Chapter 437: Do You Like Father More? Or Me?

TL: FoodieMonster007

A low rumble of thunder sounded from the clear sky.

The one whose eyes widened at the sight of the outstretched fist was Cheon Sohwi.

"Did you hear that?"

When the Fist Demon standing before her nodded, Cheon Sohwi cried out in excitement.

"Master! Your disciple has done it!"

Finally, the sound of thunder had erupted from her fist. She had become the Fist Demon's second disciple after Geom Mugeuk and had been chosen as the next Fist Demon. Since that day, she had diligently practiced the Thunder Arhat Fist taught to her by the Fist Demon. Today was the first time she had produced the sound of thunder.

The Fist Demon smiled, knowing better than anyone how hard Cheon Sohwi had worked. It was a rare smile, one he hardly ever showed.

"This is just the beginning."

"Yes, Master."

She was so happy she felt like she could fly.

She knew about the gossip and whispers circulating about her. The envy and jealousy were unavoidable. She was also aware of the concerns being raised, especially about a woman being designated as the next Fist Demon.

After all, the current Fist Demon's terrifying face, large build, and above all, his massive fists were the symbols of the Fist Demon.

She understood, which was why she would show them. She would show them exactly what the next Fist Demon could shatter with this small fist. She would prove it with her skill.

Just then, someone spoke from behind her.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister."

She turned in surprise to see Geom Mugeuk entering the training grounds.

"Senior Brother! You've returned!"

Having been completely absorbed in her training lately, she hadn't even known that Geom Mugeuk was back.

Geom Mugeuk returned her smile and then greeted the Fist Demon with proper respect.

"Disciple, I have returned after completing my trip to the North Sea."

"Welcome back."

The Fist Demon greeted him with his usual unchanging demeanor. His fearsome face was the same, and his muscular body seemed to shine even more brightly.

"Those fiends were plotting something in the Ice Palace's territory as well. They all ended up collapsing drunk, though."

"I heard. The Drunken Demon went through a lot of trouble."

It seemed he had already spoken with my father about the situation in the North Sea.

Master, do you know what Father is thinking?

Long ago, in his youth, if Father had told the Blood Heaven Blade Demon about his dream with a flushed face, wouldn't he now be telling the Fist Demon about it?

After exchanging greetings with the Fist Demon, he turned his attention to Cheon Sohwi.

"To already be making the sound of thunder. That's incredible."

"It's all thanks to Master's excellent guidance."

"I'll buy you a celebratory drink soon."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

Cheon Sohwi was extremely respectful to Geom Mugeuk. Not only was he her Senior Brother, but he was also the precious heir who would become the next Heavenly Demon. However, there was an even bigger reason. It was thanks to Geom Mugeuk that she had become the next Fist Demon. Her destiny had changed during the late-night training sessions with him.

Geom Mugeuk, who had started to walk away, turned back to her.

"Junior Sister, you're going to be a truly great Fist Demon."

In her heart, Cheon Sohwi wasn't calling Geom Mugeuk 'Senior Brother' right now. Nor was she calling him 'Young Cult Leader'.

Cult Leader, I will serve you with all my loyalty then.

The place I went to with the Fist Demon was a cliff within the Eastern Fist Garrison.

The Fist Demon's dream was to demolish this cliff with a single blow. I wondered how much that dream had grown.

I stood side by side with the Fist Demon and looked up at the cliff. It was still overwhelming. And the cliff resembled the Fist Demon who was looking up at it.

Could he really destroy this cliff?

Could I really persuade this Fist Demon?

After staring up for a long while, I started with a topic that might soften his heart.

"Lee Ahn has left to carry out her mission."

"I know."

"How?"

"She sent me a messenger pigeon."

It seemed the girl was definitely taking care of her father.

"Then you must have also heard the news that she found her family in the North Sea."

The Fist Demon silently nodded. Instead of asking if he was surprised by the news, I said this.

"The Ice Empress was very surprised by Lee Ahn's identity. The niece she found turned out to be Master's adopted daughter."

The one who should be surprised was over there, not here. I said it that way to elevate the Fist Demon higher than the Ice Empress.

"Did you happen to send a reply?"

To my surprise, the Fist Demon nodded, even adding the words, of course.

I tried to imagine the Fist Demon holding a brush, which would have been impossibly small in his large hand, and writing a reply. Since he wasn't someone who usually wrote letters, I wondered if he had struggled with what to write. Still, in that moment, he must have been a father, worrying about and missing his daughter.

"I heard that if you hadn't gone to the North Sea this time, Ahn would have been in danger."

"I'd like to say she would have handled it well even without me. But she probably would have been in danger."

The Fist Demon's gaze softened slightly. Right now, I wasn't just a disciple and the Young Cult Leader, but a disciple and Young Cult Leader who had also saved his daughter from a crisis.

This was my chance.

"Master. May I ask you a question that might be difficult to answer?"

He probably never imagined he would receive such a question from me.

"Do you like Father more? Or me?"

The Fist Demon stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"It's too difficult, isn't it?"

"No, I was surprised because it's such an easy question."

The Fist Demon looked up at the cliff again, and I looked at the Fist Demon.

Could I truly uncover my father's intentions from him, a man whose loyalty was higher and harder than this cliff? If I had the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, my father had the Fist Demon. If I could just get the Fist Demon on my side, it would be much easier to stop my father's dream of unifying the murim.

However, destroying the cliff before my eyes felt more difficult than destroying that great cliff over there.

"Father has been acting strangely."

"The Cult Leader?"

"He met with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon separately, and he even had a drinking match with the Drunken Demon."

Whether he was feigning ignorance or truly thought so, the Fist Demon asked me bluntly.

"What's so strange about the Demonic Cult Leader meeting a Demon Supreme?"

"It wouldn't be strange if it was something he did all the time."

The Fist Demon's gaze, which had been on the cliff, turned to me.

"What is it you're trying to say?"

"I want to know Father's plan."

"If you're curious, ask the Cult Leader yourself."

That was the worst possible move. Father had pointedly decided to have a drinking match with the Drunken Demon in my presence. He must have also known that word of his separate meeting with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would reach my ears.

When I first returned and stood on the duel stage, my father knew I had been afflicted with the Qi Dispersing Poison. Yet he didn't intervene and only watched. He watched to see how I would overcome it.

It was the same now. Father was watching me. This was like playing a game of Go. I have made this move. Now, what move will you make?

I intended to show my father. I would show him that more than half of the Demon Supremes oppose the war. It didn't matter if his recent attention to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and the Drunken Demon wasn't for that reason. As long as my father held the ambition to unify the murim, it was something he would have to face at some point.

"If he were the type to tell me just by asking, I wouldn't even be worrying. You know what kind of person Father is, don't you?"

The Fist Demon didn't deny that point.

"To be honest, I've been on high alert ever since I returned. Why is he suddenly managing the Demon Supremes when he never did before?"

"Could it be that he's started to move for the unification of the murim?"

Even though the words 'unification of the murim' were mentioned, the Fist Demon showed no agitation at all.

"Do you know what? You're acting strange right now too, Master. You're too calm. It's as if you already know everything. Please tell me what you know."

The Fist Demon's lips were sealed tight. To open those heavy lips, I frankly revealed my situation.

"Just in case my prediction is correct, I'm in the middle of trying to get the Demon Supremes on my side. I've met three so far. One is on my side, one is on Father's side, and one has yet to decide."

What caught the Fist Demon's attention was the one undecided vote.

"Who is the undecided Demon Supreme?"

"It's Elder Blade Demon."

The Fist Demon looked surprised for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.

"The Blade Demon must truly cherish you. For someone of his personality to be unable to make a decision."

He was right. It was either this or that. Being neither here nor there was something the Blood Heaven Blade Demon couldn't stand. However, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was conflicted. He was enduring the criticism of being indecisive, solely for my sake.

"Master, you're on my side, of course, right? I mean. If you don't side with your disciple, whose side would you take?"

"I have two disciples, but only one Cult Leader."

"I'm a disciple and also the Young Cult Leader."

"Sohwi will probably take your side later."

I knew I couldn't change his mind with just a few words. So I asked him directly. The Fist Demon was not a man who liked to beat around the bush.

"If Father starts a war, will you accept that command?"

The Fist Demon's eyes shone with an intense light.

"If it's the Cult Leader's command, then of course I must accept it."

I stared into that fearsome face and said.

"That is why you, Master, must be the one to oppose it."

"What do you mean?"

"Because Father won't be able to ignore your words."

I knew this was a burdensome thing to say to the Fist Demon. I was essentially forcing my will upon him, a man living as a Demon Supreme. But as the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said, I was shouting out to the Demon Supremes. To join me on my demonic path. Yes, I believe it. My attack will be split into eight parts.

"A war must not happen, Master."

The Fist Demon stared at me silently, then began to take off his upper garment.

"Let's train. It's been a while."

"Are you planning to wage that war with me?"

Even at my joke, the Fist Demon's hands didn't stop removing his clothes.

The Fist Demon's upper body was revealed.

The perfect body of the Fist Demon was a sight to behold anytime. The large, thick muscles, forged through arduous training, didn't look sluggish at all. His body shone like a diamond.

A single sword scar ran across the Fist Demon's chest. I had heard before how he got that scar. It was from his days fighting in an underground arena, before he joined our Cult. A scar he received for refusing the threats of the underworld who were fixing matches. He was ashamed of the scar left by men he could now defeat with a single finger, but I had told him that the scar was cool.

It was a scar created by the precious courage of his youth, when he stood tall even in the face of death.

The first time I saw it, that was all I thought. But seeing it again today, the scar looked like a symbol that spoke of the man called the Fist Demon. I am a man who does not fear death.

I also threw off my upper garment and stepped forward.

"Ah! When will my body ever look like yours, Master?"

"If you could, would you trade your body for mine?"

"……"

RUMBLE.

The Fist Demon's tightly clenched fist let out a low cry.

"I'll confess in advance. I've been neglecting my fist arts lately because I've been focusing on the Nine Calamities Demonic Art."

I felt sorry to the Fist Demon because it was always pushed down the priority list in my training. However, he understood my situation well.

"There's no need to rush. Master the Nine Calamities Demonic Art first. You can learn this later."

I thought he was about to suggest a duel, but the Fist Demon gave his usual instruction.

We stood side by side and began to perform the Thunder Arhat Fist. We set aside the debate about the war and immersed ourselves in training.

KRAKOOM!

The Fist Demon's fists began to tear through the air. I started to execute the techniques with the exact same movements as the Fist Demon. As we performed the first fist, the Black Cloud Asura, the Fist Demon's thunder and my thunder erupted simultaneously.

The second fist, the Thunder Asura, tore through the air with punches too fast to be seen. The Heavenly Lightning Asura struck down heavily. The Iron Leg Asura was brilliant, and the Vajra Asura was solid. We were truly performing the same movements, like a body and its shadow.

However, the martial intent contained within the movements was completely different. If the Fist Demon was a deep sea, I was still merely a river.

We finished one round of training with the final sixth form, the Hell Lightning Asura, a thunderbolt struck down by the King of Hell. I had focused so hard that sweat was pouring down my body like rain. Training like this with the Fist Demon, bare-chested, was more intense than any other training.

"The power in your fists has changed."

Even though I used the same amount of force as before, he noticed that my inner qi had increased. Now that I could perfectly execute Origin Reversal, it wasn't easy to notice the changes in my realm. But it seemed I couldn't hide the power contained in these fists from him, no matter how I tried.

"As a reward for this incident, the Ice Empress bestowed upon me the Glacial Ice Essence."

The Fist Demon stared at me with a surprised face. He knew it too. What must precede the consumption of the Glacial Ice Essence.

"I was lucky enough to also be able to consume the 10000 Year Snow Fruit."

The Fist Demon's expression was asking. How could one consume the 10000 Year Snow Fruit and obtain the Glacial Ice Essence through luck alone?

"Can you generate a cold energy from your inner qi?"

The energy of the 10000 Year Snow Fruit had melted into all my blood vessels and organs.

"Yes, I can."

"Then try to perform the Thunder Arhat Fist with the coldest energy possible."

I performed the Thunder Arhat Fist again by myself. I did as the Fist Demon instructed, infusing my inner qi with cold energy. The feeling was completely different from before. Even with the same inner qi, the power was much stronger.

"The Thunder Arhat Fist was originally a fist art designed to shine brightest with extreme inner qi. The fact that you, my disciple, obtained the 10000 Year Snow Fruit and the Glacial Ice Essence means you have a deep connection with the Thunder Arhat Fist. So don't neglect it and be sure to achieve complete mastery."

"I will keep that in mind, Master."

The Fist Demon once again imparted his enlightenment on the Thunder Arhat Fist. It was a different teaching from the one he had given on the snowy mountain. Things he had omitted back then because they were unnecessary, and even new realizations he had gained since.

The Fist Demon truly taught without holding anything back. A man who becomes a true teacher when he is a teacher, and a true father when he is a father. This is the kind of man the Fist Demon is. This Fist Demon is my father's Demon Supreme.

When the Fist Demon's lesson ended, I bowed deeply to him.

"While Master bestows such great teachings, this disciple has been committing a rudeness to Master."

The Fist Demon helped me to my feet. In his blunt eyes, that day from long ago flickered.

"You know how I met the Cult Leader, don't you?"

When he was on the verge of being killed by the underworld thugs in the underground arena, my father saved him. The Fist Demon followed my father to our Cult and entered the Eastern Fist Garrison. When he became one of the Black Fists there, my father came to find him again. What my father said then was this.

[I will become the Heavenly Demon, so you become my Fist Demon.]

On that day, the Fist Demon became my father's man.

"I am a man who died long ago. The life I live now is a bonus granted to me by the Cult Leader."

The Fist Demon's gaze towards me deepened.

"I respect your demonic path."

His intense eyes were filled with sincerity.

However, that respect could not change his heart towards my father.

"But I will follow the Cult Leader's demonic path."