Do you know why demonic arts are frightening?
Because they can be mixed with any profound art.
The same was true even when compared to the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art I had learned.
The inner energy of the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art was a violent technique that turned the entire body upside down.
By wrapping one’s body in inner energy, it granted explosive physical ability and destructive power, but the human body was ultimately consumable.
In the end, it was a martial art that accelerated the moment the body would break down and made it explode all at once.
Of course, it could undergo changes as one’s understanding and mastery of martial arts deepened, but there was no changing the fact that it was a violent and destructive martial art.
If, on top of that, one learned Mount Wudang’s Taiji or Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Heart Method, the inner energy of the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art and the Daoist heart method would clash and damage the blood pathways.
That ultimately meant deviation cultivation.
To put it in extreme terms, it meant becoming half-crippled.
But demonic arts had no such flaw.
That was why, after the Demonic Cult appeared in the Central Plains, traitors emerged from both the unorthodox and orthodox factions like bamboo shoots after rain.
Mount Wudang’s Heavenly Righteous Art had sharpness added to its inner energy, which was like a tranquil ripple.
Mount Hua’s plum blossoms would be dyed black, yet shine even more brilliantly.
The firmness and might of Shaolin’s One-Step Divine Fist would be imbued with destructive power.
The deficiencies in martial arts that one had no choice but to abandon could be filled with such ease by demonic arts.
All of this was the Heavenly Demon’s power. Demonic arts did not need to be learned or cultivated.
They were something one naturally acquired upon becoming a member of the Demonic Cult.
It was both the blessing and the curse bestowed by the Heavenly Demon.
“Fuck... What the hell is going on?”
The demonic art I had obtained from the Heavenly Demon was only one thing: the Demonic Dao Spring-Absorbing Art.
A demonic art I had gained through my ugly desire to become strong and nothing else.
It absorbed magic stones into one’s inner energy, just like the inner core or spirit pill of a spiritual beast.
This demonic art was the reason I had been able to survive among the strong despite possessing less-than-mediocre talent.
However, that was strictly a matter of my previous life.
In this life, I had not gone anywhere near the “demon” in the Demonic Cult, and the Central Plains had yet to see even a demonic human, let alone the Heavenly Demon.
‘Then what is this situation...?’
When I applied a little force to the transparent magic stone, it crumbled effortlessly in my hand.
That was a characteristic of a magic stone whose power had been completely drained by the Demonic Dao Spring-Absorbing Art. The same was true of the inner energy accumulated within me.
It was a very small amount, but it had definitely increased.
One might say that an increase in inner energy was a good thing regardless of any connection to the Demonic Cult.
But the reason demonic humans were called demonic humans was not because they had learned demonic arts.
It was because they possessed demonic energy.
Whether it was Mount Wudang’s Taiji or Mount Hua’s plum blossoms, this was also why martial arts imbued with immortal energy would turn black.
The problem was the effect demonic energy had on the body.
I knew better than anyone what happened to humans consumed by demonic energy.
“But how the hell...?”
The energy contained in a magic stone was demonic energy. The Demonic Dao Spring-Absorbing Art absorbed it and brought it into the body.
That meant demonic energy was circulating within my body right now.
I immediately circulated the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art and checked my inner energy. I searched every nook and cranny in a hurry, trying to find the demonic energy, but—
“...Why isn’t it there?”
Amazingly, I could not sense any demonic energy.
Demonic energy that had taken root in the body could not help but reveal itself.
There was no way I could miss such an alien energy.
And yet I could not sense the demonic energy that should have been absorbed from the magic stone. Even after checking once more, I felt no demonic energy within my body.
‘Is it because the demonic energy was too shallow?’
At most, it had been a Green Magic Stone. In terms of inner energy, it was an amount that did not even amount to half a year’s worth.
As I stood there with a blank expression, Muyeon hurriedly approached me.
“Young Master, are you all right? Are you injured anywhere?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt at all.”
“I told you to stay inside the carriage. Why did you charge straight at it? What would you have done if you’d been injured?”
“Sorry. I’ll be careful next time.”
It had been an extremely difficult thing for Muyeon, who was supposed to be my escort. I had more or less forced the issue, so I apologized.
I approached the other dead Green Antler Hounds. Its horns had been cleanly severed—it was the one Muyeon had dealt with earlier.
“Young Master?”
Just as before, I wrapped my arm in the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art, pierced the creature’s body, and extracted the magic stone.
‘Even if it’s a pain in the ass, I have to check.’
I wanted to write it off as good luck, or as the magic stone having contained no demonic energy.
However, once demonic energy entered the body, no matter how small the amount, it would gradually consume the body.
If demonic energy had already entered me, then it meant I was too late.
A prickling sensation rose from my hand.
It was the same sensation as before. The Green Magic Stone in my hand gradually faded in color before finally becoming transparent. The amount of inner energy filling my body also increased by the same amount as before.
Up to this point, everything was fine. Up to this point, it was good, but—
This time, unlike before, I felt something alien. There was an energy there that I never wanted to feel again.
“I’m screwed...”
It was definitely demonic energy. There was no mistaking it. The tiny amount of demonic energy gradually swelled before moving to devour the inner energy within my body.
Yet something strange happened to the demonic energy as it steadily swallowed my inner energy, as though starved.
—Fwoosh.
The Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art contained in my dantian had devoured the demonic energy instead.
“What is this...?”
This explained why I had not been able to sense the demonic energy from the first magic stone I had absorbed.
‘Did it purify the demonic energy?’
Was “purify” even the right word to use?
What I felt was the sensation of the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art greedily devouring the demonic energy.
This had definitely never happened in my previous life.
I had seen demonic energy devour things, but never the reverse—never had I seen it be eaten.
Even the profound arts of Daoism and Shaolin were often crushed and devoured by demonic energy. So why?
“I don’t know what on earth is happening.”
I could not understand why things kept occurring that differed from my expectations. Perhaps it was because everything had gone wrong from the very beginning.
For now, the fact that there was no demonic energy in my body was a good thing.
Perhaps I might be able to purify the demonic energy contained in the magic stones and absorb only the inner energy in its entirety.
The problem was—
‘Why can I still use the Heavenly Demon’s demonic art?’
That was the thing I understood least of all.
If it had remained bound to me even beyond death, then this was undoubtedly a curse.
I could not be dragged into such a shitty situation again just when I thought I had finally escaped.
‘...For now, let’s be satisfied that there’s no demonic energy in my body.’
I would look into the important matters later. For now, I had to deal with the situation at hand.
“Young Master...!”
Wei Seol-Ah flung open the carriage door and immediately ran over to grab my hand.
“What do we do...? It’s been completely ruined...”
The hand Wei Seol-Ah had carefully wrapped yesterday had come undone and been ruined by my vigorous movements.
“Young Master, are you all right...? You’re not hurt anywhere...?”
“As you can see.”
“Then that means you’re terribly injured!”
“...No, I mean that I’m perfectly fine. Where exactly do I look injured?”
“Your face...!”
“What the hell?”
Was she insulting my face right now? Was she making fun of me because she was pretty?
Wei Seol-Ah cautiously touched my cheek.
“Young Master, you look really tired. Just like my grandfather.”
“Do I look that old?”
“Young Master looks scary, but you don’t look old!”
“Tell me honestly... You’re just making fun of me, aren’t you?”
A servant who had come out of the carriage belatedly saw Wei Seol-Ah and me, let out a startled cry, and pulled Wei Seol-Ah away.
“Seol-Ah! You mustn’t touch the Young Master’s face so carelessly!”
Wei Seol-Ah fell away with a little “Eek!”
Seeing how startled she was as she fell, I felt a little hurt myself.
“Young Master.”
Not long after Wei Seol-Ah was dragged away by another servant, Muyeon called out to me.
Looking behind him, I saw a pile of Green Antler Hound corpses.
The hides and bones of monsters were worth a fair amount of money, so after closing a Demon Realm Gate like this, we usually took the corpses with us if we could.
“The Gu Family’s Sword Unit has arrived.”
“What? They’re already here?”
Not even an hour had passed since the incident began. Could they really have arrived this quickly, no matter how fast they traveled?
I sensed a new presence and checked, only to find familiar faces. They were none other than the sword unit members who had appeared at the Nine Dragons Gathering.
“I am Hyuk Juyeom, deputy commander of the Fourth Sword Unit. I greet Young Master Gu.”
He was the man who had participated in the Nine Dragons Gathering as acting commander of the Fourth Sword Unit.
“Elder Yi sent us. We hurried here, but we were still too late... I apologize. It was my negligence.”
“Elder Yi?”
An unexpected person had suddenly appeared. I thought I had heard that he had departed earlier, so what did this mean?
When I voiced my confusion, Hyuk Juyeom looked flustered instead.
“Did you not hear? Elder Yi clearly said he would depart together with Young Master...”
“What are you talking about? Elder Yi didn’t come with us.”
What had that old man done this time to make the situation turn out like this?
‘Did he follow us secretly? Why would he do that?’
No, if he intended to do that, he could at least have helped when the Demon Realm Gate opened. Why go through all this trouble?
One of the sword unit members approached from a distance.
“Deputy Commander, all the Green Antler Hounds are in pristine condition. It looks like there’s nothing we need to discard. What should we do?”
“All eleven of them?”
“Ah, two of them have holes in their flanks, but the damage doesn’t seem severe.”
...He was referring to what I had done, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.
“We can’t take everything. Strip the hides and bones and bring those with us.”
“Understood.”
“And the rest...”
Hyuk Juyeom began to speak, then stopped. He had met eyes with Muyeon, who was standing behind me.
Muyeon slightly bowed his head to Hyuk Juyeom in greeting. Hyuk Juyeom let out a short sigh before continuing.
“I heard you were resting. I thought you might be holed up at home getting some sleep, but are you still out here cutting things apart?”
Were they acquainted?
Muyeon did not answer Hyuk Juyeom’s question. Hyuk Juyeom did not seem particularly concerned either.
“Do what you need to and come back. The commander said it wasn’t your fault.”
“...Yes.”
Having said only what he needed to say, Hyuk Juyeom looked at me and continued.
“We’ll take care of everything that remains. Young Master, you should go rest.”
After Hyuk Juyeom left, I looked at Muyeon. Since he wore an uncomfortable expression, I simply ignored it and returned to the carriage.
I was a little curious, but I figured that if it was something he needed to tell me, he would tell me on his own.
As soon as I entered the carriage, Wei Seol-Ah once again came running at me with a piece of cloth. I ordered the servant to hold her firmly in place, then leaned back in my seat.
It felt as though even greater problems had wormed their way into thoughts that were already complicated and difficult enough.
“Living properly for once is fucking hard.”
Perhaps because of the nightmare I had dreamed earlier, I felt like I would be losing sleep for several days.
******************
Gu Yangcheon’s quarters.
Inside the quarters were Sword Sovereign and Elder Yi. In Sword Sovereign’s hand was the now-familiar broom.
As Sword Sovereign slowly swept the courtyard, he spoke to Elder Yi.
“Thank you, Guryun.”
“Ahem...”
At Sword Sovereign’s words, Elder Yi cleared his throat. His expression was rather awkward.
“I didn’t do anything in particular.”
“Regardless, you moved for the sake of our child, did you not?”
Normally, once one reached the rank of elder, one did not move on behalf of the clan. Moreover, there was no reason for an elder to personally involve himself in something like the Nine Dragons Gathering.
The reason Elder Yi had moved was because Sword Sovereign had asked him to.
“I only went for a walk while I was at it, so I could see our children as well.”
Elder Yi answered awkwardly.
Sword Sovereign’s granddaughter, Wei Seol-Ah.
The reason Elder Yi had gone out of his way to attend the Nine Dragons Gathering was because of Wei Seol-Ah.
He had been curious about Sword Sovereign’s granddaughter anyway, so he had partly gone of his own accord to see her.
“I owe you a debt, Senior, so this much is nothing.”
It was surprising enough that Sword Sovereign was in the Gu Family at all.
When the clan head and Sword Sovereign had first asked Elder Yi to ensure Wei Seol-Ah’s safety, he had suggested that Sword Sovereign either go himself or simply not send her to the Nine Dragons Gathering.
The reason he had immediately changed his mind was because of Sword Sovereign’s expression at the time.
The endlessly exhausted face, as though burdened by some unbearable weight, was an expression Elder Yi had never seen even during the years when Sword Sovereign had carried the honor of the orthodox faction upon his back and strode across the Central Plains.
‘Even the Sword Sovereign of the world has fallen prey to a heart demon.’
Having lived in the same era as Sword Sovereign, Elder Yi found it deeply regrettable to see him become this way.
‘Though it wasn’t entirely a bothersome task.’
Elder Yi thought of Gu Yangcheon as he looked at Sword Sovereign’s back.
As for Gu Yangcheon, he was the clan head’s sore spot and, in many ways, a pitiable child.
Though he had inherited the Gu Family’s name, his lazy and indolent nature made him run away whenever he saw Elder Yi, and in Elder Yi’s eyes, his talent for martial arts was sorely lacking.
If he had not been the Gu Family’s only male heir, Elder Yi would have given up on the boy long ago.
It had been just when he was beginning to wonder whether he should abandon him after all.
But the Gu Yangcheon he saw again was somehow different.
The fact that he had reached the second star in the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art was not particularly unusual.
Gu Yeonseo had already reached the third star.
‘But the density of the heart method within him was different.’
The heart method contained within Gu Yeonseo’s body was still in disarray.
The Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art had to rotate endlessly within the body, even without being wrapped around the flesh.
Gu Yeonseo’s rotation was clumsy. Its speed was not constant; at times it was rough, while at others it was feeble.
Moreover, in an immature state, it was bound to be swayed by one’s emotions.
That did not mean Gu Yeonseo was lacking. She was unquestionably far superior to those of her age.
The problem was the person she was being compared to: Gu Yangcheon.
The energy contained within his body was painfully shallow.
But his level of control over that shallow energy was distinctly different from Gu Yeonseo’s.
How surprised had Elder Yi been inwardly when he met Gu Yangcheon again after so long at the Nine Dragons Gathering?
The rings of the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art contained in Gu Yangcheon’s dantian always maintained a constant speed.
Even when Gu Yangcheon had grown furious over the outrageous remarks made during the sparring match in the Nine Dragons Hall, the rings within his body had continued to maintain the same speed and form.
That meant he possessed an unmistakable degree of understanding and proficiency.
It was an insight that even Elder Yi himself, not to mention the clan head, had only attained after passing the age of thirty.
Afterward, Elder Yi had become certain during Gu Yangcheon’s sparring match with Gu Yeonseo.
‘That child is hiding himself.’
Elder Yi did not know why, but he was certain of it.
As Elder Yi gathered his thoughts, Sword Sovereign spoke.
“By the way, Guryun.”
“Yes?”
“I heard you nearly killed the Peng Family’s child and turned your own children into a spectacle. Is that all right?”
“I believe the rumor has been greatly distorted. I didn’t nearly kill him.”
“...So the latter part is true. Are you sure that’s all right?”
“What are you talking about, Senior?”
“I heard the clan head has been looking for you.”
“...”
Elder Yi quickly fled the scene.
He planned to avoid the clan head for the next few days.