Chapter 523: The Demon Supreme with the Best Upbringing

TL: FoodieMonster007

After finishing their meal, he walked with his father along the river. He had decided to join his father, who had gone out for a solitary stroll.

The two of them paused, watching a small boat pass in the distance. The river and sky, both reflecting the sunset's glow, were indistinguishable. The oar of the fisherman standing on the boat was the only thing that split the two apart.

"I have a few things to ask you about martial arts, Father."

"What is it?"

"It's about when you fought the twelve masters last time."

The battle from that day was perfectly preserved in Geom Mugeuk's mind. Just witnessing that fight had been a source of immense enlightenment and learning for him.

If he could resolve the few questions he had about that fight, it would be more helpful than several years of solitary training.

Of course, he was also confident it would be a great stimulus for his father. For an absolute being like his father to advance his martial arts, he needed to be questioned endlessly.

Is this right, or is that right?

The learning that comes from teaching would be the most effective method to push his father's martial arts forward.

"When you fought the Qilian Demoness, you executed your movement arts like this."

Right there on the spot, Geom Mugeuk performed the exact movement arts his father had used that day.

As he flawlessly replicated the movements from the battle, Geom Woojin showed a surprised expression.

"You memorized all of this?"

"Not just this. I've memorized everything from beginning to end."

Of course, he added a joke.

"It has surpassed the limits of my memory, so I think I need to quickly ask you about it and clear my mind."

Geom Mugeuk began to ask the questions he had prepared, one by one.

"At this moment, why did you evade to the left instead of the right?"

"Because it seemed like the other enemy, the Black Emperor, was going to attack the left."

"Then shouldn't you have dodged to the right even more?"

"Because if he had shot his sword qi, I intended to deflect that sword qi toward the Qilian Demoness and seize an opportunity."

Geom Mugeuk imagined his father deflecting the incoming sword qi toward the Qilian Demoness and then surging toward her.

"That certainly seems like it would have been more efficient."

At that time, his father was fighting in a way that achieved the maximum effect with minimal inner arts. He was also trying to impart a lesson to his son.

"Then, what if another person had intervened at that moment? How should one respond? The remaining ones are two here, and over there…"

One question led to another, and their conversation created a new battle. The imaginary fight between the two absolute masters became a gateway into the lofty world of martial arts once more.

While Geom Mugeuk spoke, he did not miss his father's hand gestures, gaze, or reactions. Those reactions were just as important as the content of the answers.

His father never spoke of things he was unsure about as if he knew them. For parts he did not know, he would shake his head slightly.

He did not pretend to know things he didn't, just because he was in front of his son. Only the truly strong can admit what they do not know. People tend to insist when they are uncertain. His father was demonstrating firsthand what the self-esteem of the truly strong is like.

From the riverbank, people were looking down on the two of them.

They were the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and Seo Daeryong.

The first to speak was Seo Daeryong.

"The Young Cult Leader is worried about the Great Demonic-Orthodox War breaking out, but it seems the Cult Leader and the Young Cult Leader themselves are only getting stronger."

Seo Daeryong conveyed his honest thoughts to his master. He felt that he had grown a step closer to his master this time.

"The Young Cult Leader must know well that if they become too strong and the balance of power collapses, the possibility of war breaking out becomes greater. Why do they try so hard to become stronger?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon said abruptly.

"He might be hiding a dream of conquering the murim."

Thinking his master was joking, Seo Daeryong laughed.

"How could that be?"

"How would you know what's inside a person's heart? Besides, how could you know the heart of someone as extraordinary as that kid?"

However, Seo Daeryong spoke with conviction.

"I may not know what's in the Young Cult Leader's heart, but I know this one thing for sure. There is absolutely no war in that unknowable heart."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned his head to look at Seo Daeryong. His Master was fearsome and difficult, but in this moment, Seo Daeryong was resolute.

"I may not know about other things, but I can be certain of that. If he were that kind of person, he wouldn't have kept someone like me as his right-hand man."

The words 'What's wrong with you?' almost came out of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's mouth, but he held them back.

Indeed, how could his own thoughts be any different from Seo Daeryong's? It was just that he knew all too well that when fate pushes, people are helplessly pushed along.

He watched the two in the distance discussing martial arts for a moment before asking Seo Daeryong.

"Have you been training well?"

Seo Daeryong was flustered by the sudden question.

"Let me see you perform it."

Seo Daeryong had never imagined his master would ask him to perform his martial arts here. He wondered if his master was trying to scold him for his stubbornness, but that was not it.

"They're charging ahead so fearsomely. We have to work ourselves to death just to keep up with half of what they're doing."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon corrected his disciple's posture and began to once again impart the essence of the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique.

By the river were Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin. On the riverbank were the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and Seo Daeryong.

And Hwi, leaning against the carriage, was looking up at the sunset-dyed sky.

The training continued until the sunset turned into dawn.

The journey continued.

The return journey was much more free and leisurely than the journey out.

Can we really be this relaxed while escorting the Demonic Cult Leader back? Hwi had this thought several times.

But no one was in a hurry.

It was likely because everyone knew this was a journey that would not easily come again.

Geom Mugeuk, in particular, got involved in all sorts of things. If another carriage was stuck in a ditch, he would naturally get out to help. If there was a family with children carrying a lot of luggage, he would let them ride in the carriage.

In scenic places, he would have the carriage stopped so everyone could get out and enjoy the view.

Today, too, something caught Geom Mugeuk's eye.

"Hwi, Uncle, just a moment."

As the carriage stopped, Geom Mugeuk got out and approached an old couple working in a field.

"We'll help with the work, so would you be willing to make us a bowl of noodles for a snack?"

Getting help with work for a bowl of noodles was a very welcome and grateful offer, but the other party was a martial artist wearing a sword.

When the old couple showed a wary expression, Geom Mugeuk smiled and told them.

"Don't worry, we're not bad people. We're just hungry during our travels."

"If you wish, we will serve you noodles for free."

This was the usual way common folk treated martial artists.

"No, we can't do that. We will help you with the work."

The old couple wondered what this was all about, but they sensed courtesy and dignity in Geom Mugeuk's attitude toward them.

"Then, please do so."

"Thank you."

As Geom Mugeuk set out to work, Seo Daeryong followed him.

The old couple explained to the two of them what work needed to be done.

The two began to work just as they were taught.

If they used martial arts, the work would be over in an instant, but Geom Mugeuk did not do that. He worked up a sweat just like an ordinary person.

Geom Woojin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon watched from the carriage.

"It seems the Young Cult Leader wants to create a memory of working in the fields with the Cult Leader."

He just could not bring himself to ask his father to do farm work.

"Do you think you can hold out for five years against a son like that?"

Geom Woojin's reaction to the jokingly delivered words was unexpected.

Geom Woojin watched his son work in silence, then asked the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"What do you mean?"

"If he can hold out against me."

Geom Woojin got out of the carriage and rolled up his sleeves.

He walked toward Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong and said.

"At this clumsy pace, when do you plan on finishing?"

At that sight, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon finally understood the meaning of the Cult Leader's words.

It meant that as they grew closer, it would become difficult for Geom Mugeuk to refuse his will. A father had followed his son's wishes to this extent. Could the son really go against that will?

The Cult Leader has no intention of losing.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was curious about that day. In five years, who would be the one to bend their will?

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sent a telepathy message to Seo Daeryong.

[Daeryong, you should quietly step aside.]

Like the movement of that assassin when he was fishing, Seo Daeryong slipped away from the spot without anyone noticing.

Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin picked up hoes and began to work the field in earnest.

The other three watched the scene with reverent hearts. The sight of the Heavenly Demon doing farm work was something they would never see again in their lifetime.

The Young Cult Leader who made the Heavenly Demon do farm work was also likely the first in the history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

It was wrong to just watch while the Cult Leader was working, but the three of them knew.

The reason Geom Mugeuk had stepped forward might have been partly to help the old couple, but it was more because he wanted to have the memory of working in the fields with his father.

The old Blood Heaven Blade Demon would have once thought this way.

Does forcing a situation like this really create a memory? Stop this foolishness!

But now he knew. That is what memories were. The transparently intentioned things Geom Mugeuk had done for him, and for the other Demon Supreme, had all remained as memories.

He realized that all of time would pass by while waiting for memories to come naturally. If no one makes a move, there will be no memories.

"Daeryong."

"Yes, Master."

"You must get married."

Seo Daeryong was startled as his master's regret was conveyed to him. It was the first time he had been told to marry since becoming his disciple.

"Yes, Master!"

He answered vigorously, but then added honestly.

"I'm not popular with women, so I don't know if I can do it well."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon whipped his head around to look at him and roared.

"What's wrong with you!"

At those words, Seo Daeryong felt his chest grow warm. He was so grateful to his master for saying that.

In the meantime, Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin's farm work continued. Without a word, the two naturally divided the labor.

They pulled weeds, picked out stones, dug the soil, and planted seedlings. The sound of the hoes cutting through the soil was pleasant to hear.

"How are you so good at farm work too? Is the only thing I can beat you at really…"

PING.

A stone Geom Woojin was picking out grazed past Geom Mugeuk's face.

"My hand slipped. There are a lot of stones here."

As the topic of fishing was about to come up, he had flicked a stone as if by mistake.

"This handsome face was almost pierced again."

"If you're going to drag this father of yours into a field, you should be prepared for that much."

Geom Mugeuk beamed a bright smile.

"When I meet the heirs of the orthodox sects and unorthodox sects, this is the first thing I'll say. Hey, you guys. Have you ever tilled a field with your grandfather and Master?"

Knowing Geom Mugeuk was the type of person to actually do that, the listening Seo Daeryong laughed. His mouth was itching. He wanted to hurry to the Alluring Inn and tell Jang Ho and Lee Ahn everything that had happened.

Once the two of them started working in earnest, it was over in a flash. They did not use martial arts, but they were who they were.

A short while later, the old couple brought out noodles and a bottle of alcohol. They were astonished to see that the work was already finished.

"You've finished it all already?"

It was a task that should have taken the couple several days of hard work.

"I'm starving to death. Please give us our snack!"

Geom Mugeuk looked back at the three others and said.

"No snack for those who didn't work!"

Of course, the old couple had also prepared noodles for the three who had been watching.

"Here, come on over. Let's eat."

And so, they all sat together and ate noodles with the old couple.

Now at ease, the old couple proudly shared that their first grandchild would be getting married in a few months. They said they had worked here their whole lives and raised their children.

When the carriage carrying Geom Mugeuk's party departed, a bank note lay under Geom Woojin's noodle bowl.

It was enough money to hold a grand wedding for their grandchild, with some left over. They had been working even harder to contribute a small amount to their grandchild's wedding.

The old couple bowed their heads toward where the carriage had departed, expressing their gratitude. It felt as if a wedding gift, or rather the price of noodles, had suddenly fallen from the sky.

The carriage once again headed toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Headquarters.

While it was usually Geom Mugeuk who created new events like this, there were times when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon would step up, like today.

"Would it be all right if we stopped by there for a moment on our way?"

The place where they stopped the carriage was an old bookstore.

The owner seemed to recognize the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, as he had visited occasionally, and greeted him. Seeing how casually the owner treated him, it seemed he only knew him as a book-loving martial artist from the orthodox sects and had no idea he was a Demon Supreme.

Everyone scattered throughout the small bookshop, browsing the books. It was a shop that dealt more with general books than martial arts manuals or theory books.

Geom Woojin looked around the bookstore with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Isn't this your first time in a bookstore like this?"

At Geom Mugeuk's question, Geom Woojin nodded that it was.

"Thanks to the Elder, I've come to appreciate the smell of books. He's probably read every book in here, too."

Then, from across the bookshelf, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's reply was heard.

"You say that because you don't know how many books there are in the world."

Geom Mugeuk looked at his father and said.

"Father, you command the Demon Supreme with the best upbringing among all the Demon Supremes in history."

His father nodded as if in agreement. He then shouted toward the bookshelf across the way.

"Father agrees!"

"You brat, you're too loud in a bookstore!"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, seemingly embarrassed, walked away to another section.

After meddling in all sorts of things while looking around the bookstore, Geom Mugeuk also bought a book. It was a book no one had expected.

The Central Plains' Guide to Cuisine.

"It says one hundred places are introduced here. Whenever you have time, Father, I will escort you to each one. My new goal is to visit all of these places with you."

Could he really visit all one hundred famous restaurants with his father before he died? It might be a more difficult goal than conquering the murim.