AR Chapter 74

“I’ve been looking for a military advisor lately.”

Today’s meeting with Sima Myeong was for this purpose.

“Am I not enough?”

I laughed at Sima Myeong’s joke and replied:

“Aren’t my father and I both greedy people? Father will never share you with me, Chief Sima. You know my father well, don’t you?”

Sima Myeong dismissed the answer with a smile.

“That’s why I came to seek your advice, Chief. I wanted to ask what kind of military advisor I should look for.”

For a moment, Sima Myeong was silent, fiddling with his wine cup. Though he looked calm, his mind must be racing.

From my intention in coming here to how much he should tell me. How what he says might affect himself, our cult, or the succession struggle. All sorts of thoughts must be organizing in his mind.

I don’t know the conditions for a good military advisor. But I know this fact from experience:

A good military advisor ultimately makes good choices.

As far as I know, Sima Myeong was the best military advisor, so he would surely give a proper answer.

He drank another cup of wine, and when I refilled his cup, he had finished thinking.

Sima Myeong asked me with a meaningful look:

“Have you perhaps already finished considering?”

This question held important meaning. I could tell. Sima Myeong already knew about the existence of the shackled man. He even knew that he was the person I had in mind.

He was now telling me this:

—Are you thinking of that person from the Heavenly Wind Cult as your military advisor?

Perhaps it’s natural. There’s no way Chief Strategist Sima Myeong wouldn’t know about the shackled man who acts as the military advisor of the Heavenly Wind Cult.

I had been frequently visiting the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s quarters recently under the pretext of the theft incident, and suddenly met him like this saying I wanted to find a military advisor, so of course he would have thought of him.

“There is someone I’m considering, but I’m not certain yet.”

Since he would never answer if I asked directly, I asked with my eyes.

—Would it be alright to make him my military advisor?

Sima Myeong stared at me and withheld his answer. Now was the moment for the most important words of today’s meeting.

“Gaining a person is something no one can be certain about. It’s because results only come after a long process. So for now, trust Second Young Master’s instincts.”

Trust your instincts.

It was an ordinary piece of advice anyone could give.

But this advice had a different meaning now. Knowing that I had the shackled man in mind, telling me to trust my instincts was essentially advising me to accept him.

If the shackled man was someone who would harm our cult, he would never have said this. It meant that Sima Myeong acknowledged his abilities.

Sima Myeong wasn’t my man, but he was at least a person full of loyalty to our cult. He wouldn’t recommend just anyone when there was a possibility of me becoming the Heavenly Demon.

“Yes, I’ll trust my instincts.”

As I raised my cup, Sima Myeong nodded once and then toasted vigorously.

Today, he only told me to trust my instincts.

He was free from any possible future questioning about recommending the shackled man to me, whether from my father or the Demon Supremes. Even from me. I couldn’t ask why he recommended him. Sima Myeong only told me to trust my instincts, he didn’t actually recommend him.

We drank for the full two hours.

We talked about all sorts of things, but Sima Myeong didn’t show a single moment of lapse and didn’t make a single mistake.

***

A few days passed.

On the surface, they were days no different from others, but they were days full of all kinds of schemes and politicking among the Demon Supremes.

And today, finally, the fateful day arrived.

“They must be voting right now.”

I nodded at Seo Daeryong’s words.

“That’s right.”

Right now, the next Demon Supreme was being decided through a meeting of the Demon Supremes.

I didn’t know if Blood Heavens Saber Demon or One-Flower Sword Supreme had persuaded other Demon Supremes. I didn’t go to ask them separately, and they didn’t come to tell me either.

“You’re involved in this matter too, aren’t you, Pavilion Master?”

I nodded readily.

“As your right-hand man, I feel sad that there’s so much I don’t know.”

“No, I hope you never know. I absolutely won’t get upset if I’m excluded from these matters. So please continue to proceed without my knowledge. It’s fine if I hear about you unifying the martial arts world through rumors the next day!”

“Were you originally this funny person, and just pretended to be gloomy when you first met me?”

“Now even I’m confused. About what kind of person I am.”

“Being bright is better. She’ll like that more too.”

“She?”

“The junior you like.”

“You mean the one even I had forgotten about?”

Seo Daeryong nodded as if he had given up on denying it.

“Thanks to you, Pavilion Master, we’ll end up getting married.”

“For that to happen, you need to eat meals first. Try asking her to eat together.”

“Why bother a busy person?”

“What does being busy have to do with eating? It’s because you have such burdens from the start that things don’t work out. You should approach her as someone you can see comfortably and frequently.”

I could sense Seo Daeryong’s eyes sparkling slightly.

“What difference does seeing her frequently make?”

“Things change when you see someone frequently. But you shouldn’t become too comfortable. This is the most important. Don’t let her look down on you!”

“How do I avoid being looked down on? Should I put strength in my eyes?”

“Good heavens!”

As I sighed, Seo Daeryong quickly said:

“I’m joking, joking.”

“It’s sadder because I know you’re not joking.”

“I’m not that lacking in sense.”

I couldn’t ascertain the truth of that. A subordinate rushed in to report the voting results.

“The results are out.”

“How did it go?”

“It’s a tie.”

“A tie? How can there be a tie with seven Demon Supremes?”

“One Demon Supreme abstained, they say.”

“Ah, so there was an abstention.”

Who voted for whom among the Demon Supremes wasn’t disclosed to the outside. It seems either Blood Heavens Saber Demon or One-Flower Sword Supreme could only persuade half of them.

“So?”

“They decided to have a martial arts match between the First Disciple and the Third Disciple to determine the winner. It will be held tomorrow.”

“So it comes to this in the end.”

Though it might not have been intentional, it ended up being decided by a martial arts match. This was actually a good decision from Western Illusion Array‘s standpoint. There would be less complaints if the more skilled one took the Demon Supreme seat.

After the reporting subordinate left, Seo Daeryong asked:

“Who do you think will win?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m going to the marketplace to place a bet. It’s time for a life reversal in this poorly paid life.”

“Bet your entire fortune on Cheong Seon!”

“Why the Third Disciple?”

“It’s not betting on the Third Disciple. It’s betting on the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. No, more precisely, it’s betting on the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s desperation. He won’t let his disciple lose. Where are you going?”

“To mortgage my house!”

Seo Daeryong opened the door to leave but stopped in his tracks.

“Aren’t you going to stop me?”

“You won’t gamble anyway.”

“How do you know?”

“Gamblers aim for a windfall, they don’t think about changing reality like you do.”

Seo Daeryong grinned and closed the door.

“I’m really going. I’m going to eat with strength in my eyes.”

I walked to the window.

Martial artists were busily coming and going on the training ground where dusk was settling. Each organization that heard the voting results would be focusing on tomorrow’s outcome.

While Cheong Seon’s victory is important, what’s more important to me are Blood Heavens Saber Demon and One-Flower Sword Supreme. Without them, I couldn’t have come this far.

‘Thank you, elders.’

***

The next day, the martial arts match took place.

Around the arena, the Seven Demon Supremes and their subordinates, and Western Illusion Array’s Demonic Sorcerers all gathered. This match was allowed to be watched even by those who weren’t direct subordinates of the Demon Supremes, so the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and I also took our seats. However, Father didn’t attend.

First Disciple Yang Do and Third Disciple Cheong Seon stepped onto the arena.

Their appearance was met with cheers from Western Illusion Array’s Demonic Sorcerers.

Though they were still far inferior compared to the deceased Soul-Seizing Demon, they were the next Demon Supreme who would lead Western Illusion Array forward. Western Illusion Array’s fate would be determined by what kind of person they became.

Would Yang Do, the existing powerhouse, win? Or would Cheong Seon, who learned martial arts from the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, win?

The odds were about seven to three in favor of Yang Do winning. Although Cheong Seon had become the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s disciple, she had too little time to learn martial arts.

Since neither Yang Do nor Cheong Seon had been taught the Space-Time Manipulation Technique, we could watch them fight. If that wasn’t the case, it would have been the most boring fight in the world. They would have disappeared simultaneously from sight, and only reappeared after the outcome was decided.

There was no polite greeting between the two.

“You cowardly bitch. You bitch who sold out your master.”

“Mentioning the master is already selling him out, you stupid senior brother.”

The fight began with chilling curses. Knowing that their lives and futures were at stake, they showed no mercy.

Black smoke summoned by Yang Do engulfed Cheong Seon, and her soul-confusing technique invaded Yang Do’s mind. Ghost cries were heard and ghost-possessed wind blew.

Black monsters sprang from the ground trying to drag the opponent in, and red hands that appeared from thin air tried to rip off the opponent’s head.

Even though it was a fight between disciples and not Demon Supremes, it was more fierce and powerful than expected. Everyone was surprised because they hadn’t expected much.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

The ground shook with thunderous sounds, and thunder was heard from the clear sky.

The watching demonic cultivators despaired thinking:

How on earth do we block those techniques?

Just by watching these disciples fight, one could understand why the righteous sects considered the Soul-Seizing Demon the most troublesome. Techniques that one wouldn’t know how to deal with kept popping up.

Everyone held their breath.

Even when they threw hidden weapons or rolled on the ground, no one dismissed it.

A black evil spirit would spring out to take the hit from incoming hidden weapons, and even while rolling on the ground, ghostly energy was being emitted from their hands. Blood that melted the ground engulfed the opponent, and heat haze tried to tear off the opponent’s arms.

They used every method they could, and the fight was desperate and brutal. It wouldn’t have been strange if they bit each other’s necks off. The watching demonic cultivators were swept up in the excitement.

And at some point!

The ghost wails that had been heard throughout the fight stopped.

When the gray smoke that had been swirling madly around the two disappeared, they could be seen standing facing each other.

Everyone could tell. That the fight had finally ended. But they still couldn’t tell who had won.

Yang Do was the first to speak.

“That last technique?”

“A killing demonic technique I learned from my new master.”

“I’ve known… that you were this kind of bitch since we were young.”

“Then you should know well. That I’ll become a better Soul-Seizing Demon than our late master.”

Cheong Seon left him standing there and walked towards where the Demonic Sorcerers were gathered. She spoke to them in a clear voice.

“That’s why our Western Illusion Array will become the best among the Eight Demonic Clans!”

The moment her words ended.

Splat splat splat splat!

First Disciple Yang Do spewed blood like a fountain from his mouth, nose, and ears. He collapsed to the ground with all the blood vessels in his body ruptured.

There was a moment of silence because no one expected Cheong Seon to kill the First Disciple so cruelly. But soon, cheers that shook the place erupted.

Waaaaaah!

Cheong Seon slowly walked to where the Seven Demon Supremes were sitting.

She respectfully made a fist-and-palm salute.

“I greet you, I am Cheong Seon.”

Those who had voted for her were smiling, while those who hadn’t were stiff.

Blood Heavens Saber Demon stood up from his seat and shouted as a representative:

“A new master of Western Illusion Array has been born!”

Everyone cheered at his cry.

It was the moment a new Soul-Seizing Demon was born.

Cheong Seon looked at the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and greeted him with a respectful fist-and-palm salute.

Next, she looked at me and greeted.

But she didn’t even glance in Sa Woo-jong’s direction.

Sa Woo-jong looked very disappointed, as if he had expected at least a secretly exchanged glance. For some time now, his life hadn’t been going as he wished.