Translator: FenrirTL
Editor : TheBattleSage
Editor Notes/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
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< Chapter 9: The Demonic Path I Imagine >
The next day, Lee Ahn came to me with a flustered expression.
“How did I get back yesterday?”
At that, Lee Ahn’s cheeks turned red.
“Don’t lie. I wasn’t that drunk. Was I very heavy? I’m sorry, young master.”
“It would be a lie to say you were light. But you weren’t so heavy that you need to apologize. Look at these arms!”
“Oh, they’ve gotten even thinner, haven't they?”
After exchanging jokes like that, Lee Ahn bowed her head.
“Thank you, young master.”
“Yes, young master.”
“If I said anything wrong, please forgive me. Honestly, I don’t remember what I said.”
“Don’t worry, you didn’t make any mistakes. Oh, and if you do make a mistake next time, use the pardon right.”
“It’s the right to be forgiven even if you make a mistake or do something wrong to me.”
I extended my hand to her.
“Shake hands.”
Lee Ahn took my hand with her large one.
“No! Just one. So use it wisely!”
“Yes, young master!”
Her eyes disappeared into her cheeks as she smiled brightly.
‘In life, if there’s anyone who needs to be forgiven, it would be me, not you. You should issue me about fifty pardon rights...
That night, I was sitting alone, practicing qi emission.
While I was detecting three places simultaneously, I sensed a presence to my left.
Recently, I had been thoroughly enjoying the process of figuring out what kind of person someone was through qi. When I found someone by sending out my qi, I started by scanning them from head to toe: how tall they were, what weapon they used, and their level of martial arts.
Just as I was about to examine this person in the same way.
Thinking it was a coincidence, I sent my qi towards them again. But the person moved to the opposite side again, avoiding my qi.
‘Could it be that they’re avoiding it on purpose?’
This thin, subtle qi was something the person shouldn’t be able to detect.
However, the person began dodging as if they could feel my qi.
Curiosity got the better of me. I continued emitting qi and stepped out of my room.
I practiced emitting qi while moving. Although it required several times more mental strength than doing it while staying still, in real combat, one would need to emit qi while moving and fighting.
I felt the person retreating. I chased after them, almost catching up but not quite.
Eventually, I arrived at the pavilion within the inner courtyard.
“Father!”
The person who had led me here with my qi was none other than my father.
“I knew it. I was worried someone else had sensed my qi.”
“What kind of qi are you talking about? Even the dog sleeping under that wall would have noticed it.”
“I was passing by.”
Though he said that, it was clear he had come to see me.
“To meet you by chance like this, it seems we are destined to be connected.”
I closed my mouth and silently joined my father in looking at the night sky.
After a moment, I asked.
“When will you decide on the successor?”
“In a hundred years. You all are still far from it.”
“If that were the case, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wouldn’t have come looking for you.”
“How did you know?”
It was a meeting between just the two of us, yet Father knew. In other words, he was keeping an eye on me. Well, he knew that I had been affected by the Energy Dispersing Poison.
“Right after he met you, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon came to see me.”
“He wanted me to punish you.”
“What?”
I was taken aback by the unexpected words. Did the Blood Heaven Blade Demon really go to my father and ask for my punishment?
“It was surprising. He’s not the type of person who would come to me with such a request just because his disciple died.”
Pretending not to know, I guessed the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s true intentions. He wanted to test the relationship between my father and me. To see if Father would truly punish me, and if so, what kind of punishment he would give. He wanted to find out if Father considered me his successor.
“There’s no reason to punish me. That disciple deserved to die.”
“A reason can be made.”
I then marked a point approximately ten steps away and said,
“The Blood Heaven Blade Demon told me that the length of this side represents how much you think of him. Is this where you got your reason?”
Instead of answering, Father asked me about the conversation we had at the hunting ground.
“Didn’t you ask me who I trust the most among the Demon Supremes?”
Father now gave his answer.
“I trust no one.”
I understood. This answer simultaneously revealed that the line drawn by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was incorrect.
“Which side are you on? Do you trust people or not?”
“How can you tell what kind of person they are?”
“You find out as you spend time with them, don’t you?”
“That’s a foolish thought. The human heart is something you can never truly know. No matter how transparent someone seems beside you, never think you truly know them.”
Suddenly, I thought of Lee Ahn. I thought I knew her well, yet I kept discovering new sides to her, just like this principle.
“Did you say we need to tighten the discipline within our Cult?”
“Yes.”
“Forget about that nonsense of eradicating corruption. Tell me your honest thoughts.”
“Can I really speak honestly?”
“No, but this answer might come off as rude.”
“Speak.”
“Somewhere along the line... I think we lost our Demonic Path.”
Under my father's eyes, there was a trembling twitch. It was not something to be said in front of him, at least.
"What I think of the Demonic Path is..."
After a brief pause, I revealed thoughts that had been long held in silence.
"I think it is our Cult's belief in striking down absolute evil."
Perhaps it was an unexpected answer, for my father turned to look at me with wide eyes.
"I do not think our counterpart is the orthodox sect."
"Then what is it?"
"Absolute evil."
Surely, what I was about to say would not be easily accepted by my father. Nonetheless, I calmly conveyed my thoughts to him.
My father was gazing at me. This was the first time I had seen him so focused on my words. Perhaps deep down in his heart, he harbored such thoughts.
—Weren't we the absolute evil?
—No, Father. I hope that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult of my world is not the absolute evil. I will ensure that it is not.
I continued my speech.
I was certain that my father had never thought of, nor heard, such thoughts in his life.
These thoughts were not learned or realized within the Cult. They were felt by me, wandering throughout the Central Plains my entire life.
"If we do not properly establish the Demonic Path, we will not last long. For us to survive... we must punish ourselves."
Even my father, who was adept at hiding his emotions, couldn't conceal his shock at this moment. He was the kind of person who would throw a punch to someone's face to check if they were lying. But at this moment, my father showed no reaction. Even if ten more blows had been thrown, there would have been no response to the story that had unfolded.
But there was one thing I was sure of.
Although only a few days had passed since my regression, both my father and I were already altering our destinies. We were starting to turn towards a different future.
Finally, my father broke the long silence.
“Is there more arrogance left to show?”
I scratched my head and smiled awkwardly.
“I think I understand why the Blood Heaven Blade Demon came to me to punish you.”
“Why is that?”
My father's confident eyes shone intensely.
“It seems he saw the potential for me to become the successor.”
“Or perhaps the risk of ruining our Cult.”
“Either way... that old skeleton has some insight.”
My father, who had been deeply gazing at me, suddenly walked out of the pavilion with determined steps.
My father led me to the deepest part of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. It was a place I was well aware of from what I had heard.
A small plaque hung above the stone cave.
Heavenly Cave.
“You don't mean to say I should enter there, do you?”
This place was a training cave meant for those who were candidates to become the Heavenly Demon.
Usually, the disciples or children of the Heavenly Demon entered when they were being tested.
It was a training cave not to be underestimated.
Because of that, even my ambitious brother didn't bring up the idea of entering this place himself.
However, in order to become a Heavenly Demon, it was a place one had to pass through at least once. Everyone who became a Heavenly Demon had passed through here. In this sense, being a Heavenly Demon could be considered one of the extreme jobs.
"I also entered this place when I was your age."
"So, how long did it take you to get out?"
"My goodness. You want me to spend two months of my bright youth in this dark and damp place?"
"Don't be mistaken. It took me two months, but the average time to pass through is three years."
My father was evaluated as having the greatest martial talent among all the Heavenly Demons in history. The fact that I inherited the heavenly martial body was possible because I received his blood.
"Father, why are you doing this to me?"
"Isn't this punishment too harsh?"
"Yang Po, whom you killed, will spend eternity underground."
"With the cheers and applause of those he tormented."
However, my father had already made up his mind.
Suddenly, I recalled what my father had said during the hunt about hidden intentions.
'Do you not care if your son dies? Or do you hope I come out stronger?'
If I couldn't survive, it was a punishment, but if I did survive, it could be a reward.
'Or are you trying to protect me from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon by sending me away, like a needle sticking out of a pocket?'
When my father placed his hand on the stone tablet next to the cave and injected his unique energy, the stone door opened.
Thud.
With a look that said to stop complaining and go inside, I could no longer refuse.
"Fine. I'll come out faster than you did, Father."
As the stone door closed, my father, with a cold yet irritating smile, said,
"Make sure you don't die."
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