Chapter 27

“This is an iron pole.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon stood before a training device as he spoke.

The iron pole was, quite literally, an apparatus for lifting a pole of iron.

The pole itself was already heavy, but iron plates could be added on both sides to increase the training load.¹

The Heavenly Demon briefly explained the training method I was well familiar with, then lay down on the long, narrow board.

He meant to demonstrate it himself.

“This is how it is done.”

He lifted the iron pole off its rack several times and lowered it again.

“The iron pole develops total upper-body strength. It is especially effective for building the pectorals. Do you know what advantage the pectorals grant a warrior?”

“Hmm, they’ll firmly support the shoulders and arms, so punches will hit harder. And the speed of extending and retracting would be faster.”

“Exactly. The pectorals are as important as the legs. Without proper development, you cannot execute fist arts, nor wield sword or saber properly.”

The Heavenly Demon explained a few more effects of the iron pole, then rose.

“There are many tools besides the iron pole that train the upper body. Before training begins, I shall show you the standard you must reach.”

The Heavenly Demon opened his palm, and a huge boulder resting at the side of the training ground flew toward him.

He raised his arm high.

At that moment, the boulder fell.

The Heavenly Demon easily supported it and began bending and extending his arms. The massive boulder rose and fell above his head.²

I marveled inwardly.

‘No matter how many times I see it, it makes no sense. Is he even human?’

Handling a boulder that must weigh a thousand pounds so effortlessly…

It would be impossible unless the muscles of the wrist, arm, shoulder, his entire body, were monstrous.

Of course, this wasn’t a feat the body alone could accomplish.

The Heavenly Demon explained.

“Internal Qi flows through every meridian of a warrior’s body. If it harmonizes with the movements of the muscles, anything becomes possible. As you see now.”

He flicked his wrist.

The boulder floated up into the air, then crashed to the ground.

Koom!

A shockwave erupted, cracking the ground like a spiderweb around the impact.

So what he means is to be able to lift that without using internal energy despite having internal qi flowing, is that it?

‘…Maybe I underestimated him?’

A sudden worry rose in me.

I had killed the Heavenly Demon after he turned into a Demonic Fiend, but by then he had already ravaged the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions alike, and was reduced to a ruin of wounds.

Would I truly be able to stop him immediately after he becomes the Demonic Fiend?

‘The best way is still to prevent him from becoming the Demonic Fiend.’

To do that, I must discover why he turned into one.

I’ll need to observe him closely.

And study the Perfect Demonic Qi thoroughly.

“Internal Qi grows denser as one’s Internal Energy increases or one’s inner cultivation method advances. Though your severed meridians limit your use of Qi, your progress in the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art is not slow. Do not neglect bodily training; match your advancement to it.”

“Yes.”

“Lie down.”

I lay back on the board.

The Heavenly Demon spoke dryly.

“Lift.”

“This?”

“Yes.”

“I feel like something’s wrong here.”

Huge plates were attached to both ends of the iron pole.

When I first did this in my past life, there were no plates attached.

‘No, wait… didn’t iron pole training itself come much later?’

He had definitely started me with push-ups and basic forms last time, so why this first?

Pretending to know nothing, I asked the Heavenly Demon.

“This is the first day, are we really starting with this?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Begin.”

He ignored me without hesitation.

‘So you’re going to put on that iron mask, huh?’

Behind that iron mask would be faint expectation.

That I would struggle and fail to lift even once.

I knew why.

It was the heart of a teacher who wanted to guide his disciple properly.

But I know enough myself.

‘You think I can’t just because you told me to?’

He didn’t warn me about proper form or precautions, but it didn’t matter.

This wasn’t something I’d done only once or twice in my past life.

‘I shall shatter that expectation to dust.’

With this untrained body, lifting the plate-loaded pole is unreasonable.

But my mind remembers the technique.

First, retract the scapulae, open the chest. That reduces shoulder strain.

Extend the arms vertically and grip the iron pole tightly.

Exhale and press upward powerfully.

“Hoo!”

Just like this.

I lifted the pole in perfect form.

A faint crack formed across the Heavenly Demon’s rigid expression, so faint most would miss it.

For him, this was an expression of great surprise.

He must find it hard to believe.

That someone with such a frail body could execute flawless form.

“Sss, hoo. Sss, hoo.”

I even went ahead and did five repetitions.

I set the iron pole back in place and looked up at him.

“How was it?”

I asked, smiling triumphantly.

The Heavenly Demon answered, feigning composure.

“…As expected, you manage well.”

“You look surprised?”

“You saw wrong. Do ten repetitions.”

“…That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Judging by your form, ten is rather few.”

“Ten is perfect.”

I grabbed the pole without complaint.

I had walked right into that one.

I should’ve made my first lift a little worse…

“Hooo…”

After ten reps, rough breaths escaped me. My muscles screamed from the hard work.

Still, perhaps he had some conscience.

He quietly waited for my breathing to settle.

So I exaggerated my gasping even more.

The Heavenly Demon’s brows narrowed slightly.

“That is enough rest.”

“I think I need a little more.”

“We will begin the next training.”

“Why don’t you just kill me instead?”

“Grab the bar.”

This time, it was a training where I lifted the iron pole while sitting and rising.

It trained the lower body, and just like before, this was not something he had made me do on the first day in my past life.

Lower-body days had usually alternated.

“Next training…”

“The next is…”

The Heavenly Demon worked me relentlessly the entire morning.

How many different drills was he planning to put me through?

I eventually couldn’t hold back.

“Master.”

“Will you give up?”

He asked as if he had been waiting for that.

I stubbornly replied as if nothing was wrong.

“Give up? No way. I’m hungry. You’re not going to make me train without feeding me, right?”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon pointed at an urn placed at the edge of the training ground.

I sighed the moment I saw it.

I knew exactly what was inside.

I trudged over with my exhausted body. The thick scent of pine emanating from the urn grew dizzying as I neared.

‘Another Fasting Pellet…’

I grimaced and chewed one of the pellets.

Without this, I wouldn’t last through the afternoon training.

“Master, doesn’t something feel wrong here?”

“What do you mean.”

“Fasting Pellets were developed by Taoists, right? Is it okay for us, who walk the Demonic Path, to eat them?”

“Who developed it is irrelevant. The Demonic Path is unbound.”

Those were the same words he said before training began.

It applied to this too?

“Still, the taste is awful. Shouldn’t a demonic practitioner eat things like alcohol and greasy meat?”

“If your stomach is full, you cannot fully focus on training.”

He dismissed me simply and moved on to the next exercise.

I sighed and got up.

After that, all kinds of drills followed.

Lifting heavy iron clubs alternately in both hands. Dropping to the ground and rising again.

A curious thought struck me.

As far as I knew, the cultivation of physical training in the Demonic Cult originated with the Heavenly Demon.

So who taught him this unusual training method?

“Huff… huff…”

I repeated intense drills.

Even with technique, using the body was still using the body. My untrained physique was frail, and my limits approached.

“Master… when does the test… end?”

“Not yet. Rest briefly, then run around the training field.”

“How many laps?”

“Thirty laps.”

“…”

I looked around with despair.

As I said earlier, this place on the mid-slope of Demon Awakening Peak was enormous. One lap alone was far.

And he wanted thirty laps?

‘This is ridiculous.’

My limbs were already trembling.

Especially my legs, wrecked from overusing movement arts yesterday, they barely felt like mine.

“What are you doing? Are you not running?”

“I’m running, I’m running.”

I exhaled and forced my legs forward.

It seemed he would not easily concede training time.

One lap, two laps.

I panted as I circled the grounds.

I desperately wanted to use Internal Energy to ease the strain, but I didn’t.

Because with the fifteen minute restriction, it wouldn’t help much anyway.

So instead of relying on Internal Energy, I wanted to show my will.

The outcome of the test depended entirely on him.

‘Wow… I’m dying.’

My entire body was drenched in sweat.

My breathing was so ragged it felt like my lungs were burning, and each step stabbed my legs like an awl.

Not a good sign, but I didn’t stop.

If I stopped, everything would end.

‘Is this really worth going this far?’

The exhaustion made me question myself.

The goal today was to shorten training time.

If I passed this test, I’d achieve that.

But did I really need to endure pain that might make me faint?

Should I just give up and train eight hours a day for now?

‘…No. I can’t.’

My last life ended in tragedy.

I died together with the Heavenly Demon after he became the Demonic Fiend.

Given the chance to correct that, I couldn’t repeat the same mistake.

But…

Thud.

I collapsed in a ridiculous posture.

My legs had given out.

“Huff… huff…”

I looked at the Heavenly Demon.

He stared back, unreadable.

‘He doesn’t intend to stop? Isn’t this enough? How long is he planning to continue this test?’

Stubborn as ever.

He could at least concede one hour.

He should know by now that I didn’t mean to take training lightly.

‘…No matter how I think about it, eight hours is too long.’

I tried to force myself up.

Expecting that I might give up here?

I would never show weakness, not in front of him.

Because if I gave up now, I might give up on him later in that hopeless future.

Give up once, and you’ll give up twice, thrice.

‘Endure.’

Endure today, and show him something incredible with the Demon-Gathering Stone.

That was why I went to Demon Valley.

So this time, I would surpass years of physical training in just three months.

With my memories and the Demon-Gathering Stone, it was possible.

So endure just a bit more.

“Ghk.”

I planted my hands on the ground.

I forced my stone-heavy legs to move.

Before taking even a few steps, my knees buckled and I fell again.

Panting, I raised myself once more.

I collapsed quickly again, but I clenched my teeth.

“Stop.”

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon spoke in a heavy tone.

“There are… still laps left.”

“Even so, stop.”

“I… passed the test?”

He silently looked down at me and nodded.

“You won’t… take it back later, right? The Valley Lord told me not to… trust you.”

I said with a faint smile.

“Can you not be serious even for a moment?”

“My personality… doesn’t allow it.”

I flopped down on my back comfortably.

I wanted to shout in triumph for passing the Heavenly Demon’s trial.

But I had no strength left.

“What is it that you seek? Why are you this desperate?”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes looked confused.

Understandable.

He must have expected me to quit.

Suddenly, I felt a deep regret.

If only I could show him the future I experienced. Everything would be simple then.

He wouldn’t be confused.

But since I couldn’t, I repeated the same excuse as always.

“Just… It felt like this is what I needed to become stronger quickly. And…”

“And?”

“You said the Demonic Path is about overcoming… right? I only overcame the trial you set for me.”

“…Is that so?”

Did I imagine it?

A clear smile seemed to appear at the corner of his lips.

Or did it?

I couldn’t see well.

Fog suddenly clouded my vision, and harsh dizziness struck me.

I lost consciousness on the spot.