Chang'an's Falling Moon Manor and the White Hand Divine Art (1)
I tilted my head slightly.
"So those... what were their names again? Gal something and Cheon something? The Ji-mil-won Chief and the Elder Council Chief."
"Gal Seong-ho and Cheon Yeong-bu."
"Are they still in the Demonic Cult, then? Which of the two took the new Heavenly Demon seat?"
"The position of Heavenly Demon is currently vacant. And strictly speaking, neither Gal Seong-ho nor Cheon Yeong-bu can ascend to it."
"Why not?"
"It's one of the Divine Cult's laws. No matter who you are, you only get one chance to challenge for the Heavenly Demon's seat."
"Ah. Is that so? Is that rule there to prevent situations like this? So the ones who failed to become Heavenly Demon can't pull any sneaky tricks?"
"That is one of the reasons, yes."
"Then are they going to pick a new Heavenly Demon now? Why haven't they done it already?"
"As I told you before, the matter has been postponed for now because of the crisis facing the Wi family."
"Until when?"
"This year's Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Five months left, huh."
"The Gal and Cheon families also need time to prepare, so they set a generous deadline. Both sides are hoping the next Heavenly Demon will come from their own clan this time."
The situation wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Five months. If I trained Na-rin properly in that time, she should be able to claim the Heavenly Demon seat without any issues.
There were no problems with legitimacy, and procedurally everything was clean.
"There's no rule saying a woman can't become the Heavenly Demon, right?"
"Strength doesn't care whether you're a man or a woman."
"Exactly. So there's no problem with you becoming the Heavenly Demon."
"If my skills are up to the task."
"That shouldn't be an issue. In that amount of time, well..."
I was already thinking about how to train this woman when Na-rin looked at me with a slightly suspicious expression.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Why are you doing all this?"
"What do you mean, 'all this'?"
"Even to someone as lacking as me, your martial prowess feels immeasurably vast. If you came to Xinjiang, the Divine Cult would suffer catastrophic losses. No... I'm not even sure it could survive."
"You can tell? I haven't even shown you anything yet."
"They say, 'Look at the grass and know the flower.' By observing the grass, one can predict what kind of flower will bloom."
"Hmm. Pretty knowledgeable, aren't you?"
Na-rin stared at me without answering. She was clearly waiting for a response to her question.
"There's no particularly grand reason. What I want is simple. To find clues about the Formless Poison. And to pursue the peaceful world I desire."
"A peaceful world?"
"A world where having power doesn't mean oppressing others. Where you don't use that power to harm people. Where you don't wield it however you please just because you can. A world where strength isn't used to solve everything."
"That's an ideology that doesn't suit the Divine Cult at all."
"I suppose so. They believe in the supremacy of the strong, after all. But even so, I can't just march into the Divine Cult and say, 'I don't like you people,' then smash everything to pieces. That would go against my own principles."
"So that's why you're helping me?"
"Well? Our goals align, so we're cooperating, aren't we?"
"Our goals..."
"And because you're beautiful."
Na-rin's elegant brows furrowed slightly.
"Are you joking? All men are the same. If you'd been some hulking brute, I doubt I would have been this eager to help you either."
"You're very honest."
"No need to beat around the bush about something like this. No point in pretending to be refined."
Na-rin gave me a quick sidelong glance before adding in a casual tone,
"That part of you... isn't bad at all."
Seeing her like that brought a smile to my lips.
I really do enjoy watching women act this way.
The process of growing fond of someone. The way their hearts change. All of it.
"Anyway. So, are those Gal and Cheon guys still in Xinjiang?"
"Even I don't know their exact whereabouts."
"I have some business with them."
"Even if you manage to find them, I doubt you'll get a confession easily."
"I figured as much. Hmm. Isn't there a good way?"
Making someone spit out what they know isn't easy.
If they were nobodies, I could probably make them sing like a canary with a bit of bone-crushing torture.
But not everything in this world can be solved with torture and threats. Besides, it's not exactly pleasant work.
"I'll handle everything related to those two myself."
"You will?"
"If I couldn't even manage that much, how could I dare speak of becoming the Supreme One?"
That familiar arrogance had returned. That charming pride.
The Maryeong Shindan in her dantian must have been working wonders. To think she'd regained her self-confidence this quickly.
"That's the right attitude. Yes. You need at least that much spirit to become the Heavenly Demon. Do you have a plan?"
"I have a few things in mind. Until now I couldn't act, but now many paths have opened up for me."
"Thanks to the Maryeong Shindan?"
"Yes."
"Good. Absorb it quickly. How are you supposed to survive in this harsh world if you're this weak?"
"Weak? I am at the Peak Demon realm. Aren't you being a bit excessive?"
"To my eyes, you look like a child left by the water's edge. You're weaker than Chae Ji-gyu, after all."
"Hah! When you put it that way, I have nothing to say! Even within our cult, Elder Chae was counted among the top ten strongest!"
"Oh. Is that so?"
Well, Chae Ji-gyu had reached the Transcendence realm at the end.
Thinking about it now, it really was a shame. Men of his caliber weren't common.
"Then what about the Tyrant King? Where does he rank?"
"The Tyrant King isn't ranked. The Demon King, Asura King, Ghost King, and Tyrant King are called the Heavenly Beyond Heaven and discussed separately."
"Why?"
"Because they were the great demons of my grandfather's generation."
"Ah. So they're one generation above, is that it?"
"Yes."
"Did they also challenge for the previous Heavenly Demon position?"
"The Demon King and Asura King did."
"That makes sense. But isn't it Demon Sovereign? Why call him Demon King?"
"The Supreme One of our cult is solely the Heavenly Demon Divine Lord. The Central Plains martial artists arbitrarily called him things like Demon Sovereign."
"Ah. There's that too. Well, people can call him whatever they want. It's not like they're going to carefully consider the internal affairs of the Demonic Cult when naming him."
I fell silent for a moment, thinking. So what should I do now?
"I will leave this place for a while."
Na-rin said this while gazing at me intently, almost as if seeking permission.
"What's the rush?"
"Do I have time to rest even for a moment? There's so much to do."
"No. You're staying here until you've completely absorbed that Maryeong Shindan. I'll also take a look at your martial arts."
"There's no need for that. I can handle my own martial arts."
"What are you talking about? Don't you see that? Why do you think I brought two Maryeong Shindan?"
Na-rin glanced at the remaining pill on the table before looking back at me.
"In your opinion, how long would it take to fully absorb that Maryeong Shindan?"
"...Even at the fastest, it would take at least a month."
"No. You'll absorb it all within fifteen days. Ten days if you're quick."
"What? That's impossible! How could you possibly..."
"It's possible. Because I'm going to make it happen."
Na-rin stared at me in disbelief, her eyes full of doubt.
"Let me ask you one thing. What's the fastest way to absorb inner energy that's entered your body?"
"...I've never experienced anything like this, so I'm not sure."
"You empty your dantian. You use up your inner energy until it's completely drained."
"Is that how it works?"
"You can trust me on this. I'm the one who knows this field best. For someone at your level, that's the most effective method. So here's the plan going forward. You'll fully absorb that Maryeong Shindan within ten to fifteen days. During that time, I'll also review your martial arts. After that, you'll take one more pill. Only then will you go do what you need to do."
"Ten to fifteen days... That shouldn't cause too many problems."
"Good. If you understand, let's start right away. Time is of the essence, isn't it?"
"Hmm. Then what should I do?"
"What kind of martial arts did you learn? It probably isn't the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, right?"
"You're asking something so obvious so shamelessly?"
"Isn't it natural if I want to see your skill level?"
In truth, this was rather rude.
Unless the other party revealed it themselves, asking about their sect or martial arts was indeed discourteous.
But Na-rin simply let out a small laugh and answered willingly.
"Have you heard of the Sosu Magong?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and circulated her energy.
The demonic energy flowing through her body turned her hands from pure white to a faint blue.
"Hmm. A famous technique. May I touch it?"
"Hah. Are you really asking if you can just casually touch a woman's hand like that?"
"We already kissed. What's a hand compared to that?"
For a moment, Na-rin's face flushed with embarrassment.
How could she be so easy to read? This was genuinely entertaining.
"W-well... if you must."
With her permission, I took her hand.
The moment I touched those delicate, jade-like fingers, I could clearly feel the chill. Though her hand was soft and supple, I could tell that ordinary attacks wouldn't leave so much as a scratch on it.
Of course. That was the nature of the Sosu Magong. When mastered to the extreme, it was said to reach the level of being impervious to blades.
"Please... don't keep touching it like that..."
When I continued to caress her hand, Na-rin turned her gaze away and murmured softly.
Ah. That sounded more like she wanted me to keep touching it. I almost felt like interlocking our fingers.
"I'm going to inject some true energy now. So I want you to operate the Sosu Magong to its limit. Pour out every bit of your inner energy—your demonic energy—into it. Understand?"
"...I'll do as you say."
Na-rin raised her demonic energy to the maximum and gathered it in her hand. I, too, raised my true energy and focused it on her palm.
"Hmm. Interesting. So this is the principle. I understand now."
"What? What did you say?"
"Nothing. Just talking to myself. You can stop now."
"No, what exactly did you understand?"
"What did I understand? This, of course."
I raised my inner energy and focused it into my hand.
"Would this become the Sosu Singong? Since it's not wrapping demonic energy around it, it won't have the extreme yin property and will instead become an extreme yang technique. But the principle is the same."
When I demonstrated it, Na-rin's jaw dropped. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
"H-how...?"
"Thanks to you, I've come up with several ways to develop this further. You'll probably become even stronger."
Na-rin looked at me with pure astonishment.
Sigh. If she's this surprised already, how will she handle what's coming? There are going to be so many more shocking moments ahead.