The Joy of Solitude
‘Yes, Myeongjon? Did you say something?’
How much time had passed?
It felt as though I had been sitting there for hours, completely motionless, desperately trying to control the flow of my inner energy. Only then did I finally feel it.
Twitch.
Along with a sudden surge of energy that amplified with every beat of my heart, I felt the wild, turbulent flow of my inner qi.
Soon after, the flow grew fierce, and I could feel a sensation like waves rippling through me.
The turbulent flow of demonic energy coursed through my entire body.
Whew.
I regulated my breathing and carefully opened my eyes.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I looked around and gasped in surprise.
‘Is it already night?’
I had no idea how much time had passed, but my throat was parched and my stomach was growling fiercely.
‘Myeongjon?’
I called out to him, but there was no answer.
He did say he couldn't manifest himself for very long.
Though he was probably still watching me from somewhere.
Deciding it was time for a break, I walked over to the designated spot where meals were supposed to be delivered at set intervals.
There, sitting on a neat tray, was my food.
Actually, there were six trays.
‘They deliver one tray for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… which means two full days have already passed?’
I swallowed hard.
I had been so deeply focused on cultivating the Dark Demon Scripture that I hadn't realized how quickly time was flying.
For someone who had spent so much time in deep meditation, I didn't feel tired at all. In fact, I felt incredibly refreshed, as if I had just woken up from a long, peaceful sleep.
‘This is bad. I only have one month.’
At this rate, my wall-gazing vacation would be over in the blink of an eye.
I quickly grabbed the freshest-looking tray and sat down on a flat rock. Eating a meal after a hard session of cultivation was truly an unmatched pleasure.
Once I finished eating, I lay down and fully basked in my precious solitude.
‘Cultivation… I want to cultivate more!’
Surprisingly, training the Dark Demon Scripture was so enjoyable that it actually overcame my intense desire to just lie around and do nothing.
Aside from sleeping and eating, I spent every waking moment cultivating the scripture. Before I knew it, days would slip by in a flash.
Myeongjon would manifest briefly once every three days or so to observe my progress. His commentary usually went something like this:
To be completely honest, his remarks weren't particularly helpful.
However, he did teach me the knack of using the Dark Demon Scripture to suppress the Heavenly Killer Star.
‘I see. I will be careful.’
‘Is that so?’
He also gave me valuable advice on how to proceed with my future training.
In any case, during that entire month, I didn't have to meet a single soul, and no one bothered me.
In this absolutely perfect environment, my mastery of the Dark Demon Scripture progressed steadily. The training itself was fascinating, but watching myself slowly awaken to the path of demonic martial arts was an absolute joy.
My very first wall-gazing seclusion.
The month passed far too quickly.
To be perfectly honest, it was the happiest month of my entire life.
Having completed my month of seclusion, I left the Hall of No-Mind and made my way back to Red Moon Palace, the residence of the Young Sect Leader.
Was it because of the confidence I had gained from mastering the basics of the Dark Demon Scripture?
I felt incomparably more dignified than before. I was practically intoxicated by my own majestic presence, which finally felt worthy of the Young Sect Leader of the Demonic Cult.
"My Lord!!!"
"Yikes!"
The moment I rounded the corner, I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of a massive man prostrating himself right in front of my quarters. More importantly, I had just let out a highly embarrassing, undignified squeak without realizing it.
"...Are you alright, My Lord?"
"Ah. *Ahem. Ahem.*"
Fortunately, no one else was around to witness that except for this giant of a man. I quickly composed myself, slipping back into my cold, majestic persona as I looked down at him.
"Do you wish to die? I nearly struck you down with a lethal blow in my distraction!"
This was one of the key survival skills I had picked up while playing the role of the Young Sect Leader: when in doubt, start scolding immediately.
"Forgive me, My Lord!"
But why on earth had this guy suddenly appeared again? And what was with the "My Lord"?
"This humble Yeongho Bin! As I declared before, I wish to serve you as my master! I beg you, My Lord, please accept this worthless wretch into your service!"
Ah, right. That.
This Yeongho Bin fellow had sworn to dedicate his life to me to repay the debt of saving him from execution. And I had told him that I would make him regret not dying.
It had been a month, so I had completely forgotten about it.
‘I was just saying that, you idiot!’
Would it look too ridiculous if I told him that now? But I couldn't actually take his life either, could I?
‘I should probably just give him a firm talking-to and send him on his way...’
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I noticed a crowd of onlookers gathering nearby, watching us intently.
Ah, damn it.
‘How would a ruthless, cruel Young Sect Leader act in this situation?’
I had to stick to the script.
"Of what use could a wretch like you possibly be to me? A man whose only talent is turning red in the face and bellowing?"
"Ah...!"
At my cold, merciless words, not only Yeongho Bin but even the surrounding maids gasped in horror.
"I-I will do anything, My Lord! Even if it is working as a mere cook in the kitchen!"
"Absurd! Even a beggar would turn their nose up at a meal prepared by your hands."
I felt a twinge of guilt for being so harsh, but I couldn't stop now. Just then, I spotted the steward standing among the onlookers.
"Shall we employ him as a guard to watch over the latrines? What say you, Steward?"
"There are currently no vacancies in the Shadow Moon Guard. Even if there were, he would have to undergo a strict selection process."
"Did you hear that? It seems you are utterly useless, unfit to guard even a latrine!"
"Ugh..."
Normally, anyone would have given up by now, but my harsh rejection only seemed to fuel Yeongho Bin's stubbornness. Gritting his teeth, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"THEN MAKE ME YOUR SLAVE!!!"
This crazy bastard...
His desperate shout was laced with so much inner energy that my ears rang and the nearby windows rattled. The sheer volume of his voice prompted people in the surrounding buildings to fling open their windows and peer outside.
No, the volume wasn't even the main issue—the sheer absurdity of his request was mind-boggling. Who in their right mind begs to be made a slave?
As more and more eyes gathered on us, my anxiety began to spike. This was the ultimate nightmare for an introvert.
"See there? There is no way the Young Sect Leader would ever accept a worthless wretch like you."
A guard standing beside Yeongho Bin grabbed his arm, pulling him up, before addressing me respectfully.
"Young Sect Leader, please do not pay him any mind. This fellow is merely playing tricks to escape his execution."
"Execution?"
"Yes, My Lord. He challenged you and lost, so by law, he should have been executed. Yet he stubbornly insists that his life belongs to you to avoid his fate."
"I, Yeongho Bin, do not fear death, nor do I cling to life! I was prepared to die, but I only remain alive because the Young Sect Leader commanded me to live! Therefore, My Lord! If you will not have me as your slave, then order me to die!"
As Yeongho Bin slammed his forehead against the ground, I could feel the raw sincerity in his voice. So, if I didn't accept him, he would actually be executed?
I turned to the guard and asked, "What crime did he commit?"
"He murdered his superior officer for raping several village women. Bah! A wretched criminal indeed!"
"Ah..."
I had only known that Yeongho Bin was a highly talented martial artist who had committed a grave offense. I had no idea there was such a noble story behind his crime.
"Get up, you fool!" the guard barked, attempting to drag him away.
"Wait."
I raised a hand, stopping the guard in his tracks.
Deep within the headquarters of the Sun and Moon Sect on Gwangmyeong Peak lay the Sect Leader's Hall, also known as the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Though designed to block out all sunlight, the interior was dimly illuminated by the soft glow of dozens of candelabras. On one wall, the ancestral tablets of the past Sect Leaders stood in neat rows, and in the very center hung the grand emblem of the sun and moon, filling the chamber with an overwhelming sense of majesty.
There, Sect Leader Baek Mumyeong sat in silent meditation with his eyes closed.
The air around him vibrated, and waves of energy rippled in perfect harmony with his breathing. The dry air itself emitted a faint, crimson glow.
This was the phenomenon that occurred when one cultivated the Heavenly Demon Mind Method, the secret internal cultivation technique passed down through the Sect Leader's lineage. A person with weak internal energy could suffer severe internal injuries just by coming into contact with these ripples.
This was one of the reasons why the Sect Leader spent the vast majority of his daily life in absolute solitude.
Despite the terrifying nature of his cultivation, the Sect Leader looked as natural and relaxed as if he were merely breathing. In fact, his mind had already drifted away from his cultivation to the rumors currently circulating within the sect.
‘They say the Young Sect Leader was so consumed by his murderous urges that the Sect Leader had to dismiss all of his maids and guards.’
‘They say the moment he finished his wall-gazing, he took the warrior who challenged him as a slave and is now torturing him day and night.’
The cult members' interest in the Young Sect Leader—a genius who had awakened the Heavenly Killer Star at the tender age of eleven—was immense. Consequently, countless rumors regarding his vicious nature were spreading like wildfire.
‘They say the Young Sect Leader roams the streets at night, craving blood whenever there is a full moon.’
‘They say that after nearly being assassinated by the Murim Alliance, he has been capturing orthodox martial artists and stuffing them as trophies.’
Even completely baseless fabrications like these were being whispered in the shadows.
Though most of them were wild exaggerations, the Sect Leader found himself quite pleased by these rumors. However, there was one report from his informants regarding the Young Sect Leader's behavior that had deeply displeased him.
‘He frequently skipped his meals during his wall-gazing?’
The Sect Leader had received reports that throughout the month of seclusion, food trays were delivered at every mealtime, but the Young Sect Leader had left most of them completely untouched.
He had no idea what the boy had been doing instead of eating, but there was no way he could have cultivated properly in such a state. To the Sect Leader, Baek Yeon had always been a child who showed little enthusiasm for training. Though blessed with unparalleled innate talent, he was impatient, easily distracted, and lacked gravity.
His brilliant victory over his challenger at the Divine Demon Assembly?
That was merely the power of the Holy Fire and the Heavenly Killer Star, not an achievement earned through his own hard work.
‘What does Baek Yeon possess, other than the Heavenly Killer Star and a cruel disposition?’
Indeed, the Sect Leader still did not fully trust Baek Yeon.
To be precise, while he had mostly dismissed his suspicions that the boy's cruel nature was merely an act, he still found little else to respect in him. He had been deeply disappointed by the Young Sect Leader's weakness when he had nearly lost his life to an assassin from the Murim Alliance not long ago.
The Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Sect was the ruler of all demons... a position that demanded one stand at the absolute pinnacle of martial arts. Whether in internal energy or physical prowess, there could be no weakness. Such strength could not be achieved through innate talent alone; it required bone-shattering effort.
"The Young Sect Leader has arrived."
"Let him in."
It was for this very reason that the Sect Leader had ordered the month-long seclusion, and why he had summoned the boy today.
‘I will coldly and rigorously test the results of your seclusion. To see if you truly possess the qualifications to succeed me as the Sect Leader...’