Chapter 9
"We must hold the Third Young Master accountable."
"Hear, hear."
A few elders seated toward the back echoed Third Elder's words.
Hyeok Je-un pointed to the Third Elder.
"Continue your argument."
"He gave them justification. The reason the Forest Bandits are mobilizing to strike Tianshan is entirely because the Third Young Master killed Bae Hang-yeop, Chief of the Eighth Forest Bandit Camp. It is already alarming enough that he took a life, but of all people, he killed a Forest Bandit chief. Is it not only natural that the Great Forest King would be furious? Therefore, the Third Young Master must be held accountable."
The logic appeared airtight.
Hyeok Je-un pondered in silence. Then he looked toward the two elders seated closest to him.
The two old men, known respectively as the Left Elder and Right Elder, sat beside Hyeok Je-un in Meditative Posture, still as statues, making it difficult to tell whether they were alive or dead.
Hyeok Je-un spoke.
"Third Elder. What you say strikes me as strange."
"Pardon?"
"Are you a Forest Bandit? Why do you refer to the General Chief of those thieves as the Great Forest King? Is this not like His Highness the King of Hanzhong calling the traitor Cao Cao 'Lord Wei'?"
"That is not—"
Ahem. The Third Elder cleared his throat.
"I misspoke."
"One more thing. The reason my third grandson killed that thief was because he could not abide injustice, and every witness present has attested to this. In other words, it was an act of rightful defense. Even so, acknowledging that his methods were brutal, I had him enter Closed-door Confinement for one month."
"……"
"I ask you this. What further accountability does the Third Elder believe must be demanded of the Third Young Master? Are you saying we should kill him?"
Murmur, murmur—
At Hyeok Je-un's words, even those who had agreed with the Third Elder fell silent at once.
The Third Elder let out a groan and glanced toward the Left Elder and Right Elder.
'The great mountains are quiet.'
Without the support of the Left Elder and Right Elder, any proposal put forward held no meaning whatsoever.
And so, just as the Third Elder finally bowed his head and made to withdraw—
"Do not shield a child."
A man's voice rang out from somewhere in the back.
Hyeok Je-un looked in that direction—and his expression immediately soured.
What an insufferable man, spouting such insufferable words.
"……Bang-rip. If you have something to say, say it."
He was none other than Bang-rip, Hyeok Je-un's live-in son-in-law. Hyeok Seol-hwa's husband.
Bang-rip, with his fierce, wide-set eyes, sat in Meditative Posture and opened his mouth.
"However young a child he may have been, the doctrine of our Heavenly Demon Cult is Non-Killing. To think that after taking a life, he simply enters Closed-door Confinement for a month—please mete out severe punishment to Hyeok Jeong-min for fundamentally violating our doctrine."
It was a righteous statement. Even Hyeok Je-un, to some degree, understood the sentiment.
However, he could not fathom why Bang-rip of all people would say such a thing.
"He is your son."
For Hyeok Jeong-min was Bang-rip's own blood.
"Just because he is my son does not mean I can turn a blind eye to his transgressions."
That was not wrong either.
Still, Hyeok Je-un found no satisfaction in Bang-rip's words.
"Haaa."
Tremble— Hyeok Je-un could barely restrain the Internal Energy gathering in his fist.
‘I cannot beat that man down here.’
"We shall adjourn today's meeting at this point. Everyone, you are dismissed."
And so the meeting dispersed without resolution, and Hyeok Je-un returned to his quarters within the Cult Grounds.
His brooding did not end even as the night grew deep.
Hoo—
An owl cried outside.
'Hm?'
Hoo—
The owl's cry was being muffled by something.
As though there were one more wall…
Without hesitation, Hyeok Je-un flung the window open. There stood Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha, who had come with their footsteps silenced.
"You two?"
"G-Grandfather. Ahem—we came to pay our evening respects."
A lie.
Hyeok Je-un chuckled and let the two children inside.
Seated, Hyeok Je-un looked up at the brothers.
"What brings you here?"
As Hyeok Mun-ha fumbled and fidgeted, Hyeok Jang-ho nudged him. Even so, when Hyeok Mun-ha said nothing, Hyeok Jang-ho finally spoke.
"Grandfather. We ask that you not punish our younger brother."
"Your reason."
"We do not believe our third brother is wrong."
"Wrong about what?"
"If you are hit, you must fight back."
Those were the words Jeong-min had said when Hyeok Je-un had scolded him.
So they were listening from outside at the time.
"If one killed every time they were hit, there would be no people left in the world."
"If one only endured being beaten, there would be no Heavenly Demon Cult left in the world either."
"Huhuh."
"Grandfather. Why must we remain still? Is it because of the doctrine established by the First Cult Leader?"
At the words First Cult Leader, Hyeok Je-un's eyes sharpened.
"Mind your words."
"The doctrine of Non-Killing is worthy of respect. But there are those who seek to kill us. And it is not only the Forest Bandits. You know this."
The Qinghai Escort Bureau, Potala Palace, and even the distant Blood Cult were all biding their time, watching for their chance to strike Tianshan…
Whatever must be done, something must be done. Perhaps he had simply been looking away all this time.
"What is it you both wish to say? Mun-ha, you speak."
"…Grandfather. I…"
Hyeok Mun-ha looked at Hyeok Je-un with quiet eyes.
"I want to give Jeong-min my support."
"……"
At those single words, Hyeok Je-un fell silent.
Through the long contemplation that followed, Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha said nothing.
At last, Hyeok Je-un opened his mouth.
"Let me ask you one thing. As you both know, Jeong-min has trained in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. The more you lend your weight behind him, the more your own standing will be shaken. It means drifting further from advancement—does that not concern you?"
"It does not."
"It does not."
Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha answered simultaneously. Even they seemed not to have expected the same answer from each other, for they turned and stared at one another in surprise.
"Your reason."
"What does it matter who advances in rank… or who inherits the Cult Leader's seat. What matters most to me is our family."
"Likewise for me."
Hyeok Je-un nodded.
Talent was not measured by martial prowess or the accumulation of Internal Energy alone. There was talent in the steadfastness of one's heart as well.
How could such talents have sprung from the likes of Bang-rip… That contradiction made Hyeok Je-un's head ache.
"Understood."
Hyeok Je-un nodded.
He, too, had thoughts of his own on the matter.
"Let us stand behind Jeong-min. We shall build our strength and face the Forest Bandits."
"……!"
"Understood!"
It was the moment Hyeok Je-un set their course aright.
Then Hyeok Jang-ho burst out—
"With that in mind, Cult Leader, there is something we wish to ask of you."
"Speak."
Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha exchanged a glance, then finally said what they had been wanting to say since the moment they arrived.
"Please pass down the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to us as well!"
"Your reason."
"It is to protect Jeong-min."
‘That is sound reasoning.’
"You will not be able to learn it as quickly or as easily as Jeong-min. But……very well."
A clear smile finally spread across Hyeok Je-un's face.
.
.
.
.
.
"Ugh!"
Crack!
Jeong-min was struck by something and sent flying.
Sprawled face-down on the cold floor of the Closed-door Confinement, Jeong-min took a deep breath and rose back to his feet.
'External Martial Arts.'
After achieving the 2nd Stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Jeong-min had thrown himself into External Martial Arts training.
It was a means of honing the Nameless Sword Art from his past life once more. However, there was no sword here.
A week had already passed since he began training in External Martial Arts. And so Jeong-min had created an imaginary sword and an imaginary enemy.
'The man in blue.'
In the pitch darkness surrounding him, Jeong-min stood face to face with the man who had killed him in his past life.
'The man in blue. The one who was my master in my past life.'
‘In this life, I will surely kill you.’
Jeong-min gripped his imaginary sword tight and lunged forward. The taut muscles blazing across his frame were about to cleave the man in blue in two—
Thud!
"Ugh!"
—A sword strike coming from his blind spot sent Jeong-min stumbling back. Even in imagination, the man in blue was every bit as powerful as he truly was.
'The same Nameless Sword Art will not do.'
Jeong-min's External Martial Arts were Peerless External Martial Arts Under Heaven.
But he had no Internal Energy. And so with the same Nameless Sword Art, he could not take revenge upon that man.
'What's more, the Martial Alliance lot are at their peak right now. They will be far stronger than when they killed me in my past life.'
If the Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un was in his prime, then so were the Martial Alliance lot.
For Jeong-min to exact his revenge upon them, he needed something different.
And that was—
'Sword Energy Hardening.'
What Jeong-min had thought of from the very beginning—Sword Energy Hardening.
Jeong-min gripped his sword tight. And tried to coat it in Sword Energy Hardening using the 2nd Stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
'Draw the energy out beyond the body, give it form. Then coat it over the blade—that is Sword Energy Hardening.'
To coat the blade in demonic arts. It could then surpass Peerless External Martial Arts Under Heaven and become the supreme External Martial Art in all the world.
And yet—
Bang!
The Demonic Energy scattered.
Despite having clearly achieved the 2nd Stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Jeong-min still seemed to have a long road ahead.
‘If it were something anyone could do, everyone would have become the greatest in the world.’
'Let's train steadily. There is still plenty of time.'
And so two more nights passed without sleep, and each time Jeong-min charged at the man in blue, he was defeated without fail.
Over a hundred attempts. Not once had he managed to land a blow on that imaginary enemy.
Crunch—
Jeong-min's teeth ground together.
"Right then. I'll keep at it until it works."
Creak!
Jeong-min pushed Demonic Energy out from his body once more.
And tried to give it form and coat it over the blade.
But this time too, with a bang!, it scattered.
'How can I coat it?'
Using Internal Energy was something he was doing for the first time in this life.
It was a strange and unfamiliar force.
‘How could he give it form over the blade…’
As he deliberated, Jeong-min finally changed his thinking.
'It's not about coating the blade. What if I let it seep inside the blade?'
He kept trying to dress it from the outside, which was why it kept coming undone.
If instead he filled it from within—surely it would not overflow and scatter.
Jeong-min immediately put his thoughts into action.
Creak! Creak!
Rough Demonic Energy poured out from within his body.
Jeong-min gathered the Demonic Energy together into one mass, and channeled it into the interior of the blade.
'Work. Work this time!'
Cold sweat poured down Jeong-min's body.
And at last—
Bang!
With the same unmistakable rush of wind as before, this time, without question, he had succeeded in breathing Demonic Energy into the heart of the blade.
'Sword Energy Hardening.'
It was the moment Sword Energy Hardening finally succeeded.
Of course, it was still far from what could be called a complete Sword Energy Hardening.
Jeong-min gripped the sword infused with Sword Energy Hardening once more, tight in his hand.
And swung it toward the imaginary enemy before him.
"This time, I will surely cut you down, Master."
Every last bit—including what I could not do in my past life.
Slash!