novelraw Chapter 18 : Your Body Is (1)
Chapter 18 : Your Body Is (1)
The faint moonlight coming through the window illuminates the room.
Nine figures are sitting around a round table.
They were all holding their breath, only exhaling.
As the heavy air that filled the room in the thick silence piled up and reached their faces.
Determined eyes can be seen.
That's right. These were the greatest military power the Heavenly Demon Cult possessed.
The elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult, composed of a total of ten people.
The number of elders attending the current council of elders was nine, excluding the First Elder.
The Sword Demon, who had convened the council of elders, was the first to speak.
"Excluding the First Elder who is not here, I believe everyone knows why we have gathered today."
"Ugh."
Sounds full of anxiety could be heard from here and there. The Sword Demon, who had convened this council of elders, also understood their feelings.
Because the current situation was no exaggeration to say that the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult was at stake.
"You must have heard about what happened tonight. No! To be more precise, should I say that the sense of unease we have been feeling all this time has finally exploded?"
No answer came, but the serious expressions on each of their faces answered for them.
The Sword Demon finally uttered the words that should never have been spoken.
"The Lord is strange."
Once again, groans were heard from here and there.
However, this was not a place to share such anxieties.
The tenth elder of the Heavenly Demon Cult and its strategist, the Heavenly Demon Brain, Noe In-mu, opened his mouth.
"But this matter, if viewed from a different perspective, may be something to celebrate for the Heavenly Demon Cult."
The Third Elder, the Flying Demon, asked in a tone of incomprehension.
"What do you mean by that, strategist?"
"It's just as I said. You all know what the atmosphere of the Heavenly Demon Cult has been like all this time."
In an instant, the elders' faces darkened.
After the Lord ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon.
The atmosphere of the Heavenly Demon Cult was not enough to be described as walking on thin ice.
Fortunately, they had been getting by without any trouble recently, but the number of Heavenly Demon Cult warriors who had died after falling out of favor with the Lord was over a hundred.
On top of that, the number of executive-level personnel, that is, grand commanders and elders, was over a dozen.
It could be said that half of the elders here had also been forcibly replaced.
Because all those who had stood on the opposite side of the Lord had been forcibly sent to their ascension.
"And in my opinion, the change in the Lord's behavior this time seems to be greatly related to one person. Do you perhaps remember when the Blood Demon visited the Heavenly Demon Cult about a year ago?"
"I remember."
"How could I forget?"
"That was the first time I saw that prideful Blood Demon kneel!"
The strategist, Noe In-mu, looked at the Sixth Elder, the Sword Demon, and opened his mouth.
"Yes! It is the Lord who even made the Blood Demon do that. But the Sword Demon, who should have had his head cut off and more that day, survived. He was even given a chance."
There was no one here who didn't know what the strategist was talking about.
When the Blood Demon visited, the Sword Demon had committed the disrespectful crime of carelessly running his mouth without the Lord's permission, and yet his head was still attached.
Of course, he had almost died.
The important thing is that he survived in the end.
The Sword Demon, who had briefly recalled that day, opened his mouth, sweating coldly.
"To be honest, even though it was glossed over because of that Blood Demon bastard, I was still puzzled as to why the Lord didn't execute me on the spot at that time."
"That's what I'm saying. The Lord at that time was definitely different from the Lord we knew. Why did he do that?"
The Seventh Elder, the Poison Demon, carefully opened his mouth.
"Could it be that even at that time, the one person the strategist mentioned was involved?"
The strategist immediately replied.
"Yes. That's right! Also, the Lord himself moved to save that person in the tournament."
The Sword Demon muttered.
"Could it be that kid from back then?"
A light flashed in the strategist's eyes for a moment.
"When the Sword Demon carelessly ran his mouth, and when the Lord himself stepped forward, a common person was involved. It is Yoo Jae-ha of the Little Demon Academy's intermediate class."
"The child who defeated the Heavenly Killing Star?"
"Couldn't it just be a series of coincidences?"
"Besides, isn't all of this just circumstantial evidence!"
The strategist dismissed the questions erupting from here and there with a single word.
"Do you know where that child is staying now?"
"..."
In the silence where no answer was heard, only the strategist spoke softly.
"It is the Divine Demon Hall."
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Everyone looked surprised.
There was no one here who didn't know that the Divine Demon Hall was a place where only the Lord and the Young Lord could stay.
The strategist continued.
"After that child appeared, the Lord's atmosphere changed. If you all search your memories, you will know that my words are not wrong."
As soon as the strategist's words ended, silence fell in the meeting hall once again.
In the silence, everyone was just looking at each other's faces without saying a word, but they had to admit that silence meant affirmation.
The one who broke the long silence was once again the strategist.
"Perhaps the Lord has decided on a successor."
"A successor! Don't we already have a Young Lord!"
"You! Can you take responsibility for what you just said!"
"Even if you are the strategist, it is difficult to tolerate that last remark!"
The strategist closed his eyes tightly and continued.
"The Lord has poured everything he has into the Heavenly Demon Cult to fill the void left by the previous Lord. The Lord must have been anxious. About safely passing on the achievements of the previous generation to the next. He is a person with a very strong sense of responsibility, so he must have wanted to lighten that burden as much as possible in his generation. And although he didn't say it to us, he must have always been worried. About the next generation."
"Strategist! Shut that mouth!"
The Ninth Elder, the Illusion Demon, shouted.
The strategist continued calmly.
"What I am about to say from now on may cause great confusion in the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult. But it is also a necessary thing for the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult. To be honest, it is also true that the current Young Lord is very lacking compared to the current and previous Lords."
Thud!
The Ninth Elder, the Illusion Demon, slammed the table and shot up from his seat.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Starting with that, the Eighth Elder, the Tyrant Demon, the Seventh Elder, the Poison Demon, the Fourth Elder, the Fist Demon, the Third Elder, the Flying Demon, and the Second Elder, the Fighting Demon, stood up from their seats.
The people who had stood up now were everyone except for the Tenth Elder, the Heavenly Demon Brain, the Sixth Elder, the Sword Demon, and the Fifth Elder, the Spear Demon.
And there was no one in this room who didn't know why they were reacting like this.
The six elders who had stood up, and probably with a very high probability, the First Elder who was not here, a total of seven elders, were of the faction of the current Young Lord, Hyeok Won-sang.
On the other hand, the three who were sitting were of the neutral faction. Until now, that is.
A sharp confrontation was taking place between the side that had stood up and the side that was sitting.
No one was the first to avert their gaze from each other.
A touch-and-go situation!
The Ninth Elder, the Illusion Demon, as if he were facing an enemy, did not hide his blatant hostility towards his opponent and asked the people on the opposite side, emphasizing each word.
"Whose people are you?"
The three people sitting were silent.
The silence was a more certain answer than anything else to the Illusion Demon and the other five elders.
"If our paths are different, then today will be the last time we see you personally. And the next time we meet, we may be enemies."
The Illusion Demon leaves the meeting hall. Then the other five followed.
And so, in the meeting hall where only three people remained.
The Sword Demon carefully opened his mouth.
"Spear Demon."
"What?"
"Why were you sitting?"
"I had been humiliated by that Blood Demon bastard in the past, and seeing that last time, it felt like a ten-year-old indigestion was going down, so I just sat still. In the end, it was all because of that child. Sword Demon, what about you?"
"I owe a debt. I'm going to repay it this time. Then, what about the strategist?"
"I always choose the side that is helpful to the future of the Heavenly Demon Cult. As I said before, in my opinion, it would be more helpful to the Heavenly Demon Cult if that person became the Young Lord rather than the current Young Lord."
"Does that mean that I, including the Spear Demon and the strategist, are on the side of the child named Yoo Jae-ha... no! For now, the temporary Young Lord? If so, contrary to the strategist's words, wouldn't it just cause more confusion in the Heavenly Demon Cult by causing internal strife?"
"That's right. But calming this confusion is also one of the necessary virtues of a Young Lord. Do the two of you here think that if we were to fight among ourselves, the Lord would not be able to resolve it?"
The Sword Demon said.
"He would resolve it with a single word."
The Spear Demon said.
"Do you want to die? One word would be the end of it."
The strategist said finally.
"It is not befitting of the Heavenly Demon Cult for the Young Lord to be swayed by the council of elders. I'm looking forward to this after a long time. To see how the temporary Young Lord will resolve it."
And so, the secretly held council of elders came to an end.
Even though the person in question had no interest in the Young Lord position whatsoever.
* * *
I worked really hard for the past three months.
My hyung-nim showed his effort by fainting several times while training. Watching him from the side and training together, I was also able to achieve more progress than I expected.
Today is the last day of the vacation.
"I'll begin."
"Yes, hyung-nim!"
My hyung-nim gathered his energy.
I could feel the energy from the Ten Demon Heart Method filling his body.
As the first great meridian filled up, a faint heat could be felt in the training ground. As the energy from the great meridian escaped to the minor meridians, the heat completely disappeared.
Next, my hyung-nim was safely sending his energy to the second, third, fourth, and fifth great meridians and their minor meridians.
And then it was the turn of the sixth great meridian.
'The standard that divides the Peak Realm and the first-rate is not simply the degree of internal energy.'
Those who know nothing about martial arts would say that if you have one cycle of internal energy, you are at the Peak Realm.
Of course, that wasn't wrong. Because with one cycle of internal energy, the manifestation of sword qi is possible.
But in the true sense, the Peak Realm did not mean the presence or absence of sword qi, but the realm where one could freely control the sending and receiving of energy.
The energy extends to the sixth great meridian. The energy that has safely filled the great meridian scatters to the minor meridians.
And even though the minor meridians were filled with energy, no heat could be felt from my hyung-nim.
A perfect control of energy.
This meant only one thing.
"Congratulations."
I said with sincerity.
"On reaching the Peak Realm."
My hyung-nim looked at his body here and there with disbelieving eyes and replied.
"Amazing. To think this is really me. This is all thanks to you, little brother. To be honest, if I were alone, this would have been an impossible result."
Praise makes even a whale dance.
Suppressing my rising shoulders, I said calmly.
"How could it be thanks to me, little brother. It is thanks to your outstanding qualities and bloody efforts, hyung-nim."
"Hahaha! My little brother always says things that exceed my expectations! By the way, have you made any progress, little brother?"
I had been hiding my martial arts realm as much as possible. Because I was afraid that my hyung-nim's interest in the lessons might wane.
In fact, I couldn't exactly tell why it had become like this. My growth rate had far exceeded my expectations.
Currently, I had pierced from the fifth great meridian to the seventh great meridian in just three months. Of course, I had pierced all the previous minor meridians.
My internal energy was over one cycle.
My realm had reached the middle stage of the Peak Realm.
No matter how I think about it, the growth rate is ridiculous. I had a vague idea of the trigger.
'Since I woke up after using the Reversal of Heaven.'
A person who might know something about my body came to mind, but I was reluctant to go find him.
'Of all people, it has to be that autopsy-parrot old geezer.'
But there was no other solution.
The sweet vacation had ended.