The Grandson of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

3. Sword Energy Hardening (1)

Clang!

Bae Hang-yeop deflected Jeong-min's blade with his iron club.

Blood obscured his vision, so he couldn't see it coming—it was pure instinct. Had he been even a moment slower, his head would have rolled.

"You little bastard—!"

"I thought you'd be slow since you're fat. You block pretty well?"

"It's all muscle!"

Clang! Claaang! Clang-clang-clang!

Jeong-min and Bae Hang-yeop exchanged blows without restraint. Under Jeong-min's devastating strikes, Bae Hang-yeop's feet slowly gave ground.

Even the Forest Bandits were too stunned to close in. One wrong step and they'd be cut down.

"W-what the hell is that kid? Why is he on equal footing with our Chief?"

"No. He's actually being pushed back……!"

"The weight difference has to be at least three to one!"

The shock wasn't theirs alone.

The sudden bloodshed had rattled the Heavenly Demon Cult as well.

"Th-that child Jeong-min, how is he—"

"Impossible."

Hyeok Seol-hwa and Hyeok Mun-ha were stunned.

Hyeok Jang-ho shared their reaction, yet beneath it stirred a single thought.

'C-could it be… the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?'

He told himself it couldn't have been achieved in so short a time—and yet he couldn't help but hope that his youngest brother had already attained mastery of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un was thinking the same. Had he truly learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art already? Or was the boy merely pushing himself too hard?

If it was the former……

Hyeok Je-un suddenly recalled the absurd thought he'd had before.

—If he had the Heavenly Martial Physique, mastering the Heavenly Demon Divine Art would be child's play.

He'd dismissed it as impossible—yet had it come to pass?

Impossible. The Heavenly Martial Physique was a power spoken of only in legend. Had such a blessing truly been bestowed upon his youngest grandchild?

No one could bring themselves to intervene. They simply watched Jeong-min's every move.

At last.

Claaang!

Jeong-min sent Bae Hang-yeop's iron club flying.

"Ugh, ngh!"

Bae Hang-yeop clutched his right hand with his left, his palm searing with pain.

The scar on his forehead stood out even more vividly now.

"Did you think you'd walk away from this unscathed? How dare you, against our Forest Bandits."

"My goodness. That line is so textbook villain that I don't even know how to respond."

"Did you think about the consequences? What do you think you are—are you planning to kill me?!"

Those words were aimed at Jeong-min, who was still advancing with sword in hand.

Jeong-min held his sword in his right hand, while in his left, he channeled the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Whooooo—!

As the Demonic Energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art surged and swirled, even the Cult Members could now perceive the level of Jeong-min's attainment.

"Th-that's—!"

"The Young Master has learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?"

"This can't be."

"M-my son, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art!"

Seol-hwa was so overcome she was on the verge of tears.

As if answering their awe, Jeong-min turned back toward his family and spoke.

"I'm fully healed. Mother, and Cult Leader—I've reached the 1st Stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."

So it was true. He had truly recovered!

Hyeok Seol-hwa buried her face in both hands and wept, and even Hyeok Je-un found it difficult to hold back the tears welling up inside him.

Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha were no different.

More than the fact that their son, their grandchild, their youngest brother had learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—what moved them more deeply was that he had cured the Demon Vein Affliction.

The knowledge that he no longer had to live with a death sentence—that was what overwhelmed them.

Leaving their reactions behind, Jeong-min took one more step toward Bae Hang-yeop.

"Y-you, that demonic art is—"

"Was I planning to kill you?"

"H-hey. I changed my mind. Five gold coins a month, no—three would be enough……"

"Yeah. I was."

Heavenly Demon Divine Art, 1st Stage.

Demon Palm Piercer!

Thwack!

Jeong-min opened his palm and drove it into Bae Hang-yeop's gut.

Crack! Crackle!

The Demonic Energy discharged through the palm technique tore straight through Bae Hang-yeop's abdomen.

Boom!

"Pfft!"

Bae Hang-yeop immediately coughed up blood.

His organs would be twisted, his bones wrenched. Jeong-min looked down at Bae Hang-yeop with a cold gaze.

"Gkk. Nghk."

Staggering, Bae Hang-yeop looked up at Jeong-min. Blood poured from his mouth like a burst well.

"You… filthy… bastard…. Our Great Forest King won't let you get away with this……"

Swish—!

Schlick.

Jeong-min sliced open the belly of Bae Hang-yeop, who had been spitting out those wretched last words.

Splurt!—blood erupted, and Bae Hang-yeop toppled backward and collapsed.

Thud!

"……."

"……."

The Forest Bandits and the Heavenly Demon Cult members alike.

All of them could only stare blankly at Jeong-min, drenched in blood.

Jeong-min spat out the blood that had gotten into his mouth, then looked down at Bae Hang-yeop.

"This is exactly what I wanted."

Come if you want. Whoever this Great Forest King is.

Before we strike the Martial Alliance, he'd make decent enough entertainment.

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Bae Hang-yeop made no more sounds.

No—he was incapable of making any. He lay collapsed, his mouth filled to the brim with stale blood.

"……."

Everyone stared at that sight with hollow expressions.

Jeong-min gave the sword in his hand one large shake, clearing the blood and fat clinging to the blade.

"Hoo."

He had killed.

With this blade, without hesitation.

Yet Jeong-min's expression was dry. He did not cry.

He no longer cried.

'The me in my past life……'

Muyeong, who had wept every single time he killed someone.

Muyeong, who had constantly been ridiculed by the warriors of the Martial Alliance because of it.

He had wept because he hadn't wanted to kill. He had wept because after each kill, his chest would tear itself apart.

But not anymore.

'I still… have no desire to kill people indiscriminately.'

Even so, that didn't mean he would set down his sword.

When necessary, he would raise it.

Only—to protect this family.

"……."

Jeong-min raised his head and looked toward where his family stood.

The bewildered expression of Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un. The faces of his mother and siblings, filled with worry.

They must have been shocked. In a Heavenly Demon Cult that does not turn killing into a way of life, a death had just occurred.

'That's that.'

Explanations could come later.

No—there was nothing to explain in the first place.

Jeong-min walked without hesitation toward the bandits who stood frozen, too stunned to move.

Before they could even step back, when they found themselves face to face with Jeong-min, he fixed a stare on the bandit at the very front and spoke.

"Go. Tell them. That the Heavenly Demon Cult is coming for the Forest Bandits."

"……!"

"Now."

The bandit couldn't get a single word out before he fled. His subordinates streamed after him like a procession.

Only once every last bandit had vanished did Jeong-min let out a long, deep breath.

"Haaa."

A thought surfaced in Jeong-min's mind.

Come to think of it—there were clearly about three months left, weren't there.

'Until 'that,' I mean.'

Was this only the first step? There was still a long road ahead.

But to reach it, one first step was not enough.

This was still the time to leap far, far higher.

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Smack!

Smack!

A switch imbued with Internal Energy lashed hard against Jeong-min's calves.

Jeong-min received the blows without channeling his Internal Energy. His calves were already scored red, with welts beginning to swell and fester.

'Ngh.'

It hurt. Even with the Heavenly Martial Physique, a switch carrying the Heavenly Demon's Internal Energy was bound to hurt.

"Ha! You insolent boy."

Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un was sweating profusely as he flung the switch away.

He had administered a full hundred strikes. And yet the fact that his grandchild still wore that perfectly composed expression only stoked Hyeok Je-un's fury all the more.

"I was a fool. I never should have taught you the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Had I known you'd take a life so calmly, I would have simply let the Demon Vein Affliction run its course!"

The words were wounding, yet they didn't sink into his chest. Jeong-min knew well enough that Hyeok Je-un was choosing the harshest words on purpose.

It was because the horrific act he had committed weighed more heavily on Hyeok Je-un's heart than the fact that his grandchild had mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and survived by curing the Demon Vein Affliction.

And so Jeong-min listened in silence.

"Answer me. Did I ever tell you to kill someone?"

"No."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I judged it to be unavoidable."

"Nonsense!"

Hyeok Je-un raised the switch again. And struck Jeong-min's calves once more.

The switch, loaded with Internal Energy, bent as though it might snap.

"Ngh."

"Well. Does that hurt a little now? How much more do you think the person you killed suffered? How dare you wield your hand so lightly and act like some brigand!"

"They were the ones who started the trouble."

"Trading blows with someone who threw the first punch solves nothing!"

"I know."

"Then why—!"

Jeong-min lifted his head.

Hyeok Je-un was looking up at him.

Jeong-min exhaled slowly and met Hyeok Je-un's gaze as he opened his mouth.

"Grandfather. There is a lion—the king of beasts. But one day, the lion's claws begin to fall out and its teeth start to rot. What do you think happens? The very next day, it is devoured by wolves and jackals."

"How dare you presume to lecture me."

"Open your eyes already!"

Jeong-min couldn't hold back—he let out a sharp cry.

'Grandfather, you need to change. To protect this family from the crises that are coming. And to protect yourself as well.'

Caught off guard, Hyeok Je-un's eyes went wide as he stared at Jeong-min—and Jeong-min seized that opening to pour out everything he had been holding back.

"What have we gained by championing peace? Tianshan was taken by the Qinghai Escort Bureau. Our influence in Xinjiang was taken by the Forest Bandits; our Cult Members, by the Blood Cult. The Potala Palace is constantly probing, crossing our boundaries and encroaching on us. How much longer will you allow us to be tormented like fools? Must we lose even our family before you come to your senses?!"

Your pacifism ultimately failed to stop the Martial Alliance's assault.

Do you think the serpents lurking here in Xinjiang and its surrounds—Xizang, Qinghai—are the only ones?

In the lands of the Central Plains, bastards hungry for wide territory swarm without end.

That is what ultimately led me to kill you with my own hands. Do you truly not see that?

"……!!"

Jeong-min's plea reached Hyeok Je-un. It struck him squarely.

But as a grandfather, he could not bring himself to teach his grandchild to become a slaughterer who killed without restraint.

And so Hyeok Je-un, his heart bleeding, ultimately issued his verdict.

"You will enter closed-door confinement for one month! During that time, you will eat nothing, see nothing, and hear nothing. Inside, you will come to understand just how grave your wrongdoing was. Guards!"

At Hyeok Je-un's shout, several Cult Members who had been standing watch outside entered.

They seized Jeong-min by both arms and dragged him away.

'Oh. Lucky me.'

Jeong-min's calves ached when he tried to walk. Being dragged like this was perfectly fine by him.

What's more—

'A month of closed-door confinement?'

This was actually ideal.

Cultivating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art inside a cramped room had been a strain. But confinement meant uninterrupted training time.

There was even a little room left before 'that.'

He had been told he could eat nothing, see nothing, hear nothing.

'Then let me continue cultivating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.'

And so Jeong-min entered closed-door confinement for approximately one month.

Watching Jeong-min depart, Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un was swept by a tide of emotions he could not name.

"Open your eyes……"

His grandchild's words—they lodged themselves unnervingly, inexplicably deep within his chest.