Chapter 112: Sowhere Between Provocation and a Test
“You teach them, but they’re not disciples?”
At Yul Han’s question, the Lord of the Training Hall replied.
“There are cases where I take them in as disciples, but the number is strictly limited. Five a year. If I accepted more than that, I’d be overwheld with disciples.”
That made sense. If the number of disciples exceeded a certain limit, it would beco impossible to teach them properly.
“I see. Then hand it over.”
When Yul Han extended his hand, the Lord of the Training Hall passed over the docunts.
“Hmm….”
An openly dissatisfied sound escaped him from the very start. Watching this, the Lord of the Training Hall waited with an anxious expression.
If things went wrong, lightning could strike just like during the foundational training.
And sure enough—
“There are no conditions.”
“C-Conditions…?”
“Yes. Add conditions. No kidnapping. Buying them back can’t be stopped, but coercion is forbidden. You may not lure them with lies and bring them here. If it is later discovered that these rules were violated, execution by beheading will be mandatory. Write those conditions in and bring it back.”
The Lord of the Training Hall received the returned docunts, his face on the verge of tears.
“Vice Cult Leader….”
“It’s non-negotiable.”
Before he could plead any further, Yul Han cut him off decisively. In the end, the Lord of the Training Hall turned away with an expression close to crying.
There had been a reason the Cult Leader had told him to seek the Vice Cult Leader’s approval first.
Matters that used to be settled with just the Cult Leader’s consent were increasingly being routed through the Vice Cult Leader.
“Are you really planning to hand over the Cult Leader’s seat?”
The Lord of the Training Hall blurted it out in a fit of frustration, then hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth. It was sothing that should never be said, even as a joke.
Still, such rumors were genuinely circulating.
The way authority over doctrinal decisions kept being passed to the Vice Cult Leader made it seem as though the Cult Leader intended to relinquish his position.
Ill-tempered and eccentric as he was, the Cult Leader was actually quite flexible. If there was a convincing reason, he was soone who would nod in agreent, no matter how unlikely it seed.
But the Vice Cult Leader…
“Haah….”
He was as rigid as the Hundred Paths hardliners.
Among field operatives, he was infamous as the hardest superior to serve. The Lord of the Training Hall could only sigh.
After the Lord of the Training Hall departed, Yul Han stepped out of his residence.
“Where are you going?”
At Iron Demon’s question—aning why weren’t you training us during training hours, or rather, why weren’t you teaching us—Yul Han gave a bitter smile.
“There’s sowhere I need to go for a mont.”
“Where exactly…?”
Pressed by Iron Demon’s lingering curiosity, Yul Han reluctantly answered.
“I’m thinking of paying Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon a visit.”
“Why that ill-mannered bastard?”
“He’s ill-mannered?”
“That bastard’s clearly beneath , yet he keeps glaring with those eyes. I’ve been itching to give him a proper beating during the upcoming Heavenly Martial Festival.”
At Iron Demon’s huffing indignation, Yul Han smiled faintly and said,
“Then he’ll die. Talk it out. With words.”
“Huh? Die?”
“The current Iron Demon isn’t the Iron Demon of before.”
At Iron Demon’s baffled expression, Yul Han continued,
“You’re right on the verge of the Manifestation Realm. Your destructive power now is nothing like before. On top of that, the Asura Sword Form has entered completion, and even your Iron Crushing Mad Blade has reached a completely different level. It won’t end with just a few punches.”
At Yul Han’s words, a broad grin spread across Iron Demon’s face.
“R-Really?”
“Yes. I guarantee it.”
“Ah, that Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon bastard. He survived thanks to you, Vice Cult Leader. Please make sure you tell him—‘You lived because of .’ Hahaha!”
While Iron Demon burst into loud laughter, Profound Demon and Ghost Demon shook their heads with expressions that said he’s impossible to deal with.
Leaving them behind, Yul Han exited his residence and headed down toward the lower levels.
The Bright Cult’s Main Fortress, built along the mountainside, consisted of dozens of terraced tiers.
At the very top stood the Heavenly Demon Hall, also known as the shrine of the Heavenly Demon. Directly beneath it were the residences of the Cult Leader and the Vice Cult Leader.
On the next tier were the Council of Elders, the elders themselves, and the residences of elder-level masters.
Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon resided there. Though not an elder, he was considered an elder-level master.
After wandering briefly while recalling what he had heard beforehand, Yul Han arrived at Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s residence, where more than a dozen people were gathered in training.
At a glance, they were clearly those being taught by Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon.
However, the martial arts they were practicing looked familiar.
“So it isn’t the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Blade.”
At the sudden voice, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon turned, unable to hide his surprise.
It wasn’t simply because of the Vice Cult Leader’s sudden visit.
Despite Yul Han having already entered the room, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon had failed to sense his presence at all.
Behind his shock, those training under him imdiately clasped their fists in salute and bowed sharply.
“We pay our respects to the Vice Cult Leader.”
“Pleased to et you.”
After returning the greeting, Yul Han asked,
“They don’t seem to be disciples…?”
“They’re training martial artists.”
At Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s answer, Yul Han asked again,
“You’re keeping ten of them?”
“They’re spread across two years. If I take in new trainees this year, the five from two years ago will have to go out and find their respective affiliations.”
“And what happens to those who leave?”
“They live diligently within their assigned affiliations. But what brings you here…? If you had summoned , I would have gone.”
“I simply wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Since I’m with the Red Army, you were worried I might be living too roughly.”
At Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s words, Yul Han rely smiled faintly.
Because it was true.
The faction Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon belonged to required practical training in real slaughter.
It ant enduring countless real battles of killing and being killed. Through that process, they learned the human body’s vital points and behavioral patterns.
It was a thod designed to cultivate fighters who killed people in the most lethal and efficient ways possible.
That was why Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon and others of his faction carried the grim nickna battlefield widow-makers.
Seeing Yul Han did not deny it, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon asked,
“Would you care to co inside for a cup of tea?”
“Before that, would you like to test your body against mine once?”
“By ‘test your body’… you an a spar?”
As I looked into Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s widened eyes, I asked,
“Why? Are you afraid?”
At my provocation, the surprise vanished from his face as if it had never been there, replaced by a hardened expression.
“Of course not.”
With a glance from him, the dozen or so Training Martial Artists scattered, clearing a space.
Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon stepped into the open area. I moved to stand before him.
After confirming it was truly , he extended his hand toward one of the trainees. A wooden blade was placed in his palm.
I watched it silently for a mont before speaking.
“This isn’t children playing house. What’s with the wooden blade?”
As soon as my words ended, I drew my sword.
Srrrng.
With a chilling resonance, the blade slid free, its steel gleaming with a biting cold.
The Training Martial Artists, faces drained with fear, turned as one toward Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon.
Both he and I used violent martial arts. Ours were not techniques that ended with a few light bruises.
In this situation, a live-blade spar ant blood would be drawn.
Considering the gap in our strength, my action was no different from declaring that I intended to kill him.
After a brief look at , Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon dismissed the wooden blade and drew his own weapon.
His blade, broader and larger than a typical saber, took the classic form of a crushing blade.
Well, his exclusive martial art, the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Blade, was fad even within the Bright Cult as one of the foremost crushing blade arts.
But when it ca to raw power and destructive force, I was no less formidable.
I lowered my beautifully forged sword.
Though it appeared as if I rely let it hang loosely, this posture was the initiating stance of the Half-Moon Asura Slash—supre in destructive might.
Since it had already been revealed publicly, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon recognized it at a glance. The corner of his eye twitched.
If it was unleashed, it could not be blocked.
Having made his resolve, his blade split through the air without any preliminary motion.
It was fast. It was powerful.
The force within it was so imnse that a gust of wind surged ahead of the blade itself.
Yet I did not move.
I simply placed my sword lightly in the path of his incoming strike.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted where sword and blade collided.
Not only that—though he had struck first, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon was driven backward in a long slide.
Looking at him with calm eyes, I spoke leisurely.
“I thought it would be a Yang-attributed martial art, but it’s Yin.”
For a brief mont, confusion flickered across his face as he tried to grasp my aning. Then his eyes flew wide.
“D-Don’t tell !”
“That’s right. It’s the absorption technique of the Heaven-and-Earth Great Shift Divine Art. Shall we try again?”
At the end of my words, I flicked the tip of my sword.
Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon exploded.
A monstrous aura surged, then gathered as if detonating inward before bursting outward. Astonishingly, atop that explosion, yet another surge of aura rose.
It was as if he used the detonation of his own aura to draw forth an even higher level of power.
While I stood watching with mild interest, he charged forward, his face twisted into that of a ferocious fiend.
Boom!
An even greater blast thundered forth than before.
Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon tumbled across the ground, rolling helplessly.
The recoil had been so overwhelming that he was flung away as though violently hurled.
In contrast, I remained standing exactly where I had been, utterly composed.
To the despair in his eyes, I spoke again.
“The one just now carried Yin internal energy as well. It appears Yang, but what engulfs the opponent is Yin internal force. Unusual, I’ll grant you.”
From my indifferent expression, it was clear that while I found it interesting, it amounted to nothing more than that.
His face hardened.
“Was that just now the final ultimate technique of the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Blade?”
“It was not.”
He spat the words roughly, his voice tinged with wounded pride. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“Tsk tsk. To face a master and still hold back your final move out of pride. You must be eager to die.”
At my near-accusation, sparks seed to fly from his eyes.
In truth, it wasn’t pride.
The final ultimate technique of the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Blade was one that prepared for mutual destruction. The caster would not remain unhard, and the one struck would inevitably be grievously injured as well.
From his position, no matter how dire the danger to his own life, he could not unleash that final technique against the Vice Cult Leader.
If he did, not only he but his entire Crushing Faction would fail to survive.
Even if I were magnanimous enough to forgive him, the Cult Leader would not. The man he knew would slaughter them all in the dead of night, even if he had to strike in secret behind my back.
In that man’s lexicon, when it ca to threats against the Vice Cult Leader within the cult, there were no words such as forgiveness or leniency.
That was why he had refrained from using it.
But if I pushed him like this, he would have no choice.
The Vice Cult Leader isn’t just targeting —he’s aiming at the entire Crushing Faction. Why?
Unable to discern the reason for the current situation, Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon ground his teeth.
I shouldn’t have gone to him! I should never have listened to Cold Blade Blood when he told to trust him!
That was right.
The reason Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon had suddenly sought out before was due to the influence of Cold Blade Blood, with whom he had maintained friendly ties.
Now, believing that the price of that decision was the annihilation of both himself and his faction, regret sank deep into him.
In the end, deciding there was no retreat, he steeled himself.
If I’m going to die, I won’t go alone!
As I looked into his gaze, now settled into icy resolve, the corner of my lips curled upward.
Those who knew well would recognize it as a smile.
But to Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon, who had rarely crossed paths with before, it was nothing short of a sneer.
His figure blurred with sudden movent.
Charging forward while detonating every ounce of his internal energy, he let out a savage roar.
“I’ll kill you!”
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