Chapter 1199 – 1199. The Ascent To Enlightenment
I had to receive treatment from the physician and have an interview with the training camp director, Bae Taek-ju.
We faced each other alone in a narrow space. However, we were not equal. Unlike him, who was free, my hands and feet were bound. I felt the psychological pressure that Bae Taek-ju might kill me.
“Number 123. Why did you attack Instructor Jeong?”
Bae Taek-ju’s low voice bounced off the walls and echoed.
“It wasn’t an attack, but an accident during sparring.”
“Instructor Jeong’s dantian was shattered. A martial artist’s dantian was shattered. You wouldn’t say you don’t know what that means, would you?”
“I know. It’s practically the end of his life as a martial artist.”
“Right. You killed Instructor Jeong.”
“I didn’t kill him. He’s still alive.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I’ve said it many times, it was an accident. It was the instructor who asked to spar first. It was also the instructor who gave me the sword. If you’re suspicious, ask the members of Group 1. There are over 100 witnesses.”
“……”
“And I was also injured. I was burned by the heat energy that instructor used.”
I wiggled my left arm to show Bae Taek-ju. It wasn’t easy to lift my left arm with my hands tied.
I had bandages wrapped around it because I had received treatment from the physician.
“I saw it earlier, and it was quite gruesome because of the pus and melted skin. I can show it to you if you want.”
“That’s enough. The physician said that since he applied medicine, there might be a scar, but it won’t be a serious problem.”
“That’s a relief.”
“…Instructor Jeong has to leave the training camp because of you.”
“He’s not leaving the cult, is he? He’ll find a way to live within the cult.”
In this world, martial artists are admired. Martial arts were power, and the higher the level, the longer the lifespan. Ordinary people both feared and yearned for martial artists.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone becomes a martial artist. In terms of proportion, the number of martial artists would not even be 5%. Among them, skilled martial artists are even fewer. Most live as farmers. This is not much different even in the Demonic Cult.
“I’m starting to get hungry, how long do I have to stay here?”
“…Number 123. I’m warning you, behave yourself. Don’t ignore the instructors’ orders or talk back.”
“Yes, I understand. But this was really an accident. And this is just my thought… didn’t I make one guy a blind cripple on the first day? I think Instructor Jeong was instigated by that guy.”
“I’ll investigate that matter separately. Until the results come out, you stay here and do nothing.”
“Here? What about food? I tend to get a bit edgy when I’m hungry. I also want to take a bath. Shouldn’t I maintain cleanliness?”
“Shut up and wait here.”
Bae Taek-ju got up from his seat and went outside.
I was still restrained.
‘Bae Taek-ju tried to mentally push me, but he didn’t physically beat me. Things are going well.’
I looked at my bandaged left arm. Pain surged. My arm hurt. I was tempted to use Complete Recovery.
‘No. If the burn disappears now, they’ll think it’s strange. I have to pretend to be hurt for a week… no, about three days.’
And I was able to return to my quarters in the evening.
I heard that the instructor I fought had left the training camp.
•••
“Number 123. Would you like to spar with me?”
Number 88, So Cheonma Cheon Yu-un, approached me and spoke.
After the incident where I shattered an instructor’s dantian, almost no one wanted to spar with me. The instructors were no exception. They were also subtly afraid of me. The fact that the difference between the instructor’s skills and mine wasn’t that great also played a part.
I was outwardly at the ninth level of Entry Stage, and the average level of the training camp instructors was around the eighth level of Entry Stage. The average for the Group 1 instructors was the second level of Emerging Stage.
“You want to spar with me? Number 88, are you out of your mind?”
“Haha. Are you worried about the spar that happened last time? That was just an accident. I know it, and others know it too.”
Cheon Yu-un acted like a magnanimous person. His actual personality was not magnanimous. He was just acting that way because it was easier to gain favor with others. Cheon Yu-un was the type to smile in front of you and scheme behind your back.
The reason he approached me now was probably because he was sure that I was Yeom Gu-seok. That’s why I subtly took off my top yesterday and showed Cheon Yu-un the red demon tattoo on my back.
Cheon Yu-un, who had information from the original story, knew about Yeom Gu-seok’s talent. From now on, he would try to make me his close aide by any means.
I just had to oppose him at first and then pledge my loyalty later. Just as he was using information from the original story, I could also use information from the original story.
Cheon Yu-un held a sword, and I grabbed a greatsword. Unlike the Flower Lotus Flying Blades, the blade was wide.
It was a slightly awkward weapon for me, but I had no choice. In the original story, Yeom Gu-seok used this weapon to perform the Demon Slaying Sword Technique.
The instructors gathered. They watched Cheon Yu-un and me, signaling the start of the spar.
I rushed towards Cheon Yu-un aggressively. It was Yeom Gu-seok’s fighting style from the beginning of the original story.
“Fierce.”
Cheon Yu-un put strength into his legs and deflected my sword. His expression was full of composure. Just as I was hiding my strength with the Golden Seal, he was also hiding his strength. It was hard to gauge how much strength he was hiding, but I guessed he had reached the Five Qi Realm.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as the sword and blade collided. I was pushing with force, but instead of overwhelming him, I was being pushed back.
‘He’s not fighting me with strength, but with technique.’
He was deflecting and defending while letting the force flow. From my perspective, it was just a basic technique. If I were to go all out, I could break through Cheon Yu-un’s technique and inflict a fatal wound.
‘No. I have to lose here.’
I forcibly suppressed the rising irritation. I had to act according to the plan here.
Cheon Yu-un deliberately showed an opening. It was bait. A deliberately shown opening. The moment I went in there, the spar would end in my defeat.
‘But I can’t not go in. At my current level, I shouldn’t have the ability to see that the opening is a trap.’
I had to move according to Cheon Yu-un’s intentions. I stepped forward with a slightly clumsy Demon Slaying Sword Technique stance and charged at him.
As if he had been waiting, Cheon Yu-un rotated his body and accurately deflected my sword. My wrist was bent back.
‘…Completely letting myself get defeated is too much for my pride.’
I forcibly grabbed the sword hilt that was about to slip out of my hand and swung it down. The tip of the sword grazed Cheon Yu-un’s shoulder. A little blood splattered. Cheon Yu-un’s eyes widened in surprise.
Clang!
The sword in my hand fell to the ground. I looked at my wrist and clicked my tongue. The price for forcibly swinging the sword was clear. My wrist was completely broken. I couldn’t put any strength into my right hand.
“I lost.”
I looked at my broken wrist and spat out the words. An instructor rushed over and stood between me and Cheon Yu-un.
“…To swing the sword in that state. I was surprised. Truly impressive.”
“Impressive…? Are you mocking me? I’m just a loser.”
“I was genuinely impressed. Would you like to spar again later?”
“……”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Cheon Yu-un. Cheon Yu-un was grinning. I could feel the greed he had for me. With this, he was convinced of Yeom Gu-seok’s talent.
“I won’t be defeated so easily next time.”
“Haha. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
From that day on, Cheon Yu-un and I started to talk and get closer little by little. It was Cheon Yu-un who started talking to me. Things were going well.
•••
Two months had passed since I entered the training camp. The training period at the camp was one year, and tests were held every three months. Depending on their test scores, trainees could be demoted to a lower group, or in the worst case, expelled from the training camp.
Training camp director Bae Taek-ju gathered the trainees in the plaza and said,
“From now on, the Demonic Library will be opened. You must learn one of the martial arts in the Demonic Library. In a month, we will test how well you have learned the martial art from the Demonic Library.”
The Demonic Library was a place where martial arts books were collected. However, I didn’t have any particular expectations. The Demonic Library was just a place where basic martial arts were collected. The advanced martial arts that were commonly talked about in the world did not exist in the Demonic Library.
Most of Group 1, who had learned advanced martial arts, were indifferent.
Group 2 was nervous. They could be promoted to Group 1 with the test in a month, or they could be demoted to Group 3.
Group 3’s eyes were shining with anticipation. Unlike Groups 1 and 2, they were the ones who had learned mediocre martial arts. For them, the martial arts in the Demonic Library were an opportunity.
“Group 1 will enter first. Look around the Demonic Library and tell the instructor which martial art you have chosen. In the evening, you will be given a handwritten copy of the martial art you have chosen. Leave the martial arts books in the Demonic Library as they are.”
Group 1, to which I belonged, entered the Demonic Library first. I was indifferent. The martial arts here didn’t catch my eye. Hidden opportunities? Unfortunately, there were no such things as hidden opportunities in the Demonic Library.
I wandered around the inside of the Demonic Library alone.
One martial arts book caught my eye.
Demon Slaying Sword Technique.
It was the sword technique that Yeom Gu-seok had learned. And it was also the sword technique that I had learned to play the role of Yeom Gu-seok.
The Demon Slaying Sword Technique was a common martial art. You could easily get it in the black market if you had enough money. It was more difficult to get into the black market than to get the martial art itself.
‘The Demon Slaying Sword Technique is one of the sword techniques that the bandits near this area learn.’
I passed by the Demon Slaying Sword Technique. I couldn’t choose the Demon Slaying Sword Technique because I had already learned it. I had to choose something new that I hadn’t learned.
“I recommend this footwork to you.”
Cheon Yu-un’s voice was heard. I stopped walking and turned my gaze towards the direction of the voice. Cheon Yu-un was leaning against a bookshelf and talking to a beautiful woman with a blank expression. Number 567, Yeon Ye-ha, the daughter of the Sword Demon. She was currently known as the most beautiful woman in the Demonic Cult, and in the future, she would be called the Bright Blade Demon Queen and become one of the most powerful figures in the Demonic Cult.
“What’s the reason?”
There was no emotion in Yeon Ye-ha’s voice.
It was because of the effect of the Emotion Severing Demonic Sword that she had learned. It was a demonic art that granted powerful strength in exchange for abandoning emotions.
“The Ghost Step is specialized in hiding one’s presence. It may seem like a useless footwork right now, but it’s not bad to learn it. There will be a moment when you need it someday. Maybe that moment is in the near future.”
“I see.”
“It’s just my recommendation. You don’t have to learn it if you don’t want to.”
“No, I will learn it. I’ve looked through the martial arts in the Demonic Library, and they all seem to be the same.”
“Okay. You won’t regret it.”
“Thank you for the recommendation.”
Yeon Ye-ha left.
Cheon Yu-un turned his head and looked at me. He grinned.
