Chapter 29: Audit (2)

Without considering my feelings, Eldest Brother continued speaking with a foolish grin.

“Of course, it’s still too early to say since our little brother hasn’t even completed the Hall of the Demonic Way yet, but I believe in you. I’m sure you’ll become a magnificent martial master in no time.”

But I had no desire to become one. An “outstanding martial master”?

What a joke.

"Y-you flatter me, Eldest Brother. How could I possibly become your strategist?"

"...I guess I'm just not a good enough leader for you, then. Seeing as how you're turning me down so firmly."

"!!!"

Cold sweat ran down my back at Eldest Brother's murmured words of disappointment.

Though he claims to have achieved Transcendence and can now control his anger, from my perspective, it sounded less like a statement and more like a threat that if I refused again, he would kill me.

"W-what are you saying! How could you be inadequate, Eldest Brother? I-I only said that because I'm not good enough."

"Hahaha! Don't worry about that! You're more than capable of being my strategist. But you do have a point. I haven't yet shown you that I'm worthy of being your lord! Hahaha! Just wait and see! I'll become a man worthy of your loyalty!"

"..."

This crazy boar wasn't even listening to a word I was saying.

And having said his piece, he simply left Windrock Palace.

"......"

As I wallowed in despair, sensing my life in this damned cult taking a sharp turn for the worse, Jin Hayeon chose that moment to pour oil on the fire.

"Congratulations, Young Master. It seems the First Young Master has properly recognized your abilities."

"Is this really something to celebrate?"

"Of course it is. If the First Young Master becomes the next Heavenly Demon, he might appoint you either as the Left or Right Protector or even appoint you as the Chief Strategist.”

"Hah..."

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

And misunderstanding my sigh, Jin Hayeon spouted more nonsense.

"Are you perhaps already conceiving of a plan to guide the First Young Master to the seat of the next Heavenly Demon?"

Though her question was absurd, I could roughly guess why she had made such a misconception.

I learned this only after spending about a month in this damned cult, but being the Heavenly Demon’s disciple didn't automatically qualify one to inherit the position.

Once the current Heavenly Demon ascended, a race to become the next leader would begin within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

This competition is overseen by the Left and Right Protectors chosen by the previous Heavenly Demon, and there was only one minimum requirement to participate:

Victory in combat against the Left and Right Protectors.

Throughout generations, the Left and Right Protectors' positions were held by those who had mastered specific Demonic Arts passed down only to the Protectors.

To defeat either the Left or Right Protectors, one needed to master at least one of the highest-ranking Demonic Arts in the cult to the level of Transcendence.

In other words, even if you were a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, if you hadn’t mastered a high-level Demonic Art to Transcendence, you couldn’t aim for the position of the next Heavenly Demon.

Conversely, even if one wasn't the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, an exceptional master could aim for the position of the next Heavenly Demon.

The reason for adopting this system was simple. To learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which symbolizes the Heavenly Demon, one must first master at least one advanced Demonic Art to the level of Transcendence.

It's a tradition they had to make because, while the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is the strongest, it also has the nastiest side effect.

The winner of this competition who learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is called the 'Cult Leader. ' Only when they, like Master, fully master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and achieve Transcendence could they truly be called the 'Heavenly Demon.'

When I finally heard this story from Jin Hayeon, I understood why the damned cult was run so haphazardly.

From the moment a Heavenly Demon ascends, the cult enters a dark age lasting anywhere from a few years to several decades.

That's because all the top masters in the cult who've reached Transcendence start a bloody civil war to see who gets to be the next leader and learn the ultimate skill.

Even after one becomes the Cult Leader through this internal war, the situation remains chaotic because you usually end up with a crazy person in charge because of the side effect.

And if that leader dies from Qi Deviation without mastering the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the whole war starts all over again.

Only when someone successfully masters the Heavenly Demon Divine Art can they escape this terrible era.

Just like my Master.

So the cult's history is just this endless loop: a true Heavenly Demon like my master shows up, makes the cult great for a while, and then another dark age comes along. That's why the whole system is such a mess.

In any case, now that Eldest Brother had finally reached Transcendence with the Raging Demon Sword Art, he had finally qualified to compete for the position of the next Heavenly Demon.

But the cult already had a bunch of monsters like Hyeokryeon Cheongang running around. This meant Eldest Brother was merely a late contender.

And so, Jin Hayeon had misunderstood my sigh, thinking I was contemplating strategies to help this late contender overtake those who had already qualified.

But I was just sad that my dream of living a carefree, unemployed bum life was getting further away.

'Indeed, only Seon-ah truly understands my heart.'

Unlike Jin Hayeon, who kept offering congratulations for whatever reason, Seon-ah was sighing along with me.

* * *

The place Wi Jin-hak visited after leaving the Windrock Palace was a familiar one to Il-mok.

Entering the estate marked with the characters Hyeokryeon, Wi Jin-hak met privately with a certain man in the innermost hall.

"It's been a while, Family Head."

"Indeed it has, First Young Master."

As they exchanged greetings, Hyeokryeon Cheongang was quite surprised inside.

"Looks like you've had a major breakthrough recently."

"Hahaha. It was thanks to my youngest brother."

"Oh..."

A sigh containing various emotions escaped Hyeokryeon Cheongang's lips.

Looking at the Hyeokryeon Family Head, Wi Jin-hak spoke.

"Actually, I came here personally to apologize for the previous incident. Though Master has already punished me, I felt it proper to visit and apologize myself."

"We have already decided not to make an issue of that incident, so you need not pay it any mind."

Even as he gave this reply, Hyeokryeon Cheongang was lost in various thoughts.

'He truly has achieved Transcendence in the Raging Demon Sword Art.'

He had changed significantly in just that one month. In the past, he would have been unable to contain his anger at being insulted, yet now he came to apologize instead.

'And on top of that, he says it was because of the youngest disciple.'

Naturally, Hyeokryeon Cheongang's thoughts turned to Il-mok.

At first, he merely watched over him because of the Heavenly Demon's order.

But after the youngest disciple's direct visit to the clan, his granddaughter had changed.

And in a very positive direction.

Since that day, his granddaughter had been voluntarily immersing herself in martial arts.

It had been painfully obvious before that she was only following the family's orders out of obligation. The change was so profound that it could be called a metamorphosis.

He still found it annoying that she went to see that youngest disciple for two hours every day, but aside from that time, she spent all her time in the family compound, focused on martial arts training or studying.

Given her already outstanding talent, her rate of growth was truly remarkable.

And now, even the First Young Master claimed to have reached Transcendence thanks to that youngest disciple, causing Hyeokryeon Cheongang's opinion of Il-mok to shift somewhat positively.

However, he still didn't know exactly why his granddaughter had changed so dramatically.

* * *

Late at night.

In a corner of the vast estate at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's main headquarters.

Three men gathered in the darkness to hold a meeting.

As always, it was a meeting to discuss various matters occurring within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but—

Today's topic inevitably centered on First Young Master Wi Jin-hak, who had emerged from his punishment several days ago.

"You must have all heard the news. That dim-witted First Young Master has finally mastered the Raging Demon Sword Art and reached Transcendence."

"Although we anticipated this risk since there's still time before the Heavenly Demon's ascension, I never expected him to achieve Transcendence so suddenly."

Though their faces were hidden in darkness, they all spoke in equally serious tones.

The conversation primarily focused on predicting Wi Jin-hak's future moves and how to deal with them.

"While preparation is wise, we needn't overreact about this. Not only might that risk exposing our activities, but he's merely a novice who was barely qualified."

"However, being the Heavenly Demon's eldest disciple means gaining qualification alone puts him in an advantageous position. If the Heavenly Demon throws his support behind his eldest disciple before departing, it will inevitably work against us."

"Hmm. Ultimately, we must carefully observe how the Heavenly Demon treats the First Young Master."

As the discussion on this topic was coming to a close, the man on the right cautiously spoke.

"By the way, have you all heard that rumor?"

"Rumor? What rumor?"

"There's talk that the youngest disciple played a crucial role in helping the First Young Master achieve Transcendence."

"......"

The other two fell silent, indicating they hadn't heard this.

Then the man on the left tilted his head and muttered.

"Wasn't it because of that youngest disciple that the First Young Master went berserk?"

"It's already a widespread rumor within the Cult that the youngest disciple provoked the First Young Master by relentlessly saying things he hated the most."

Il-mok's constant provocation of the berserk Wi Jin-hak couldn't help but become a widespread topic.

This was inevitable since dozens of people who had come to stop the berserk Wi Jin-hak had all heard the youngest disciple taunting the First Young Master.

"Hah. We stopped paying attention because we figured they were mortal enemies now."

"I can't believe they had some other meeting in between all that."

"We should verify whether this rumor is true or not."

At the central figure's words, the men on both sides nodded.

If the rumor was false, there was no need to pay it mind. They weren't free enough to waste their time on some powerless kid because of gossip.

But what if the rumor was true?

The kid was already smart enough to change the entire cult system by talking to the Heavenly Demon, and now he'd pulled off something as huge as giving the First Disciple a breakthrough.

He might be young, but he was a dangerous element who could greatly influence their grand plan.

If a guy like that teamed up with the First Young Master, their own plans could fall apart.

"If the rumor proves true, we'll put the youngest disciple under surveillance. Make sure we can spot a chance to... take him out, whenever we need to."

The man in the center declared with a mix of killing intent in his tone.

* * *

A few days passed.

During my usual training session with Master, he suddenly asked me something.

"How are your preparations for the Hall of the Demonic exam coming along?"

The question triggered a sense of familiarity within me and before I could answer, Jin Hayeon cut in, "He's already finished the Secret Record of the Heavenly Demon for his morning studies, and he's almost done with the historical records. At this rate, we can reduce morning study time and focus more on martial arts training. Also, his progress in martial arts is rapidly increasing."

"Hmm. It seems there won't be major issues with the entrance examination."

"Indeed. Your esteemed self had mentioned that you would bestow the Explosive Demon Pill upon Young Master Il-mok later as well, so entrance is assured, and in my personal opinion, entering the Upper Class from the start should be possible."

The Hall of the Demonic Way selects only twenty individuals each year through examinations. And they split those twenty by their test scores into two classes: Upper Class and Bottom Class.

Hahaha. Making it into the Upper Class after only a year of preparation. He truly possesses outstanding talent."

“All thanks to your discerning eye, Supreme One, for discovering him.”

Why did praise for my efforts always circle back to the Master’s greatness? But a bigger issue loomed.

'Hang on, I feel like I've been through this before.'

And my ominous prediction wasn't wrong.

"Since it seems we have some time to spare, I have a task for you, Il-mok."

"Ha, hahaha. Shouldn't we focus on entrance preparation just in case?"

"Don't worry. After you complete this task, I'll personally make time to give you some extra training, just like last time."

He was saying he would work me like a dog again, just like last time.

And seeing this old-fashioned geezer present it as if he were bestowing some reward, I had no choice but to give up.

"Ha. Hahaha. Come to think of it, we do seem to have plenty of time. There's n-no need for my busy Master to allocate additional time. But may I ask what kind of task it is, Master?"

I tried to turn down his "prize," but he just took it as me being humble and smiled.

"As you suggested before, we've started opening schools and providing education at the cult's branches throughout Xinjiang. So, shouldn't you verify with your eyes whether each branch is operating exactly as you planned?"

In other words, he was telling me to go on another business trip.

And as a field auditor, no less.