Chapter 21

The Valley Lord glared at me without a word, his eyes full of hostility.

Whether from that emotion or the internal energy within them, sixteen stones hummed as they drifted through the air.

It was a terrifying sight, but I wasn’t afraid.

On the contrary, I focused so hard it felt like I would not miss a single stone.

The seemingly disorderly cluster of stones had a fixed flow again this time.

First, they were grouped into four sets of four, moving within the thirteen patterns I had grasped earlier.

The paths they would take were already clearly drawn in my mind.

“Take this!”

At his shout, the stones charged.

I slowly turned my body.

Two clusters of stones brushed past me.

‘One.’

The Valley Lord was no pushover either.

As if expecting it, the remaining two sets moved irregularly, spreading to both sides and closing over me like a net.

A slight mistake and I would have holes in several places.

I recalled the essence of the Revolving Wind Drifting Leaf Steps.

A fallen leaf scatters here and there with the slightest breeze.

No matter how much force you imbue, a net of stones cannot catch a leaf.

It only pushes it to scatter.

I pushed off the ground with strength in my feet and slipped out of the net’s range like a leaf swept by a strong wind.

But that alone did not shake off the net.

The two clusters flying from opposite sides overlapped at the center and rushed at the spot where I had moved.

This time I used the Soul-Extinguishing Flash Steps, said to be unmatched in burst speed among demonic arts.

Half of the four months’ worth of internal energy I had left vanished, but the effect was worth it.

In the blink of an eye my body returned to where it had just been.

Simply dodging had no meaning.

I had to take one step further for a perfect finish.

Hwi-rik!

I hurled myself back to my original position.

At the sudden change in direction, the stones that had been pursuing me fiercely fell out of sync.

Some continued toward the direction I had been escaping to, while others tried to correct their course toward my new position.

Peo-peo-peo-peong!

Collisions erupted between the stones and a shockwave burst out, thanks to the internal energy within them.

Because of that, fragments scattered with a deafening boom.

“This cannot be!”

The Valley Lord screamed.

His gaping mouth showed his shock.

As I said before, perfectly controlling air-seizing was impossible from the start.

The brain could not keep up with the workings of Perfect Demonic Qi.

‘One more.’

Without losing focus, I stared through the cloud of dust.

Syuuk!

A single stone pierced through the dust.

Out of all those stones, only that one remained.

“I will end it with this!”

The last stone was powerful enough to match his threat, but that was all.

Its path was simple, and it carried hesitation and wavering.

After failing over and over for nearly one tea’s time, the Valley Lord no longer trusted his final move.

But I still had two months’ worth of internal energy left.

That was enough to neutralize such an incomplete attack.

I took a deep breath.

I gathered all my Pure Demonic Qi into my right fist. It felt as if my fist was heating up.

Then, without using any martial art at all, I simply punched.

It was a straight punch, as if to pierce the incoming stone.

Kwang!

A thunderous roar filled the cave.

My fist throbbed and a sharp tingle ran up my arm.

The result was…

“I guess I proved it.”

It was my victory.

The Valley Lord’s final stone shattered into hazy dust.

In a low voice, dazed, he spoke.

“What in the world are you? No matter how talented a True Blood Severed Meridians holder is, this defies reason. It is impossible without countless real battles and hellish training.”

The old man had a good eye.

Because that was exactly what I had gone through.

How hellish the days of being worked to death by the Heavenly Demon were, and how many near-real battles I fought with my sahyungs and others in the Demon Cult.

No one else would know.

“So what will you do now? Will you accept the outcome?”

I forced the deep weakness from my empty dantian down and spoke.

The Valley Lord had failed to finish me as he declared and lost the bet about me using internal energy past seven minutes.

If he were a man, he would have nothing left to say.

Right, I should add a word first. ‘Normally’.

“I, I… I…!”

Thick confusion clouded his pupils.

I worried he might snap again, but I looked straight into his eyes.

“You hate my master, right? That’s why you cursed him earlier.”

“…Of course.”

“If it were my master, he would have accepted the result without hesitation. Don’t become someone worse than the man you hate.”

“…!”

The Valley Lord’s eyes shook violently.

I must have hit the mark.

No matter how much he insulted the Heavenly Demon, he knew full well what kind of disposition he had.

“…Haa.”

The Valley Lord let out a low sigh.

His expression and voice changed at once so I noticed immediately.

The street thug slipped away and the sage came out.

The Valley Lord lifted his head toward the cave ceiling as if looking up at the sky.

“Do you know how many years I have been imprisoned here? A full twenty-seven years. I carved it on the wall each sunrise. That time was enough to turn the man who once galloped across the plains with his men into a pathetic old man.”

That answer was as good as an admission.

Honestly, I pitied him.

Living locked in one place for twenty-seven years is something a sane person cannot endure.

Even if his mind wavered, it was impressive he had endured this long.

But what I needed was a clear answer, so I asked again.

“So your conclusion?”

“I will… accept the result.”

I clenched my fist tight.

Got it.

The bet was finally over. I had kept my life and even gained a fortuitous chance.

When I looked at him with a face full of expectation, he spoke kindly.

“First, regulate your breathing and circulate your Qi. Only then can I pass on the Perfect Demonic Qi.”

“Yes.”

I already felt like collapsing, so I quickly sat cross-legged.

Originally, regulating Qi in front of others was taboo, since you become defenseless while doing it.

It was practically entrusting my life to him, yet I did not care.

I had won the bet, true, but the Valley Lord’s stone game had been to showcase the Perfect Demonic Qi.

If he had truly intended to kill me, I would have left this world before a few exchanges.

So there was no reason to shy away from regulating my Qi now.

“Hoo…”

I finished one great circulation and let out a deep breath.

After regulating my Qi, I felt alive again.

The Valley Lord looked at me and spoke.

“You are ready. I will pass on the Perfect Demonic Qi.”

“Already?”

“You may refuse if you wish to remain in Demon Valley for a long time.”

“Let’s begin.”

“From now, I will infuse Perfect Demonic Qi into your body. Experience what it is like, indirectly.”

“It is safe, right?”

“I do not know. I have never tried it. I cannot guarantee what variables will arise.”

“…That sounds unsettling.”

“If you do not wish it, you need not receive it.”

I shook my head.

I could not back out with a fortuitous chance in front of me.

The Valley Lord sat and placed his palm on my back.

“Contemplate your interior.”

I closed my eyes and sank inward.

---

The Demon Valley Lord stared blankly at Baek Su-gyeong sitting cross-legged.

He should have been pouring in Perfect Demonic Qi, yet his mind was tangled.

The way Baek Su-gyeong handled the last three attacks kept flickering in his mind.

He was a green kid, at best in his late teens.

Yet how had he managed the fight so skillfully?

What was that movement that seemed to see through his own strengths and weaknesses, and that ability to freely wield two footworks of completely opposite natures?

Even smashing the last stone without hesitation had been surprising.

He must have done it on purpose.

He had wanted to shock him, to make him acknowledge defeat for certain.

‘What has he done to his body?’

The Valley Lord did not believe Baek Su-gyeong’s words.

That True Blood Severed Meridians holders these days could use internal energy past seven minutes was sheer nonsense.

From the start, they were those born with superb talent and an even greater curse.

They were an extremely rare condition with perhaps one or two in the entire Murim, yet anyone informed knew their Qi and blood surged easily.

So what trick had he pulled to use internal energy for nearly one tea’s time?

And what was the boy’s true objective?

Did he come purely for the Demon-Gathering Stone?

Or had he come for something else slumbering within the Valley?

‘I cannot guess a single thing.’

The Valley Lord frowned.

He could not think of a single answer to countless questions.

To him, Baek Su-gyeong was a riddle thrown at him for the first time in decades.

‘Where did Seol Yu-won pick up such a brat?’

Suddenly, rage welled up.

Why did that man have so much?

He himself was rotting away without a single disciple.

A martial art that could dare be called a divine art was on the brink of being buried with him, while Seol Yu-won, not content with taking everything from him, even had a staggering disciple.

‘Could I not take revenge by tearing this brat apart?’

Madness flashed across the Valley Lord’s face.

The fact that Seol Yu-won possessed what he did not suddenly became unbearably hateful.

And at that moment, the only way to hurt Seol Yu-won was in his grasp.

‘Can I kill him? I want to kill him. Kill him. I must kill him!’

The Valley Lord’s face twisted viciously.

A dreadful killing intent rose.

If he so much as crooked a finger, Baek Su-gyeong would become a lump of blood.

Yet.

‘Why is this boy so calm?’

Doubt appeared on his old-tree-like face.

Circulating internal energy to gather Qi and stabilize Qi and blood, and simply looking inside, were different acts.

He was in a state where he could speak a few words at any time.

There was no way he could not feel the killing intent, yet Baek Su-gyeong neither spoke nor showed any reaction.

The Valley Lord felt as if doused in cold water.

Most grow craven before death’s doorstep. Yet from earlier until now, Baek Su-gyeong had not shown such a side once.

He had tried to prove his claim to survive, but never begged for his life.

‘This kid has guts.’

Looking at Baek Su-gyeong’s squared shoulders, the Valley Lord suddenly fell into old memories.

He too had once been this bold.

Fearing no one, galloping grandly with his men, ruling over mountains and fields.

Where had that self gone?

‘…I nearly broke a promise with my own mouth.’

His twisted expression eased and the spread killing intent vanished like it had been washed away.

If he killed Baek Su-gyeong, he would feel refreshed for the moment.

But he would become a vile old relic who tried to retract his own words again and again.

The kind of relic his younger self despised.

“…Let us begin.”

The Valley Lord withdrew his killing intent.

Because the boy reminded him of his former self, he no longer wanted to.

Soon, Perfect Demonic Qi entered Baek Su-gyeong’s interior.

---

‘I really thought I was dead this time.’

Inwardly, I swept my chest in relief.

When the Valley Lord suddenly poured out killing intent, I thought it was over.

I barely managed to stay calm because I knew the nature of mania well.

Even if it is madness they themselves raise, if the other makes a fuss, it only stirs the mania deeper.

That was why I acted as calm as possible.

I also had a little trust in the Valley Lord.

I knew his sage-like side that was not tainted by madness.

Now the street thug side showed more often, yet he still did his best to keep his word.

Luckily, he did nothing that betrayed my expectations or trust.

[This is Perfect Demonic Qi. Feel it quietly.]

The Valley Lord’s transmitted voice reached me.

At that moment, a very alien energy entered me.

It was not alien just because it was another’s Qi. It was a kind of energy I had never encountered in my life.

‘I cannot believe something like this exists.’

The Valley Lord’s story had not been a bluff.

Perfect Demonic Qi was more wondrous than anything I had seen before.

If Pure Demonic Qi was a dark blue sea with gentle waves and Chaotic Demonic Qi blazing red lava, Perfect Demonic Qi was the clear depths of a glacier.

It existed yet sank so deep below the surface it could not be seen from outside, and was so stable it seemed unchanged for tens of thousands of years.

A stray thought suddenly came to mind.

‘In my past life, did he make such a great discovery, only to die without telling anyone? He must have regretted it.’

[Perfect Demonic Qi dwells in all under heaven and also does not. I only show it. Owning the Perfect Demonic Qi that exists within you is your part.]

Just as he said.

The Perfect Demonic Qi I felt now was his.

No matter how I sensed it, it did not become mine.

It would only be a great reference.

[There are several stages to owning Perfect Demonic Qi fully. First is discovering it. Second is resonating with it and giving it form within. It took me over ten years of bitter endurance to reach the first stage, and about a year to attain this one.]

The Valley Lord added a few words.

He said I had skipped the first stage thanks to him, which might make this stage harder.

Because I had not completed the first stage myself.

‘Is that really so?’

I was doubtful.

While listening to his transmitted voice, a strange feeling rose bit by bit.

How to put it.

The Perfect Demonic Qi felt less and less unfamiliar.

It was different from simply growing used to it.

It was closer to recalling something I had once known and forgotten.

It almost felt like I had encountered this energy in my past life.

‘What is happening?’

At first, it had been so unfamiliar it was astonishing.

So why did it suddenly feel familiar?

[Perfect Demonic Qi is a very demanding energy. The journey to own it is harsh and distant. Even someone with talent like yours is no exception. Perfect Demonic Qi—]

Even while I was lost in doubt, the Valley Lord went on.

It felt like it would never end, so I was sorry, but I let it pass out one ear.

I moved my Pure Demonic Qi toward the Perfect Demonic Qi. Only by touching it did I feel my question would be resolved.

[You have encountered a fortuitous chance, so the time will be greatly shortened, but you still need a year or two of constant effort to reach this stage. By the way, what are you doing now?]

The Valley Lord belatedly noticed the approach of my Pure Demonic Qi, likely because this was not his own body.

[Stop. You must not forget this is your first contact with Perfect Demonic Qi. If you rush, unintended accidents may occur.]

He warned me urgently.

It was a warning I could fully understand, but I did not stop.

Because I had a near-certainty that I had to touch that energy.

Startled, he tried to retrieve the Perfect Demonic Qi, but my Pure Demonic Qi was a bit faster.

[Damn it! Whatever accident occurs now is something you brought upon yourself.]

Contrary to his fears, no accident occurred.

Instead, the moment Pure Demonic Qi and Perfect Demonic Qi touched, an astonishing change occurred.

Like a massive glacier sinking into lava, the constant heat of my Qi and blood cooled.

The change was extremely slight, yet I clearly felt it.

At the same time, an extremely tiny energy that looked like Perfect Demonic Qi formed in my dantian.

As if possessed, I sent my Pure Demonic Qi back to the dantian.

To my surprise, the Pure Demonic Qi and that Perfect Demonic Qi-like energy began to assimilate.

[T-this is impossible. The third stage I did not even tell you about!]

Leaving behind his scream-like transmitted voice beating at my eardrums, I sank into a trance.

How much time passed? What had happened to me?

I could not perceive any of it.

When I came out of the trance, the Valley Lord was kneeling before me.

Eyes bulging as if they would pop out, he gripped my shoulders hard.

He shouted.

“What in the world are you! What did you do to catch up with my ten-odd years in one stroke!”