Chapter 281 : Triumphant Return (3)
Chapter 281: Triumphant Return (3)
What sort of annoying task would his Master dump on him this time?
Il-mok swallowed nervously as that worry crossed his mind. But the Heavenly Demon opened the conversation with something completely unexpected.
"Hahaha. I couldn't say this in front of the others, but you've grown beyond recognition in just one year. So tell me, was your time in the Central Plains actually helpful?"
"The experience was great and all, but isn't it really all thanks to your teachings, Master?"
The Heavenly Demon just laughed off Il-mok’s habitual sucking up.
"Hahaha. Even if the same teachings are given, it’s up to the student to actually figure it out and make it their own."
"You're too kind, Master."
As Il-mok bowed respectfully with clasped fists, the Heavenly Demon gazed at him with satisfaction before asking another question.
"You went through a lot this past year and met a bunch of non-believers in the Central Plains. What did you think of them?"
Though he was smiling gently, the Heavenly Demon's eyes were clear and calm, as if they could see through everything.
Il-mok thought about coming up with the kind of answer a cult leader would love to hear, but soon decided to mix in a bit of honesty.
"The place was crawling with villains and hypocrites, but there were actually a few people I could talk to."
The Beggars’ Gang was a prime example, and that woman from the Hwangbo Family was another.
Their methods might have been different, but at least they weren't hypocrites, and they were pursuing their own brand of justice.
Considering the Demonic Cult sees everyone in the Orthodox Faction as the enemy, this probably wasn't the answer he was supposed to give.
"Hah."
But the Heavenly Demon simply burst into a laugh that made his inner thoughts impossible to read.
"My youngest."
"Yes, Master."
"Do you know why this old man has never attempted to reclaim the Central Plains, even though it's been our Divine Cult's long-cherished wish?"
"...Isn't it out of concern for the cult members who would shed blood in such a war?"
The Heavenly Demon nodded at Il-mok's answer, then corrected him.
"That's also true, but the devoted followers of our Divine Cult do not fear death."
"..."
Il-mok couldn't bring himself to disagree with that.
If his Master were to raise the banner of reclaiming the Central Plains and order an invasion, the fanatics of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would likely charge forward as if they had spare lives to burn through, just like those fanatics of Allah he'd seen back in his days at the Hall of the Demonic Way.
"Nevertheless, the reason this old man has been restraining himself is that I judge our chances of victory to be virtually nonexistent."
"...Even with Master present?"
When Il-mok asked in total disbelief, the Heavenly Demon gave a faint smile.
"Didn't you recently cross swords with the Murim Alliance Leader yourself? And surely you've also heard of the Twelve Heavenly Pillars."
The Twelve Heavenly Pillars.
It was the name for the twelve Absolute Masters who had reached the Realm of Truth. The twelve pillars that uphold the sky of the Central Plains.
Each was known by grandiose titles like King, Emperor, or Immortal. Among them was the Murim Alliance Leader, who was both the Greatest Saber Under Heaven and called the Saber Emperor. There was also the Gang Leader of the Beggars’ Gang, known by the title Beggar King.
And the Murim Alliance Leader was considered one of the top five among those Twelve Heavenly Pillars.
"Though this immature disciple hasn't yet caught up to the Murim Alliance Leader, the gap between you and the Alliance Leader seems far greater than the gap between myself and him, Master."
No matter how he thought about it, neither the Murim Alliance Leader nor the Twelve Heavenly Pillars was a match for the Heavenly Demon.
Unless all twelve of those called the Heavenly Pillars ganged up on the Heavenly Demon together, maybe then...
'But it's not like the others would just sit around doing nothing either.'
The Demonic Cult also had nearly ten masters at the Realm of Truth, so purely in terms of the number and quality of Absolute Masters, the "certain defeat" the Heavenly Demon mentioned didn't make sense.
If anything, what they actually lacked was the number of ordinary martial artists as well as those commonly called "experts" at the Peak Realm and the Supreme Peak Realm.
If you counted every martial artist in the Central Plains, the numbers would blow the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult out of the water.
As if reading Il-mok's thoughts, the Heavenly Demon nodded and answered.
"Just as you suspect, those Twelve Heavenly Pillars are not what this old man is worried about. You must have heard the saying that the martial world is filled with eccentric masters and extraordinary figures as numerous as grains of sand."
"...Are you talking about unforeseen variables?"
"Unforeseen variables... If you look at how our predecessors failed to take back the Central Plains, calling it paranoia would be a mistake."
Having said that, the Heavenly Demon once again brought up something completely out of the blue.
"My youngest."
"Yes, Master."
"Do you remember when this old man first met you?"
How could he forget being threatened at swordpoint to become his disciple?
"I-I remember."
"This old man told you then that I had business in the Central Plains and happened to stop by that inn by chance. Do you remember?"
"I remember."
"At that time, this old man was on my way back from Mount Wudang. I went to say goodbye to an old friend of mine whose time in this world has run out.”
Il-mok felt a sense of discord at the Heavenly Demon's explanation.
"Mount Wudang? Don't tell me this friend of yours was a Taoist from the Wudang Sect?"
"Hehehe. That's right. He was an old Taoist geezer, but he was a worthy rival."
Only then did Il-mok understand why the Heavenly Demon had shown that peculiar smile at his first answer.
It meant his Master also didn't think every single person in the Central Plains was an enemy that had to be killed.
Then, Il-mok realized something shocking.
"If he were a rival, does that mean he was as strong as you, Master?"
"Hah. How could that be? I fought that old Taoist dozens of times since we first met, and I never lost once. But he was at least fun to spar with." The Heavenly Demon chuckled.
So not an equal match, but maybe a couple of notches below him.
As if confirming Il-mok's guess, the Heavenly Demon continued.
"If there were even two masters of a similar level to that horse-nosed Taoist, it would take me quite a while to win. And if there were three, I dare not guarantee the outcome."
"Then, Master, are you suspecting that at least two such masters are living in seclusion in the martial world?"
The Heavenly Demon shook his head.
"Even this old man cannot be certain of that. But one thing is for certain. There will be those who shun meaningless fame and devote themselves solely to gaining enlightenment in martial arts and the Dao deep in the mountains. And those are precisely the people our Divine Cult must be most wary of."
"This disciple will engrave Master's teachings in his heart."
As Il-mok clasped his fists and bowed his head respectfully, the Heavenly Demon nodded with a pleased expression.
He looked like a proud parent, wondering when his kid had grown up so fast.
The only reason the Heavenly Demon gave him that warning was that Il-mok was strong enough to handle it.
If you show Mount Everest to a beginner who can barely hike up a local hill, they’ll either give up or hurt themselves trying too hard. But his youngest disciple had already grown to a level where he could look at a massive mountain without getting scared or getting too greedy.
Maybe he was just happy to see how much the kid had grown. The Heavenly Demon smiled gently, got up from his throne, and spoke.
"Come now, let's see how much our youngest has grown over this past year. Let's cross swords for the first time in a while."
Having said that, the Heavenly Demon turned around and headed for the training ground behind the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Il-mok followed his Master and arrived at the training ground, where the Heavenly Demon looked at Il-mok with what seemed like a completely defenseless posture and said, "Come at me whenever you're ready."
The moment the words left his mouth, Il-mok charged at his Master and swung his sword without a second thought.
Even though he appeared defenseless on the surface, Il-mok knew he couldn't touch a hair on the old man's head even if he went all out.
Il-mok simply attacked with the mindset of a grandchild showing off to their grandparents on a holiday. He poured everything he’d learned into his sword.
"Hmm. A sword imbued with an ominous energy."
As the Heavenly Demon deflected Il-mok's offensive, he frowned while looking at the Ascension Sword in Il-mok's hand.
However, being a member of the Demonic Cult himself, he didn't give an Orthodox-style piece of advice on discarding the Ascension Sword.
"Be careful not to be devoured by that ominous energy."
"I will remember your words, Master."
While responding to the Heavenly Demon's advice, Il-mok broke away from the standard Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword moves to pressure the Heavenly Demon from different angles.
"Oh~"
But the Heavenly Demon either dodged the offensive with a leisurely gait as if out for a stroll, or—
Clang!
—he’d just casually deflect the attacks with his Heavenly Demon Sword, which was suddenly in his hand.
Realizing that basic swordplay wasn't going to cut it, Il-mok decided to mix things up.
Swooooosh.
The Sword Qi gathered on Il-mok's Ascension Sword split into dozens of strands, branching out to trap the Heavenly Demon from all sides.
It was the Heavenly Net Sword.
"Hoh. That’s a fun trick."
The Heavenly Demon really seemed to be enjoying his youngest disciple's little show.
Il-mok tried a few more times, using the Heavenly Net Sword to cut off escape routes and then attacking with the Ascension Sword covered in Sword Force.
Clang!
When the Heavenly Demon blocked another thrust with ease. Il-mok stepped back to catch his breath.
"Seeing it for myself, you really have grown a lot."
"I'm ashamed to say I'm still nowhere near your level, Master."
"Hehehe. I can tell by your face you've still got a card up your sleeve. You aren't holding back because you're scared of hurting this old man, are you?"
"That's absolutely not the case, Master. I was restraining myself because it's a technique I cannot perfectly control yet."
"A technique you cannot perfectly control yet? Now I'm even more curious. This old man will take responsibility for whatever happens afterward, so why don't you show me?"
Il-mok hesitated for just a brief moment before clasping his fists respectfully.
"Then I’ll show you what little I can do."
With an Absolute Master watching, Il-mok figured it was the perfect time to practice.
"Huuu."
Steadying his breath, Il-mok drew up the demonic energy remaining in his dantian and made it berserk.
As the turbulent energy raced through his body, he felt sharp pains in his acupoints.
Just before the energy went completely out of control like a wild horse, he channeled it all into the Ascension Sword.
Crackle.
The moment gray Sword Thunder formed on the Ascension Sword—
Pat!
Il-mok unleashed his lightness skill at full power and thrust the Ascension Sword toward him with lightning speed.
"Hoh."
The Heavenly Demon let out an exclamation of interest at the Sword Thunder on the Ascension Sword and swung his Heavenly Demon Sword to meet it.
BOOM!!!
The instant the Heavenly Demon Sword and Ascension Sword clashed, the Sword Thunder exploded with an intense roar, and countless shards of Sword Force flew toward the Heavenly Demon.
For the first time, the benevolent smile vanished from the Heavenly Demon’s face.
Swoooooosh.
A terrifying power erupted from the Heavenly Demon, transforming the man who looked like a simple country grandpa into a monster.
The massive demonic energy that erupted from the Heavenly Demon instantly formed a protective barrier, triggering a series of explosions as it clashed with the fragments of Sword Force emanating from the Ascension Sword.
The impact of the Sword Force fragments devastated the entire training ground, scattering dust and sand in all directions.
But soon after, a black wind whirled through and instantly swept away the dust clouds.
And there stood the Heavenly Demon, not a hair out of place, looking at Il-mok with a face full of concern.
"Are your internal injuries alright?"
He was asking because blood was trickling down Il-mok's chin.
"It's nothing serious."
At Il-mok's answer, the Heavenly Demon nodded and gave an instruction.
"First, recover from your internal injuries through meditation. We'll discuss your realm after that."
"I will follow Master's command."
Il-mok answered with clasped fists, then sat cross-legged and entered into meditative breathing.
He spent a moment calming down the demonic energy of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, which was still running wild.
When Il-mok opened his eyes after managing to complete the emergency treatment, the Heavenly Demon had sheathed his Heavenly Demon Sword and was looking down at him while stroking his beard.
Unlike his usual jovial expression, he wore a somewhat complicated look.
"This is really strange."
When Il-mok made a puzzled expression, the Heavenly Demon showed a brief troubled look.
He seemed to be trying to find the right words.
"Hmm. From what this old man can see, Il-mok, your realm is a bit different from everyone else's."
"In what way is it different?"
"Your technical mastery of the sword has certainly reached the level of Transcendence, but your energy just can't keep up with your mind."