Chapter 113

“What do you mean?”

I asked again, flustered.
I wanted to know exactly what he meant.
Either he was going to train me brutally, or force the method into me through beatings.
It had to be one of those two.

‘It might even be both…….’

A foreboding that was almost certainty.
There was no way the Heavenly Demon would pick just one.

“It’s simple. You’ll feel the vital weak points as you’re hit, and you’ll find them as you strike.”

The Heavenly Demon’s answer went beyond my expectations again.
Vital weak points were the weakness of martial artists who trained external arts.
This assumed the first two as the foundation, meaning we would take turns attacking each other.
Even then, I wouldn’t land a single hit.

“I have a really good idea.”
“What is it?”
“You beat Unit Leader Ak yourself.”
“…….”

The look on his face as if he was staring at a bug.
As expected, it didn’t work at all.

‘Well, I expected that.’

I was used to it by now, anyway.

“I haven’t learned the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art. So I shouldn’t have any vital weak points. Doesn’t that make this meaningless?”
“I’ll recreate it.”

He would create a point he imagined would be around there, and I would exploit it.
Even for the Heavenly Demon, was that really possible?
No, it would be possible, but would it actually work on Ak Mu-jin?

“Attack me first.”

A change occurred in the Heavenly Demon as he stood still and watched me.
A deep-blue aura, flaring like embers, clung tightly to his skin.

‘Is this him recreating the reinforced body from the Indestructible Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art?’

I didn’t know how to describe it, but it was different from ordinary aura.
It quivered faintly, like breathing.
Like a living creature.

‘So the vital weak points are inside that aura.’

Carefully, I spread my senses.
I couldn’t feel anything.
I couldn’t distinguish what was a vital weak point and what wasn’t.
At my level, it was only natural I couldn’t read the aura created by the Heavenly Demon.

Still, I hadn’t been idle during this time.
With the Nine Heavens Demon-Reversing Art reaching stage 4, I could control my senses more finely.
It meant I could narrow the range and raise precision.

‘Is this it?’

Among the aura around the Heavenly Demon, I spotted a spot that was faintly thinner than the rest.
The radius was wide, but it shifted positions periodically, so I couldn’t time a precise strike.
Then, when it felt like the moment, I threw a punch toward the center of that thin spot.
Woong.
Just before it touched his body, it hit something invisible and bounced off.

“Ugh.”

Maybe from the rebound, my wrist throbbed.

“Your precision is lacking.”

Meaning I needed to pinpoint the strike point more accurately.
I focused.
Within what stage 4 of the Nine Heavens Demon-Reversing Art permitted, I narrowed my senses even further.

‘Here?’

I tilted my head, then struck where the feeling came from.
Thud, it bounced off.
Thud, it bounced off again.
After repeating failures a few times, my right hand swelled up.

“You can’t find it?”
“Yes. I feel like I almost have it, but it’s not working.”
“Then feel it directly.”
“What?”

The Heavenly Demon’s figure vanished in an instant.

‘Danger!’

I twisted my body reflexively, but it was too late.
Paaang!
My forearm took the hit.

“Ugh!”

It wasn’t a simple blow.
It was a strange pain, to the point I wondered what it even was.
A violent shock, like an earthquake erupting inside me around the impact point.
It felt like even my bones had been ground to dust.

‘Is this the weak vital point?’

I hadn’t learned the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art.
So I shouldn’t have a reinforced body, and I shouldn’t have any vital weak points.
Then why did it hurt this much?

“Do you understand?”
“……No.”
“Again.”

Paaang!
This time my right ribs were struck.

“Keok.”
“Did you feel it this time?”

I couldn’t answer at all.
A shock that shook everything down to deep within the muscle.
My legs gave out regardless of my will, and my breathing caught.
But.

‘I felt it.’

The places the Heavenly Demon struck were the same locations as the acupuncture points he’d recreated.
The faint spot I had found.
He was carving the exact point into my body and teaching it to me, artificially cutting off the flow at the impact site.

“Looks like you felt it.”

The corner of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth lifted.
But his body vanished again.

“Keuk.”

Shoulder.

“Eoheuk.”

Thigh.

“Kkeuk.”

Solar plexus.

“Do you understand clearly now?”

At the Heavenly Demon’s question, I nodded while kneeling.

“More or less…….”

External arts were about hardening the body through repeated hardship.
That was all I’d thought until now.
I was mistaken.
External arts were not free from the influence of internal energy, the foundation that made Murim people different from ordinary people.
It could be places you hadn’t trained yet, like the soles of the feet, but that wasn’t all.
Places that slipped out of the flow of aura wrapping the whole body, pooling alone and inevitably becoming weak.
That was what the Heavenly Demon called vital weak points.

“Attack me again.”

The Heavenly Demon returned to his original spot.
I focused my mind to the extreme.
The thin spot in his aura. And within it, the place where the flow was blocked.
I thrust my fist toward it without hesitation.

All sound in the world stopped.
A dull impact, like driving a wedge into a crack in a massive levee.
The ripple that began at my fist spread through the deep-blue aura like a spiderweb.
Creak, creak.
The moment that spiderweb wrapped around the aura completely.
Saaaah—
The deep-blue aura dispersed like mist, as if it had never existed to begin with.

The Heavenly Demon gave a small nod.

“No matter how perfect one’s internal energy is, it cannot erase their vital weak points. So one’s level depends on how well they hide them. Then conversely, what must someone do when facing external arts?”
“……They have to find what’s hidden?”
“Correct. And one who finds well can hide better as well. That is the deepest foundation of external arts.”

Only then did I understand the Heavenly Demon’s intent.
From the start, he’d meant to train my external arts.
Training to find vital weak points.
It was the process of grasping others’ weaknesses while also realizing your own.

‘So he was worried because I kept getting injured left and right?’

No, it would be more accurate to say he found it displeasing.
The Heavenly Demon and worry.
There were no two words in the world that matched less.

“So, did I pass?”
“For now.”
“Then I’ve earned the right to beat Unit Leader Ak?”

The Heavenly Demon nodded without expression.

“Thank you, Master. I’ll beat him with everything I’ve got!”
“……Do so.”

---

The next day, I climbed the mountain again.
First, I told Ak Mu-jin the good news.

“Unit Leader Ak, I found a way.”
“I-is that truly so?”

I nodded.

“There are two methods. One is taking an elixir called Defeated-Spirit Paste, but it’s rare, so we don’t know when we’ll obtain it. So for now, I’m going to try what we can do immediately.”
“And what is that?”
“Beating.”

Ak Mu-jin flinched.
The Longevity Ten also stopped what they were doing and stared at me all at once.

“We’ll strike the constantly shifting vital weak points precisely and accelerate the formation of your reinforced body. Once the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art reaches stage seven, the corpse stench will drop sharply.”
“I do not wish to pick a fight with you, Young Lord, but…….”
“But?”
“It seems somewhat lacking in realism. Not only accelerating the reinforced body formation, but saying the corpse stench will drop at stage seven.”

I answered briefly.

“But Master was the one who taught me this?”

Ak Mu-jin froze like a statue.
I added one more line to him.

“I’ll relay Unit Leader Ak’s assessment to Master, exactly as you said it.”
“A-ah, no. Thinking again, it seems like a very fresh idea that only the Cult Leader could come up with.”

Ak Mu-jin hurriedly took back his words.
Maybe because he still had something he needed to accomplish, he didn’t want to die for blaspheming the Cult Leader just yet.

“Yes. But you’ll need to brace yourself.”
“Brace myself for what?”
“It’ll hurt. A lot.”

At that, Ak Mu-jin laughed self-mockingly.

“My body has become one that can’t feel pain when I want it to.”

Ak Mu-jin drew his saber and struck his own arm.
Im Yeon shouted in shock.

“N-no!”

Kang!
To Im Yeon’s embarrassment, Ak Mu-jin was fine.
Instead, a metallic sound rang out, one that shouldn’t come from a human body.
Ak Mu-jin wore a bitter smile.

“This is only at stage five. Unless it’s cold-iron or Sword Qi, nothing can wound me. It’s what I wanted, but to become someone who can’t even mingle with you and your subordinates……”
“From now on, it’ll be different.”
“Try to your heart’s content. I won’t let out even a small groan.”

A small laugh slipped out.
He’d regret that statement.

I focused my senses on Ak Mu-jin.
Maybe because of the training with the Heavenly Demon.
I could clearly feel the waves emitted by the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art.
It was far rougher and more irregular than the Heavenly Demon’s.
Within it, there was a point distinctly different from the surrounding aura.
It was Ak Mu-jin’s vital weak point.
Just as the Heavenly Demon said, it shifted positions periodically.
After grasping it quickly, I drove my fist into the exact spot.

“……!”

Ak Mu-jin’s eyes widened.

“You really won’t even groan. Can you handle it? This time I’ll go a bit harder.”
“W-wait a moment!”
“You felt something?”
“T-that’s right. The Demonic Qi that forms the reinforced body has begun to move!”
“That’s it. Now, hold still.”

I struck the vital weak points until I was exhausted.
Ak Mu-jin suffered, but I had no other method.
After a long while, I discovered something important.
The formation of vital weak points had a fixed rule.
Every seventy-two strikes, it repeated from the first vital weak point.
Meaning the first, seventy-third, and one-hundred-forty-fourth were identical.
After three cycles, I memorized the full order and positions of the acupuncture points.

‘A good idea came to me.’

I looked down at my swollen hand.
Each knuckle had turned purple.
If I kept going, it felt like my hand would be ruined.

“Longevity Ten, can you all come here?”

Three of the Longevity Ten, including Woong Gyo, came over.

“I don’t think I can do it alone. You see my hand, right?”

When I raised my hand for them to see, their faces stiffened.

“I think you need to help.”
“You’re saying we have to assault the unit leader?”

Woong Gyo asked, flustered.

“‘Assault’ sounds weird. Call it treatment. Aggressive treatment.”
“Even so……”
“It’s still a bit much to hit the unit leader, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Unit Leader Ak, you’re fine with it, right?”
“Of course. We can’t keep placing the burden only on you forever.”

Ak Mu-jin answered firmly.

“Everyone, the unit leader says it’s fine. Can you do it?”

Woong Gyo looked to the other Ten.
They all nodded.

“For Unit Leader’s sake.”

I began explaining the acupuncture point changes to them.

“Unit Leader Ak’s vital weak points have seventy-two variations. You have to memorize the positions and the order precisely.”

Normally, vital weak points were a top secret that must never be revealed to anyone but oneself.
But with them, it should be fine.
Because they shared a bond with Ak Mu-jin deeper than anyone in the world.

“Memorize everything first. Then I’ll tell you the rest.”

It took four days total for the four members of the Longevity Ten to memorize it perfectly.
Since the strikes needed to be precise, I made them memorize it thoroughly.
Their aptitudes varied, so Woong Gyo was about half a day faster, but the others needed more time.
After that, I taught everything, like the appropriate striking force and exact rhythm.

“Now, take turns and try it.”

The first live run after four days.
Woong Gyo stepped forward first.
He spoke in a grave voice.

“Unit Leader, clench your molars tight.”

I tilted my head.
There weren’t any vital weak points on the face.

‘Does he have a lot built up?’

“Hap.”
“Keuk!”

Woong Gyo exploited the vital weak points properly, just as he’d memorized.
For a moment it felt like it brushed the face too, but maybe I was imagining it.
And like that, Ak Mu-jin’s screams began echoing through the mountain.
It was all thanks to the Longevity Ten’s passion.
After a long while, Ak Mu-jin, drenched in sweat, panted harshly.

“Now…… I think it’s enough. My Demonic Qi is shaking violently, so I don’t think we should stimulate it further.”

So that was it for today.
I said I understood and asked him.

“How much more until you reach stage seven?”
“I can’t measure it exactly, but it seems at least half a year must pass.”
“Half a year.”

Raising attainment by two stages.
It was obviously extremely fast, but I didn’t have six months to do this.

“For now, we’ll proceed like this while trying to obtain the Defeated-Spirit Paste.”
“Hoo. It feels like I’m becoming too indebted to you, Young Lord.”

Ak Mu-jin let out a deep sigh.
I answered with a smile.

“You don’t need to think like that. We’re companions.”

“…….”

Ak Mu-jin’s expression shifted through many emotions.
Apology, gratitude, and some kind of vow I couldn’t read.

“Work hard until I come back. I’ll bring news soon.”

Ak Mu-jin nodded.
Leaving them behind, I descended the mountain.

Watching Baek Su-gyeong’s back as he went down the mountain, Ak Mu-jin thought.
At Shufu, at the Demon Inquisition Court, and now here.
Again and again, he had only been indebted to the Seventh Young Lord, yet he never showed the slightest annoyance.
He couldn’t even think of how to repay this favor.
Ak Mu-jin clenched his fist tightly.

“……Someday, I’ll repay it with my life.”

More and more people were beginning to vow to give their lives at Baek Su-gyeong’s side.

---

After coming down from the mountain, I returned to Hidden Cloud Pavilion.
A letter had arrived.
The sender was Gal So-ye.
A few days ago, I’d sent a letter asking if she could make time, and her reply arrived now.
Just by how long it took for the reply to return, I could guess how busy she was.

‘Meet tomorrow at the Rooster hour?’

That was exactly dinnertime, so was this a hint for me to buy Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup?
Fine.
I was going to pay for the information anyway.

The next day, at the Rooster hour.
I headed to the Strategist Office carrying the Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup.

“Come in.”

I opened the office door and entered.
Gal So-ye’s gaze locked onto my hands.

“Seven-trea, no, Seventh Young Lord, you’ve come.”
“Yes, yes. I brought the Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup.”

When I set it in the narrow space on her desk, Gal So-ye’s eyes sparkled.

“No, why bring something like this again. You didn’t have to buy it.”
“Because I’m perceptive.”
“That’s a relief. I was wondering what I’d do if you didn’t catch it.”

Gal So-ye wore a broad smile.
She only seemed to let her guard down in front of Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup.

“What is your business?”

Gal So-ye asked while staring hard at the food.

“Defeated-Spirit Paste.”
“……Defeated-Spirit Paste?”

Only then did Gal So-ye’s gaze finally turn to me.

“Why do you need that?”
“Because I have a use for it. Is there any place we can get it?”

Gal So-ye thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“It won’t exist in this cult. The previous Cult Leader forbade corpse-raising arts.”
“Forbade?”
“He said pale, rotten things ruined his appetite, so he wiped out anything related.”

‘For such a reason?’

It was a secret tale I’d never heard before.
To think the reason there were no jiangshis¹ in the Demon Cult was because of the previous Cult Leader’s appetite.

“Then there’s no way?”
“Mm, one person comes to mind who might have it.”
“Who?”

Gal So-ye looked straight at me.

“The Third Young Lord.”

I froze for a moment.

“……Third Sahyung?”
“There’s an auction house secretly managed by the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan. Did you know?”

Gal So-ye said meaningfully.