A Deeper Realization (1)
It was General Noh who sought out the leader’s quarters after the departure of the Demon Spirit.
“Do you really think the Demon Spirit will help us?”
He was skeptical about that possibility.
In contrast, Ma Cheol-gun had an instinctive certainty that the Demon Spirit might assist him. Without that belief, he wouldn’t have summoned him here.
“As you know, the Demon Spirit is a cruel and selfish creature. A bundle of vile ambition, really.”
“That’s what worries me.”
General Noh’s expression questioned why Ma Cheol-gun had called for him despite knowing this.
Ma Cheol-gun slowly walked to the window, hands clasped behind his back, and gazed out at the darkened landscape of the martial alliance.
“But there’s one thing we can count on with him.”
“And what’s that?”
“Pride.”
“Pardon?”
Ma Cheol-gun turned back to General Noh.
“He wants everything I have, but he won’t want to be used and discarded like a mere tool. If he finds himself in a situation like mine, facing the same fate, he’ll realize he’s just a disposable pawn. His pride won’t allow it. That’s what I’m banking on.”
General Noh, who had been puzzled, finally understood Ma Cheol-gun’s reasoning.
“I see what you’re getting at.”
Ma Cheol-gun felt a glimmer of hope from the last encounter with the Demon Spirit. The Demon Spirit was clearly unsettled. This time, they had to join forces. The fighting could come later.
“But will he act without any reward?”
“He’ll act precisely because there’s no reward.”
The absence of any offer would be the strongest provocation to his pride. If there had been a reward, the Demon Spirit might have rejected the proposal outright.
“By the way, how is the Demon Extermination Squad coming along?”
“We’ve selected a hundred for the first round. The second recruitment will be in five days.”
“They won’t just sit idly by.”
“Don’t worry. We’re using all our resources to screen the applicants and prevent any spies from infiltrating.”
“Good. Make sure everything is in order.”
“Leave it to me.”
Just then, a subordinate rushed in with urgent news.
“There’s trouble!”
“What is it?”
“An intruder was in the main prison.”
“What? And the intruder?”
The subordinate hung his head in response to Ma Cheol-gun’s urgent question.
“Vanished.”
Ma Cheol-gun stood there, stunned. The news of the prisoner’s disappearance felt as if the mysterious woman had vanished as well.
After escaping the prison, I regrouped with the other phantoms on the hill.
The rest of the phantoms were stationed in front of various facilities, having subdued the guards and secured our escape route.
When we arrived, the operation had halted, and we all retreated through the predetermined path out of the prison.
The White-Faced Phantom urgently questioned his subordinates.
“What on earth happened?”
The man closest to me replied.
“It was a trap.”
“A trap?”
“Yes.”
Amazingly, even at this moment, they hadn’t realized I was someone else. The shock of the failed operation and their lack of familiarity with each other had worked in my favor.
“How did you survive…?”
The White-Faced Phantom abruptly stopped his questioning.
He finally realized I wasn’t one of his comrades.
As his expression changed, the other seven phantoms turned their attention to me. They, too, realized I wasn’t one of them.
The phantoms spread out, surrounding me.
While they were tense, I stood there calmly.
The White-Faced Phantom asked coldly.
“Is it you?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Who are you?”
I revealed my intent, speaking icily.
“Do you think the martial alliance is a joke?”
It was a hint that I was one of Ma Cheol-gun’s subordinates. The deeper the conflict between Ma Cheol-gun and the forces behind him, the easier and safer it was for me to deal with them.
I sensed the White-Faced Phantom sending a message.
At least he needed to inform his superiors that they had fallen into Ma Cheol-gun’s trap and failed their mission.
[This despicable manipulation!]
[Don’t interfere at such a crucial moment!]
[You hypocritical sect!]
The problem with the sect isn’t their hypocrisy; it’s their incompetence. They can’t even pretend properly, and in trying to compromise, they get trampled by the strong and resolute evil.
“Kill him!”
With the White-Faced Phantom’s shout, the fight began.
Their skills were not much different from those I had faced before. The White-Faced Phantom was slightly stronger, befitting his leadership role.
Naturally, the outcome wasn’t much different either. Of course, one managed to escape in the chaos of the fight.
I used the Celestial Crane Technique to defeat them.
The Suramyeongwang Sword was in the armory where the prisoners’ weapons were stored. I had left it there.
But I wasn’t worried. When a subordinate from the Heavenly Net Society had visited earlier, I had asked them to retrieve it for me.
If they had the ability to make contact with me, retrieving the sword from the armory wouldn’t be too difficult.
The Heavenly Demon asked in surprise.
[What kind of martial art is this?]
[Celestial Crane Technique.]
[Celestial Crane Technique? Have you used this technique on me before?]
[No. It’s the first time you’re seeing it.]
[Where did you learn such an impressive technique?]
Hearing the word “impressive” from the Heavenly Demon was rare.
[Did it seem impressive?]
The Heavenly Demon flinched at my question.
[Not that impressive, but…]
He reflexively answered, then admitted honestly.
[It was impressive.]
[Is that so?]
The Heavenly Demon’s admiration was greater than I expected, making me realize I hadn’t fully appreciated its greatness.
The reason was simple. I had the Soul-Devouring Suramyeongwang Sword Technique. I considered it merely a supplementary method, focusing only on the harmony of the two techniques.
Harmony.
At that moment, a realization struck me.
Had I been thinking about it all wrong?
For two things to truly harmonize, it’s not about how you mix them, but how you perfect them.
Only when you fully understand and master both can you achieve harmony.
Now I ask myself.
Do you truly understand the Celestial Crane Technique? Have you comprehended it properly? Or did you think reaching mastery was the end?
A tiny difference at the start can lead to a massive difference in the end.
Perhaps my beginning was flawed.
[What are you doing? Why so quiet? Are you daydreaming while I’m talking?]
The Heavenly Demon complained of boredom, but I remained silent for a long time.
I didn’t return to the island immediately.
There, Baekryeon, Im Yeon-jeong, and her son awaited.
Though there was no chance of the Heavenly Demon leaving my body, I didn’t want to bring him to a place with a child. The Heavenly Demon had once inhabited that child’s body.
You could call it distrust.
Even though he was trapped in my body, I couldn’t trust the Heavenly Demon yet. In other words, I held him in high regard.
I went to another safe house near the Infinite Mountains and summoned Gal Sa-ryang there.
Gal Sa-ryang was deeply moved upon seeing me.
“My lord! I’m so relieved you’re safe.”
Though I had already informed him that I had broken the blood seal and recovered my internal energy, he was on the verge of tears. For someone who rarely showed emotion, his reaction was touching.
Gal Sa-ryang handed me the sword he had brought.
“Here is the Suramyeongwang Sword.”
“Thank you.”
As I expected, the man from the Heavenly Net Society had retrieved my sword and passed it to Gal Sa-ryang through the leader.
The Heavenly Demon commented upon seeing Gal Sa-ryang.
[If we wanted to win the war, we should have killed that guy first.]
[I think so too.]
[Damn it.]
[Why didn’t we kill him?]
There had been several attempts on the general’s life, but they were never very aggressive. Their primary target was always me.
[They hated you too much.]
[That makes sense.]
[When I first heard you became the leader, I scoffed. What could a young man with martial prowess do? The old men of the sect had found a naive pawn to use.]
I chuckled.
[Damn it! But that naive pawn turned out to be formidable. Every subordinate sent out returned as a corpse. The Sword Demon died, the Fist Demon died, the Enchantress died… As the masters who supported the cult fell one by one, I saw it. The fear in my subordinates’ eyes. It was a filthy feeling.]
The Heavenly Demon spoke from his perspective.
I felt the same back then. In fact, our sect suffered even more. When I killed the Sword Demon, it was after he had massacred countless martial alliance warriors. The Fist Demon had killed so many, and how many righteous sect warriors had been bewitched into killing their own families and subordinates by that Enchantress? Did he even know?
[At that time, I was so blinded by the desire to kill you. If I had been more composed, the outcome might have been different.]
[I have regrets too.]
[What kind of regrets?]
[That I couldn’t kill you sooner. As you said, I was a naive kid back then. If it were me now…]
Both of us had similar regrets. If it were us now?
As I silently conversed with the Heavenly Demon, Gal Sa-ryang asked.
“What happened with the technique?”
“I managed to stop the Soul-Severing Technique. But… the Heavenly Demon is now inside me.”
“What?”
At first, Gal Sa-ryang thought I was joking and chuckled. But seeing my serious expression, he was taken aback.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“My goodness!”
I didn’t hide this matter from him. Some things just need to be known.
“Fortunately, it’s something I can control,” I assured him.
Galsaryang nodded in agreement. “That’s a relief. Understood.”
He quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Macheol has summoned the Marengin. It seems he’s planning to use them against our adversaries.”
“We should make full use of Macheol and the Marengin,” I replied.
“Yes, we’re monitoring everything closely with Samangak, Cheonmanghoe, and my own network.”
“Good.”
Cheonma, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly shouted, [What? Is that all you have to say about me? Is that it? You fool! I’m Cheonma! I’m inside your master’s body!]
And that was indeed the end of it. Galsaryang didn’t mention Cheonma again for the rest of our meeting.
That night, I was strolling through the garden when Cheonma spoke up.
[Shall we have a face-to-face chat?]
[I’m not planning to use Cheongi Simhwan Gong anymore,] I replied.
Cheonma was taken aback. [Why not?]
[Don’t you remember how we almost died in the dungeon? If we’d been a moment slower, we wouldn’t be here.]
[We?]
[Do you really think your soul would just move to another place if I died?]
[Wouldn’t it?]
[Good grief! Are you always this optimistic?]
[Now that you mention it, if you die, I die too.]
[Exactly. If it were that easy to transfer, why would anyone bother with the Soul Transfer Technique?]
[True enough.]
I spoke with confidence, but honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure myself. The day Cheonma entered my body was completely unexpected.
Even if it wasn’t true, I needed him to believe it. That way, he’d stay calm and not get too full of himself.
[Unless I master Cheongi Simhwan Gong, that is.]
[Ha! So you do have a goal. But no matter how much you beg, I won’t help you.]
[I don’t need it. I won’t use it again.]
[Damn it! I won’t teach you!]
But my firm resolve didn’t last more than an hour.
In the end, Cheonma began explaining the essence of Cheongi Simhwan Gong.
With every word he taught, I understood ten more. And since it was Cheonma teaching, I absorbed everything like a sponge soaking up water.
The essence of Cheongi Simhwan Gong was something I would have eventually learned through practice. But I skipped that process in an instant.
Does that make Cheongi Simhwan Gong unstable? Not at all! It just means I saved time on training.
That’s the skill level Cheonma and I possess.
[You said you didn’t need me to teach you.]
[Just learn it! When I’m teaching, shut up and learn.]
[Since you’re begging, I suppose I’ll oblige.]
[Ah! Damn it! I want to strangle you!]
[Laughs.]
Cheonma’s explanations continued through the night, and by dawn, I had grasped the true essence of Cheongi Simhwan Gong.