Chapter 186: It's Not Easy, Is It?

TL: FoodieMonster007

A heavy silence filled the training ground.

No one had died, but something had. The bluster, bluff, and arrogance the Black Fists once possessed were now completely gone.

Naturally, the way they looked at me changed completely. Their gazes held a mix of awe, fear, and anger, each emotion reflecting their individual personalities.

The Fist Demon broke the silence.

"Do you now know the terror of the sword?"

"……"

The Black Fists answered with a roar.

"When I first taught you fist techniques, I told you not to fear the sword. Now, you must know its terror."

The Fist Demon wanted to teach his subordinates that sometimes one must be fearless, and other times one must be afraid. Possessing both mindsets was today's lesson.

"That's all for today."

With those words, the Fist Demon turned and left. He did not show it in front of his subordinates, but I could feel the display of power had stirred him as well.

The remaining Black Fists did not disperse as they usually did. Instead, they stared at me with gazes full of awe. People of the demonic path were born to revere the strong, and their desire for strength was exceptionally powerful.

Cheon Sohwi stepped forward to speak for them.

"Why are you trying to learn fist techniques when you're this strong? Is this some kind of amusement for the powerful?"

It was a very provocative question.

She was still in shock from that single move. At the same time, she was furious with herself for being so helplessly defeated. Her refusal to lose to anyone was the very quality that would likely help her become the next Fist Demon.

I calmly asked her a question in return.

"How could learning fist techniques be an amusement?"

"Then why are you trying to learn them?"

Why? Because a desire has bloomed within me to shatter that cliff with these fists.

"When my sword flew at you, my hands were empty. What if I were attacked then? What should I do against a master who wouldn't even give me a chance to retrieve my sword? I want to learn for that moment. This fist, which strikes when an opponent is off guard, will be what saves me."

Cheon Sohwi stared intently at me. She must have wondered if I was sincere, but she was still too young to read my heart.

After speaking, I also left the training ground.

Just as the fates of everyone related to me were changing, their fates would also change in some way. I could only hope it would be for the better.

That night, I trained in fist techniques.

I slowly and meticulously practiced every technique I had learned, from the White Fists to the Black Fists. I needed to establish this basic foundation before I could properly learn the Fist Demon's exclusive techniques.

PAPAPAPANG!

I loved the sound of my fists striking the empty air. A desire welled up in me to quickly master the Fist Demon's fist techniques.

"You're working hard even though it's late."

The Fist Demon had come to see me. His calm voice, which always contrasted so sharply with his fearsome face, surprised me every time. Which is his true nature, his face or his voice?

In truth, I had a premonition that the Fist Demon would visit. I thought he would definitely react to the skill I had shown earlier.

"Since I started late, I must work twice as hard."

"Even if you work ten times as hard, I will not accept you as a disciple."

"May I ask why?"

The Fist Demon did not answer, but the heat in his eyes spoke for him. He wanted to fight me, and he could not fight his own disciple.

"You wish to fight me."

Just as he had lit a fire in my heart, I, too, had lit a fire in his.

"I will not fight."

The moment I fight him, I'll lose my chance to learn fist techniques. There's only one way to learn from the Fist Demon. Successor disputes and political problems are useless. We have to be connected through martial arts. I have to make him want to fight me so badly that he'll end up teaching me. That's my plan.

"What's your reason for not fighting?"

Just like him, I gave no answer. The Fist Demon stared at me, then realized the meaning behind my refusal.

"You're worried you'll defeat me."

A wave of emotion flashed across the Fist Demon's expression. After taking the name 'Undefeated', he had probably never met someone who worried about defeating him. He had only ever seen people struggling not to be killed by him.

"Second Young Lord, you don't need to have such worries. The martial arts you've learned were taught by the Cult Leader, so it would be no shame for me to lose."

I also looked into the meaning behind his words.

"Do you want to fight? Or do you want to win?"

For a moment, the Fist Demon flinched.

"Is there a difference between the two?"

His statement came less from arrogance and more from something else.

"You've become so accustomed to winning that you can't even feel the difference."

He strode over and shoved his face in front of mine. Seeing his terrifying face so up close was more potent than a fist flying at me.

"What are you trying to say?"

I recalled what the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had told me. He said I would know what kind of person the Fist Demon was when he lost.

"If you were the Blood Heaven Fist Demon or the Extreme Evil Fist Demon, it might be a different story, but as long as you are the Undefeated Fist Demon, it won't be easy for you to accept defeat."

"Are you saying I'll break my promise from the shock of defeat? What do you take me for!"

The Undefeated Fist Demon's expression twisted viciously. He looked so terrifying that it felt like the ground beside him would split open and demons would burst out from hell.

"Teach me the fist techniques first. Then I'll have a match with you."

The Fist Demon snorted as if it were a ridiculous notion.

"You'll have to fight me first."

He left those words behind, then turned and walked away.

I'm sorry, but that's not your card to play. As long as you're mad about martial arts, as long as you've built a legend of being undefeated, that card is mine.

Because I can wait, but you cannot.

Cheon Sohwi silently watched Geom Mugeuk.

Despite yesterday's huge fuss, Geom Mugeuk participated in the Black Fists' training as usual. He was completely immersed in his training, as if yesterday's events had never happened.

The Black Fists, however, were different. They appeared with ointment applied to the blade wounds on their sides, showing a new kind of fervor.

"I was reborn yesterday," one Black Fists member said openly.

Geom Mugeuk seemed unaware of this change and agitation, focusing solely on his own training.

His movements were more precise than anyone else's, and he understood the techniques better. Any suspicion that he was secretly taught because he was the Cult Leader's son had vanished with the skill he displayed yesterday.

"There's something I'd like to ask, if that's alright?"

Just as the Red Fists had done, members of the Black Fists began to ask Geom Mugeuk about the techniques.

"Of course."

Geom Mugeuk sincerely explained what the man asked.

In just one day, the atmosphere among the Black Fists had changed this much.

After training ended, Cheon Sohwi went to Geom Mugeuk.

"I lost the bet, so I'll keep my promise. Tell me what you want to ask of me."

Geom Mugeuk then said something completely unexpected.

"Make me the Fist Demon's disciple."

Cheon Sohwi stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment with a dumbfounded expression.

"Then you make me the Cult Leader's successor," she said, thinking it was a joke.

She soon realized from Geom Mugeuk's expression that he was serious.

"You're not joking."

"Of course I'm not joking."

"I haven't even become a disciple myself, so how am I supposed to make you one?"

The Fist Demon had not yet chosen an official disciple. As a perfectionist in martial arts, he did not make such a decision lightly.

"That's for you, the loser of the bet, to worry about."

"I didn't know you'd make such a ridiculous request."

"Then why didn't you say so back then? That there should be a limit to the request."

"Well… I assumed that anyone with common sense would naturally make a reasonable request."

"Is that really why? Or was it because you thought you would win, so you didn't bother to say it?"

She could not refute his words. They were true. When they made the bet, she had intended to say he could not make an unreasonable request, but her instincts stopped her.

She had thought it was a bet she would obviously win, so she did not feel the need to say such a thing.

"Fine, I admit it."

Geom Mugeuk smiled. If she had not been so honest, he would have teased her more.

"Admit what? When someone makes such a ridiculous request, you should sternly refuse and forget about it."

She looked at Geom Mugeuk with a confused heart.

He's a truly unpredictable person.

She turned away. After walking a few steps, she stopped. She had lost the bet, and leaving like this hurt her pride. She turned back again.

"Fine, let's say I have that ability. Even so, if you become a disciple, the probability of me becoming one will decrease. Why would I help you?"

"That's where you're wrong. If I become a disciple, the probability of you becoming one will increase."

"Why is that?"

"Accepting the first disciple is difficult, but after that, it'll be like the floodgates have opened. He'll accept a second and a third, and I'll strongly recommend you as my junior martial sister."

"Me? Why?"

Geom Mugeuk stared at her and said calmly, "Because I think you'd do better than anyone else. Because you seem like the person most suited to be the next Fist Demon."

She wondered if he was joking again, but Geom Mugeuk's expression was serious.

A passion stirred in her chest. She had never heard such a thing since entering the Eastern Fist Garrison.

She, her peers, her seniors, and her juniors all ran while looking only up. From the White Fists to the Black Fists, they ran with the mindset that they would die if they were eliminated.

They were all peers who had struggled together, but she had never sincerely said anything nice to anyone. Nor had she ever heard such words.

Instead, she had secretly wished for her rivals to have a harder time, for them to be eliminated from the competition so that she could become the Fist Demon.

Yet this Geom Mugeuk, whom she had met only a few days ago, said such things without hesitation. In all that long time, they had never once exchanged such words.

She was not bitter because she had not heard them. Her heart grew heavy, as if she had just confirmed her own narrow-mindedness for never having said them to anyone.

"You don't even know me that well!" she snapped angrily and turned to leave.

That night, Cheon Sohwi could not fall asleep.

Geom Mugeuk's words kept replaying in her mind. Am I really a person suited to be the Fist Demon?

Tossing and turning, she finally couldn't bear it any longer and headed for Geom Mugeuk's quarters.

It was late, so she did not expect to meet him. She had gone only because of her frustrated heart, but surprisingly, Geom Mugeuk was practicing his martial arts.

He was so deep in his serious training that she could not greet him. She stood still, worried she might disturb him.

Finally, after finishing a round of training, Geom Mugeuk sat on a flat rock in the yard.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine."

Cheon Sohwi sat down next to him. The scent of Geom Mugeuk's sweat was not unpleasant.

"It's late, but I came because I had to confirm this. If you really become a disciple, will you recommend me as your junior martial sister?"

"I will."

How much should I believe him? When the Black Fists colleagues gathered to drink, they always said the same thing. Trust no one. That was the first principle of surviving in the murim.

"My goal is to learn the Fist Demon's martial arts. The one to inherit the position of the Fist Demon will be my junior martial sister."

When such a powerful moment of temptation arrived, she found it hard to judge.

"My junior martial sister, who will have the Heavenly Demon as her Senior Brother."

Right, this must be how everyone falls for it. Even knowing they're honeyed words, my heart is pounding like this. I'm bound to be deceived.

What if he's trying to use me? What if I'm murdered to be silenced after he's used me to my fullest? In her mind, Geom Mugeuk's sword appeared. As it pierced her face, it would say, Naive wench.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke in a calm tone.

"Life's not easy, is it?"

That single, gentle phrase struck her right in the heart.

For a moment, she wanted to scream. What do you know about me to keep acting like you do? It is easy! I'm managing my life just fine. What's so difficult? I just have to run hard and keep running while looking up.

But the words that flowed from her mouth conveyed the will of her heart, not her head.

"…It's not easy."

She answered without even realizing it. She had never shown a weak side to others. She had never told anyone that things were hard. She had endured it so well until now.

The moment she admitted it, tears streamed down Cheon Sohwi's face. She was flustered by the sudden tears, which had started flowing without giving her a chance to hold them back.

Can tears just flow so suddenly like this? Her emotions were not sad at all, so why was she crying? She had not cried since she was a child.

"Ah, no, this is…"

As she hastily wiped her tears with her sleeve, someone entered.

"I knew it! Detective Seo was right when he called you the greatest playboy under the heavens. After a fateful love, now you're even making women cry."

Seeing the person who entered, Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly. Cheon Sohwi was startled. It was the first time in her life she had ever seen such a beautiful woman.