Chapter 512: Because of Liking Someone

TL: FoodieMonster007

The old man was Gyo Cheon, the former Blade Demon and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's Master.

He was a Master the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had believed to be long dead. He had truly never imagined that Gyo Cheon could still be alive. He thought he was someone he would only see again in hell, a person who no longer even appeared in his dreams.

When the Blood Heaven Blade Demon received the Master's message instructing him to come to Chongqing, he was utterly astonished. He would never have believed his master was alive if the message hadn't contained details that only the two of them knew.

"I didn't know you were alive."

Gyo Cheon replied softly to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's words.

"If you'd known, you would've come to kill me."

His words struck the ear sharply and grated on the heart, separate from the frailty in his voice.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked up at him. Remnants of his old face remained in the shape of his eyes and jaw. A web of fine wrinkles had consumed his features, however, making him think that he might not have recognized him if they had passed on the street.

Gyo Cheon, in turn, looked down at his disciple. The image of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon in his prime was nowhere to be found.

"You've gotten old too."

"That's because so much time has passed."

Standing before his master, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon felt as if he had returned to that time long ago.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

A strange light flowed from the two eyes set within the web of fine wrinkles.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could sense that his master's martial arts realm was far higher than when he was the Demon Supreme in the past. His body had certainly aged and grown frail, but he could feel from that gaze alone that his inner arts had become immeasurably profound.

Could it be? Is he confident he can defeat the Cult Leader?

Even if he had added the power of time to his existing skills, could he truly handle the Cult Leader's Nine Calamities Demonic Art? The supreme demonic art, the Nine Calamities Demonic Art?

"If I am? Are you going to come and give me a massage?"

It was a blunt response, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew. He knew that his master hadn't even started yet. He couldn't begin to imagine what it would look like when the emotions he had built up over so many years began to erupt.

"If you wish, I will give you a massage."

At the polite answer, Gyo Cheon gestured for him to come closer. The gesture held an unspoken question, 'Do you dare to approach?'

Surprisingly, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon began walking toward him. Gyo Cheon did not tell him to stop, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not stop walking.

The taut tension grew as the two men drew closer.

Thirty paces, twenty paces, ten paces…

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stopped when he was just ten steps away.

His Master was surely not alone, yet even at this close distance, he felt no presence of anyone else. If someone was there, it meant they were an expert of that caliber. If the Master had come alone, that in itself was astonishing.

"Why don't you come closer? Are you afraid of me?"

"I am afraid."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon answered obediently. The reason he gave was an unexpected one.

"Because if it were me, I wouldn't have been able to endure for this long. I would've come out for revenge without even lasting ten years."

His Master, however, had endured and endured for over thirty years. All for this very moment.

"Why have you returned?"

Then came the Master's soft reply.

"Because I'm alive."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon let out a long sigh.

"If you survived, you should have just lived."

It wasn't mockery. He was speaking his true feelings.

"You should've enjoyed your later years in a place with nice mountains and good water. If that got boring, you could've become a mastermind unrelated to our Cult and coveted power and wealth."

Then, an unexpected answer came from his master.

"I tried. Both."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched for a moment.

"To forget, to forget it all, I went into the mountains and tried everything imaginable. But I couldn't forget what happened that day."

His voice was hoarse and cracked, but his emotions could be felt in every single word.

"I realized that revenge is the only meaning in my life."

A heavy sigh escaped the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's lips, knowing that the flame burning in his master's heart could not be extinguished by anything.

"So you intend to borrow the power of the orthodox sects? You'll start a war to kill the Cult Leader? Do you think the Cult Leader will die just because of that?"

"Don't those orthodox sect bastards try to cut off the head of the Demonic Cult Leader no matter what?"

Was he being sincere? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon thought not. He wouldn't have spent all those years just to sow discord with the orthodox sects. There had to be something his master believed in. Something to kill the Cult Leader and himself. Something that would mark the end of his long revenge.

What on earth did you bring with you?

It was Gyo Cheon who broke the silence that had fallen for a moment.

"Are you sorry about that day?"

A slight tremor could be felt in his hoarse, cracked voice. Had his emotions intensified at the memory of that day?

"Do you regret that day?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon didn't answer either question, but Gyo Cheon continued to speak.

"If you're sorry and regret what happened, then shouldn't you help me now?"

At last, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon opened his mouth.

"How so?"

Gyo Cheon stared at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon as if to pierce him.

"With those hands, kill the Cult Leader for me."

An astonishing phrase was added.

"With the same hands that killed me."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon silently looked down at his own hands. They now bore the deep, layered traces of time, though not as much as his master's.

As the wrinkles on those hands faded and grew younger, the memory of that day long ago surfaced in the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's mind. That distant event felt as vivid as if it were yesterday.

"Master, you called for me?"

The person who rushed into the residence was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon in his youth. He had become the official successor to the Blade Demon and was training diligently after receiving the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique.

He was completely different from how he was now. His rather handsome face even had a touch of cuteness. Above all, he was overflowing with the vitality of youth.

His Master was sitting in a grand armchair, looking down at him, just like today.

"I called you because I have something to tell you."

"Please give your command."

Gyo Cheon spoke to him as if making a declaration.

"From this day forward, our Southern Blade Sect will officially support the First Young Lord."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's expression stiffened for a moment.

"You are to go and inform all the blade demons of this fact."

However, instead of accepting the command, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked his master a question.

"Why the First Young Lord?"

This time, Gyo Cheon's expression stiffened.

"Because it is my decision."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said something he shouldn't have.

"Please give me a reason I can accept."

He had never once disobeyed his master's words. He had to hear the answer, even bracing himself for a scolding. That was how important this matter was to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

As expected, Gyo Cheon erupted in anger.

"Are you defying your Master's will right now?"

"No. That's not it."

"Then why are you asking for a reason? I'm asking why you're still standing there."

Gyo Cheon's rough demonic qi shot toward the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon raised his inner arts to resist the powerful demonic qi, but it was naturally not enough.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain that felt like his whole body was being torn apart. No matter how painful it was, he had to hear the answer.

Gyo Cheon strode over and stood before the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. He already knew the reason.

"I know you have a special relationship with the Second Young Lord. And that the cunning Second Young Lord is trying to draw you in and use you."

Even in his pain, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon stated his thoughts.

"The Second Young Lord is not that kind of person."

As his words were denied, Gyo Cheon's expression hardened, and the demonic qi grew even stronger.

"Ugh."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon felt as if his entire body was about to be ripped apart. He would suffer severe internal injuries if he endured just a little longer.

Nevertheless, Gyo Cheon did not stop the demonic qi. He would never forgive the defiance of the disciple who was to succeed him. The demonic qi grew stronger, and his scream grew louder.

He intended to kill his disciple right then and there if he continued to disobey. He could do it. There was a line of people who wanted to become the next Blade Demon.

Dying like this is a dog's death.

In the end, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon bent his will. He would have surely died or suffered irreversible internal injuries if he had held out any longer.

"…I will follow the Master's will."

Only then did the crushing demonic qi subside.

Gyo Cheon, with an angry face, ordered him to leave.

"Get out."

As he turned weakly to leave, Gyo Cheon spoke from behind him.

"You asked for a reason you could accept?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned back to Gyo Cheon.

"In this succession battle, the Second Young Lord will surely die."

In that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sensed it. The determination that flashed in his master's eyes.

The Master intends to jump into this succession battle himself.

He felt that his master was prepared to kill the Second Young Lord himself. He was a man who would stop at nothing for the First Young Lord.

"Don't associate with the Second Young Lord anymore. Otherwise, you will die along with him."

"I will keep that in mind."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon bowed politely and then started walking again. His fists were tightly clenched when he left the residence.

As wrinkles formed on that young fist, he returned to the present. The current Blood Heaven Blade Demon was also clenching his fists tightly, just like back then.

After that day, he treated his master even better. He strove to gain even greater trust. All just to find out when that time would be.

"I know. I know why the Master chose the First Young Lord and not the Second Young Lord."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon now said the words he couldn't say back then.

"It wasn't that the Second Young Lord was cunning."

After a brief pause, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon continued.

"It was that the Second Young Lord saw through the Master's cunning."

CRACK.

The armrest of the grand armchair shattered in Gyo Cheon's grip. The broken pieces turned to dust in Gyo Cheon's hand and scattered. It was a move that showed just how profound Gyo Cheon's power was.

However, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon continued to speak.

"From his youth, the Cult Leader was a person whose likes and dislikes were clear. He was someone who disliked what he disliked and liked what he liked. The Master knew. He knew that the Cult Leader disliked him."

A beastly growl rumbled from Gyo Cheon's throat.

"You knew that if the Second Young Lord became the Cult Leader, you, Master, would be pushed to the lowest seat of the Eight Demon Supremes. That was something you could never endure."

He hadn't known back then. It was better not to know. He probably would have been killed by his master on the spot if he had said this in the heat of his youth.

"You're as ill-mannered and fearless now as you were when you were young."

"It seems your hatred for me has distorted your memory. When I was young, I was more polite to you, Master, than anyone else."

Gyo Cheon laughed. It was a laugh filled with both disbelief and deep hatred.

"You betrayed me. You betrayed me, the one who passed down the martial arts to you!"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said nothing.

"You call me cunning? Am I as cunning as you? You were the one who knew. You knew that if the First Young Lord became the Cult Leader, you couldn't become the next Blade Demon. Because the First Young Lord would never have left you alone, you who were so close to the Second Young Lord."

Yes, perhaps his master's words were right.

He had thought it was for the Cult Leader's sake back then, but perhaps deep in his subconscious, he had been struggling to survive. However, his master, at the very least, should not be the one to say that. Because he had not given him a choice.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's gaze deepened as he returned once more to a moment in the past.

The young Cult Leader stood before his eyes. The Cult Leader from his days as the Second Young Lord, with whom he had been as close as brothers.

He too had a different air about him than he did now. If nothing could be read in the current Cult Leader's eyes, emotions could be read in his eyes when he was young.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon liked him. It wasn't just because he was the man who would become the next Heavenly Demon. He simply liked him. His actions, his words. Though younger than him, there was much to learn from him.

He treated everyone with aloofness and arrogance, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could feel that he actually held something hot within his heart.

No, those reasons alone were not enough. He liked him enough to tell him these words that would completely change everyone's destiny.

"The First Young Lord and my Master have joined hands and planned to kill you."

The Geom Woojin of that time was different from now. Because the moment he heard those words, he clearly saw Geom Woojin's eyes tremble.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew. He knew that Geom Woojin wanted to end the succession battle without killing his brother.

"The two of them will make their move during the upcoming hunt."

Just then, Gyo Cheon's shout brought the Blood Heaven Blade Demon back to reality.

"You betrayed your Master, and you made a younger brother kill his older brother. That's the kind of man you are."

If I hadn't, the Cult Leader would have died.

However, he did not say those words to his master. To him, the relationship between himself and the Cult Leader would be meaningless. Because he didn't believe in such a relationship.

Yes, to say he betrayed him out of a pure feeling of liking someone would only hurt his master more. It was better for him to believe the betrayal was for the sake of the Blade Demon's position.

For that reason, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded and obediently admitted it.

"That's right. I am that kind of man. Selfish and wicked, and so…" The Blood Heaven Blade Demon added softly, his gaze sunken. "If you associate with me, you will suffer great misfortune."