Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: There Are Still 2 Years Left
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A heavy silence hung between us for a while.
I had no idea how to respond to that question in the first place, and the context itself didn't make any sense.
For now, I decided to exercise my right to remain silent.
"...Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, right?"
Standing on tiptoes, Cheon Luri had been dangling from my collar more than grabbing it. She slowly lowered her arms.
Her arms must be sore.
"Lady Luri. I didn't come here with anyone from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in the first place."
I held back the harsh words about how the young cult leader didn't even recognize her own subordinates' faces.
I didn't want to mess up the kid.
Still, she seemed to understand what I was saying.
The sharp glint in her eyes softened just a bit.
"But how?"
Her questions kept coming, short and without context.
"Do you have some disease that kills you if you form a full sentence?"
Oh no.
My inner thoughts slipped out without thinking.
Cheon Luri puffed out her cheeks a little at my words.
Kong!
"Guhk—"
Her tiny fist slammed into my gut.
Who knew those slender arms hid so much battle-hardened muscle?
A massive wave of pain hit me.
"...Sorry."
The bully apologized a beat too late.
"Urgh..."
As I clutched my stomach and bent over, our eyes finally met at the same level.
Even after the apology,
Cheon Luri wore a satisfied smile curling just 1mm at the corners of her mouth.
Looking down on someone with that bewitching—no, arrogant—smile.
Even tiny, she was still the young cult leader, huh?
"That. Blood Wolf Sword Method."
Despite my jab, her words remained short.
No helping it.
I'd have to flesh them out myself.
"You mean the sword I swung during the Mind-Image Sword Debate was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Blood Wolf Sword Method?"
Nod, nod.
For real?
No wonder she reeked like a human butcher who'd sliced through thousands.
I vowed to log into Mind-Image Sword Debate later and quietly delete her from my friends list without a trace.
Playing around with the Demonic Cult's young leader wasn't enough?
Now a righteous faction junior wielding Demonic Cult sword techniques?
Anyone would peg me as a spy.
I didn't want to end up locked in the Martial Alliance's underground, slurping mala tang through my nose.
"Uh... I just happened to come across it by chance. Is it a sword method that's easy for others to recognize?"
I tossed out the question with a hint of unease.
Thankfully, Cheon Luri shook her head firmly.
Still, I thought I shouldn't use it in front of others for a while—
"Sword Demon. Don't know?"
The two words from her mouth halted my brain for a moment.
Sword Demon.
Sword Demon...?
I dredged up old knowledge for the first time in a while.
If you go the righteous faction route, you'll inevitably clash with the Demonic Cult regardless of your relationship with Luri.
The final boss is the Heavenly Demon, of course.
But by then, it's so late in the game that as long as you've grown decently and farmed enough, the fight isn't that tough.
The real wall was the stage before that—
The bloody battle with the Sword Demon was nightmare difficulty, practically a wall of tears.
You needed at least Peak Realm by the spring of third year to even have a shot.
...I felt the gap between game and reality all over again.
After two years, I'd barely scraped First-Rate.
Peak, then Fusion, then Fire Realm in the remaining two years?
Was that even possible?
Well, anyway.
Losing didn't mean instant game over.
Righteous faction trait.
Ganging up on a great demon is totally fair and square.
If the 'protagonist' loses, all the righteous faction folks you've built bonds with lay out a heavenly net (one that gets pierced seven times) and take down the Sword Demon.
But the true true ending—
The Supreme Under Heaven ending goes down the drain right there.
"Sword Demon, know him?"
Reading the dismay on my face, Cheon Luri pressed the question.
Here,
Whoa! Sword Demon! You know Martial World Grower? Sword Demon's the mid-boss of the righteous ending route and he's insanely hard, dodging every attack—
No way I could play it off like that.
"No. The nickname alone sounds pretty terrifying..."
I had to deny it.
Cheon Luri's eyes narrowed sharply.
"You know."
"I don't."
"You know."
"I said I don't?"
This brat.
She had a sneaky persistent side.
Grilling me through my perfect poker face like this?
As we glared in a staring contest for a while,
"Ah."
I sensed a familiar aura of the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art.
This tiny, insignificant feeling.
It was Daram.
Which meant my young lady would arrive soon too.
This scene, depending on interpretation—
Could look like a pedophilic lecher enjoying a secret rendezvous with the Demonic Cult's young leader.
"Oops. Let's talk more next time."
Time for a tactical retreat!
I vaulted over the wall in the exact opposite direction from where Daram was waddling over.
"Ah..."
Cheon Luri reached out with a startled look,
But a shrimp like her couldn't grab my hem.
Feel the height difference?
While retrieving the wolf pup who'd been pampered and rumbling happily in Chicken Master's arms,
"Da... Master. Do you know anything about the Sword Demon?"
Whoops.
Almost slipped up.
"Da? Hm. Sword Demon. From the Demonic Cult?"
Thankfully, Chicken Master just tilted his head with a question mark, not reading my true intent.
Here, time to rewire my thoughts.
Master is master, master is master...
"Yes. It's not on the Martial World Wiki."
"Jambaa... no, by seniority, he's from the previous generation, so of course not. And really sensitive info doesn't get listed on the Martial World Wiki. Personal details on Demonic Cult experts are the same."
"Why is that?"
Chicken Master gave me a slightly pitiful look.
"Say you were a demon from the Demonic Cult or an evil faction. What would you do if your deeds and atrocities were listed on the wiki?"
"Hm... Track down the writer and kill them?"
"...You sure you're righteous faction?"
But it's the right answer, right?
Guiding me to the conclusion through simple Q&A.
Master really has a talent for teaching people.
And as expected from an old-timer, he knew a lot.
"Sword Demon. Yu Ji-ryang. The guy called the Reaper among righteous warriors during the last Righteous-Demonic Great War. Famous among the previous generation experts, but hm, not even sure if he's still alive now."
He's alive.
"But you're not part of that previous generation elite, Master?"
"Hmph. I'm still young? During the Righteous-Demonic Great War, I was just a green kid frolicking in the mountains."
"Hmm..."
That means at least thirty years ago.
Whatever.
Meeting the Sword Demon is earliest third year—
Over two years away.
I can worry about it then.
While at it, I logged into Mind-Image Sword Debate and quietly erased her from friends.
"Oh, right. Speaking of, I saw you on the Martial World Wiki too, Master. That 'I'll marry whoever beats me' thing—"
Shweeeek!
An axe whipped out at eye-blurring speed, grazing past my head.
"You saw it...?"
"Eek...!"
Chicken Master transformed into a wrathful asura in an instant.
The chill of death closing in,
I hurriedly hoisted the wolf pup as a shield beside my face and dashed away.
"Kyawoo...!"
The pup growled in protest at being used as a hostage,
But I quelled the complaints with a gentle belly rub.
After escaping,
I checked my schedule while weaving through the streets.
Just one class left.
Herbal Medicine and Toxicology.
...I already knew it all anyway, so I was tempted to drop it even now.
But maybe I'd find clues on Geum Sihyeon's poisoning case.
Even without that, one class for easy credits wouldn't hurt.
I suppressed the laziness and headed there.
"Kyau!"
Following the wolf pup's bark, I looked up at the sky.
"Oh."
A bird was gliding leisurely across the heavens.
Birds have it good.
With wings and all.
Missing fast travel...
Why wasn't this implemented...
"...Geum Sihyeon."
Right after checking the enrollment list,
Dang Mok murmured the cursed three syllables.
By rights,
He should've been strutting his stuff in the Martial Alliance or his family, not stuck with snot-nosed brats overflowing at Hundred Flowers Academy.
In fact, he had been on a smooth path.
Excluding his slightly lacking martial arts, he was the top candidate for family head.
But,
Two years ago.
Everything went wrong.
He'd been extremely cautious.
Secretly poisoning the third son of Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress with one of his finest poisons—Soul-Severing Poison.
Not just twisted meridians, but toxin surging to the upper dantian should've killed him outright.
Yet,
"How... how is he walking around fine...?"
The thick question lingered unanswered in the air.
He still couldn't understand.
No matter the Life and Death Divine Doctor—even they couldn't detox it so quickly.
He might've miraculously survived, but his inner energy should've scattered, leaving him unable to cultivate martial arts ever again.
But how was he perfectly fine? Topping the entrance exam, even?
On top of that,
He thought he'd left zero evidence.
Who'd have thought the kid would sign up for this token class he'd only created for appearances?
No way he'd been found out.
Still, a chill ran down his spine.
"No, it's not."
Dang Mok muttered to himself again, calmly sorting his thoughts.
This was
A chance to achieve what he'd failed back then, even now.
He couldn't outright poison in the academy,
But 'accidentally' eating toxic herbs, mistaking herbs for poisons, or poisoning leading to ruin? Possible.
Or during midterms or field trips outside, seize the chance.
Yes.
Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress had to go.
Along with the traitors, Zhuge Family.
Dang Mok scribbled a secret code on a note.
Stepping out, he tied it to the Thousand-Li Messenger Pigeon's leg.
...Too risky to act alone.
He needed to gather the family's will—at least the conference's intent.
Watching the pigeon soar into the sky, tracing its path across the heavens,
Dang Mok idly drew the dagger from his waist and examined it.
The blade was dull.