Chapter 60: I Have Many Tails Left to Show

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Demonic Physician did not take me to the infirmary. He led me to his own residence, where a secret chamber for important procedures waited in the basement.

The display cabinets lining the walls held all sorts of medicinal bottles and herbs with unknown contents. Even I, an expert on medicinal herbs, saw many for the first time.

"Since this is a dangerous procedure, there's much to prepare," the Demonic Physician said.

"Please take your time."

"What will you do if it fails? You could go blind."

I knew he was testing my resolve. Failing the Divine Eye Technique would not cause blindness. If the procedure carried such a risk, the Demonic Physician would never have dared to offer it to the Heavenly Demon.

"If I'm a patient that even the Demonic Physician fails on, it must be because my fate is wretched," I replied.

The Demonic Physician laughed quietly at my show of faith. He then retrieved the necessary materials for the procedure from a secret safe.

Soon, the Demonic Physician lit incense to calm the mind and sterilized his needles. He mixed various medicines, boiling some and cooling others.

Meanwhile, I lay on the bed with my shirt off. A warm, medicinally scented cloth rested over my eyes.

"Alright, I'll begin now," the Demonic Physician announced.

"I'm in your hands."

He applied various medicines to my eyes at intervals. Some were clear as water, and some were red as blood. There was a green liquid like poison and another that was blue like my enhanced sword qi. I trusted the Demonic Physician completely, so I calmly entrusted my eyes to him.

After infusing my eyes with the medicines, the Demonic Physician inserted the needles. He placed them densely not only around my eyes but also on my face and chest.

"Now, get some sleep."

My eyes closed on their own. I told the Heavenly Demon Defense Art in my mind to relax and get a good rest, just for today.

I slept well for the first time in a long while. I slept so soundly that I wondered when I had last rested so deeply.

When I awoke, the needles on my face and body were already gone.

The Demonic Physician sat at his desk reading a book. When I woke up, he walked over to me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good."

"And your eyes?"

"Even better."

My eyes had truly cleared up. My already good vision had improved, and my field of view was incredibly clear. It felt like I had emerged from a fog. To exaggerate a little, my surroundings were so vivid it felt as if I had been living with my eyes closed until now.

"Follow me."

I left the secret chamber with the Demonic Physician and went up to the first floor. We stood side by side at a window. The sun was at its zenith.

"Try looking at the sun," he said.

I looked directly at the sun. It should have been blinding, but it was not dazzling at all.

"How is it?" the Demonic Physician asked.

"It's not blinding."

"Look far into the distance."

Things at a distance that would have been invisible before were now distinct. The clarity was truly amazing. On top of that, when I focused my eyes, I could even see things that should not have been visible.

"I can see clearly. I can even see an ant crawling on that tree branch over there."

The Demonic Physician laughed at my words.

"I'm not joking."

"I know you're not. I laughed because I'm happy."

"Ah, this is truly incredible."

"Alright, follow me again."

This time, the Demonic Physician led me to a pitch-black room in the basement's secret chamber.

My vision, which had only been faint when I circulated my qi, was now clear even without it.

"I can see clearly. The medicine bottle over there, the painting on the wall, I can see it all."

"That's it, the procedure was a perfect success. Your eyes have been reborn."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

When I first wanted the Divine Eye Technique, my main purpose was to avoid the eyes of the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. That must be why I did not have high expectations for its effects.

However, the Divine Eye Technique was far more incredible than I had imagined. There was only one way to describe this state. My eyes had achieved complete mastery.

Coming out of the dark room, I bowed deeply to the Demonic Physician.

"Thank you."

A flustered Demonic Physician helped me up.

"What are you doing?"

"Elder, you used a secret art on me that can only be used once in a lifetime. I will definitely repay this grace by keeping my promise."

"Thank you. When you become the Cult Leader, I'll tell you who needs to be killed."

The Demonic Physician gripped my hand firmly, and I squeezed back.

As I left the Demonic Physician's residence, everything I saw looked different. It truly felt like a new world had unfolded before me.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. First the Bloodeye Holy Water, and now the Divine Eye Technique. It seems my eyes and the Heavenly Wind Cult were intertwined by fate. In any case, thank you, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

And so, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader received a mysterious word of thanks.

I was reminded of just how important improved vision is in martial arts. My technique became more precise, and with that precision, it grew stronger.

The greatest benefit would be in actual combat. I would now be able to dodge attacks that were previously unavoidable and see opportunities that were once invisible.

It would also be a great help when running with the Swift Step. I had worried whether my vision could keep up with the extreme speed I would achieve upon reaching complete mastery, but that worry was now gone. I now possessed the most powerful eyes a human could have.

After entrusting the affairs of the Sanzu River Hall to Seo Daeryong, I holed myself up in the training grounds for a while. I gave my martial arts and my body time to adapt to my new eyes.

After being completely absorbed in my martial arts training, I went to see Lee Ahn for the first time in a while.

"Lee Ahn, let's hang out!"

Lee Ahn was engrossed in her martial arts training.

"I can't! I have to repeat my training twenty times."

"What kind of technique requires twenty repetitions a day?"

"It's sixty times a day. The evening session is twenty times."

"Good heavens. You'll get sick, you really will."

"I'm already sick. It's a sickness where I can't sleep if I don't train."

"Let's just rest today. If you go drinking with me, you'll sleep well."

"After I'm done."

"How many more do you have left?"

"Eight. If you keep distracting me like this, it'll take even longer."

I feigned a pout and watched her practice her martial arts.

"Your hips didn't turn enough."

"Your left side is open."

"Faster this time."

As I corrected her posture, I once again felt that Lee Ahn was exceptionally talented in martial arts. She understood quickly and learned well.

I watched her technique a couple more times. Then, feeling I had nothing more to say for the day, I immersed myself in training the Heavenly Demon Defense Art.

The martial art I had trained the most while dealing with the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme was the Heavenly Demon Defense Art. The more I practiced the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, the newer it felt.

As always, it resonated with me most deeply. It felt like I was learning a living martial art. Then again, it was probably this deep resonance that allowed it to wake me from my sleep.

How many times had I repeated the training for the Heavenly Demon Defense Art?

When I opened my eyes, Lee Ahn was watching me from a short distance away.

"Are you finished?" I asked.

"Yes. I completed all twenty repetitions."

"Let's go, time for a drink! I'm starving to death."

"Of course you are. You've starved for three whole days."

"What? Three days?"

"Yes. You were circulating your qi for a full three days."

"I was?"

"It was three days ago when you came to find me. You seemed to have fallen into a state of selflessness, so I didn't dare speak to you."

I was shocked. It felt like I had not even trained for a single hour, let alone a few hours.

"I must have fallen asleep, then?"

"I watched you to see if that was the case, but you weren't sleeping. You were even muttering something to yourself."

I must have truly fallen into a state of selflessness. I could not remember anything about my training.

"Wait a moment."

I sat down and activated the Heavenly Demon Defense Art once. My qi circulated far more smoothly and precisely than before.

As I stood up, I smiled brightly. I had made great progress in the Heavenly Demon Defense Art. It seemed that all my continuous training had accumulated and led to a rise in my level through this state of selflessness.

"You had a breakthrough, didn't you?" Lee Ahn asked.

She could probably tell just by looking at my expression. I grinned widely and nodded.

"Enough of one to buy you a fancy meal."

"Congratulations, Young Master."

"Thanks. It's all because of you."

"Why is it because of me?"

"If you hadn't insisted on finishing your training, I wouldn't have sat next to you and fallen into that state of selflessness."

"Ah, that's true! Buy me that meal!"

"Of course, I'll buy you anything you want to eat!"

I hurriedly left the training grounds with Lee Ahn.

"You starved too, didn't you?"

"No. I ate."

However, a rumbling sound came from Lee Ahn's stomach.

She was not the type to eat alone while I was circulating my qi without food. She had probably even stopped her own training for three days, worried she might disturb my state of selflessness.

"You silly bear."

"That's not right. If I were a real silly bear, I wouldn't have let you find out I was starving. I'm showing off how loyal a subordinate I am by letting it slip like this, you know? I actually turned it into a golden opportunity to score points."

"You're a fox, a real fox."

"Of course. I have many tails left to show."

I laughed happily.

"It's been a while since I've walked with you like this, Young Master," Lee Ahn said.

"You're right."

"It's nice, as expected."

That one added phrase, 'as expected,' really made me feel good. I feel good too, Lee Ahn.

I entered the Alluring Inn in the Demon Village with Lee Ahn.

"Welcome! It's been a long time, Director."

Seeing Jo Cheonbae's warm welcome reminded me of his cooking, making me even hungrier.

"Bring it out quickly!"

"Yes, I'll run with movement arts!"

Jo Cheonbae brought out the alcohol first and then ran to the kitchen.

We started with a drink on our empty stomachs.

"Kyah! This is killer."

"Ugh! It's so strong. I think I'm really going to die," Lee Ahn gasped.

A moment later, when the food arrived, we devoured it ravenously without caring what others thought.

Afterward, we patted our full stomachs and discussed martial arts over drinks. She asked me everything she had been curious about, and I answered her sincerely with what I knew.

My the Soaring Sky Sword Art had been stagnant after its tenth-stage complete mastery was broken. I hoped that the Divine Eye Technique I had just received would have a positive effect on it.

As we talked about martial arts, the topic naturally shifted to Seo Daeryong.

"Oh, is Detective Seo doing well?" Lee Ahn asked.

"He should be. I've been so busy training lately that I haven't seen him at all."

"Everyone's so busy."

"I'm sure he's doing well, though. Both with his work and his training."

"It's amazing to see Detective Seo getting along so well with Elder Blade Demon."

"I don't know if they're 'getting along'. He might be getting scolded so much that his pillow is wet every night."

Lee Ahn burst out laughing, finding that hilarious.

"I don't think so. Elder Blade Demon seems like a good person, deep down."

"Don't let your guard down just because of that. Just because he's a good person to Detective Seo doesn't guarantee he'll be a good person to you. Your opponent is a Demon Supreme. Be careful."

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."

"Someday, you have to defeat him with your own skill."

For a moment, Lee Ahn flinched.

"Me?"

She did not say, 'How could I possibly defeat a Demon Supreme with my skills?' like she would have in the past. Now that she had inherited the Soaring Sky Sword Art, such words would be disrespectful to both me and my father.

"I'll try my best."

"You know, right? Those with half-baked skills are the first to die. Once you've set foot on this path, you have to see it through to the end."

"……"

I raised my cup, and she drank with me.

"And once your the Soaring Sky Sword Art reaches a certain level, let's start gathering subordinates for the Ghost Shadow Squad in earnest. If we can properly gather the Division Leader-level members, the rest will be easy."

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

I nodded honestly.

"One or two. We'll have to go and recruit them later."

"Who are they?"

"If you found out now, you'd just be needlessly shocked. I'll tell you when the time is right."

"Now that you say that, my heart is already pounding."

"For times like that, we have a great solution called alcohol, don't we?"

The clinking of our cups was as cheerful as our moods.

"Let's order more alcohol and more food."

"It's a shame, but I think we have to stop for today," I said.

Following my gaze, Lee Ahn looked down at the first floor.

Seo Daeryong had quickly entered the tavern. He came up to our table on the second floor and reported on a new target I would have to deal with.

"The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader has just arrived at our Cult."