Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 120
>Chapter Title: Reform (6)
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Demonic Path Academy's Deputy Pavilion Master's Hall.
Yu Gok, who had taken over the martial arts education in place of Chu Il-hwan, was issuing orders to the instructors and receiving reports on the academy disciples' personal details and their martial arts realms.
After conversing with the instructors for a good while and discussing how to teach the martial arts.
“…What will happen to Instructor Chu Il-hwan?”
At the question from the instructor across from him, who had been explaining about the academy disciples, Yu Gok let out a light sigh.
“His dismissal from the instructor position is where it ends.”
“What? But that's too...”
“What can be done? It's an order from His Supremacy.”
“…It's truly regrettable.”
“It seems His Supremacy still hasn't dispelled his suspicions.”
At Yu Gok's words, the instructor across from him murmured with a regretful expression.
“It would have been better if it had ended this time. No one expected the youngest Young Master to withstand Chu Il-hwan's assault.”
At those words, Yu Gok also nodded with a cold expression.
“It was because the Young Master's realm surpassed our expectations. Even I didn't anticipate that he would reach that level at such a young age. Now I understand why His Supremacy pays such close attention to the still-green Young Master.”
At Yu Gok's words, the instructor nodded in agreement.
They too knew that Il-mok's realm had surpassed that of the academy disciples.
But even so, a disciple was still just a disciple. They had thought it impossible for him to handle the rampage of Chu Il-hwan, who was among the stronger instructors.
“…If we had just a bit more time, he probably would have died for sure. If we'd known, we should have aimed for a better opportunity.”
Yu Gok clicked his tongue with a cold expression toward the instructor's regretful face.
“Tsk. Wasn't this opportunity a stroke of luck? As they say, overthinking leads to a bad move. If we'd waited for a better chance, we might never have gotten one.”
Though they had schemed to use Chu Il-hwan against himself, he wasn't an easy opponent.
There was no ignoring the risk of getting their tails caught if they waited too long for the perfect moment.
The fact that he had suddenly fallen into demonic deviation while they were plotting was opportunity enough, one in a thousand.
Unlike the instructor, who still looked regretful, Yu Gok quickly shook off his regret and coldly contemplated future plans.
“Don't mind it. At least with him dismissed, an instructor position is now vacant, isn't it? We've gained a chance to increase our numbers, so next time we can handle things more easily.”
Between his cold features, Yu Gok's eyes gleamed with a serpentine chill.
* * *
A few days later.
Wi Jin-hak stepped out of the medical quarters with a refreshed expression, holding a stack of letters.
He looked down at the letters Il-mok had written for him one by one.
Small and densely packed, yet with lively strokes in the precise handwriting.
When Il-mok had first offered to write them for him, Wi Jin-hak had been startled by the handwriting.
But now, he was more astonished by the meaning contained in the words written there.
‘I knew he was a genius, but he keeps surprising this old man every time.’
Letters detailing in minute detail the reforms to be steadily implemented over the next five years or so.
The content was so vast that what Wi Jin-hak held now wasn't even all of it.
Over the past few days, the stacks of letters he had steadily received were piled high in his hall.
Wi Jin-hak was unaware that Il-mok, producing those countless letters every day, would collapse into sleep right after their meetings.
In any case, with Il-mok's help, Wi Jin-hak had finally grasped the outline of what he needed to do.
‘First, I should start with establishing primary education institutions and creating their curricula.’
About half a year remained until the first children attending the academies finished their studies.
It was an absurdly short time considering the volume of work, but it wasn't a big problem.
‘All I need to do first is prepare places for the new students to stay and the processes to teach them. Everything after that can be done starting next year.’
Identify the locations of each branch scattered across the frontier regions and group four or five nearby ones to designate as a single branch.
Ideally, the largest village among those four or five. Gather the children who complete academy there and conduct primary education.
‘We need to build dormitories for the children to live in, and to ensure their mental stability, designate holidays for them to return home.’
Il-mok had boldly introduced the concept of holidays. Since the reason for teaching demonic arts later was for the children's mental stability, it was only natural.
‘And since we're not teaching demonic arts to these young children yet, it's best to have them learn a basic internal energy method that can easily be converted to demonic qi later, along with foundational martial techniques.’
That basic method and foundational martial arts would be developed together by Wi Jin-hak, the military-affiliated warriors, and Hang Geon and his subordinates whom Il-mok had brought.
In addition, Il-mok had listed subjects to include in the primary curriculum. Since some would work in administration or medicine, basic arithmetic was taught, and doctrine was mandatory.
Along with that, education on basic morals that humans should uphold, tied to the doctrine.
“How does such a young head produce plans like these so fluidly? Truly an unfathomable child. Hahaha.”
Since Wi Jin-hak believed these were all created by Il-mok from scratch, rather than based on what he had seen and experienced, he couldn't help but be impressed.
“It seems Master's joke was half in earnest.”
Before coming to Il-mok for advice, Wi Jin-hak recalled the conversation he had with his master, the Heavenly Demon.
Wi Jin-hak was aware there were those targeting his youngest junior brother. Naturally, he had been furious and even suggested to his sky-like master to root them out.
To overturn the entire cult and Demonic Path Academy to do it.
But his gentle master had said he couldn't harm the innocent and added at the end.
- Such thoughts occurred to me. That perhaps they are Il-mok's catalysts for fortune. Heh heh heh.
That every time those guys stirred trouble, Il-mok achieved noticeable rapid growth.
And Wi Jin-hak himself, who had entered the Transcending Demon realm with the advanced demonic art Explosive Demon Net Sword Art, had noticed it multiple times while facing Il-mok this time.
That Il-mok was already approaching the Extreme Demon realm.
‘By the time the youngest reaches weak crown age, he might even enter Extreme Demon.’
It was an astonishing growth speed with almost no precedent in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's centuries of history.
‘That child has been in the cult for only a year and a half since joining, faster even than Master.’
Wi Jin-hak let out a hollow laugh and unwittingly shook his head.
* * *
Right after Wi Jin-hak began his full-scale duties.
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult followers across the frontier regions began moving busily.
Slash!
Thud! Thud!
In the villages where new primary education institutions were to be established, the sounds of chopping wood and hammering never ceased.
It was a bizarre sight.
Slash!
When someone who looked like a carpenter swung an axe once, a massive log split in two at once.
Thud!
Some laborer carried two huge logs, one in each hand, and moved them.
It was impossible for ordinary people, but they were all warriors who had learned martial arts. Merely low-ranking warriors whose status in the cult wasn't high.
Of course, that standard was purely the cult's.
If you ordered Central Plains martial artists to chop wood, move logs, or build houses, they would probably rebel.
But these did not.
‘It's the Heavenly Demon's solemn command!’
‘Not a single inch of error can be tolerated!’
With madness in their eyes, they simply devoted all their strength to carrying out the orders from above, like cult fanatics.
And those being ground down weren't just low-ranking warriors.
Somewhere in the main headquarters. In the residence of the Heavenly Demon's eldest disciple, Wi Jin-hak.
“Hup.”
“That's not it. Considering the children's development, instead of adding that form, how about changing it like this?”
There, led by Wi Jin-hak, Hang Geon and his former subordinates, along with several mid-tier experts of the cult, were researching basic martial arts and basic internal methods.
On top of that, they had to compile textbooks containing the foundational knowledge to teach the children.
It had already been several days and nights spent there, and everyone's under-eyes were turning pitch black.
“Whew.”
And Wi Jin-hak, who had been pondering something alone, suddenly stood up and left his residence.
The place he headed to was his master's abode, the Heavenly Demon Hall.
“We're short on people?”
At Wi Jin-hak's words, the Heavenly Demon tilted his head.
“Then just assign them more work, isn't that all?”
At his master's response of casually using people up, Wi Jin-hak spoke again.
“For now, the ones moving on the front lines are sufficient, Master. The problem comes after the Primary Demonic Pavilion's operations begin.”
The Primary Demonic Pavilion was the name given to the institution that would handle the children's primary education from now on.
And Wi Jin-hak handed the Heavenly Demon a few pre-prepared letters.
They were the ones Il-mok had written.
After reading all the letters, the Heavenly Demon nodded with a grunt.
“The instructors to teach the children at the Primary Demonic Pavilion and the escorts responsible for their commuting are the issue.”
“Yes, Master. The ones building the Primary Demonic Pavilion now or creating the curricula will have to build next year's facilities and curricula again starting next year, so they can't be reassigned.”
Instructors were obviously needed, and the escort issue for commuting was something even the Heavenly Demon hadn't considered.
Since they were consolidating four or five villages for education facilities and giving periodic holidays, the children needed to be sent back to their original villages or picked up at regular intervals.
The problem was that ordering such young children to travel those long distances on their own could lead to who-knows-what disasters.
“Since they're young and it's hard for them to walk, we'll need additional carriages to carry the children, and horses or other livestock to pull them, Master. But the issue is that procuring large quantities of horses or livestock would require collecting more money from the followers than usual or requisitioning livestock.”
Seeing Wi Jin-hak worry about impacting the livelihoods of the ordinary followers who followed the Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon replied with a pleased expression.
“Heh heh heh. Don't worry. We can just make more carriages, and there's no need to prepare livestock separately.”
“???”
As Wi Jin-hak looked at the Heavenly Demon with a puzzled face, the Heavenly Demon revealed the solution he had just thought of.
“Our cult has experts to spare anyway, so why bother using livestock to pull carriages? Just have the escorts double as the pullers.”
“!!! As expected of Master!!”
At the Heavenly Demon's wisdom of using people in place of livestock, Wi Jin-hak was impressed once more.
‘The youngest's cleverness might come from resembling Master after all!’