AR Chapter 60

The Demonic Physician didn’t head to the medical ward.

He took me to his residence, where there was a secret room in the basement prepared for important procedures.

The shelves lining the walls were filled with all kinds of medicine bottles and herbs whose contents I couldn’t identify. Even I, an expert on herbs, had never seen many of these herbs before.

“Since it’s a dangerous procedure, there’s a lot to prepare.”

“Please take your time.”

“What will you do if it fails? You could go blind.”

I could tell he was testing my resolve. There was no chance of going blind from a failed New Eye Technique. If it had such a risk, he wouldn’t have dared offer the procedure to the Heavenly Demon.

“If a patient fails under the Demonic Physician’s care, it must be due to my poor fate.”

The Demonic Physician smiled faintly at my trust and took out the materials needed for the procedure from a secret safe.

He then lit incense to calm the mind and sterilized the needles. He mixed various medicines, some of which he boiled and cooled.

Meanwhile, I lay shirtless on the bed with a warm, fragrant cloth over my eyes.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

“I’m in your care.”

He put various medicines in my eyes at different intervals. Some were clear like water, some red like blood. There was also a green liquid like poison, and some as blue as my sword energy. I trusted the Demonic Physician completely, so I entrusted my eyes to him with peace of mind.

After injecting various medicines into my eyes, the Demonic Physician applied acupuncture. He placed needles densely not only around my eyes but also on my face and chest.

“Now, have a good sleep.”

My eyes closed naturally. I mentally told the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art to relax and sleep deeply just for today.

I slept well for the first time in a long while.

I slept so soundly that I wondered how long it had been since I’d slept this well.

When I woke up, all the needles that had been placed on my face and body had already been removed.

The Demonic Physician was sitting at his desk reading a book, but when I woke up, he walked over to me.

“How do you feel?”

“Good.”

“And your eyes?”

“Even better.”

My eyes really did feel clearer. My already good eyesight had improved, and my vision was incredibly clear. It felt like I had come out of a fog, and to exaggerate a little, everything around me was so vivid it felt like I had been living with my eyes closed until now.

“Follow me.”

I followed him out of the secret room and up to the first floor. We stood side by side by the window. The sun was high in the sky.

“Look at the sun.”

I looked directly at the sun, and although it should have been dazzling, it wasn’t at all.

“How is it?”

“It’s not dazzling at all.”

“Look far into the distance.”

I could clearly see things at distances that I couldn’t have seen before. It was amazingly clear. Moreover, when I focused my eyes, I could see things that shouldn’t have been visible.

“I can see well. I can even see the ants crawling on that branch over there.”

The Demonic Physician laughed at my words.

“I’m not joking.”

“I know you’re not. I laughed because I’m pleased.”

“Ah, it’s really amazing.”

“Now, follow me again.”

This time, the Demonic Physician took me to a dark room prepared in the basement secret room.

The view that would have been barely visible even with inner energy before was now clear without using any inner energy.

“I can see well. I can clearly see the medicine bottles placed there, and the paintings on the wall, everything.”

“Good, the procedure was a complete success. Your eyes have been reborn.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

When I initially wanted the New Eye Technique, my main purpose was to avoid the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s eyes. So I hadn’t expected much from the effects of this New Eye Technique.

But the New Eye Technique was far more impressive than I had thought. There’s only one way to describe this state.

My eyes had achieved grand mastery.

Coming out of the dark room, I bowed to the Demonic Physician.

“Thank you.”

The surprised Demonic Physician raised me up.

“What are you doing?”

“You used a secret technique on me that you could only use once in your lifetime. I will definitely repay this grace by keeping my promise.”

“Thank you. When you become the Cult Leader, I’ll tell you who to kill.”

The Demonic Physician grasped my hand firmly, and I returned the grip.

As I left the Demonic Physician’s residence, everything I saw was different. It really felt like a new world had unfolded before me.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

‘The Blood Eye Essence, and now the New Eye Technique. My eyes and the Heavenly Wind Cult seem to be intertwined like fate. Anyway, thank you, Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.’

And so, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader received a mysterious expression of gratitude.

***

I realized anew how important improved eyesight is in martial arts.

My techniques became more precise, and as they became more precise, they became stronger.

In fact, the greatest benefit will be in actual combat. I’ll be able to dodge attacks that I couldn’t avoid before, and see opportunities that were previously invisible.

It will also be a great help when running with the Swift Stride technique. I had been worried whether my eyesight would be able to keep up with the extreme speed when I reached grand mastery later, but now that worry has disappeared. After all, I now have the most powerful eyes a human can possess.

After entrusting Underworld Pavilion affairs to Seo Daeryong, I secluded myself in the training ground for a while to give my martial arts and body time to adapt to my new eyes.

After being deeply immersed in martial arts training for a while, I finally went to visit Lee Ahn.

“Lee Ahn, let’s play!”

Lee Ahn was engrossed in martial arts training.

“No! I have to repeat this training twenty times.”

“Who does form training twenty times a day?”

“It’s sixty times a day. Twenty times is just for the evening training.”

“Good heavens. You’ll get sick, you’ll get sick.”

“I’m already sick. It’s a sickness where I can’t sleep if I don’t train.”

“Let’s take a break just for today. If you come drink with me, you’ll sleep well.”

“After I finish this.”

“How many more do you have left?”

“Eight more. If you keep interrupting me like this, it’ll take longer.”

I pretended to pout and watched her practice martial arts.

“Your waist didn’t turn enough.”

“Your left side is open.”

“This time, faster.”

As I corrected her posture, I once again felt that Lee Ahn had a great talent for martial arts. She understood quickly and learned well.

I watched her forms a couple more times, and feeling that I had nothing more to say today, I fell into practicing the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art.

The martial art I had practiced the most while dealing with Soul-Seizing Demon was the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art. The more I practice the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art, the more novel it feels.

As always, it communicates with me most deeply. It feels like I’m learning a living martial art. Well, it’s probably because we communicate so deeply that it wakes me up when I’m asleep.

How many times did I repeat the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art training like that?

When I opened my eyes, Lee Ahn was looking at me from a short distance away.

“Are you finished?”

“Yes. I completed all twenty repetitions.”

“Let’s go drink! I feel like I’m dying of hunger.”

“Of course. You’ve been fasting for three full days.”

“What? Three days?”

“Yes. You’ve been in meditative cultivation for three whole days.”

“Me?”

“It was three days ago that you came to see me. You seemed to have fallen into a trance-like state. I deliberately didn’t disturb you.”

I was shocked. It felt like I hadn’t even practiced for one hour, let alone several hours.

“I must have fallen asleep.”

“I checked on you in case that was the case, but you weren’t sleeping. You were even muttering to yourself sometimes.”

I must have really fallen into a trance. I couldn’t remember anything about the training.

“Wait a moment.”

I sat down and unleashed the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art once. The flow of energy was much smoother and more accurate than before.

As I stood up, I was smiling brightly. There had been a big improvement in the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art. It seems that the continuous training up until now had accumulated and led to an advancement in level through this trance-like state.

“You’ve made progress, haven’t you?”

She could probably tell just by looking at my expression. I nodded with a big smile.

“Enough to buy you a splendid meal.”

“Congratulations, Young Master.”

“Thank you. It’s thanks to you.”

“Why is it thanks to me?”

“If you hadn’t insisted on finishing your training, I wouldn’t have sat down next to you and fallen into a trance.”

“Ah, that’s right! Buy me a meal!”

“Of course, I’ll buy you anything you want to eat!”

I hurriedly left the training ground with Lee Ahn.

“You must be hungry too?”

“No, I’ve eaten.”

But Lee Ahn’s stomach was growling.

She wasn’t the type to eat alone while I was fasting and in meditative cultivation. She probably even stopped her training for three days, afraid of disturbing my trance-like state.

“You silly bear.”

“No, I’m not. If I were really a silly bear, I wouldn’t have let you catch me being hungry. I’m subtly letting you catch me to show how loyal a subordinate I am, right? I’m using this as a golden opportunity to score points.”

“You fox, you fox.”

“That’s right, I still have many hidden tails.”

I laughed happily.

“It’s been a while since I’ve walked with you like this, Young Master.”

“You’re right.”

“It’s nice, indeed.”

That added “indeed” really made me feel good. I like it too, Lee Ahn.

Lee Ahn and I entered the Maga Village Elegant Tavern.

“Welcome! It’s been a while, Pavilion Master!”

Seeing Jo Chun-bae greeting us warmly made me think of his cooking and made me even hungrier.

“Serve us quickly!”

“Yes, I’ll run with lightness skills!”

Jo Chun-bae brought the alcohol first and ran to the kitchen.

We drank a shot on empty stomachs.

“Ahh! This is killer.”

“Ugh! It’s so strong. I really feel like I’m dying.”

When the food came out shortly after, we devoured it ravenously without caring about others’ eyes.

After patting our full stomachs, we talked about martial arts over drinks. She asked me everything she had been curious about, and I answered sincerely to the best of my knowledge.

My Soaring Heaven Sword Arts had been stagnant since the Ten Stars Grand Mastery broke, and I hoped that the New Eye Technique I had just received would have a good influence on it.

As we talked about martial arts, the topic naturally shifted to Seo Daeryong.

“By the way, is Inspector Seo doing well?”

“I’m sure he is. I haven’t seen him lately because I’ve been training.”

“Everyone’s busy.”

“I don’t know for sure, but I’m sure he’s doing well. Both in work and training.”

“It’s amazing to see Inspector Seo get along well with Elder Saber Demon.”

“I don’t know if they’re getting along well. He might be getting scolded so much that his pillow is wet every night.”

Lee Ahn laughed, saying it was funny.

“I don’t think that’s the case. Elder Saber Demon seems like a good person deep down.”

“Don’t let your guard down just because of that. Just because he’s good to Inspector Seo doesn’t guarantee he’ll be good to you too. He’s a Demon Supreme. Be careful.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Someday, you’ll have to defeat him with your skills.”

Lee Ahn flinched for a moment.

“Me?”

She didn’t say, “How could I defeat a Demon Supreme with my skills?” like she would have before. Now that she had received the Soaring Heaven Sword Arts, such words would be disrespectful to me and Father.

“I’ll work hard.”

“You know, right? Half-baked skills die first. Once you’ve stepped in, you have to go all the way.”

“Yes!”

I raised my cup, and she drank with me.

“And when the Soaring Heaven Sword Arts reaches a certain level, let’s start gathering subordinates for the Demonic Shadow Corps in earnest. If we gather the right team leaders, the rest will be easy.”

“Do you have people in mind?”

I nodded honestly.

“One or two. We’ll have to go hire them later.”

“Who are they?”

“You’d just be surprised if I told you now. I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

“Just hearing you say that makes my heart race.”

“When that happens, there’s a good solution called alcohol, right?”

The sound of our cups clinking was as cheerful as our mood.

“Let’s order more drinks and side dishes.”

“Unfortunately, I think we should stop drinking for today.”

Following my gaze, Lee Ahn looked down at the first floor.

Seo Daeryong, who had quickly entered the tavern, came up to our table on the second floor and reported about a new subject I would have to deal with.

“The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader has just arrived at our cult.”