Chapter 18: The Awakening Gate (1)
Chapter 18: The Awakening Gate (1)
The days of swirling carnal revelry had come to an end, and before I knew it, we were spending sweet, ordinary moments together like any other couple.
As I cooked for her, Chi-chi—who was lounging lazily while simultaneously demonstrating her mastery of Qi-Driven Spear Control to enhance her proficiency with the Asura Demon Spear—suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, Master. This may seem abrupt, but I have something to ask."
"What is it?"
"Seeing your behavior, which could serve as the very model of the Lust Demon, it's clear you won't be satisfied with me alone. No doubt you'll soon set out to find new females, but before that, there's something you must decide."
"Something to decide? Don't tell me you're about to bring up some outdated nonsense about how, since you were the first to become my wife, you should be the principal consort?"
"...Hmph. It's not that."
The way she bristled suggested that had indeed been on her mind. Then again, it was only natural—as the first woman deemed worthy to stand by my side, such feelings were inevitable.
The Heavenly Demon's pride was immeasurable. Even now, after being subdued by my cock, she still exuded an imperious dominance toward everyone but me.
True to her nature, Chi-chi wouldn't easily treat other women as equals, even if I brought them in. Of course, if I pumped her cunt full of thick cum, she'd reluctantly give in and accept them. But that didn't seem to be all she wanted to say.
"You'll continue your Lust Demon ways, won't you? Flaunting that lower body of yours, fucking countless female martial artists into submission."
"Exactly. Subduing powerful female warriors with my manhood is the pride and purpose of a Lust Demon."
"Right. But the world isn't a place where one can survive alone."
Chi-chi, who had suddenly spouted something philosophical, sat up and stared straight at me. The emotion in her eyes was unmistakably concern.
Had she always been capable of such an expression?
Or had I made her this way?
"The first thing I intended to do after leaving the Secret Cave was return to Xinjiang. Even a Heavenly Demon cannot bear the weight of the world alone. Destruction is one thing—endurance is another. So I planned to make the countless subordinates of the Divine Cult my own."
In the original story, that's exactly what she did. On her way back to Xinjiang, she encountered Poison Phoenix, whose overflowing talent made her so uneasy that she killed her on the spot before seizing control of the Heavenly Demon Cult without hesitation.
She never suspected that there were three more geniuses in the world who, though not her equal, could still rival her.
Thanks to that, she was defeated by the original protagonist (Namgung Gang-o, my former self) and later incorporated into the story as both the final boss and a heroine.
"The reason I bring this up is to tell you to prepare in advance. It's fine to act as a Lust Demon in the manner of Mara, but if you rely solely on your strength and recklessly force yourself on others like you did with me, you'll soon become a public enemy of murim and be hunted down. I... already don't want to lose my husband."
"Hah. So that's what you were worried about? Oh, poor thing."
"...Are you taking my words seriously?"
"Of course I am. Who do you think you're talking to? How could I ever dismiss the words of my beloved wife and personal cocksleeve, Chi-chi?"
I hugged her teasingly, patting the world's finest ass. Wrapping her in the warmth of my yang-infused body, I felt her trembling subside.
Now that her anxiety had faded, Chi-chi's ears reddened as if embarrassed by her earlier unease.
As I found her adorable, I also gave proper thought to her concerns.
Truthfully, I had been pondering the same issue for a long time.
Even if there exists a Number One Under Heaven, there is no such thing as an invincible martial artist.
Did Xiang Yu just randomly lose to Liu Bang at the last moment and collapse for no reason? Did Lü Bu just randomly kneel before Cao Cao in Romance of the Three Kingdoms for no reason?
Even the Number One Under Heaven has limits—and that remains true even if one transcends mortality through Ascending to Immortality and becomes an Immortal who defies physical laws.
What this means is that fighting the entire world is pure madness.
And for someone like me, who plans to fuck my way through female martial artists both beyond the frontier and in the Central Plains, isolation would be the perfect way to get myself killed. That's why I had seriously considered this problem long ago and, in the process, devised an excellent solution.
"I've thought about your concerns too, Chi-chi. If it came down to life and death, I'm confident I could withstand even a joint attack from the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon—but as a Lust Demon, I shouldn't have to risk my life in the first place."
"So in the end, you were just thinking about how to fuck more women."
"Pretty much. And I came to one conclusion."
"And that is?"
"The Mysterious Sect. Specifically, I intend to create a righteous-aligned, One-Person Inheritance Mysterious Sect—and become its sect leader."
A One-Person Inheritance Mysterious Sect didn't have to be known to the world for that to make sense. After all, a Mysterious Sect was exactly the kind of sect that could possess any martial art whatsoever without it seeming strange—as long as it wasn't a Demonic Art.
The reason no one would find it odd if an expert from a Mysterious Sect suddenly appeared was the attention-seeking nature of martial artists.
Let's say someone was an expert. He would boast, "I'm an expert known by the title of ○○○○!" and show off his skills to his heart's content. There was no way he wouldn't become famous. Would the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Clan just sit still and leave such a person's information alone?
What if he were a secret weapon of some faction, patiently kept hidden away? The old-fashioned martial artists of the murim, who cried "sorcery!" at the drop of a hat, wouldn't believe in something like that.
Those old fogeys who peddled nonsense by shouting "sorcery!" whenever anything defied common sense thought there was no reason an expert would have that much patience.
Secret factions, secret sects, and One-Person Inheritances—the sort of things that popped up all the time in novels and games—could practically be considered clichés.
"I'm going to make it a sect that openly embraces sex. You know what they say: 'Heroes love beautiful women'? The Mysterious Sect's leader will go around performing chivalrous deeds, then openly ask the women he's helped to have sex with him."
"Demanding sex as a matter of course. How is that any different from the Lust Demon?"
"I just have to make sure I don't force anyone. I'll have helped them for free, so they can just think of it as a chivalrous deed and move on. I may want sex, but I'll never force them, and even if I get turned down, the fact that I performed a chivalrous deed won't disappear. Doesn't that make it a righteous sect? Usually, people hide things because they're ashamed to show them to others. But if you show them off as boldly as I do, even a load of bullshit can become the words of Confucius."
"Hmm. Is that so? I... don't really know."
Chi-chi openly wore a puzzled expression, as though she found it difficult to understand this new-concept Hero-Loves-Beautiful-Women Sect.
It really was a sect with such a novel and insane concept that the old-fashioned people of the Central Plains would have a hard time accepting it.
"And there's another way to prove that this is a righteous sect."
"You've planned everything thoroughly. What is it?"
"This Mysterious Sect may crave sex, but at its root, it's a Daoist sect."
"...Huh?"
At the claim that the sect was of Daoist lineage despite openly demanding sex and craving pussies, Chi-chi looked utterly aghast. Her expression said that this, at least, was something her brain refused to accept, no matter how hard she tried to understand it.
Since it looked like this would take a while, I sat down in a chair.
Chi-chi then boldly sat on my lap and demanded an explanation.
"Tell me. How can a sect that craves sex be dressed up as a Daoist sect?"
"To start with, what's the ultimate goal of Daoism? Ascending to Immortality, right?"
To shed one's human form and become an immortal. That was the ultimate goal of the Daoist sects.
And in general, there were two known ways of becoming an immortal: one was to die and have it presented as Ascending to Immortality, and the other was to attain enlightenment while alive and Ascend to Immortality.
"Chi-chi, you must have felt it sometimes, too. After having sex too many times, the lust in your head completely disappears, your worldly cares are wiped away, and your mind feels clear."
"I suppose I have."
"And men tend to feel that way especially strongly when they ejaculate. I'm superior, of course, but most males get that sensation after coming once or twice."
These days, they called it "post-nut clarity."
Unless they had specialized in the Sexual Art, even martial artists had no way of escaping this wretched fate. Still, if I had to name exceptions, they would have to be people born with an Extreme Yang Physique or those who were naturally endowed with incredible stamina.
And since they kept their distance from sex, they also ended up keeping their distance from sexuality itself.
The sexual culture of the Central Plains was so old-fashioned that it had barely managed to crawl out of the Stone Age.
Take off your clothes → fondle the breasts and pussy with kisses or fingers → ram it in and come → done.
Sex really did end with a process as crude and simple as the one above. I'd been so shocked, back when I saw someone who claimed to be a Lust Demon—other than me—rape a woman by just ramming it in, shooting his load, and leaving.
After that, I killed every man I came across who bore the title of Lust Demon.
Men like that were nothing less than an insult to the name of Lust Demon.
"In any case, the sect's goal is to use that feeling of liberation to Ascend to Immortality. It's Buddhism that avoids sex, right? Daoism doesn't particularly forbid it."
"U-um. Master, you do have a talent for making bullshit sound plausible."
"If it sounds plausible in the end, that means it's hard to deny outright."
"Sigh. Fine. This isn't the first time Master's done something insane, either. I suppose generous-hearted me will let it slide....But what are you going to name the sect?"
I'd had a name in mind for a long time.
"The Post-Nut Clarity Sect!"
From now on, I would be the leader of the Post-Nut Clarity Sect.