17. That Is the Purest Essence of the Demon
"Now this is fun!"
Jeok Mu-gwang's gaze was nailed to the training ground at his feet, now churned into a filthy mire of mud. The perfect 'circle' he had carved into the earth was nowhere to be found.
All that remained were hundreds, thousands of dizzying footprints and the scars of a ferocious struggle — proof enough of just how brutal a battlefield this place had been only moments ago.
Yayul Hui panted heavily, wiping away the blood that had seeped out through her torn garments, while Yu Ha, his usual sly smile wiped clean away, strained to hold up his faintly trembling legs.
Three hundred exchanges... no, more than that, wasn't it?
The first thing that surfaced in his mind was the saber wind Yayul Hui had hurled at him head-on, as if declaring she would break before she would ever bend. That ferocity of hers, rising to its feet an eleventh time no matter how many times it was struck down ten. Raw and unrefined, yes — but the wildness within it was unmistakably real.
The Yayul Family, indeed. A she-wolf cub of the northern steppes. She deserves praise.
Next was Yu Ha.
The boy had never once collided head-on, instead burrowing into every blind angle and muddying the flow of offense and defense.
That uncanny footwork... the Deluding Willow Step, shedding an opponent's force like a willow bending before the wind? Fitting for the young master of the Sun Moon Merchant Guild.
More than anything, it seemed to Jeok Mu-gwang that Yu Ha had not revealed the full measure of his martial arts.
Weighing the board from start to finish, concealing his cards until the very end. I can't say I like it — but that's simply his way. Either way, he passes.
And at last, his gaze came to rest on Yun Cheon, who was quietly meeting his eyes.
That one...
The center of everything. An unknown whelp of no discernible origin, dragged in off the streets.
It shouldn't be possible...
There was neither Yayul Hui's ferocity nor Yu Ha's cunning in the boy's movements.
And yet they were the most perfect of the three.
Like flowing water, his footwork had opened the road for Yayul Hui's furious charges, and when Yu Ha's cunning ambush was turned away, he had filled the gap in an instant.
This is not a realm that can be reached through training. That boy... he is reading the pulse of battle itself. If this isn't a genius born for war, what is?
Even while weathering the pressure of a peak-realm master, Yun Cheon had tried to overturn the very gameboard itself.
Jeok Mu-gwang rated that fighting spirit of his especially highly.
So he never drew his blade, and still... in the middle of facing this instructor, he had the audacity to conceive of such a thing?
Give everything — and if you cannot win by force, destroy the rules themselves.
A shiver ran down Jeok Mu-gwang's spine at that solution.
That is the purest essence of the 'Demon.'
It came closer to the Demonic Path as Jeok Mu-gwang defined it than anything else.
A savage, gnawing hunger for victory. A competitive fire that would yield to no demon alive — and Yun Cheon had it.
How could this not be a delight?
"Khek... KHAHAHAHAHA!"
Unable to contain himself any longer, a lunatic laughter burst forth, swallowing the sound of the waterfall and ringing across the training ground.
All that thrashing he had dismissed as the flailing of whelps — it had all been a ploy to deceive him, the master of the board!
Yet on his face there was no anger, only the cold thrill of a predator who had stumbled upon something rare.
His laughter spent, Jeok Mu-gwang swept his blood-lit eyes over the three of them in turn.
"Yayul Hui."
"Yes, sir!"
"Your saber is still rough, but the fighting spirit poured into it is the real thing. Every drop of blood you spill from here on will hone that blade sharper still."
"...Thank you, Instructor!"
Surprise — and beneath it, a faint flicker of pride — crossed Yayul Hui's face.
"Yu Ha."
"...You called, Instructor?"
"Your little schemes were useful. But the truly strong are never satisfied with merely setting the board. A strong one decides the board's outcome with his own two hands."
Yu Ha offered no reply, only a low bow of his head.
At last, Jeok Mu-gwang's gaze settled on Yun Cheon.
He wore the satisfied expression of a hunter who has just spotted his favorite quarry.
"And you, Yun Cheon — that's exactly it. You were the heart of this board."
He spoke the words quietly, like an acknowledgment.
"At this level... it was no mere bravado."
That single remark carried the weight of a thousand pounds.
Then, facing all three, Jeok Mu-gwang declared the trial's end.
"You could not beat me with strength. But you beat me at the test — and that is enough. I acknowledge your victory in this match!"
The moment the declaration ended, Yayul Hui's spent body swayed as the tension drained out of it, and Yu Ha moved quickly to steady her.
Jeok Mu-gwang gestured toward the pile of grade tokens stacked in one corner of the grounds.
"Whether it's coin won from the night brawls or winnings taken off wagers, it makes no difference. From this moment, all of it is 'spoils' — earned because you proved your own worth. Take it openly, as victors should."
That alone would have been a reward beyond all precedent.
But as Jeok Mu-gwang turned to leave, something seemed to occur to him, and he spoke over his shoulder.
"And... here is the true reward for this match. Open your ears and carve it into your bones."
"...!"
His voice dropped lower, more secretive.
"Do exactly as you did today."
At the unexpected brevity of it, the eyes of all three wavered.
"When the comprehensive evaluation comes, don't concern yourselves with visible rankings or the surface content of the tests. The true masters of the Hidden Demon Cave have no interest in such childish number games."
A meaningful smile curled at the corner of Jeok Mu-gwang's mouth.
"The eyes watching that evaluation will not belong to this instructor alone. There are those in the shadows who will weigh everything you are."
He pointed toward the darkness at the far edge of the training ground.
"If you want to catch their eye, you must prove yourselves not merely strong, but useful — just as you proved it to me today."
Having left his final words, Jeok Mu-gwang vanished into the darkness without a trace of regret.
"Of course, what each of them wants will differ."
After Jeok Mu-gwang disappeared, a heavy silence settled over the training ground.
Their joy at victory lasted barely a moment; his parting words had branded itself into all three minds like an ominous seal.
There are those in the shadows who will weigh everything you are.
The first to break the silence was Yu Ha. As if nothing had ever happened, he draped his sly smile back across his face and gave the mountain of grade tokens a light kick with his toe.
"Well now, this atmosphere is far too heavy. We worked hard for it, so let's claim the victor's rights first, shall we?"
Yayul Hui snapped back to her senses and shot back at him.
"Read the room, will you! Didn't you hear the Instructor? The comprehensive evaluation is the real hell!"
"Even bound for hell, one ought to pocket the travel money first. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Yayul?"
Yu Ha began counting the grade tokens with an infuriating grin.
Yayul Hui grumbled indignantly — and then her jaw dropped at the sheer scale of the spoils.
"Th... this is ALL grade tokens? How much is this?"
Even setting aside what Yun Cheon had taken from Muk Wi-jin, the total stakes of the night brawl exceeded a good three hundred tokens.
"Splitting it evenly three ways seems fair enough."
Yayul Hui said. But Yu Ha shook his head.
"Fair is fine. But this round's true man of merit is someone else, no?"
Yu Ha's gaze turned to Yun Cheon.
"The one who read the board, designed it, and then drove the blade of victory straight into the Instructor's blind spot — that was you, Yun Cheon."
For some reason, Yayul Hui accepted his words without argument as well. Struggling not to meet Yun Cheon's eyes, she muttered with her head slightly turned away.
"...Well. It's true, so."
It was the moment her pride conceded the truth of Yun Cheon's ability.
Seeing it, Yu Ha gave a knowing wink.
"Then let's split the tokens three ways first — and as for my share, I'll invest half of mine in Yun Cheon here."
"What? If you're giving it away, then give it — what's this 'investing' business all of a sudden?"
At the word invest, Yayul Hui frowned and pushed back, evidently convinced Yu Ha was running another scheme.
Yu Ha. This one never gives anything for free. This isn't... simple goodwill, is it? He's trying to entangle me in a relationship.
And if that was the game, it was more than worth playing along.
The night brawl had proven it, hadn't it? Ten grade tokens, multiplied into tens of times their worth in the blink of an eye.
Having made his decision, Yun Cheon spoke.
"Fine. I'll take that investment."
Yayul Hui still looked unconvinced, and pressed him.
"Hey! Why are you going along with this too? So what exactly is the price of this investment?"
Yu Ha answered with an easy smile.
"A price? Nonsense. Call it... a viewing pass, let's say — a seat closest to the most entertaining show in this Hidden Demon Cave."
"...Tch. If that's how you're playing it, then I've got no choice but to put mine in too!"
Yayul Hui snapped, "There's no way I'm letting that raccoon-dog be your only investor!" — and tore half of her own tokens away, shoving them into Yun Cheon's pocket.
Yu Ha merely shrugged.
In the end, Yun Cheon walked away with more than half of the entire haul.
He swept his share into his pocket without a word.
Once the spoils were divided, an awkward silence passed between the three.
No need to grow too close to them.
Even under the two pairs of goodwill-laden eyes fixed on him, Yun Cheon had deliberately kept a line drawn.
They were, in the end, children of the Demonic Cult — the enemy's side, whose blades he might one day have to cross.
And yet, at the same time, they had been his temporary comrades, the ones he had entrusted his back to mere moments ago.
...No need to get sentimental. Their goodwill, their investment — all of it is nothing more than a stepping stone toward shattering the Demonic Cult.
It was Yayul Hui who broke the silence first.
"That thing the Instructor said keeps nagging at me. Eyes in the shadows... I need to look into it my own way."
She shot Yun Cheon a quick glance, then flung herself into the darkness.
Next, Yun Cheon spoke.
"I have business at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
A short remark, nothing more. Yun Cheon, too, had merely announced his destination — and without another word of conversation, he set off at once.
Behind him, the iron rings bound to his limbs clinked faintly with every step.
In an instant, Yu Ha was left alone on the training ground.
He glanced back and forth between the two directions in which they had vanished, then burst into a short laugh.
"Honestly. One of them is transparent to the bone, and the other will never show her hand no matter what..."
His gaze lingered on the direction Yun Cheon had gone.
Jeok Mu-gwang's parting words flashed through his mind.
...Eyes in the shadows.
The sly smile drained from Yu Ha's face.
He means: show each organization watching from the dark a talent worth coveting.
In his mind, countless game records unfolded — every board on which he might place the long-game piece called Yun Cheon.
The cold, razor-edged light of a board-designer surfaced in Yu Ha's eyes.
The Inspection Bureau, the Black Shadow Unit, the Myriad Demon Hall... every one of them would salivate at the sight of him. The real question is which board deserves the finest piece.
But Yu Ha soon shook his head.
Yun Cheon was not a man who would ever move according to his designs.
That gaze that had never bent even in the depths of despair. That insight that pierced straight through to the essence of the board. And that savage, gnawing hunger for victory.
Right — there's only one thing he's after right now. A way to fix his body! The Life and Death Venerable, one of the Five Great Venerables — the Demonic Physician. And the Demonic Bone Metamorphosis Art he devised!
Yu Ha had pinpointed Yun Cheon's interests with perfect precision.
Which means the talent Yun Cheon needs to show is already decided, in effect.
Yun Cheon would inevitably seek to catch the Demonic Physician's eye.
"...The Demonic Physician, hm. How convenient. Even for him, winning that man's heart won't be easy."
A pleased smile returned to Yu Ha's lips.
"Yun Cheon — even you won't be able to refuse my help. Not if it means fixing that body of yours."
Finally, Yu Ha pressed out the last of the embers and flung himself into the darkness.
"Heh heh. I thought this would be a tiresome assignment, but the Hidden Demon Cave grows on me more and more. It's almost a shame to leave."
At that same moment, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
"I wish to conduct a transaction, Pavilion Lord."
Do Chan-su's aged eyes narrowed as he flicked his abacus beads.
It was that same whelp — the very first cadet ever to make use of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Isn't that the brat who ordered all those herbs for internal injuries...
Yun Cheon drew a pouch brimming with grade tokens from inside his robe and dumped the whole of it onto the counter with a heavy, clattering thud.
A full one hundred and fifty grade tokens.
It was a sum even the instructors of the Hidden Demon Cave could not lightly spend — and he had resolved without a moment's hesitation to pour every last token of it into his own body.
"I give you all of these tokens. From now until the day of the comprehensive evaluation, spare nothing — render every herb that aids internal recovery and stabilizes my qi and blood into single-dose pellets."
Return of the Cloud Dragon
Author | Chu Sang (Autumn Frost)
Publisher | Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Managing Editor | Editorial Department
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