The Path of Radiant Ascension
Two weeks later, we returned to the Heavenly Demon Cult. Wrapping up the business at Baeksanseong fell to the Cult's Baeksanseong branch. We'd practically spoon-fed them the victory — unless they were spectacularly incompetent, they would have the fortress under their control soon enough.
The results of the trial were announced the day we arrived back at Ipmaso.
"I will announce the squads that completed their missions and accumulated the most merit, starting from the top. First Squad, Fourth Squad, Eleventh Squad…"
Bae Taek-ju, the Director of Ipmaso, called out the squads in a measured voice. No one objected to his judgment. When First Squad was named first, everyone accepted it without question.
First Squad was the cream of Group One — the best of the best. They had been assigned a far more difficult mission than the others, and in the war, Number 567 — Yeon Ye-ha — had shone brilliantly.
That performance earned her a new epithet.
White Mountain Witch. The name given to the woman who had cut down her enemies with white sword-qi on the slopes of Baeksan. That the character for "Demon" had been worked into her title meant she was now fully recognized as a member of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
"Next, the underperforming squads. Fifteenth Squad, Nineteenth Squad, Twenty-First Squad… In total, seventeen squads are demoted. Among them, forty-six will be expelled. I will announce their numbers now."
Bae Taek-ju read off the numbers. The trainees he named hung their heads. They would leave Ipmaso today.
They could leave the Heavenly Demon Cult entirely and join some decent sect, or they could enter another unit of the Cult and continue as its members.
The latter was overwhelmingly more likely. Once you had tasted the Cult's power, no second-rate sect would ever look appealing again. And surviving half a year at Ipmaso was enough to get you accepted without much fuss into other departments of the Cult. In a way, that was part of the Cult's design all along.
I swept my eyes across the assembly without turning my head.
Roughly three hundred left at Ipmaso, give or take.
Half a year of training remained. By the time graduation came, fewer than a hundred would still be standing.
In the original story, it wouldn't even crack fifty… but I can't be sure things will play out the same way.
I didn't dwell on it. As long as the original protagonist and the major supporting characters stayed alive, leaving the plot alone usually meant it would run its course more or less as written.
"This trial was special. You may have been tested, but you also worked for the Cult. The Cult does not forget debts of silver or of gratitude. Starting with the top performers, we will bestow spiritual pills. Number 567, step forward."
Yeon Ye-ha walked to the front. Bae Taek-ju opened a wooden case he had received from an instructor so that everyone could see.
Inside lay a single black pill. A sharp, clean fragrance rose from it, carrying pure demonic energy. Every throat in the courtyard worked as people swallowed hard.
"To Number 567 and nine other outstanding trainees, we bestow the Demon Crystal Pill. To the rest, the Ghost Shadow Pill."
The Demon Crystal Pill increased one's internal energy and purified murky demonic qi to a meaningful degree.
The Ghost Shadow Pill was roughly three grades inferior — it simply boosted internal energy when consumed.
"Number 88, Number 366, Number 123, Number 290…"
Bae Taek-ju called the numbers. Every member of First Squad, myself included, received a Demon Crystal Pill.
I narrowed my eyes at the pill nestled in its wooden case.
Honestly, this won't do me much good.
I was standing right on the threshold of Samjeong. All I needed was to cross a wall that was neither particularly solid nor particularly high — and yet I couldn't seem to manage it. A spiritual pill of the Demon Crystal Pill's caliber wouldn't help me over it.
I'll pretend to take it and give it to someone else. Namgung Seol or Namgung Rin wouldn't be ideal, though. The Demon Crystal Pill is specialized for martial artists who cultivate demonic arts.
After a moment's thought, I decided how I would use it.
The trainees were given a week of rest.
They were free to leave Ipmaso, or to train within its walls if they preferred. Most went outside to blow off steam.
Half a year in, the instructors' surveillance had loosened. Trainees and instructors alike had grown used to one another. At this stage, almost no one was stupid enough to cause trouble at Ipmaso. Only half a year remained until graduation; no one wanted to tank their standing with a last-minute screw-up.
What mattered was that the instructors had been given rest as well, and that the watch had gone slack.
I called Seomun So-ryeo out behind the training grounds, to a place where no one would pass by.
Yeon Ye-ha's beauty tended to eclipse everyone around her, but Seomun So-ryeo was a beauty who would hold her own anywhere. She was tall — only about five centimeters shorter than me.
Her arms and legs were long and lean, her lower body longer than her upper. Her chest was roughly a C-cup, more than a handful. Her hips were more developed than her bust.
She wore her thick black hair in a high ponytail that fell to mid-thigh.
Her face was clean and refined. Her skin was a clear white, her features sharp and well-defined. Her bangs were parted eight-to-two, leaving her forehead bare and open. She was a woman whose forehead was part of her charm.
"Number 123. What was this important matter you wanted to discuss?"
When I stayed silent, Seomun So-ryeo spoke first. There was a slight edge in her voice, but it was clean rather than coarse — the kind of voice that would have suited a news anchor.
"I have a proposal."
"A proposal? Let's hear it."
"Number 290. This is a proposal you may find rather offensive. I'll say that up front. If you refuse, I will walk away and forget this conversation ever happened."
"Fine. Speak."
Seomun So-ryeo answered with an expressionless face.
At a glance, one might mistake her for another Yeon Ye-ha — but I knew the original story, and I knew she was a woman of fire. A heroine better suited to the Orthodox sects than the Demonic Cult.
She had joined the Heavenly Demon Cult because she was a woman and because she had no root sect to stand on. A reclusive master had bestowed martial arts upon her — martial arts alone. Demonic arts, at that.
"I want to sleep with you."
Seomun So-ryeo's face went cold and hard.
"…I was aware you liked wine and women. But this crosses a line."
Wind stirred around her — the turbulence of internal energy drawn up in a rush. I did not answer in kind. Using my own energy here would have meant we were trying to kill each other.
Instead, I drew two wooden cases from my robes.
"Of course I'm not saying it for free. I've prepared payment."
I opened the cases.
Two spiritual pills radiated their presence into the air.
One was a Wisdom Fortress Pill — the single most useful pill for Seomun So-ryeo, who stood on the brink of Chulji.
The other was the Demon Crystal Pill I had received the day before.
Seomun So-ryeo swallowed. Faced with such extraordinary treasures, her killing aura faltered.
"…Number 123. Are you in your right mind? A Wisdom Fortress Pill and a Demon Crystal Pill… If you sold those, you could buy several pleasure houses and still have money left over."
"But none of those houses would have you in them. I want to sleep with you."
"……Ha. Unbelievable."
Fair enough. There was no madman alive who would hand over a Wisdom Fortress Pill and a Demon Crystal Pill just to sleep with one woman. The Demon Crystal Pill, in particular, was a treasure to any martial artist who cultivated demonic arts — and treasures were always better in greater numbers. She had already received one, but greed would still stir. The proof was that she was seriously considering my offer right now.
A month ago, this proposal would never have worked on Seomun So-ryeo.
But the Seomun So-ryeo of today was different. She hungered for strength.
She was spurred on by Yeon Ye-ha's performance in the Baeksan war. Ever since that day, she's been training every night. The reason she hasn't left Ipmaso during this rest period is so she can keep training.
The odds she would accept were roughly seventy percent. Unlike Yeon Ye-ha, she had no powerful background. She had no particular reason to guard her chastity at all costs.
"…I'm curious why you'd stake a Demon Crystal Pill. You'd grow stronger if you took it yourself, wouldn't you? Especially since you've learned the Star-Absorbing Great Method. You must need to purify your demonic qi."
"Are you worried about me?"
"I'm only asking because I don't understand."
"I have better compatibility with the Star-Absorbing Great Method than you think. The instructors who watched me use it were shocked. And I'm not so weak that I absolutely need a Demon Crystal Pill. I want you more than that."
"……Are you serious?"
"I can give you these right here, right now."
"And what if I take the pills and pretend I never knew you?"
"The woman I know isn't that kind of woman."
"…You're a fool. What do you even know about me… But I can't say it feels entirely bad."
"Then are you accepting my proposal?"
"……"
Seomun So-ryeo stared at the Demon Crystal Pill and the Wisdom Fortress Pill with greedy eyes. Then, as if cutting the greed free, she quietly shook her head.
"I'm worth far more than two spiritual pills. Selling my life for that little would be a waste of me."
"I agree. So I'll change the terms. One month. For thirty days, be my woman."
"……What is your goal?"
"Do you object?"
"Hardly. Those are good terms for me. So good, in fact, that I find them suspicious."
"There's no special purpose behind it. I'm simply confident that within thirty days, I can conquer you and make you mine."
"……"
Seomun So-ryeo's expression went blank for a moment. Then one corner of her mouth curled up, and she let out a short laugh.
"Number 123. I had no idea you were this entertaining."
"I'll take that as a compliment. So — will you accept?"
"……I need time to think."
I stepped closer and held out the wooden cases.
"As I said earlier. Tomorrow, same place, same time — I'll wait for your answer. If you refuse, return the pills to me."
"…You're really leaving the pills with me… You trust me, then."
"I told you I did."
"……Tomorrow, I will give you my answer without fail."
I turned and walked away without lingering. Clinging to her would only have backfired.
Seomun So-ryeo would come tomorrow. Of that I was certain.
Back in her room, Seomun So-ryeo set three spiritual pills on her desk and stared at them.
Two Demon Crystal Pills. One Wisdom Fortress Pill.
At the tenth stage of Ipsik, the Wisdom Fortress Pill was the single most necessary pill she could have. Taking it would raise her odds of breaking through to Chulji and guard against disasters like qi deviation.
Chulji.
The realm of projecting energy outward and imbuing that energy with one's will.
Martial artists who reached Chulji were called masters.
Seomun So-ryeo reached unconsciously toward the Wisdom Fortress Pill — then stopped.
…If I take the Wisdom Fortress Pill… I become a whore. Not for money — a whore who sold her body for spiritual pills.
She clenched her teeth.
No matter what hardships she had faced until now, she had never sold her body. Plenty of men had coveted her chastity, but she had fought them off or fled and kept it intact.
No. I can't break here.
She shouted the refusal inside her mind — and still could not pull her hand back from where it hung frozen in the air.