Path of Radiant Ascension
Most people have the wrong idea about the Heavenly Demon Cult's Ipmaso. They think that simply getting in means you'll learn the Cult's martial arts and become a master.
It's true that you learn martial arts at Ipmaso. But the training period lasts only a year. Can anyone become a master in a mere year? If that were possible, the Heavenly Demon Cult would already rule the world.
In the first place, if you haven't even begun martial training, you can't enter Ipmaso at all.
Ipmaso existed to sort talent. Those without it washed out. Only those who possessed a certain level of gift completed the program and earned the right to become true martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
So the real martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Cult only began after you graduated from Ipmaso.
That didn't mean the recruits walked away empty-handed. Prove your talent, and you could pull ahead of everyone else.
"Number 123."
The Head of Ipmaso had summoned everyone to the plaza and called my name. I walked up to him without hesitation. The countless stares boring into my back didn't bother me in the slightest.
"Congratulations on being selected as this week's outstanding recruit. I bestow upon you a Demon Heat Pill."
The Demon Heat Pill was an elixir crafted by the Heavenly Demon Cult. Swallow one and you could amass a vast quantity of inner energy; like the Wisdom Fortress Pill, it also helped when breaking through to the realm of Chulji.
"Thank you."
I accepted the Demon Heat Pill with both hands.
Ipmaso worked like that — confirm a recruit's exceptional talent, and they would support you with elixirs.
Not much use to me, though.
Standing on the verge of the Samjeong realm, I had no need for a Demon Heat Pill. I'd swallow it at a convenient moment and pretend I'd broken through to Chulji.
After that came training — how to fight many opponents alone. Honestly, I was skeptical it would help. In this world, you were far more likely to lose because of a gap in martial realm than because you got swarmed by numbers.
When training ended, I headed for the communal bathhouse. I usually avoided the place. I had zero interest in looking at other men's bodies.
Slip the instructor a little cash and a private bath is no problem at all.
In any world, money was close to omnipotent.
The only reason I'd come to the communal bathhouse today was Yeon Ye-ha. She was hunting for me using the hand from that photograph as a identifying feature. My cock had been in the photo too, but unless Yeon Ye-ha had completely lost her mind, she wasn't about to go around inspecting men's privates.
I'm going to take her again tonight… If I keep going like this, I might get caught too easily. So I need to learn other men's physical characteristics. That way I can pin it on someone else.
Not that I expected something that thin to completely fool Yeon Ye-ha. Still, it ought to sow some confusion.
I stripped in the changing room. Men stole glances at me. They frowned at the crimson demon tattoo sprawled across my back, then flinched at the heavy thing swinging between my legs. This world's setting was ancient China, and the average cock size ran smaller than the real-world Chinese average.
A wolf among sheep… no. A tiger had wandered into the flock.
I strode into the bathhouse with the thing dangling proudly.
And there, washing themselves, were Cheon Yu-un and Jegal Mo-sun.
…Cheon Yu-un is in here? Even if he's hiding his identity, everyone will learn the truth eventually…. He's got one hell of a lot of confidence in that cock of his.
More likely he was here to deepen his friendship with Jegal Mo-sun. Jegal Mo-sun would one day become the finest mind in the Heavenly Demon Cult, and Cheon Yu-un — knowing that — was laying the groundwork early.
"Number 123. I didn't expect to see you in the communal bath. Don't you always wash privately?"
Cheon Yu-un spoke to me. His eyes glittered as they took in my back — not in any sexual sense. He was simply registering, once again, that I was Yeom Gu-seok from the tattoo.
"I figured I'd wash quickly and head back today."
"Is that so. Your refusal to use the communal bath has been quite the topic among the recruits. Mostly…"
Cheon Yu-un let the sentence trail off, flicking a glance at my groin. Then he snorted a quiet laugh.
"Rumors really are unreliable."
I flicked a glance at Cheon Yu-un's equipment in return. I nearly laughed myself. His was large enough to earn the title of well-endowed. Compared to mine, though, it was nothing.
Once I'd washed, I stepped into the soaking pool. Cheon Yu-un and Jegal Mo-sun settled in beside me. Out of sight of the others, I rolled my eyes around the room, cataloguing the men's physical traits.
"Have you heard? Word is we'll be sent on an outside mission soon."
Jegal Mo-sun picked up Cheon Yu-un's remark.
"An outside mission, you say. Sooner than I expected."
The men nearby pricked up their ears. The communal bath was shared by Units One, Two, and Three alike. Before long, Cheon Yu-un's words would spread through the whole of Ipmaso.
"Number 366. Did you already know about the outside mission?"
"Before I entered Ipmaso, I paid a graduate for information. Information is always valuable. If you know what's coming, you can prepare."
"Then do you also know where the mission will take place?"
"…Last year they suppressed bandits some distance from the Cult. The journey alone took two months. I expect this year will be similar."
"It will be similar. And the second examination will be based on the results from that mission."
"So we'll be forming squads. I see why you brought this up. You want me with you?"
Cheon Yu-un nodded.
"Number 123. Will you join us as well?"
"I don't care who I form a squad with."
I answered the way the original Yeom Gu-seok would have.
"Haha. I like that confidence. Then consider yourself with us."
"…Number 88. I still don't understand your intent. Why raise this subject here and now?"
"There will be others who already know this information, just as you and I do. But there are also those who don't. I want to compete with them on equal footing."
"……I see."
Jegal Mo-sun looked at Cheon Yu-un with fresh eyes. Just as in the original story, he seemed to have begun to guess Cheon Yu-un's true identity.
As expected of Cheon Yu-un. He's working Jegal Mo-sun perfectly. Even I didn't see him pulling this in the bathhouse…
The story would spread through all of Ipmaso, and Cheon Yu-un's reputation would rise with it.
The Heavenly Demon Cult.
People called it a den of demonic practitioners, but in the end it was just a vast organization of people. Same as the orthodox sects — if you wanted to climb high, raw strength alone wasn't enough. Political skill was essential.
"Number 123. Leaving already?"
"I'm clean."
I'd also confirmed the shape of Cheon Yu-un's and Jegal Mo-sun's palms, and where their calluses sat.
The Heavenly Fortress System included a spatial transfer function. Once a day, I could teleport to a designated location. Certain specialized barriers could block it — but the barrier covering Ipmaso wasn't nearly sophisticated enough to stop the spatial transfer system.
Midnight arrived. I activated the Illusiter, turned myself invisible, and moved to Yeon Ye-ha's room.
She lay on the bed beneath her blanket.
Something bulged under the covers. A sword. Yeon Ye-ha was sleeping with her blade clutched in her arms. What that meant was obvious enough.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open. Her gaze swept the room in every direction. She must have sensed my presence, however faintly. I stood perfectly still. I did nothing at all — even the sound of my heartbeat I smothered into silence.
She didn't find me.
Yeon Ye-ha scanned the room once more, then closed her eyes again.
She seems stronger than before…? No. That can't just be my imagination.
Fortunately, the Demon Heat Pill I'd received that afternoon gave me a pretext to loosen the seal a little further, under the cover of having reached Chulji. Right now I stood at the third stage of Chulji. At this level, Yeon Ye-ha wouldn't detect me.
I moved quietly and crawled under the bed.
I couldn't just stand in the middle of the room trusting the Illusiter alone. The Illusiter, enhanced by the Path of Radiant Ascension, had a limit of forty minutes in the world of the Path of Radiant Ascension.
Whew.
I let out a silent breath of relief. Yeon Ye-ha wouldn't stay awake all night. Even a martial artist found an all-nighter grueling, and with tomorrow's training schedule, she'd be better off getting solid sleep.
…I should stay still for about an hour. She'll be asleep by then…? To be safer, maybe two hours— hhk!
Yeon Ye-ha's head suddenly thrust out over the edge of the bed. She peered underneath. Thank god the Illusiter was still active. Without it, I would have been caught. Confirming there was nothing under the bed, she pulled her head back up. The long hair that had been trailing across the floor swept upward with her.
H-holy shit.
That had been more terrifying than any ghost. My heart felt like it had clenched into a tight, shriveled knot.
Be careful. Get caught here and everything falls apart.
I'd gone to all this trouble to play Yeom Gu-seok and infiltrate the Heavenly Demon Cult. Months of work already. I couldn't let all of that go to waste.
I held my breath and deactivated the Illusiter. Then I waited for Yeon Ye-ha to fall asleep.
An hour passed.
The memory of her face checking under the bed rose again. I decided to wait another hour.
…Time to begin.
From my inventory I summoned a humidifier loaded with Soul-Dispelling Elixir and a spatial transfer scroll. If things went wrong, I'd tear the scroll and escape. Even if she detected my presence, I was wearing a mask — my face wouldn't be known.
Through the portable mini-humidifier, the Soul-Dispelling Elixir rose into the air.
With my heart hammering, I waited thirty minutes. It worked. Yeon Ye-ha showed no reaction at all.
Success again!
Considerably more at ease, I crawled out from under the bed. I rose and looked down at Yeon Ye-ha lying there. Still clutching the sword to her chest, she was deeply asleep. A thin thread of drool ran from her parted lips.
Even looking at her again, what a face. Still gets me hard.
Drooling in her sleep and still this beautiful. Truly the First Beauty of the Demonic Cult.
I pulled the blanket off. As expected, she was wearing her training uniform. I pried the sword from the arms locked around it and tossed it beside the bed. It hit the floor with a fairly loud noise, but Yeon Ye-ha didn't stir.
I kissed her. I rubbed my lips against hers and slipped my tongue into her mouth.
"Mmnh… nn…"
At first she turned her head as if uncomfortable, but she soon grew accustomed and accepted the kiss. She was by no means conscious. Her breathing never once faltered.
Even her breath tastes good.
While I savored her mouth, my hands stripped away her training uniform. When I unwound the bandages compressing her chest, her enormous breasts spilled free with a heavy sway. I activated Erogenous Amplification and caressed them. Her pink nipples — nearly as large as the breasts themselves — stiffened at once.
After fondling her nipples for a while, I finished stripping her completely bare.