Chapter 33 - Is That a New Suit of Protective Armor?

“If I put it in your mouth, can you even digest it?” the Blood Heaven Saber Demon asked provocatively.

“I’ll chew it thoroughly before I swallow.”

“Listen, Second Young Master. There is a natural order to things.”

“And isn’t eating something with your drink part of that natural order?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon pressed his fingers hard against his brow as though nursing a headache. Then he sprang to his feet in a burst of anger.

“I cannot stand this. I waited three whole days for you, and you give me this ridiculous condition?”

He pulled the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber out of the ground.

“I’ll carry that head of yours to Heavenly Demon Hall!”

SWISH!

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon swung his Heaven-Destroying Great Saber. He did not truly intend to kill me, but it was an irritable attack charged with genuine anger.

CLANG!

A sharp metallic ring erupted as I parried with the Black Demon Sword.

“Not bad! Not bad at all!”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon sounded impressed. He had put considerable internal power into that attack and apparently hadn’t expected me to block it so easily.

“Yes, I suppose taking that precious head won’t be easy.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon swung his saber again, faster and harder than before.

Once more, I knocked it aside with the Black Demon Sword as it tore through the air in a vertical strike.

CLAAANG!

The clash was louder than the first.

The Heaven-Destroying Great Saber might have earned the nickname Weapon Destroyer, but it could not damage the Black Demon Sword. I remained at ease.

‘He keeps getting cocky. Should we just snap it in two? The Weapon Destroyer destroyed! Wouldn’t that make a fine rumor to greet tomorrow morning?’

It was a thought I had directed at my sword in jest, but perhaps entertaining it was what made the urge to use the Wind God’s Four Steps surge within me.

Could the Blood Heaven Saber Demon stop my Underworld King’s Step?

This temptation sprang from my fighting spirit. When confronted with a powerful enemy, a supreme martial art like the Wind God’s Four Steps responded. Let’s fight. And let’s win.

‘No! Not yet.’

Time was on my side. There was no reason to risk a dangerous fight while my internal energy was still insufficient.

Before the third attack came, I pretended my wrist hurt and leaped back. Of course, that did not mean I was backing down from my demand.

“Give me the Demon Army.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon lowered his saber and asked,

“Who exactly do you want me to put in the commander’s seat? Surely not yourself?”

“Of course not.”

“Then who?”

“Put Third Squad Leader Jang Ho in that seat.”

“Jang Ho?”

If Jang Ho became the Demon Army commander, I could make the army my ally. That alone would strengthen my position within the Cult beyond comparison with where I stood now.

And it would not benefit only me. Having a martial artist like Jang Ho as commander would be a great boon to the Cult as well.

“Even for me, making Jang Ho the commander would not be easy.”

He was telling the truth.

If they chose a squad leader from within the Demon Army, Jang Ho would be a strong candidate. But elite organizations like the Demon Army chose their heads from outside their ranks. Heavenly Demon Hall and the Eight Demon Supremes engaged in battles of nerves, each trying to install their own people.

“Second Young Master! Too much greed will burst your belly.”

“But isn’t the path before us one where we must devour everything until our bellies burst?”

“Us?”

“You’re the one who said we should devour them all with madness, sir. You’re also the one who asked me to join hands with you. How could the road a pair of mad bastards walks ever be ordinary?”

“Bastards?”

“Are we not? Others might be a different matter, but how could you join hands with me unless you were mad?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon glared at me with blazing eyes.

I did not know the ultimate aim of his ambition. He had died before revealing it to the world.

Surprisingly, he had been the first of the Eight Demon Supremes to die. This exacting, cunning Saber Demon.

“Hmph! You act as though you’re already the Heavenly Demon.”

“Aren’t you the one who put that idea in my head? What exactly do you intend to do with me? Are you just trying to use a young man by feeding him pretty words? Like your disciples?”

Perhaps I had struck a nerve, because the Blood Heaven Saber Demon roared,

“Your greed has overturned our drinking table!”

BANG!

After actually kicking the table over, he abruptly flew away.

Watching him disappear into the distance, I gave a faint smile instead. This was the first time I had broken the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s composure.

He would not be able to refuse my proposal. He knew better than anyone that, besides his drinking table, I had seven others available to me.

* * *

I immersed myself in martial arts training at my private training ground.

I felt it every time I trained since my regression: tireless youth truly was wonderful. It had nothing to do with how much internal energy I possessed. My body felt light and vigorous without any effort on my part.

The eternal truth that you only appreciate something once you lose it surely applied most powerfully to youth.

Yes, back then I had not known how precious the time slipping past me was. How desperately I would miss these moments later.

Martial prowess? Money? Power? The fact that youth was what we sacrificed to gain them... was both absurd and sad. Though the reality was that, even after regressing, I had no choice but to race ahead once more.

Still, this was a mistake I was making knowingly. Because I understood its value better than anyone, I trained with all my strength and care, even when taking a single step.

I wove among imaginary enemies using the Wind God’s Four Steps.

At first there were three or four, but their numbers increased with repeated training. Five became seven, and seven became ten.

At first they merely stood there like scarecrows. Now the enemies in my imagination moved, conversed, and even cursed at me. Their martial prowess also grew with each training session. The sophistication of my training was determined by my martial imagination.

I devoted seventy percent of my training to the Wind God’s Four Steps. For the rest, I practiced the qi exercises Father had taught me and honed the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art.

After a round of training, I lay on the floor and caught my breath. I had sweated enough to leave my entire body soaked, but nothing felt as good as this moment after finishing.

Through the window, I could see clouds drifting past, red with the sunset.

How wonderful would it be to tour the Central Plains in this young body? The sunsets I had watched while gathering materials for the grand ritual would be utterly different from those I would see as the world’s greatest martial artist after killing Hwa Mugi...

Before my regression, I had endured all that hardship by imagining nothing but this moment after returning. Now I endured by looking forward to the future after Hwa Mugi’s death.

I could not think only of who I was today. The me who would die a miserable death at an opponent’s hands tomorrow because I had not trained enough was also me. Yes, I had to endure.

When I got back up, my imaginary enemies rose again too.

* * *

Two days later, news arrived.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had recommended Third Squad Leader Jang Ho as a candidate for Demon Army commander.

He had left in such a temper, but in the end he had accepted my wishes. This had never been a drinking table he could overturn.

The person most surprised by the news was Jang Ho himself.

“What on earth happened?”

The mere fact that he came to ask me showed he was intelligent and perceptive.

An ordinary person might have regarded this as an unexpected stroke of luck. But Jang Ho was someone who understood that no such luck existed in this world.

“You arranged this, didn’t you, Second Young Master?”

“Yes. I asked the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.”

“I’m grateful that you hold me in such high regard, but that position is beyond my abilities.”

“There’s no need to be modest. Even the commander I killed held that position.”

“That was a different case.”

“Just lead them the way you lead the Third Squad. Then I’m certain you’ll be the best commander the Demon Army has ever had.”

Above all, he was the strongest martial artist among the squad leaders. He also had the enthusiastic support of the Third Squad’s warriors. If they were choosing someone from within the army, he was more than qualified.

“You overestimate me, Second Young Master.”

“Or perhaps you underestimate yourself. In any case, other candidates are being discussed too, so let’s wait and see.”

Despite his bewilderment, Jang Ho was also delighted. After all, what else would a Demon Army squad leader dream of?

“Now, we’ve done our part. Let’s leave the outcome to Heaven.”

* * *

I had told Jang Ho to do all he could and await Heaven’s decree, but as if that indifferent Heaven would ever answer. I would have to keep busy and make things happen myself.

That night, I went to see Father.

Father had separate living quarters in Heavenly Demon Hall, probably the largest and most lavish in the world.

And now, faced with his unfamiliar appearance, I blinked as though I were seeing things.

“Is that a new suit of protective armor?”

“No. My nightclothes.”

“...”

“...”

“They have a floral pattern. Not demons or evil spirits...”

“I believe in sleeping comfortably.”

I had never seen Father in his nightclothes before. The bright floral pattern was shocking enough, but even more surprising was that he had let me see him like this. He could have told me to wait and changed into something else.

“What brings you here so late at night?”

“Late at night? It’s only early evening. I didn’t know you went to bed this early. Isn’t that top-secret information? If the Orthodox Martial Alliance finds out, they’ll attack at once. ‘The Heavenly Demon goes to bed early! Let’s launch a midnight raid!’”

“Get to the point!”

“Yes, Father.”

I stopped my banter there and explained why I had come.

“I intend to use the Blood Heaven Saber Demon as my blade.”

“Didn’t you say you would kill him?”

“It would be a waste to kill him.”

This would not be news to Father. When the Blood Heaven Saber Demon recommended Jang Ho, he would already have realized that the Saber Demon and I had joined hands.

Not just Father—anyone with an interest in the Cult’s politics could have guessed. Everyone was watching to see how my relationship with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon would develop, how my brother would eventually react, and what moves the other Demon Supremes would each make.

Father changed the subject.

“How is your new sword?”

“I like it.”

“Let me see.”

I handed Father the Black Demon Sword, scabbard and all.

He slowly drew it, then nodded in satisfaction.

“You’ve tamed it well.”

“You can tell just by holding it?”

“You should know when you hold it. Would you rather find out after it stabs you?”

Father handed the Black Demon Sword back to me.

“The Blood Heaven Saber Demon will not be tamed so easily.”

“I have no intention of taming him. I’ll use him until he breaks, then throw him away. He isn’t worth keeping yet.”

“And if you get cut in the process?”

“Then I’ll get cut. But there will be a difference between the Blood Heaven Saber Demon and me. Once that old man breaks, it’s over for him. I’ll only grow stronger with every cut. I’ll apply medicine, wrap myself in bandages, and keep moving forward.”

“Easy enough to say. But why are you reporting this to me?”

“I’m drawing a salary from you now, Father. Of course I should report to you.”

Father’s eyes narrowed.

“You haven’t come to ask me to accept the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s recommendation?”

He truly was perceptive, but this time he was wrong.

“No. Quite the opposite. Whatever you do, please don’t approve it as he wishes.”

“You don’t want me to approve it? Why?”

“I want to take this opportunity to put him in his place. He’s so overbearing in front of me. Sometimes he acts even more self-important than you do, Father. I intend to knock him down a peg.”

“Enough nonsense. Tell me your real intentions.”

“Why do you think I’m not being sincere?”

“This is a chance to gain the Demon Army, and you would give it up just to put the Blood Heaven Saber Demon in his place? You’re not that sort of child.”

Father was as sharp as ever.

“Yes, you’ve seen right through me.”

“What are you after?”

“There’s something I want to get from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. For that to happen, this matter cannot go his way.”

“Is it more important than the Demon Army?”

“In some respects. Oh, and I’ll make the Demon Army mine too. I’ll make all of it mine.”

Father stared at me, then turned away.

“Stop making me laugh and go.”

Despite his words, I could tell he would grant my request.

I chuckled at the flowers in full bloom on his back.

‘Father, at least tonight, nothing could be funnier than those nightclothes.’