The Heavenly Demon's Disciple
I stared at my smartphone for a while, still lingering on the afterglow of the post written by my fan. It felt like a good decision to read the T-Gall. I had checked it out thinking it might be entertaining, but by the end, I felt like I’d received some kind of healing. How should I put it? It felt as if all the wounds I’d accumulated over the past while had been completely swept away.
Of course, just because the wounds were swept away didn’t mean my desire for revenge had vanished. The Newtubers and streamers who had targeted me? I remembered every single one of their names. Because of them, even my family had suffered. Since then, things had become awkward between us. Furthermore, Soyooni, the only streamer who had stood up for me, had fallen into the abyss right along with me. In the past, Soyooni was a successful streamer with over a thousand viewers. But now, she didn't even get a hundred. It was all because of those who had targeted me.
Should I just endure this? No. Absolutely not.
I was no longer a half-baked superhuman. I had become a true one. I intended to use this to exact thorough revenge. Without me even realizing it, a smile spread across my face. Heh. It was a smile with a different meaning than the one from earlier. I wondered if others would think it looked somewhat ferocious. In fact, my clone noticed it immediately.
"That is a smile one would only wear right before a battle."
"Hm, really?"
"Yes. It is a smile I find pleasing. Is it perhaps because you are happy at the thought of establishing the Heavenly Demon Cult…?"
"That’s not it at all!"
Honestly, this clone of mine only knew about the Heavenly Demon Cult. It was no surprise she was the Heavenly Demon; her obsession was no joke.
'Sigh, I want to start streaming already.'
More than that, the community reaction was at this level already. I wanted to stream in real-time and feel the viewers' reactions directly. But today’s broadcast had already ended. Besides, the state of my house was too poor. I had to get it repaired first.
'I need to call a professional company.'
This wasn't the time to be idle. I had to fix the house quickly. Only then could I stream again. I quickly picked up my smartphone to look for a repair service. Fortunately, there was one nearby with good ratings.
"Ah, yes. Hello. I’d like to get some repairs done on my house..."
Unfortunately, house repairs took time. They said it would take about two days. So, I had to take a break from streaming as well. Of course, I couldn't just play around. In particular, my clone, the Heavenly Demon, wouldn't leave me alone.
"From today, we shall begin martial arts training."
"Sigh, alright."
I tried to stall for time, but I couldn't think of a decent excuse. So, I had no choice but to go into the spare room and practice martial arts with my clone.
"The first thing you must learn is how to feel your Dantian and internal energy."
"Feel my internal energy?"
"Yes. Even on Earth, there is a faint amount of Qi. You must be able to sense it."
According to her, an ordinary person could try their whole life and never feel internal energy. That was how scarce the Qi was here. But she said if she helped me from the side and I had the talent, I could feel it within 100 days at the latest.
"100 days? How long did it take you?"
"It didn't even take me a day. But that place had Qi so abundant it cannot be compared to this one."
"Hm, is that so?"
"Yes. Still, it won't take you 100 days. A month? That is what I am anticipating."
I didn't know if I should be happy about this or not. Especially since struggling for a month just to feel internal energy wasn't my cup of tea.
"Ahem, that… what about that Twin Cultivation Art you mentioned? If I do that?"
"Then you can feel internal energy very quickly. It won't even take a day! Are you perhaps interested in…!"
For a moment, the clone's expression brightened. A faint blush appeared on her face. Of course, I was just asking out of genuine curiosity. I had no intention of doing that with my clone.
"No, I was just asking."
"Oh… I see."
In an instant, her expression turned sullen. She looked somewhat cute, but I forced myself to hold back a laugh.
"Anyway, let's stick to the basics. We have plenty of time."
"Yes."
Still, I could stall for a month. It wasn't all bad.
"First, sit in a cross-legged position."
"Got it."
I sat down as the Heavenly Demon instructed. Then, she sat behind me. She reached out and placed her hands on my back.
"In this state, close your eyes and focus on your Dantian, just below your navel."
"Got it."
I did as she said. She had said it would take a month anyway. I planned to take it slow.
"In that state, breathe very thinly and deeply."
"Okay."
I closed my eyes and breathed thinly and deeply. As I did, I focused on my Dantian. Suddenly, it felt as if her hands on my back were becoming scorching hot. It was bearable, so I stayed still.
'But will this really let me feel internal energy?'
There were no martial artists in this world. There were only superhumans with special abilities. And yet, for me to become a martial artist… it was exciting, yet hard to believe.
'Stop with the idle thoughts.'
Anyway, even if I was learning it "by force," I didn't intend to do it half-heartedly. I was the type of person who, once I started something, did it properly.
"Exhale your breath a little thinner."
"Okay."
I kept breathing as she instructed. All the while, I didn't forget to focus on my Dantian. Of course, it wasn't fun. I was even afraid at the thought of having to do this for a month. But as I kept focusing, my sense of time gradually faded away. I could no longer feel the clone's hands on my back. I couldn't smell anything, and the sounds had vanished. I didn't even need to consciously maintain my long breaths. My breathing just naturally stayed deep. In that state, I continued to focus solely on my Dantian. My entire mind was filled with nothing but the Dantian. I wondered if I had ever focused like this before. How much time had passed?
Twitch.
'Hm?!'
Suddenly, I felt a faint movement in my Dantian. It was a feeling as if something small and indescribable had twitched. I opened my eyes at that sensation and looked at my clone.
"…!"
I saw the clone's face, looking completely stunned.
"Don't tell me, was that internal energy just now?"
"Yes… I cannot believe it. To feel it so quickly…."
It seemed even she hadn't expected this. It was the first time I'd seen her look so surprised. However, the shock was only for a moment. Soon, her expression brightened immensely.
"As expected of my Master! I believed you were a genius!"
Clearly, just a moment ago, she had said it would take a month. But she changed her tune immediately. I was dumbfounded, but I didn't bother pointing it out.
"More than that, I'm a genius?"
"Yes. This cannot be explained unless you are a genius. No matter how much I helped, there would have been a limit."
"Hm… that can't be right?"
I didn't have anything I was particularly good at. Everything was just average. Sports were like that, and so was studying. The arts were the same. At the very least, I had a talent for streaming. That was why I had fallen into it. Anyway, for someone like me to be a genius at martial arts. I couldn't believe it.
"Perhaps the reason I became the Heavenly Demon after 10 years is also due to your influence."
"Because of me?"
"Yes. If a clone has the talent to become the Heavenly Demon, how great must the talent of the original body be?"
When she put it that way, it made sense. However, I was conflicted about whether I should be happy about this.
'I shouldn't learn too quickly….'
If I did, the Heavenly Demon Cult would be established in Korea. And I would end up in prison. That must never happen.
"Perhaps it's not that I'm a genius, but that I'm being influenced by you?"
"My influence, you say?"
"Yes. We were originally one body. Since you became the Heavenly Demon, maybe I'm receiving that influence."
"That might be the case."
Of course, this was just a hypothesis. It wasn't certain. And in truth, it didn't matter much whether it was that or me being a genius. Either way, the result was learning martial arts quickly. I decided to end the training here for now. I had compressed a month into a day. It was too fast a pace.
"Let's stop training for today."
"That will not do. Since we have come this far, I shall pass on the full internal cultivation method…."
"No. I'm tired."
"No, there is no way you could be tired from just this…."
"I don't want to. I'm stopping here."
I was defying(?) the terrifying Heavenly Demon. I was a little scared, too. Honestly, my palms were even sweating. But for some reason, I felt like it would work. And my prediction was correct.
"Tsk, I suppose I have no choice."
She looked disappointed, but she didn't force me any further. My prediction had been right after all.
'Phew, thank goodness.'
It was fortunate that she was my clone. If it had been a normal master-disciple relationship, I might have been beaten to a pulp.
"Then, at least for homework…."
"No."
"Yes…."
I ignored even the homework and flopped down on the floor. I didn't intend to do the martial arts training half-heartedly. But they said if you're too hasty, you'll suffer for it. Anything in moderation was best.
"You lie down next to me, too. It feels good to lie down."
"Don't tell me? Asking me to lie down next to you, Master, have you decided to master the Twin Cultivation Art…!"
"That's not it at all!"
Honestly, that Twin Cultivation Art. I really needed to be careful. Perhaps, without me even knowing, I might end up being forced to learn it.
'I must be careful.'
I practiced martial arts for two hours a day. Honestly, even that seemed like a lot to me. If I had my way, I would have only done it for about 30 minutes. But the clone was firm about the training time. So, I had no choice but to train for two hours each day.
"The Body Tempering Art is an internal cultivation method to strengthen the body and meridians before learning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"So you mean I can't learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art right away?"
"Yes. That is correct. But if you master the Body Tempering Art, your body will become sturdy and…."
I even ended up learning an internal cultivation method called the Body Tempering Art. Ah, it wasn't that I professionally learned the meridians one by one. It was just that the clone guided my internal energy from behind, and I followed along with her movements—that was all.
"Shall I guide your internal energy once more? It might be difficult to succeed on the first try…."
"No, for some reason, I feel like I can do it."
In that situation, I succeeded in the Single Heavenly Circulation on the very first try, which surprised the clone once again.
"As expected, you truly are a genius, Master!"
"Ahem."
Seeing the clone so pleased, I trained even harder. I accidentally went over my training time by 30 minutes. Anyway, I had trained quite diligently(?) for two days. Now, I could definitely feel the internal energy in my body. Around that time, the house repairs were finished. That meant I could finally stream again.
I turned on the broadcast immediately. I had been looking forward to it so much that I just went straight for a daytime broadcast(?).
'How many people will come in?'
My channel had been gradually failing. It had reached the point where it had dropped below a hundred viewers. But now, it would be different. To be precise, I believed it would be. I watched the broadcast screen with a face full of nervous anticipation.
'Please…!'
Honestly, I didn't have high expectations. Just a simple(?) five hundred people? I thought I would be satisfied if even that many came in. But reality exceeded my expectations.
'Daebak! Is this for real?'