It was forty-four against four, but in truth, it was a fight of four against four.
The evil spirits lined up in a row only pushed straight ahead. If these evil spirits had been a technique that turned and concentrated on us, Father would never have split them into so many in the first place. How could one possibly stop forty-four evil spirits?
That was what I had thought.
But the very instant the four evil spirits clashed with the evil spirits coming toward them—
I was startled.
The other evil spirits that had been rushing forward had stopped in place. Naturally, I had assumed only the four evil spirits would collide, and the rest would sweep past us on either side.
So he can stop them too!
Because my realm was still low, I had not known it could be used like this.
Then, surely not? They weren’t going to charge at us, were they?
Fortunately, the evil spirits remained where they stood.
The pressure was tremendous. Four evil spirits were fighting each other, and on either side of them, forty evil spirits stood menacingly.
Bang! Ba-ba-bang! Boom! Boom-boom!
The tremendous collisions continued.
They were evil spirits that swept away everything, yet they could not push each other back. They were like martial artists fighting on the very front line of a battlefield, with the resolve that if they were pushed back, everyone behind them would die. Every time swords and bodies collided, thunderous roars burst out and sparks flew.
Beyond the evil spirits, I could see Father. Though he had split them into forty-four and must have been consuming an enormous amount of inner force, Father was calm.
He was showing me now. This was what the Great Annihilation Form looked like when it had reached Great Completion.
And he was asking me. What will the Great Annihilation Form that you will one day complete be like?
The four evil spirits began to be pushed back. I poured my inner force into them to the utmost limit, but they could not withstand Father’s evil spirits, which had reached Great Completion. Just as no amount of firewood could overcome the heat of lava, I was not yet his match.
Did they know that if they collapsed, I would die? The four evil spirits held out to the very end before vanishing.
The choice I had to make now was to escape this area with Flash Step. I had to get far away, completely beyond the range of the Great Annihilation Form.
But I did not want to.
At that moment, my eyes met Father’s.
I will not run.
I drew up the Heavenly Demon Protective Art and raised my protective astral qi. On top of that, I invoked the fifth fist of the Thunderbolt Asura Fist, Vajra Asura, which temporarily made the body as hard as steel to protect it.
Come on, then! Let’s see if you can kill me even like this.
Kwa-boom!
The charging evil spirit struck me head-on. The impact traveled through my entire body, but I endured it. If I could withstand this first collision, then I could endure.
I blocked the sword the evil spirit swung down with the Black Demon Sword.
Its terrifying power made it feel as though my arm would be torn off, but I gritted my teeth and swung my sword.
Kaaang! Kaaang! Kang! Kaaang!
Sharp metallic sounds rang out one after another. The evil spirit’s attacks were fast, precise, and powerful. It was as if Father himself were striking down at me right before my eyes.
A continuous exchange of blows. It was a battle I could never have experienced if my opponent had not been Father. Father drove me to my limits, but I instead struggled to defeat the evil spirit.
Simply enduring has no meaning. I will destroy it somehow.
My attack, swift as lightning, struck the evil spirit. It felt as if I were hammering ten-thousand-year cold iron. The arm doing the hammering hurt more.
Kaaang! Kang! Kaaang! Kang!
At the final moment of the exchange, the Black Demon Sword pierced the evil spirit’s heart with perfect accuracy.
Puuuk!
Until now, it had felt as though I were striking metal, but this time, I heard the sound of flesh tearing.
Ssssss.
The next instant, the evil spirit began to vanish. As the evil spirit that had fought me disappeared, the other evil spirits vanished along with it.
The strength left my legs, and I sank to the ground.
I could tell. At the final moment, Father had withdrawn the Great Annihilation Form. That was why I had been able to pierce its heart.
So this is Father’s Nineflame Demonic Art.
Father slowly walked toward me.
I was breathing raggedly. Even though my entire body hurt as if I were dying, even though I had felt death draw right up to my nose, I looked up at Father and said,
“I want to fight more.”
Father smiled. It was not the sneer he always wore, nor was it the laugh that escaped when he could not hold back at my joking.
For the first time, I felt that he was smiling as one martial artist to another.
“Then you should stand up.”
With a groan, I rose from where I sat. I could feel Father’s heat. Seeing me refuse to dodge and block the Great Annihilation Form with my whole body had set Father aflame as well. He likely had not expected me to withstand it to that extent.
“Show me the third form of the Nineflame Demonic Art.”
Father meant that he would look over my third form. This was a fortuitous encounter only the Young Cult Leader could obtain, and a reward for the fighting spirit I had shown in wanting to continue.
I performed the third form of the Nineflame Demonic Art for the first time.
The third form of the Nineflame Demonic Art, Great Demon Wall.
The third form was not a technique in which evil spirits appeared. It did not use the sword either.
If the first form, the Annihilation Form, was a technique meant for a single person, then the second form, the Great Annihilation Form, was a technique meant for mass slaughter.
And the third form, Great Demon Wall, was a defensive technique that erected a wall of astral qi in front of oneself. It was fundamentally different from a sword wall formed with sword qi.
Once it was the third form, it was certainly difficult.
Even when I circulated my true qi according to the mnemonic I had learned, the Great Demon Wall did not form properly.
“Please give me a moment to replenish my true qi.”
Wondering if perhaps I lacked inner force, I sat cross-legged and circulated my true qi through one heavenly cycle.
But inner force was not the issue. The Great Demon Wall still did not rise easily.
“Why is it this difficult?”
“Because defense is harder than offense.”
Yes, that was true. One always feels that attacking is difficult, but in truth, defending is harder. The higher one’s realm becomes, the more keenly one realizes it.
I asked Father about the parts I did not understand, and Father explained them to me in detail. I gained in an instant an understanding that would have taken me months if I had trained alone.
I performed it again, then asked about the parts where I was blocked again. After repeating that process—
“It worked!”
Whoooong!
With a deep and majestic sound of wind, the Great Demon Wall finally rose.
It was a wall of astral qi flowing with a sky-blue hue, like the color of my sword aura.
Standing tall like a castle, it was a wall large enough to hide at least several dozen people behind it. The more I trained, the sturdier the wall would become.
I wanted to keep looking at it, but it consumed an enormous amount of inner force, so I could not maintain it for long.
Suddenly, I became curious about Father’s Great Demon Wall.
“I want to see Father’s Great Demon Wall.”
It would probably be a wall ten times larger than this, wouldn’t it?
For today, Father was in a good mood. Very well, I’ll show you, he seemed to say as he performed the third form.
Whoosh!
A more concise and lively sound of wind.
When I saw the Great Demon Wall that appeared before Father, I was startled.
It was a Great Demon Wall completely different from what I had imagined.
Father’s Great Demon Wall was small. It was truly the size of a shield that could hide a single adult body.
Seeing it, with white energy flowing over it like mist, I could tell.
That astral qi, concentrated and concentrated again, could not be broken by any attack. It was harder than diamond, harder than ten-thousand-year cold iron.
“The higher your realm rises, the smaller the Demon Wall will become.”
“And instead, it will become sturdier?”
Father nodded and said firmly,
“A Great Demon Wall that has reached Great Completion cannot be pierced by any attack.”
At those words, a question naturally came to mind.
“Not even by the Great Annihilation Form?”
“If both have reached the same Great Completion, then it will be decided by whose martial talent is superior. How pure their inner force is will matter as well.”
My heart pounded. The Nineflame Demonic Art always made my heart race like this.
“I want to see my Great Demon Wall after it has reached Great Completion. And with it, I want to block Father’s Great Annihilation Form.”
In Father’s gaze as he looked at me, I felt a heat even hotter than before.
He must have been imagining himself sweeping away my Great Demon Wall. Leaving aside the bond between father and son, we were martial artists who sought to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
“I will repay the grace you showed me today by not being pierced on that day. I will become an opponent Father must fight with all his strength.”
It seemed that was the answer Father wanted. For the first time, he said such words.
“I will wait.”
I will come to you, Father. And Father, that will not be our final destination. You must go farther with me.
I walked out of the training ground with Father. I could feel that Father was in a good mood, and that put me in a good mood as well.
“Have you unraveled the secret of the secret coffer?”
“Not yet.”
I took the secret coffer from my robes.
“Pay your respects to Father.”
Seeing the eyes and mouth drawn on it, Father openly sneered. Yes, if you’ve met Father, you should see this smile before you go.
“What attempts have you made?”
“I haven’t tried anything. That must be why this fellow’s mind is at ease enough to be smiling like this, don’t you think?”
I put the secret coffer back into my robes. I had a vague feeling. That my fate with the secret coffer would simply come naturally. Until then, we would remain friends like this.
“And the Great Soul-Capturing Art ended well?”
As expected, Father knew all that was going on. The Heaven-Piercing Pavilion itself was an exceptionally capable organization, and Gowol also spared no effort in providing information to the Heaven-Piercing Pavilion.
“Cult Leader Pungcheon dispelled the soul-capturing art placed on Demon Venerable Seop. We dealt with the mastermind as well.”
Father’s aura turned cold. Since they had dared lay hands on a Demon Venerable of our cult, it was only natural that he would be displeased.
“It seems they are in league with the ones who schemed at the Martial Alliance before. We also discovered that they have infiltrated the Pungcheon Cult. I think I will have to go beyond the frontier with Cult Leader Pungcheon.”
Father nodded and said,
“Take the Demon Buddha with you.”
As expected, he left no gaps. Father, too, knew precisely that the Demon Buddha was strong against illusion arts.
“And when you return, let the three of us have a meal with your older brother.”
He was not simply telling me to eat. He meant that no matter how busy I was, I should look after my brother too.
“I’ll buy the meal!”
* * *
The next morning, we gathered in one place.
The group going to the Pungcheon Cult was decided: my guards, Cult Leader Pungcheon, and the Demon Buddha.
In any case, Father had told me to take the Demon Buddha, so even if he had said he would not go, he would have had to. But before that, it seemed his conversation with Cult Leader Pungcheon had gone well.
“With the Demon Buddha accompanying us, I truly feel reassured.”
“There must be many Demon Venerables you wanted to go with besides me.”
There was no point in denying it for no reason, since he would not believe me anyway.
“There were, of course. But our Cult Leader strongly insisted that he wanted to go with the Demon Buddha.”
As I said that, I looked at Cult Leader Pungcheon beside me. Cult Leader Pungcheon pretended not to hear and looked elsewhere, but I could sense his ears pricking up.
“He said the Demon Buddha would protect us better than the other Demon Venerables.”
The two of them were reserved and did not speak to each other, but they did not seem uncomfortable either.
Cult Leader Pungcheon and the Demon Buddha, huh.
It was a combination that both suited and did not suit each other.
At that moment, Jeogyeon came and reported.
“We are ready to depart.”
Just as we were about to board the prepared carriage, someone came to see us. Unexpectedly, it was the Poison King.
“Poison King! You came all this way because I’m going far away.”
At my delighted greeting, the Poison King passed by as if he had not seen me. In his eyes, there was only one person right now.
After giving Cult Leader Pungcheon only a perfunctory greeting, the Poison King went to the Demon Buddha. Surprisingly, he had come looking for the Demon Buddha.
“I heard you were leaving beyond the frontier.”
“I’m accompanying the Young Cult Leader to the Pungcheon Cult.”
“So I have a request.”
The Poison King took several sheets of paper from his robes.
“I only found out you were going last night, so I stayed up all night making these in a hurry.”
Indeed, both his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled.
On the papers he held out, various kinds of poisonous herbs were drawn. Their appearance, of course, but also where they mainly grew and what characteristics they had were written in detail.
“These are poisonous herbs that grow beyond the frontier. If you happen to see any while passing by, I ask that you collect them.”
At that request, the Demon Buddha burst into hearty laughter. Truly, the Poison King was probably the only person who could treat him like this. In any case, it was the first time I had seen the Demon Buddha laugh so boldly.
“Very well. If I see them, I will be sure to dig them up for you.”
The Poison King’s expression brightened radiantly.
“Ah, this is a bit shameless of me, but…”
The Poison King took several more sheets of paper from his robes.
“I left these out because I thought I was giving you too many. But since you’re going anyway, perhaps these too. Ah, is it too much? I’ll pick just a few from these. This one is absolutely necessary…”
The Poison King agonized, choosing this one and then that one.
At that moment, the Demon Buddha took all the papers the Poison King was holding.
“Give them all to me.”
“You will?”
“Wouldn’t that give me a better chance of digging up even one more?”
I could feel it. Right now, the Poison King was genuinely happy. When it came to poisonous herbs, he was a sincere man.
“No, why aren’t you asking me?”
“The Demon Buddha is someone who sees what you cannot. Go and don’t get in the way.”
If he came at me like this, I couldn’t just endure it. I shouted at the Demon Buddha.
“You’re being used! Once he has no more poisonous herbs he needs, he’ll abandon you just like he abandoned me!”
While flipping through the papers with the poisonous herbs written on them, the Demon Buddha said to me,
“Will the day ever come when the Poison King has no need of poisonous herbs?”
At those words, I saw the Poison King make a peculiar smile. The Poison King at this moment was the Poison King who had come out from his own world into reality. I like the Poison King who stands around this boundary line.
“I will return.”
Instead of telling him to be careful, the Poison King said,
“Be sure to dig them up and come back.”
The Poison King turned to leave, and our eyes met.
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me?”
“You’ll obviously return safely.”
Just how much he trusted me was contained in that word, obviously.
“Since you’re out already, why don’t you come with us?”
“No. I detest sand and dust.”
“You just gave him a mountain of papers telling him to dig in that very sandstorm.”
Without looking back, the Poison King scurried away.
Watching him go, the Demon Buddha smiled faintly, folded the drawings of the poisonous herbs, and carefully tucked them into his robes.
“When did you become so close with the Poison King?”
It occurred to me that Cult Leader Pungcheon might perhaps be just a little jealous. After all, he must have thought he was the one closest to the Demon Buddha.
“We are not close.”
“Then why are you granting him a request like this?”
“I’m going all the way beyond the frontier even though I’m not close with you either.”
At the chilly answer, Cult Leader Pungcheon said a word too.
“Do not change too much as a person.”
“Look who’s talking.”
With these two bickering even before we had departed, it was now time to set out.
“Now then, let us go pull up some hidden poisonous herbs.”