Chapter 31: Chapter 31
“A-AAAGH!”
Mao saw the blade flying at him and toppled backward in panic. CRASH! Dishes scattered across the floor. The Azure Dragon Blade skimmed past his chest by a hair.
Ten years shaved off his life.
But the crisis was only beginning.
Through his inverted vision, he saw the Heavenly Demon smiling brightly at him. His adoptive father Jin U-gwang, fingers extended, shooting finger wind as if to kill.
“Fuck…”
PING!
A pale finger wind shot across the table like a poison needle. At this angle, it would punch straight through Mao’s exposed forehead. What to do? No matter how he thought about it, there was only one option.
“URYAAAAH!”
Mao screamed a battle cry and snatched the hilt of the Azure Dragon Blade as it scraped past his chest. VWOOM! Simultaneously, he instinctively detonated an explosive burst of extreme yang internal energy into his grip.
Then, a phenomenon he had never once witnessed unfolded.
VWOOM!
‘Gah!’
The Azure Dragon Blade’s edge radiated intense heat, and suddenly crimson light erupted from the steel.
What was happening?
No time to be stunned. Another moment and the finger wind would punch through him. Mao reflexively launched himself forward, spinning, raising the blade to shield his body.
KAANG!
“Kagh!”
A deafening crash echoed through the chamber. Mao tumbled backward with a scream.
The yang energy radiating from the Azure Dragon Blade cooled to nothing. Sprawled on the ground, Mao patted himself down and muttered.
“D-did I die?”
Fat chance.
“You’re not dead yet. Get up.”
“Gah!”
Mao bolted upright at the voice and pointed his blade forward. He found Jin U-gwang seated at the table as though nothing had happened, chin resting on his hand.
“Those who point a blade at me and live can be counted on one hand.”
“Ah…”
Mao belatedly realized his blunder and jammed the blade under his arm where a scabbard should have been, yelped at the heat, and sent it clattering to the floor.
Then he scrambled to retrieve it and dropped to his knees.
A truly scattered child.
Jin U-gwang smirked.
“The Azure Dragon Blade has finally accepted you.”
“Excuse me? Accepted me? This thing?”
“Yes.”
Mao lowered his head in bewilderment, staring at his own hand. The Azure Dragon Blade still radiated residual heat from its grip, wisps of steam rising.
What was this feeling?
His grip pulsed, as if the blade itself were speaking to him. Urging him to fight harder. To swing it more.
They called it a divine artifact, but it was really a spirit beast.
“Your qi control has grown quite proficient. Did your benefactor teach you?”
“Ah, no?”
“Lying to me is the same as begging for death.”
“It’s true! He taught me everything! Absolutely shameless bastard!”
“Is that so.”
Jin U-gwang let out an amused breath at the sudden betrayal.
“Sir? Yes. Absolute dog, that one. Though… it’s not yet time to kill him.”
He’d been eager to curse the man moments ago, now he was defending him. Jin U-gwang observed the deflated Mao and spoke warmly.
“You seem to have grown quite fond of this benefactor.”
“Well…”
“Enough. I understand.”
“Th-thank you!”
Mao exhaled in relief and grinned.
But,
“Then prove it.”
Jin U-gwang set his exquisite jaw and examined his pristine nails as he continued.
“Prove whether this benefactor is truly worth keeping alive. Prove it yourself.”
“Why would I…”
Mao asked in disbelief, but Jin U-gwang’s cold eyes immediately corrected him.
“Ah, understood! But… how?”
“Next time you come, block it with your body. No divine artifact.”
“Block… what?”
Jin U-gwang silently pointed his index finger at Mao’s forehead.
Surely…
“You’re not serious, are you?”
Jin U-gwang withdrew his hand and returned to examining his nails.
“Dodging is also acceptable.”
“You mean that finger wind from earlier? How am I supposed to…”
“If this benefactor is truly valuable, he’ll teach you how.”
Was this a demand or a suggestion?
“What if I can’t dodge?”
“Then I’ll lose a child. And naturally, this benefactor of yours will have outlived his usefulness, so he’ll die as well.”
Fuck?! How did the conversation end up here?
“Until the next breakfast. Though if you wish, you may try now.”
FWOOSH-
A virulent demonic aura pulsed from the Heavenly Demon’s fingertip.
“N-next time! I’ll definitely dodge!”
“Good. You may go.”
“Yes!”
Mao lost his bearings and started walking toward Jin U-gwang instead of the exit. Jin U-gwang gestured helpfully.
“The exit is that way.”
“Yes!”
Mao turned to leave. But after a few steps, he whipped back around and approached, whispering.
“Actually, Father.”
“Hm?”
“I was shortsighted. It would be better to simply kill that bastard. He’s the type to drag me down someday. I’ll carve him up, starting with his hands.”
“…Just make sure you dodge next time. I’d like to keep seeing you alive.”
“Yes…! Long live Your Supremacy.”
Mao clasped his hands in salute and departed. Jin U-gwang watched him go, then muttered only after he’d vanished.
“…It’s ‘long life and boundless glory.'”
* * *
‘This is…!’
Meanwhile, at that same hour, Jang I-seo was lost in horror, completely unaware that Mao’s life hung by a thread in the Heavenly Demon Palace.
One reason.
‘Just who was this person…?’
Because he’d found traces of him in the well near the Guardian Dragon Hall outpost.
The predecessor who had left behind the Thunder Circulation Method, White Thunder, and the Thunder Lord Ginseng.
Traces of him.
‘There’s a cipher inscribed here too…’
Identical to when he’d first discovered the Heavenly Demon Treasury. A deformed dot cipher. What he’d thought impossible had happened.
‘Could the predecessor have been a Guardian Dragon Hall warrior?’
It was possible. This was, after all, the Guardian Dragon Hall outpost situated in the front courtyard of the Heavenly Demon Palace. Not a place just anyone could access.
But tracing that history was too far gone in the past. There was one surest method.
Seeing is believing.
“…Let’s go.”
Jang I-seo pressed the protruding bricks one by one, in the exact sequence the cipher dictated.
Rumble!
A faint tremor. The walls split apart, revealing a hidden passage.
*
Drip, drip.
Water droplets hitting the floor echoed with the intensity of a thunderclap.
He’d been inside the secret passage for about a quarter-shi. No torches. The ceiling gradually lowered until he went from crouching to crawling.
But Jang I-seo was certain that another secret ruin like the Heavenly Demon Treasury lay at the end.
So he pressed on without giving up. Another half-shi passed before a smile finally found his lips.
“Just as I thought…”
At the passage’s end hung a torch holder. A Heavenly Demon Treasury. Another one was hidden here.
Steadying his trembling heart, Jang I-seo rotated the torch holder sideways. Click, click. Twice.
Rumble!
The wall opened with a tremor, and brilliant light poured forth. Jang I-seo shielded his eyes and let them adjust. Then he crouched low and carefully peered inside.
Something covered the entrance from above, blocking a clear view. But it was bright. The wall sat approximately twenty paces ahead. No way to confirm if anyone was inside.
However,
‘You don’t always need to look to know…’
Jang I-seo pressed his ear to the floor. The most reliable way to detect a presence was sound. No matter how perfectly someone concealed their presence, their heartbeat transmitted through the ground. Naturally, hearing it required advanced training and talent. Fortunately, Jang I-seo possessed both.
‘No one’s here.’
Jang I-seo’s eyes flashed. Nothing existed within at least fifty paces. Worth venturing out.
Huu.
He steadied his breathing and crawled forward. Then, RUMBLE! A startling crash echoed behind him. He whipped around to find the entrance had disappeared.
‘Damn it!’
He felt the wall. The opening had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed. His retreat was gone.
‘Only forward remains…’
Spilled water. Jang I-seo swallowed dry and crawled until he emerged fully into the open.
A vast space opened before his eyes.
A wide room. To the northwest stood a door etched with strange patterns. Every wall was lined with five-tiered display racks, each tier holding carefully laid medicinal herbs. The rack that had blocked the entrance was one of these.
‘These are…!’
Jang I-seo stared in horror. No, drawn like a man possessed, he approached, closed his eyes, and inhaled the fragrance.
Huuuh, haa.
Expensive. An enormously expensive scent. The fragrance was refined, brimming with radiant energy. Spirit herbs worth a fortune that money couldn’t buy.
Why were so many here?
More importantly.
‘Judging by the preservation state, these aren’t ancient. Does that mean… someone still lives here?’
His mind churned with confusion.
Who?
Could the predecessor of White Thunder still be alive? He’d never even considered the possibility. He’d assumed the murals depicted someone from the distant past…
‘Investigate further first.’
Jang I-seo left the priceless spirit herbs behind without hesitation and walked forward. Diving in recklessly out of momentary greed was amateur. He took his plunder only after full preparation. That was the secret to how he’d accumulated his wealth over the years.
Pressing close to the wall, he moved in a crab-walk until he reached the sealed door. He placed his hand lightly against it. It didn’t budge.
‘Could it work on the same principle as the Demon Wall?’
Deeply carved, strange patterns with a bluish tint. Very familiar. Jang I-seo pressed his ear to the door, listened for a long while, then emitted a pulse of internal energy.
VWOOM!
Light gathered in the carved patterns. Rumble! The door slid slowly to the left, opening.
‘It worked!’
Just like the Demon Wall, it responded to internal energy. Jang I-seo nodded firmly and stepped out, scanning left and right.
An empty corridor.
Shlk. Jang I-seo concealed his presence as thoroughly as possible and slipped out naturally.
Rumble! The door closed automatically behind him.
‘Truly astonishing the more I see. Advanced mechanism formations. Who on earth built these…’
He had no idea. In over a decade inside the Demonic Cult, he’d never once heard of this place.
Looking around, he counted five more doors identical to the one he’d emerged from. He could guess. He just couldn’t believe it.
‘Don’t tell me… every one of them holds treasure?’
Jang I-seo swallowed hard and approached the adjacent door. He pressed his ear to it, then emitted a pulse of internal energy.
Rumble!
The door slid open. Blinding radiance spilled from within. Specifically, an array of magnificent weapons reflecting the light of night pearls.
‘Insane…’
Joy surged so intensely that a curse formed in his mouth. His lips already stretched to his ears. His eyes swam with greed.
What kind of windfall was this? Even from a distance, he could tell. These weapons were masterpieces among masterpieces, the kind that gave more pleasure when drawing them under another’s envious gaze than when cutting with them.
Rumble!
After staring blankly for a while, the door closed automatically, as if telling him to snap out of it.
And he made his decision.
‘As of today, you’re the Heavenly Demon Treasury.’