Chapter 57

“No, that’s–”

The Elder Council Lord cut himself off and hastily closed his mouth.

The decision had come through Gal So-ye’s mouth, but it was the Heavenly Demon who had made it. He could not possibly refute it outright.

The Elder Council Lord took a moment to steady his breath, then spoke, phrasing it as a question to Gal So-ye and doing his best not to be rude.

“The Grand Strategist’s insight is truly outstanding. Yet from the little wisdom I have gained in my many years, the Seventh Young Lord is far too lacking in experience. How could he possibly control such brutal men who have weathered every hardship under heaven?”

Gal So-ye replied in a firm voice.

“Your concern is unnecessary. The Seventh Young Lord is the very one who subdued the leader of those brutal men and made them submit. His ability to control them is already more than proven. The fact that they entered the Demon Inquisition Corps of their own accord without resistance speaks for itself. The Seventh Young Lord is the most suitable person to manage them.”

It was flawless logic that left no room for rebuttal.

The Elder Council Lord only opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.

He clearly wanted to say something, yet he couldn’t.

Gal So-ye watched him for a moment, then wrapped things up.

“Does anyone else have an objection?”

No one stepped forward.

The Elder Council Lord was desperate, that was all, but none of the others had the guts to quibble with the Heavenly Demon’s decision.

“Then it is decided.”

Gal So-ye’s words drew a line under the matter, as if to say there was no more to be said.

I still felt somewhat dazed.

To be honest, developments like this had not been part of my plan.

I had intended to make use of Ak Mu-jin and his group, but only after things had smoothed out.

If things didn’t go well, my top priority had been to get them out of the Demon Inquisition Corps.

I meant to pull them out somehow, have them stay outside the main altar, and settle them inside little by little.

Yet the Heavenly Demon had solved everything at once by placing them under my command.

They were released from the Demon Inquisition Corps, allowed to reside in the main altar, and would even be staying in Hidden Cloud Pavilion of all places.

I had gained the ability to call on Ak Mu-jin’s aid at any time.

‘He is not the type to get involved in things like this.’

If nothing particular happened, the Heavenly Demon could sit through an entire council without saying a word.

Yet he had spoken up in person to grant my request.

Perhaps that was why I felt all the more grateful.

‘Thanks.’

As I watched the Heavenly Demon rise from the Taishi Armchair, I muttered inwardly.

The Heavenly Demon left as nonchalantly as he had entered.

Or so I thought.

[Happy now?]

A short transmitted voice came from the Heavenly Demon.

I let out a brief snort of laughter.

I felt like I could listen to him taking credit like this a hundred times over.

“How could things turn out like this…”

The Elder Council Lord was muttering under his breath.

He must have bitten down hard, as blood was seeping from his lower lip.

Seeing him like that made the old blockage in my chest clear away in an instant.

He could have just stayed still, so why pull petty tricks and provoke people?

All he had done was publicly humiliate himself.

I did not think this would be enough to bring about the Elder Council Lord’s complete downfall.

The influence he had sunk deep into the Demon Cult would not vanish so easily.

But he would certainly be weaker than before, and for now that was enough.

‘We are destined to see this through to the end sooner or later, so there is no need to rush. I will take my time and pace myself.’

Until the preparations for me and Ak Mu-jin were complete.

After leaving Ten Thousand Demons Hall, I headed straight for the Demon Inquisition Corps.

As I waited at the entrance, Ak Mu-jin soon appeared along with his subordinates and the Demon Inquisition Corps warriors.

When Ak Mu-jin was about three meters away, he stopped.

There was not the slightest tremor in his gaze.

It was as if he had been certain from the start that I would soon free him.

He raised his clasped fists in a bow so deep that I could see the back of his head.

“I will not forget this grace.”

“We will never forget the Young Lord’s grace!”

His subordinates as one all cupped their fists behind him.

I waved a hand, feeling oddly embarrassed.

“There is no need to call it grace, so drop the formality.”

“……”

Ak Mu-jin started to say something, then shut his mouth.

“You did get your mask back, right?”

With an “ah” expression, Ak Mu-jin took the mask from his robes and put it on.

As if that had done it, his tongue loosened again.

“I have heard at length from the Demon Inquisition Corps warriors how much effort you went through to save us, Young Lord. I will carve this into my bones and repay you even if I must tie grass to your path.”

“There is no need to go that far. We have a shared objective anyway. But you will be under me for a while. Are you all right with that?”

He was, after all, the former Ghost-Face Unit Leader and the former Longevity Cult Leader.

Even if he had no real choice, I felt it could not be easy to serve under someone else, so I asked.

But the answer that came back was unexpectedly clear.

“I will remain with you, Young Lord, until the Elder Council Lord is dead.”

Ak Mu-jin had come along following me for that one purpose alone.

I, too, had brought him in to keep the Elder Council Lord in check.

But I could not ask him to stay and fight for me even after that.

Even though having him remain would help me greatly.

As I felt a pang of disappointment, Ak Mu-jin went on.

“However, if you still have a use for me after that, I will gladly stay.”

“…!”

I was a little surprised.

I had not thought Ak Mu-jin would intend to help me even after killing the Elder Council Lord.

A bright smile came to my face on its own.

“Of course I will have a use for you. I will do what I can so that someday you can return to the position of Ghost-Face Unit Leader.”

“I do not wish for that. That position already has another owner.”

Ak Mu-jin’s gaze shifted behind me.

When I turned my head, the current Ghost-Face Unit Leader was approaching with several dozen men.

His face was rigidly stiff.

As he came up to Ak Mu-jin, he asked in a trembling voice.

“Unit Leader, is it really you?”

Ak Mu-jin stared at him quietly.

Then he opened his mouth.

“You are the Unit Leader. I am the former Unit Leader, you blockhead.”

“…Unit Leader!”

The current Ghost-Face Unit Leader ran up to Ak Mu-jin, fell to his knees before him, and began to sob.

The other Ghost-Face members were the same.

Everyone who had once lived under the shadow of the Ghost-Face Unit, on either side, had red-rimmed eyes.

“I am sorry. I yielded to the Elder Council Lord because I feared death. Since that day, there has not been a single day that did not feel like chewing sand. These men all felt the same as I did.”

“We have committed a mortal sin, Unit Leader!”

“Do not treat us like people. We do not deserve it. Kh-heuk!”

Dozens of grown men were sobbing together.

It was not exactly a pleasant sight.

“For some reason I feel like I might cry, Young Lord.”

“…Me too.”

It was enough to strike a chord in a corner of my chest.

The scenery at Hidden Cloud Pavilion had changed quite a bit.

The biggest change was how bustling it felt.

Ever since Ak Mu-jin and his ten subordinates, whom I decided to call the ‘Longevity Ten’ for convenience, had joined, the place had grown lively.

“…Thus, the Seventh Young Lord never lost his composure and calmly overcame every difficulty. And that is not all. He is so brilliant that not a single one of his predictions was wrong. Also–”

Right now, Im Yeon had Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten seated before her and was giving them ideological education.

It was mostly about how amazing I was and why they must never argue with my orders.

“That’s enough.”

As the person listening, I just wanted to cover my ears.

I had goosebumps all over.

In any case, Hidden Cloud Pavilion’s combat power had increased drastically.

Each member of the Longevity Ten was a fighter on par with Im Yeon, and Ak Mu-jin was several steps above them.

Furthermore, if they formed a combined formation they would fight far more skillfully, so they would clearly be a great strength to me.

“Guard Im, will you stand watch for me?”

“Of course, Young Lord. I will continue the lecture later.”

Im Yeon stopped the ideological lesson and went with me to my room.

“This round of circulation is especially important, so I will be counting on you.”

“Do not worry, Young Lord. I will guard you with my life.”

“Thank you.”

I sat cross-legged on the floor and closed my eyes.

When I observed inwardly, I felt the ominously curled Chaotic Demonic Qi Core and the Perfect Demonic Qi.

From now on I would use this Perfect Demonic Qi to raise the mastery of the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.

‘I have to reach the third stage no matter what.’

The Sacred Flame Festival was just around the corner.

Unless the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art reached the third stage before then, I would not safely get through the Sacred Flame Festival.

What one gained upon reaching the third stage was an enhancement of one’s sense for Qi.

Anyone with internal energy had a sense for Qi.

The only difference lay in how sharp it was and how wide an area it could cover.

Until now I had only been able to sense a range of about one and a half meters, but starting from the third stage it would jump to around ten meters.

Thanks to that, I would be able to sense approaching danger much earlier.

That slight margin would be more than enough to save my life.

‘Can I really do this alone?’

When I was actually about to begin, anxiety welled up.

Originally, I had meant to ask the Heavenly Demon to break through to the third stage for me.

I had achieved tremendous results in both the first and second stages thanks to the Heavenly Demon.

But after seeing the Heavenly Demon’s Formless Qi, I changed my mind.

I decided that I had to carve my own path.

If I depended on him forever, I would never surpass him.

I would live clinging to the pathetic hope that whenever I hit a wall, the Heavenly Demon would do something for me.

‘I cannot allow that.’

I told myself I could do it, steeled my resolve, and began to move the Perfect Demonic Qi.

At first, things went smoothly.

Following a route completely different from my previous life, I broke through without obstruction.

Just as I was getting ahead of myself thinking I had finally gotten the hang of it, I ran smack into a wall.

According to my calculations, the Perfect Demonic Qi should have risen through the Amun point, circled around my head once, and then descended, yet it could not.

Whenever I tried to pass through this spot, my meridians rapidly became unstable.

‘Let’s find another path.’

I had expected from the beginning that it would not be easy.

Calmly, I diverted the energy through the Cheonju point. Fortunately, it passed without issue there.

However, I was blocked again at the very next stop, the Okchim point.

‘Why?’

For a moment I fell into a state of panic.

Should I pull the energy back?

Should I just follow the old route from before my regression for safety?

Weak thoughts kept popping up, but I erased them at once.

I knew that was not the best option.

If I chose safety and ran away, I would never even reach the Heavenly Demon’s heels.

Whenever I had a spare moment, riding in a carriage or eating, I had thought about what made the Heavenly Demon’s route special.

I had realized two things.

First, the Heavenly Demon minimized unnecessary expenditure of energy. Thanks to that, there was almost no loss during circulation.

Second, with his vast True Qi, he grasped the state of his entire body at a glance and thus found the meridians that were ready for the energy to pass through.

Those two things were impossible to execute perfectly unless you were the Heavenly Demon.

‘I will do it my own way.’

Just then, a good idea came to me.

The first thing I had to do was listen to my body’s reactions.

‘The Okchim point is hot.’

Despite having the True Blood Severed Meridians, I had let the energy stay in one place for too long.

The solution was simple.

I sent the energy back to the Amun point.

I had judged this place to be the optimal route. I had to break through here somehow if I wanted the best result.

The meridians around the Amun point were already heated from my earlier attempt at a breakthrough.

‘Let us try this.’

There was something unique about me.

My Demonic Qi, Perfect Demonic Qi, had stability to an extreme degree.

I spread it wide like a mist.

It was a method that consumed a fair amount of internal energy, but perhaps I could use it to stabilize the overheated meridians.

The Perfect Demonic Qi, spread like mist, seeped into the area around the Amun point.

The overheated meridians began to cool.

‘It works.’

I waited until they cooled completely, then broke through the Amun point.

The route after that was no easier. I was blocked several times, but I no longer panicked and proceeded step by step.

I did not know how much time passed like that.

After countless trials and errors, the Perfect Demonic Qi finally followed the newly carved route and returned to my dantian.

When it had set out it had been the size of a fingernail, yet by the time it returned it was the size of a speck of dust.

Kkwareureureung!

At that moment, the Chaotic Demonic Qi Core absorbed a portion of the Perfect Demonic Qi.

The Chaotic Demonic Qi Core vibrated and my dantian expanded.

At the same time, several people were caught within my sense for Qi.

Im Yeon, guarding me in the room, and the guards standing outside as well.

I could clearly perceive up to about ten meters away.

On top of that, my internal energy had increased a little. My conditions were much better than before.

But the real change came after that.

A fullness unlike anything I had felt before swept through my whole body. An extremely clear and pure energy rose from my dantian.

However, the change lasted only a moment.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the energy vanished without a trace.

‘What was that just now?’

Even though the change had occurred in my own body, I was dumbfounded.

The only energy residing in my dantian was Perfect Demonic Qi, and this was clearly different from it.

If I had to compare, it was similar to the exalted internal energy of the orthodox sects.

No.

To be a little more precise, it felt like the complete opposite of all Demonic Qi.

“Hooo…”

I let out a long breath and finished circulating my internal energy and breath.

As for my thoughts on reaching the third stage, perhaps it was seventy percent success.

Because my internal energy was lacking, I had had to detour through several spots.

On top of that, I could not shake the thought that there might be a better route.

However, the real harvest lay elsewhere.

That unknown energy that had brushed past for a single instant and disappeared.

I did not know what it was, yet I was certain.

That once I found the thread that led back to that energy, I would gain results beyond imagination.

I did not know how long it would take to find it again, but it was more than worth the attempt.

One day it might help me.

For example, if the day ever came when I had to kill the Heavenly Demon.

In any case, with this, half of my preparations for the Sacred Flame Festival were complete.

All that remained was to procure various items and wait for the Sacred Flame Festival.

Time passed quickly like that, and before I knew it, the day of the Sacred Flame Festival itself arrived.