The place the Demon Physician headed for was not the infirmary.
He took me to his own residence, where a hidden chamber had been prepared underground for important procedures.
The display cabinets lining the walls were filled with all manner of medicine bottles and herbs whose contents I could not identify. Even I, an expert when it came to medicinal herbs, saw many herbs there for the first time.
“It is a dangerous procedure, so there is much to prepare.”
“Please take your time.”
“What will you do if I fail? You could lose your sight.”
I could tell he was asking to test my resolve. Failing the Divine Eye Art did not cause blindness. If it had carried that sort of risk, he would never have dared offer the procedure to the Heavenly Demon.
“If I am a patient even the Demon Physician fails to save, then it must be because my fate is unfortunate.”
At my trust, the Demon Physician gave a faint chuckle and took the materials needed for the procedure from a secret safe.
Soon after, he lit incense to calm the mind and sterilized the needles. He mixed several medicines, and some he boiled and cooled.
Meanwhile, I lay on the bed with my upper garment removed, a warm cloth scented with medicine resting over both my eyes.
“Now then, I shall begin.”
“I entrust myself to you.”
He put several medicines into my eyes at intervals. Some were as clear as water, and others as red as blood. There was a green liquid like poison, and one as blue as my sword aura. Because I trusted the Demon Physician completely, I entrusted my eyes to him with an easy heart.
After injecting the various medicines into my eyes, the Demon Physician applied the needles. He placed them densely not only around my eyes, but also across my face and chest.
“Now, sleep for a while.”
My eyes closed on their own. In my heart, I spoke to the Heavenly Demon Protective Art. Just for today, you should loosen up and sleep deeply too.
I slept well for the first time in ages.
I slept so soundly that I wondered how long it had been since I had last slept so deeply.
When I awoke, all the needles that had been placed in my face and body had already been removed.
The Demon Physician was sitting at his desk reading a book, but when I woke, he walked over to me.
“How do you feel?”
“Good.”
“And your eyes?”
“Even better.”
My eyes had truly become clear. My already excellent eyesight had improved even further, and my field of vision was unbelievably clear. It felt as though I had stepped out of a fog; to exaggerate slightly, my surroundings were so vivid that I felt as if I had been living with my eyes closed until now.
“Follow me.”
Together with him, I left the hidden chamber and went up to the first floor. We stood side by side by the window. The sun was high in the sky.
“Look at the sun.”
Since I was staring directly at the sun, it should have been dazzling, but it was not dazzling at all.
“How is it?”
“It doesn’t hurt my eyes.”
“Look far over there.”
Things at a distance I would not have been able to see before were now visible with perfect clarity. It was truly astonishing how well I could see. On top of that, when I focused my eyes, I could even see things I should not have been able to see.
“I can see clearly. I can even see the ant crawling on that tree branch over there.”
At my words, the Demon Physician laughed.
“I’m not joking.”
“I know you are not. I laughed because I was pleased.”
“Ah, this really is incredible.”
“Now, follow me again.”
This time, the Demon Physician took me to a pitch-black room prepared in the underground hidden chamber.
My vision, which previously would have been faint unless I raised my inner energy, was now clear even without doing so.
“I can see clearly. The medicine bottle over there, the painting on the wall, everything.”
“That is enough. The procedure was a perfect success. Your eyes have been reborn.”
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
When I first wanted the Divine Eye Art, my main purpose had been to avoid the eyes of the leader of the Pungcheon Cult. Perhaps that was why I had not expected much from its effects.
But the Divine Eye Art was far more extraordinary than I had imagined. There was only one way to describe this state.
My eyes had reached perfection.
After leaving the dark room, I bowed to the Demon Physician.
“Thank you.”
Flustered, the Demon Physician lifted me up.
“What are you doing?”
“Senior, you used on me a secret art that can only be used once in a lifetime. I will surely repay this grace by keeping my promise.”
“Thank you. When you become the cult leader, I will tell you whom you must kill.”
The Demon Physician gripped my hand firmly, and I put strength into mine as well.
When I left the Demon Physician’s residence, everything I saw around me looked different. It truly felt as though a new world had unfolded before me.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
‘The Blood Eye Essence, and now the Divine Eye Art. The Pungcheon Cult and my eyes were intertwined like fate. In any case, thank you, Leader of the Pungcheon Cult.’
And so the leader of the Pungcheon Cult received a mysterious word of thanks.
* * *
I realized anew just how important improved eyesight was in martial arts.
My techniques became more precise, and as precise as they became, they became stronger.
In truth, it would be of even greater help in actual combat. I would dodge attacks I could not have avoided before, and see opportunities I could not have seen.
It would also be a great help when running with the Swift Step. I had been worried that when I eventually reached perfection, whether my eyesight would be able to keep up with such extreme speed. Now that worry was gone. I had gained the most powerful eyes a human could possess.
After leaving the work of Hwangcheon Pavilion to Seo Daeryong, I shut myself inside the training ground for a while, giving my martial arts and body time to adapt to my new eyes.
After being immersed in martial training for some time like that, I went to see Ian for the first time in a while.
“Ian, let’s play!”
Ian was absorbed in martial training.
“No! I have to practice this twenty times in a row.”
“What kind of technique practice do you do twenty times a day?”
“It’s sixty times a day. Twenty times is just the evening training.”
“Good heavens. You’ll fall ill at this rate.”
“I’m already ill. I have an illness where I can’t sleep if I don’t train.”
“Let’s rest just for today. If you go drink with me, you’ll sleep well.”
“After I finish.”
“How many times do you have left?”
“Eight. If you keep interrupting me like that, it’ll take even longer.”
I deliberately pouted and watched her practice her martial arts.
“Your waist didn’t turn enough.”
“Your left side is open.”
“Faster this time.”
As I corrected her posture, I once again felt that Ian had outstanding talent in martial arts. She understood quickly and learned well.
I watched her techniques a couple more times, then, realizing there was nothing else to tell her today, immersed myself in training the Heavenly Demon Protective Art.
The martial art I had trained the most while dealing with the Soul-Capturing Demon Venerable was the Heavenly Demon Protective Art. The more I practiced it, the more new it felt.
As always, it resonated with me more deeply than anything else. It felt as though I were learning a living martial art. Then again, it was precisely because it resonated with me so deeply that it had awakened me from sleep.
How many times had I repeated the training of the Heavenly Demon Protective Art like that?
When I opened my eyes, Ian was looking at me from a short distance away.
“Are you finished?”
“Yes. I completed all twenty.”
“Let’s go. Time to drink! I’m so hungry I could die.”
“Of course you are. You went three full days without eating.”
“What? Three days?”
“Yes. You circulated your qi and regulated your breathing for no less than three days.”
“I did?”
“You came to see me three days ago. You seemed to have fallen into a state of selflessness, so I deliberately didn’t speak to you.”
I was shocked. It had not felt as though I had trained for even one hour, let alone several.
“I must have been asleep.”
“I checked because I wondered if that was the case, but you weren’t sleeping. You even muttered things to yourself.”
It seemed I had truly entered a state of selflessness. I had no memory at all of what I had trained.
“Wait a moment.”
I sat down and activated the Heavenly Demon Protective Art once. My true qi moved far more smoothly and precisely than before.
As I stood up, I was smiling brightly. There had been a great advancement in the Heavenly Demon Protective Art. It seemed the training I had accumulated all this time had, through this state of selflessness, led to a rise in realm.
“You made progress, didn’t you?”
She would have known just from my expression. I nodded with a broad smile.
“Enough that I can buy you a proper meal.”
“Congratulations, young master.”
“Thank you. It’s thanks to you.”
“Why is it thanks to me?”
“If you hadn’t insisted on finishing your training, I wouldn’t have sat beside you and fallen into that state of selflessness.”
“Ah, that’s true! Buy me food!”
“I will. I’ll buy you everything you want!”
I hurriedly left the training ground with Ian.
“You starved too, didn’t you?”
“No. I ate.”
But Ian’s stomach was rumbling.
She was not the sort of person who would eat alone while I fasted through qi circulation and breathing. She had probably even stopped training for three days out of fear she might disturb my state of selflessness.
“You foolish bear.”
“No, that’s not right. If I were really a foolish bear, I wouldn’t have let you find out I starved. See, by letting you notice like this, I’m showing off just how loyal a subordinate I am. I turned it into the perfect chance to earn points.”
“You’re a fox. A fox.”
“Of course. I still have many tails hidden away.”
I laughed in good spirits.
“It’s been a long time since I walked together with you like this, young master.”
“I suppose it has.”
“It’s nice, as expected.”
That added phrase, “as expected,” truly put a person in a good mood. I like it too, Ian.
Together with Ian, I entered the Pungryu Tavern in Maga Village.
“Welcome! It has been a long time, Pavilion Master.”
Seeing Jo Chunbae greet us so warmly made me think of his cooking, and I grew even hungrier.
“Bring the food quickly!”
“Yes, I’ll run with lightness skill!”
After giving us liquor first, Jo Chunbae ran to the kitchen.
On empty stomachs, we drank a cup of liquor first.
“Khah! That’s killer.”
“Urgh! It’s strong. I really feel like I might die.”
A little while later, when the dishes came out, we devoured everything ravenously without caring about the eyes of others.
Then, patting our full bellies, we drank and talked about martial arts. She asked me everything she had usually been curious about, and I answered sincerely to the best of my knowledge.
My Bicheon Sword Art had been stagnating since the breaking of its tenth-star perfection, and I hoped that the Divine Eye Art I had undergone this time would have a good influence on it.
As we talked about martial arts, the topic naturally shifted to Seo Daeryong.
“By the way, Investigator Seo is doing well, right?”
“I suppose he is. I’ve been training lately too, so I haven’t seen him at all.”
“Everyone’s busy.”
“I don’t know for certain, but he’ll do well. Both with work and with training.”
“It’s fascinating to see Investigator Seo getting along with Elder Demon Blade.”
“I don’t know if they’re getting along. He might be getting scolded all the time and wetting his pillow every night.”
Ian burst into laughter, saying it was funny.
“I don’t think that’s the case. Elder Demon Blade seems like a subtly good person.”
“But you must not let your guard down. Just because he’s a good person to Investigator Seo doesn’t guarantee he’ll be a good person to you. Your opponent is a Demon Venerable. Be careful.”
“Yes, I’ll keep it in mind.”
“One day, you’ll have to defeat him with your own skill.”
For an instant, Ian flinched.
“Me?”
Unlike before, she did not say, “How could I possibly defeat a Demon Venerable with my skill?” Now that she had received the Bicheon Sword Art, saying something like that would be rude to me and to my father.
“I’ll do my best.”
“You know, right? Half-baked skill is the first to die. Since you’ve set foot on this path, you have to go all the way.”
“Yes!”
I raised my cup, and she drank together with me.
“And once your Bicheon Sword Art reaches a certain level, let’s properly start gathering subordinates for the Ghost Shadow Squad. If we gather the squad leaders properly, the rest will be easy.”
“Do you already have people in mind?”
I nodded honestly.
“One or two, yes. Later, you’ll go with me to recruit them.”
“Who are they?”
“If you find out now, you’ll only be startled for no reason. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
“Now that you put it that way, my heart is already pounding.”
“For times like that, there’s a fine solution called liquor, isn’t there?”
The sound of our cups clinking was as cheerful as our mood.
“Let’s order more liquor and more side dishes too.”
“Unfortunately, I think we’ll have to stop drinking for today.”
Following my gaze, Ian looked down at the first floor.
Seo Daeryong, who had hurried into the tavern, came up to our seats on the second floor and reported on the next one I would have to cook.
“The leader of the Pungcheon Cult has just arrived at our main cult.”