Two days passed.
“Young Master.”
“…”
“I’ve brought water.”
Again, there was no response.
Ma Dong-pil sighed inwardly.
Did he receive some kind of shock?
Two days ago, after entering his quarters in the Solitary Bamboo Forest, the Third Young Master had stopped eating and drinking, just sitting on his bed staring blankly out the window. It would be better if he at least slept, but his eyes remained open all night.
However, he wasn’t just sitting there in a daze.
He seemed to be contemplating something with a serious expression, but from an observer’s position, it was impossible to know what.
This will harm his body.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t forcibly touch an esteemed person’s body.
Just as Ma Dong-pil was about to give up trying to speak.
“Hmm? Is it morning?”
Startled, Ma Dong-pil looked at Cheon Hajin.
Cheon Hajin roughly rubbed his face with both hands as if washing it.
Ma Dong-pil immediately knelt.
“Have you finished your contemplation?”
“Huh? Well, yes. I didn’t realize dawn had already broken though.”
“It’s not just dawn, Young Master. Two days have passed.”
“Two days?!”
“Yes.”
“No wonder, damn it, my stomach’s completely hollow.”
“My apologies.”
“Why are you people always apologizing…”
His face, having gone without sleep or water for two days, was gaunt enough to rival a sick person’s.
“Is there water?”
“Yes!”
Ma Dong-pil handed over the gourd placed on the table.
Cheon Hajin poured the water straight into his mouth.
“Gulp gulp! Gurgle!”
With gulping sounds, the cold water poured like a waterfall into his mouth.
Gasp!
Ma Dong-pil’s face turned pale.
He hadn’t expected him to down so much cold water like heroes emptying wine cups. Having drained a whole gourd of cold water with a weakened body, his stomach would surely be upset.
However…
“Burp! That’s refreshing.”
“Y-Young Master!”
“What?”
“…Are you alright?”
Cheon Hajin tilted his head.
“Why wouldn’t I be? By the way, the water here tastes good. Could I trouble you for another gourd?”
“O-Of course!”
“Warm this one up a bit. Feels like my teeth might crack.”
“I receive your command!”
As soon as he shot out like an arrow, Cheon Hajin flopped down on the bed.
“Mm, yes. Now my thoughts are getting clearer.”
Unlike his relaxed body, his face was terrifyingly rigid.
“I can’t leave.”
Though the words “for now” were omitted… well, anyway.
Staring quietly at the ceiling, he smirked.
“No matter how hard I try, I can’t leave.”
At this point, he could only laugh helplessly.
It was amazing that he’d spent two days organizing such an obvious thought. Counting from when he woke up, it had been over a hundred days.
Now he wouldn’t waver anymore. No more wasting time on useless thoughts.
There was no time for that.
Military Advisory Department? Divine Demon Palace? It was all meaningless. It was never possible from the start.
He realized the fundamental reason why he had been unnecessarily anxious, why he had been obsessed with the thought of escaping immediately.
A dream? No.
Prejudice against the Demonic Cult? Even more no.
The real reason he thought he should flee immediately upon learning this body was the Third Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“…Because it was uncomfortable.”
And what created that discomfort was the subtle ominousness flowing in the air.
I realized too late.
In his days as the Assassin King, he had received the gift of hypersensitivity.
He hadn’t particularly tried to obtain it. It was an ability that bloomed naturally from the combination of innate talent and acquired environment, having experienced the threat of death at every moment.
And he became a legend in the assassination world by creating the Six Directions Heaven-Net Formula[1], which amplified this hypersensitivity.
Hypersensitivity isn’t martial arts. Like what I felt when meeting the Cult Leader, this is a sense engraved in my soul.
Cheon Hajin smiled bitterly.
Since when did I mistake it for martial arts?
If he hadn’t made that mistake, he could have penetrated to the essence of the situation more easily.
“No, maybe it would have been even more confusing. Damn it! Is this ability helpful or not?”
The death that martial artists face and the death that assassins face are different.
Martial artists fight with swords and spears, but assassins fight with ‘moments’ of time.
For that one perfect moment, assassins endure and focus. Whether it takes three days or ten days, they focus solely on that.
And how well one can capture that moment, how long one can maintain concentration, determines talent as an assassin.
Cheon Hajin was a genius. At least in assassination, he was such a genius that the title “world’s greatest” seemed insufficient.
The Righteous Heavens Alliance didn’t properly manage such a genius yet threw him into death’s swamp at every moment. At worst, he’d gone on three assassination missions in a single day.
An assassin who had eliminated more targets than anyone in history.
An assassin who had confronted ‘death’ longer than anyone in history.
Considering the trials of his life, Cheon Hajin’s hypersensitivity was truly a well-deserved ability.
And now.
Cheon Hajin, who hadn’t properly realized who he was, perfectly recovered his identity as the Assassin King.
“Either way, leaving here is right. But it’s impossible right now.”
See the essence, understand the situation.
“Then I have no choice but to live as Seo Ryang, the Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult, for now.”
Accept reality, plan ahead.
“What overlaps between my desires as the Third Young Master and my desires for my future?”
Cross-verification, and…
“I need to become stronger.”
Conclusion drawn.
Cheon Hajin’s eyes flashed.
“I must get stronger. Above all else, becoming stronger takes priority.”
This is a world where the weak are eliminated.
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was an organization that followed this law of survival of the fittest more thoroughly than any other force in the martial world, putting the strong first.
Since passively waiting to be eliminated and driven out was never a consideration, he absolutely had to become stronger to live here as Seo Ryang.
The same applied to Cheon Hajin’s future. Though he planned to leave the martial world, he didn’t want to abandon martial arts. Who knows how life might turn out? Martial arts were necessary even for a safe life.
In the end, whether he lived or died, there was only one path he could walk.
The path of martial arts.
No more petty schemes. I’ll leave proudly with my own feet, my own ability.
Just as he firmly made his resolution, the door opened and Ma Dong-pil entered.
“Young Master, I’ve brought the water.”
“Thanks.”
After emptying the moderately warmed water, Cheon Hajin spoke.
“Mr. Ma.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“From now on, when you call me, use Young Master Seo.”
“…Pardon?”
Swoosh.
Cheon Hajin silently looked up at Ma Dong-pil.
In that moment, Ma Dong-pil felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
The Third Young Master’s gaze looking at him was extremely clear. His eyes, ambiguous between human and ghost-like, created an eerie terror.
Ma Dong-pil hurriedly bowed his head.
“I receive your command, Young Master Seo.”
Cheon Hajin nodded.
From now on, I am Seo Ryang.
Until he leaves this place, until he can be proud of his own life, he will live purely as Seo Ryang.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
“I’ll prepare right away.”
Half a double-hour later, Cheon Hajin collapsed with explosive diarrhea from drinking too much water and overeating.
***
His resolve to leave proudly with his own ability grew stronger as time passed.
On the fifth day after entering the Solitary Bamboo Forest.
“Got it!”
Cheon Hajin, no, Seo Ryang clenched his fist with a single shout.
“My body has completely recovered.”
It had returned to perfect normalcy, with nothing to add or subtract.
Not even slight internal injuries remained, and his whole body’s muscles overflowed with vitality. His tattered meridians had healed crisp and clean, and his internal organs functioned healthier and more actively than normal for his age.
The Boundless Arts’s growth was also encouraging.
Fourth Stage!
The Boundless Arts had broken through to the Fourth Stage. As a result, extracting turbid qi from his body became several times faster, and the purifying ability of the True Formula of Purification grew much stronger.
Finally!
Satisfaction spread across Seo Ryang’s face.
Finally I’ve established a proper foundation.
This is the true beginning of the martial way. By hammering the insights gained as the Assassin King into this talented body, he could become strong in a short time even without spiritual medicines.
And…
Whoosh!
Seo Ryang closed his eyes.
A strange resonance rising from deep within his body.
He could see the world without opening his eyes. More precisely, it felt like he could see.
The chirping of birds, the sound of insects’ wings, even the writhing of earthworms could be felt vividly.
Six Directions Heaven-Net Formula[2].
It was an art that maximized his hypersensitivity to open the mind’s eye[3]. Though with his meager internal energy now he could barely use it for even a quarter of a quarter-hour, wasn’t it great that he could use it at all?
“Good! Let’s try flying!”
The Boundless Arts, Six Directions Heaven-Net Formula, and Dark Shadow Energy[4].
Though he had abundant knowledge of other killing techniques and external martial arts, these three martial arts could be called the fundamental arts that created the legend of the Assassin King.
He could use both the Boundless Arts and Six Directions Heaven-Net Formula, so if he could just master the Dark Shadow Energy created by combining the secret techniques of the Nine Major Sects, he could quickly become stronger.
Seo Ryang began reciting the Dark Shadow Energy’s verses, filled with dreams and hope, laughing joyfully.
Shortly after.
“Wait.”
Seo Ryang’s eyes bulged. He had encountered an unexpected obstacle.
“Is it… okay to learn Dark Shadow Energy?”
This is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And I’m… no, I’m the Third Young Master Seo Ryang.
Seo Ryang must have known demonic arts originally. He probably had demonic arts taught directly by the Cult Leader embedded in his body.
But I don’t know what they are?
D-damn it!
How can you be so half-baked!
After clutching his head once, Seo Ryang shouted.
“Mr. Ma! Mr. Maaaa!”
Shortly after, Ma Dong-pil shot out from somewhere in the bamboo grove. Whatever work he had been doing, his sleeves were rolled up and his body was quite dirty.
“You called, Young Master Seo!”
“I have something to ask.”
“Please inquire.”
“Among the Cult Leader’s disciples, I mean me and my martial siblings…”
“Yes.”
Seo Ryang swallowed.
“Are there any who haven’t learned demonic arts?”
Small wrinkles formed between Ma Dong-pil’s brows, as if he couldn’t understand.
“How could that be possible? Everyone cultivates powerful demonic arts personally bestowed by the Cult Leader.”
“…”
“Didn’t Young Master Seo also have demonic arts you cultivated before entering qi deviation?”
“Th-that, ah, I know! Of course I know!”
“Yes.”
“…”
“…”
“Let’s say…”
“Please inquire.”
“If, just hypothetically…”
Seo Ryang asked in a tension-filled voice.
“What happens if a Cult Leader’s disciple learns martial arts other than demonic arts?”
“…Pardon?”
Ma Dong-pil rarely showed such reactions. One could tell how dumbfounded he was by the question.
“I… I’m not sure what Young Master means… my apologies.”
“I mean exactly what I said! What happens if you don’t learn demonic arts?”
“Th-that…”
It was something he’d never considered before. A demonic practitioner not learning demonic arts? Could they even be called a demonic practitioner?
Ma Dong-pil stammered.
“Such a thing… I don’t think could exist…”
Seo Ryang was completely despairing. Seeing Ma Dong-pil’s reaction, it was clear they considered such people unworthy bastards who didn’t deserve to be called demonic practitioners.
Right, honestly, even that wouldn’t matter. If he got kicked out because of that, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing either.
The problem is!
“For others it might not matter, but if Young Masters and Young Ladies don’t learn demonic arts, I dare predict the Cult Leader would be extremely displeased…”
“…”
“My apologies.”
Seo Ryang hung his head low.
Ma Dong-pil was flustered. He couldn’t understand why the Young Master was acting like this again.
After some time passed.
“Mr. Ma.”
“Yes, Young Master Seo.”
“Get me all the demonic art manuals available with Third Young Master authority.”
Seo Ryang raised his head.
Ma Dong-pil, about to speak, was startled.
A strange expression between laughing and crying crossed Seo Ryang’s face as tears rolled down his eyes.
“…Please hurry.”