Chapter 24: Thousand-Day Pass (2)

To be honest, uttering the word “Demonic Cult” in the heart of the Heavenly Demon Cult was no different from asking to be killed.

Fortunately, however, no one heard Baek Sang-ah’s small outcry.

Everyone was too busy trying to survive!

“Aaaargh…!”

“Huff! Huff!”

The other members of the same cohort, who clung to the cliff like cicadas, weren’t in any state to pay attention to anyone else right now.

“Seriously, I’m going to curse you, Grandpa! How could you throw me into a place like this!”

In truth, when Baek Sang-ah first came here, she didn’t think much of it.

She was the precious child of a prestigious family and had never been involved in politics or anything of the sort.

So she accepted her grandfather’s words that it would be ‘a little’ tough without giving it too much thought.

The problem was that her definition of ‘a little’ and her grandfather’s were vastly different.

“I’ll make sure to survive and get back at you for this, Grandpa…!”

It was right as she was about to reach the summit of the Hundred-Refinement Peak.

Tap!

The final thing she grabbed was a conveniently protruding rock.

The moment she gripped the stone without hesitation—

It came loose as if it were a lie.

“Ah.”

Her right arm, still clutching the rock, slashed through the air helplessly. Her legs soon lost their footing as well.

As her entire balance collapsed, her body started falling away from the cliff’s edge.

At that moment, she thought:

I’m going to die now.

Right before reaching the peak, her life nearly ended in vain.

Thud!

A thick hand suddenly reached out from ahead and caught Baek Sang-ah’s arm just before she fell.

That hand easily pulled her back to solid ground.

“Are you alright, Lady?”

A deep, booming voice struck her ears, as thick as the hand that had grabbed her.

“Huff! Huff!”

But Baek Sang-ah couldn’t respond immediately.

The sudden terror of death had paralyzed her mind and reason.

She only came to her senses much later.

“Th-thank you.”

She bowed her head to the large man who had saved her.

The giant waved a hand with a chuckle.

“No worries. We have to help each other to survive.”

A resonant voice that clearly didn’t belong to someone of the same age. A physique that stood out even among this cohort.

Baek Sang-ah smiled faintly and said to him,

“You’re quite an unusual fellow, Master San.”

The giant, referred to as Master San, flinched and waved his hand again in surprise.

“I’m no master. I’m not someone worthy of being called that.”

She tilted her head.

“Why not? If someone who acts with chivalry isn’t a hero, what should we call them?”

“Ahem! I appreciate your kind words, Lady, but around here, the title of ‘master’ isn’t exactly…”

“Ah.”

Now that she thought about it, this was the Demonic Cult.

In fact, the very fact that someone had reached out to help her was nothing short of a miracle.

This place was cold and ruthless. The death of a person was treated as nothing more than the loss of a competitor.

“Be careful. There were a few guys watching you as you were trying to climb up.”

“Huh?! R-really?”

Of course, outright murder was forbidden, but pushing someone off in secret? That kind of thing happened here all the time.

“Thank you, Master. I owe you one.”

She bowed her head deeply.

The giant waved it off as if it were nothing, but Baek Sang-ah clearly saw the corners of his lips twitch.

That Master San tried to act modest, but it was obvious he secretly liked being called a hero.

If the rumors were true, he used to be a mountain bandit or something. Whatever the case…

‘Seriously, can I really survive a thousand days in this place?’

Well, technically it had already been about two months, so nine hundred forty days were left. But a thousand days, nine hundred forty, who cares?

That’s like telling a soldier who got drafted, “You’ve made it sixty days! Keep it up for the rest!”

Yeah right.

You’d be lucky not to get stabbed in your sleep.

She suddenly felt a wave of despair wash over her.

Maybe noticing the mood shift, the giant tried to comfort her.

“Hmm, these kinds of physical drills will ease up soon.”

“Huh?! How do you know that?”

“A senior I serve told me. Once the next cohort comes in, we’ll switch over to theory classes.”

“Ahhh!”

Those words brought her to the verge of tears.

This damn training that risked her life had made her sick to her bones, so what the giant said sounded like salvation itself.

And that senior he spoke of—wasn’t he the one currently leading the largest faction in the Thousand-Day Pass and already slated to be promoted to a high-level martial artist?

His word held near-absolute credibility.

“Still, on a separate note, things might get a little troublesome from now on.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well… I heard that an incredible figure is coming in with the next cohort.”

“A-an incredible figure?”

“Yes. From the Six Great Demonic Clans. Apparently, someone named Jin Yeomyung from the direct line of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.”

For a moment, Baek Sang-ah’s eyes sparkled sharply.

The Six Great Demonic Clans.

Alongside the Cheon Clan, they were the true rulers of the current Heavenly Demon Cult.

A direct descendant from there would essentially be treated as a god in a place like this.

“But… why would that be troublesome?”

“W-well…”

“……”

The giant scratched his head, looking dumbfounded.

In truth, he had simply repeated what that senior of his had said.

His own brain wasn’t sharp enough to grasp what that meant.

But Baek Sang-ah, with her keen mind, roughly understood the implication.

‘A powerful figure capable of instantly toppling that senior’s influence. Even if not that, they’d hardly be in a good mood being sent to a place like this.’

That guy named Jin Yeomyung was probably feeling like he’d been exiled.

She knew, because she was feeling the exact same way.

Baek Sang-ah made up her mind.

‘Yeah, I’d better make sure not to run into him.’

Who knew what kind of disaster might happen if I did.

***

Getting accepted into the Thousand-Day Pass went smoothly… no, to be honest, it was an incredibly turbulent process.

Despite Ma Chulsoo having set a precedent, the uproar this time was all because I was the one currently in the middle of a formal engagement process with the Young Cult Leader.

Sa Biyeon had even come all the way to the Jin Clan personally to confirm the truth of the matter.

“The Young Cult Leader asked me to deliver a message to Young Master Jin.”

“What did she say?”

“She said, and I quote: ‘Are you out of your damn mind?’”

Uh… hmm.

That blunt remark left me momentarily speechless.

Sa Biyeon was a highly political figure.

She usually spoke in roundabout ways, requiring interpretation rather than direct understanding.

So for someone like her to say something so outright—

‘She must be really pissed off, huh?’

Well, I could understand. It was like the groom running off to the army in the middle of a wedding meeting. Of course she’d be mad.

“She also told me not to return without a clear explanation of what you were thinking when you pulled this stunt.”

“Hmm.”

“If you try to weasel out with vague excuses, she said the Cheon Clan may officially send a letter of protest.”

The word officially sent a chill down my spine.

If the Cheon Clan really did send a formal protest, it would be the same as publicly declaring a rift between the Cheon and Jin Clans.

Naturally, Clan Leader Jin Gun-ak would fly into a rage.

He might even cancel everything related to this matter altogether.

“Even if I enter the Thousand-Day Pass, the engagement won’t be called off. The rules there may be strict, but they don’t apply to someone from the Six Great Demonic Clans.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“There’s also this—because I was forced to confront just how powerless I really am.”

Flinch.

Sa Biyeon, of all people, would know exactly what I meant by that.

Clenching my fists, I spoke in the most solemn tone I could muster.

“Even if I was at the entry-level stage of Master Level, if I had reached that realm, I wouldn’t have been defeated so easily back then.”

“Though… it’s not like you were really defeated…?”

“That was a defeat, no matter how you look at it.”

I cut Sa Biyeon off before she could try to sugarcoat it.

Once someone reaches Master Level, they can manifest Qi Projection—even if poorly.

Even if I couldn’t fully manifest it like Jeokun had, if I could’ve brought out even a weaker version and combined it with Cheon Yura’s, we might’ve turned that fight around.

Facing the speechless Sa Biyeon, I delivered the finishing blow.

“In this cult, no matter what position one holds, power is what ultimately proves your worth. If I want to stand at the Young Cult Leader’s side, I need to prove I’m qualified.”

Whether or not my resolve reached her, Sa Biyeon looked genuinely impressed.

Of course, what followed was the expected question: why had I chosen the Thousand-Day Pass over Demon Dragon Hall?

I managed to brush that off using a similar excuse as I had with Jin Gun-ak.

“Actually, the Young Cult Leader already has some idea of your intentions.”

Uh… what?

“She blamed herself, thinking you chose to enter the Thousand-Day Pass because of her.”

Cheon Yura really thought that?

Given her pride and strong sense of responsibility, it wasn’t strange she’d believe it was her burden to bear.

No—before that.

“Then… what about that ‘Are you crazy?’ remark?”

Sa Biyeon smiled serenely.

“Oh, she did say that. She was furious at first but retracted it not long after.”

Wouldn’t it have been better for both of us if she’d just started with the retraction?

I wanted to show Sa Biyeon that it’s possible to curse someone with just your eyes.

But alas, my silent protest didn’t reach her.

“You and the Young Cult Leader… seem to share certain similarities.”

“…Excuse me?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

“She too blamed herself for her shortcomings. She said she’ll be entering closed cultivation for a while.”

As a result of this incident, she wouldn’t be leaving the Lesser Demon Hall anytime soon.

Regardless of the merit she earned, the fact was she came close to death.

Well, if she’s going to be out of commission for a while because of this incident, that honestly works in my favor…

“And when she comes out of closed cultivation, she said the two of you should compare your achievements.”

“……”

Gulp.

I instinctively swallowed hard.

Compare… achievements?

Is she trying to kill me?

She’s already capable of handling Qi Projection despite not even reaching adulthood. If she goes into secluded training after gaining something from this experience, how much more of a monster will she become?

At that point, she might even be able to beat someone like Jeokun—an Elder of the Azure Star Sect—one-on-one.

“I, too, felt a great sense of helplessness from this incident. I won’t lose to you either, Young Master Jin. Let’s both work hard.”

At that point, I couldn’t hear a single word Sa Biyeon was saying anymore.

All I could do was curse my own fate for becoming someone with a ticking clock on his life.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep