Chapter 76: Chapter 76

Creeeak!

The doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace swung wide open. Stepping outside, Mao exhaled a deep sigh and stretched his arms.

“Uwaaaaah!”

The warm sun hanging high in the sky had never looked so welcoming.

“I swear I age ten years every time I come here. We need to change the name. Instead of Heavenly Demon Palace, how about Ten-Year Palace? Sounds good, right?”

As if that would be fine. Jang I-seo shook his head with a deadpan expression, though he understood the sentiment. It truly felt like he had died and come back to life dozens of times.

“Anyway, Jang I-seo. Are you sure you’re okaaaah! Holy shit!”

Mao, who had been walking ahead, turned around and yelped in shock. When Jang I-seo turned his head, he saw a grim reaper standing rigid beside the closing doors.

“You actually made it out alive.”

A man clad entirely in black from head to toe.

It was Heuk-ya, the Radiant Right Emissary, the fiend of the previous generation and the Heavenly Demon’s right-hand man.

How could a person stand pressed against the wall without making a sound, all while glaring so fiercely?

“Yes, thanks to you…”

“You have achieved your breakthrough. You must repay the grace the Cult Leader has shown you with a heart full of gratitude for the rest of your life.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

As Jang I-seo nodded, Heuk-ya lost interest and politely presented a token to Mao.

It was a round divine token inscribed with the characters for “Hundred Demons.”

It was the Hundred Commander’s Seal.

“What’s this?”

When Mao widened his eyes and insolently stuck his hand out, Heuk-ya furrowed his brow and pulled the seal back.

What? Why take it back?

“Receive it respectfully. The Cult Leader is bestowing this upon you.”

“Haha. You should have said so from the start. Here.”

Mao gave an awkward laugh and politely offered both hands. Heuk-ya then barked at him, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

“I said, kneel first.”

“Ah, right…”

Why is he getting mad? Mao pursed his lips and dropped to his knees obediently.

Heuk-ya visibly displayed his displeasure as he handed the Hundred Commander’s Seal to the boy.

“Now, return.”

With those final words, Swish. Wrapped in shadows, he vanished into the wall itself. It was a skill bordering on the divine.

“Jang I-seo, did you see that? Did you see him go into the wall? That’s not a person. He’s an infiltrating grim reaper!”

[Return at once!]

“Gah! Let’s go, Jang I-seo, let’s go.”

At his voice echoing from somewhere unseen, Mao threw a fit and scrambled away.

Jang I-seo briefly glanced back at the Heavenly Demon Palace before following him.

It dawned on him anew: this place was truly filled with monsters.

To survive, he had no choice but to keep pushing himself relentlessly.

“But seriously, Jang I-seo. Are you sure you’re okay? What did the Emissary mean earlier when he said you achieved a breakthrough?”

As they passed the Heavenly Demon Palace and reached the Three Thousand Steps, Mao asked again as if he had just remembered. His face looked genuinely full of worry.

“I’m better now.”

“Really? You collapse at the drop of a hat, so how am I supposed to believe you? If you’re going to pass out, do it after we get down these stairs. I can’t carry you down from here. Too heavy.”

“You carried me and ran just fine before.”

“That’s exactly why it’s insane! The master is carrying the servant. You’re completely out of your mind.”

Jang I-seo chuckled, and Mao joined in, laughing in high spirits.

This time, Jang I-seo asked Mao, who was descending with lightened steps:

“How did you manage to survive, Seventh Young Master?”

“Hey, you know that’s hilarious coming from you? You’re the one who told me how to survive. ‘How did I survive?’ Did you really think I was going to die?”

“Fifty-fifty.”

“Hey, you bastard!”

“Just tell me what happened.”

Jang I-seo snorted and asked again. Mao answered in detail with a nonchalant face.

He had tried to emit his internal energy but subconsciously pulled it back, which ironically turned misfortune into a blessing.

Moreover, rather than merely canceling out the finger wind, he had completely deflected it.

“Does that even make sense?”

“I’m telling you, it’s true! Look at the palm of my hand. It’s red and swollen. When I smacked him with it, Father was so startled he almost fell backward.”

“That sounds nothing like the truth.”

Since when does the Heavenly Demon fall backward in shock? The cult would lose all its followers.

“Hah, look at this guy. Not believing his own master. I’m telling you, my hand felt like it had achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body right then. I felt like I could deflect anything.”

Indestructible Vajra Body?

“Jang I-seo. Did I perhaps discover another ultimate skill? The possibility is definitely there. I am a genius, after all. For the name, I’m thinking Supreme Mao Hand, meaning ‘Supreme Hand’ that repels everything with hands as solid as vajra. How is it? Good, right?”

As if that’s fine? And you’re just saying your hand is supreme. What does that have to do with the Vajra?

“Who embarrassingly puts their own name in a technique?”

“The Heavenly Demon.”

“That’s a title. Let’s just go.”

“Yeah.”

Despite his dismissive words, Jang I-seo’s expression as he followed was quite serious.

If Mao’s words were true, he thought the boy might actually be a real genius.

Because only one thing aligned with his explanation.

Fa-gi.

The manifestation of visible qi from his hands.

‘To fully control fa-gi, your internal energy must at the very least approach the supreme realm. But before that, you have to comprehend the underlying principle.’

And comprehending that principle was like searching for treasure alone in a vast desert. You had to walk and walk without a set path or a guide, awakening to it through your own realization.

Yet Mao had found it unconsciously.

This was a tremendous achievement.

Since he had already taken the first step, wouldn’t it be much easier than crossing the desert aimlessly?

‘This kid… he might become far more incredible than I thought…’

Jang I-seo inwardly found himself seeing Mao in a new light.

With their steps lightened, the two soon arrived at the Guardian Dragon Hall.

“Hahahaha!”

A hearty laugh reached their ears first.

It was the Clever Tiger, Ji Dae-ho.

“Did breakfast go well?”

“Hall Master! Of course it went well. But you didn’t even show your face when we got back. That hurts my feelings.”

“My apologies. I had urgent matters to attend to.”

Matters to attend to? As Mao glanced him up and down, the bloodstains he failed to wipe off his hands and clothes were vivid. It was better not to ask what he had been doing. Mao offered an awkward smile, swallowed hard, and replied.

“If you’re busy, you should take care of work first. Right. Hahaha.”

“I am grateful for your generous understanding.”

As Mao nodded awkwardly, Ji Dae-ho examined Jang I-seo.

And he noticed immediately.

His improved complexion. And his gaze, far more focused and subdued than before.

A grin spread across his face. He had finally shattered the wall of the absolute realm.

A sincere smile lingered on his lips.

“Congratulations.”

“It is all thanks to your concern.”

“My concern, nothing. You simply reaped what you sowed.”

Baffled by another cryptic conversation, Mao scratched his head, but he didn’t feel bad about it.

In fact, he felt good. Seeing his adjutant congratulated made him feel as though he was the one being praised.

“The matter with Sa Ho-jeong has been resolved nicely. I doubt he’ll ever leave Duora Prison for the rest of his life.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve tasked the Flying Dragon Hall Master with tracking down the Iron Horse Bandits, so they’ll be caught soon enough.”

Jang I-seo nodded. A smooth resolution.

“But do you have some bad blood with the Flying Dragon Hall Master? He didn’t react well when I brought you up.”

It wasn’t nothing.

He, as a Counter-Espionage Squad Leader, had uncovered the espionage of Hwan-ik, the former Vice Hall Master of the Flying Dragon Hall. As the current Hall Master, it was only natural for his pride to be wounded.

“But it was so long ago… Is he still holding a grudge?”

“When I told him you were the informant, he crushed the cup he was holding and said, ‘Jang I-seo, that maggot-like bastard.'”

“Haha…”

His anger hasn’t faded, I see. Jang I-seo shrugged.

He had definitely made the right call in staying out of that matter.

“Be careful. The Flying Dragon Hall Master might forget a favor, but he never forgets a grudge.”

“Yes. I have a feeling I’ll need to be much more careful from now on anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The Cult Leader bestowed the Hundred Commander’s Seal upon the Seventh Young Master.”

At Jang I-seo’s words, Ji Dae-ho’s expression instantly stiffened.

The Hundred Commander’s Seal.

Wasn’t that a divine token held only by the First Young Master and the Second Young Master? Yet he was bestowing it upon the Seventh Young Master.

What will those two say?

Especially when given to a mere pup who doesn’t even know what it’s used for.

Once they learned of this, the First and Second Young Masters would never just sit back and watch.

Ji Dae-ho and Jang I-seo exchanged complicated looks before speaking.

“Nothing breeds jealousy quite like a parent’s favoritism. You’ll face scrutiny that wasn’t there before. Please take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

“And don’t forget my offer.”

“Haha, I’ll take my leave.”

“Take care. Take care, Seventh Young Master.”

Ji Dae-ho clasped his hands in a salute. I’m the only one left out again. Just me. Mao smacked his lips, accepted the bow, and walked forward.

But there was no need to find out right now.

He would learn about it soon enough.

Today, he just needed to…

“Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

He just needed to savor the fact that he had survived.

* * *

– Martial Alliance Hubei Branch, Hidden Pavilion.

Jang I-seo.

No, Agent 103 of the Hidden Pavilion was steadily growing into a major figure within the Demonic Cult.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Jegal So-mi cheered as she watched his progress from afar.

【Slaughterhouse Annihilated.】

Was her vision failing her? Or perhaps she had misread it because the room was too dark.

Unable to believe what she was reading, she checked the letter several times.

But it was real.

“I heard a notification came through when they wiped out Wind Forest, too. But I never thought I would receive one! Oh no, I’m so happy!”

Jegal So-mi clutched the letter to her chest, trembling slightly.

Even though they had never met, as the Vice Pavilion Master of the Hidden Pavilion, she couldn’t hide the thrilling euphoria surging through her.

Just think about it.

An agent who had been abandoned and left to rot had sprouted wings the moment he received his mission, striding forward with unstoppable momentum.

He had marched majestically into the Seventh Small Palace, and now he had taken down the Slaughterhouse.

When expectations are low, satisfaction runs high; conversely, when expectations are high, satisfaction drops.

But Agent 103 was a massive success regardless of whether expectations were high or low.

Naturally, news of him was highly anticipated.

“What kind of person is Agent 103?”

She was intensely curious.

She didn’t know his face, his surname, or his given name. Only her grandfather, the Pavilion Master, and the Alliance Lord knew those details.

Did he have any family left here?

“Come to think of it, that man was looking for his older brother.”

A man’s face suddenly flashed through Jegal So-mi’s mind.

The one who had given her such a strange first impression, wearing the uniform of the Huashan Sect.

Seon-yu.

‘My brother disappeared. He was in the Martial Alliance. Please find him.’

‘My older brother. His name is I-seo.’

They had only met once, but the sorrow in his expression had pricked at her heart. He had seemed completely sincere. Why had he suddenly vanished?

“If he was from the Martial Alliance, there definitely should be records…”

Jegal So-mi bolted up and ran into the next room. Bookshelves lined up perfectly in a straight row.

From the Martial Alliance to the unorthodox sects, the Demonic Cult, and even the northern steppes.

Excluding regular agents, it was a monumental archive containing records of nearly every prominent figure in history.

Her grandfather, Jegal Sang, had been collecting this since his youth, and a database this massive existed nowhere else in the world.

Young Hwa-jeong had told her that Jegal So-mi was good at finding people precisely because she knew about this archive.

“I-seo, I-seo, I-seo. But wait, Seon-yu is a Daoist alias. So what’s his real name? It wouldn’t be Seon I-seo.”

She weaved through the aisles, flipping through records, when a blank look suddenly crossed her face.

*Of course it wouldn’t be Seon I-seo.

Slap!

She shut the book and slid it back onto the shelf with a rattle.

If they ever met again.

She decided she would just have to ask him then.