Chapter 207

Pitch-black darkness, so deep that nothing could be seen even an inch ahead.

Amid it, a tiny flame flickered, faintly illuminating someone's face.

The figure stared into a crystal orb the size of a human head, expression grave.

A man's face shimmered within the orb.

Jeok Wigang.

“Jeok Wigang...”

There was something unsettling about him.

An attempt had been made to trace him through his energy, but it had failed.

“No inner qi...? Wasn't this the man who subdued the Black-Origin Divine Demon?”

Someone without inner qi could not possibly have subdued the Black-Origin Divine Demon, who had already stepped into the early Profound Realm.

Then someone else must have defeated the Black-Origin Divine Demon and handed him over afterward.

But that raised another question.

Why had the Black-Origin Divine Demon spilled every secret he knew to a powerless man?

If he had been tortured, the energy planted within his subconscious should have spread throughout his body and killed him instantly, sparing him the suffering.

Yet it had never activated.

Instead, he had talked freely.

The existence of that energy had been kept secret, so the Black-Origin Divine Demon himself should not even have known it was inside him.

Something had felt wrong, so a demonic beast had been sent to investigate—and absurdly enough, the Black-Origin Divine Demon had simply kept divulging information.

It had been so ridiculous that the energy had ultimately been forcibly awakened, killing him instantly.

And yet, right before he died, the Black-Origin Divine Demon had somehow looked... wronged.

“Come to think of it... he didn't look as though he'd been tortured.”

None of it made sense.

The Black-Origin Divine Demon would never have betrayed the Demon-Brain Divine Demon willingly.

There was only one way to resolve all these doubts.

Capture one person.

Jeok Wigang.

The investigation had revealed that he was the Heavenly Martial Emperor's grandson.

Yet he had never learned martial arts.

He had supposedly been born without a dantian, leaving him incapable of cultivating inner qi.

Unable to pursue martial arts, he had instead dreamed of achieving distinction through public service and had even passed the imperial examination.

Wait.

“The one I planted in the imperial palace disappeared all of a sudden too, didn't he?”

When the Demon-Brain Divine Demon had gone to check whether everything was proceeding properly, there had been no trace left behind.

The others had vanished as well.

“Could it be...?”

The Demon-Brain Divine Demon stared at Jeok Wigang's wavering image within the crystal orb.

“Surely this bastard wasn't responsible for that too?”

Impossible.

The one planted in the imperial palace was powerful.

Powerful enough to fight a million imperial soldiers alone.

There was no way someone incapable of martial arts could have taken him down.

The figure shook their head.

“He was always prone to fooling around anyway... He's probably off doing something else somewhere. I'll have to find him.”

Managing too many implanted energies at once was mentally taxing. There had also been some curiosity as to how faithfully those given subconscious commands would follow them.

So the demons had been allowed to roam freely.

And every last one of them had vanished without a trace.

That had produced one unforeseen variable after another, forcing the plans to be revised like this.

“I can't simply let them loose next time. I'll need to build in at least some basic safeguards.”

The Demon-Brain Divine Demon acknowledged the mistake and corrected the flaw so it would not happen again.

“The Central Plains aren't easy. To think they could make even me, the Demon-Brain Divine Demon, rack my brain this much.”

Then came an amused laugh.

“Still, compared to the demon realm, which was crawling with nothing but ignorant brutes, this place is genuinely entertaining. Heh.”

The Demon-Brain Divine Demon gazed at Jeok Wigang inside the crystal orb and murmured,

“I can't stand loose ends... I'll kill this one. If he dies as expected, good. And if, by some chance, he survives... then that means there's something special about him.”

******

Namgung Gang, Hwangbo Sang, Paeng Cheon, and Zhuge Hyeon had followed Jeok Wigang to the True Martial Sect.

Now all four were staring at the man before them in disbelief.

“What's wrong with you brats? You see an elder and still stand there with your heads held high?”

At Jeok Mugun's words, all four bent sharply at the waist almost in unison.

“W-We greet the Heavenly Martial Emperor!”

“Good.”

Namgung Gang cautiously raised his head.

“A-Are you really going to teach us personally?”

Jeok Mugun grinned.

“Why? Don't want me to? If you don't, say so now.”

“N-No! Of course not! It just sounded too much like a dream to be real!”

“Exactly! Anyone who says no to an opportunity like this deserves to have his mouth sewn shut!”

“Heh heh. Is that so? Let's see whether you're still saying that later.”

A chill ran down their spines.

Goosebumps rose all over their bodies.

But they quickly forgot about it.

All they could think about was the incredible opportunity they had been given—to learn directly from the Heavenly Martial Emperor himself.

******

After greeting the newcomers at Heavenly Martial Castle, Jeok Mugun followed Jeok Wigang when his grandson said he had something to discuss.

Then Jeok Mugun heard what he had to say.

“W-Wait. What... what did you just say?”

He was so shocked he actually stammered.

“I said I'll hand over the position of Merchant Master of the True Martial Merchant Company within this month, then become Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You mean it?”

“Yes.”

Jeok Mugun's grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Bwahahaha! No taking it back later!”

“I won't.”

“Then... what do we need to do?”

Jeok Mugun began bustling around as though he had no idea where to start.

He looked like someone terrified that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity might disappear if he didn't seize it immediately.

“Why not do both? Hm? Why don't you just become Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle right now?”

“Come on. That wouldn't work. If I become Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle, I'll end up neglecting the True Martial Merchant Company.”

“Is that so? Then what about that fellow... Hwang Geumman, was it? Why not leave it to him? From what I saw, the man's got an exceptional head for business.”

That caught Jeok Wigang's attention.

If it was Hwang Geumman, he could undoubtedly grow the True Martial Merchant Company even further.

He was also deeply loyal and trustworthy.

“That's a good idea.”

“Right? Hahaha! Then the problem of the Merchant Master is solved too. Let's start preparing immediately.”

“You don't have to rush that much. I'm not going to change my mind, so don't worry. I didn't say this lightly.”

“I know. But you never know when it comes to a man's heart.”

Jeok Wigang smiled.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because you look happy, Grandfather.”

“Don't be ridiculous...”

Despite what he said, Jeok Mugun broke into a broad smile of his own.

He had nothing left to worry about now.

Heavenly Martial Castle would become more stable and more powerful than it had ever been under his rule.

“Still, I want to pass the formal test you created, Grandfather.”

“Hm? What's that supposed to mean?”

“There are people who've worked hard all this time to become Lord of the Castle. They deserve a chance.”

“Urgh... Do as you please.”

Even if Jeok Wigang took the test, the position would end up his anyway.

There was nothing to worry about.

The final test was simply to see who could last the longest in a fight against Jeok Mugun himself.

And even that was already a major concession.

Originally, he had intended to hand the position only to someone at least as strong as the Four Divine Demons.

But no matter how hard he looked, no such person appeared.

Perhaps the standard had been unreasonable from the very beginning.

But that was human greed for you.

He wanted his successor to surpass even him.

So he had given them more time.

Then more.

And more still.

That was why the selection of a successor had dragged on for so long.

Jeok Wigang would not merely endure against him.

He was the one person in the entire Central Plains who could actually defeat him.

And he had even brought the Four Divine Demons—the very benchmark Jeok Mugun had once set—under his command.

That wasn't all.

He possessed the brilliant mind Jeok Mugun himself had always lacked.

He was the perfect successor Jeok Mugun had dreamed of all along.

The thought alone kept making him smile.

Coming all the way here in an attempt to lure Jeok Wigang back had been the right decision.

******

Namgung Cheon, Head of the Namgung Family, kept tilting his head as he read the letter from the Zhuge Family.

His chief steward finally asked,

“What does it say?”

“Read it yourself.”

The chief steward accepted the letter.

His eyes widened as he read.

“W-What does this mean? The Heavenly Martial Emperor is personally going to train the Young Family Head?”

“So I wasn't seeing things. I kept rereading it because I thought I'd misunderstood.”

“Could it really be true?”

“This letter came directly from the Head of the Zhuge Family. It can't be a lie.”

“Even so, I think we should verify it. Isn't this simply too unbelievable? It's not as though the Heavenly Martial Emperor has nothing better to do.”

“Hmm. You have a point. Go call the Leader of the Azure Sky Unit.”

“Understood.”

*******

“You called for me?”

“Come in. I need you to verify something.”

“What is it?”

“Leave for the True Martial Sect immediately. Confirm whether the Heavenly Martial Emperor is truly there—and whether Gang really is receiving personal instruction from him.”

“...What?”

The Leader of the Azure Sky Unit blinked, unable to make sense of what he had just heard.

Rather than explain at length, Namgung Cheon held out the letter.

“Here. Read this.”

After reading it, the unit leader nodded as though the situation finally made sense.

“It certainly is suspicious. Understood. I'll go and confirm everything myself.”

“Leave immediately.”

“Yes!”

*******

The True Martial Sect training ground.

“You guys came too?”

Tang Un, heir to the Tang Family, greeted the four with a smile.

“We heard you'd already arrived. Is it true...? Is the Heavenly Martial Emperor really training you?”

“Yeah.”

The four studied Tang Un.

His presence was clearly different from before.

There was a maturity to him now that had not been there in the past.

They couldn't help wondering.

Just how strong had he become?

Like Zhuge Hyeon, Tang Un had never stood out much for his martial arts.

Tang Un himself was a genius, but the Tang Family's martial arts had never been especially powerful, so his talent had never truly had the chance to shine.

“Why? Curious?”

The voice came from behind them.

They turned to find Jeok Mugun approaching with a smile on his lips.

Everyone immediately bowed.

“If you're curious, fight him.”

“Are we allowed to?”

“Of course. It'll give me a good look at your level too. So, who's first? Get ready.”

Paeng Cheon stepped forward immediately.

“I'll go first.”

Jeok Mugun nodded, then looked at Tang Un.

“You know what happens if you lose, right?”

“Yes!”

Tang Un's booming response startled all four of them.

Then they saw the look in his eyes.

They were blazing as he stared at the four newcomers, as though facing mortal enemies.

Even his entire bearing had changed.

“I won't go easy on you. Prepare yourself.”

A vein bulged on Paeng Cheon's forehead.

Hearing that from someone who used to be weaker than him was a direct blow to his pride.

“Fine. Let's see whether you've actually grown strong enough to talk like that.”

“Come at me.”

“What are you talking about? The weaker fighter gets the first move.”

“Exactly. So come at me. You're weaker than I am now.”

That was enough.

Enraged, Paeng Cheon kicked off the ground and charged.

His enormous saber came crashing straight down.

Tang Un lightly deflected it to the side with the fan in his hand, then snapped the fan open.

Fwoosh—

The spread fan blocked Paeng Cheon's vision for a brief instant.

In that opening, Tang Un slipped behind him.

Tap.

Tang Un's fan touched the back of Paeng Cheon's neck.

“One strike.”

The cold touch of the fan made Paeng Cheon's expression twist.

“Again!”

Whoosh!

Paeng Cheon spun and attacked.

Clang! Clang-clang!

Tang Un blocked the massive saber almost effortlessly with his small fan.

Watching from the side, Namgung Gang exclaimed,

“He's only forming sword qi at the exact instant the saber makes contact. He's using his inner qi with incredible efficiency.”

“Impressive. Infusing energy into the fan in such a tiny window can't be easy. Just what kind of training did he go through...?”

“Wasn't Tang Un always said to have the greatest natural talent among the promising young disciples? Now that talent has met the Heavenly Martial Emperor. It finally had the chance to fully bloom.”

“We'll get stronger too, right?”

Namgung Gang nodded.

Hwangbo Sang's face lit with anticipation as he turned back to watch the match between Paeng Cheon and Tang Un.