There were other things that changed once I became the Young Cult Leader.
I was moved to new quarters deep within the inner compound. The house was large, the training ground was large, and there were even gardens and walking paths around it. It was a residence incomparably better than my old one. The number of maids attending to me increased greatly as well.
The first thing I did in my new quarters was change the interior to suit my tastes.
In truth, even before my regression, I had camped so often that I could sleep well anywhere. But now, where I slept had become important.
I would be busy as the Young Cult Leader, and I would be busy with training. That was precisely why this space was all the more precious. It would be my place of rest amid all that busyness.
I replaced the bed with a large one and spread soft, cozy, pure-white bedding over it.
By the sunlit window, I placed a desk. I also put in a chair where I could sit comfortably and read.
The bookshelf was filled with books I had bought on the recommendation of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. My goal was to read them all within the year, though I did not know if I would even manage half.
I pulled out a book and sat in the chair by the window.
Then I took the book and threw myself onto the bed. I rolled around on the fluffy, pleasantly soft white blanket.
“Yes, this is it.”
Then I lay there and read.
Did reading poetry anthologies help with martial training? Of course it did. Up to a certain level, focusing solely on martial arts would be helpful, but once one reached my level…
Thump!
“Ow!”
I had dozed off, and the book fell on my face. Yes, I could dodge the sword of an expert, but not this.
I lay on the bed for a while and savored the brief peace. Once I left the bed, I would have to train like mad and run forward again. That was why I was truly grateful for this moment. Life became happier when one was grateful for the things taken for granted.
My quarters were not the only thing that changed.
As promised to my guards, I had their old, cramped lodgings torn down and built them a large, spacious residence with a training ground attached. When all the guards joined in to help the workers, the lodging was completed in no time.
I also made sure the beds and furniture inside were of the best quality possible. Since I took care of even those details, it was only natural that everyone was pleased.
“Thank you very much.”
Jeok Yeon, their captain, greeted me on behalf of them all. By keeping my promise, I was introducing myself to them as the kind of person I was.
“I’ll be devoting myself to training for the time being, so don’t come looking for me unless it’s important.”
With that, I entered my personal training ground.
I had two training grounds in total: a large outdoor one, and a personal indoor training ground that was smaller than the outside one.
I trained in the indoor training ground.
It was narrower than the outside one, but it was larger than any other indoor training ground. It was probably the largest and most finely appointed after Father’s training ground.
As the saying went, one could know the whole from a single part—the eighteen types of weapons lined up against the wall were far too fine in quality to be mere training weapons.
The walls, ceiling, and floor had also been built sturdy enough not to collapse under any impact. Truly, everything changed once I became the Young Cult Leader.
Yes, new wine in new wineskins, and new martial arts in a new training ground!
My heart trembled as I prepared to truly begin training in the Nine Transformations Demonic Art.
An absolute demonic art against which no evil energy or demonic energy could prevail.
At last, the training of the Nine Transformations Demonic Art I had longed for even in my dreams had begun.
The Nine Transformations Demonic Art consisted of nine forms in total.
Six were forms used by a person, and three were forms used by the Heavenly Demon Soul. Even if one mastered only the forms used by a person, it was possible to reach great completion.
However, in that case, the Heavenly Demon Soul would be unable to unleash the forms.
The Heavenly Demon Soul was powerful in and of itself, but it was even stronger when using forms.
Imagine something as enormous as a demon king executing forms as swiftly as a human attacking!
That was why I had to master all nine forms perfectly and achieve great completion.
The Nine Transformations Demonic Art was a completely different martial art from the Flying Heaven Sword Art. If the Flying Heaven Sword Art was swordsmanship, then the Nine Transformations Demonic Art was, quite literally, a demonic art.
Each and every form consumed an immense amount of internal energy, and naturally, its power could not be compared.
I began training calmly, starting with the mental cultivation method.
This was the most important moment in the training of the Nine Transformations Demonic Art.
If I made even the slightest mistake here, I could fall into qi deviation, so I moved my true qi slowly and cautiously.
This was the first time in my life I had ever practiced a mental cultivation method with such care and concentration.
Fortunately, I succeeded in circulating my true qi through one heavenly cycle according to the口诀. If not for the key principles Father had taught me, I would have been blocked from the mental cultivation method itself.
I did not yet train the forms. First, I would wait until I could circulate the mental cultivation method comfortably. Only then would I begin training in earnest.
I circulated my true qi once, twice, and then three times.
After continuing to circulate my energy like that, I came to my senses and realized that three full double-hours had already flown by. I had been so absorbed in the mental cultivation method of the Nine Transformations Demonic Art that I had not even noticed my hunger.
Each time I circulated my energy, the internal energy in my dantian reacted differently. I felt my pure, majestic internal energy slowly beginning to heat up.
I was glad to have found a martial art I could immerse myself in like this, yet at the same time, I felt fear. I sensed that the road ahead would be very long.
“I’m hungry, so let’s eat first.”
Today, I cooked for myself.
I chopped firewood, lit a fire, and prepared the meat.
I could not simply make do with a quick meal and hurry back to training. The more important the training, the more I had to eat well, rest well, and strive to maintain my body and mind in the best possible condition.
I grilled plenty of meat and called the guards over to eat with me.
They were surprised that I had cooked the food myself, and surprised again that I had called them to share it with me. They were even more surprised by the fact that the dishes were actually edible.
“I’ll cook for you again next time. Look forward to it.”
Before they returned, I called Jeok Yeon, their captain, aside.
“How is the training?”
“Everyone is doing their best.”
“I’ll take a look at you all soon, so tell them to work even harder.”
“They will all be pleased.”
“Wait. Let me see your eye.”
“It is all right.”
“I’m not all right with it.”
Jeok Yeon removed his eyepatch.
It was redder than when I had seen it before. The pain must have been considerable.
“If you keep enduring pain, your personality will turn nasty.”
I placed my palm over his eye and injected internal energy to treat it. I could have taught him the method, but with his current martial level, it would be difficult for him to achieve this effect. Since it was the eye, it had to be handled with extreme delicacy.
“It feels even more comfortable than when you treated it before.”
Perhaps that was true. There might have been some difference I was unaware of between before and after I learned the Nine Transformations Demonic Art.
Jeok Yeon bowed his head.
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader.”
To me, it was no great technique, but to him, it was not so.
“I always used to say this to the former guard I drove out. That building affection with one’s guards is just earning points so they’ll die in your place. That it’s a despicable thing to do.”
I said it because I was curious what he would answer.
Jeok Yeon covered his eye with the eyepatch again and said,
“Whether there is affection or not, I merely fulfill my duty.”
It sounded cold, but I could tell. Rather than protecting someone because he liked them, he liked the version of himself that protected someone. Yes, that was right. Ian had been the unusual one.
“The meat was delicious.”
Jeok Yeon bowed and turned away.
He seemed blunt and devoted to his work, but I still did not know what kind of person he truly was.
When looking at someone, one had to look closely. Closely enough to even remove their eyepatch.
* * *
In the evening, I trained in the Sicheon Secret Art.
The problem was the Sicheon Secret Art. With the Nine Transformations Demonic Art, I felt as though I was somehow taking one step after another, but the Sicheon Secret Art was nothing but darkness.
I tried this and tried that. I kept attempting all sorts of methods. If even I found it this difficult, it was understandable that the Cult Leader of the Wind Heaven Sect would shake his head and say it was absolutely impossible.
All I needed was for someone to say, “Ah, that’s this!” Just that one sentence. Then again, it was probably because no one had ever heard that one sentence that no one had succeeded until now.
Still, I did not give up. In order to bring the Nine Transformations Demonic Art to the twelfth star and achieve great completion, I absolutely had to learn the Sicheon Secret Art. And to a level where there would be a clear difference in time.
“Ugh, I don’t know either!”
Snap!
I snapped my fingers and opened the space I liked.
A transparent sea and a pure-white sandy beach, a blue sky and a broad-leaved tree, a comfortable chair beneath it, and even a crab crawling beside me.
“Good. This is good!”
I flopped down there. I did not know why I liked this place so much.
When I lay here and closed my eyes, I felt so good. The gently blowing breeze lulled me to sleep.
Still, what gave me hope was that ever since I learned the Nine Transformations Demonic Art, the utter impenetrability of the Sicheon Secret Art felt, in practical terms, a little easier.
Jeok Yeon saying his eye felt more comfortable was the same. Was the Nine Transformations Demonic Art having some effect without my knowing?
* * *
Jeok Yeon came to Geom Mugeuk’s quarters.
“Young Cult Leader!”
Geom Mugeuk’s reply came from within the training ground.
“Come in.”
When Jeok Yeon entered the training ground, Geom Mugeuk was nowhere to be seen. Instead, incense was burning at the center of the training ground.
‘I’m certain I heard his voice from inside.’
Just then, Geom Mugeuk suddenly appeared behind him. He was standing there holding a stick of incense.
“Where were you?”
He wondered if Geom Mugeuk had been training in stealth techniques, but Geom Mugeuk gave an incomprehensible answer.
“I had hoped I was in a different time from you.”
“Pardon?”
Geom Mugeuk walked over and compared the incense in the training ground with the incense he was holding. Seeing that they were the same length, he let out a sigh. The Sicheon Secret Art was a succession of failures.
“What is it?”
Jeok Yeon, who had been staring at the incense in puzzlement, quickly reported.
“We have received word from the Valley of Villains. The Cheonhwa Pavilion Master is leaving today.”
* * *
When I arrived at the Valley of Villains, the Faceless Guests who would be escorting the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master were preparing the carriage in the yard.
“I hope I have not summoned you when you were busy.”
“Since the Pavilion Master is leaving, of course I had to come and see you off.”
The Cheonhwa Pavilion Master had not yet come out, and only the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon was in the yard first.
“Are you not sad to see her go?”
“I am.”
I was startled. I had expected an answer like, “Now that her body has recovered, we should each live our own lives,” from the Lesser Demon.
“Then why send her away? You should tell her to stay longer.”
“She is a woman with great dreams. I believe the best thing I can do for her is watch over her from one step away.”
I had not expected the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon to think that way.
“You truly are remarkable.”
Just as the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon was about to say something, the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master emerged from the building.
Before leaving, she had put on beautiful makeup and worn lovely clothes, wanting to show the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon her best appearance one last time.
“I have been greatly indebted to you all.”
As she said farewell, I spoke with a regretful expression.
“Because you were here, Pavilion Master, our gloomy sect shone brightly. Now it will become a world of darkness again.”
At my words, the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master smiled broadly.
“Even though I know that isn’t true, it still makes me feel good. I suppose I really am getting older.”
“Stay and enjoy yourself a little longer.”
She glanced at the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon and said,
“Brother has fully recovered, and he must be busy with work. It is time for me to go.”
Her eyes were waiting for the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon’s answer.
This was another test!
And the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon avoided the many wrong answers and chose the correct one.
“Stay longer. The work can be postponed.”
A smile appeared on the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master’s face.
“If you had said you were busy, I would have unpacked my luggage again.”
She gazed at the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon, conveying the sorrow of parting.
The two looked at each other without a word.
That was why the farewell was all the more poignant.
She said farewell to me as well.
“Second Young Master, you will become an excellent Young Cult Leader.”
“Can you perhaps see my future as well?”
She shook her head.
“It is not because the future is too terrible to speak of, is it?”
“If that were the case, I would tell you all the more. You are my benefactor, after all.”
The moment I saved the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon, I became her benefactor.
“I cannot see the futures of those who bear a destiny too great. Young Cult Leader, you possess a destiny I cannot handle.”
She added one final thing.
“Please take good care of our brother.”
As always, I answered with the same greeting.
“That is what I should be saying to you!”
And so the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master left.
Since I had come all this way, I did not want to leave immediately, so I walked through the Valley of Villains with the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon.
I complained to him.
“My martial training has been completely blocked lately.”
“If even you are blocked, Young Cult Leader, it must be an extraordinary martial art.”
He probably thought I meant the Nine Transformations Demonic Art, but the problem was the Sicheon Secret Art.
After walking in silence for a while, the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon suddenly brought up the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master.
“Earlier, you said my feelings for the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master were remarkable.”
“Because watching over someone with such feelings is no easy task.”
“It is not that difficult either. We are not clinging to each other.”
We naturally stopped walking. I could not understand what the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon meant.
“When I first met her, it was for my own benefit. I wanted to obtain information through the courtesan houses. It is the same even now. If she takes control of every courtesan house under heaven, then all that information will become mine. I have a selfish purpose.”
“If you look at it that way, the Pavilion Master is the same.”
It was something she could not easily accomplish without the Extreme Evil Lesser Demon’s backing.
In that sense, perhaps the two of them had an ideal relationship. They had feelings for each other, while also having clear business goals they each desired.
“The Cheonhwa Pavilion Master and I stand one step apart. That is why we can see each other better than when we are clinging to one another.”
The Extreme Evil Lesser Demon looked at me with clear eyes.
“Young Cult Leader, try taking just one step away from that martial art as well. Just one step.”
The moment I heard those words, I realized it. Until now, in my impatience, I had been clinging to the Sicheon Secret Art. I had believed I could only obtain it by embracing it so tightly I could barely breathe.
“Taking one step away may be more difficult than clinging to it.”
At that moment, he and I were standing one step apart, facing each other. Perhaps that was why I could see him so well. Not only the clear eyes behind the mask, but even the Lesser Demon’s desire to help me however he could.
Filling my expression with gratitude, I said to him,
“You see? I told you it is me you should be asking her to take care of.”