The Storm Within the Prison (1)
“I’ve unlocked all the meridian points.”
My words took the Heavenly Demon by surprise. Initially, we estimated it would take a full day, then revised it to eight hours. In reality, I managed to unlock all the meridian points in just six hours—half the time we first anticipated.
“Really?”
“You can feel it yourself, can’t you?”
“How would I know?”
“You don’t know?”
“How could I know what’s happening in your body?”
It was clear from our earlier conversations that he didn’t know everything about me. This was another instance of that.
There were things we shared and things we didn’t, a clear line between them.
A sudden question crossed my mind.
“Then how did you know it was me in the first place?”
“That… I don’t know. I just knew it was you.”
There were still parts of us that were a mystery, parts where we shared deep emotions and others where we were completely in the dark. It was something we’d have to unravel slowly over time.
“Anyway, you did it in six hours?”
His voice was a mix of surprise and admiration.
“How long would it have taken you?”
“If it were me, four hours would have been enough.”
“Your voice is shaking. Do you always give yourself away when you lie?”
“Damn it.”
He probably thought it would have taken him about the same time. That alone was impressive.
To achieve similar results to the Heavenly Demon on my first try?
No wonder he was so astonished.
I offered him a word of encouragement.
“As you know, martial arts and people have their own compatibility. It seems the Reversal Heaven Technique suits me well.”
Even without saying it, the Reversal Heaven Technique was an extraordinary martial art. No matter how advanced my skills were, mastering a demonic art so naturally proved the technique’s high level.
“Is that so?”
His voice brightened immediately. At times like this, he seemed childlike, but the Heavenly Demon was no child.
Deep within him lay the darkness and evil of the cult leader, something not to be underestimated.
“It’s a pity. If you had joined our sect, you could have been my successor and become the Heavenly Demon.”
“Would that really have happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you have left a talented successor like me alone?”
“Hmph! You think of me as a beast.”
“Your voice is shaking again.”
“Stop talking nonsense! It’s quite unpleasant to be treated like this by the hypocrites of the orthodox sects.”
“Assuming all orthodox sects are hypocrites is a pretty bad prejudice.”
“And assuming the cult leader is a beast who devours his successors is your prejudice.”
“True enough.”
I admitted it readily. Both of us held many prejudices against each other. We communicated well, but we didn’t truly know one another.
If he had accepted me as his successor, who knows how things would have turned out?
Would I have been cherished for my talent and become the Heavenly Demon, or would I have been eliminated once my abilities were revealed?
No one could say for sure.
Imagination and reality are entirely different. You only know who you are when you’re in the situation yourself.
In any case, I had unlocked all the meridian points, and now I needed to release the seal on my energy center. My body could move freely, but I still couldn’t use my internal energy.
Both my meridian points and energy center had been doubly sealed.
Having grown accustomed to the Reversal Heaven Technique, I expected it would take less time to release the seal on my energy center.
“Shall we unlock my internal energy now?”
Exactly five hours after I said that.
“I’ve released the seal on my energy center too.”
It took six hours to unlock the meridian points, and this time I shaved off an hour. I was becoming more adept with the Reversal Heaven Technique.
The Heavenly Demon didn’t react much this time. His response was just this:
“Hmm…”
But knowing his personality, this was actually a bigger reaction. It was incomprehensible to him. Six hours was already baffling, and now I’d reduced it by an hour.
I was curious too.
Could I master other demonic arts this quickly?
“At this rate, you could master your unique demonic art in no time.”
“You’re getting cocky over the Reversal Heaven Technique. No matter how talented you are, you can’t master my Blood Thunder Calamity Art.”
The Blood Thunder Calamity Art was the Heavenly Demon’s unique martial art, a peerless demonic art rivaling my own Soul-Devouring Swordsmanship.
He dismissed it, but I knew how formidable the Blood Thunder Calamity Art was. I’d experienced his final move firsthand.
“To master the Blood Thunder Calamity Art, you must first learn the Blood Thunder Heart Method.”
“And?”
“The Blood Thunder Heart Method operates in the exact opposite way to your orthodox methods. If you try to control your energy with it, your meridians will burst, or you’ll fall into a state of madness.”
“Is that so?”
My perspective on martial arts had changed.
Don’t set limits in advance.
My efforts to harmonize the Soul-Devouring Swordsmanship with the Celestial Crane Techniques stemmed from this mindset. Saying someone who learned orthodox methods can’t learn demonic methods is setting a limit.
“Of course. Do you need another fight to come to your senses?”
I could have taunted him about dying again, but I didn’t want to touch his last shred of pride. I’d be furious if someone belittled my Soul-Devouring Swordsmanship.
“Indeed. The Blood Thunder Calamity Art was impressive. What was the name of that move? The one with eight thunderbolts?”
“Eight Thunder Merciless Blade.”
“That technique was truly threatening. I thought I was going to die.”
“You were the first to dodge it.”
“I almost lost an arm.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie now?”
“Damn! I should have used all my energy then. Instead of foolishly trying to win with the next move.”
“That was fortunate for me.”
We talked about martial arts, sometimes praising each other’s skills, sometimes dismissing them. Discussing martial arts with him was a joy.
And surprisingly, our conversations deepened our understanding of martial arts.
As evening fell, three guards entered the prison as usual.
One of them was a face I hadn’t seen before.
While two of them removed my shackles, the other set a meal beside me. For prison food, it was quite well-prepared.
Then I heard a voice in my mind.
-I’m from the Heavenly Network.
It was a telepathic message from the new guard.
-You can’t send messages, so just listen. Commander Gal is worried. Should we send forces into the prison? If you want us to, drink the soup first. If not, use your chopsticks…
-Tell them to stand by.
-What! You can send messages? How?
-I’ve unlocked the sealed meridian points and can use my internal energy, so tell them not to worry.
-Understood.
The guard released one of my arms and spoke to me.
“Finish eating within half an hour!”
“Got it.”
I ate my meal.
When they weren’t looking, I resealed my meridian points. It was the same method they used, but I could release it anytime.
To others, it would still appear as if my meridian points were sealed.
I also sealed my internal energy.
I could unseal it quickly whenever I wanted. To them, it would still seem as if they had sealed it.
The Heavenly Demon asked me.
“Why seal your meridian points again? Aren’t you going to leave?”
“Since I’m here, I might as well use the situation.”
“How?”
“They’ll try to kill me, won’t they? They won’t leave me alone after I disrupted their grand plan.”
“You’re going to draw them in?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm. Not a bad idea.”
“Why? Do you feel sorry for them?”
The Heavenly Demon didn’t respond. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Did he still consider the forces behind him as allies?
I felt it was time to ask the Heavenly Demon about one thing.
“That old man.”
“What about him?”
“You must like him. He brought you back to life.”
The Heavenly Demon scoffed.
“He must have had an ulterior motive. They should be grateful I came back to life.”
“Haha. That’s more like you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. But why bring him up?”
“What do you know about him?”
“Not much.”
I could tell he wasn’t lying.
We shared some emotional aspects, so I knew he wasn’t deceiving me.
“As you know, that old man already owns this world. You know from running the cult that managing an organization of that size requires unimaginable wealth. Plus, he even chose the leader of the martial alliance. He has all the money and power in the world. So why did he bring you back to life? Weren’t you ever curious?”
The Heavenly Demon remained silent. It was a silence of agreement.
“Let’s find out. What exactly did he plan to do with you?”
The next day, Ma Cheol-gun came to see me.
I had fully returned to my original state. I could unleash my martial arts at any moment.
Ma Cheol-gun, on the other hand, seemed deep in thought. Understandably so, given he almost became a victim of the Great Separation Technique, not to mention the issue with the woman. It wouldn’t be easy to navigate this situation, which was likely why he sought me out.
“Why should I trust you?”
I could tell. Just asking that question meant he was already starting to trust me.
Perhaps he found traces of the divorce law in the room where the explosion happened.
“There’s no reason. I’m just telling the truth.”
“Fine. Prove to me that you really tried to save me.”
“How do you want me to do that?”
“Start by telling me everything you know about your organization.”
“Our organization is strictly compartmentalized. Each person only knows their own area. But I can tell you that we’ve been involved in various activities related to the Blood Heaven Cult.”
“Like what?”
“For instance, we’ve been researching the creation of the Unholy Phantom Elixir.”
The mention of the Unholy Phantom Elixir made Ma Cheol-gun visibly flinch.
And there was more to shock him.
“We’ve also been training the Bloodless Warriors and the Demon Spawn.”
To Ma Cheol-gun, these revelations were nothing short of earth-shattering. He probably thought the cult’s activities were just a minor nuisance, a mere imitation to make him the leader of the martial alliance. But the three things I just mentioned were the very nightmares that defined the Blood Heaven Cult.
After a moment of contemplation, Ma Cheol-gun asked quietly, “Did they really make me the leader for that law?”
I paused before answering, “Yes.”
“Damn it!”
Even when he first came to me, I told him he almost became a victim of that law. Yet, he still found it hard to believe.
But now, he had no choice but to accept it.
Ma Cheol-gun was furious. A murderous aura emanated from him.
The Heavenly Demon spoke to me.
[That lunatic might kill you.]
[He’s not that reckless.]
[Don’t underestimate human madness. Humans are capable of unleashing unexpected fury.]
I didn’t respond, but I partially agreed.
The Heavenly Demon’s words stemmed from a deep distrust of humanity, but humans were indeed capable of such unpredictability.
[As long as he thinks I’m connected to her, he won’t kill me.]
As I predicted, Ma Cheol-gun soon calmed his anger.
“How do I find her?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? You already know how.”
“Say it yourself!”
Despite his irritable demand, I remained calm.
“Let me ask you one thing first.”
“What is it?”
I looked directly into Ma Cheol-gun’s eyes and asked, “What are you willing to do for her?”