Chapter 200: Engagement? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 200: Engagement? (2)
If one had to put a label on it, the structure of the Righteous and Evil factions was akin to feudalism. Sects ruled over their respective regions, with the most powerful among them bearing grand titles like the Sixteen Major Sects and Clans or the Seven Evil Black Sects.
The Demonic Cult was different. It functioned as an absolute monarchy. Above all demons stood Mara, and acting as Mara’s proxy, the Heavenly Demon ruled over Tianshan.
For that reason, a war with the Demonic Cult inevitably became a total war.
The reason was simple.
Because the Righteous and Evil factions operated more like alliances of various sects, they had vast territories to defend. If they decided to protect only their central headquarters and abandoned a place like the North Sea Ice Palace, their alliance would simply crumble.
The Demonic Cult didn't have that problem. They only needed to protect the Heavenly Demon’s Palace. They couldn't care less if the rest of the region burned to ash.
Since almost all their military might was concentrated within the Heavenly Demon’s Palace, any opposing force naturally needed a corresponding level of power to break through. This meant they would have to scrape together every single master in the Transcendent Realm they could find just to launch an invasion.
Realistically, this was impossible. Unless the Demonic Cult suddenly harbored the grand ambition of summoning Mara to the Mortal Realm, such a united front would never happen.
And the ones who made up the core of the Demonic Cult’s power—excluding the Heavenly Demon, of course—were the Seven Demons.
The seven strongest Great Archdemons in the Demonic Cult.
Since the demons hadn't been strictly ranked in order, it wasn't an absolute hierarchy, but the title wasn't baseless either. Excluding the demons living in seclusion, they were undeniably among the top ten strongest.
And this time, Seo-jun had encountered no less than half of them. Four, if you included the Divine Priestess. It was a staggering feat.
Namgung Jin-cheon marveled.
"Hoo... It feels a bit strange to say this, but... you really did well to return alive."
Chun-bong was aghast.
"Y-you crazy bastard...! What on earth have you been doing?! Do you have three or four extra lives or something!?"
"I haven't died yet, so I wouldn't know..."
"Aaaaack!"
Tearing at her hair, Chun-bong lunged at him.
"You'll find out today! Let's count how many lives you have, you bastard!"
Die, Lee Seo-jun...!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
While Seo-jun was being pummeled by Chun-bong’s flurry of blows, Namgung Jin-cheon stared intently at him.
Suddenly, Namgung Jin-cheon’s eyes flashed.
"Still, it seems you’ve achieved something great."
"Ah, right. I forgot to show you."
Seo-jun, who had trapped the thrashing Chun-bong in his arms, gave a wide smirk.
"Watch closely, Geum Chun-bong. This is the future Heavenly Demon, Cheon Seo-jun."
The moment he circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, his consciousness drifted. His soaring soul perceived the world, and a sensation akin to omnipotence filled his entire body.
"Whew..."
As he exhaled softly, the interior of the Family Head’s hall fell silent. Chun-bong, still held in his arms, let out a sharp hiccup!
"W-what is this...?"
Seo-jun’s appearance hadn't changed drastically. A pair of large horns had simply grown from his temples.
However, his aura—a strange, oppressive pressure—weighed heavily on the surroundings. It was the kind of presence that made a person's body shrink back just by looking at him.
Chun-bong reached out a trembling hand. Seo-jun’s eyes followed it. Finally, her hand reached its destination, and—
"Ugh...?"
Seo-jun’s body flinched.
Chun-bong was meticulously stroking Seo-jun’s horns.
"Woah, woah... What is this...?"
She tapped the horns, rubbed them firmly with her fingers, and even licked one to taste it. She made a curious "Hmm?" sound before finally going nom and biting down on a horn.
"Ack...! Hey, hey, hey...! Wait...! Th-this feels a bit weird!"
"Mmph... What is?"
"Are horns supposed to have feeling in them?"
It felt incredibly, incredibly strange. The sensation was just...! Anyway, it was quite... something.
"No, these horns are incredibly sturdy, so why is it like this?"
It was no joke; he could pierce steel with these horns. He had even blocked swords with them a few times during battle, and he hadn't felt any pain back then.
Chun-bong shrugged with the horn still in her mouth.
"I dunno eiver."
"Gyaaa! Don't chew on them...!"
Somehow, it felt like their usual dynamic had been entirely reversed. Seo-jun hurriedly backed away, protectively cradling the horns on his head.
Namgung Jin-cheon, who had been watching them with a warm gaze, spoke up.
"You truly have reached a remarkable level... Though it seems my son-in-law doesn't yet know the details of his own body or abilities. Is that correct?"
"Ah, yes. That's right. I've only just reached this stage, so I think I need to do some research."
"Hmm... Generally, the higher the realm, the more important self-reflection becomes over physical training..."
"Then should I sit down and try meditating or something?"
Namgung Jin-cheon furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment, letting out a low hum.
"That... is something my son-in-law must decide for himself."
"Huh?"
"Has your growth ever been blocked until now?"
"No?"
"Then just do as you see fit. From what I can see, you'll grow on your own as long as you follow your heart."
"Aha..."
Seo-jun subdued Chun-bong, who kept lunging at him, by pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Ah, more importantly, Father-in-law."
"Hmm...?"
"You showed me the Sword Control Art once before."
"I did..."
"Fighting the Seven Demons this time, I realized that if I were just a bit better at the Sword Control Art, things would have been much easier."
"Indeed, the Sword Control Art is exceptionally useful when dealing with many opponents..."
"So... could I perhaps learn a bit from you?"
At Seo-jun’s request, Namgung Jin-cheon gave a small smile.
"Of course... Since the Sword Control Art is my specialty, there is much I can teach you..."
Chun-bong, who had been quietly listening while held in his arms, suddenly snapped her head up.
"Then while you're at it, show me that thing too."
"That thing? What thing?"
"The thing from the fight with Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven. The one with all the arms."
"Demonification? Why that?"
At the question of "why," Chun-bong looked at Seo-jun as if he were the strange one.
"What do you mean why? Because it looks cool as hell! It's badass!"
Chun-bong’s eyes sparkled as if they held the Milky Way. Seo-jun’s expression became complicated.
"Our Chun-bong... you have some strange tastes, don't you?"
"What? No, ask anyone else! Honestly, everyone would say it's cool!"
Seo-jun looked at Namgung Jin-cheon. He shrugged.
"I haven't seen it, so I wouldn't know..."
* * *
"Hmm... You certainly have unusual tastes..."
Namgung Jin-cheon subtly took a few steps away from Seo-jun. Surprisingly, Namgung Jin-cheon loathed disgusting things.
Feeling slightly hurt, Seo-jun picked up Chun-bong, who was currently playing with his extra arms, and gave her a shoulder ride. Chun-bong giggled, clearly enjoying herself.
"Wow! Six arms!"
"Yeah, as long as you're happy."
While playing with Chun-bong using his six arms, Seo-jun activated the Sword Control Art and unsheathed his Demonic Sword.
They were in a wide plain a short distance away from the Namgung Clan, just past the Family Head’s hall. Seo-jun and Namgung Jin-cheon stood on a slightly elevated hill.
To counter Seo-jun’s Sword Control Art, Namgung Jin-cheon also activated his own.
Wuuuung—
Namgung Jin-cheon’s sword let out a resonant cry. Namgung Jin-cheon nodded.
"She says she's proud to see her son-in-law growing so fast..."
"Oh, Mother-in-law? It feels like it's been a while."
Namgung Jin-cheon gave a bitter smile. It was an alien expression, as if only the skin of his face were moving.
"Perhaps there isn't much time left..."
Seo-jun’s eyes darted around. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before simply keeping it shut. He didn't know what to say.
This time, Namgung Jin-cheon gave a genuine, small smile.
"Don't worry about it... It's just the way of nature."
"Uh... Father-in-law? I'm, uh, the sprout of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons... you know. The... representative of Heaven-Defying?"
Whether or not his mother-in-law truly resided within his father-in-law’s sword, Seo-jun wondered if there was something he could do to help.
But Namgung Jin-cheon shook his head.
"No... Don't do that... Regardless of what the Heavens say, it would be a terrible thing to do to my wife... If I only pursue my own greed, she will be disappointed."
Indeed. If he had wanted to, Namgung Jin-cheon would have done it himself already.
If the sword of the Namgung Clan, which embraced the Heavens, were to turn against those very Heavens, tearing them down wouldn't be such a difficult task.
Though the Namgung Clan wielded the most righteous swords of all, if their direction shifted even slightly, they could become swords that achieved Heaven-Defying.
In fact, Seo-jun himself had referenced many of the Namgung Clan’s techniques for his Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
After closing his eyes for a moment, Namgung Jin-cheon eventually gave a bitter smile.
"I'm sorry, son-in-law... Could we perhaps continue another day?"
"Ah, yes! Of course!"
"Thank you..."
With a faint smile, Namgung Jin-cheon vanished in an instant. Even now, having reached the Fire Demon Realm, it was a speed Seo-jun couldn't easily follow.
Seo-jun’s eyes darted around. He was suddenly left alone with Chun-bong. A heavy atmosphere weighed on his shoulders. Chun-bong, who had been playing with his arms, was also frozen, her eyes darting back and forth.
Seo-jun spoke with difficulty.
"Ddu... ddu-tya...?"
"Woo-tya-tya...?"
He locked eyes with Chun-bong. Both nodding at the exact same time, they headed back toward the Namgung Clan.
He planned to go back and rest for now. Come to think of it, hadn't he just arrived at the Namgung Clan? It seemed better to get some sleep.
As he used his Lightness Skill while giving Chun-bong a shoulder ride, Seo-jun suppressed a sigh that threatened to escape.
'Is there really nothing I can do for Father-in-law?'
The back of the man closest to being the strongest in the world didn't look as large as he had imagined.
* * *
Searching for a way to change the subject, Seo-jun managed to come up with a suitable topic.
"How did that go? The thing about you going into seclusion."
"Huh? Oh... it wasn't bad."
It wasn't a particularly positive reaction either. When he stared at Chun-bong, who was trotting along while holding his hand, she subtly looked away.
"Well, I got a bit stuck... and it seemed like you were coming? So I just came out...?"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Whatever. You can just take it slow."
"Right?"
Chun-bong, who had been gauging his reaction, giggled. Still, she must have been bothered by it, because as soon as they reached their quarters, she grabbed her sword and headed to the martial arts arena, saying she would practice a bit.
"Good luck, Chun-bu-i!"
The sight of Chun-bong’s back, with her fist raised high, grew distant. Seo-jun entered his room with a chuckle.
'By the way, where did Noona go?'
She was nowhere to be seen. Usually, she would have appeared out of nowhere with a bright smile to welcome him.
"Hmm?"
Now that he looked, there was a piece of paper lying on the floor. No, was it a letter?
Wondering what it was, he opened it to find a short message written in an impressively neat script.
To summarize, it asked if he could come to Pyeonun Pavilion for a moment.
Pyeonun Pavilion was one of the many pavilions within the Namgung Clan, and it even had a fairly large pond attached to it.
'Is it Noona?'
Tucking the letter into his robes without much thought, Seo-jun made his way toward Pyeonun Pavilion. Moving with his Lightness Skill, he reached the pavilion in no time.
Since it hadn't exactly been early when Seo-jun first arrived at the Namgung Clan, the sun had already set, and a gentle darkness had settled in.
Admiring the white hydrangeas blooming around the area, he stepped into Pyeonun Pavilion. Beneath its roof, Namgung Su-ah stood with her back turned.
"Noona?"
As if responding to Seo-jun’s call, her head moved.
"You're here?"
Then, with a radiant smile, Namgung Su-ah turned around. However, her attire was quite different from her usual style.
While her clothes were still in the blue family, her outfit was quite lavish, adorned with an elegant waist belt, earrings, and even a necklace. Her hairstyle had also changed; she was wearing a hairpin, which she didn't usually do. Despite the ornate attire, a sense of demure beauty emanated from her, perfectly complementing her serene aura.
For a moment, Seo-jun forgot to answer and simply stared at her.
Then, a sudden realization struck him.
'Wait. A hairpin?'
Surely, an unmarried woman only wore such an ornate hairpin during special events, right? Was something going on?
As Seo-jun stood frozen and silent, Namgung Su-ah approached him with a curious expression.
"How is it? This outfit."
She was beautiful. So much so that it was hard to express with his meager vocabulary.
He was at a loss for words since he rarely gave such compliments, but Seo-jun answered with the first thing that came to mind.
"It's pretty. I can't tell which one is the flower."
Namgung Su-ah giggled.
"Where on earth did you learn to say things like that?"
"Romance novels?"
Even he thought it was a bit of a pathetic answer, but he was glad she liked it.
"You read those too?"
"I read them for a bit a long time ago."
As Seo-jun fully entered the pavilion, Namgung Su-ah rang a bell hanging from a long string.
Ting—
Along with the clear chime, ripples of Qi spread out.
As if it were a signal, the Namgung Clan’s maids soon arrived to set a simple table with drinks at Pyeonun Pavilion.
Sitting gracefully before the table, Namgung Su-ah asked with a lingering smile on her face.
"This is a bit sudden... but can I ask you something?"
"Huh? Of course."
"About our engagement ceremony...?"
That one phrase. Seo-jun’s mind began to race faster than ever before.
'Engagement... ceremony?'
He had no memory of hearing about such a thing...? Was he really such a dumbass that he had forgotten his own engagement ceremony?
No, surely not. Joking aside, this was truly the first time he was hearing of it.
Then what was this?
'Emergency...!'
Bee-doop! Bee-doop!
The "fuck-up alarm" in his head blared loudly.