Chapter 19
Seven days and nights after my meeting with the Grand Military Strategist, I stepped out into the manor, using the sunlight as my foothold.
“Ugh.”
With every step, it felt as though the ground were swallowing me whole. My whole body was so heavy it might as well have been made of lead, as if I were walking with a boulder tied to my back.
Damn it. How much did I even move?
The aftereffects of the last battle still lingered. It wasn’t enough to call it an injury, exactly, but the heat creeping through my body was impossible to ignore.
More than anything, what irritated me was the fact that I’d been pushed around by that precious little demon.
Not only did I get roughed up by a bastard like that, I still ended up in this state.
No matter how I looked at it, the first priority was to raise my level of skill. I drew a steady breath and took a stance to gather my energy.
Let’s see if it works.
Wooooom!
I drew in demonic energy to its limit and condensed it in my palm.
The moment I thrust out a fist, bursts of explosive force echoed one after another, splitting the air.
It was Nahan-gwon. The fist technique said to be the root and essence of Shaolin.
The familiar flow of power began to surge outward… and then—
Chiiiiiik!
“Ah, damn it!”
A searing pain flared through my pressure points. In an instant, the flow of energy broke apart, and unbearable agony crashed down on me.
I had failed to unleash Nahan-gwon.
Why?
Either I lacked sufficient internal energy, or my use of demonic energy simply made it impossible. One of the two had to be true.
By common sense, the latter should have been the conclusion, but I’d had no problem executing Dara-jang or Banya-jang.
Which meant, in the end, that my internal energy simply wasn’t enough to support it.
Then did that mean that if I had enough internal energy, I might be able to use not only Nahan-gwon, but even the higher arts above it?
How the hell is that even possible…?
The longer I trained in Muryeong Shingong, the more questions piled up like mountains, and the fewer answers I found.
If I just kept advancing in rank as the manual described, would I naturally come to understand it?
Then when the hell do I reach this so-called Ilbaek or whatever it is?
The thought of going out to find some spiritual medicine to eat made the hidden Mahwandan I’d hoarded in my previous life rise vividly in my mind.
No one dared touch it, right?
That was when it happened.
Hmm?
Sensing something, I turned my head, and through the pale mist, a human figure emerged.
And who the hell is that demon now?
As I narrowed my eyes and stared, I quickly realized who the uninvited guest was. It was an impression that was hard to forget.
When you met enough people, you could usually make out, at least vaguely, what kind of person they were. And that man was a very clear sort.
If I had to put it simply, his face practically said: This is a crazy bastard you should never lay a hand on lightly.
“Oh? Well, this is a surprise. We’ve got ourselves a rare guest. It’s been a while, Left Guardian.”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa entered the manor without a word. The instant I met those eerie, blood-red eyes of his, a chill raced down my spine and froze me to the bone.
Come to think of it…
When Yeon Hong had explained the Demonic Cult’s organizational structure to me, she’d said that the title of Gwangmyeong Saja referred to the head of the Law Enforcement Hall.
Back then, it hadn’t meant much to me. It was none of my business. But now, the feeling was very different. I’d been told that the Law Enforcement Hall protected the safety of the Cult Leader and his heirs.
Which meant he might have come to hold me accountable for taking the Third Young Master under my wing.
“What brings you all the way out here?”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa said in a low, flat voice, “I heard something rather interesting, so I came to see for myself. I was also curious how you came to change so much. There were many things I found strange.”
His tone was surprisingly even, utterly at odds with the ice that had just run down my back.
I decided to relax a little. If he truly was interested, I could even feel a trace of goodwill tangled in his questions.
“Ha. Well, that’s something I’ve been hearing quite a lot lately. People change in all sorts of ways over trivial little things, so I don’t know why everyone finds it so strange.”
“This is the strange part, isn’t it? Even if you’ve shaken off your gloom, the cause of it hasn’t disappeared. And yet you act as if it has.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Gwangmyeong Jwasa.
“The cause? You mean my dantian?”
“What else would I mean? Did you forget that you came to ask the Cult Leader for advice?”
“Ah, right…”
Come to think of it, I had seen that in Cheon Sohyeon’s journal. He’d gone to the Cult Leader’s Palace and asked about his physique.
I cleared my throat and went on.
“I’ve decided to live differently now. If this is a problem I can’t solve no matter how hard I struggle, then maybe it’s because there’s a reason I have to accept.”
“It would be nearly impossible to continue striving while settling.”
“It’s not settling. Let’s say I’ve simply let go of some of the urgency. In the end, this happened to my own body. Won’t time solve it for me eventually?”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa gave a faint snort.
“And yet you’ve been running around rather busily for someone who says that.”
So he had figured out I’d met with the Grand Military Strategist.
“…”
I looked at Gwangmyeong Jwasa and considered it briefly. Would it be all right to tell this demon that I was opposed to the grand plan?
Since the Grand Military Strategist had already accepted it, it would probably come out sooner or later, so saying it now wouldn’t cause much trouble.
But…
It still feels damn suspicious.
His eyes brimmed with a red, rolling aura, and his face had the air of a rabid dog you should never provoke. I couldn’t quite bring myself to speak.
“I didn’t meet him because of my physique. I had a few things I wanted to ask about. It’s a bit of an awkward thing to explain. If you’re really curious, ask the Grand Military Strategist yourself.”
After a moment of silence, Gwangmyeong Jwasa spoke again, his voice heavier than before.
“Then how am I to understand your clash with the Third Young Master?”
A dense, suffocating demonic energy began to leak from around him. It was only a sliver of his true power, but it still carried enough weight to make breathing uncomfortable.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to shake my composure.
“What, brothers fight and scrap. That’s how they grow, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Every now and then you’ve got to throw a few punches and work out the old grudges. I gave him a proper lesson, so he must’ve learned something. He’ll stop doing crazy things one by one, and before long he’ll be grateful for it.”
I asked with complete nonchalance, “Anyway, you don’t seem to have come here because of my little brother. So what business brings you?”
It was easy enough to guess that Gwangmyeong Jwasa wasn’t here because of the clash with the Third Young Master. From the start, this mad dog seemed to care about nothing unless it involved the Cult Leader.
Gwangmyeong Jwasa smiled faintly and drew a wooden box from his robes, then held it out to me.
“Take it.”
“Huh? What’s this?”
On the pitch-black box, an ancient cloud pattern and a massive black dragon had been painted. The dragon’s Dragon-Subduing Pearl was lodged perfectly in the seam of the lid, and from that narrow gap, a strange energy leaked out in wisps. It looked deeply mysterious.
…!
It was the sort of sight that made it obvious at once this was no ordinary object—the image of a demonic dragon exuding a sacred aura.
“It is a divine treasure bestowed by the Cult Leader.”
“...A divine treasure?”
“It is your reward for having stirred his rare interest. Consider it an honor beyond measure, and do your utmost to avoid wasting it.”
My anticipation surged helplessly.
“Is there a spiritual medicine inside, by any chance?”
Gwangmyeong Jwasa nodded.
“There is a Mahwandan inside. Open it.”
…!
Thump, thump.
My still-aching body almost seemed to cheer.
What was a spiritual medicine? It was one of the world’s great mysteries, what martial artists called a fortuitous encounter.
From elixirs refined through alchemical methods to treasures born from the long accumulation of natural energy, their forms varied, but all of them boasted extraordinary effects.
Not only does it increase internal energy…
It was also superb for strengthening tendons and muscles, and for purifying the pressure points. In other words, it would be absolutely invaluable for restoring both body and mind.
Carefully, I opened the box.
Click.
Oh?
Through the white smoke spilling out as though it were overflowing, green herbs were wrapped around a pinkish-red elixir.
Unexpectedly, those green herbs were bursting with freshness. They seemed to be sustaining their vitality through the elixir’s energy.
It was a medicine that held such pure energy it made the name demon feel almost laughable.
As I examined the inside of the wooden box, Gwangmyeong Jwasa cut in.
“Mahwandan is one of the Cult’s most prized elixirs, a divine treasure not meant to be consumed alone. There are safeguards in place, at least to a degree, but…”
His gaze drifted over me, low and heavy.
“Even that may prove useless. Once your mind and body have settled, come to the Law Enforcement Hall.”
“…”
Was he saying he’d help me absorb the medicine’s power?
He seemed to think I couldn’t possibly refine it on my own, but that was closer to needless worry than anything else. No matter how vast the yang energy in the Mahwandan might be, it wouldn’t be a problem for me.
Heh. That’s right.
As for drawing in and storing energy, for me it was as easy as eating rice cake while lying down. I lifted the Mahwandan and studied it carefully.
The moment my fingers touched it, a fierce heat radiated through my skin.
The Demonic Cult’s power is even greater than I expected.
A spiritual medicine of this level would stir bloodshed throughout the martial world the moment it appeared, and yet they were handing it over so readily, simply because I’d aroused some interest?
Good.
Having made up my mind, I turned to Gwangmyeong Jwasa at once.
“I’m grateful, truly. But do we really need to go so far for this?”
The moment he reached out in alarm—
“What are you—!”
Gulp.
I swallowed the Mahwandan whole.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s eyes sharpened. His gaze fixed on Cheon Sohyeon, who sat in full lotus posture.
His face was pale, and both hands were wrapped in bandages.
He didn’t look as though he had fully shaken off the aftereffects of qi deviation, so even a hasty judgment could become poison in this situation.
…What in the world are you doing?
He could understand the urge to swallow a precious spiritual medicine as quickly as possible. It would not only mend a damaged body, but also prevent any disputes that might arise over the elixir itself.
However, if the spiritual energy was too potent, the matter was entirely different.
If a weakened mind and body failed to withstand the heat of circulation and burned away their own true energy, then even the internal power they already possessed would scatter to the wind.
Excessive spiritual energy could become poison instead.
Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s eyes flashed with something chilling.
However slight it might be, he clearly held goodwill toward the Third Young Master. After all, wasn’t this the person who had drawn the interest of the Cult Leader, the sovereign of ten thousand demons who would one day transcend the mortal world?
And yet—
“To think you’d reduce his rare expectation to such a wretched farce…!”
Fwoooosh—
Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s eyes grew even redder. As his surging emotions spilled outward, savage demonic energy spread, pressing down on the entire area.
It was as if a typhoon had struck; the grasses and trees all around began to tremble.
His anger was not born from the fact that the Mahwandan had been wasted in vain. It was something more important, something far more absolute than that.
How dare you.
What offended him beyond measure was that Cheon Sohyeon had dirtied the Cult Leader’s rare expectation in such a contemptible way.
Crackle!
With a sharp tearing sound, as though space itself were being ripped apart, power gathered in Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s hand. Just as his fingers twitched—
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, Cheon Sohyeon’s lower abdomen bulged outward, then both shoulders jerked.
“...?”
For a moment, a crease formed between Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s brows. That was the reaction of someone who had just completed the first stage of assimilation.
How?
When the yang energy of Mahwandan swelled, scorching pain usually surged in like flames at once. And yet the Third Young Master’s expression remained calm.
As if this were nothing. As if he had expected it.
The Third Young Master’s ability to sustain and absorb internal energy far exceeded the level Gwangmyeong Jwasa had assumed.
“…”
Gradually, the energy in the area began to settle.
He trusted in his own ability and made a move.
In that case, there was room for leniency. If this had not been the foolish greed of an idiot, but rather a display of faith in his own talent, that was at least somewhat understandable.
So long as he did not become crippled, he could use this mistake as a stepping stone toward further refinement.
Gwangmyeong Jwasa spread his spiritual perception wide and scanned the manor.
“...!”
His expression stiffened instantly.
What was the worst possible outcome for the Third Young Master?
The boy’s face was still calm, as if the assimilation of energy were nothing at all.
As he mulled over the mystery of that calm expression, Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s own face slowly crumpled.
“Kheh-heh-heh. So young, and yet…”
The Third Young Master had surely thought this before swallowing the Mahwandan:
There would never be a safer moment than this.
No one bearing any grudge would dare lay a hand on him in front of the Left Guardian of the Divine Cult.
So you chose me as your protector?
It was, in some ways, the most efficient choice. He would be able to devote himself entirely to refining the energy.
But the absence of an outside attack did not mean all danger had vanished.
Because if Gwangmyeong Jwasa so much as reached out, the fragile flame of life the boy had barely preserved could be snuffed out in an instant.
That was why a protector was normally entrusted only to someone one trusted most…
What kind of nerve did the boy have, to make a judgment like that?
Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s eyes sank deep.
If you fail to live up to expectations, prepare yourself.
Within his pupils, a subtle madness took hold, along with killing intent that rose even above it.