Chapter 25: Thousand-Day Pass (3)
Jo Jin-sang, also known as the Mist Prison Wolf, was a veteran martial artist who had stepped down from the frontlines and held the position of Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass for the past ten years.
He was a man who prioritized rules and principles above all else and never allowed exceptions in his handling of matters.
That personality had reflected itself in his martial arts as well, earning him the nickname Iron-Blooded Demon General in the Central Plains due to his ruthless skill.
However, even for someone like him, this matter couldn’t be taken lightly.
“Phew…”
The Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass let out a deep sigh, arms crossed.
Before him stood a crowd of instructors who had already gathered, all quietly gauging his reaction.
“Pavilion Master, how do you intend to handle this matter?”
The Vice Pavilion Master mustered up the courage to ask, but the Pavilion Master gave no reply.
Instead, he tapped the blank document in front of him with his finger and trailed off in a murmur.
“A special privilege, huh.”
The reason for the Pavilion Master’s displeased expression was clear.
It was due to a certain giant figure who had been sitting in front of him just earlier.
“Damn that Asura King bastard.”
Flinch!
That one line caused the shoulders of every instructor present to twitch.
“Even though he’s in exile, is it because it’s his son? That he dares offer me such a position?”
“P-Pavilion Master…”
“And if I refuse, he surely won’t let me off easy.”
Over the past ten years, the Pavilion Master had received countless requests and bribes.
Among them were even high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Demon Cult who couldn’t easily be ignored, but those requests were almost never granted.
There was only one reason for that.
‘Because they weren’t talents I cherished enough to risk turning into enemies.’
If they had truly been precious talents, he would’ve sent them to the Demon Dragon Hall instead of the Thousand-Day Pass—or kept them by his side and taught them personally.
But this time was different.
This was someone from the direct line of the Six Great Demonic Clans—so much so that even the Asura King himself had come to personally ask for a favor. The Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass couldn’t simply ignore such a request.
Even more so when the position of “Pavilion Master of the Demon Dragon Hall” loomed right in front of him.
—“How long do you plan to rot away in the Thousand-Day Pass? Shouldn’t you get a taste of the real waters before retiring?”
—“Real waters?”
—“The Demon Dragon Pavilion Master is retiring the year after next. I’m ready to submit your name to the Elder Council for that seat.”
—“…!”
Unlike the virtually dead-end position of the Thousand-Day Pavilion Master, the seat of the Demon Dragon Pavilion Master was a prime position—one of the most powerful posts.
It was a position in charge of the future leadership of the cult. Its influence went without saying.
Above all, the title of Pavilion Master of the Demon Dragon Hall was one of the fastest tracks to join the Elder Council.
‘Elder Council… Elder Council, huh.’
Even someone like the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass, who had lived his life without greed, couldn’t help but be tempted by the sheer weight of that title.
Elder Council.
The effective pinnacle of power in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Though it was said the Six Great Demonic Clans held the true power, even their authority ultimately came from the Elder Council’s decisions.
While the high-numbered Elder seats were occupied by the heads of the Six Great Clans, the lower-numbered seats were essentially the final destination for any layperson, along with the Guardians.
To think that simply granting a bit of convenience to the son of such a man could open a path to that seat.
It was essentially the opportunity of a lifetime—one that would never come again.
‘Someone like the Asura King wouldn’t come to deceive me. Then why would he send his son here of all places?’
That alone was something the Pavilion Master couldn’t wrap his head around, no matter how hard he thought.
After mulling it over for a while, he made his decision.
“There will be no exceptions. Treat him exactly the same as we did with the second son of the Ma Clan.”
“P-Pavilion Master!”
“Are you serious?”
The instructors cried out in disbelief, but the Pavilion Master was resolute.
“What good would chasing power do me at my age? I’ve already passed seventy.”
“The Asura King won’t take this lightly!”
“This is different from when we handled Ma Cheolsoo! The Blood Dragon Demonic Clan didn’t raise a fuss back then!”
“Silence.”
Bang!
When the Pavilion Master slammed the table, the room immediately fell silent.
“I’ll take full responsibility. It’s not your concern.”
“S-Still…”
The Pavilion Master’s gaze turned ice-cold.
“You all fear the Asura King, but not me?”
The instructors’ expressions changed in an instant.
“N-No, sir!”
The Pavilion Master was a supreme-level martial artist acknowledged by the cult—someone who had earned the title of Lord.
Even if the Asura King wielded tremendous influence, the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass was no political amateur either.
Giving the instructors a look of disdain, he let out a sigh and waved his hand.
“Only the Vice Pavilion Master stays. The rest of you return to your duties and continue preparations for receiving the next cohort without delay.”
“Y-Yes, Pavilion Master!”
As the instructors filed out en masse—
“What do you think?”
asked the Pavilion Master.
The Vice Pavilion Master shook his head.
“What’s certain is that this isn’t the Asura King’s own will.”
The Asura King’s ambition to surpass both the Ma Clan and the Pa Clan was something well-known within the cult.
He wouldn’t be so foolish as to bury his best card—his eldest son—here in the Thousand-Day Pass.
“It must be one of two things.”
The Pavilion Master let out a breath.
“Either it’s the will of the Cult Leader… or that greenhorn Jin Yeomyung.”
“If the Asura King cares this much, we can’t rule out the former.”
“Indeed. Their recent interaction with the Young Cult Leader was widely talked about.”
Despite being the firstborn son, he had fallen behind early and lost his position as heir to his younger brother—a failure.
And yet, during the recent event with the Young Cult Leader, he had survived alongside the fourth son of the Ma Clan. That alone was unexpected.
“Could it be due to the incident they caused together? Wasn’t the Young Cult Leader disciplined for that?”
“If it’s collective punishment, that would make sense. The problem is—why send him to the Thousand-Day Pass instead of the Demon Dragon Hall?”
The Pavilion Master shook his head.
“No matter how I look at it, this isn’t a punishment. The Asura King’s request… feels completely different from any of the other favors I’ve received.”
“Different, sir?”
“It wasn’t about exempting him from training, or inflating his scores, or keeping him away from danger.”
Rather, it was more like… making minor arrangements so he could focus purely on cultivating martial arts without other distractions.
“At the very least, it seems he’s serious about learning…”
At that moment, a possibility flashed across the Pavilion Master’s mind.
‘Could it be… he's aiming for the Main Flow?’
The Main Flow system—different from the current modified curriculum—was created to foster powerful demonic warriors.
Although barely anyone remembered it now, and the rule had long rusted and nearly weathered into oblivion, the Thousand-Day Pass still retained a clause stating that the curriculum should be offered if requested.
It was outdated, yes, but a direct descendant of the Six Great Demonic Clans could easily acquire that information.
‘I’ll have to meet him personally and figure out his true intentions.’
Regardless of any deal with the Asura King, if this newcomer had entered with a half-hearted mindset, it was better to drive him out immediately to avoid future trouble.
Whether he was a rare lunatic truly pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts—or a stray mutt crawling into his territory with some other motive…
He’d find out soon enough.
***
The deep hours before dawn.
Somewhere inside the Thousand-Day Pass.
In a place like this—where curfew was strictly enforced—it was virtually impossible for an ordinary trainee to leave the dormitory unnoticed.
Only two types of people could manage such a feat:
Someone who had built an overwhelming presence among the trainees.
Or someone backed by one of the instructors.
The figure who had just slipped out of the dormitory fit both categories.
The trainee spoke toward the darkness beyond.
“I really wish you wouldn’t summon me like this. Even I get a little wary sometimes, you know.”
Despite his words sounding like a complaint, his tone was light and cheerful.
From within the darkness, a black silhouette lowered their head.
“Forgive me, Second Order. This was a top-priority directive from above.”
“Top priority, huh? So important that it’s worth disrupting a mission I’ve been working on for years?”
The black figure swallowed hard at the trainee’s cold shift in demeanor.
He didn’t stand a chance against him in martial arts. And this Second Order was a favored candidate for promotion, personally favored by one of the highest-ranking executives in the Organization.
There was nothing to be gained by offending him.
The figure’s tone grew even more cautious.
“My apologies. Originally, the kill order had been passed to the Hidden Trace Manor’s Soul Reapers…”
“But?”
“But after they were all wiped out in a run-in with the Young Cult Leader, the order was redirected to the person closest to the target—you.”
“Ahh, those idiots. I heard about that.”
The trainee called Second Order immediately reverted to his usual confident demeanor.
“So, who’s this assassination target that they’re bothering someone as busy as me with?”
“…It’s…”
The black-clad figure transmitted the target’s identity via sound transmission.
“Hah!”
The moment he heard it—
“Ha! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
Second Order burst into wild, uncontrollable laughter.
“S-Second Order!”
The strange figure fidgeted, glancing around nervously, afraid that someone might overhear their clandestine conversation. But the laughter didn’t stop anytime soon.
“Pfft… How ridiculous. Forget why that person’s even here in the first place…”
Second Order’s eyes curled into a delighted sneer.
“Wasn’t he supposed to be under the jurisdiction of First Order? How the hell did this end up in my hands?”
“That part is currently under investigation. However, the upper echelon has determined that appeasement is no longer an option.”
“Fine by me. Nothing better than cleaning up First Order’s mess.”
Second Order genuinely seemed to be enjoying the situation.
If he could resolve this incident cleanly—
Then perhaps, the positions of First and Second Order could be reversed.
As his ambition burned brightly, the dark figure hastily warned him.
“Just be careful. As you know, there are rumors spreading that the eldest son of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan is entering the Thousand-Day Pass. If you drag this out, unforeseen variables could appear.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Second Order waved his hand dismissively.
“But actually, that’s great news for me. Everyone’s attention will be focused on that guy. It’ll make moving in the shadows even easier.”
“Well… yes, technically.”
“As long as that Jin Yeomyung guy isn’t sleeping in the same bed as our target, I don’t see any complications. Different cohort, different status.”
As far as Second Order knew, the assassination target had no real connections within the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Which was probably why he’d ended up buried in a place like the Thousand-Day Pass in the first place.
“Don’t worry. As you instructors know, this place is perfect for burying someone without ever getting your hands dirty.”
The Thousand-Day Pass was a closed-off society, completely detached from the main sect’s typical environment.
“Tell the higher-ups this: I’ll handle it cleanly, without a trace.”
“…Understood. Then…”
The black figure vanished without a sound.
“Heh heh heh… What a wonderful opportunity.”
Second Order could barely contain his excitement.
“First Order… Don’t think I’ll stay in your shadow forever.”
First Order and Second Order had both been taken in by the Organization from a young age, raised with a singular purpose.
They had learned the same martial arts, produced the same results, and yet First Order had always stood ahead.
The reason was simple.
The one who had adopted First Order held a higher rank than the one who had adopted him.
And that fact was something Second Order could never accept.