Chapter 80: Chapter 80

Jang I-seo swallowed dryly, recalling the demon the Cult Leader had shown him.

The Heavenly Demon Ghost, surging with an aura that threatened to incinerate everything in existence.

If he managed to awaken and control it, the Demonic Cult would undoubtedly plunge into chaos.

It was only natural.

If the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the very symbol of the Heavenly Demon, were unleashed by the hands of a mere adjutant rather than the Young Cult Leader?

Total bedlam in an instant.

Yet knowing this, the Heavenly Demon had still taught him the Heavenly Demon Ghost. The man who prioritized the cult above all else. And he hadn’t simply recited the oral formula; he had directly gestated it within Jang I-seo’s heart.

Why?

‘When your Heavenly Demon Ghost awakens, you will find out for yourself. If you can manage that, that is.’

Because he knew it would never awaken.

Because he knew full well that with the Nine-Orifice Body, it would be impossible even in death.

Though imprecise, smoothly controlling the Heavenly Demon Ghost appeared to require at least two gapyak of internal energy.

That meant sixty years of cultivation through orthodox methods. Put simply, it represented the threshold between the peak of the absolute realm and the onset of the supreme realm.

So where did Jang I-seo’s internal energy currently stand?

Exactly one gapyak. Precisely half, at the level of sixty years.

In terms of realm, the initial stage of the absolute realm.

‘Even prodigies struggle to reach the supreme realm, and for me, it’s impossible unless I seal at least four more holes.’

This was exactly why the Heavenly Demon had so confidently taught him the Heavenly Demon Ghost.

Because he knew it could never be awakened.

That was why he had given no indication to return. There was nothing more to expect.

But Jang I-seo felt no regret. He was actually relieved.

The more the Heavenly Demon’s interest grew, the more difficult his mission would become.

‘Wait. But he didn’t figure out the Gudok, did he?’

No, he wouldn’t have. The Life-and-Death Divine Physician had said it was absolutely undetectable… Besides, if he had known, he wouldn’t have left him alive.

Huu. He exhaled deeply.

In any case, with the Gudok gone, he was essentially a free man.

But that changed nothing.

His fundamental nature belonged to the righteous path. That would never change.

As long as they didn’t cross the line first.

‘The Hidden Pavilion only instructed me to make Mao the Young Cult Leader. They gave no indication about what comes after.’

Looking at it generously, it might seem like they simply wanted to put a naive pawn on top to prevent war, but Jang I-seo knew better.

The world didn’t work so easily.

Even if, after countless twists and turns, they managed to elevate Mao to Young Cult Leader, would that be the end of everything?

Absolutely not.

If done poorly, it would only trigger civil war within the Demonic Cult.

And perhaps that was exactly what the Hidden Pavilion was hoping for.

‘Whether my mission succeeds or fails, the closer Mao gets to the Young Cult Leader position, the greater the internal resistance grows. Infighting will become more frequent, and factions will splinter. They’ll fall into self-destruction.’

And if the balance of power among the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic factions were to collapse…

‘The Martial Alliance might strike first and start a war.’

True. It could be overthinking.

But Jang I-seo didn’t want the world to descend into chaos, regardless of the reason. Nor did he want to become a casualty swept away by such a storm.

‘I can only hope it’s needless worry.’

Of course.

‘But I should prepare for every contingency while I can.’

Jang I-seo took a quiet breath and slowly raised his eyelids.

Through the window, he spotted a red-haired boy sprinting toward the main house, screaming at the top of his lungs at the crack of dawn.

“Uraaaaaah!”

A master who required an exorbitant amount of hand-holding in every possible way.

‘First, you need to get stronger.’

Seventh Young Master Mao.

*

“Damn it!”

Mao lay flat on his back, arms crossed over his chest on the floor, cursing.

At the entrance to the main house, the iron weight that had sent him flying was winding back up toward the ceiling.

Unlike before, taking the hit was now bearable. More bluntly, he was confident he could endure it. But that wasn’t what Mao wanted right now.

“Why can’t I dodge it? Why?”

He wanted to dodge.

Hadn’t he blocked the Cult Leader’s finger wind? Then shouldn’t he learn to evade gracefully instead of just taking hits?

But even though he could clearly see where it was coming from, his footwork simply refused to cooperate.

“That kid and Jang I-seo slip right through without a scratch. Are you telling me a genius like me can’t do it? Why. Could it be because of my innate majesty…?”

A reasonable deduction. Mao pressed his index finger against his chin.

Then he suddenly rolled sideways across the floor. Clack! He stopped, blocked by something. A shadow fell over his face.

“Most people wouldn’t call this majestic. Intimidating, perhaps. Overwhelmingly so.”

“Jang I-seo!”

Instead of the blue sky, he saw Jang I-seo’s smiling face.

“What brings you here? You’ve been busy these past few days.”

“What are you doing out here first thing in the morning? It’s not like you’re mopping the floor.”

“Ah.”

Mao flashed a bright grin and sprang to his feet. He dusted himself off and spoke.

“I figured if my body rolls around, maybe my brain will start rolling too.”

The fact that you can say that with a straight face makes you the true victor.

Jang I-seo chuckled and looked toward the main house.

“Were you trying to dodge the iron weight?”

“Yeah, but forget it. There’s no rush anymore. I’ll take it slow.”

“No rush, yet you came out to train at this hour.”

“Well, that’s… I was bored, and…”

As Mao deliberately looked away, Jang I-seo stared at him and spoke.

“Do you know something?”

“What.”

“You are truly terrible at lying.”

“What did you just say, you bastard?”

“Don’t even think about deceiving anyone out there.”

Just as Mao was about to give him an earful, Jang I-seo turned back toward the main house and pierced straight to the heart like a dagger.

“Are you upset about getting beaten by the Bloodless Duke?”

“…!”

Mao’s eyes went wide. Jang I-seo’s questions continued without pause.

“Do you want revenge?”

Revenge… did he want it?

Mao chewed on the question, his mouth working silently for a long while.

What was this feeling?

Honestly, on the day he had been beaten, he had simply been happy. He had consoled himself with the thought that he hadn’t bowed to that mad dog and had endured.

But after returning from the breakfast audience, something had changed.

An inexplicable sense of shame and humiliation surfaced every time he closed his eyes. It grew worse with each passing day, to the point where he dreaded going to sleep.

That was definitely it.

“Honestly… yeah. No matter how I think about it, I need to land at least one good hit on that bastard.”

“Why? Because you hate him so much?”

“No. Because I’m angry at myself.”

Hmm? Jang I-seo tilted his head as Mao poured out his thoughts without restraint.

“Whenever I thought of that guy before, it always felt like there was a fog around him. You know what I mean? That shitty feeling like no matter how much I swing, I’ll never reach him. Like I’d lose no matter how many times I challenged him. So I never once thought about winning. But now it’s different. I really don’t want to lose now. I want to win so badly it hurts. Jang I-seo. Is there something wrong with me?”

No… He was absolutely normal. In fact, he had arrived at a remarkably excellent conclusion.

Hiding his joy, Jang I-seo spoke softly.

“We call that competitive spirit.”

“Competitive spirit?”

“The desire to win. The conviction that with just a little more effort, you can. You have finally acquired the first mindset needed to grow stronger, Seventh Young Master.”

“The mindset to grow stronger…”

A martial artist must train for their entire life. Jang I-seo believed there were four essential mindsets that no martial artist could do without.

First, the competitive spirit to win.

Second, the perseverance to endure suffering.

Third, the self-respect to believe in oneself.

Fourth, the steadfastness to see a goal through to the end.

Regardless of good and evil, without these mindsets, one could never surpass a certain threshold.

Why?

Because they would constantly question the training they were doing.

Each time, they would grow lazy. They would grow weak.

And because Mao had never been a martial artist, he never had the opportunity to develop these mindsets. So every time he trained, he had to desperately search for a reason.

To open the door. And to survive.

‘But by successfully blocking the Heavenly Demon’s finger wind, competitive spirit was born in him for the first time.’

He had blocked the Heavenly Demon. Yet Ma I-sin, who wasn’t even worth a fraction of the Heavenly Demon’s pinky nail, had beaten him mercilessly. And of all people, it was the bastard who had killed his friends.

Mao felt outrage from that.

And that had become a blessing in disguise.

“Do you want to defeat the Bloodless Duke?”

At Jang I-seo’s question, Mao nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah. Passionately.”

“Good. I will make that wish come true.”

“Really?”

“The duel is in a couple of months. The Ma Family will host it grandly.”

“Wait. That’s too sudden!”

“I’ve already reached an agreement with Ma I-sin.”

“Suddenly?! Since when?! I just decided this right now!”

The day you got beaten half to death and passed out.

“What? Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?”

“Don’t argue. What matters is the desire to win. In that spirit, the training will be extremely grueling.”

Hah. With a dazed expression, Mao nodded as if bewitched. Fire gradually ignited in his eyes as he clenched his fists tight.

“Alright! If it means I can win, I’ll do anything! Uwahahahaha!”

That was Mao for you. His simplicity was endearing.

Now all that remained was a foolproof strategy.

Jang I-seo narrowed his eyes and sank into thought.

The path to becoming stronger for a martial artist was very simple.

Learning martial arts.

And this was divided into two major categories.

The cultivation method that strengthened the internal energy serving as the engine, and the application technique that expressed it.

‘And most people hit a wall at the cultivation method, which requires innate talent and fortunate karma. But Mao…’

“Bring it on, world! I am the genius Mao! Uwahahahaha!”

FWOOSH! Just from laughing, his internal energy rippled out to the bamboo grove, carrying immense power.

In terms of internal energy alone, he was already at the threshold of the supreme realm.

Therefore…

‘It means he only needs to learn a martial art suited to that extreme yang physique. And that… is already in hand.’

Jang I-seo unslung the broad-bladed saber from his back. A black iron scabbard wrapped in red cloth.

“Huh? Wait… that’s…?”

Seeing it, Mao narrowed his eyes and muttered. It was very familiar.

His suspicious eyes transformed into a shout of delight the moment Jang I-seo drew the blade.

“The Azure Dragon Blade!”

A famous blade with a soaring dragon engraved on its broad, gray steel face.

It was the divine artifact bestowed by the Cult Leader, the very one he had kept sealed away.

And this was the sole method for Mao to grow explosively stronger in a short time, the very reason Jang I-seo had made such confident promises to Ma I-sin.

‘The Heavenly Demon passed down martial arts capable of dominating the world to his children once they opened the doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace. To Mu Han-seong, the Hegemon Fist. To Sa Hae-ryeong, the Phantom Shadow Steps. Though the details for the others weren’t known, they were all said to have entered seclusion.’

But the only thing the Heavenly Demon had given Mao was this.

The divine artifact Azure Dragon Blade, which he had received when he first became a disciple.

And when Mao had swung it unconsciously…

‘J-Jang I-seo! Save me!’

He had displayed unimaginable swordsmanship, as if a blade god commanding fire had possessed him. This was undoubtedly due to the residual will of the previous owner embedded in the blade.

Though he hadn’t been able to identify who the previous owner was, it was clear they had been an extraordinary master.

In other words, a portion of their martial arts resided within it.