Chapter 40: Grow Stronger, Lee Ahn!

TL: FoodieMonster007

Early the next day, I went to the Heavenly Demon Hall to see my father. Father was not in the main hall but in his personal training ground. I waited outside for him to finish.

"Come in."

Father, having been informed of my visit, had me enter. I felt a tremor of nervousness as I stepped inside. It was my first time ever entering my father's personal training ground.

The moment I did so, my father rushed toward me from the middle of the training yard.

Father unleashed the Hell Step. The sword that flew at me was the Heavenly Demon Sword.

The Heavenly Demon attacking with the Heavenly Demon Sword while using the Hell Step? No opponent could survive.

The situation ended in a flash. The Heavenly Demon Sword stopped mid-air. I stood right next to it, so close my breath could have fogged the blade. I had dodged my father's attack with the Vanishing Step.

Did the Vanishing Step win against the Hell Step? Of course not. The attack was just slow enough for me to barely evade it.

"You keep aiming for this handsome face of mine."

"Those who aim for you outside won't be as merciful as I am."

"Thank you for sparing my life."

I looked around my father's training ground as if nothing had happened.

"I thought there would be something special here, but there's nothing."

There really was nothing. The empty space held only a few swords, daos, and spears leaning against a wall.

"You don't even have a single training dummy."

"Why keep what is unnecessary?"

Then again, I also train by imagining a virtual enemy. How would my father be any different?

Just then, an iron plate on the wall caught my eye. The plate, about 20 centimeters thick, was covered in deep fist imprints. To my surprise, it was made of thousand-year-old cold iron.

"My goodness! Just how strong are your fists? This is abuse of thousand-year-old cold iron."

"Enough nonsense. Come here."

Father had a reason for bringing me into his training ground.

"Demonstrate the Four Strides of the Wind God."

"……"

Opportunities to receive my father's teachings were rare, so I did my best to demonstrate the technique.

The Four Strides of the Wind God had four major techniques which contained over nine hundred variations. Depending on one's interpretation, that number could change. How one interpreted and applied these variations slightly altered the movements, which ultimately changed the technique's power. This was why the same martial arts could feel different depending on the user.

When I finished, my father looked flushed, likely because my achievement was higher than he had expected.

I discussed the technique with my father. At first, it was a simple discussion about putting more force into my feet or twisting my waist faster. I conveyed my thoughts exactly. Some of my points contradicted my father's opinions, but he was surprisingly flexible.

He performed the technique on the spot, just as I had described.

"It seems you were right. Putting more force into the right foot is the correct interpretation."

While discussing martial arts, my father felt like a different person. He was free, generous, and rational. For a long while, my father and I discussed the Four Strides of the Wind God. We were so engrossed that our discussion only ended when I felt the pangs of hunger.

By the time our conversation ended, I could feel my mastery of the Four Strides of the Wind God had reached a new level.

"Thank you for your great teachings. This debt of gratitude…"

I will repay it by killing Hwa Mugi.

"I'll repay you later with money."

Father said abruptly at my jest.

"Stay for a meal."

I was stunned for a moment.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"It's the first time I've ever heard you say that. Asking me to eat with you."

"You're surprised by the strangest things."

Father left the training ground first. Just as he said, it was a strange thing to be moved by, but honestly, I felt a lump in my throat.

I had a meal with my father. I expected a grand feast, but the table was neat and simple with fewer dishes than I thought.

"There's more rice, so eat a lot."

"……"

I ate without making any jokes. This wouldn't be a frequent opportunity, so I tried my best to remember this moment. He gave me a strange look as I ate quietly, then continued his meal in silence.

Whenever I was with my father, I usually made a point of being more playful, but in this moment, it was the me from just before my regression eating with my father. As a grown man to another man, as a martial artist to another martial artist, and yet, still as father and son.

Father… I missed moments like this.

I had never once missed it before, but now, I finally understood. Deep in my heart, I had been longing for this.

And so, my historic first meal with my father ended. I would never forget this first meal, where we exchanged not a single word.

After we finished, my father asked me.

"Did you enjoy the side dishes?"

It was time to return to my usual self.

"Would you like to trade chefs with me?"

Don't be sad, Chef Im. It's just a joke.

"No need."

"Haha."

I drank the alcohol served with the meal with my father.

"You drank with the Blade Demon at the Demon Village?"

"……"

Indeed, my father knew my every move within the cult.

"How much do you trust him?"

"I don't trust him."

"……"

"Because I don't know him. No matter how transparent someone may seem, one should never be arrogant enough to think they know them."

Father wore a satisfied expression when I answered according to his teachings. He was worried I might trust the Blade Demon and get stabbed in the back.

"Why did you come to see me today?"

He asked this question more than eight hours after I had arrived.

"I have a favor to ask."

"Speak."

"Please allow me to add one person to my family."

Father gave me a look as if I had said something absurd.

"Do you mean you wish to marry?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I wish to pass down the Soaring Sky Sword Art to my bodyguard, Lee Ahn."

I intended to pass the Soaring Sky Sword Art, which I had completely mastered, to Lee Ahn. She would need something of that level to protect her position as the head of the Ghost Shadow Squad. The problem was that the Soaring Sky Sword Art was passed down only to those of the Heavenly Demon's bloodline. I could not teach it without my father's permission.

"So you badmouth your true blood relatives, yet you want to make your bodyguard family?"

"Yes. She is more precious to me than my blood relatives, and she will accomplish great things in the future."

"The Soaring Sky Sword Art is your unique martial arts. Are you sure about this?"

"My unique martial arts will be the Nine Calamities Demonic Art."

This entire process will be for nothing if I don't become the successor. Ultimately, all of this is to gain my father's recognition. I must become the successor and inherit the Nine Calamities Demonic Art to face Hwa Mugi.

"You're quite confident."

"She is a person worthy of being taught."

"In what way?"

"She is a better person than I am."

Father was silent for a moment, perhaps finding the answer unexpected. After taking a sip of his drink, my father asked.

"Do you intend to make that child the head of your private organization?"

"Yes, that's right. In the future, I may eliminate some Demon Supremes. I will fill that vacuum with my private organization. So please, grant me your permission."

Then came my father's ready reply.

"Fine."

At first, I thought I had misheard. I didn't think he would grant permission so easily.

"Do you really mean I can pass down the Soaring Sky Sword Art to Lee Ahn?"

I checked once more, but my father just nodded silently. I thought he would set some condition or mission… Why did he agree so easily?

"Promise me one thing in return."

"Please give your command."

"The next time you decide to kill a Demon Supreme, you must tell me. No matter which Demon Supreme it is."

It was not a difficult promise. I had intended to do so anyway. I had no intention of taking out Demon Supremes without my father's permission.

"Yes, I will definitely do so."

"You called for me?"

Having received my father's permission, I immediately summoned Lee Ahn to my personal training ground.

"Do you know why I called you?"

"Yes, I have a rough idea."

"What is it?"

"Aren't you going to test what I've trained so far?"

It was a natural assumption since I had called her to the training ground.

"How is it? Are you ready?"

"I did my best to train."

"Not for that."

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking if you're ready to be taught a new martial arts."

Lee Ahn was startled for a moment. Soon, her surprise turned into excitement. For a martial artist, what could be more thrilling than learning a superior martial art?

"Lee Ahn, head of the Ghost Shadow Squad."

"……"

"From this moment on, I will pass down the Soaring Sky Sword Art to you."

Lee Ahn, who had been standing there blankly, shrieked in astonishment.

"……"

It was the most surprised I had ever seen her.

"No! The Soaring Sky Sword Art is passed down only to the Heavenly Demon's bloodline, isn't it? If you teach it to me, the Cult Leader will strike me dead! You'll get in huge trouble too, Young Master. If you're planning to teach me in secret, please give up. There are no secrets in this world, and even if there were, I can't learn it."

After she poured out a torrent of words, I asked with a smile.

"Are you finished?"

"There's more, but I'll just say this. No! Absolutely not!"

I smiled and told her.

"I got my father's permission."

"What?"

Lee Ahn's eyes widened. Watching her, I realized just how varied her expressions were. She had many ways of showing surprise, and this one was new.

"Really?"

"……"

"That can't be possible."

"If you doubt it, you can come with me and confirm it yourself."

Lee Ahn, who feared my father more than anyone, waved her hands dismissively and backed away.

"I'd rather you just kill me."

"I don't dislike you enough to lie about this. Want me to tell you the decisive reason why I'm telling the truth?"

"What is it?"

"You're right. If I taught you without permission, you'd die. There's no way I'd put you in that kind of danger."

It seemed Lee Ahn had at least that much faith in me.

"You really got his permission?"

"……"

Lee Ahn's pupils trembled.

"But the Soaring Sky Sword Art is your unique martial arts, Young Master. Why are you trying to teach it to me?"

"Because you need to learn a martial art of this caliber to be the head of the Ghost Shadow Squad, and… you're like family to me. So it's okay for you to learn it."

In that moment, Lee Ahn was overcome with emotion.

"Young Master."

"It's not for you, it's for me. So I can work you to the bone in the future. So don't get too happy."

"Still, how could I dare to learn your martial arts, Young Master?"

"My unique martial arts will be the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. So you can learn this without feeling burdened."

Finally, tears began to fall from Lee Ahn's eyes.

"No one has ever… treasured me this much…"

I gently patted the back of Lee Ahn, who couldn't finish her sentence. Lee Ahn broke down and sobbed completely. Something that had been building up deep inside her had finally burst. I let her cry her heart out.

Once she had composed herself, I passed down the Soaring Sky Sword Art to her. The martial arts transmission was conducted through telepathy.

[The Soaring Sky Sword Art is composed of eight techniques that contain the changes and energy of the sky. Think of your qi center as the sky and expand it as much as possible. Your true qi must flow like the wind, sometimes like a spring breeze, and other times as powerful as a passing typhoon. The beginning of the qi is….]

The brilliant Lee Ahn perfectly memorized the mnemonic verses after I recited them five times.

"You must be able to recite the verses immediately, even if someone pokes you in the side while you're sleeping. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

Lee Ahn would work herself to death. If I taught her from time to time, her skills would improve day by day.

"And this."

I took a small wooden box from my robes and held it out to her.

"What is this?"

"Open it."

Inside the box was an Antitoxin Bead, one I had taken from the Golden Manor Master's secret vault.

"What is it?"

"It's an Antitoxin Bead."

"What? The legendary Antitoxin Bead?"

"Yes. In the future, if you're in danger of being poisoned or face someone who uses poison arts, fight with this in your mouth."

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"It's a gift to congratulate you on officially learning the Soaring Sky Sword Art."

"No! I've already received a martial art, I can't accept something so precious on top of that!"

"You have to take it."

"……"

"Because I'm going to give one to someone I'm less close to than you. I can't give one to someone else if I haven't even given one to you."

"That's a strange line of reasoning, isn't it?"

"Alright, then. I'll come by later to test what you've learned. Don't slack off on your training."

I hurriedly left before the place could become a sea of tears again. From behind me, I could feel a heat that went beyond mere emotion and gratitude.

I looked forward to the future that this passion would create. At the very least, I won't let it become a passion that makes her throw her life away for me. Therefore…

Grow stronger, Lee Ahn.