Chapter 311: To Violate
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 311: To Violate
Is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult going to be okay?
I had that thought, but I’m sure they’ll figure it out.
I can understand why they’re losing their minds over the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk.
Even I was stunned when I first saw it.
So I can only imagine how amazing it must be for martial artists.
Of course, seeing even the elders practicing it was a bit much, but they must have had their reasons.
They might have thought they could use it in battle.
And what is the cheat code for a martial artist?
None other than enlightenment.
This is a world where you can be struggling against a superior master, then add a spoonful of the all-purpose secret sauce called ‘enlightenment’ and suddenly your internal energy increases.
Of course, enlightenment alone can’t solve everything, and the experience you’ve accumulated must serve as a foundation, but you can’t deny the importance of enlightenment as a factor.
And such important enlightenment can be gained from the most trivial of things.
For instance, someone on the verge of being beaten to death by a pig’s trotter might reach a new realm.
Or a lizard might gain enlightenment while deeply contemplating a woman’s chest.
In that sense, the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk could be an excellent teaching tool.
It’s a new form of stimulation, so it must be sparking all sorts of inspiration.
What if the elders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult gain enlightenment from watching the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk?
Then we wouldn’t have to worry about the war.
If the Murim Alliance attacks?
The elders just have to show them the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk while using Sword Flux and Sword Rings, and that’ll be the end of it.
“We have a double-digit number of Profound Realm masters here. Are you sure you want to proceed?”
The Murim Alliance would probably whistle and reconsider their invasion.
Then, if we announce we’re going after Jin-ryong, the Murim Alliance’s forces might subtly side with us.
Unless they’re completely brainwashed, they’ll side with the one with overwhelming odds of victory.
No matter how strong Jin-ryong is, what can he do?
I’ve already subdued four Profound Realm-level spirit beasts, so his loss of power must be quite painful.
And in that situation, a double-digit number of Profound Realm masters attack?
Jin-ryong, if you act up, you’re dead.
…Of course, this is all assuming things work out miraculously well.
There’s no guarantee their realm will rise just from learning the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk.
It would be a miracle if even one of them reached the Profound Realm by the time we face Jin-ryong in an all-out war.
Still, the elders are masters of the Transformation Realm, so they’ll find some way to utilize the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk.
I entered a cave that looked similar to the Silver Dragon Cave.
Since I was learning the treasured martial arts of each elder, the exchanges had to be one-on-one.
“This old man is called Jo Jin-gang.”
The first person I was to teach was the First Elder.
First Elder, Jo Jin-gang.
How can a person’s name be Jo Jin-gang?
“I wish to pass on my blade techniques to the Young Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and receive the profound principles of the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk.”
Young Cult Master?
Isn’t that something like the cult leader’s successor?
I’m the Cult Leader’s disciple, sure, but I’m not at that level yet, am I?
Besides, I don’t even believe in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
…I get it.
Isn’t this clearly a power play?
He’s calling me Young Cult Master to try and get some kind of leverage.
Sorry, Jo Jin-gang, but I’m not that easy of a lizard.
“Is that so?”
I’ll counter with the Three Calamities Speech Method.
I didn’t feel it when I was with other spirit beasts, but a place with only humans could truly be called a warzone, even without swords drawn.
A battle of words.
A battle of justifications and positions.
My opponent is the First Elder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And I am the Cult Leader’s direct disciple.
For the sake of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I must defeat this old man.
Alright, bring it on!
*
This old man… he’s a better person than I thought.
“Keke, and that is how this old man came to be called one of the Three Wolves of the World.”
“The Three Wolves of the World!”
At first, he was looking at me with unfriendly eyes.
He must have been thinking the same thing as me.
Sizing each other up.
If I was the newcomer, he was the old guard.
But as we talked, the wariness in the First Elder’s eyes faded.
“Can you guess what technique I will be passing on to you, Young Cult Master?”
“Hmm…”
All I did was use the Three Calamities Speech Method and play along appropriately, but this old man was so pleased that he kept telling me old stories I hadn’t even asked for.
“Primordial Chaos Thunder Blade.”
“…Primordial Chaos Thunder Blade!”
Primordial Chaos Thunder Blade!
What’s that?
I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere, but I can’t remember the details.
I thought he’d find it strange if I said I didn’t know, so I just pretended to be surprised.
The First Elder laughed heartily, pleased.
“Hmph… Indeed, I knew you would be surprised, Young Cult Master. This is the blade of the Peng Family.”
The Peng Family?
I know them.
“…The Hebei Peng Family!”
“Kekekeke!”
The old man’s eyes were practically dripping with honey.
No, why?
It’s nice that he looks at me that way, but when it’s a man, it’s a little… you know.
And what have I even done to deserve this already?
“How could a wandering swordsman know of the Peng Family’s blade? In that case, I must start with this story. The story of a wanderer who defeated the patriarch of the Hebei Peng Family…”
This old man brought out some dried jerky and a crate of wine, then began to unravel the story of his past.
He probably embellished it a bit, but it was more exciting than I expected, so I listened with considerable focus.
Of course, I didn’t forget to react here and there.
“Such sorcery…!”
“Keke… That’s the Orthodox Factions for you.”
“This is no joke! How cowardly of the Hebei Peng Family!”
Mmm, this jerky is tastier than I thought.
“In the end, they even deployed the Heaven and Earth Dragnet…”
“So what happened to Jo Jin-gang, one of the Three Wolves of the World?”
I should ask this old man to pack some for me.
And so, we emptied the crate of wine and finished off all the jerky.
“Hahat, I think we get along great, Young Cult Master!”
Jo Jin-gang.
I was wary at first, but now I need to make some revisions.
“Ah, instead of this, how about we create an event for harmony with the followers? We were already planning one, and if the Young Cult Master would grace us with his presence…”
From the First Elder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, to just an old man who missed having company.
*
I interacted with the other elders besides the First Elder.
“Welcome, Hui. I shall pass on the Ice-White Divine Art to you.”
Baek Seol-hwa was among them.
“W-wait? Where are you burrowing into? What you’re doing right now is a crime, you know?”
Of course, I was more focused on exploring that internal energy pouch of hers than on learning martial arts.
“The Dog Theory? I’ll tell you about that later, so for now…. Hey, you lizard! Are you going to keep this up?”
It was a form of protest.
She definitely promised to take me to the hot springs, but she still hasn’t?
Even a lizard has a pure heart, and Seol-hwa has trampled all over mine.
“Jeez, come here! First, I’ll freeze you… When did you steal the dango?”
I dodged Seol-hwa and ran away again.
Doing this in a human body instead of a lizard’s feels a little different.
In truth, it’s nearly impossible to master a martial art in such a short time.
Especially since the martial arts the elders were demonstrating were of a high level.
I’d be lucky to just learn a few forms.
The elders must have known that, which is why they showed me their techniques without hesitation.
Because they weren’t something you could learn just by seeing them once.
But who am I?
The owner of a cheat skill for the ages.
The wielder of the Reverse Scale.
It’s fine even if my body can’t keep up.
As long as I constantly think about the principles and watch the completed movements, I can copy the martial art with the power of the Reverse Scale.
In other words, this exchange organized by my Master is an incredibly profitable business for me.
I teach them the Heavenly Demon Moonwalk, and in return, I get to snatch up all the elders’ secret techniques.
My proficiency with not only swords and blades but all sorts of weaponry was bound to increase, and I even mastered techniques I thought didn’t suit me, like fist arts.
Broadening my range of skills means I can create more variables, which will be a great advantage in future battles.
After popping the dango from Seol-hwa’s pouch into my mouth, I walked toward my next destination.
To find the next sucker.
No, the next great person who will provide me with heartwarming support.
The one I’m to receive teachings from this time is not a human, but a spirit beast.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, being a spirit-beast-friendly group, was allied with other spirit beasts.
A few spirit beasts had settled here and lived symbiotically, but among them were also those who reigned as the leader of a region, like the Snake Queen.
They possessed power and status comparable to the elders.
And being allied with humans meant they were interested in humans, so naturally, they were learning martial arts to use in their human forms.
A status similar to an elder.
Human martial arts.
Since they had both, they met all the conditions for an ‘exchange’ with me.
I heard that the spirit beast I’m meeting this time came not from the 100,000 Great Mountains, but from somewhere even farther away.
That’s why I’m even more excited.
I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of spirit beast will greet me.
And so, I walked to the meeting place.
Just as the Snake Queen was staying with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, this spirit beast was also a regional leader currently residing within the cult’s grounds.
They said it had taken refuge here for some reason, but I didn’t hear the details.
The place I arrived at was a smaller cave than I expected.
Seeing the size of the building assigned to the Snake Queen, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult doesn’t seem to spare any support for its allies, so why would it be living in a place like this?
It seems to be a rather frugal spirit beast.
That makes things easier.
For some reason, I feel like we’ll get along well.
Should I say I have a feeling it’ll be gentle and intelligent, like Chodo?
It gives off strong herbivore vibes.
“Grrrr…”
Look at that ultra-low frequency sound.
No matter how I look at it, it’s a herbivore….
Huh?
This sound is a bit familiar, isn’t it?
It gives off strong carnivore vibes.
“Ugh… what is it.”
Something orange began to stir in a corner of the cave.
“It’s not mealtime, so why are you here… Ah, right, she said so.”
A woman with orange hair stretched her arms out wide, like a cat stretching.
Even without using Dragon Eye, I could immediately tell what species she was.
Orange hair with black stripes.
The ears and tail of a feline.
No matter how I looked at it, that was a tiger.
The only problem was, she wasn’t wearing any clothes.
To be precise, she was barely covering the important parts with bandages.
“Ugh… what a pain…”
Still, seeing her fumbling around with something, it seemed like she was thinking of putting on some clothes.
Thank goodness.
I almost spent the whole day going gerong-gerong.
I was waiting at the cave entrance for her to get dressed when it happened.
“What, it’s a lizard?”
Golden eyes flashed in the darkness.
Can spirit beasts tell I’m not human at a single glance?
Or does this one have eyes similar to mine?
I watched her actions, a little tense.
“By the way… what was I supposed to do again?”
The tiger yawned so wide it looked like her mouth would tear.
She seems to sleep a lot.
Just like a feline, which is nice.
I’d actually wanted to meet a tiger spirit beast at least once.
I may prefer reptiles, but tigers have their own unique charm.
Honestly, tigers are more fitting for the title ‘king of carnivores’ than lions.
“…Was I supposed to get an invigoration boost?”
Lions are the best.
The orange-haired woman, half-crouched, beckoned with her finger.
Was she telling me to come here?
But I am the Cult Leader’s disciple, and I have no reason to listen to that spirit beast.
If it were a request, maybe, but that commanding tone…
“Hey, lizard. Take off your clothes.”
What are you talking about, little tiger?