Chapter 34: Rather Than Dealing with One Tiger

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon entered the Heavenly Demon Hall. He walked slowly along the path of blood and stopped at the end of the carpet.

"Have you been well?" the Blood Heaven Blade Demon greeted Geom Woojin with polite respect.

"Thanks to you, I've been well. How about you?"

"I've been a bit busy lately, thanks to your son."

Geom Woojin smiled faintly. "Now that the boy's grown up, he doesn't do as I wish."

"Hahaha. Is there something even you can't control, Cult Leader?"

"Don't they say children are beings sent by heaven to show us that life doesn't always go our way? You'll have to have a child of your own to understand."

"Perhaps my child is growing up somewhere out there."

Geom Woojin laughed. He was gentler and more friendly than when he dealt with Geom Mugeuk. If Geom Mugeuk had seen this, he would have undoubtedly said, 'You should smile so brightly at your own son!'

After exchanging light greetings, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon subtly mentioned Geom Mugeuk. "He may not be doing as you wish, Cult Leader, but the Second Young Lord has been distinguishing himself within the cult recently."

"Isn't that your handiwork?"

It was no exaggeration. Geom Mugeuk's popularity had soared after he got involved with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"The Second Young Lord is your creation, Cult Leader. I've only just realized what a magnificent creation he is."

Geom Woojin did not deny it. Believing he was behind his son's achievements was not a bad thing.

"He's still just a child."

"I sometimes recall when I was the Second Young Lord's age. If the Second Young Lord is a child now, then I must have been a worm."

"You're overestimating the child."

"You were the one who overestimated him first, Cult Leader." He referred to Geom Mugeuk's appointment as the Sanzu Hall Director. It was an unconventional appointment, no matter the reason.

"That's why I'm bringing this up. I'd like to try and make the Second Young Lord into an even better creation."

"If you step in, it would be a miraculous encounter for that second brother of his."

"You praise me too much."

"Do as you see fit."

"Thank you."

Finally, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon carefully revealed his reason for visiting. "Since you've given your permission, would you be willing to back him properly?"

"What do you mean?"

"This matter of the Demonic Army General. Please allow me to proceed as I see fit." He requested that Jang Ho be appointed Demonic Army General, as he had recommended.

A moment of silence passed. The two men faced each other without any emotional fluctuation. Geom Woojin broke the silence first.

"The matter of the Demonic Army General will be difficult."

"This is also what the Second Young Lord desires."

"As you said yourself, I've backed the second brother enough. I have to think of the first one too."

"There's something I've learned while raising disciples. When you decide to back someone, you must back only that one person completely. I'm often criticized for failing to do so."

"I'll be fine. Unlike you, who is generous, I kill everyone who criticizes me."

Their gazes locked in mid-air. They had spent enough years together to understand each other's intentions with just a look. The longer those years, the more awkward a silence like this becomes.

"Is there anything else to say?"

At the Heavenly Demon's order to leave, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not insist. He knew well that once Geom Woojin made a decision, he would not easily change it. Another method was needed.

"I'll see you again next time."

"Do that."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned and left. His expression was stiff the entire time he walked back down the path of blood.

What is this belated weighing of scales? If you're going to back someone, you should back them to the end. Tsk!

"The Cult Leader is thinking more of the First Young Lord than you." The Blood Heaven Blade Demon began to drive a wedge between my father and me the moment he saw me.

"It seemed he considers the First Young Lord his successor."

When he has a weakness, he's the first to try and rattle his opponent. This old man's political maneuvering is truly detestable.

"I think our partnership was a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"If I'm losing to my brother, you, as an Elder, should be filling in what I lack…"

"Are you saying I'm inadequate?"

"I'm saying it's somewhat disappointing."

Instead of getting angry, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon placated me. "Look here, Second Young Lord. Making Jang Ho the Demonic Army General was impossible from the start."

"Have you given up already?"

"There's no need to cling to something that can't be done."

"You acted so high and mighty, yet you can't even manage this?"

"This? High and mighty?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon flared up, and I provoked him even more. "You were the one who offered to be my backer, Elder."

"And you were the one who pestered me like a child to do the impossible."

"Then you should've refused back then. You shouldn't have recommended Jang Ho the next day. Weren't you just hoping for a lucky break, Elder?"

I drew a long line at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's feet. "You said it before, didn't you? That this line represented how much the Cult Leader thought of you, Elder. I believed in this line…"

I drew another line, less than halfway to the first. "Wasn't the real line between my father and you, Elder, actually here?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could not refute it. What would have happened if I had not gone to my father and made a separate request? Would my father really have granted the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's request?

"If my father refused, you should've pleaded more. If it were me, I would've definitely succeeded."

"Then go ahead and try."

"What?"

"Didn't you just mock me for not being able to handle 'this much'? Then it should be easy for you."

"What will you do if I ask my father and easily accomplish it?"

"Go ahead and try. It'll probably just backfire."

He seemed confident that since his request was refused, he would never grant his son's. At times like this, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew my father well.

"Are you suggesting a bet?"

"A bet? Fine. Let's do it. If you fail too, then from that point on, you'll become my tool without complaint and stop making demands."

"And if I succeed?"

"I'll grant you what you want."

"Anything I want?"

"Is there something you want?"

After a moment of thought, I told him. "Get me miracle herbs. At least, miracle herbs better than the Demonic Essence Pill."

For a moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched in surprise.

I knew the exact nature of this surprise.

"Do you know how difficult it is to obtain miracle herbs better than the Demonic Essence Pill?"

"I know, that's why I'm making it a condition. Since we've decided to be in the same boat, isn't me getting stronger the same as you getting stronger, Elder?"

There was a reason I demanded miracle herbs from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

I knew he had miracle herbs.

He possessed the Azure Jade Divine Pill, a legendary miracle herb that could grant even more inner arts than the Demonic Essence Pill.

In the past, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had gifted the Azure Jade Divine Pill when he officially joined hands with my brother. It was revealed then that he had kept it for many years without consuming it.

The purpose of provoking this bet was precisely for this Azure Jade Divine Pill.

"You can't make Jang Ho the Demonic Army General, and you can't get me miracle herbs. I don't see any reason why I should join hands with you, Elder."

"Fine. If you seat Jang Ho as the Demonic Army General, I will get you my miracle herbs."

"You promise."

I drew the Black Demon Sword and held it out. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon struck my sword with his Heaven Destroying Dao, flicking it away.

"……"

That clear sound was our promise.

A promise made with our signature weapons holds a much stronger binding force than words.

As always, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon shot up into the air and vanished into the distance.

If I win the bet, he will keep his promise. After all, the Azure Jade Divine Pill was something he had prepared for the successor.

If I can consume the Azure Jade Divine Pill on top of the Demonic Essence Pill I took before, I will not lose a fight against a Demon Supreme due to a lack of inner arts.

And I knew how to win this bet.

I went to the office of the great Strategist, Sama Myeong.

The All-Knowing Hall, where he resided, served as the brain of our Cult. All information from the murim was gathered and sorted here. Only a fraction of that information passed through Sama Myeong to reach my father.

I could not be sure, but I probably accounted for a significant portion of the information passed from the All-Knowing Hall to the Heavenly Demon Hall these days.

The security perimeter from the entrance of the All-Knowing Hall to Sama Myeong's office was tight, even stricter than the Heavenly Demon Hall's. This signified the important role the All-Knowing Hall played in our Cult. Since it was a place where strategists gathered, it had to be thoroughly protected.

When I entered the Head Strategist's office, Sama Myeong was working amidst a pile of documents. The stack of papers on his desk was so high it nearly obscured his face.

It might seem like the Head Strategist's job is just to offer a few words of advice beside my father, but in reality, it is a battle with documents. He spends his entire day reading and rereading hundreds of messages from messenger pigeons arriving from all over the Central Plains, sorting the information that must be discarded from what must be saved.

Knowing that well, I could be the Sanzu Hall Director, but I could never be the head of the All-Knowing Hall.

Sama Myeong stood up from his desk and greeted me warmly. "What brings you here? Please, have a seat."

I sat across from him at the table. A subordinate brought tea shortly after, as if he had been waiting.

"I'm not sure if it will suit your taste. We only have one kind of tea here."

"The aroma is very nice."

I took a sip of tea and looked around. As befitting the workplace of our Cult's greatest intellect, the walls were lined with all sorts of books.

"I hear that whenever our Cult's martial artists gather these days, all they talk about is the Sanzu River Hall."

"Aren't they just busy cursing it?"

"Not at all. I've heard nothing but praise."

I knew public opinion about the Sanzu River Hall better than he did. For as many who were enthusiastic about the promise of fair law enforcement, there were just as many who opposed it.

They had lived as they pleased until now, so they must have felt a needless anxiety.

'What if I get caught too?' That must be their worry. I need to establish discipline firmly before this atmosphere spreads.

"But what brings you here?"

"I have something to ask you, Strategist."

"Go ahead."

"What do you think of Jang Ho?"

"I think he's a good martial artist. He has the makings of a great leader for the Demonic Army."

Sama Myeong probably already knew that I was behind this recommendation, that I was trying to place Jang Ho in the position of the Demonic Army General.

"Then what are the chances of Jang Ho becoming the Demonic Army General?"

"To be honest, not even ten percent."

"Even if the Blade Demon recommended Jang Ho?"

"The Cult Leader has already rejected that recommendation."

That must be why he gave the figure of ten percent. The real answer was probably 'impossible', but he said ten percent out of courtesy.

"What if my father changes his mind?"

"Then of course it's possible. However, it won't be easy. As you know, the Cult Leader is not one to reverse a decision he has made without a proper justification."

"I know that well."

The decision was made at my request in the first place.

I have no intention of asking a father like that to change his decision again without justification.

I have to create a justification for him to change his decision. This was what I had prepared.

"What about this? What if he receives another recommendation from a different Demon Supreme, following the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's?"

"Two Demon Supremes recommending the same person at the same time? It's unprecedented… but if that were to happen, there would be a good chance for Jang Ho to become the Demonic Army General. It would give the Cult Leader a justification to change his mind, but is it possible?"

In a situation where the Blood Heaven Blade Demon has already stepped forward, getting another Demon Supreme to also recommend Jang Ho was by no means an easy task.

"I'll have to try. Sometimes, isn't it easier to deal with two tigers at once rather than just one?"

"I think it would be more difficult."

That was why this precondition was necessary, to avoid the disaster of having my limbs torn off by both at the same time.

"What if those two tigers are on terribly bad terms with each other?"