Chapter 44. The Young Master of The Heavenly Demon Church (1/2)
Chapter 44. The Young Master of The Heavenly Demon Church
The place known as Nanman was actually a really hot place. The place was full of southern trees, and the mountains were filled with edible fruit.
A land where no one had to worry about getting starved to death.
But this land was often avoided by travelers and merchants. There were fierce predators roaming about everywhere, and it was also filled to the brim with bugs that contained lethal poison.
Only a certain group of people occupied this land that was both blessed and cursed by god.
Nanman Beast Gate. This land was practically made for them by god.
“You seem excited. I haven’t seen that in a while.”
“Is that right?”
The owner of the Nanman Beast Gate. The one holding the title of the Beast King, and the god of the Nanman region.
Gu Ma Byuk (九魔劈).
He looked at his oldest child, while emitting a kingly aura.
“It seems that your trip this time was pretty amusing. You look unusually excited.”
Gu Hui.
He didn’t deny it. After all, he was indeed excited right now. That day, he managed to see the fight between Gongson Chun Gi and Baek Mu Ryang. There, he managed to see something that others did not get to see.
Each and every scene of that battle became nutrients that helped Gu Hui’s growth, and made him feel a feeling of excitement unlike what he had ever felt before.
“I saw the power of the mainland.”
This experience would possibly help him form the schedule for the future.
The ambition of the Nanman Beast Gate. The experience he had in the mainland would definitely help him achieve that.
“So, were you able to grasp their size?”
Gu Hui smiled, as Gu Ma Byuk brought his cup to his mouth.
“Yes.”
Gongson Chun Gi and Baek Mu Ryang. The two experts who fought for supremacy. Gu Hui had clearly engraved their battle in his mind.
From the heavy breaths of the experts, to every single strand of hair that shone from sweat. Gu Hui did not miss a single scene.
“So, what is your conclusion?”
Gu Hui paused a bit at Gu Ma Byuk’s question. He simply stared at his father, the shining sun of Nanman, without speaking. His face clearly reflected worry and hesitation.
“You don’t have to hide it. Just tell me what you saw.”
Gu Hui looked at his father for a few more seconds, then spoke with some difficulty.
“…….Please let me be the one to carry on our ambition. It’s impossible to achieve the ambition of the main gate in your generation.”
That’s right. It was possible to take care of Baek Mu Ryang, but not Gongson Chun Gi. Gongson Chun Gi was a monster. That was the conclusion Gu Hui reached.
But unexpectedly, Gu Ma Byuk didn’t really show a reaction when he heard that.
“Is that right?”
“Yes. I don’t know about Baek Mu Ryang, but Gongson Chun Gi is definitely going to be difficult.”
Difficult. When he heard that, Gu Ma Byuk rested his chin on his fist, and looked at his child. He wasn’t angry. After all, he was expecting something like this already.
Perhaps it was because of the unique environment, but the Nanman region always managed to produce heirs who possessed a terrifying degree of talent.
Even among all the talented individuals of the Nanman Beast Gate, Gu Hui stood out in particular. That was because the boy’s intelligence was unprecedentedly great.
‘So, there’s no hope.’
Gu Ma Byuk fell deep in thought with a bitter smile in his mind. Yes, Gongson Chun Gi’s name was well known, even in a place like Nanman. That was because Nanman was actually closer to the Heavenly Demon Church than the Alliance.
Thanks to that, Nanman knew about the church’s power very well. The people of Nanman were able to notice the huge amount of strength hidden away in the church.
‘But…….’
Even if the church was infested with powerful experts, there was only one man that Gu Ma Byuk was worried about.
The Pope.
He only got a chance to get a glimpse of the Pope a long time ago, but the memory of the aura that the Pope exuded back then still remained in his mind, as clear as day.
Clack–
Gu Ma Byuk put his cup in his hand on the table, and opened his mouth.
“Is it ok if I entrust the future of the main gate to you?”
The future of the Nanman Beast Gate. Their old ambition. It would be advancing into the mainland. Gu Hui knew this well. That’s why he looked into his father’s eye without any fear or hesitation, and spoke.
“Only I will be able to accomplish the ambition of the main gate.”
A confident voice. Gu Hui had conviction. He was confident that there was no one as strong as he, at least in his generation.
Gu Ma Byuk too, believed that if it was his child, then surely the main gate’s dream would be achieved easily. After all, his son was a monster.
‘But there are many monsters in this world.’
Yes. The world was needlessly big. That’s what got Gu Ma Byuk a little worried.
* * *
‘To think it was Borrowed Power…….’
Cho Ryu Hyang was in a state of shock. He had a lot of expectations for this book, so naturally the shock he got when he found out that this book didn’t teach martial arts was naturally also great.
“You okay?”
Gongson Chun Gi gleefully stared at his disciple’s dumb expression.
‘Do you really think I’d be ok?’
Cho Ryu Hyang wanted to shout this in his teacher’s face, but stopped himself. He simply looked out the moving carriage with dull eyes.
Why did his teacher give him a book like this? Cho Ryu Hyang had seen a user of Borrowed Power in a circus a long time ago with his father.
It was an intriguing new world he had discovered. There were people who could break rocks with a mere shout, and freely control giant balls of fire.
It really looked amazing to him at the time. But that was it. It just looked amazing. He couldn’t defeat the Alliance with that.
Cho Ryu Hyang leaned on the carriage wall with a dark face, and began to fiddle with the door crack with his fingers.
He wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to say it. Gonson Chun Gi, looking at that, couldn’t take it anymore and exploded in a fit of laughter.
“Puhahaha! Looks like our little disciple was very, very disappointed with what he found.”
“……..”
It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t disappointed. Seeing the person who knew that better than any other laugh like that, Cho Ryu Hyang began to laugh a little, too.
So he laughed. He laughed with a gloomy face. When Gongson Chun Gi saw this strange scene, he gripped onto his stomach and began to laugh again.
Just how long had he laughed? Gongson Chun Gi somehow managed to become calm again, looked at his disciple, and spoke.
“Humans have neither powerful claws nor teeth like predators.”
“…….”
“That’s why humans began to make tools to hunt these predators. These tools soon became ‘weapons’ as time went on, and this weapon kept advancing so that it became more and more efficient at murder.”
“…….?”
What was his teacher talking about, all of the sudden? When Cho Ryu Hyang made a confused face, Gongson Chun Gi smiled and said this.
“I knew it. You haven’t read any more of the book after the part where it said ‘how to be a user of Borrowed Power’.”
“…….Yes.”
Indeed. He didn’t read any more than that part. He had put the book aside in a box in disappointment.
“The true form of the Moon Edge Blade Technique is quite amazing. I’ll guarantee that. It starts to reveal itself after the part where you got disappointed. So don’t be so sad.”
Cho Ryu Hyang put his head down. He didn’t know how to respond to his teacher’s words.
“Disciple.”
“Yes, teacher.”
“You’re getting too hurried after Jo Gi Chun’s death. But the thing you want to achieve can’t necessarily be done by being hurried. You need to look at your surroundings with more of a relaxed mind. Isn’t that right?”
Again, Cho Ryu Hyang couldn’t really say anything. He just looked at the floor with guilt.
“We’ll be arriving at the destination soon. Just rest for now today.”
“……..Alright.”
He felt a bit ashamed. Cho Ryu Hyang began to fiddle with the door crack with his fingers again, with an entirely different mind this time.
* * *
Sharak–
Cho Ryu Hyang opened the Moon Edge Blade Technique again. They were going to arrive at the Ten Thousand Great Mountains tomorrow. The symbol of fear, the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. It was the land where the Heavenly Demon Church resided.
Almost nothing was known about the insides of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. The Heavenly Demon Church was, after all, a society shrouded in secrets.
But right now, that wasn’t really important to Cho Ryu Hyang. He was only focused on the Moon Edge Blade Technique.
Like teacher had said, the more important parts began to appear after the part where he stopped reading.
‘Turning the human body into a weapon……’
This was an interesting concept. The body itself becoming a weapon.
A weapon that can’t be broken by anything, but in turn can destroy anything. The technique was all about taking the body’s strength far above human limits.
‘And that would be the Lian (練).’
The first part of the total thirty parts of the Moon Edge Blade Technique was known as Lian. The learning of this Borrowed Power begins from Lian. Like that, Cho Ryu Hyang slowly fell into the Moon Edge Blade Technique.
* * *
“We’re here. Get down.”
“…….”
Cho Ryu Hyang got off the carriage with a tired face. When he stepped down, he froze like a statue. The giant mountain in front of him. When he saw that, he realized that he was at the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
“This is my house. Looks good, doesn’t it?”
Cho Ryu Hyang just nodded. He couldn’t respond because his mouth was wide open.
The Ten Thousand Great Mountains. It was a giant fortress. There were castle walls that encompassed the whole mountain.