Entering Black Dragon Castle, we felt the stares of what seemed like madmen.
Then, we were led to the Heavenly Demon’s chambers.
“Are you out of your mind!!!”
We had to face the wrath of the storm-like Heavenly Demon Wi Seoryeon.
“What on earth possessed you to barge in like this! If you had at least given a heads-up, we could’ve discussed some countermeasures!”
“I’m sorry.”
“I really can’t understand what either you or your father is thinking!”
Wi Seoryeon trembled with her fists raised. What could have possibly happened with the Heavenly Demon? Just thinking of Wi Ji-cheon made her blood boil.
“C’mon, calm down… It’s already in the past, isn’t it?”
Black Cat gently soothed Wi Seoryeon, who was sweating profusely in front of the stormy Black Dragon Qi.
“You too…! Huh…”
Wi Seoryeon, who was about to unleash her anger on Black Cat, reined it in and relaxed her energy instead. She noticed Tang So-yeol beside Black Cat had gone pale.
Downing the tea placed in front of her like it was a cold beer, Wi Seoryeon sighed and took a seat.
As she quietly calmed her anger, she looked at me.
“You also witnessed Jeong Cheol’s demise. Do you have the confidence?”
I silently nodded.
While my preparations weren’t perfect, I felt I had enough chances to succeed.
Wi Seoryeon gazed at me, her expression complicated.
“A martial artist has the right to choose their opponent while putting their own life on the line. It’s quite! Very! displeasing that it’s not me but rather Heavenly Demon Arts… Hmph!”
Her barely contained anger caused her brow to raise.
“Well, fine. Getting angry over something that’s already happened doesn’t suit a Heavenly Demon, does it? Right. Your challenge to inherit the Heavenly Demon Arts is because you need the Heavenly Demon Sect’s power to defeat the Blood Sect, isn’t it?”
I nodded silently.
“However, Ho Cheon-an, even if you inherit the Heavenly Demon Arts and become a Heavenly Demon, there’s a high chance the sect’s martial artists won’t follow you. You’ll undoubtedly be respected as a Heavenly Demon, but they won’t participate in your ‘personal’ revenge.”
Well, that was a given.
No matter how much a leader of a group holds absolute power, who would follow someone who tries to exploit the organization for personal feelings?
And just becoming a Heavenly Demon doesn’t mean I’d be the leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
With Wi Ji-cheon existing and Wi Seoryeon, the legitimate heir, being present, would there really be sect martial artists to support me? There might be, but they wouldn’t be part of the mainstream.
“I know.”
“Right. Knowing that, you’d naturally speak the original.”
Wi Seoryeon’s words were almost like a lament. She had faced and overcome the test of the Black Dragon herself. No one else understood better than her what it meant to restore the original Heavenly Demon Arts, which others could only vaguely imagine.
With a look that said there was much to say but wouldn’t, Wi Seoryeon’s eyes flickered with resignation.
“Well, fine. Thinking about it, it’s not all bad. If you succeed in inheriting even if you fail to restore the original, you’d become a Heavenly Demon.”
At Wi Seoryeon’s comment, Miss Yeo Il-ye, Moyong Yeon-hwa, and Hyeok Gi-rin all looked gloomy.
…If I truly become a Heavenly Demon, the three of them, part of a storied righteous faction, would indeed be in a difficult position.
“Also, it would solidify my qualifications as your rival… Hmm. Was this the meaning behind your father’s stubbornness? No, it can’t be.”
Wi Seoryeon was rubbing her forehead like she had a headache.
“Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years! Excuse me! May I come in to convey the Heavenly Demon’s message?”
“…Come in.”
A martial artist covered in cold sweat quickly bowed at Wi Seoryeon’s sharp tone.
“From tomorrow, the Heavenly Demon wishes to hold your inheritance ceremony, Ho Cheon-an.”
Wi Seoryeon looked at me through her gaze, asking for my opinion. If I wasn’t ready, there was a sense she’d be willing to buy me some time, but I resolutely nodded.
Time wasn’t abundant, and I was hoping for a fast-paced ceremony.
“Understood.”
Thus, the date for the ceremony was confirmed.
* *
I was informed that my inheritance ceremony would take place over three days.
As I stepped outside the front gate of Wi Seoryeon’s chambers for the ceremony, countless eyes latched onto me.
Well… Given the ruckus I caused during my entrance, it was only natural that news of me spread throughout Black Dragon Castle.
Hostility, anticipation, curiosity… perhaps envy or admiration. All those gazes felt like daggers prickling my nerves.
I’ve thought I was used to being in the spotlight, but today felt different.
Despite the intense looks, there wasn’t a single whisper, everyone maintained quietude.
Until now, I had treated Black Dragon Castle just like any other city while passing through the Heavenly Demon Library.
But witnessing this scene right now made me painfully aware of why Heavenly Demon Sect was dubbed a sect (敎).
They were treating me, a challenger of the Heavenly Demon Arts, as an untouchable existence.
Arriving at the spot where Jeong Cheol learned the Heavenly Demon Arts, I found Wi Ji-cheon standing with his hands behind his back.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes.”
The building that was damaged due to Jeong Cheol’s failure had been completely restored, and the same cushions were placed in their spots.
As I sat down in the very spot where Jeong Cheol had died, sustaining pointless sentiments, Wi Ji-cheon began speaking without delay.
What is a Heavenly Demon?
What responsibilities must one bear?
Wi Ji-cheon’s calm explanation led into the history of the Demon Sect.
The story of the first Heavenly Demon, who had dropped the Black Dragon in Xin Gang during the era when entities ruled the land.
After finishing the tale of the first, Wi Ji-cheon continued.
“The fact that one must overcome the trial of the Black Dragon to become a Heavenly Demon is an inherent flaw of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
A flaw, huh.
“You know enough about outsiders and the Heavenly Demon Sect, right? Have you ever questioned why the Heavenly Demon Sect operates entirely differently from the outside?”
I shook my head.
I hadn’t thought deeply about it either, as it seemed obvious that in a closed environment, a unique culture would bloom distinctly.
“Unlike other sects and clans, the inheritance of the Heavenly Demon Arts has always been a series of uncertainties. It wouldn’t be surprising if the lineage of the Heavenly Demons were to end at any moment.”
Wi Ji-cheon calmly spoke about the bloody history.
The heir to the Heavenly Demon Arts was chosen through a very rigorous process.
However…
No matter how harsh the test, there was no guarantee of successful inheritance. And since there were no guarantees, there had certainly been failures.
The name of the Heavenly Demon was sustained by the lifeblood of the candidates.
“Despite the Heavenly Demon Sect always doing its utmost to prepare for the inheritance of the Heavenly Demon Arts, things have never gone as intended.”
Why is the Demon Sect depicted as a group of crazed beings in the Central Plains martial world?
Because there was a time when it was so.
When numerous individuals cast away their lives to inherit the Heavenly Demon Arts.
The scars from that era still remained, not completely gone, but left as ugly marks on the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Though I usually couldn’t decipher his intentions, it felt as though Wi Ji-cheon was unveiling that curtain today.
His eyes revealed that those scars didn’t just mar the reputation of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
“You’ve often crossed the threshold of the Heavenly Demon Library. You must have seen various martial arts created by Heavenly Demons who concealed their names. Have you considered why successive Heavenly Demons, despite mastering the supreme martial art known as Heavenly Demon Arts, created so many others?”
Though I hadn’t pondered it deeply, I could see the reason clearly.
The Heavenly Demon Sect was the soil in which the one who would become a Heavenly Demon would be cultivated. The creation of new martial arts by the Heavenly Demons was likely to enrich that soil.
“Do you now understand why the martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Sect are huddled in Xin Gang?”
All martial artists possessed the potential to become Heavenly Demons. If talented and outstanding martial artists left for the Central Plains and didn’t return, the possibility of producing a steady supply of Heavenly Demons would diminish.
“And do you understand why someone from outside, like you, can challenge the inheritance of the Heavenly Demon Arts?”
The worst of the worst.
The rule allowing outsiders to challenge the Heavenly Demon Arts must have been established with the consideration that no potential successors could be found within the sect.
When I nodded, Wi Ji-cheon looked directly into my eyes and spoke.
“Then now, you fully comprehend the weight of the words ‘I will return the original of the Heavenly Demon Arts’.”
The weight slammed against me like a rock.
I had braced myself for it, but the realization of that weight pressed down hard on my shoulders.
“Even if you manage to retrieve the ‘original,’ the curse of the Black Dragon Blood will not end. The curse of the Black Dragon Blood has become one with the principles of the Heavenly Demon Arts, so it will surely rear its head again whenever that principle is discussed.”
Retrieving the original of the Heavenly Demon Arts.
This was something I had never even encountered in the game’s martial world, so I couldn’t guarantee the result either.
Therefore, Wi Ji-cheon’s judgment would likely be more accurate than mine, considering he had experienced both the Heavenly Demon Arts and the curse of the Black Dragon Blood.
“Nevertheless, the quest to obtain the original is not simply to restore the martial art wielded by the first Heavenly Demon.”
Wi Ji-cheon extended his hand to me.
For some reason, that hand felt like it was drenched in blood.
“That original is the opportunity to continue the line of the Heavenly Demon Sect and, at the moment when the Legacy of Heavenly Demon Arts demands countless lives to flow, it would be the only salvation that could save the lives of countless followers.”
He asked with his gaze.
“So you will become the sect’s benefactor, and the Heavenly Demon Sect will willingly draw their swords for their benefactor.”
Could you do it?
“I can,” I replied.
Did he accept my answer? A faint smile mixed with clear anticipation appeared on Wi Ji-cheon’s face.
…Somehow, the intense glimmer in his eyes felt more like obsession than anticipation, but since Wi Ji-cheon was human too, emotions can intensify at times.
“If that’s the case, engrave that meaning in your heart and contemplate it.”
Wi Ji-cheon spun around as he spoke.
“That is what the preparation for the inheritance of the Heavenly Demon Arts is about.”
Thus, the first day of preparation for the inheritance concluded.
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