Chapter 2 : The Demonic Cave
Chapter 2: The Demonic Cave
It was not just that he had entered someone else’s body.
He had returned to the past as well.
The reason Am Yeong was able to realize that fact was,
“A young body…”
It was because he knew who the owner of this resilient body was.
‘The Seventh Young Master, Dan Woojin.’
The youngest among the children of the Heavenly Demon, and a pitiful child who was the first to be eliminated from the candidates for Young Cult Leader and meet his death.
“…Seventh Young Master?”
Am Yeong, who had been lost in thought, pricked up his ears at the words of Jang Cheol, the escort warrior protecting the Seventh Young Master.
“What day is it today?”
“…Have you forgotten?”
“Yeah.”
At the Seventh Young Master’s dignified appearance, Jang Cheol spoke again.
“Is it not the day you enter seclusion to be declared a candidate for Young Cult Leader on the Great Cult Leader’s upcoming birthday!”
“Birthday? Seclusion?”
“Yes! The Great Cult Leader’s birthday, which is a month away, will be the day all of the Seven Great Demon Sects gather, and at the same time, it will be the first place where the seven candidates for Young Cult Leader gather in one spot! That’s… provided you finish your seclusion safely, of course.”
It was a day that could not help but remain in his memory.
‘If it is the day the Seventh Young Master enters seclusion,’
It was because this was the very day Am Yeong had infiltrated the Demonic Cult.
‘I simply cannot believe it.’
Not only becoming the Seventh Young Master but returning to the past.
For now, let's calm down.
‘If I have become the Seventh Young Master, what happened to the "me" who was supposed to enter the Demonic Cult as a spy today?’
It seemed he had to check that first.
“Jang Cheol.”
“Yes, yes?”
“How much time is left until I enter seclusion?”
“About two hours remain.”
“Then I shall step out for a moment.”
“Huh? Where are you going…”
Seeing Jang Cheol’s worried face, Am Yeong recalled the Seventh Young Master’s usual behavior.
‘Right… the Seventh Young Master was a social recluse and a shut-in, wasn’t he?’
A timid person who could not assert himself at all because he was the youngest.
A guy who avoided people and never left his room.
That was the image of the Seventh Young Master, Dan Woojin, in Am Yeong’s memory.
Perhaps that was why the Seventh Young Master, who had not even learned martial arts properly, was the first to lose his life.
As such, Am Yeong first grasped the condition of the Seventh Young Master’s body.
‘The bones and muscles are quite decent, but the inner Qi is pathetic.’
Perhaps because he inherited the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon, his physical foundation might even be better than in his previous life.
“I promise I will return.”
After leaving those words to Jang Cheol, Am Yeong, no, Dan Woojin, vanished.
Swish.
“Y-Young Master?!”
At the sight of Dan Woojin disappearing in an instant, Jang Cheol cried out in surprise.
“You must return!! If you don't return, this time I will truly dieeeee!”
Listening to Jang Cheol’s shouts, Dan Woojin moved his feet diligently.
The first thing he had to confirm was the survival of the "Am Yeong" who was scheduled to enter the Demonic Cult today.
Recalling the fortress gate where he had entered the Demonic Cult after catching the eye of the Black Shadow Captain, Dan Woojin began to look for a place where he could observe the gate.
After some time had passed.
Dan Woojin took a seat on the second floor of an inn near the gate and kept watch.
“If it is here…”
It seemed he could observe the Black Shadow Army entering the Demonic Cult without being noticed by them.
‘It will be possible at this distance.’
Dan Woojin closed his eyes and began to observe his own body.
Though it was pathetic, he could feel the flow of inner Qi.
The divine arts Dan Woojin could have learned at this period were obvious.
‘Since he wouldn't have been able to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the one he is learning now must be the Asura Demonic Art.’
Am Yeong, who had performed the mission of disposing of the corpses of the Young Cult Leader candidates, had taken what they left behind one by one as they died.
Therefore, he held the mnemonic for the Asura Demonic Art in his mind.
As for the Soul Killing Art, the martial art Am Yeong originally practiced, he would slowly integrate it into the Asura Demonic Art later.
‘Moving the inner Qi accumulated in the Dantian according to the mnemonic is possible immediately.’
Even a small amount of inner Qi was enough.
As he recited the mnemonic for the Far-Sight Eyes, a martial art that allows one to observe enemies from afar by moving inner Qi, the entrance of the gate came into view as if magnified.
Before long, he saw the Black Shadow Army entering through the gate.
“The Captain is…”
He found him.
Dan Woojin, who discovered Gu Won, the Black Shadow Captain of his youth moving with expressionless eyes, found the man following beside him.
“That man is…”
It was not Am Yeong.
However, it was a familiar face.
“Number 2.”
A face he had seen during the days he struggled to survive to become a common disciple of the Nine Sect Alliance was entering the Demonic Cult.
Seeing that face, Dan Woojin was able to realize.
The fact that the past had shifted from the moment Am Yeong returned and became Dan Woojin.
And the fact that Number 2 had infiltrated the Demonic Cult meant,
‘Does it mean the original "me" is dead?’
Am Yeong, who became the common disciple of the Nine Sect Alliance, was able to become so because he alone survived among many candidates.
Number 2 being here meant that the bastard who survived ‘that place’ was Number 2 alone.
‘Has my very existence vanished?’
Then what about his brother?
Because Am Yeong had survived alone, his younger brother, Dan Wooje, was able to be adopted into the Namgung Clan.
However, the fact that Number 2 had become the spy for the Demonic Cult meant that his brother’s life or death could no longer be known.
‘I don't know why I became the Seventh Young Master.’
However,
The reason Dan Woojin had to live was clear.
‘I will kill them. I will surely kill them.’
The Master of the Murim Alliance, Cheong Weol.
The Strategist, Zhuge Taek.
In this life, he would live with the goal of getting revenge on those two.
To do that…
“First… I must survive.”
Since he had become one of the seven children of the Demonic Cult Leader, Dan Woojin would fight over the position of Young Cult Leader.
‘I must not stop at just surviving.’
He had to become the Young Cult Leader.
‘In the previous life, the Second Young Master killed all the other siblings and became the Young Cult Leader.’
It was unavoidable.
If even one of the Heavenly Demon’s children had survived, they would surely have stabbed the Second Young Master in the back.
Because the children of the Heavenly Demon, backed by the Seven Great Demon Sects, were the greatest geniuses of the Demonic Cult.
‘If the events of the next ten years occur exactly as I experienced them…’
Becoming the Young Cult Leader would be nothing.
Knowing what would happen in the future was an enormous advantage.
If he utilized this, he would be able to surpass the other candidates and become the Young Cult Leader.
And Am Yeong.
He still remembered the Soul Killing Art, a martial art that grows stronger the more one kills enemies.
It was also the reason he was called the Death God.
‘For now, let's watch Number 2.’
If he could later win over that bastard Number 2, who would act as a spy in the Black Shadow Army, he would be able to move a step closer to his revenge.
“Seventh Young Masteeeer! Where are you!!”
At the wailing heard from afar, Dan Woojin began to apply self-suggestion as he approached Jang Cheol.
‘From now on, I am the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Holy Cult, Dan Woojin.’
He had to get used to this name in the future.
* * *
“Has everyone entered seclusion?”
If someone asked who possessed the greatest power in the Heavenly Demon Holy Cult after the Cult Leader, everyone would pick this person.
The Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Holy Cult, Sima Yi.
Sima Yi, holding a steel fan, asked his adjutant, Weiji Hyeok.
A month from now, the Cult Leader’s birthday event would be held.
On that day, a place would be prepared to introduce the Young Cult Leader candidates who would succeed the Cult Leader to all practitioners of the Demonic Way.
“I am sorry, the Seventh Young Master has not arrived yet.”
“…Has he perhaps run away?”
“I don't think that is the case.”
One way or another, the Seventh Young Master was still the son of the Cult Leader.
“Capture him at once and throw him into the Demonic Cave.”
“Yes, understand.”
The seclusion of the Young Cult Leader candidates was an absolute command from the Cult Leader.
This seclusion was the process they had to go through right before being introduced to the Seven Great Demon Sects.
The current Cult Leader had also undergone seclusion in the Demonic Cave before becoming the Young Cult Leader.
Only by passing through this seclusion would one be given the minimum qualification to become the Young Cult Leader.
The adjutant, who was about to rush out upon Sima Yi’s command, hesitated.
“But… will the Seventh Young Master be able to survive the Demonic Cave?”
“Who knows.”
It did not matter if he died.
In the Heavenly Demon Holy Cult where the strong reigned supreme, weakness meant death.
The Cult Leader’s will was firm.
It meant he would not recognize them as his children if they could not pass through the Demonic Cave.
“Enough, go find him quickly.”
“Yes, understand.”
Watching the adjutant rush outside, Sima Yi recalled the Cult Leader’s children one by one.
‘The First Young Master and the Second Young Master will be able to pass through the Demonic Cave without difficulty. Since the Demonic Caves are connected, the Third Young Lady and the Fourth Young Master might attempt to join forces.’
The remaining ones were the Fifth Young Master, the Sixth Young Lady, and the Seventh Young Master…
Since the Fifth Young Master and the Sixth Young Lady could also pass through the Demonic Cave easily if one only looked at their individual martial levels.
The one who might die the soonest had to be seen as the Seventh Young Master.
‘Perhaps for the first time among the Cult Leader’s children, a failure of the Demonic Cave will appear…’
Thinking of the patriarchs of the Seven Great Demon Sects ridiculing the Seventh Young Master, Sima Yi was deeply worried.
* * *
“You let go this instant!”
As if Sima Yi’s worries were for naught, the Seventh Young Master, Dan Woojin, was caught by the strategist's adjutant, Weiji Hyeok, and thrown into the Demonic Cave.
Thud!
“Ugh.”
“Seventh Young Master. A month from now, the Great Cult Leader’s birthday is scheduled. If you wish to be recognized as the Great Cult Leader’s child, you must pass through the Demonic Cave within a month and walk out on your own feet.”
With those words from Weiji Hyeok as the last, the Demonic Cave closed.
Then, Dan Woojin, who had been lying on the floor, stood up while dusting off his buttocks.
The gaze that had been trembling with fear a moment ago had completely vanished.
Before long, Dan Woojin’s eyes had become extremely calm.
He had acted as the Seventh Young Master whom Am Yeong knew to avoid suspicion, and it seemed to have worked perfectly.
At any rate.
“This place is…”
The Demonic Cave.
A space that was pitch black and filled with a damp feeling throughout the body.
A training cave where only the direct descendants of the Heavenly Demon could enter.
One could be recognized as a child of the Heavenly Demon only by surviving and passing the trials given in this Demonic Cave.
At first, nothing could be seen, but gradually his eyes adapted to the darkness and the shape of the deeply carved cave began to come into view.
On the day of the Heavenly Demon’s birthday, where all of the Seven Great Demon Sects gathered, the Cult Leader introduced his children.
It was not a situation where he could simply introduce children who might become the King of All Demons in the future.
The Cult Leader wanted to proudly introduce them as bastards who were at least worthy of being Young Cult Leader candidates, so he put his children into the Demonic Cave one month before his birthday.
The result was already known.
“Everyone passed except for the Seventh Young Master… wasn't it?”
The Seventh Young Master, who failed to pass through the Demonic Cave, is found as a cold corpse.
In the previous life, this Demonic Cave was such a difficult place to pass that the Seventh Young Master died because he could not make it through.
In short, this place was.
“A place that originally would have become the Seventh Young Master’s grave.”
Of course, such a thing would not happen in this life.
Although he was in a state where he had not yet become accustomed to this body,
‘I can certainly pass.’
Dan Woojin possessed the memories Am Yeong held.
What was most urgent now was the fact that he had to get used to this body first to pass the three trials of the Demonic Cave.
As such, the first thing he naturally did was cross his legs and sit down.
‘The Asura Demonic Art the Seventh Young Master learned is one of the high level martial arts provided in common to the Young Cult Leader candidates.’
Because he was born as the son of the Heavenly Demon, unlike other ordinary cultists, he could learn an inner Qi cultivation method corresponding to high level martial arts from the start.
The important thing was that this Asura Demonic Art was not a unique cultivation method for him alone, but a method passed down to all seven children of the Heavenly Demon.
While there were plenty of other high level martial arts, the Seventh Young Master alone practiced only the common martial art, the Asura Demonic Art.
‘It really seems he learned no other martial arts at all besides the Asura Demonic Art.’
He was curious about the reason.
Why did the Seventh Young Master learn only the Asura Demonic Art, unlike the other candidates?
‘Well, that is something I can find out as I go.’
At any rate, not a single common callus was visible on Dan Woojin’s body right now.
For Am Yeong, it was rather a good thing.
If traces of having learned other martial arts were prevalent, he would not have been able to learn the Soul Killing Art.
The Soul Killing Art is a martial art created by the Slayer King, whose lineage is now severed.
A martial art created to kill not only the physical body but even the soul.
Although Am Yeong was chosen as a common disciple of the Nine Sect Alliance, his primal goal was the assassination of the Young Cult Leader, so he had no choice but to learn basic martial arts centered on the Soul Killing Art, the assassination art of the Slayer King.
The important thing was that no one knew this martial art was special.
‘A martial art that grows stronger the more people you kill.’
Whether it was absorbing the souls of the killed, Am Yeong grew stronger the more people he killed, and eventually, he was even able to kill the Young Cult Leader.
It was a martial art he had learned once.
Learning it again was not difficult.
Dan Woojin stared into the inner part of the Demonic Cave while sitting with crossed legs.
In the pitch black darkness.
The first trial of the Demonic Cave was waiting for Dan Woojin.
“Wait just a little. Once I finish my preparations, I will break through in an instant.”