke from his demonic deviation.
“So the Third Young Master was lacking something after all.”
“Everyone is lacking something.”
“Even you, Cult Leader?”
Instead of answering, Lee Cheonsang asked a question.
“How is 'that child' doing?”
“If you're referring to the Fifth Young Mistress, she is currently finishing up the Iron Horse Clan matter and is on her way back.”
Ho Yoseong winked.
“If you're referring to our guest, she is doing well in the Inner Court.”
“The climate must not agree with her.”
“That is the only problem. Well, she'll adapt on her own.”
“I heard she's quite the troublemaker.”
“I had a conversation with her once, and she didn't seem to have that kind of personality.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. However...”
Ho Yoseong's eyes twinkled. It was the look he got when he'd discovered something interesting.
“She had something that wasn't visible on the surface.”
***
“Whoa...”
Seo Ryang was speechless.
“This is incredible.”
The Demonic Sutra Pavilion was the largest repository of secret manuals, hidden deep within the Inner Court of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
It was different from the archives where high-level demonic arts like the Ten Great Demonic Arts were kept. This place housed not only demonic art manuals but also countless sutras.
It could be considered almost identical to the Shaolin Temple's Sutra Repository.
The only difference, if one could call it that, was that unlike the Sutra Repository, which had far more Buddhist scriptures than secret manuals, this place had more demonic art manuals than Papiyas Sutras.
‘But this...’
Seo Ryang tilted his head.
‘Strange. It's too similar.’
He had actually been inside the Sutra Repository before. Of course, he hadn't been able to explore its depths, nor had he seen Shaolin's signature martial arts.
But he remembered its internal structure.
‘It's a carbon copy of the Shaolin Temple's.’
It was much larger than the Sutra Repository, with more bookshelves. But the structure itself was nearly identical.
‘How curious.’
Come to think of it, wasn't the name 'Demonic Sutra Pavilion' similar to 'Sutra Repository'?
Seo Ryang's eyes gleamed.
‘Is there some kind of connection between the two groups?’
Before the rise of the Righteous Heaven Alliance and the Iron Blood Fortress, the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's greatest nemesis was the Shaolin Temple.
It made sense. The Shaolin Temple worshipped Buddha, while the Divine Cult worshipped Papiyas.
Wasn't Mara, Papiyas, the demon god of the desire realm who tried to obstruct Buddha's path to enlightenment until the very end?
In terms of organizational power, the Shaolin Temple couldn't compare to the Divine Cult. However, the Shaolin Temple was always at the forefront of efforts to block the Divine Cult's invasion of the Central Plains.
“...Well, it doesn't matter.”
This wasn't the time to think about such things.
“I hope I can find a good footwork technique.”
Having abandoned his Ground-Shrinking Steps and lightness skill, he had to find new ones that suited the Nine Hells Demonic Art.
In truth, once one reached the pinnacle of demonic arts, there was no need to train in footwork and movement techniques. Using explosive demonic energy to move quickly was something any decent master could do.
However, for the sake of stamina and ki efficiency, and to reach a new realm, footwork and movement techniques were necessary.
‘On top of that, it would be great if I could find a useful unarmed combat art.’
Seo Ryang started walking.
His eyes were particularly sharp as he scanned his surroundings.
‘The time I can stay in the Demonic Sutra Pavilion is twelve two-hour periods, exactly one day.’
The formation surrounding the Demonic Sutra Pavilion changes itself every twelve periods. If twelve periods pass, the exit shifts, and one cannot leave until someone opens it from the outside.
One might think they could just wait a few days, but this was a forbidden zone that no one could enter without the Cult Leader's permission.
Unless the Cult Leader himself intervened, one would be trapped inside without even a sip of water.
‘I have to find something useful before then.’
He walked to the deepest part of the Demonic Sutra Pavilion, toward a sign that read 'The 108 Demonic Arts.'
The 108 Demonic Arts were the representative martial arts of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. The Ten Great Demonic Arts of the Divine Cult were also part of the 108 Demonic Arts.
In reality, the Ten Great Demonic Arts were among the highest-ranking arts within the 108. Other powerful external martial arts were also included among them.
Seo Ryang's eyes were incredibly serious as he looked over the bookshelves.
‘Just because a martial art is high-level doesn't mean it's good for me.’
The key was to find something that suited his body and his demonic art.
He pulled out a booklet.
“This is a fist art.”
The five characters for 'Iron Frost Strange Demon Fist' were written on the booklet.
“Hmm, not bad.”
He thought it would be a powerfully destructive art, but it was an incredibly delicate and gentle fist technique. The meticulously structured forms were similar to the fast and light killing techniques of his Heaven-Lifting Technique.
“It's good, but it doesn't suit me.”
It might have been different before he reached the pinnacle of demonic arts, but now it was unnecessary. What he needed now wasn't a fast and delicate art, but a strong and heavy one.
He picked up the next manual.
“Blood Aura Hand? This one's famous.”
Was it fifty or sixty years ago?
There was an incident where a great sect of the Unorthodox Faction, the Black Serpent Sword Sect, suffered a devastating blow from a single madman.
The world had called that madman the Blood Hand Demon God.
The Blood Hand Demon God's unique martial art was none other than the Blood Aura Hand.
Unlike the Ten Great Demonic Arts, it wasn't an orthodox art of the Divine Cult, but it seemed they had acquired it by force because it was so powerful.
Seo Ryang frowned as he skimmed through the manual.
“What is this, some kind of crazy martial art?”
Even at a glance, its destructive power was immense. In terms of raw power, it was a cut above even the Divine Cult's top-tier demonic arts.
But the incantations were a complete mess. Moreover, to draw out its destructive power, it even tampered with the upper dantian. No wonder its practitioners were consumed by madness.
What good was strength if you lost your sanity?
And yet, its foundation was too weak to simply refine the incantations and salvage only its power. It was an art that shaved away one's life force to gain strength—in a way, a demonic art in the truest sense.
‘Its destructive power is second to none. It's tempting, but...’
Seo Ryang scratched his head.
‘No matter how skilled I am at modifying things, this one's a no-go.’
Still, maybe I should memorize it, just in case...?
Seo Ryang quickly crammed the incantations of the Blood Aura Hand into his mind. He might not be able to use it right away, or perhaps ever in his life, but his curiosity was piqued.
Fortunately, upon reaching the pinnacle of demonic arts, his upper dantian had become more active than before. The development of the upper dantian couldn't turn a dullard into a genius, but it did improve things like memory and comprehension.
The incantations weren't terribly long or profound, so he was able to memorize all of them within an hour.
“I hope this comes in handy later. I might have just wasted an hour for nothing.”
With that, he once again began to look through the 108 Demonic Arts.
One two-hour period passed, then two. Before he knew it, he had perused nearly half of the 108 Demonic Arts.
Seo Ryang muttered under his breath.
“Damn it. As I thought, there's nothing here... huh?”
Seo Ryang's eyes sparkled like starlight as he pulled out a reddish manual.
“Oho? Look at this.”