Chapter 5: A Tiger Doesn't Hide Its Claws

TL: FoodieMonster007

The hunting grounds were not far, located on the notoriously rugged mountain behind our Cult. It was a place no one could enter, fortified as it was with defensive formations and traps installed everywhere. With all human presence cut off, the only people here were my father and me.

Ah, I guess there are three of us.

Father's bodyguard, Hwi, must have been following us, concealed somewhere nearby.

I had always called him Uncle Hwi. I saw him often when I was young, though my chances to see him dwindled as I grew older. He was the bodyguard my father trusted absolutely. If I had Lee Ahn, then my father had Hwi.

I raised my qi to scan our surroundings but could not detect his presence. It was just as I expected from a master who had reached the highest level in the art of concealment. Of course, even a master like Hwi had died at Hwa Mugi's hands on that day.

The first thing my father said to me was a question about my gear.

"What's with all that distracting luggage?"

I was carrying a leather pack almost as large as my own body.

"They're things I'll need for a few days."

"A few days? We plan to be here for only a day before heading down."

"You never know, right?" I offered. "You might find hunting with me so enjoyable that you'll want to stay a few more days."

Father's expression openly revealed his thought, as if that would ever happen.

"You dream big."

It had not even been an hour since I had been with my father, but I was already realizing something new about him. My memory was quite distorted. I remembered him as a man of very few words, yet he spoke much more than I had thought.

"You were better than I expected," he said, commenting on how I had handled Gu Pyeongho in the duel.

Although my movements had lacked inner arts, the skills I had accumulated in my life before regression must have shown through. I saw no point in trying to deceive him.

"I was hiding my skills."

"It seemed so."

Riding the mood, I added a joke. "I'm not a hissing cat, but a tiger hiding its claws."

Father stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face me. "If you're a tiger, why hide your claws?"

"Ah, I hadn't considered that perspective."

"That's why you're a cat."

As he was about to turn away, he suddenly asked, "What level have you reached in the Soaring Sky Sword Art?"

The Soaring Sky Sword Art was a martial art passed down through the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon. While it could not compare to the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, which was passed down only to the Heavenly Demon himself, it was still considered a supreme martial art on par with those learned by the Demon Supremes. Of course, learning a higher-tier martial art did not automatically make one stronger. Depending on the wielder, even a weak martial art could be used to kill someone with a strong one.

Judging that I could not deceive my father, I answered honestly.

"I've achieved complete mastery."

The next moment was a blur of motion.

PWIING!

A bullet of pure qi shot from his fingertip, grazing my cheek. I had only dodged by instinct, twisting my head just in time to avoid having a hole pierced through it.

Father's expression was one of surprise.

"You really have achieved complete mastery!"

I touched my stinging cheek, which was already hot from the force of the attack, and asked in a near-shout, "You actually fired that without believing me? What would you have done if I couldn't dodge it?"

"You would have paid the price for lying," he said calmly. "If you had achieved complete mastery, you would have been able to dodge it."

"A scar wouldn't suit this handsome face that resembles you, Father!"

After scoffing once, my father started walking again.

Now I see why my past self was so terrified of him.

What father in the world would fire a finger qi bullet at his own son without hesitation? And at his face, no less. It would not have killed me, but it was an attack that would have left a serious wound if I had failed to dodge.

Father, walking ahead, spoke without looking back.

"To achieve complete mastery at your age… is incredible."

In my past life, I had not achieved complete mastery until I was well into my thirties, so it was natural for him to be surprised. Since my father was always sincere when it came to martial arts, that compliment was high praise indeed.

"Thank you."

After that, we climbed the mountain for a long time without another word. If we had been in a room, the silence would have been suffocating, but climbing a mountain was different. Even walking in silence felt like its own kind of wordless conversation.

I was the one who finally broke the long quiet.

"Who did you learn to hunt from?"

After a brief pause, my father spoke.

"I learned from my older brother."

"I had an uncle?"

"He's dead. He died at my hands when he was your age."

A moment of silence passed between us. Instead of offering polite words of condolence, I stated my honest thoughts.

"You did well."

Father stopped, his sharp gaze pinning me to the spot.

"If you hadn't," I continued, "I wouldn't have even been born."

After staring at me coldly for a moment, he started walking again. How could he not have scars left on his heart from a battle of flesh and blood? I had seen it many times in my past life. The stronger a person appeared on the outside, the deeper the wounds they carried within. That was why I had blurted it out, as if squeezing pus from a wound.

There is a lesson I learned in my past life. You can bury a corpse, but you should never bury the wounds of the heart.

That must be why I was able to hear such words from him next.

"At the time… I couldn't find a way."

I knew what he meant. He could not find a way to win the succession battle without killing his brother.

My answer was firm.

"Don't expect it from me, either."

Father glanced back at me. His gaze was even colder than before, but I said what I had to say.

"What you couldn't do, Father, I can't do either. Besides, you should give me a brother worth agonizing over before saying something like that. You know, don't you? You know how vile and cruel my brother is."

"You're quite good at badmouthing him behind his back."

"He deserves to be badmouthed."

In fact, this isn't even enough. Not when I think about what he'll do to become the successor.

"He's suffering on the frontier, and you're here in a comfortable place, just running your mouth."

"Someone at the level of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's First Young Lord wouldn't suffer even if he were locked in the deepest cell of an underground prison, let alone the frontier."

My brother was currently active under our father's orders. At this time, he had not yet revealed his true colors, and since he was quite capable, our father trusted him more than me. Not only that, but many members of the cult were already trying to align themselves with him.

"My brother will never yield the position of successor," I said. "Trying to become the successor while keeping him alive is foolish arrogance."

Father's expression as he looked at me was filled with a sentiment that clearly asked, Is this the kind of child you were? My gaze answered steadfastly. Yes!

He started walking again.

I never married in my past life, so I do not know exactly what kind of emotion a child brings to a man.

That is why I am curious.

What am I to my father?

We climbed for some time longer before he stopped.

"……"

At his signal, I lifted my head. He was pointing his finger far ahead.

"Do you see it?"

I opened my eyes wide, but I could only see the dense forest and nothing else.

"I can't see it."

"I can."

"What's over there?"

"Dinner."

"Then we should catch it."

As I took out the bow I had slung on my leather pack, my father stopped my hasty movement.

"How do you plan to catch something you can't even see? First, close your eyes and feel your surroundings."

"……"

Masters perceive their opponents through the vibrations in the surrounding air, what is commonly referred to as a presence. The only presence I could feel nearby was my father's. It was calm, and that was what made it so frightening. I knew better than anyone how ferocious that presence became when angered. Within that peaceful sea slept a typhoon that could overturn the world.

"Now, send out a single thread of energy. Just one thread."

I did as he instructed and released a single thread of qi.

"Slowly, without breaking the flow of energy. Think of your body as a spool of thread and slowly release it as if pulling out a string."

In my life before regression, I had never conceived of sending out my energy so thinly, like a single thread. There was always a clear reason for releasing energy, to overwhelm an opponent's momentum with my own presence. Now, I was releasing qi in a way I had never imagined.

"Thinner. Don't let it break!"

This was also the first time I realized that the energy released from my body could extend this far.

"Further, further, further."

If my father had not been beside me, encouraging me, I would never have been able to extend my energy this far.

And the next moment, my energy touched something.

"Did it connect?"

Father had noticed that my energy had touched something just as quickly as I had.

"Yes. I can feel it."

"What does it feel like?"

"I think it's a tree."

Surprisingly, I got a sense of what it was. It was truly just a feeling, so I do not know how to explain it, but it was definitely a tree.

"Examine the area around it. Slowly."

It felt as if all the thread on the spool had unraveled and was about to spill away at any moment, but I did not lose my focus. I extended my energy even further and explored the surroundings. Then, I discovered a living presence beneath the tree.

"Is it… a wild boar?"

When my father did not answer, I slowly opened my eyes. He was staring at me, his expression one of pure astonishment.

"Or is it a bear? The bristles were stiff and the body was long, so it felt like a wild boar."

"It is a wild boar."

I looked toward the place my energy had reached. It was still invisible to my eyes. I had just identified a wild boar deep in the distant forest.

"It's not easy to sense it in one go from this distance." Even after witnessing it himself, my father looked as if he found it hard to believe.

Thinking about it, the technique from a moment ago was not just some miscellaneous skill for hunting. It was a formidable secret art that could be applied to martial arts.

"You were originally planning to tease me when I failed, weren't you."

"Because you should have failed, naturally."

"I'm your son, Father."

"Even I couldn't do it on the first try."

"But aren't I the Heavenly Martial Body?"

When the Heavenly Martial Body was mentioned, the look in my father's eyes changed slightly.

At that time, I held a deep resentment toward him regarding my body. You, who pursues strength so relentlessly, who even holds a duel tournament to find a talent capable of crushing your own children, why did you neglect me? Why won't you support me, the one with the Heavenly Martial Body? I had even wondered if he was jealous of me. Yes, my past self was that petty.

But now I know. I know that the world does not move according to my wishes. It is not about asking for special treatment because I am the Heavenly Martial Body, but about using this body to become a special person on my own. I know now that only when everyone's expectations and desires are placed upon that specialness does the Heavenly Martial Body truly become a blessing from the heavens.

"What are you doing? Do you plan on starving tonight?"

I powerfully drew my bow and shot an arrow toward the spot where I had felt the presence.

PWIING.

In the darkness, a campfire blazed, and over it, well-dressed boar meat was cooking.

"When did you learn to dress an animal?"

"I learned from a book."

"You seemed quite skilled for someone who just read a book."

Father, I've probably hunted and eaten hundreds of wild boars.

I subtly changed the subject.

"That tiger fur you're sitting on? I brought that just to suck up to you. It was worth the effort of lugging it all the way here."

Father was sitting on the fur I had brought in my leather pack. At my boast, the corner of his lip curled up slightly. It is hard for a sneer to look so good on someone's face, but my father managed that difficult feat with ease.

"Did you say you wanted to hunt with me because you wanted to get on my good side and become the successor?"

"No. I know very well that won't work on you, Father."

"I'm glad you know."

"I can be chosen as the successor even without your help."

"You're full of confidence."

"Of course, my greedy, cruel, and foul-tempered brother will get in my way."

"There you go, badmouthing him again."

"I have to. How often do I get a chance to openly criticize him in front of the judge who scores us?"

Father, if you truly wanted peaceful brotherly love in the family, you should have decided from the start. You should have declared the successor and told us not to get any funny ideas. Isn't the battle for succession a mess of fighting and killing even when things are decided?

"Why did you say you wanted to hunt with me?"

"There are two reasons. The first is to learn something, anything, to become stronger. I think I've succeeded with that one."

"And once you're stronger?"

To my father's provocative gaze, which asked if I would aim for his position, I quickly replied.

"My reason for wanting to become stronger isn't to become the Heavenly Demon. You're still hale and hearty, Father, and I don't want to waste my youth chasing after that title. I'll be satisfied as long as I can become the successor and learn the Heavenly Demon's martial arts."

Considering our ages, my brother and I must have seemed far from ready to be the successor in our father's eyes. In fact, he did not name my brother as the successor until about ten years from now. As I am now, I cannot wait ten years. Being an awl in a bag is not enough. It is time to take the awl out of the bag and start poking around everywhere.

That is why I must receive the Nine Calamities Demonic Art as soon as possible and achieve complete mastery. No, I must reach a state beyond that. Since even my father, who achieved the tenth star of complete mastery, was defeated by Hwa Mugi, I must achieve the Twelfth Star.

"Sometimes, I imagine it," I said. "What if I meet someone in my life that I really want to beat to death, but I can't? How frustrating would that be? I want to become stronger just so I don't have to suffer that fate."

Father's expression did not change, so I could not tell what he was thinking.

"And the second reason?"

"I wanted to spend time alone with you, Father. This is the first time, isn't it?"

The sneer on his lips deepened again.

"What cheap sentimentality. The kind that gets you killed."

"How could it be cheap when I'm with the world number one? If you sing a song, it'll be the world number one masterpiece. If you drink alcohol, it'll be the world number one vintage. Even if you take a crap…"

"That's enough."

"Yes! I'll keep my mouth shut for two hours."

My eyes met my father's, and I smiled pleasantly. It was probably the first time I had ever smiled in front of him. He, however, just coldly turned his head away.

When I thought of you, Father, I had no fond memories. Frightening memories aren't the same thing, are they? In this life, I won't let my memories be so desolate, but don't get too happy. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me.