Chapter 24

At that single word, “Get out,” the atmosphere cooled sharply.

Faced with eyes even colder than that, I swallowed hard.

It felt like I had become a tiny speck of dust in a vast universe.

‘Do not shrink back.’

I reminded myself of my goal in my head.

The Heavenly Demon must already know I went in and out of Demon Valley.

If he brought up the matter first, it could turn into a disaster.

Before that happened, I had to get ahead of him with a ‘So actually, this happened.’

Only then could I avoid harsh punishment.

Like I said before, this was no longer something that ended with just a trip to Demon Valley.

Bringing Im Yeon and the guards was part of the same idea.

There was a faint, flimsy calculation that he would not utterly humiliate his disciple in front of them.

Of course, I would also hold a little get-together.

In an organization, the one hard thing is getting face time with your superior.

But this was not some ordinary superior, it was the Heavenly Demon.

The supreme lord of the demonic path whose face you hardly ever see.

Im Yeon was surely thanking me on the inside for giving him a chance to get noticed by the Heavenly Demon.

‘Right, Guard Im?’

I looked at Im Yeon.

She was glaring at me with eyes full of resentment, as if looking at a mortal enemy.

‘…Maybe not.’

“Tell me why I should not throw you out.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke in a tone even colder than usual.

It did not seem to be simply because I brought guards and barged in, his mood had already been foul from before.

Naturally, it had to be my trip to Demon Valley.

I forced myself to answer as if relaxed.

“There are two reasons. First, to introduce my new guards.”

Im Yeon and the others trembled all over.

Maybe what I thought earlier was not entirely wrong.

They were shaking this much from excitement at being introduced to the Heavenly Demon.

‘I will just think what I want.’

“Everyone, why are you so stiff? We came to have a pleasant drink in a safe place.”

“U-ugh…”

“You must be nervous. It is your first time seeing him, right? This is the captain of the guard squad dispatched from the Guardian Hall, her name is Im—”

[Please stop, Young Master!!]

Good grief, that startled me.

My eardrums almost burst from Im Yeon’s sound transmission.

For someone like her to raise her voice that much, this was nearly at the level of swearing.

“I will tell you the second reason too. I actually went to Demon Valley. I have a little something to report about that.”

“It does not seem a little. What did you do to your body?”

The Heavenly Demon’s aura sank.

It had not softened, it was like the still night before a storm.

It could turn violent at any moment.

‘So he really did know everything.’

He seemed to have grasped not only my visit to Demon Valley, but the changes in my body as well.

Well, if even Im Yeon had vaguely sensed it, there was no way the Heavenly Demon would not.

“Well, it is a long story. Why do we not sit on the platform and talk first.”

I bent my hand and mimed drinking.

A faint wrinkle formed between the Heavenly Demon’s brows.

He seemed to know what I was up to yet feel he had no choice but to go along.

“…”

The Heavenly Demon silently drank the liquor in his hand.

That all but meant we could sit, so I shamelessly climbed onto the platform.

Because of that, a bit of distance opened between me and Im Yeon and the others standing at the entrance.

“I bought a lot of strong liquor and snacks so I could drink with you, Master.”

“Get to the point.”

“Yes.”

Without further fuss, I explained the whole story.

I cut away the details and mentioned only the main points.

I visited Demon Valley for the Demon-Gathering Stones and met an old man who called himself the Valley Lord.

The Heavenly Demon cut in halfway.

“How do you know about Demon Valley and the Demon-Gathering Stones? It has only been a few days since you came to the Cult.”

His voice was calm, yet held suspicion.

But I had expected this question.

I had prepared an answer, so I replied smoothly.

“The Old Monk told me. He said there was a mineral called the Demon-Gathering Stone in Demon Valley that would greatly help someone with True Blood Severed Meridians.”

The Old Monk was a kind of imaginary friend.

On the day I first met the Heavenly Demon after returning, I had said he was the one who told me I had True Blood Severed Meridians. When I overturned the Heretical Alliance’s Nanzhou branch, I had also said he had told me about the Tranquil Frost Pill.

“He is a loose-tongued baldie then, spouting all sorts of things. What else did that monk say? Tell me everything.”

The Heavenly Demon looked unconvinced.

I would be the same.

What kind of monk would know even the existence of Demon-Gathering Stones that many in the Demon Cult barely knew of.

But lies are also about momentum.

If I faltered, I would only arouse more suspicion, so I had to go boldly.

“Who knows. I do not remember well. Even the Demon-Gathering Stones only came to mind once I got here.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon silently stared at me.

He seemed to be weighing my sincerity, and his eyes were so deep it felt like my soul would get sucked in.

‘Boldly.’

I forced my eyes wide open.

In the end, he had no choice but to believe me.

Common sense said there was no way a seventeen-year-old who had just joined the Cult would know about Demon Valley and Demon-Gathering Stones.

There had to be a mysterious figure called the Old Monk who knew many things. I needed the Heavenly Demon to firmly accept that.

Because the Old Monk would be appearing often in the future for my convenience.

“You said you met an old man who calls himself the Valley Lord.”

My intent must have worked to some extent, as the Heavenly Demon moved on to the next topic.

“Yes.”

“Why did he let you into Demon Valley? It is his duty to erase all who enter.”

“Oh, that. When I said I was your disciple, he did not kill me.”

“So the man still has at least a shred of judgment.”

Those words held two meanings.

The Heavenly Demon knew the Valley Lord’s mind had been collapsing for a long time, and he believed that even so the man would not carelessly kill his own disciple.

Both were true.

“By the way, the Valley Lord hates you like crazy, Master.”

I probed the Heavenly Demon a little.

I was curious what he thought of the Valley Lord.

However, his reaction was dry.

“Is that so?”

“Aren’t you curious about what he said?”

“What I am curious about is what trick you used to coax him. You seem to have gained quite a bit.”

“Oh, that. The Valley Lord badmouthed you a ton.”

“So you sat and listened to earn his favor.”

“How could that have been enough? I joined in.”

“…In badmouthing me?”

“Yes.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon’s mouth shut as if he were at a loss for words.

His pupils seemed to tremble slightly, or maybe I imagined it.

“But I learned something tremendous in return. Something that would even surprise you, Master.”

“You mean your altered Qi.”

“Right. It is called Perfect Demonic Qi.”

I gathered Perfect Demonic Qi at the tip of my right finger.

I had not yet reached the level of emitting it outward, so I could not manifest it, but this much was enough to show how Perfect Demonic Qi worked.

Since my opponent was none other than the Heavenly Demon.

“Perfect Demonic Qi is—”

I tried to continue, ready to explain the concept of Perfect Demonic Qi to him.

But the Heavenly Demon did not need an explanation.

He seemed to have already grasped everything.

“Its stability is extremely high. It could serve as an alternative to Pure Demonic Qi, but the problem is that it absorbs even Chaotic Demonic Qi. It will diminish the original character and destructive power of demonic arts.”

“…!”

“For you, the gains outweigh the loss. The stability will have improved your internal energy efficiency and eased the restrictions from your severed meridians. Because of the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art you have only changed your Pure Demonic Qi, but once you reach perfection it will surely change your Chaotic Demonic Qi as well. You should find a way to preserve your Chaotic Demonic Qi before that.”

My mouth dropped open.

Every time I felt it, but the Heavenly Demon truly did not seem human.

He had not placed his palm on my back like the Valley Lord and examined my insides with his own energy, so how could he know this well?

About a Qi he had just seen for the first time?

“Did you say it was called Perfect Demonic Qi? Why did he pass this Qi on to you.”

“Well.”

I continued my explanation.

That the Valley Lord misunderstood and thought you sent me, that he flew into a rage and cursed you even more, and that I could not stand it and stepped in.

“So I shouted at him. To stop insulting my master. I said you might be a bit blunt and cold and mostly stay alone like a loner, but you are not a bad person.”

“It sounds like you insulted me along the way.”

“That is a misunderstanding. Anyway, we made a wager. One thing led to another and I won, so he ended up passing Perfect Demonic Qi to me.”

“The nature of your Qi has changed entirely. The process cannot have gone smoothly.”

“The Valley Lord also said it would take a very long time to make Perfect Demonic Qi mine. But you know what is surprising. I just went swoosh and it was done, just like that. Hehe.”

I did not forget to act like a genius.

The Old Monk was not the only thing I needed to plant regularly in the Heavenly Demon’s mind.

Since I could not explain the knowledge I gained from regression, I had to lay the groundwork with tricks whenever I got the chance.

“The Valley Lord said Perfect Demonic Qi could completely cure True Blood Severed Meridians. What do you think, Master?”

I asked with quiet expectation.

The Heavenly Demon gave a small shake of his head, which meant no.

‘Is that the truth, or a lie?’

Just as he had not believed my words earlier, this time I did not believe him.

Perfect Demonic Qi was an incredible discovery.

It had granted me effects I had not obtained even after reaching the seventh stage of the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.

Yet the Heavenly Demon seemed to treat Perfect Demonic Qi as nothing much.

Was it because the Valley Lord had discovered it?

‘Or does he dislike that I obtained Perfect Demonic Qi.’

The Valley Lord had said the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art reached the source of Demonic Qi. If I reached that source, the Heavenly Demon would take its essence, he had said.

If that was true, the Heavenly Demon might not want me to neglect the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.

‘It is a ridiculous guess, though.’

Maybe I had a reason not to trust the Heavenly Demon.

Because I could not see his true thoughts. He never showed me any of what was inside.

Thinking about that for no good reason made my words come out a bit blunt.

“What you see from the outside and what you experience yourself are different. I think it is possible, but since you have not personally mastered Perfect Demonic Qi, you cannot judge that far, Master.”

“Is that what you think?”

The Heavenly Demon asked in a low voice, then suddenly closed his eyes.

“Why are you closing your eyes all of a sudden?”

Hwoong!

Instead of an answer, a tremendous wind pressure arose.

Centered on the Heavenly Demon, everything except the platform he sat on was blown about.

“Woah, whoa!”

The same happened to me.

I was swept up along with the mercilessly uprooted weeds, becoming part of a huge vortex.

I felt a sense of crisis that if I slipped, I would be flung far off into the sky.

“M-master! Masteeer!”

I called desperately, but it was no use.

The Heavenly Demon still had his eyes closed.

“Guard Im!”

This time I called Im Yeon.

We were a fair distance apart, so I thought that if she could find something like a lifeline and toss it to me, maybe I could get out of the vortex.

But.

“Young Masteeer!”

When I forced myself to look toward her voice, she and the guards were whirling through the air.

Their circles were much wider than mine, probably because they were farther from the Heavenly Demon.

‘…We’re doomed.’

If I could, I wanted to send a sound transmission to the Heavenly Demon.

To ask why he was doing this all of a sudden and tell him to stop.

Maybe because of the speed, my head was spinning and it was more than a little agonizing.

“Oh, come on!”

I yelled loudly.

Then, surprisingly, at that very moment, the vortex disappeared.

Im Yeon and I and the others started to free fall.

I flailed in the air to lessen the impact of the ground, but an immense, immeasurable energy wrapped around my body gently.

All of us, myself included, landed on the ground without injury.

The Heavenly Demon had stepped in.

‘Phew, we are alive.’

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon opened his eyes.

“So this is Perfect Demonic Qi.”

Looking at him, my mouth fell open on its own.

For some reason, I felt a strange sense of kinship from him.

I soon realized.

That the Heavenly Demon had obtained Perfect Demonic Qi as well, that all of his Demonic Qi had been transformed into it.

The vortex centered around him had been the process of his Demonic Qi changing into Perfect Demonic Qi.

‘This insane…’

I was so dumbfounded I could not close my mouth.

Unlike me, who obtained Perfect Demonic Qi by a strange coincidence, the Heavenly Demon had gained it purely through his will.

On top of that, he had not even directly touched Perfect Demonic Qi, and he bore a burden that could not be compared to mine.

Starting with the sheer amount of his internal energy.

If I was a drop of water, he was the great sea.

‘I was acting tough in front of a chrysalis.’

I sighed deeply inside.

No matter how much you pretend to be a genius, you are nothing before a real one.

But at that moment, something suddenly came to mind.

Perfect Demonic Qi replaces Pure Demonic Qi. If there is Chaotic Demonic Qi, it replaces that too.

If so, would the Heavenly Demon never be able to use Chaotic Demonic Qi again.

“Um, Master. I forgot to say, once you master Perfect Demonic Qi you cannot return Pure and Chaotic Demonic Qi to how they— huh…?”

Once again, I was left speechless.

The sense of kinship from Perfect Demonic Qi kept vanishing and reappearing.

The Heavenly Demon could turn Perfect Demonic Qi off and on as he pleased.

How did that make any sense?

“What did you just do?”

The Heavenly Demon glanced at me.

Then he tossed out a single line.

“It just worked.”

…I had heard that line somewhere before.

‘Ha. As expected, the most useless worry in the world is worrying about the Heavenly Demon.’

For some reason, I felt empty.

So this was how the Valley Lord had felt looking at me.

Those who are too outstanding naturally draw envy and jealousy.

Right now I was feeling something similar toward the Heavenly Demon.

I suddenly grew curious.

‘Has the future changed, maybe?’

The Valley Lord, whose mind flickers in and out, returns to normal thanks to Perfect Demonic Qi.

If the cause of the Heavenly Demon’s rampage was Chaotic Demonic Qi, this might have resolved it, but I had no certainty.

There was no knowing when the signs of demonic-fiendization would appear, so the only choice was to watch steadily.

“May I speak of Perfect Demonic Qi now.”

The corner of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth twitched slightly.

This was not a simple smile. It was a smirk.

Wow, I had lived to see the Heavenly Demon smirk.

“…You can talk about it now. I will allow it as a special favor. So how is it now? Has your opinion that Perfect Demonic Qi cannot cure my severed meridians changed?”

“That thought has not changed.”

His answer left me a little disappointed.

Because there was no way his judgment was wrong. Unless he was lying, which would be another matter.

“But.”

The Heavenly Demon continued in a quiet voice.

“You never know. If you reach a place I have not seen.”

“You mean it might be possible?”

“It is certain Perfect Demonic Qi has unknown potential.”

So did that mean it would work or not.

Honestly, I did not need to cling to Perfect Demonic Qi. I knew of a more reliable cure.

Still, the more methods the better, so I wanted Perfect Demonic Qi to also have the function of healing my severed meridians.

“The Valley Lord discovered this, you say?”

“Yes.”

“So solitude has not only worked as poison for him.”

That was clearly praise.

I glanced at the Heavenly Demon and asked what I had wondered.

“Um, what kind of relationship did you have with the Valley Lord?”

“With me.”

“Yes.”

“You have no need to know.”

“…Okay.”

Of course.

He was not someone who would talk easily.

‘Still, the mood has been okay so far.’

Before coming to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall, I had worried about his reaction.

Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Demon did not make a big issue of it.

It was a relief.

I had not thought it would go this smoothly, and as someone aloof about all things, he seemed to treat it lightly… or so I thought.

“Now we should discuss your punishment.”

His next words almost made me cough.

The real crisis was just beginning.