So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon? Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Demonic Arts (2)

At this point, it wasn’t like I could suddenly confess, "Actually, I'm a bad person!"

Clinging to my last hope, I asked my Master, "Then can I know what martial arts are available and their respective side effects?"

"That's a good question. I was just about to explain that. First, there's the Raging Demon Sword Arts (爆裂魔羅劍法). When mastered, its destructive power can even demolish mountain peaks."

"What is the side effect?"

"The higher your mastery, the more yang energy builds up in your body. Often, you'll lose your rationality to uncontrollable rage."

I nodded at my Master's words.

'So it causes intermittent explosive disorder.'

It was likely to be a real intermittent explosive disorder, not the selective kind we often encounter in our daily lives.

'This is definitely sothing I shouldn't learn.'

Unlike selective anger, genuine rage is indiscriminate.

You'd ignore stronger opponents and dangerous, trap-like situations, charging in blindly and practically courting death.

"What other martial arts are there?"

"Hmm. How about the White Hand Demonic Art (素手魔功)? When mastered, it's a formidable ice art capable of instantly freezing an entire area."

"And its side effect?"

"Unfortunately, if a man were to learn this art, he must accumulate yin energy by maintaining his virginity. Moreover, as the yin energy builds up, sexual desire grows progressively stronger.”

"What happens if one can't overco that desire...?"

"If you succumb even once, you'll beco a sex demon, relentlessly ravishing won until all your yang energy is depleted. And then, you die from exhaustion."

"..."

While I was speechless, Master kindly continued explaining other arts.

"Co to think of it, this art might suit you. It's called the Mad Soul Sword Art (狂魂劍法). Its unpredictable movents surpass even the Central Plains' Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art."

"...What is the side effect?"

With no expectation left, I watched Master calmly stroke his beard and replied, "It's said that as one's skill deepens, one begins to experience auditory and visual hallucinations."

"..."

This ti, it was schizophrenia.

***

After that, various other Demonic Arts were introduced: Thunder Emperor Demonic Fist (雷黃魔拳), Demonic Wind Shura Blade Art (風魔修羅刀法), Demonic Spirit Legs (魔靈脚), and more.

And the accompanying aftereffects were equally diverse: depression, mania, anorexia, multiple personality disorder, and so on.

'I have to choose from these options?'

It was unclear whether I was choosing a martial art or a ntal illness.

Amidst this, a question arose.

"Master, I have a question."

"Speak."

"Have you mastered all these Demonic Arts yourself?"

Over ten arts had been listed. If he mastered them all, my Master should be suffering from more than ten ntal illnesses. He was basically a walking psych ward. Given his insane power level, he was less a person and more a ti bomb.

Catching my implied concern, Master stroked his beard and laughed.

"Hahaha. Don't worry. The arts this old man has mastered are the Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) and the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords (血影十八劍). The others were learned after mastering the Heavenly Demon Divine Art solely to teach others."

"Do the side effects of other Demonic Arts disappear if one masters the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?"

"The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is the most difficult and dangerous of all Demonic Arts. Once you master it and achieve Transcendence (脫魔), you can overco the side effects of any Demonic Arts. However, it's exclusively for the cult leader. You cannot learn it unless you beco the leader."

"Then, did you master the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords before mastering the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?"

"Indeed. However, I cannot pass down the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords to you either."

Seeing my puzzled expression, Master elaborated, "It's a secret art of the Hyeokryeon Sword Family, my family. Even though I've beco the Heavenly Demon, I could not arbitrarily teach a family art ant only for direct descendants to an outsider."

Ultimately, the two arts my Master had most deeply mastered were unavailable to .

I felt a slight disappointnt, but there was a more important issue, so I asked another question.

"But must one master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to overco the side effects of Demonic Arts?"

If you don't beco the Heavenly Demon, you live with a ntal illness forever. What could be more terrifying than that?

Fortunately, my Master shook his head.

“Broadly speaking, there are three stages of mastery in Demonic Arts. The first stage, known as Tainted (入魔), is the state when one begins learning Demonic Arts. Then ca the second one, Extremity (極魔). In that state, the side effects of the arts reached their peak. Finally, when one is able to overco the demonic influence and break free from it, they achieve Transcendence (脫魔). Starting from the first stage, the side effects worsen as your mastery increases. However, like all things in the world, what fills must empty. After reaching the stage of Extremity, you will beco freer from the side effect of the Demonic Art as your mastery becos increasingly perfect.”

My master spoke as if overcoming the side effects was easy, but I wasn't easily fooled.

With years of experience in dealing with people, how could such wordplay deceive ?

“What happens if you get stuck at the Extremity stage? If you can’t level up and just get consud by the side effects?”

The transition from Extremity to Transcendence wasn't achieved through re breathing exercises. There was a clear stipulation to that: "When one reaches a higher state of mastery."

In other words, you had to sohow find enlightennt and level up while you were at peak insanity.

Easier said than done. It was obvious that most people who got that far probably just got stuck there and went permanently insane.

But to my question, Master rely stroked his beard and uttered nonsense.

"Hahaha. That's why I chose you, with your exceptional talent and upright character. You will undoubtedly achieve Transcendence."

"..."

I must have been giving him a look of pure disbelief at his completely irresponsible answer, because Master actually seed a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

"Ahem. I've explained enough. Choose. Which Demonic Art will you learn?"

It sounded more like "shut up and choose."

And sadly, rejection wasn't an option.

So, which ntal illness should I choose?

After pondering briefly, I carefully opened my mouth.

***

While listening to Master's explanation, I had realized several things.

The most peculiar aspect was the concept of mastery in Demonic Arts.

'It doesn't seem to refer to the usual stages of cultivation.'

It wasn't a concept where reaching the Extremity ant freely controlling Force Qi, or achieving Transcendence ant reaching a level similar to the Profound Realm of orthodox sects.

Tainted, Extremity, and Transcendence referred solely to the mastery level of the specific Demonic Art being practiced, similar to how Mount Hua’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique had stages like Three Stars, Seven Stars, Ten Stars, and Grand Completion.

Ultimately, it ant one could beco stronger by mastering a more potent Demonic Art and achieving Transcendence. The problem was that the more powerful the art, the more severe its side effect, making Transcendence harder.

And judging by how my Master mastered the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords before the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it seed possible to master a weaker art, achieve Transcendence, and then move on to a stronger one.

Thus, I carefully asked, "Among the Demonic Arts you ntioned, could you identify the more difficult and powerful ones and the easier but weaker ones?"

Stroking his beard, my master replied, "The power and difficulty of the arts I ntioned are similar. Excluding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, they are all among the best in our sect."

"..."

Are you kidding ? Why do I have to start on Nightmare mode?!

That outcry echoed in my mind, but I cald myself and asked again, "Since I'm starting Demonic Arts at a late age, wouldn't it be better to begin with sothing safer?"

"Why waste ti? If you have the talent to learn superior Demonic Arts, learning lower-level ones would be nothing but a waste of ti. You are certainly capable of mastering them, so trust this old man and make your choice."

Damn. It's a checkmate.

Pressing for easier arts would imply distrusting my Master.

As if confirming my fear, my Master's and Jin Hayeon's gazes grew colder.

Cornered by my own words, my mind raced.

Survival and a peaceful life were paramount.

Naturally, the first art that ca to mind was the White Hand Demonic Art, dubbed the Virgin Boy Art.

There were quite a few negative preconceptions about the Virgin Boy Art, but in my opinion, it wasn't a bad martial art.

That is, if the Virgin Boy Art also had the effect of reducing sexual desire.

You wouldn’t have to try to look good for the opposite sex, nor would you have to give up anything for romance or marriage. If that’s the case, there was no better martial art than the Virgin Boy Art for a peaceful life.

Unfortunately, the White Hand Demonic Art’s side effect was the opposite, requiring celibacy yet increasing desire—torture, essentially.

The other options were equally undesirable: rage issues, schizophrenia, depression, and mania—all recipes for a shortened lifespan in the dangerous world of martial arts.

After careful consideration, I made my choice.

"Master, I wish to learn the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword (奪魂無情劍)."

The heartless sword that steals souls.

Judging by the na alone, you’d think the side effect was that you’d turn into an emotionless psychopath, but this one's quirk was different.

"The Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword. As I explained, its side effect is obsessive-compulsive disorder, an inability to overlook even trivial matters. Are you certain you wish to learn it?"

The side effect: obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

A condition where you can’t stand to cut corners, and where any tiny little flaw causes you extre stress until you’ve made it absolutely perfect.

And society often referred to those who suffered from these symptoms as ‘perfectionists.’

'As a martial artist, this art seems to offer the highest survival rate.'

You're forced to always calculate every risk and make everything perfect. Compared to the other arts, I felt like the survival rate on this one would be through the roof.

"Yes, I will learn the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword."

As I gave my firm answer, Master stroked his beard while looking at with a peculiar expression.

"Well then, today we'll start by learning the forms of several basic movents of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, followed by the internal energy circulation thod. Once you've mastered the forms and accumulated sufficient internal energy, we'll learn how to incorporate that energy into the movents."

"Understood."

"Then, I shall fetch a sword, Heavenly Demon."

"Hahaha. This old man has his own sword; just bring one for Il-mok to use."

"As you command."

Jin Hayeon bowed deeply and left before returning shortly with a sword.

She handed it to , and it felt heavier than I thought it would.

Shing!

As I grasped the sword hilt with my left hand and drew the sword from the sheath, I involuntarily froze.

‘Holy fuck.'

The blade that erged was obviously honed to a terrifying sharpness.

"A-are we starting with a real sword from the beginning?"

Both of them just looked at like I’d said the stupidest thing they’d ever heard.

"You are learning an art used to kill others, what else would one use aside from a real sword?”

“But… don’t people usually start with wooden ones? I’m new to this. I might accidentally cut myself or sothing else.”

"I'm aware that the orthodox hypocrites give wooden swords to their young disciples with such excuses. However, since you'll ultimately be wielding a sword to kill others, worrying about injuring yourself is also hypocrisy. If you’re ready to kill, you have to be ready to die. How can you even start to learn without that basic level of commitnt?”

It was as if they were asking if I was also the sa as those cowardly hypocrites from the orthodox sects.

"Hahaha. Y-you're right. I-I was confused due to rumors I heard in the Central Plains."

“Hahaha. Don’t pay any attention to the garbage those unbelievers talk.”

"I shall do as you say."

I had a foreboding feeling that sothing terrible would happen if I didn’t.