Chronicles of the Demonic Cult Conversion Chapter 44
Whether he knew about the commotion or not, Jin Yeong-in was engrossed in absorbing the demonic qi of the Soma Pill.
‘Amazing.’
A faint smile appeared on Jin Yeong-in's lips.
According to Yi Mu-baek, taking the Soma Pill would grant about a quarter of a half-cycle of internal energy.
But upon actually taking it, it was more than that.
Jin Yeong-in felt that the amount of demonic qi contained in the Soma Pill was about twice what Yi Mu-baek had said.
It contained not a quarter of a half-cycle, but about half a cycle of demonic qi.
‘Indeed. Since the Soma Pill is a spiritual medicine made of demonic qi, the absorption rate is bound to be high.’
In fact, it was nearly impossible to absorb the energy of any spiritual medicine without loss.
No matter how well one circulated their qi, it was common to absorb only half, or at most, eighty percent of the energy.
However, since Jin Yeong-in had the Heavenly Demon’s Physique, he was able to absorb the demonic qi contained in the Soma Pill without any loss.
His body, the Heavenly Demon’s Physique, was sucking up all the energy of the Soma Pill, leaving not a single bit behind except for some minor impurities.
Thanks to this, Jin Yeong-in’s internal energy had increased by a full half-cycle after he finished circulating his qi.
With a single Soma Pill, he had attained the internal energy he had before he suffered from qi deviation, that is, in the days when he was called the Heavenly Divine Dragon and his martial name was renowned.
‘Now if I learn an advanced demonic art…… hmm?’
After finishing his qi circulation, Jin Yeong-in was about to get up when he flinched at the reactions around him.
“W-What is this.”
“To think it’s purple……”
The instructors’ reactions were unusual.
It was understandable that they were surprised, but in such cases, wasn't it customary to offer words of congratulations?
“What’s wrong with everyone? Is something the matter?”
“Y-You.”
At Jin Yeong-in’s question, an instructor asked with a trembling voice.
“Were your eyes originally purple?”
“Pardon?”
“Your eyes, I mean, your eyes!”
“Pardon? You don’t like my eyes?”
“I’m saying your eyes have turned purple.”
“Ah.”
Jin Yeong-in finally understood what the instructor meant.
Purple-colored eyes…… in other words, Purple Eyes were one of the characteristics of the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.
When the Heavenly Demon’s Physique attained a certain level of demonic qi, the eyes would turn purple, and as the achievement in internal energy deepened, they would become even darker.
This was a purely physical characteristic due to his constitution, so it was bound to be revealed unless he deliberately hid it.
“What do you mean by that? My eyes have turned purple?”
Jin Yeong-in replied slyly, as if he knew nothing.
“Hmm?”
The instructor frowned as if something was strange.
Jin Yeong-in’s eyes, which had been clearly purple just a moment ago, had turned back to a dark brown.
“They-They were definitely purple, weren’t they? Am I wrong?”
“I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.”
The instructors stared intently at Jin Yeong-in’s eyes again, as if something was strange.
However, not a trace of purple could be found in Jin Yeong-in’s eyes.
‘That’s right, it would be no good to reveal it carelessly.’
Thinking about what he had gone through after the Great Divine Physician of Immortals had seen through his Heavenly Demon’s Physique, Jin Yeong-in still shuddered with anger and gritted his teeth.
Therefore, Jin Yeong-in had not the slightest intention of going around telling everyone that he had the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.
Even if it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
‘Is she also of the Heavenly Demon’s Physique?’
Jin Yeong-in looked at the confused instructors and thought of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
He thought that it might be possible.
After all, the current Heavenly Demon and Cult Leader, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, also had Purple Eyes…….
“Hmm. It’s unlikely that you instructors saw wrong, so perhaps my eyes temporarily turned purple as the demonic qi surged while I was absorbing the energy of the Soma Pill?”
“Umm.”
“That could be possible.”
The instructors seemed to agree with Jin Yeong-in's explanation, as if it were a plausible statement.
As Jin Yeong-in said, it was not entirely unheard of for one's eyes to turn purple when demonic qi surged.
‘I almost got caught.’
Seeing the instructors’ reactions, Jin Yeong-in inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was a close call; if he hadn't hastily used the Disguise Art to hide his eye color, he might have been found out.
“May I rest now?”
“Hmm. It’s late, so you may rest.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as the instructor's permission was granted, Jin Yeong-in lay down and went to sleep as if nothing had happened.
* * *
The next morning arrived.
He took the Qi Dispersing Poison as usual, but Jin Yeong-in's eye color was not revealed.
The Qi Dispersing Poison only made it impossible to use internal energy; it couldn't nullify a Disguise Art that had already been used.
Moreover, it wasn't as if he had disguised his entire body; hiding just his eye color was something he could maintain even after taking the Qi Dispersing Poison.
“Hmm. It seems we were mistaken.”
“Indeed.”
The instructors who had been watching Jin Yeong-in closely seemed to have lost interest and no longer looked at him with suspicious eyes.
‘I’ll have to be careful from now on.’
Only after seeing the instructors' reactions did Jin Yeong-in finally feel at ease.
He did not want to go through the trouble of being found out as having the Heavenly Demon’s Physique ever again.
‘It’s not easy.’
Jin Yeong-in gave a bitter smile.
To be recognized within the cult, he had to stand out, but if he stood out too much, there was a risk of his Heavenly Demon’s Physique being discovered.
Right now, he was struggling to even find a way to spread the Post-Heaven Extreme Demonic True Qi…….
‘There will be an opportunity as I go on.’
Jin Yeong-in suppressed his frustrated feelings and decided to focus on passing the Blood Wolf Corps for now.
And Jin Yeong-in’s thinking was correct.
As time went by, Jin Yeong-in was recognized by everyone without having to reveal his Heavenly Demon’s Physique.
Rightfully so, as most of what was taught in the Blood Wolf Corps was something Jin Yeong-in was already familiar with.
The Blood Wolf Corps was a crash course for cultivating martial artists in a short period and had the nature of a selection process, so for Jin Yeong-in, who had studied at the Heavenly Martial Academy, it was a piece of cake.
Moreover, Jin Yeong-in had innate talent, a strong body called the Heavenly Demon’s Physique, and a strong mentality forged while being confined in the Demonic Prison.
As a result, even the harsh training conducted in the Blood Wolf Corps was nothing more than a rite of passage for Jin Yeong-in.
If there was anything difficult, it was only one thing.
A certain person had appeared who relentlessly tormented only Jin Yeong-in.
“Number forty-four. Your attitude is poor. Get down.”
“Sir.”
“One, let's get our act together. Two, let's focus. One.”
“Get our act.”
“Two.”
“Together.”
He was the very same instructor who had relentlessly targeted Jin Yeong-in with arrows before.
“Do you think the Blood Wolf Corps is a joke?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why is your attitude in training so poor?”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, go touch that tree over there and come back. Go.”
“Go.”
That instructor would find fault with him at every opportunity and give him punishments, and just like when he shot arrows from the cliff, he would often get in his way.
“Number forty-four. Stop and get up.”
“Sir.”
It was fortunate that another instructor showed him some semblance of favor; otherwise, he might have run out of the Blood Wolf Corps on his own due to the bullying.
Of course, it was unlikely that Jin Yeong-in would succumb to mere bullying.
The Blood Wolves, who could no longer stand it, were on the verge of rising up.
“Big brother, shouldn’t we get revenge on that damned instructor.”
“Big brother, just stay put. We’ll take care of him.”
Dae-ho and Go-bong gritted their teeth and pondered ways to screw over the instructor.
“Even from my perspective, it’s too much, isn’t it? Why don’t you try talking to the Commander?”
Even Namgung Sin, finding the instructor’s behavior incomprehensible, frowned and said a word.
“It’s fine.”
Jin Yeong-in shook his head.
“Don’t think about causing trouble and just focus on graduating. I’ll take care of that problem myself.”
“But…….”
“Don’t do anything I didn’t ask you to. If you mess with that instructor, even ten necks won't be enough.”
Jin Yeong-in said so and calmed down the Blood Wolves who followed him.
That night.
Jin Yeong-in went out to stand guard with Namgung Sin and they talked about various things.
The Blood Wolves were required to stand guard in pairs for an hour every night, and it just so happened that he was paired with Namgung Sin.
“Isn’t life in the Blood Wolf Corps hard for you, Big brother?”
“It’s a bit tiring, but it’s not particularly hard.”
“Do they train you more harshly in the Central Plains?”
Namgung Sin seemed to think that the secret to Jin Yeong-in’s outstanding performance was because he had undergone harsh training in the Righteous Faction.
“The training in our cult is ten times harder. In the Righteous Faction, they teach slowly and carefully over a long period of time.”
“Then how do you endure it so well?”
“I wonder.”
Jin Yeong-in gave a bitter smile.
‘Compared to the Demonic Prison, this is practically paradise.’
Since the path he had walked was different, it was only natural that he could easily endure the notoriously difficult Blood Wolf Corps process.
‘He was also one of those who endured well.’
As Jin Yeong-in remembered, Namgung Sin was one of the prisoners who had endured the brutal torture quite well.
Namgung Sin was a person who had shown a level of spirit and fighting will that was different from those who had spilled all the information they knew in just a few days.
In the end, he could not withstand the torture and passed away…….
Seeing how he was enduring the Blood Wolf Corps process so well even at a young age, there was no doubt that he had the qualities to become an outstanding master.
‘Come to think of it, I think he also talked about the Blood Wolf Corps. He said he was able to endure by recalling the hellish training whenever he was tortured…….’
At that very moment.
‘Wait.’
At the sudden memory that came to mind, Jin Yeong-in’s face froze like frost.
One day, Namgung Sin had lamented for a long time about his situation and the crisis of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
‘This is all because of those damn, fucking Demonic Devil Cult bastards.’
‘Demonic Devil Cult?’
‘You didn’t know? The ones who resurrected the Heavenly Demon.’
According to Namgung Sin, they were those who had deserted the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in opposition to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's rise to power.
They did not recognize the Iron-Blooded Demonic God as the Heavenly Demon and revered only the previous Heavenly Demon as their one and only god.
Afterward, the Demonic Devil Cult operated in the shadows all over the world, plotting the resurrection of the previous Heavenly Demon, and they finally succeeded, he said.
‘If those bastards hadn't resurrected the Heavenly Demon, our cult would not have been in crisis. With her alive and well, how could those trashy Righteous Heavenly Alliance bastards dare to pick a fight with our cult?’
Namgung Sin was indignant at the Demonic Devil Cult for resurrecting the Heavenly Demon for a long time and lamented the passing of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
Indeed, if the Iron-Blooded Demonic God hadn't perished along with the resurrected previous Heavenly Demon, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would not have struggled against the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.
‘If I ever escape from here, I will kill not only the Righteous Heavenly Alliance bastards but also all the Demonic Devil Cult bastards. I still haven't repaid all my debts to them, so I can't die like this.’
‘Debts?’
‘About 20 years ago, there was an incident where the Demonic Devil Cult bastards attacked our cult. It was when I was receiving training to become a warrior of our cult, and that’s when the Demonic Devil Cult bastards attacked.’
‘The Demonic Devil Cult attacked the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?’
‘Yes. At that time, almost all the instructors and the fellow trainees died. At most, not even ten people would have survived. I was lucky to have survived…….’
The reminiscence ended there.
‘No matter how I think about this…….’
20 years ago.
Training to become a martial artist.
And fellow trainees.
What Namgung Sin's statement pointed to was, without a doubt, clear.
It was this very period, when Namgung Sin was part of the Blood Wolf Corps, the training and selection process to become a warrior of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
That means…….
‘The Demonic Devil Cult is scheduled to attack soon?’
Jin Yeong-in could not think otherwise.