Chapter 82: The Greatest Prodigy of the Demonic Way (1)

Life had been good for Il-mok these past few days.

"Hehehe. How peaceful."

Bang Mi-hwa and Dokgo Pae had begun receiving special lessons from the Hall Master. Thanks to that, the two of them had barely been around Il-mok recently.

"I won't waste this opportunity that the Young Master has graciously given to me! Just you wait! I'll definitely become a worthy rival for you!"

Il-mok wasn't entirely sure what kind of thought process he had, but Dokgo Pae had declared this challenge like some sort of revenge vow before immersing himself in training.

As for Bang Mi-hwa...

“Hmph. Opportunities like this don’t come often, Young Master. Well, if you get on your knees and beg for forgiveness, maybe I’ll consider letting it slide… just once.”

She’d spouted that weird nonsense and started acting like Il-mok didn’t even exist.

From Il-mok's perspective, this was truly a blessing. They were ignoring him of their own accord.

To top it off, Ju Seo-yeon had been throwing herself into her training to become the second-ranked student ever since Il-mok had scolded her.

And Mak Ho-yeol—who Il-mok couldn’t help but think looked suspiciously like Dokgo Pae’s long-lost brother—had caught the eye of Vice Hall Master Yu Geuk and was also receiving special training.

With hardly anyone coming to bother him, peace had finally returned to Il-mok's daily life after a very long time.

The only slightly annoying things were Instructor Chu Il-hwan, whom he had to face during every class period, and the strange rumors swirling around Baek Cheon.

Apparently, while doing his punishment in the training ground, he’d occasionally flash a creepy smile or burst into mad laughter.

The gossip within the Hall of the Demonic Way was that he’d gone completely bonkers while serving his punishment.

Since Baek Cheon’s strange behavior had started right after their conversation the other night, Il-mok felt a little uneasy.

'Well, going mad is better than committing suicide, I guess.'

After convincing himself of that, he decided to just ignore it.

"Haaah..."

As Il-mok let out a long yawn, Jeong Hyeon, who had been aiming her bow from about ten paces away, flinched and looked toward him.

She hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure of what to do. Then, lowered her bow and asked Il-mok cautiously.

"Um, young lord...? A-Aren’t you going to… train?”

"Rest is also a form of training. Haaah..."

Seeing Il-mok's languid face as he answered and yawned again, Jeong Hyeon, who had been fidgeting like a restless puppy carefully said, “I-If you’re uncomfortable… I-I’ll leave, Young Master.”

“??? What are you even talking about?”

It would make sense if Jeong Hyeon felt uncomfortable because of him and wanted to leave, but there was no reason for him to feel uncomfortable because of her.

Sure, he disliked crowds and commotion, but even now, Jeong Hyeon was keeping a good ten-foot distance as they talked.

And she’d barely said a word to him until now, making her pretty much the most comfortable person to be around.

“Ah. Did I make you uncomfortable? Sorry.”

“N-No, not at all, Young Master!”

At Il-mok's apology, Jeong Hyeon shook her head and waved her hands vigorously.

After pondering for a moment, Jeong Hyeon mustered courage and said, "Actually, I saw it."

"...Saw what?"

“T-The way you were training after the competition… I happened to come here and… saw you…”

"Ah."

Il-mok recalled that incident.

An enlightenment had struck him during his spar with Baek Cheon, and he’d practically lost himself in a wild training session right here to integrate that enlightenment into his body.

"Ahem. How embarrassing."

When Il-mok replied with a sheepish expression, Jeong Hyeon’s internal monologue went something like, Yep, just as I thought.

Jeong Hyeon had seen it that day.

What Il-mok was like when he truly immersed himself in the sword.

It was almost deranged—something you wouldn't see unless you were completely obsessed with swords.

Even when she had approached nearby, Il-mok hadn't noticed her presence and continued swinging his sword endlessly.

Of course, "nearby" was relative in her case.

Either way, Jeong Hyeon had felt a sense of dissonance since then.

Why would someone who loved the sword that much, who was that devoted to his training, only practice stealth techniques when he was around her?

And based on her own experience, Jeong Hyeon concluded.

‘The Young Master must be surprisingly shy too.’

He must be embarrassed to train with his sword in front of other people.

Not wanting to bother Il-mok, Jeong Hyeon took a deep breath and spoke again.

“I-If I’m in your way… I’ll leave, Young Master. Please, please train comfortably."

Il-mok thought this was absurd.

‘I finally get some peace and quiet after ages, and he wants me to train?’

He was already dealing with stronger compulsions since his recent enlightenment.

If he didn't rest and stabilize his mind a bit, there was no telling when he might explode.

Especially with the Hall Master and Vice Hall Master’s special training sessions about to end. If people like Dokgo Pae, Mak Ho-yeol, or Bang Mi-hwa kept clinging to him, he might end up dancing with his sword again.

'I need to calm my mind at least until then.'

He definitely wasn’t slacking off. Absolutely not.

His rest had its reasons.

But he couldn't very well answer that his mental illness was getting worse.

"Not all training involves directly swinging a sword. I was actually meditating, so don't mind me."

Il-mok made up a flimsy excuse.

"Me-meditating."

She clearly remembered seeing him yawning just moments ago.

She even recalled seeing him dozing off while seated and snoring yesterday.

Noting Jeong Hyeon's skeptical attitude, Il-mok shrugged once and said, “It’s called visualization, you should try it, Disciple Jeong. You still seem pretty uncomfortable with people getting close. Try closing your eyes and picturing it. Once you get used to it in your imagination, you’ll find it more manageable in real life.”

"Ah!"

Jeong Hyeon nodded with an impressed expression.

She had been wanting to overcome this side effect of fearing people's approach.

"Whew."

Taking a deep breath, Jeong Hyeon closed her eyes while standing and sank deep into her mental world.

In her mental landscape, she was in the middle of a mountain with no people around, holding a bow and aiming somewhere.

Pop.

Suddenly, her imagination solidified, and a person appeared twenty feet away.

It was Il-mok.

‘Well, even if it’s just my imagination, it’s probably best to picture someone I’m at least a little comfortable with, right?’

And in her mental world, she released the bowstring aimed at Il-mok.

Clang!

The Il-mok in her imagination easily deflected the arrow.

Though this Il-mok was created in her mental world, she had observed him enough to recreate his wondrous swordsmanship accurately.

After easily deflecting her arrow, Il-mok stepped one step closer.

In that interval, Jeong Hyeon pulled her bow taut again and released.

Clang!

Once more, Il-mok deflected the arrow and stepped one step closer, and she shot another arrow at him several more times.

Before she knew it, he had reached the ten-foot boundary line she unconsciously maintained in her mind.

Clang!

As her arrow was deflected again and Il-mok finally crossed that boundary...

'Eek!'

Jeong Hyeon, who was about to have a panic attack without realizing it, quickly composed herself.

‘This is just my imagination. I can do anything in my imagination!’

She repeated the mantra in her head. She nocked another arrow to her bow, pulling back the string, and staring straight at Il-mok's face as he came closer.

'Right. Since it’s just my imagination... I can do anything... Can’t I? So… getting closer to the Young Master is okay too…?’

The moment that thought crossed her mind.

Step.

Step.

The Il-mok in her mental world, who had been taking one slow step at a time until now, began boldly approaching her.

‘Hiiik….’

Frozen by Il-mok's sudden approach, she realized he was now close enough for her to feel his breath.

‘Th-This is way too fast, Young Master!?'

For what felt like an eternity, she squirmed, flustered and blushing furiously, not knowing what to do.

Then, belatedly remembering this was all in her head, she opened her eyes.

"......."

The face of Jeong Hyeon, who had emerged from her mental world, was just as crimson as it had been in her imagination. Not only that, she was twisting her body in the same bizarre way as in her mental world.

Seized by sudden fear, she quickly turned her head.

Had Il-mok seen her looking like this?

"Zzzzzzzzz."

What she saw was Il-mok sitting cross-legged, snoring and dozing off.

***

While Il-mok was deep in dreamland and Jeong Hyeon was lost in her own strange fantasies…

On the other side of the Hall of the Demonic Way, Bang Mi-hwa and Dokgo Pae were engrossed in their training under the watchful eye of Yeom Ga-hwi.

After watching them trade blows with fans and swords for a while, Yeom Ga-hwi finally spoke.

“You’ve both improved remarkably these past ten days.”

“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Hall Master.”

“Thank you, Hall Master.”

The two clasped their hands in respectful bows, thanking the Hall Master. Yeom Ga-hwi nodded, then casually mentioned, “You could also say you owe it to Disciple Il-mok for giving you this opportunity.”

"That's true, Hall Master."

"Even now, we're grateful to Disciple Il-mok."

Yeom Ga-hwi hid his inner thoughts behind a solemn expression and asked, “Speaking of which… What’s your impression of Disciple Il-mok, as fellow disciples?”

Yeom Ga-hwi had been increasingly intrigued by Il-mok since their last conversation.

To Yeom Ga-hwi's question, Dokgo Pae answered first.

“I think I understand now why the Heavenly Demon chose Disciple Il-mok as his disciple. He is truly worthy of being called the Greatest Prodigy of the Demonic Way. But that doesn't mean I’m giving up! Now that the Hall Master has given us his teachings, I will catch up to Disciple Il-mok!”

Dokgo Pae’s eyes burned with the fire of rivalry.

"Hmm."

And Yeom Ga-hwi uttered a curious exclamation as he looked at Dokgo Pae.

‘No need to tell him outright how difficult that will be.’

The skill the youngest Eighth Master had displayed at the last sparring assembly was already far beyond what most could achieve at his age.

Moreover...

Considering he’s only been in the cult for a year, the gap is more likely to widen than shrink. Catching him will be a monumental task.’

But there was no reason to voice such thoughts. And one never truly knew what the future held. Perhaps this boy could actually manage to catch up to the Young Master.

“Beyond martial arts, what is your impression of him as a person?”

Yeom Ga-hwi changed the subject smoothly, asking what he really wanted to know in the first place.

Since he had already witnessed Il-mok's martial prowess at the previous competition, what he was truly curious about was this aspect.

At Yeom Ga-hwi's question, Dokgo Pae fell silent.

He’d been so focused on Il-mok’s martial arts and seeing him as a rival that he hadn’t paid any attention to anything else about him.

Bang Mi-hwa spoke up instead.

"Il-mok is more shy than he appears."

"...Shy?"

Yeom Ga-hwi was confused.

This description didn't match at all with the image of someone who had confidently presented logical arguments before him, the Hall Master.

At Yeom Ga-hwi's query, Bang Mi-hwa answered with her characteristically proud and haughty expression.

"Hehe. He struggles even to look directly at the face of the woman he admires. And he seems embarrassed by attention, so he always goes to secluded places when he’s not in training.”

Out of consideration for the shy Il-mok, she omitted mentioning that she was the woman he admired.

If even the Hall Master knew this fact, Il-mok might become even more embarrassed.

Still, as someone who cared for Il-mok in her own way, she added, "But I believe he's a man who does what needs to be done when the time comes. Didn't he demonstrate his skills in front of others during the martial arts competition?"

"Hmm...."

Yeom Ga-hwi let out a faint sigh, his characteristically grave face revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.

'Shy... That's a regrettable temperament for someone meant for a significant position.'

However, he had no intention of finalizing his judgment of Il-mok based solely on Bang Mi-hwa's account.

After all, he'd only seen two aspects of Il-mok:

His prowess in the martial arts competition and his demeanor when confidently refusing Yeom Ga-hwi's teachings while presenting logical arguments.

Finding that a little contradictory, Yeom Ga-hwi dismissed Bang Mi-hwa and Dokgo-pae and summoned Ch Il-hwan to his residence.

"Tell the instructors to write and submit evaluations of the new disciples they've observed."

“Understood, sir.”

Chu Il-hwan didn't express any doubts. It was an order from the Hall Master, and such directives were not uncommon.

The following day, dozens of scrolls lay piled on Yeom Ga-hwi’s desk. They are the instructors’ assessments of the twenty disciples.

Among them, Yeom Ga-hwi first began reading the evaluations about Il-mok.

However, Yeom Ga-hwi's mind was plunged into even greater confusion after reading them all.

It was because Instructor Choo Il-hwan and Instructor Eun Ryeo had given Il-mok the same evaluation.

—Outstanding talent, but a potential womanizer.

Shy, yet fond of women?

The more he heard others' evaluations of Il-mok, the more confused Yeom Ga-hwi became.