Chapter 49: Nine Moons Blade Hall (1)

“You’re telling me… not to insult that person?”

A ferocious demonic energy surged from Wang Cheongeol.

It wasn’t just killing intent—it was the clear manifestation of a will to beat me into a bloody pulp.

‘I’m screwed.’

The Crimson-Faced Battle Demon was a supreme master, strong enough to go toe-to-toe with my father, the Asura King.

Even if I summoned my Qi Projection, the gap in ability was so vast that he could shatter it like glass.

But then—

“Kuahahahaha! This is a masterpiece!”

Wang Cheongeol suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.

Dududududu!

‘Ugh!’

The shockwaves from just his laugh made the training hall tremble like a minor earthquake.

It reminded me just how monstrous the realm of an Extreme Demon was.

“Your spirit—I like that. You truly are of Jin blood.”

“……”

“Yes, blind obedience is loyalty, but staining your hands for the safety of your master—that’s loyalty too.”

It seemed he had mistaken my words for an expression of loyalty. Still, I was relieved that he was no longer exuding intent to fight.

“I heard you’re challenging the Main Flow test of the Thousand-Day Pass?”

By now, it seemed like everyone and their dog knew.

“Yes, I am.”

“Make sure to leave a spot open there.”

…No way.

“The Young Cult Leader will be joining you. That was her original intent, but things got a bit tangled.”

‘…What the hell!’

“She’ll bring it up again once you return from Qinghai. Just keep that in mind for now.”

Six people were needed to challenge the Main Flow test at the Thousand-Day Pass.

Besides me and the Three Attendants, two spots remained. I never imagined the Young Cult Leader would volunteer herself for one of them.

And with that bombshell, Wang Cheongeol stomped off in the direction Cheon Yura had disappeared to.

“D-Did he leave?”

The Three Attendants, who had been watching from afar, began to creep over once they saw I was alone.

“Lord, are you alright?”

Baeksa cautiously asked while glancing at my expression.

“I’m fine.”

Baeksa, Jeoksa, and Heuksa were all trembling visibly.

Even from a distance, they had been directly affected by Wang Cheongeol’s Qi pulse—and they were only Second-rate Martial Artists at best…

Baeksa, the first to recover, clasped his hands together and dropped to his knees as if in prayer.

“Heavens! I never imagined I’d meet the Young Cult Leader in this lifetime. Ahh!”

“Heavenly Demon Reigns Supreme! Ten Thousand Demons Revere Her!”

Following Baeksa’s lead, Jeoksa and Heuksa recovered their wits and dropped to their knees in reverence.

Well, this was akin to a peasant meeting the emperor. Their reaction wasn’t exactly unreasonable.

I gave a bitter smile and said,

“You’re all going to have to try a lot harder. Just like me.”

“Yes, of course!”

“No, I mean really try harder. This isn’t just empty praise.”

“……?”

“If it turns out you’re unqualified before the Main Flow test even begins, the Young Cult Leader will personally behead you.”

“……Excuse me?”

The Three Attendants blinked like they couldn’t comprehend what I’d just said.

I looked at them the way one would gaze at cows about to be led to the slaughterhouse and explained what had just transpired.

I mentioned Cheon Yura would be joining us, with a slight tone of threat mixed in.

But unexpectedly, perhaps because they hadn’t yet experienced her terrifying nature, they didn’t look afraid.

“Th-The Young Cult Leader will be with us?”

“W-What an honor!”

“Ahh, Lord! We’ve made it in life!”

“……”

No, seriously—honor my ass. You’re really going to die, you idiots.

***

“Nine Moons Blade Hall is a demonic sect that branched off from Sun and Moon Sect, the predecessor of the Heavenly Demon Cult. It has a long history of nearly a thousand years in the Qinghai region.”

Even during my time as the Inner Administrator, I’d interacted with them a few times.

Unlike the real scum like Evil Refining Sect or the Blood Demon Alliance, Nine Moons Blade Hall had its own philosophy and values.

Unlike the Heavenly Demon Cult, which had completely succumbed to the law of the strong, Nine Moons Blade Hall could be seen as the only sect still walking the proper path of the demonic way.

Of course, despite its long history, their actual power was barely enough to be considered a mid-tier sect in the Central Plains.

“They walk the demonic path properly?”

“That’s right.”

“Then do they practice human sacrifices, mass slaughters, or forbidden martial arts?”

“……”

I gave Jeoksa, who asked this with an innocent look, a cold glare.

“If they did, the government forces would’ve wiped them out long ago.”

Even with their organized structure, Nine Moons Blade Hall barely had a few hundred combatants.

In the Central Plains, that was enough to earn them mid-tier status and dominate a region, but if the authorities dispatched a force in the thousands, they’d be swept away in an instant.

“Ah, I see.”

“You’re part of the demonic path too. Has our cult ever performed human sacrifices or mass slaughters?”

Honestly, there were always those sneaky bastards dabbling in forbidden martial arts, so I couldn’t exactly deny that one.

“Well, maybe in the past?”

In response to Heuksa’s guess, Baeksa sighed and replied for him.

“In the distant past, such things happened under Sun and Moon Sect, but after the Heavenly Demon Cult was founded, human sacrifice was abolished.”

“Oh?”

“How do you know that?”

Baeksa scratched his neck, looking sheepish.

“Lord Ruju[a] would teach me from time to time. He said it wouldn’t do for someone aiming to be a martial officer of Tower of Demonic Heaven not to know the cult’s history…”

“And what about these two?”

I gestured toward Jeoksa and Heuksa with a nod.

“T-They ran off because they hated basic reading and writing…”

“……”

Well, if you hate reading, how could you possibly learn history?

Still, as the eldest, you’re at least the most decent one.

Perhaps noticing my pointed gaze, Jeoksa and Heuksa averted their eyes, looking sheepish.

“Yes, as you said, our cult prohibits human sacrifices and mass slaughters. Of course, in special situations like the Orthodox-Demonic War, massacres are a different matter altogether, but still.”

I swept my eyes over the Three Attendants as I continued.

“Listen closely. The path of the demonic way, at its core, shares the same underlying principles as the Daoist pursuit of immortality.”

“What?!”

“Is… is that true?”

I nodded.

“Yes. Whether it’s Righteous Qi or Demonic Qi, broadly speaking, both are simply energies that make up the world. They’re just one of the many methods used to achieve the Dao and attain enlightenment.”

Demonic Immortal.

Just as Daoist sects cultivate in pursuit of becoming transcendent beings, demonic sects train in order to become Demonic Immortals.

Of course, there was no official record of anyone actually becoming a Demonic Immortal yet—but there were those who had come the closest.

Namely, the entities known as the Heavenly Demon —only three of whom had ever emerged in a thousand years of Heavenly Demon Cult history.

“There are two reasons I’m telling you this. First, you need some basic knowledge about Nine Moons Blade Hall before we’re dispatched there. Second…”

I took out three martial arts manuals from inside my robe.

To be exact, it was one manual, but the contents had been copied twice.

“You’re going to learn this demonic art starting now.”

“Gasp! T-That’s…!”

“You’ll need to master a fundamental cultivation technique to later progress into weapon arts smoothly. And to adapt to the Dark Iron Shackles, you’ll need Internal Energy without question.”

Shackles that are simply heavy only harm the body.

True physical training could only be achieved when balanced with internal cultivation.

“Ah, ahh!”

“This… this is what I’ve dreamed of… longed for!”

“An advanced demonic art!”

The Three Attendants couldn’t take their eyes off the manuals I held out.

Their gazes were so intense I thought honey might drip from their eyes.

– Overlord Art

Even the name sounded powerful, didn’t it?

In fact, Overlord Art was among the top-tier demonic arts in our cult, known for its tyrannical energy.

It wasn’t difficult to begin like Black Corpse Demonic Art, nor did it require special yin constitution like certain niche techniques.

It simply reduced the demonic energy aspect and emphasized a domineering quality, compared to standard demonic arts.

“It’s one of the top ten inner arts in the Main Clan’s Martial Arts Repository. If you master it, reaching the realm of the Extreme Demon isn’t just a dream.”

“Wh-what!”

Extreme Demon? Seriously?!

Even Master Level martial artists who could freely wield Sword Aura were beings who stood above the clouds. And now we were talking about surpassing even *them*?

I snapped at the overly excited Three Attendants.

“Calm yourselves.”

“……!”

I waved the manual in front of them and said coldly,

“Yes, I know it’s enticing. This is leagues above the second-rate garbage inner techniques you’ve learned so far.”

What they’d studied until now were low-grade martial arts that refined impure demonic energy and made them prone to Qi Deviation.

And now, suddenly, they were being handed a high-grade demonic art? What would happen then?

‘It’d be like injecting drugs straight into their veins.’

They’d feel euphoric ecstasy, no doubt.

The joy of building internal energy was something no other pleasure could compare to for a martial artist.

Especially for the Three Attendants who had wallowed in the slums until now—they would get completely addicted to the sensation.

“Mindset is everything. Do you know what would happen if you learned this martial art without proper preparation?”

“N-No, sir.”

“You’d suffer Qi Deviation within a month and become a cripple.”

“W-What?!”

“Why? Don’t believe me?”

Whether demonic or righteous, the higher-tier the art, the more complex the Qi circulation paths.

“Especially you two—Heuksa and Jeoksa—you slacked off even in basic reading and writing, so it’s worse for you. Even if someone taught you how to circulate Qi as a true Qi practitioner, you’d still be crippled in no time.”

“W-Why are you so sure?”

“Because you won’t be able to control it. Whether by your own will… or someone else’s.”

It wasn’t a joke when I said it was like drugs.

The effects—and the side effects—were exactly the same.

This manual didn’t just contain instructions for Qi circulation.

It included the mindset needed to operate inner arts, possible side effects, and how to overcome them.

The higher the tier of the art, the more these aspects were emphasized.

“I put the Dark Iron Shackles on you for that very reason. To forcibly suppress your body when it goes wild.”

“Ah…”

“In that sense, our dispatch to Nine Moons Blade Hall is a kind of fortunate opportunity for you.”

Nine Moons Blade Hall was a demonic sect, but leaned closer to the Daoist philosophy.

Which meant that their internal cultivation secrets for controlling demonic energy were as effective as those of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

‘And for me… this could also be an opportunity.’

It wasn’t certain, but I had my suspicions.

In my past life, I had discovered the existence of that thing while exchanging with Nine Moons Blade Hall.

Back then it might’ve been out of reach—but now, it could be of immense help.

“Anyway, Fortress of the Eastern Sea, where Nine Moons Blade Hall is located, isn’t too far from Western Tranquility, the base of Evil Overlords of Heaven. Surprisingly, though, there haven’t been any major clashes.”

In terms of distance, it was just a bit over 60 kilometers.

If Evil Overlords of Heaven sent an elite unit at a leisurely pace, it would take two days, tops.

And yet, Fortress of the Eastern Sea—considered the second city of Qinghai Province—had not fallen under Evil Overlords of Heaven’s control. The reason was simple.

“Because Kunlun Sect is nearby.”

In short, Fortress of the Eastern Sea was under the influence of Kunlun.

No matter how powerful Evil Overlords of Heaven was as a single faction, they couldn’t recklessly mess with Kunlun.

If they did, orthodox factions from nearby Sichuan and Gansu would rise up like angry hornets and swarm Evil Overlords of Heaven.

That said, the Kunlun Sect, holed up in the Kunlun Mountains, didn’t directly interfere with Eastern Sea either.

“Our mission to Nine Moons Blade Hall is more of a diplomatic display. For you, it’ll be valuable training time.”

[a]?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep