Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Those Taking the Fourth Test (1)
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The closer I got to the main square, the louder the roar of the crowd became.
“Looks like it’s already started.”
The test had begun sooner than I expected.
*Or maybe I’m the one who’s late because I used the ultimate technique, the Heavenly Demon's Royal Descent.*
If the Cult Leader and the Great Elder had only brought low-level subordinates like the Silent Kill Squad, I wouldn't have needed to resort to such a move.
However, the Great Guardian and the old Elder were seasoned masters of the Profound Realm.
Had I faced them with only basic forms instead of an ultimate technique, it might have taken much longer.
*An old Elder and the Great Guardian… An unexpected harvest.*
Of course, revealing an ultimate technique came with a decent reward.
The old Elder, whose identity was hard to guess, true to his nickname as a reclusive master, was one thing. But for the Great Guardian to turn his back on the Cult Leader so quickly…
As expected, the power of the name 'Heavenly Demon' within the cult was beyond imagination.
*By now, they should have finished cleaning up and be preparing to leave. In that case… I’ll seize control of the cult starting with this fourth test!*
If everyone witnessed the Great Guardian and the reclusive old Elder, who were supposed to be with the Cult Leader, following me instead, they would all acknowledge it without needing any confirmation from the Sacred Black Flame.
That I, Maeng Ak, am the Heavenly Demon of this era.
*Well, since I've mastered the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon, I doubt I’ll fail the Sacred Black Flame’s confirmation anyway.*
It didn't matter if there were dissenting opinions.
There was no one left who could stop me, not even the Cult Leader and the Great Elder.
My thoughts ceased only upon arriving at the main square.
Despite the absence of key leaders like the Cult Leader and the Great Elder, the test unfolding in the square was proceeding smoothly.
The deafening noise reverberated from the ground up; there was no need to check.
“Well then, shall we see how they’re doing?”
I recalled teaching So-so and Ha Gyeong an internal art before I secluded myself in the cave for a month.
I had no doubt that by now, they would have made it their own and be putting it to good use.
After all, the Divine Arts of the Green Forest Tiger, left behind by the founding Heavenly Demon, was the superior version of all demonic arts.
Just as I entered the main square, I saw Chang On on the training stage.
His opponent was Chang Ha-o, one of the members of the Council of Elders, known as a master of the spear.
For Chang On, who had yet to overcome the wall of the Realm of Transformation, he was quite a formidable opponent.
“Hoh. How unexpected. That stiff little scholar chose an opponent stronger than himself.”
Compared to Do Gwang and Jo Gwang-uk, Chang On was calmer but lacked their competitive spirit.
Had he changed so much in just a month?
The presence radiating from his entire body and the sharp look in his eyes as he watched his opponent were fiercer than his finely honed spear.
“He’s become quite capable.”
At this rate, he wouldn’t be looked down on for not having a powerful backer.
To see my student’s growth after so long.
I felt a warmth spreading in my heart without realizing it.
Just then, someone who had overheard my muttering spoke to me.
“Um… excuse me, are you perhaps the great warrior Maeng Ak, who claimed victory over the Sword Heaven Lord in the duel a month ago?”
“Hm?”
I turned my head to see a portly, middle-aged man standing beside me.
He must have been eating something just a moment ago, as there was a red sauce stain near his mouth.
He must have noticed my gaze on his mouth, as he covered it with both hands and said.
“Oh my, I’ve shown you an unseemly sight. I apologize. My profession keeps me close to food…”
The fat man’s face turned red as if in embarrassment.
However, it wasn't just his face that was red.
His pupils were stained a deep, blood-like crimson. The moment I saw it, the name of a certain group came to mind, and I cut him off.
“Enough.”
“Pardon?”
The man, taken aback by my sudden reaction, questioned me.
But now that I knew his true nature, his act seemed nothing but a disgusting charade.
“Close to food? Hah! I see an assassin has opened an inn.”
“Wh-what are you…”
“Shut that mouth. I came here today in a good mood to see my students, so if you stop here, I’ll let you live. But if you cross the line…”
“...!”
As I focused my killing intent solely on him, the man’s eyes widened in shock.
He was likely a low-level grunt sent by his leader to test me.
The fat man finally backed away after feeling a pressure he had never experienced, not even from his own leader.
“Th-thank you for your great generosity…”
Watching his retreating back, I recalled a memory from my past life.
*Are those bastards from the Windless Killing Curtain crawling out again?*
The Windless Killing Curtain.
A name given to an unorthodox assassin organization, which I had annihilated in my past life, because they could assassinate their targets even in a quiet place without a breeze.
Practitioners of their martial arts developed red pupils, just like the fat man who had disappeared, a trait that, for some reason, was only visible to me, a practitioner of the Divine Arts of the Green Forest Tiger.
*Thanks to that, I was able to wipe out those troublesome assassins in one fell swoop during the Orthodox-Unorthodox War.*
For some reason, the members of the Windless Killing Curtain had aided the Orthodox Faction, not the Green Forest, which was also part of the Unorthodox Alliance.
Thus, I, the only one who could identify them, had been the one to obliterate them all.
But to think that these bastards, who I thought were exterminated, were not only moving again but were also trying to approach me, the new sun of the Demonic Cult?
Something was definitely afoot.
It would be good to uncover it, but not today.
Today was the day I finally emerged from that stuffy cave after a month, the day I would witness my students’ growth, and the day I would make my control over the Demonic Cult a reality.
“It’s over.”
On the training stage, Chang On had gained the upper hand in the exchange of techniques against Chang Ha-o.
Chang Ha-o had thrust his spear five consecutive times with the fluid grace of a river, but Chang On, having fully assimilated the internal arts of the Green Forest Tiger, blocked them all and launched a powerful counterattack.
The result was, naturally, Chang On’s victory.
“Woooooah!”
Cheers erupted from the stands.
It was understandable. Even to my eyes, it had been a disadvantageous fight for Chang On.
Yet, he hadn't relied on luck. He accepted the challenge of a technical duel as the underdog and, on top of that, won.
Whether seen through the eyes of a common spectator or a master, it was a scene that would make any martial arts enthusiast cheer.
Of course, Chang On had not won easily.
There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't torn, not a spot on his uniform that wasn't soaked in blood.
Even from a distance, I could see he was completely out of breath.
He probably wanted to collapse right then and there.
But Chang On, leaning on the spear he had planted in the training stage floor, surveyed the main square.
His gaze stopped at a certain point, and he very slowly raised a fist salute.
The clenched fist was pointed right at me.
“Hmm, worth raising him. To beat a mid-to-high-ranking elder at his age.”
An intruder had interrupted me midway, but I had managed to watch Chang On’s test.
Though I could still see many areas where he was lacking, I also noticed the points he had improved.
He was quite admirable.
This feeling was quite different from when I used to teach my brothers in the Green Forest by beating them up.
Just then, a man with a build similar to my Green Forest brothers stepped onto the training stage as the next contestant.
It was Jo Gwang-uk, with his bronze skin and a physique as large as a southern beast, unusual for someone from the Central Plains.
Originally, this was the spot that I, Maeng Ak of the 24th group, was supposed to take.
But since it was meaningless for me to take the test now, Jo Gwang-uk, who had recovered his senses before Geom Cheon-ha, took my place.
Having heard something from Chang On on his way down, Jo Gwang-uk also looked in my direction and raised a fist salute.
“That brat… if he loses after that, I’ll have to beat him up.”
In truth, I had the highest expectations for Jo Gwang-uk.
Unlike my other students who had to adapt the Divine Arts of the Green Forest Tiger to make it their own, he was a student with the talent to accept it as it was.
“The opponent is perfect, too.”
Coincidentally, his opponent was also an elder who used his fists.
Jo Gwang-uk had probably chosen him on purpose.
Against a fellow fist fighter, his growth would be more apparent.
The boy was smarter than he looked.
However, sensing his opponent’s energy, I knew he wouldn't be easy.
Perhaps he was in an even more disadvantageous situation than Chang On.
Usually, when two practitioners of body-based martial arts fight, it tends to become a battle of external power.
But the fist-fighting elder facing Jo Gwang-uk had skin that looked as hard as if he were suffering from some illness.
“Did he apply some special ointment?”
Even with my eyes, I couldn't determine it accurately.
I would probably need to clash with him directly or get closer to judge.
Of course, the test began before I could.
***
*CRACK!*
As if to prove they were two men who fought with their bodies, they shot towards each other the moment the signal was given.
The ground where the two men had stood was now marked with large cracks.
As powerful as their initial steps were, their clash was equally intense.
But what was this?
Jo Gwang-uk began to overwhelm his opponent from the very first exchange.
Cheers erupted from the stands, just as they had at the end of Chang On’s test.
While clashes between weapons were exciting, sometimes a bare-fisted brawl like this was what truly made the blood boil.
The person in question, Jo Gwang-uk, was actually a little surprised.
He hadn't realized it while training with the blade-user Do Gwang, but facing another fist fighter made it clear.
*I’m not being pushed back at all…!*
The continuous motion of pulling his fist back and then thrusting it forward felt exhilarating.
And this was a duel against an elder, one of the cult's masters, as per the rules of the fourth test.
He once again felt a sense of gratitude toward Maeng Ak for teaching him this new divine art.
*Only the Lord, who also uses his fists, and I can feel it! The true power of this internal art!*
He still couldn't understand why Maeng Ak would teach him such an incredible internal art without asking for anything in return.
Of course, his loyalty and gratitude only deepened because of it.
The fight did not last long.
The one on the defensive grew weary of the fists coming from below, while the one attacking from below reveled in it. The match was one-sided from the start.
And at the center of it all was Maeng Ak.
Watching Jo Gwang-uk’s test, which ended more tamely than expected, he thought.
*Well, I guess I don’t have to beat him up.*
To be honest, it was beyond my expectations.
I even thought that Jo Gwang-uk might become the foremost of my subordinates from the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon.
For some reason, I saw a reflection of my past self in him today.
However, that thought vanished by the time the next contestant, Do Gwang, finished his test.
Do Gwang had surprisingly challenged the second-in-command of the Blade Heaven Lord.
His title was Do Sa-cho.
It was said that while he could use any weapon, when he used a blade, no one weaker than him could last more than four moves.
It meant that even if you were close in skill, if you were even slightly weaker, you would meet your death within four techniques when facing him with a blade.
In a way, he was the person most students would want to avoid.
He was even stronger than the opponents Chang On and Jo Gwang-uk had chosen.
But Do Gwang looked confident.
*Ssk.*
I could tell from the way he looked at me, smiled, and raised his fist in salute.
In truth, Do Gwang was the one, including Ha Gyeong, who had benefited the most from the internal art in Maeng Ak's group.
It was as if it blended perfectly with his damnably fiery temperament.
Normally, his impatient and foul temper would disrupt the flow of his internal energy.
But when he encountered the Divine Arts of the Green Forest Tiger, which not only accommodated such a temperament but also drew out even more of his potential, its effects were magnified.
*Shhh-ing!*
The blade he drew seemed to prove it, its ring filling the entire training stage.