novelraw Chapter 35 : Chapter 35
Chapter 35 : Chapter 35
Chapter 35 - Legacy of the Heavenly Demon (1)
“I suppose everyone saw Il-bi’s Ten Thousand Flowers Filling the Sky clearly with their own two eyes?”
The group, who were feeling amazed at their bodies feeling much lighter, nodded at the old man’s question.
“Actually, I named Il-bi. It meant for him to become the Tang Family’s last dagger.”
A smile spread across the old man’s lips.
“It sounds like a doting parent’s boast, but in the end, that guy really became the Tang Family’s last dagger. Il-bi is the first one to complete the Flower Rain at that age.”
The old man, who was looking proudly at Tang Il-bi doing breathing exercises behind him, turned back around.
“So. How does it feel to have seen the Tang Family’s Flower Rain in person?”
A brief silence flowed at the old man’s question.
“It was incredibly pretty. Something sparkly was just…….”
“It was cool.”
At Baek-myo and Hyeon-dam’s answers, the old man smiled.
“It was quite a spectacle, wasn't it? I should have seen Il-bi’s Flower Rain with these two eyes myself too.”
The old man smacked his lips as if he felt regrettable.
“Even with just the remaining traces, I could tell that Il-bi had unleashed the Flower Rain properly. It must have felt like silver rain falling from the sky.”
At the old man’s words, Hyeon-dam and Baek-myo nodded.
“The energy of Il-bi, moving those many hidden weapons in detail, was impressive.”
At Yeon Seung-il’s words, who cut in abruptly, the old man turned his head.
“Right. Since you are Il-bi’s close friend, it seems you felt something else as well. You can take away as much as you felt. All of you are excellent.”
The old man, wearing a benevolent smile, looked at Jaun.
“What did you see?”
At the old man’s question, Jaun fell into thought for a moment.
Although he felt a lot, he was a little worried about how much he should tell.
Jaun, having organized his thoughts for a while, opened his mouth carefully.
“I felt that the essence of illusion is, in the end, One Mind .”
At Jaun’s answer, the old man’s movement stopped in an instant.
The old man erased his smile and slowly stood up from his seat.
“……You, what did you just say?”
The old man, fixing his gaze on Jaun, twitched his lips.
“A child not yet twenty saw One Mind inside the Flower Rain?”
Jaun scratched his head while looking at the old man with a face of disbelief.
‘I just said what I felt……. Was it a mistake?’
The old man, staring blankly at Jaun, shook his head from side to side.
“Looking at your eyes, it doesn't seem to be a lie. Tsk. Is it impossible to swallow the Murim Alliance in this generation as well?”
The old man let out a hollow laugh and sighed lightly.
“Thinking positively, it is a great blessing bestowed upon the Orthodox Murim but……. Why to the Murim Alliance again.”
The old man, clicking his tongue tsk tsk, looked at Jaun with sharp eyes.
“Since you gained One Mind, you have received a value far exceeding ten times. So you must grant me a few requests in the future.”
“Of course. Just tell me anytime.”
Jaun, answering quietly, bowed deeply toward the old man once again.
Even without that, Jaun felt that the biggest gain from this trip to Sichuan was seeing the Ten Thousand Flowers Filling the Sky right in front of his eyes.
Since Tang Il-bi, who was not yet accustomed to the Flower Rain, could not hide the flow of his energy, Jaun, watching from the side, could capture the beginning and end of the Flower Rain entirely in his mind.
He had expressed the great enlightenment gained within it with two characters, and the old man seemed to have immediately recognized how great a thing Jaun had obtained with just those two characters.
The old man, examining Jaun’s calm face, frowned slightly.
“You have obtained an excessive reward, so it is practically the same as owing a debt to the Tang Family. Therefore, you will have to grant me a few requests in the future.”
“Of course. Just tell me anytime.”
Jaun, answering quietly, bowed deeply toward the old man once again.
***
Having finished talking with the Poison King, the group moved their steps outside.
“Ouch. My back. How about everyone takes a break now?”
At Hyeon-dam’s words as they left the Tang Family building, Yeon Seung-il nodded with a pale face.
“We should. Everyone worked hard, and thank you for surviving. Since the Sichuan region seems safe for the time being, let’s focus on recovery while resting.”
The group, leaving the Tang Family gate with tired faces, headed to their assigned lodgings.
“Un-a!”
While moving to the lodgings, Jaun discovered Moyong Eun-wol waving her hand happily from afar.
Eun-wol, covered in dust not only on her clothes here and there but even on her face, ran up to Jaun jjorureu and linked arms with him.
“First of all, most of the urgent patients have been treated by the Moyong Family’s physicians, and the critically ill have been put on carriages and sent to other regions. How are you?”
“I am perfectly fine, so you don’t have to worry so much.”
Jaun, stroking the head of Eun-wol who was looking up at him with sparkling eyes once, burst into a smirk. Pisik.
‘Still, thanks to Wol-i, cleaning up the aftermath was much easier.’
The Moyong Family’s support, which had departed ahead of others at Eun-wol’s request, was able to reach the Sichuan region immediately after the battle with the Demonic Cult ended, and the Tang Family had received great help from them.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Hehe. Tired? With this, our Moyong Family has built up quite a friendship with the Tang Family too.”
Although it was an attempt to help Jaun, as a result, she had given great help not only to Jaun but also to the Tang Family, the ruler of Sichuan.
Eun-wol’s expression was quite bright, having achieved the merit of creating a connection between the closed Tang Clan and the Moyong Family.
“That…… The Tang Family’s lodgings are a bit, old. In case it’s uncomfortable, we prepared your lodging separately on our side but…….”
Eun-wol lowered her head slightly as if shy and whispered toward Jaun.
“Thank you. Once urgent matters are sorted out, I will go there. But for the time being, I think I have to stay at the Tang Family’s side.”
“Ah…… O, okay. If you’re busy, it can’t be helped.”
Jaun, comforting the disappointed Eun-wol, quietly looked inside himself.
The energy of the Ten Thousand Poison Pill had sufficiently melted into his body, and on top of that, he had even absorbed the Poison King’s toxic energy.
That alone was a great fortuitous encounter, but he had even gained great enlightenment through the Flower Rain.
Even though he went through a big battle, his physical condition was rather close to peak condition.
His sense of Qi had noticeably widened, and the flow of internal energy felt much thicker.
‘I have to make time to train before this enlightenment disappears.’
Balanced growth of Mind, Energy, and Body was something his father always emphasized.
Until now, he had no choice but to neglect training because the situation was urgent, but since they decided to stay in the Sichuan region for the time being until Yeon Seung-il sufficiently recovered, it was time to spur his training again.
‘Did he say the Squad Leader needs to recuperate for a month to fully recover?’
Jaun, continuing his thoughts carefully, nodded.
That was enough time to do the things he had put off.
***
A nameless mountain about two days away by light footwork from the Sichuan Tang Family.
In the middle of a forest lush with trees, Jaun revealed himself.
Jaun, looking around here and there, moved his steps further inside.
‘I think it’s around here.’
Jaun, raising his internal energy and sharpening his senses, explored here and there, then raised his head as if he found something.
‘Found it. It’s here.’
Jaun smiled faintly and looked at a small rabbit hole in front of his eyes.
Inside the rabbit hole, a rabbit family was huddled together, and among them, a black ink line was painted below the ear of the largest rabbit.
Jaun, approaching carefully, put his hand in, stroked the rabbit’s head once, and erased the ink line containing Demonic Energy with his hand.
Then he moved his steps backward.
As Jaun raised his head, a huge cliff came into view above the rabbit hole.
Jaun, approaching the cliff, began to slowly examine here and there on the cliff.
‘Is it here?’
Jaun’s hand touched one corner of the cliff.
─ Kurureung
As Jaun’s hand touched it, one wall of the cliff crumbled down with a rumble.
Confirming that sight, Jaun looked around once, jumped over the pile of stones fallen on the ground, and walked into the wide-open cave.
Examining the neatly cut cross-section of the cave, Jaun headed inside the cave.
This was where one of the few arrangements Wi Jeong-cheon had prepared for Jaun in the Central Plains was sleeping.
‘How far did Father foresee? Seeing that he left such an arrangement in the Sichuan region just in time……. Was it true when he said he could read the secrets of heaven?’
Thinking this and that, Jaun walked in for a while and soon reached the end of the cave.
‘I’m here.’
Jaun, walking to the end of the cave, carefully knelt and lowered his body.
A small wooden box placed on the floor at the deepest part of the cave came into view.
Jaun reached out and lifted the wooden box.
“Ink Ring .”
When he opened the wooden box, a ring emitting a small, dull black light revealed itself.
In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the three weapons used by the Heavenly Demon were called the Three Divine Artifacts.
The Asura Demon Sword which was the Heavenly Demon’s main weapon, the Demon Dragon Robe he always wore, and this small ring called the Ink Ring were exactly those.
‘I finally see one of the Three Divine Artifacts I’ve only heard of with my own eyes.’
Jaun took the dull black ring out of the wooden box and examined it closely.
A crude ring that looked like it wouldn't sell for a long time if placed in a general store.
Although it had an inconspicuous and shabby appearance compared to other weapons, Jaun thought that this ring with its characterless appearance and name might be the weapon that best fit his current situation.
Perhaps because of that, Jaun took a liking to the Ink Ring.
Jaun, carefully putting the Ink Ring on his left index finger, lifted the booklet placed at the bottom of the wooden box.
『Ink Ring Art 』
Just as Jaun swept his hand over the book once and was about to open the martial arts manual, a small letter slipped out from between the pages and fell to the ground with a tuk.
「My son!
That you have entered here without me and are reading this letter must mean you are currently in a predicament, right?
Congratulations.
Historically, a man grows by overcoming adversity.
Since it is proof that you are doing something to take a step forward, how could I spare my congratulations?
To convey my congratulatory heart and give a little help, I, your father, have written down my understanding separately and made it into a book, so I hope it serves as a reference.
Although I mentioned the Asura Demon Sword and Demon Dragon Robe in detail, I probably didn't do so for this guy called the Ink Ring.
The reason is simple.
Because even I do not know exactly about this guy yet.
It is the guy with the least use among the Heavenly Demon’s weapons passed down through generations, and that is likely due to the excellence of the predecessors, for whom the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Asura Demon Sword were sufficient to rule the Cult.
Still, since the First Heavenly Demon was said to always wear this Ink Ring, there must surely be some hidden function.
If you discover something hidden in this Ink Ring, you will be able to get one step closer to the path of the Heavenly Demon.
Inside the Ink Ring, special Millennium Silk processed to have at least three times the strength of regular Millennium Silk is wound.
If you push in internal energy, the Millennium Silk unwinds from inside the Ink Ring; I have recorded how to utilize that in the Ink Ring Art, so read it once.
There must be other uses I haven't discovered, of course, but I will leave discovering those to you.
I hope strong trials lie ahead of you, and I hope you overcome those trials boldly, and in that process, I hope this Ink Ring, the sacred treasure of the Cult, helps even a little.
Break and become harder again, so that eventually you possess strength that no one can break.
Your father will always watch over and cheer for you from wherever I am.
Praying that you live in the world you envision.
From your father and master」
Jaun, having reread his father’s writing several times, folded the letter preciously and put it in his bosom.
‘Father…….’
Jaun, wiping his eyes once seueuk, sat down and opened the martial arts manual titled Ink Ring Art.
In the martial arts manual recorded in quite some detail, everything from the mental cultivation method to use the Ink Ring to the diagrams of moves devised by Wi Jeong-cheon was recorded without omission.
‘Since I received permission for a three-week outing, I should gain as much as possible from here during that time.’
Jaun opened the martial arts manual and began reading carefully from the beginning.
When he got hungry, he went out of the cave to pick wild herbs and drank pooled rainwater.
Excluding that time, Jaun poured his given time solely into martial arts.
He also re-examined the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in between, and through this, Jaun, who came to master the operation of Demonic Energy perfectly, realized confidence welling up in his heart.
‘There is a reason why the one who mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art could act as the absolute ruler of the Cult. Since control and amplification of Demonic Energy become free through the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it must be practically a natural enemy to those who use Demonic Arts.’
Subtle dark red energy lingered around Jaun’s body as he endlessly ruminated on the enlightenment gained during that time and engraved it into his body through repetition.
‘……Has the moon already waxed this much?’
One day, while continuing training in a state of selflessness like that.
Jaun, looking up at the sky while training as usual, realized that the time given to him was ending soon.
‘Today must be the last training. I have to depart for the Tang Family tomorrow morning not to be late.’
Although it was a short time, there was much gained.
Jaun, organizing his mind once again with a relieved heart, lay down on the stone floor with his back against it.
Because the fatigue accumulated from immersing himself in training without sleeping properly all this time rushed in instantly, Jaun fell fast asleep.