Chapter 114: Six Months
Aldrian slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the stone tablet of the Heavenly Demon’s Flower Scripture. He felt new knowledge settle into his mind, and he finally understood the Being’s essence more deeply. The concepts that had previously eluded him vanished as if they had never existed, thanks to his comprehension of the Heavenly Demon’s Flower Scripture.
He had received the crucial information he needed, all thanks to the woman—the wife of the Heavenly Demon. He bowed to the stone tablet before turning around to look for the sect master and Baek Ji-Min, but neither of them was there.
"Don’t tell me I’ve been here for a year?" he thought, hoping that nothing had gone wrong while he was in that space.
He then approached the large double doors, now closed. Just as he was about to touch them, the giant doors slowly open, revealing the sect master, who looked at him with a mixture of amazement and shock. Aldrian smiled before approaching her and cupped his hands toward Sect Master Baek Ha-Yoon.
"I’m sorry if I took too much time. I hope nothing went wrong while I was in my comprehension session."
"You need not worry," Baek Ha-Yoon replied. "Although six months have passed, everything has remained in order."
Aldrian was stunned by her words. Fortunately, it had only been six months, though it was still longer than he had anticipated. Now he understood why cultivators could remain in seclusion for years—the flow of time felt different while cultivating, passing much faster than expected.
He then looked to the sect master’s side, where Baek Ji-Min gazed at him as if he were her ancestor. In fact, not only her—several grand elders nearby regarded him as though he were an anomaly. When they first heard that the sect master had granted permission for the successor of the Heavenly Demon’s Scripture to view their secret scripture, they were filled with doubt and even displeasure.
The thought of an outsider studying their sacred scripture was seen as disgraceful, regardless of the fact that this outsider was the chosen successor of the Heavenly Demon’s Scripture. The grand elders had urged the sect master to provide an explanation. They even warned her, she could face backlash in the form of the elders’ judgment. Her position as sect master would be at risk, and she might even be replaced.
But who was Baek Ha-Yoon? She simply let their protests go in one ear and out the other. She essentially ignored them, indirectly telling them, "Go fuck with your opinions." As the leader of one of the three great sects of the Demon territory, she had the power and authority to back her decisions.
She knew that not all of the elders liked her, but she didn’t care. In demon territory and among demonic cultivators, strength was everything. There were no "ancestors" or other figures of authority to keep her in check within this sect—she was the strongest here!