Chapter 237: Chapter 237

Chapter 237: Espionage (1)

Il-mok was flustered and taken aback by her response.

"A-Abandon you? What are you talking about?"

"If I do not become strong quickly, I can't stay with you. But you told me to stop training, so that must mean I'm in the way and you want me gone."

Only then did Il-mok recall an old memory that had been buried away.

Back in the past. Before he'd even entered the Hall of the Demonic Way.

Il-mok had said those things to her.

He said that because he was the Heavenly Demon's disciple, his life would be hectic. He told her that if she wanted to stick with him, she had to become a strong person.

Honestly, he just said it to comfort her when he got dragged off on his first mission and had to leave her behind.

But to think the kid had been holding onto those words all this time...

Feeling guilty, Il-mok patted the child's head and said, "I'm saying this because you've already grown enough to be with me. There's no need to rush anymore, so take your time."

"So... you're not abandoning me?"

Hyeokryeon Seon-ah, who had tears welling up in her eyes, broke into a bright smile.

"Ahem. Of course not. Ah, actually, how about we meditate together from now on?"

“I’m fine with anything as long as I'm with Big Brother."

Hearing that, Il-mok nodded and made a mental note.

He would have to teach this child properly about the art of meditation.

Well, the art of napping and slacking off, to be precise.

It was thanks to this art of meditation that he'd managed to keep his sanity intact back when he was in the Hall of the Demonic Way.

'Hmm. If she joins the Hall of the Demonic Way later, I should tell her to sign up for the Meditation Club.'

Il-mok spent his days in peace.

The matters in Pingliang County were being handled by Kwan Mu-yeol, Baek Cheon, and Seo Jae-pil, while Dam Bin and the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master were managing the red-light district affairs. The Maitreya Luminous Cult estate matters were taken care of by the Lanzhou Branch Leader and Won Sul.

On top of that, the various smaller counties in Gansu Province aside from Pingliang and Lanzhou were being managed by the Red Tiger and White Dragon Corps.

In other words, unless some special incident occurred, there was no longer any need for Il-mok to step in.

'Outsourcing really is the way to go.'

Il-mok had dumped all the work on others, but he felt no shame about it.

After all, he'd busted his ass running around everywhere to create this situation in the first place.

He'd wake up after sleeping soundly until late in the morning, then teach Seon-ah meditation while sneaking in additional naps himself.

That said, he wasn't just sleeping and meditating all day long.

Unlike Seon-ah, his situation wasn't one where the side effect got worse as his realm increased; it was the opposite. The side effect is actually weakening.

While teaching Seon-ah meditation, he'd practice energy circulation to increase his mastery of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword. He'd also swing his Ascension Sword alone, performing sword dances, or train his body by lifting iron weights.

"Squad Leader Dam. If you're not busy today, how about a light spar?"

He'd spar with Jin Hayeon, Dam Bin, or occasionally with the squad leaders of the combat units who returned to Lanzhou.

"As a believer of the Divine Cult, I always welcome opportunities to exchange martial arts, Young Master."

After saying that, Dam Bin positioned herself about ten meters away from Il-mok.

'No matter how many times I see it, it's always fascinating.'

Usually, she gave off the vibe of a gentle, maternal maid.

But the second she gathered her internal energy and entered combat mode, a seductive smile appeared on her lips.

And contrasting with that alluring smile, black threads capable of easily piercing human flesh shot out from her sleeves.

Il-mok dodged the first attack with minimal movements, but before he knew it, threads that Dam Bin had spread were laid out all around him.

It was like a spiderweb trap.

Il-mok advanced while dodging those spider webs with nimble movements or cutting them with his Ascension Sword, and while Il-mok marched, Dam Bin retreated while continuously scattering new threads.

Among them were threads that were visible, and there were also quite a few traps hidden in the training ground's dirt or in the shadows.

Their spar took the form of a chase, but it didn't flow in a way that gave either one a clear advantage.

Partly because they were holding back somewhat since it wasn't a life-or-death battle, and partly because their realms weren't that different.

As he cut a black thread that suddenly shot up from beneath his feet, Il-mok thought about the difference between Dam Bin's martial arts and his own.

'It's like we're climbing completely different mountains that just happen to be similar in height.'

As a prime example, Dam Bin had also escaped the Extremity, but she didn't use Force Qi at all.

No, it felt like she hadn't even really trained to handle Force Qi in the first place.

And Il-mok vaguely understood why.

'Forming Sword Force with a mere three-foot sword held in your hand is completely different from forming it with those bundles of thread.'

Given the nature of the martial art Dam Bin had learned, Force Qi was a terribly inefficient move.

That's why instead of forming Force Qi that concentrates Qi to its extreme, Dam Bin was treading on the opposite path where she infuses Qi in various forms into as many threads as possible.

Concentrating qi to its extreme versus splitting qi as finely as possible to use it in diverse ways.

Which of the two was the correct answer?

The moment that question arose, the words the Heavenly Demon had spoken came to Il-mok's mind.

—The Central Plains folks talk about a level called the Supreme Peak Realm after the Peak Realm, but the Supreme Peak Realm is like a mirage. It's just something they added because the gap between Peak Realm and the next realm, Realm of Truth, is too vast.

When he first heard those words, Il-mok had this thought:

Maybe it looked ridiculous to Master to see the lower folks dividing up realms among themselves.

Like how in a popular game from modern times, a Challenger player would say Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum all looked the same.

But now he felt like he understood the true meaning a little.

'Squad Leader Dam's Dark Spider Blood Thread Art is also a high-level Demonic Art, so if she reaches Transcendence, she'll be able to attain the Realm of Truth.'

Whether you condense your energy into a tight ball or split it into a million pieces, you can still reach the Realm of Truth.

So why is everyone in the Central Plains so obsessed with the Supreme Peak Realm and Force Qi?

The answer was actually pretty simple.

'It's because most martial artists out there, especially the Orthodox guys, use bladed weapons. Even for the guys who fight with their bare hands, it’s usually better to concentrate their Force Qi into a hard coating rather than splitting it up.'

On the other hand, the Demonic Arts of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult were quite diverse. The downside was that there were just as many different side effects.

Il-mok started listing all the Demonic Arts he knew in his head.

'Actually, the whole "Peak" ranking system is weird too. Creating Claw Qi like Seon-ah does must be twice as easy as creating Sword Qi or Saber Qi.'

Wrapping energy around your own hand is obviously easier than pushing it into a separate weapon that obviously isn’t a part of your body.

There was a reason why concepts like One With the Sword existed.

On the flip side, people of the same realm who handled swords or sabers would naturally have an advantage over bare-handed martial artists.

'It’s the same for Jin Hayeon with her Yin energy or Eldest Brother with his Yang energy. Since they handle such dangerous power, they are slower to advance, but practically invincible in their realm.’

As his thoughts reached that point, Il-mok naturally arrived at a certain conclusion.

There are endless ways to use qi. And looking at the top-tier Demonic Arts, there are plenty of ways to reach the Realm of Truth.’

If that’s the case, the only thing that really mattered was: "How perfectly can I control my energy with my mind?"

The method of handling qi was simply the pursuit of the most efficient method suited to each martial art's characteristics.

When you can control qi perfectly according to your will, that is when you reach the state called Transcendence or the 'Realm of Truth.'

That's what Il-mok thought.

'I still have no idea why that leads to your body getting rebuilt through Overhaul Body Transformation.’

And just because he understood this now didn't mean much would change immediately.

Knowing you need perfect control to level up is different from actually being able to do it.

'At least I know I don't need to stress out over Force Qi anymore.'

What mattered was realizing that Force Qi was also just a means to an end.

As Il-mok let out a light sigh after organizing all his thoughts, Dam Bin, who had stopped moving at some point and was watching him, asked, "Did you gain enlightenment?"

At that question, Il-mok shook his head.

"Rather than enlightenment, it was more a contemplation about training methods."

Ignoring Dam Bin's puzzled expression, Il-mok adjusted his grip on his sword according to the conclusion he'd reached and began performing a sword dance alone.

He deconstructed the forms he'd been executing habitually and unconsciously until now.

'What if I circulate my internal energy ?'

He twisted the flow of qi with his will to create unnatural flows, and even circulated qi in a way that had nothing to do with how his body was moving.

—Hey! Hey! Hey! That looks ugly!

—Perform the perfect sword technique!

The side effect in his head screamed out, but Il-mok continued his sword dance while ignoring those cries.

Il-mok's sword dance didn't flow like water as it had before.

It was jerky and awkward, looking exactly like a puppet on strings.

The expressions of the three women watching Il-mok's sword dance changed subtly.

Not because they'd gained some enlightenment from watching Il-mok's strange sword dance.

'The Eighth Young Master seems to have gained not enlightenment but a Heart Demon.'

Dam Bin worried that Il-mok's skills were regressing.

'...He must have come up with some weird method again.'

Jin Hayeon just shrugged it off, thinking he must have a plan. However, it was hard to tell if she trusted him or just gave up trying to understand.

'Don't worry, Big Brother. Even if you fall into Qi Deviation and become a cripple, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life.'

And for some reason, Seon-ah's eyes were sparkling.

Somewhere in the Central Plains.

In a massive red-light district that made the one in Lanzhou look tiny in comparison.

In a private room of a brothel with just a mediocre atmosphere...

A middle-aged man who'd been leisurely enjoying drinks alone like a wastrel suddenly asked into thin air, "Did something urgent come up?"

At his question, a shadow stretched long from the darkness and someone dressed in black robes appeared.

"Contact has been lost with Yang Jong. Contact with the Lanzhou Branch Leader has also been cut off."

"Hmm. So that rat bastard got taken out, huh."

The middle-aged man smiled as if finding it interesting, then lifted his cup and downed his drink.

"The Maitreya Luminous Cult, was it? Sounds like a fun bunch."

"Since they dared to touch our things, should we take revenge?"

"Hahaha. Revenge? Who? Me?" The man burst out laughing.

When the black-robed person showed no reaction, the man clicked his tongue lightly and said, "Tsk. Since when has our Hao Clan cared about loyalty and revenge?"

"Then what are you going to do?"

The black-robed person asked with certainty. He knew that despite speaking like that, the man would take some measure.

"A rat has a rat's ways. We are the Hao Clan; we should do what the Hao Clan does best. And what’s our best? Selling people out." The man grinned mischievously.

"You mean dig into the Maitreya Luminous Cult?"

"Hahaha. You’re getting smarter. Now you understand a bit of what I'm saying. Some weirdos came out of nowhere and took over Gansu, so plenty of people are going to be curious."

And if they sold juicy info about the Cult, greedy people would definitely come running.