Chapter 302: Now is the Time for Us to Get Stronger

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Are you serious?"

Father's single question held a deeper meaning. Are you really going to make such an uncertain choice? The box might have no affinity with me, and even if it did, something completely useless could emerge.

"If it has no affinity with me, I'll use it to bash an enemy's head in. Or I can just melt it down and forge a sword."

"Well, the choice is yours."

"I've only shown you my perfect side until now. I'll choose this to show you that I sometimes make mistakes."

I slowly reached my hand toward the Secret Box. The moment I carefully touched it, I let out a deep sigh.

"Ah!"

Hearing me, Father asked, "What's wrong?"

"When I picked this up, I was supposed to feel some kind of thrill, or hear a mysterious GUUUUUU ringing sound that only I could hear."

I sighed again. "I don't feel anything."

Father shook his head. "It was your choice. If you had looked between the Ten-Thousand Year Blood Ginseng, you would've seen a vial containing a few drops of Blue Sky Stone Essence."

"No, right? Please tell me you're joking!"

I ran over to where the miracle herbs were. A vial of Blue Sky Stone Essence was truly there, nestled between the miracle and spiritual herbs. Its milky, brilliant glow seemed to mock me. You didn't see me?

"You should've told me sooner!"

"Why would I tell you when I was supposed to be hiding it?"

I looked at Father with a deliberately pained expression. "Don't tell me there's something else, is there?"

Father thoroughly enjoyed teasing me. "How could that be all in our Cult's treasury? There's also the Extreme Snow Ice Fruit."

I went to Father's side and said quietly, "Let me take it back."

"Impossible!"

Right, he wouldn't be Father if he let me take it back.

"Don't use these! Please leave them as they are! You have to save them until I become the Cult Leader! Father!"

I found it amazing that Father kept these in storage. Doesn't Father have any greed? He must be saving them for a decisive moment, not for now. As I expected, Father was painting a bigger picture.

I looked down at the Secret Box. "You bastard, you're more precious than the Blue Sky Stone Essence!"

I was just putting on a show for Father, but my instincts still drew me to this Secret Box. I didn't feel that heart-sinking feeling one gets after making the wrong choice.

This feeling that I would have chosen the Secret Box even if given another chance wasn't just foolish stubbornness trying to deny a wrong choice. This dull lump of metal was still intensely pulling me in.

Father was no different. He wore an expression that said 'serves you right for messing around', but he also seemed to be anticipating something. He wondered if I could solve the secret that he couldn't.

"It'll open when the time is right. It'll say something like, 'O destined one, you have chosen well! My pride was hurt when you compared me to that measly Blue Sky Stone Essence!'"

"Right. You have to live with at least that much hope."

I shouted 'O destined one!' once more and tucked the Secret Box into my robes.

Ah, why is this so heavy!

I left the Heavenly Demon Vault with Father. We talked as we walked back. In fact, I received a greater gift than the Secret Box today. The fact that Father gave me a congratulatory gift was the greatest gift of all.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I have to train. When I get tired of training, I'll hang out with the Demon Supremes. Even if you ask, 'Hanging out again?', I'll still hang out. Even if you ask, 'Aren't you sick of it?', I'll still hang out."

I glanced at Father and asked indirectly, "Should I call for you too when I hang out?"

Father scoffed but didn't tell me not to call him.

"Father, what I said earlier about wanting to hang out with you wasn't just empty words. Let's go hang out together soon. If Strategist Sama tries to stop us, we'll secretly run away together in the middle of the night. We'll just bolt using the Heavenly Demon Flight Step and the Swift Step."

In the end, Father never said, 'Let's do that'.

"Then I'll take my leave. Thank you so much for the gift."

I bowed politely and started to turn away when Father spoke. "Let's play a game of Go sometime soon."

I smiled widely. "You'll have to be on your toes from now on. My strategist has started learning Go."

As I left the Heavenly Demon Hall, the daytime bodyguards, including Cheokyeon, fell into line behind me with crisp steps. It was a silent greeting and a welcome.

"You've all been training hard."

I could tell the results just by their revealed auras and the way they walked. They had clearly gone through grueling training.

Right, let's all get stronger. Now is the time for all of us to get stronger.

I went straight to find the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Elder!"

I started running toward him happily but stopped in my tracks. An unfamiliar scene unfolded before me. A flower garden had been created in the yard, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was meticulously pruning a flowering tree with his large Heaven Destroying Dao.

"Oh my! I thought I came to the Southern Blade Sect, but it seems I've arrived at the Northern Heaven Sword Sect. It's been a while, Sword Supreme. Why have you gotten so ugly?"

"Stop with the nonsense and go sprinkle some water over there."

"……"

It seemed he had been getting along well with the Flower Sword Supreme and learned how to grow flowers from her.

It didn't suit his appearance at all, but I knew. Tending a flower garden was a fitting task for the book-loving Blood Heaven Blade Demon. A certain softness existed behind his manliness.

"If you give too much water to one spot, it'll die. Water them evenly."

I did as the Blood Heaven Blade Demon instructed and watered another spot. "It seems you're getting along well with the Sword Supreme these days."

"She's busy, having fallen for martial arts training late in life. She won't even meet me, saying she doesn't want to show her face without makeup."

It seemed she had dedicated herself to martial arts since our last duel. For the Sword Supreme, who loved to dress up, to not wear makeup meant she was truly serious.

"It's because of you, isn't it?"

"It is not."

"What do you mean, 'it is not'? What's with this competitive spirit at her old age?"

There are things you only understand when you're old. Things you thought were nothing special when you were young look different now, don't they? Isn't that true for you too, Elder? Gifting a sword to a disciple and growing flowers? Would that have been conceivable in the past?

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon added one more thing. "Don't just look after the mask-wearer. Take care of the drunkard too."

"The Drunken Demon Hyung-nim?"

"The day I returned, he was on the roof, drinking and waiting for you."

"Aigoo, my pathetic hyung. He must have been acting all miserable while drunk again."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said nothing more about the Drunken Demon. In fact, just looking out for him was a significant change.

"Alright, that's enough. That's it for today."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stopped pruning and went inside. When I tried to follow, he tried to chase me out.

"You've seen my face, so that's enough. You don't need to worry about me."

"I'm most comfortable and happy here."

"I'm uncomfortable. I'm more comfortable alone."

I quickly went inside and threw myself onto the bed, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's telekinesis stopped me mid-air.

"I'm the Young Cult Leader! The Young Cult Leader, I tell you!"

My body slowly flew toward the window.

"Not even if you become the Cult Leader! Go wash up, change your clothes, and lie down."

While the Blood Heaven Blade Demon changed, I sat by the window. A book he had been reading lay on the table. It was about how to tend a flower garden.

Although the book was completely unrelated to his blade arts, I believed his Heaven Destroying Dao would become even more powerful. Sometimes, one can gain enlightenment while pruning a flowering tree rather than cutting off an enemy's head.

Besides, if the Flower Sword Supreme sprinted ahead with her training, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wouldn't just stand by. He would run alongside her, if only to not lose. It wasn't what I intended, but everyone was getting stronger together.

"Elder. Do you know what this is?" I took the Secret Box from my robes and showed it to him.

I expected him to be curious, but he continued changing his clothes and spoke nonchalantly. "So it's the Secret Box."

"How do you know?"

"How would I not know? The Cult Leader made a huge fuss trying to solve its secret in his youth."

This confirmed that a young Blood Heaven Blade Demon and Father were once close. Their relationship seemed more distant these days.

Anyway, if Father made such a fuss himself, he should have tried to stop me. So typical of him.

"Why is that in your possession?"

"I received it as a gift for becoming the Young Cult Leader. No, I chose it."

"Even so, why did you have to choose that of all things?"

"'It only opens for one with whom it has an affinity.' How could I resist after hearing that? You would've chosen it too, Elder."

"I wouldn't have chosen it. A person as unlucky as me couldn't possibly have an affinity with a treasure."

That was what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had said when we first met. That his life had been one of misfortune.

I stared at him intently. "But that's not true anymore, is it?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled faintly and nodded. "Now, I might choose it."

Of course, you should. You should, if only for my sake. I came running to see you right after seeing Father.

My gaze turned to the Secret Box. "One day, it'll suddenly open with a CLICK. I'm going to tell it 'Open, please open' every day until it does, so it'll open just because it's sick of hearing me."

After putting the Secret Box away, I stood up. "Well then, I'll be going. Don't forget that I still came to see you first, Elder."

"Showing off."

Though he said that, I knew the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was inwardly pleased.

After leaving the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's residence, I returned to my own. I had planned to see the Fist Demon as well, but I postponed it until tomorrow. I didn't tell the bodyguards to rest. It was my first day back, and they must have wanted to be on duty.

"I'm counting on you!"

"Don't worry and get some good rest!"

I left the bodyguard duty to them and entered my residence. Even though I had been away for a while, it was cleaned spotlessly.

"Still, it's good to be home."

I lay on the bed and immediately went to sleep. I hadn't had a single day of deep sleep since leaving the Cult. I had substituted sleep with circulating my qi and poured all my remaining time into martial arts.

Today, I planned to sleep soundly and relieve my travel fatigue. No matter how much of a master one is, a long carriage journey is bound to be tiring.

When I woke up, it was already night. I slept deeply without a single dream and felt refreshed with a clear head. Lying down, I gazed for a moment at the night sky through the window. Come to think of it, the view from here is nice.

After rolling around in bed for a while, I went outside. The bodyguards had been replaced by the night shift.

"You're awake?" The person leading the night shift was Sam-ho.

"I'm hungry. I want to eat your mother's home cooking."

A smile naturally formed on Sam-ho's face. "I thought you might be hungry when you woke up, so I've prepared a light meal."

Another bodyguard brought the prepared meal to my room.

"Let's all go in and eat together."

"We've already eaten."

"How do you manage your meals?"

"We eat before the night shift begins, and we take turns eating in the early morning."

"Your days and nights are swapped, so don't just eat whatever. Eat properly. You'll ruin your stomach."

"Thank you for your concern."

"Don't just thank me with words. Make sure you do it!"

I went into the room and ate. He called it a light meal, but it was a proper meal. Not knowing when I would wake up, they had prepared dishes that would be fine even when cold. After eating, I drank a cup of warm tea. Sitting by the window, my mind grew calm.

It was a joy of daily life that I hadn't felt in a very long time. If there is joy in being with people, there is also happiness in being quietly alone like this. The more I joke around with people, the more precious my time alone becomes.

Then I recalled my life before my regression. Back then, I was so sick and tired of being alone. People are so fickle.

After finishing my meal, I took the Secret Box from my robes and placed it on my palm. I examined it carefully.

What could this be? If it's a box, what could be inside?

I shook the Secret Box. It just felt like a solid lump of metal, not a box. Father and the previous Heavenly Demons must have tried everything. Injecting qi, soaking it in water, applying heat.

So I planned to do nothing. They said it opens if there is an affinity, not when you solve a secret.

"Alright, if you don't want to open now, open whenever you feel like it."

As I was looking at the Secret Box, Sam-ho spoke from outside. "The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon has come to see you."

I went outside and saw the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon standing under the moonlight, wearing his white mask.

"The Smiling Demon!"

"Young Cult Leader!"

"I was planning to visit you tomorrow. What brings you here?"

I was tense, wondering if something had happened, but his reason was truly unexpected.

"I came because I wanted to see you."

"!"

"Haven't you always been the one to visit me, Young Cult Leader? There should be times when I visit you too."

A surge of emotion washed over me. He was the one who always stood looking at a white wall whenever I visited. No matter how much it helped his training, I always felt bad about him being alone in an empty room.

But now, he had come out of that room on his own to find me. Today, Father stepped down from the Grand Tutor's chair, and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon came out of the white room.

The bodyguards standing guard looked surprised. They probably never dreamed that the fearsome Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would say such a thing.

"What about your trip outside the Cult?"

"Thanks to your concern, the trip went well."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's gaze had grown deeper.

"Somehow, your aura feels different, Smiling Demon."

"Thanks to the Ten-Thousand Year Blood Ginseng you gave me, Young Cult Leader, I have made an achievement in my martial arts. Thank you very much."

"How could that be because of a mere ginseng? It's thanks to your efforts, Smiling Demon."

The Smiling Demon laughed out loud, perhaps finding the expression 'mere ginseng' amusing. "I've seen your face, so that's enough."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon immediately bid farewell, as if he had truly come just to see me.

There are times when a single action is more moving than a hundred words. This was one of those times.

I went to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's side as he turned to leave and walked with him.

"What do you mean, that's enough? We haven't seen each other in a long time, we can't part like this. I'm going to hang out with you all night, Smiling Demon. I've already declared to Father that I'm going to have fun."

After a brief pause, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said, "Judging by how things have been, I don't know if the fate of murim will let you have fun, Young Cult Leader."

Even without something as grand as fate, I probably wouldn't be able to just hang out. Of course, today was an exception.

"Then we'd better hurry. Before that bastard called fate gets in the way."