Chapter 36: Receive the Challenger!
“The Myriad Changes Ghost Face……”
Yong Hyeon-seok paused for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Your father made it, but it wasn’t a demonic path relic.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“I mean it was an object that rejected the ‘Law of Demons’ that the Heavenly Deity sent down to the mortal world.”
Reject the Law of Demons?
It was a difficult concept, but fragments of knowledge from Yong Baek-heon’s memories surfaced vaguely. And Bongmareung, who was listening along, confirmed my realization.
The Law of Demons refers to eighty-eight precepts of law. This can be summed up in the four characters ‘Demonic Path Rules the World.’ In other words, it is a command to subjugate all things under heaven to the Heavenly Deity and his agent, the Heavenly Demon.
The path of the conquering overlord. It was the ideology of power that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult ultimately pursued, and its absolute methodology.
But if that wasn’t contained in the Myriad Changes Ghost Face?
It wouldn’t hold even a drop of demonic energy, so to the Central Plains martial world, it’d be no different from any ordinary item……
To the demons of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, it’s nothing but worthless trash.
The reason the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could safely recover Yong Dae-seok’s mask.
It wasn’t anything special—it simply held no value to the demons.
This spirit told you! It’s utterly useless! You nearly died for nothing!
Bongmareung immediately vented his irritation, but I didn’t respond.
The story wasn’t over yet.
I’d asked about the purpose of the Myriad Changes Ghost Face, not its nature.
The Vice Cult Leader continued.
“However, brother Dae-seok left a message that he’d sealed all his power within the Myriad Changes Ghost Face. He said it contained his enlightenments and clues to the unknown.”
Sealing power and enlightenment into an object that wasn’t even a demonic path relic?
“No, how is that possible? Is that even feasible?”
“Who knows……”
Yong Hyeon-seok lifted his teacup, slurped it down, and gave me a meaningful look.
Then he brought up a slightly different topic.
“Baek-heon, you might not know this, but your father was a man sent by the Heavenly Deity himself. Have you ever wondered why Yong Dae-seok, the eldest son of the Yong Demon Clan, never ascended to Young Cult Leader?”
The reason Yong Dae-seok hadn’t taken the Young Cult Leader position?
As I thought about it, one vague idea surfaced in my mind.
The sacred relic symbolizing the Young Cult Leader.
The one I’d shattered with the Thunderbolt Orb, now residing in my head. That wondrous book.
“Because Father didn’t need the Demon Sealing Divine Record?”
“Close enough. As you’ve experienced yourself, one appointed Young Cult Leader meets the spirit dwelling in the Demon Sealing Divine Record in a dream and receives various teachings. But your father believed that would only hinder him.”
“Pardon?”
My jaw dropped, and Yong Hyeon-seok chuckled softly.
“Absurd, right? But that’s how exceptional a demon brother was.”
“Still, even so……”
“He planned to inherit the Grand Cult Leader position directly and rewrite the Demon Sealing Divine Record from scratch. Your grandfather agreed and intended to abdicate.”
I was at a loss for words.
To reject the sacred record compiling the enlightenments of past Heavenly Demons and dare to rewrite it himself—he was no ordinary man.
Of course, the spirit of the Demon Sealing Divine Record scoffed.
If this spirit had met your father, I’d have beaten him black and blue! A wet-behind-the-ears punk not even sixty daring to rewrite the record? I’d have tanned his hide!
His pride was clearly wounded.
In any case, Yong Dae-seok’s plan never came to fruition.
He left the Hundred Thousand Mountains and died for unknown reasons, so the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult remained under Yong Mu-geuk’s rule.
“Uncle, is there no message from Father on how to inherit the power sealed in the Myriad Changes Ghost Face?”
I was asking how to claim the power hidden within it.
But Yong Hyeon-seok slowly shook his head.
“Unfortunately, no one knows that part.”
“……Not even Grandfather?”
“At least he never told me. Seems he doesn’t know either. If he did, he’d have given it to you already.”
Even the Grand Cult Leader didn’t know.
There was no more to gain.
“Baek-heon, I’ll definitely recover your father’s relic. And make those beasts pay the price. Don’t lose heart.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I bowed toward Yong Hyeon-seok’s retreating figure.
Then I sank into thought alone.
The cemetery where I was to meet Ga Bi-cheong.
I arrived earlier than promised and used a broken tombstone as a seat, lost in deep thought.
The conversation with Yong Hyeon-seok kept circling in my mind.
Yong Dae-seok sealed his power and enlightenment in the Myriad Changes Ghost Face. But it’s not a demonic path object……
No matter how I pondered, it didn’t make sense.
Was this even possible?
Just let it go in one ear and out the other. Martial artists are all braggarts anyway. They’ll claim anything with words!
Bongmareung declared it absolutely impossible, but I let that go in one ear and out the other.
Thanks to my prior experience when Ok Geum-ran suggested I learn the North Mountain Fist and Protect Life Scripture.
Bongmareung doesn’t always have the right answer. If the Myriad Changes Ghost Face truly isn’t demonic, then even this spirit can’t properly gauge it.
Perhaps it held some secret beyond what demons could fathom.
Of course, it was just a hypothesis for now……
As these thoughts swirled, Ga Bi-cheong appeared.
“Early, aren’t you, Wang Ga-myeong?”
The Changgonghoe spy trudged over, stopping a short distance away.
He tilted his head.
“You seem bulkier today somehow. No, longer overall too. What’s up?”
Maybe.
Because of Yong Baek-heon’s spirit arts, I’d been forbidden from eating properly too.
That bastard slowed his own body’s growth, so I had to match his height.
But lately, with free eating and vigorous activity, I was growing fast.
Changing day by day, it felt.
Ga Bi-cheong, clueless to this, guessed wrong.
“You’re not Wang Ga-myeong, are you?”
“What?”
“I don’t know who you are, but tricks to fool me are useless. You can’t deceive my eyes!”
He suddenly drew his Crimson Demon Sword and charged.
A slight change in appearance, and he thought I was someone else.
What a ridiculous spy.
“Well, this start ain’t bad.”
I drew my sword too, activating foresight.
And struck his opening in one breath.
Clang!
“……!”
“Too bad your swordsmanship sucks, Ga Bi-cheong.”
“Damn. That annoying voice confirms it—you’re Wang Ga-myeong.”
“Yeah. Skip the pointless fuss and let’s trade.”
Ga Bi-cheong, whose Crimson Demon Sword flew off in one strike, sighed deeply.
He picked it up and faced me.
“Sorry, but I’ve got nothing on the White Path Sect yet. I requested info from the Murim Alliance, but no reply.”
The giant wielding the Total Thunder Divine Sword in Hyeol-ryeong-ro’s illusion.
He was saying the investigation into his group hadn’t yielded results yet.
I hadn’t expected instant results anyway.
This wasn’t internal to the Hundred Thousand Mountains—it required connections to the Central Plains.
“How long for a reply usually?”
“Fastest five days. Slowest half a month.”
“Guess we wait then.”
“Thanks for understanding. See you next meet.”
“Hey, Ga. Where you running?”
“What?”
I shrugged at the puzzled Ga Bi-cheong.
“Forgot our deal? One bout for one piece of info.”
“……?”
“Playing dumb, huh? You just charged with your sword—we sparred. Nearly got sliced bad.”
As I whined dramatically, Ga Bi-cheong’s face twisted.
He scratched his forehead, muttering.
“You’re a real highway robber.”
“What? Who jumped like a bandit?”
“Fine, fine!”
Ga Bi-cheong crossed his arms, forced to await my second question.
Of course, with a condition.
“Simple question only this time. Just one exchange.”
“Yeah? Then next time, I’ll drag it out and beat you till your eyes swell. Look forward to it.”
“Ugh.”
Enough teasing.
I voiced the question on my mind.
“Ga Bi-cheong, in tomorrow’s duel between Yong Baek-heon and Beom Se-un—what’re the odds Yong Baek-heon wins?”
“Hm? Asking me the chances of Yong Baek-heon beating Beom Se-un?”
I nodded lightly.
Ga Bi-cheong pondered briefly before answering.
“Fifty percent.”
“Half? Why?”
“Because the Beom Clan Manor went all out preparing.”
“……”
Beom Se-un climbed the seemingly endless stone steps.
At the top loomed the torii gate.
The entrance to Wayong Hall, former residence of the old Young Cult Leader.
Recently tidied, it looked decent enough, but couldn’t hide its age.
“Pathetic. That arrogant Young Cult Leader holed up in this rundown valley.”
“Indeed.”
Beom Se-un smiled, agreeing with his trailing escort.
Until recently, Yong Baek-heon had lorded as Young Cult Leader—an untouchable brat.
Spending gold like water as master of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Exiled to this backwater—it must chafe.
Probably fidgeting, itching for a fight ASAP.
Beom Se-un felt the same.
No, all the challengers from the Eight Great Clans did.
They’d gathered every scrap of intel on Yong Baek-heon through their clans and prepared accordingly.
And Beom Se-un had extra time during the ‘unexpected fire incident’ delay.
Met the abandoned Cheong-eung Unit warriors.
Until recently, they’d resided in the Young Cult Leader’s Palace, seen as Yong Baek-heon loyalists.
But around his dethroning, relations soured suddenly.
Apparently, he’d humiliated them badly?
Don’t know the details, but it let me dig up plenty of his weaknesses.
The Cheong-eung Unit, long in the palace, knew Yong Baek-heon inside out.
His favored techniques, neglected skills, even minor habits……
Beom Se-un absorbed it all, devising strategies and tactics nonstop.
Victory was within reach.
Can’t wait to see the Grand Cult Leader’s twisted face.
Above all, he wanted to shove it in Yong Mu-geuk’s face—glossing over the blatant arson.
Show his precious golden boy broken.
Beom Se-un flung open the torii gate and strode into Wayong Hall.
“From the Beom Clan Manor. Wayong Hall—receive your challenger!”