Chapter 338: Inheritance and Ascension (2)
"I would like to tell you, but it's a personal matter between her and me. Besides, she seems to want to keep it hidden, so shouldn't we respect that?"
What nonsense… hiding the fact that she was a spy just because she wants to hide it?
‘Ah!’
In that moment, I realized what the Cult Leader truly meant.
"I see. If that's what she wants, I should respect it."
"Thank you for understanding."
The Cult Leader gave me a faint smile.
"Anything else you wish to ask?"
Sensing this was my chance, I decided to unload all the questions I had been holding back.
There were things I knew I should never have heard as an outsider of the Cheon Clan, yet the Cult Leader seemed to treat this as his final moment and answered almost everything I asked without hesitation.
"Can I trust that man, the one called Heavenly Researcher, whom I met?"
"It is true that he seeks atonement. That much is certain. But if you’re asking whether you can trust him… my answer is no."
His response matched exactly what I had thought.
"He was once the head of the Heavenly Brain Clan… and back then, he was more consumed by madness than anyone else. His son didn’t fall for no reason, not when his own father was right there. That kind of nature doesn’t disappear so easily."
"I understand."
"Until now, I’ve kept my eye on him, so he didn’t dare act out. But from here on… I cannot say for sure. You must never take your eyes off him."
"I will keep that in mind."
Honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to keep tabs on someone who appeared and disappeared like a ghost.
As if reading my mind, the Cult Leader gave me a solution.
"The Vice-Leader of the Divine Ghost Squad will assist you. One of her missions is to keep him under surveillance. She will be a great help."
If it was the Vice-Leader of the Divine Ghost Squad, then that had to be Bu Il-hwa, the owner of the Demonic Heaven’s Tower.
‘So, he didn’t assign me this task without any backup after all.’
I asked a few more questions and received detailed answers for each one.
Questions such as the secret of the Cheonil Pavilion Leader's birth as the illegitimate child of the Cheon Clan…
The intricate power structure within the Cheon Clan itself…
And even tales of what had happened between the Grand Heavenly Lord and the Cult Leader.
By the time I had aired most of my questions and cleared my doubts, the Cult Leader opened the door.
"Come. Let’s go outside."
"But… Gu Chil will return soon."
"I trust you can handle that. I no longer have any influence over him."
"……."
I followed the Cult Leader into the garden set in front of the lodging.
However, the Cult Leader passed through the garden and left the lodging grounds entirely, only stopping after we arrived at a spacious training field.
He turned to me with a smile.
"Well then, shall I have a look at my little brother’s skills?"
"…Didn't you already see them earlier today?"
"That was then. This is now."
Swish!
With a wave of his hand, some kind of barrier seemed to rise, covering the entire training ground.
"Now, even if you go all out, the damage won’t spread outside this space."
"……."
In other words, he wanted me to give it everything I had from the start.
With a backpack still slung over his shoulder, the Cult Leader beckoned to me with one hand.
"Come at me."
I bit my lip slightly as I looked at him.
‘Could I really do it?’
This man had blocked my strongest attack, the Bright Night Sword, with one hand. Could I show him something greater than that now?
‘No. There must be a reason for this.’
A man like him couldn’t possibly be unaware of my limitations.
Yet he was still offering me this duel…
Taking a deep breath, I drew the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
"Please grant me your guidance."
"Come."
I immediately gathered my qi and Sword Intent.
Speeding up my perception of time wouldn’t work against this monster.
I had to wait for that single, fleeting opening and attack it with everything I had.
The best strike I could produce by combining the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and the Heavenly Divine Art…
Bright Night Sword
The same sword technique that had been blocked before shot toward the Cult Leader once more.
"Hmm, using the same move again?"
He casually reached out and stopped the advance of the Bright Night Sword.
"It feels even weaker than before… Hmm?"
The Cult Leader's expression shifted with interest as he sensed another killing intent coming from in front of him.
"Oh?"
Taking advantage of the moment when he stopped the Bright Night Sword, I immediately drew the Chamseong Sword and unleashed my second finishing move.
Heaven-Piercing Annihilation
Time-Space Flash
If Bright Night Sword represented the point, then Heaven-Piercing Annihilation was the line.
While Bright Night Sword had superior raw piercing power…
Heaven-Piercing Annihilation’s Time-Space Flash was a technique that ignored space itself to slice through the target.
I had pushed myself far beyond my limits, but even the Great Senior Brother or Ma Sajeo wouldn’t be able to ignore this combo!
"Impressive. You reversed the use of point and line to exploit a tiny gap?"
However…
Crackle!
Suddenly, from the Cult Leader’s extended palm, a transparent barrier-like force began to materialize!
Heavenly Demon Seal
Clang!
My Heaven-Piercing Annihilation stopped dead and bounced off the barrier without advancing any further.
‘Damn it!’
What the hell kind of technique could repel something that ignored space itself?
I felt like Sun Wukong, trapped beneath the Buddha’s palm.
Soon after, the struggling Bright Night Sword also failed to pierce through the Cult Leader’s palm and was effortlessly seized.
"……."
The Cult Leader handed me back the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword as he spoke.
“The two ultimate techniques you just displayed… they are skills one should only start to grasp in the later stages of the Transcendent Demon Realm.”
That was true.
I had been able to learn those techniques only because I carried over some of the realizations from my previous life, and more importantly, I had excellent teachers.
“Their raw power is flawless. If I were the same man you first met back then, I might have taken some serious damage.”
“But… you’re saying there’s a problem, aren’t you?”
“……”
The Cult Leader fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
“You’ll soon reach a dead end.”
“……!”
“My prediction is… you can probably wield other transcendent-level techniques besides those two. Am I wrong?”
I nodded, feeling like he had struck a nerve.
“Yes, that’s true.”
Techniques like Senior Brother’s Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment, or the true Sungma Gyeongcheondo of Senior Brother Pa Gooncheong.
Their full power might fall short, but I could still perform them to a certain extent.
The Cult Leader let out a low sigh.
“Little Brother… the true intent behind such techniques isn’t something that should even be replicable.”
“Ugh!”
“Of course, one might be able to reproduce the outer form. Like the Pa Clan’s Holy Blade Art passed down in chant form. But for someone to use another’s answer so freely like you… it shouldn’t be possible.”
The Cult Leader looked up at the sky and continued.
“What we call Heaven-Forged Transcendent Techniques… are the answers one discovers after a lifetime of wandering the martial world.”
“Hmm, so there’s actually a name for them.”
He shrugged.
“Well, it’s a name I came up with along with those two old fools. Few people ever reach that level, so it never had a proper definition. Most just call them transcendent techniques, but Dao Zun once came up with that name out of nowhere.”
Hmm.
Seems naming conventions are the same everywhere.
“What I’m trying to say is this: you’ve taken on too many answers, and you’re carrying too much. When will you ever find your own path and give your own answer?”
“But…”
“Even if this isn’t your first life.”
“……!”
I was at a loss for words.
Since when had he known?
I had planned to eventually reveal this truth to those around me.
But I had never imagined it would be exposed like this, catching me completely off guard.
‘No… even the Venerable Buddha knew I had come from somewhere else.’
It wasn’t surprising that the Cult Leader, whose power rivaled the Venerable Buddha’s, would bring this up.
Rather than denying it, I asked him a question of my own.
“Why do you say that?”
“To be honest, your martial arts right now are the best under heaven. With the right alliances, unifying the martial world wouldn’t be out of reach.”
Senior Brother Yujeon had said something similar.
That there were now only a handful left in the world who could stop me.
“Even Yura would need a few more years to catch up to you.”
“I’ve said it before, but the future you fear will never come to pass. If the Six Great Demonic Clans ever threaten Yura’s reign, I’ll disband them myself.”
I now had the strength to do that.
“Heh… that’s not what I mean.”
The Cult Leader shook his head.
“You should know by now… your true enemy was never the martial world.”
“…….”
“The heavenly timing is approaching. Soon, chaos greater than anything we’ve seen in the past will erupt.”
What was he trying to tell me?
Then, words I never expected came from his lips.
“Don’t entangle yourself too deeply in the martial world.”
“…….”
“This isn’t to restrain you. If you truly wish to destroy Heavenly Evil and pull Yura from the abyss of fate, you should take my advice to heart.”
His expression was more serious than ever before.
“Even the lofty state called Transcendent Demon Realm… is meaningless when viewed from the heavens. If you truly wish to reach the sky, you must let go of your burdens and lighten your shoulders.”
Why?
Why did those words make my insides churn?
Because those words felt like a direct denial of all my efforts until now.
Lighten my shoulders to reach the sky?
“Is that why you distanced yourself from the Cult’s affairs?!”
“It’s somewhat similar, yes.”
I snapped, unable to hold back any longer.
My anger surged, and words I should never have spoken began spilling out.
“Then why did you abandon Yura?! You let that cursed Heavenly Thunder Corps turn her into a puppet, and you let that bastard you placed by her side poison her with Heaven-Slaying Poison for years! Is that what you wanted?!”
“…….”
“You had the power! You could have cleared the way for her! What the hell have you been doing all this time?!”
“Little Brother…”
“I know what you’re trying to say! That the more techniques I gather, the harder they are to unify! That I’ll drift further from transcendence!”
All the frustration I had bottled up until now exploded at once.
“But! None of this would have happened if you had acted first! I wouldn’t have had to throw myself into this mess!”
Sure, there were probably reasons he couldn’t move easily.
I had seen enough to know that he truly loved Cheon Yura and Cheon Yujeong.
But still.
That didn’t excuse what happened in my previous life.
“You think lying back in the Heavenly Demon Pavilion like some sage who knows all will solve anything?! Your indifference killed Yura!”
Breathing heavily, I glared at the Cult Leader.
Given what I had just said, it wouldn’t be strange if he struck me down on the spot.
But I had no regrets.
I had said everything I needed to say.
So I waited for his response in silence.
And after a long moment had passed…
“…I’m sorry.”
For the first time,
I looked into the Cult Leader’s eyes, filled with nothing but deep regret.