Chapter 98 : A Demonic Art, Yet Not a Demonic Art
Chapter 98: A Demonic Art, Yet Not a Demonic Art
The resolution that began with the commander nodding toward Yelü Han was instantaneous.
The moment Iron Demon, having received Yelü Han’s voice transmission, seized the throat of the bandit leader Juhyeon, the suppression of the horse bandits was over.
The horse bandit gang had never intended to oppose the Bright Cult’s martial artists in the first place, and the instant they realized their opponent was the Vice Cult Leader—namely, Salyejin Cheonhwang—they flattened themselves to the ground and begged to be spared.
The Aksu commander could not relax his stiff expression.
The opponent was far too great a figure compared to expectations.
No matter how different a world the government office was from the martial world of the rivers and lakes, there was no way they could be ignorant of the Vice Cult Leader.
The story of how he alone had slaughtered more than a thousand martial artists of Kongtong was famous even within the government.
Perhaps because he was facing such a man, the commander’s eyes trembled slightly.
“We did not come here to kill anyone, so there is no need to be anxious.”
“Th-that is so.”
He switched from crude informal speech to a more neutral, restrained tone.
It seemed to be a compromise born of petty pride—too burdensome to speak down to someone of the Vice Cult Leader’s renown, yet unwilling, as a holder of official rank, to use honorifics toward what he considered a mere commoner.
Yelü Han, who had never cared much about the other party’s manner of speech to begin with, continued unperturbed.
“That is correct. From the start, I had no interest in the lives of the government soldiers or the horse bandits.”
“Then what is it that interests you?”
“Land.”
“Land? What land… surely you do not mean—!”
“That’s right. I am interested in the Aksu Military Farm.”
“Do you not know that laying a hand on a government military farm is a capital crime of treason?”
“I am not saying I intend to seize it, so there is no need to look so grim.”
“Then what did you mean by what you just said?”
“I am asking to borrow some land to farm.”
“Farming? Did you not say you were Bright Cult martial artists?”
“That is correct.”
“This is the first I have ever heard of Bright Cult martial artists farming.”
The commander had already been stationed in Xinjiang for three years. Enough time had passed for him to understand, to a degree, how the people of Xinjiang lived.
With the knowledge accumulated over that time, he spoke—and Yelü Han responded with a faint smile.
“From now on, we intend to farm.”
“I have heard rumors that the Bright Cult has had an abundance of food lately, so why go to such lengths…?”
“The number of people I must feed has increased. Would cooperation be possible?”
At Yelü Han’s question, the commander could not answer readily.
A military farm was land that could not be allocated to civilians. All grain produced there had to be used as military provisions.
Even if it was currently abandoned and left unattended, there was no knowing when a western expedition might resume.
Conversely, if forces from the Western Regions invaded the Central Plains, troops would have to be mustered immediately for defense—and the food consumed then would be produced precisely here, at the Aksu Military Farm.
Thus, it was not something he could lend out at his own discretion…
“Ah! I heard you received orders to exterminate the horse bandits throughout western Xinjiang. I think I might be able to help with that.”
At Yelü Han’s words, the commander’s eyes lit up.
Time had passed without him being able to carry out the punitive order issued as a military command.
If things continued like this and he returned without any achievements, his head might very well roll.
But if he returned after successfully suppressing the horse bandits…
“The number of horse bandits is large.”
“We are not lacking in numbers either.”
The commander had long heard the rumor that the Bright Cult had more than a hundred thousand martial artists.
“They are horse bandits formed from wandering drifters and rogue elements of the martial world who caused trouble and fled, so their dispositions are rough, and their actions savage and brutal—”
The commander stopped mid-sentence.
The reason was that the nickname of the man smiling faintly at him surfaced in his mind once more.
‘Salyejin Cheonhwang.’
Realizing belatedly that he had been saying something unnecessary, the commander hastily introduced himself as if to smooth over the awkwardness.
“I am I Sok, a Commandant of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“I am Yelü Han of the Bright Cult.”
After exchanging a brief greeting with a light clasped-fist salute, Yelü Han asked,
“Then is the negotiation settled?”
“Very well. The Bright Cult will exterminate the horse bandits, and I will lend the military farm to the Bright Cult.”
“Excellent. It benefits us both. Iron Demon.”
At Yelü Han’s call, Iron Demon hurried over.
“Give your command, Vice Cult Leader.”
“Take those men and gather the horse bandits. If they come quietly, spare them. If they resist, you may cut them down without mercy.”
“I obey!”
Responding without hesitation, Iron Demon dragged Juhyeon, whose throat he had been gripping, and left the earthen fortress.
To the horse bandits who lay prostrate on the ground, unsure what to do, Iron Demon’s shout rang out.
“What are you waiting for? Did you not hear the Vice Cult Leader say you may be cut down without mercy if you resist?”
At Iron Demon’s roar, the horse bandits stole glances at Yelü Han.
They were not certain whether it was truly all right to go.
When Yelü Han gestured for them to follow quickly, the horse bandits finally stood up and poured out in a rush.
Leading them, Iron Demon galloped out beyond the earthen fortress.
The problem was that Iron Demon, who had not spoken before, took one horse for himself, leaving one horse bandit behind.
Flustered, the man hesitated, unsure whether he should run after them or stay put, when Ita placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, little brother. I’m Ita.”
“Eh? Ah! Yes. Big brother. I’m Makson.”
“So you’re Makson. Even your name sounds like the youngest. Come on, let’s go fetch some water and cook some rice. I’m hungry.”
“Well, um, but there’s no rice—”
“If there isn’t any, then I’ll just boil you instead.”
When Ita spat the words out bluntly and glared, Makson answered in a panic.
“I-I’ll go hunting nearby!”
“I won’t wait long.”
“I’ll be back before you can blink!”
“Good. Go on.”
With Ita’s permission, Makson ran out of the earthen fortress. Watching him go, Yelü Han let out a bitter smile.
It was clear that that squad leader under Iron Demon was very good at finding things he ought to be doing.
Even if he did not particularly like the method.
---
People began to gather at the Aksu Military Farm.
They were all believers of the Bright Cult.
Among them were those who had been believers for a long time, but there were also many recent converts, and here and there were those who had come for the Great Recruitment of Bright Cult Martial Artists and ended up becoming believers.
The bandits who had been staying at the Main Fortress, along with their families, also flocked in.
It was because Yelü Han had issued an order summoning them.
From among those who gathered, irrigation technicians were selected and put to work repairing the irrigation facilities that had long been left abandoned.
The irrigation facilities, perhaps because their original structure had been well preserved, regained their proper form in less than ten days.
In the meantime, several thousand people moved in unison, transforming the long-abandoned and desolate military farm into fertile farmland.
After obtaining permission from the Cult Leader, Yelü Han used a portion of the grain stockpiled at the Main Fortress as seed and sowed it across the fields.
As the amount of labor decreased, Yelü Han selected the idle hands and had them clear a road connecting the newly built village below the mountain foot village to the Aksu Military Farm.
The village connected to the military farm was thus named, by the people themselves, the Military Farm Village.
Although not even sprouts had yet appeared in the fields, the people were filled with hope.
They had not only gained new homes, but also farmland.
Though it did not belong to them personally, it was farmland from which they would be allotted a share once the harvest came in.
There was Yelü Han’s promise that everyone would farm together and share the food together.
Whether young or old, simply doing what one could meant being able to live together in this village.
It was during this time, as the military farm was steadily taking shape, that Iron Demon—who had departed with the Blood Wolf Bandits—returned, leading several hundred horse bandits.
The hundreds who arrived were crushed by the overwhelming presence of a single man—Yelü Han—standing firm atop the earthen fortress, and all of them dropped prostrate to the ground.
“You have been subdued. Now only a choice remains. Will you die miserably as horse bandits, or live honorably as Bright Cult martial artists? Which will you cho—”
Before Yelü Han could even finish his question, he received his answer.
“We will become Bright Cult martial artists!”
At the sight of the horse bandits shouting in unison, Yelü Han let out a faint chuckle.
After all, there was no one who would step forward declaring they wished to die as a horse bandit.
Thinking that even the horse bandit issue was proceeding according to plan, Yelü Han then encountered an unexpected obstacle.
Immediately after arranging for the horse bandits to remain outside the earthen fortress, Iron Demon came to see him.
“Vice Cult Leader, I have something to say.”
Seeing Iron Demon’s face hardened with what seemed like firm resolve, Yelü Han asked,
“You intend to say that turning horse bandits into Bright Cult martial artists is unacceptable, correct?”
“How did you know?”
At Iron Demon’s surprised reaction, Yelü Han glanced toward Profound Demon standing beside him.
“There has already been opposition once.”
Meaning that Profound Demon had already objected.
“I see. Then I suppose there is no need for a long explanation as to why it is unacceptable.”
“Because they have not learned Demonic Arts, and thus cannot be considered Bright Cult martial artists, correct?”
“That is correct. Demonic Arts are the destiny and fate of Bright Cult martial artists. Those who have not learned them cannot be accepted as Bright Cult martial artists. This is something that cannot be allowed—even by you, Vice Cult Leader, who has resolved to devote everything.”
“We can teach them.”
“Are you saying we should now put them through basic training?”
The Bright Cult’s Demonic Art training process was unexpectedly rigid.
Ten years of basic training, five years of advanced internal energy training, after which a Demonic Art suited to one’s affinities would be bestowed, and only then would full Demonic Art training begin.
Another ten years after that—meaning only after twenty-five years from entering the cult—would one be evaluated and treated as a proper martial artist.
If one was exceptionally talented, advancement was possible, as Yelü Han himself had completed basic training in seven years, but such cases were exceedingly rare.
That was why Bright Cult martial artists were, on the whole, older in age.
The reason such a complex procedure and long period were required lay in the nature of Demonic Arts.
Only after thoroughly laying the foundation could one learn Demonic Arts, so as not to lose one’s reason and become a slave to Demonic Energy.
After listening to Iron Demon’s long explanation of why such a process was necessary, Yelü Han asked,
“That is the case when training orthodox Demonic Arts, correct?”
“There is no such thing as orthodox or unorthodox Demonic Arts—”
Iron Demon stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as if something had just occurred to him. Yelü Han nodded slightly.
“That’s right. A Demonic Art, yet not a Demonic Art. Would it not suffice to train them in that?”
At Yelü Han’s words, Iron Demon could only gape silently, unable to respond at once.
---
Within the Bright Cult, there existed two sacred sites.
One was the Sacred Fire Furnace.
As the name suggested, it was a massive furnace.
Within it burned a flame that had never once gone out since the Heavenly Demon Founding Ancestor established the Bright Cult.
No oil was poured, no wood was added, yet the flame burned endlessly.
For that reason, it was called the divine flame and became a treasured relic of the Bright Cult.
The second was the Demon Wall.
Covered with drawings said to have been left behind by the Heavenly Demon just before his ascension, the Demon Wall was a kind of illustrated secret manual.
The martial arts left behind by the Heavenly Demon, known as the progenitor of the Demonic Path, were naturally Demonic Arts.
The chronic flaw of Demonic Arts lay in the fact that Demonic Energy damaged the practitioner’s brain.
Thus, a good Demonic Art was not simply one with great destructive power or one that allowed ascension to high realms.
A truly good Demonic Art was one that satisfied those conditions while also possessing a proper protective art that could shield the practitioner’s brain from Demonic Energy.
In that sense, the martial arts left on the Demon Wall were perfect.
They were martial arts that completely protected the practitioner from Demonic Energy.
Their learning speed was also fast.
Even ordinary people could learn the heart method in ten days, wield a sword in a month, and use palm techniques in three months.
To such an extent that they were dubbed the Bright Cult’s version of the Three Talents Heart Scripture, Three Talents Sword Art, and Three Talents Palm Art, and were called the Bright Talents Heart Art, Bright Talents Sword Art, and Bright Talents Palm Art.
Safe from Demonic Energy and quick to master—surely the ultimate martial arts?
At first, everyone thought so. They believed that once perfected, they would become supreme techniques that would carve a mark across the martial world.
But…
The results were disastrous.
Despite clearly reaching perfection—the highest level of martial arts—their destructive power was abysmal.
They were no different from other basic martial arts.
Suspicions arose that perhaps it was because low-level practitioners had learned them and failed to find the correct path.
That was only natural.
There was no way martial arts left behind by the Heavenly Demon could be so shoddy.
Immediately, peak and super-peak masters attempted them. Even elders who had reached the Transcendent Realm learned the martial arts of the Demon Wall.
Despite enduring the inconvenience of devoting precious time—time that was insufficient even for refining their existing martial arts—to train the Demon Wall techniques from the ground up…
The result did not change.
After countless tests and experiments, the conclusion reached was hollow.
The martial arts of the Demon Wall were basic martial arts.
Yet they could not even be used for basic training. The Bright Talents Heart Art interfered with the operation of other Demonic Arts.
More precisely, it prevented Demonic Energy from invading the brain.
The problem was that in the process, it obstructed the smooth operation of other Demonic Arts.
Since this was a common issue experienced by all who had learned the Demon Wall martial arts, its strength had turned into a weakness.
Ultimately, it was excluded even from basic training arts, and the Demon Wall became a forgotten secret manual within the Bright Cult.
Naturally, despite being a sacred site, it became a place that no one in the Bright Cult visited.
Before that Demon Wall, forgotten by all,
Yelü Han and Iron Demon stood.