Chapter [NaN] |
After hearing my explanation, the atmosphere around me turned serious.
“Huh… I thought at worst, you were just unconscious for a while.”
“Sigh, me too. I figured the worst-case scenario was that you’d been controlled like someone under Soul Manipulation Techniques.”
Seo Mun-Hwarin and Seol Lihyang each sighed in turn, their expressions a mix of anger and relief. However, Tang Sowol was more extreme.
“So, Demon Bell can be used to overlay oneself onto another person, correct? Then how about reviving in the frail body of a prisoner, only to be killed again?”
“…There's no need. The connection to Demon Bell has already been severed. It’s not even possible now.”
“Oh dear, what a pity. It’s not enough that he tried to steal Cheon Hwi—he intended to live on pretending to be Cheon Hwi, just as he did with Elder Diamond Arhat.”
“I imagine so.”
“Then he would’ve acted like he was my fiancé. The thought of him whispering sweet words to me with Cheon Hwi’s face and voice gives me chills.”
I gently rubbed her back to soothe her—though I suddenly realized something that had slipped past me until now because it all felt so natural.
Wait a second… is Demon Bell still intact?
“Eh? Yes, it's definitely a Divine Object, but since it didn’t appear malevolent, the Alliance Leader and Strategist sealed it securely. They said they’d consult with Venerable Jeong Hyeon later.”
“Now that its connection to Blood Demon is severed, it shouldn’t be a problem… Still, it’s unsettling.”
After all, Blood Demon perfectly mimicked the Diamond Arhat until he revealed his true identity.
That kind of impersonation wasn’t something you could pull off just from intuition. He must’ve had extremely detailed information about Diamond Arhat.
And the most likely source of that information was Demon Bell.
Having spent decades inside the dream Demon Bell created, I had a pretty good idea of what it could do.
Memory.
Demon Bell is a Divine Object that can store memories and show them to others.
Blood Demon probably used this trait to store his memories, and by overlaying them onto others, he was able to continue his life.
If he could handle Demon Bell that skillfully, then extracting the memories of those who were melted down in its sweet illusions wouldn’t have been difficult. They wouldn’t even have the will to resist.
Blood Demon could view the memories of those he stole bodies from.
That was the conclusion I reached—and probably why it couldn't be found until one had reached a certain level of strength, both before my regression and now.
And having reached that conclusion… a quiet desire began to rise.
It wasn’t just that Blood Demon was strong due to mastering martial arts and esoteric Buddhism—he also had the power of the Divine Object Demon Bell aiding him.
And now, by some twist of fate, I had severed the link between Demon Bell and Blood Demon, destroying the latter completely—yet Demon Bell remained intact.
If Demon Bell still worked properly and wasn’t broken… couldn’t I try using it myself?
As soon as I explained this, everyone reacted in horror and started to object.
“Cheon Hwi? Isn’t that way too dangerous? I don’t want to get in your way, but… I can’t help but be concerned.”
“Right, right! Cheon Hwi, do you really need to use something that suspicious? You’re already strong enough without Demon Bell.”
“I feel the same. What you went through inside Demon Bell must’ve been quite the experience, but in the end, Blood Demon was defeated by your hand. One must always walk the righteous path.”
“Son-in-law, it might sound impressive to wield the power of some forgotten grandmaster, but there’s always a reason why such power was forgotten in the first place.”
Sincere objections came at me from all directions. With a bitter smile, I shook my head.
“You’re all misunderstanding me. I don’t intend to use Demon Bell to achieve immortality or anything like that. At this point, even if I started practicing esoteric Buddhism, I’d probably only reach a middling level at best.”
If I had such talent, I would’ve felt something when skimming the great techniques of Venerables Jeonghyeon or Gakjeong.
But to my eyes, formation arts, demonic techniques, and Buddhist rituals all looked like things far beyond comprehension.
It’s probably the same reason Taoist arts, too, naturally died out—too few people capable of learning them, so the lineage ended. Though I’ve never seen them myself.
“I’m not trying to use Demon Bell for myself. After all, the plan is to hand it over to Venerables Jeonghyeon or Gakjeong for judgment, right? I just want to ask if they could use it once for me—to show my memories to others.”
“Ah!”
Having once entered the dream created by Demon Bell through a formation, Tang Sowol suddenly widened her eyes in realization.
“The mental seal! I couldn’t avoid it completely, but I could at least grasp the atmosphere and the shape of things… Even if I couldn’t hear a word from you, I could glimpse a little!”
Since I was under a mental seal, I couldn’t confirm or deny her words—but that very reaction seemed to give Tang Sowol confidence, and her face brightened.
“This might be worth trying. Last time, Strategist-nim used an improvised formation, but if we prepare properly this time, we might be able to stay inside longer. If the abbot, who’s well-versed in esoteric arts, or even the former abbot assists…”
Tang Sowol muttered rapidly, her thoughts racing. The others glanced at each other in confusion, then, as their representative, Seo Mun-Hwarin stepped forward to ask,
“Could you explain a bit more? I understand now that it’s not what I was worried about, but I still don’t get exactly what your goal is.”
“Mm. Well, you know that I once entered Cheon Hwi’s Heartscape, right? I saw some things there. I mean, I couldn’t properly recognize them, so maybe it’s more accurate to say I sensed things—but thanks to that, I realized the mental seal was related to us.”
Tang Sowol continued her explanation carefully, choosing her words.
Since she had entered my mental landscape, she too wasn’t completely free from the seal. She couldn’t obtain any definite information.
But she could read the general atmosphere, the feelings—using that, she slowly pieced things together.
Her final conclusion was this: I was being restricted from speaking about them, or someone like them.
Strictly speaking, it was a prohibition on revealing information about the regression, but that deduction was pretty close to the truth.
The question now was: how could we uncover that information? If we used Demon Bell, we might get another chance.
As she finished explaining, Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin widened their eyes in realization.
“This is a chance, Sister Tang! Cheon Hwi may not be able to break the seal himself, but if we learn the truth without him saying it, then he won’t need to!”
“Exactly! Where should we start? We’ve already contacted Shaolin, so first, we should ask the Strategist to prepare the formation again. This time it’ll be a formal formation, not a makeshift one, so it’ll require proper preparations.”
“And obviously, whoever’s asking for it should cover the costs. Looks like it’s finally time to use my secret savings I’ve been storing since childhood…”
“Sowol. You probably won’t have enough with just your allowance, so leave it to your father. I promised to help lift my son-in-law’s mental seal—money’s no issue. However…”
“Father? Why are you trailing off like that? That’s very unsettling. Is there a problem?”
“Well, it’s just… If we’re going to ask the busiest person in the Alliance—the Strategist—for that kind of help, we’ll definitely need the Alliance Leader’s approval.”
“What? But surely the Alliance Leader would approve. After all, Cheon Hwi was the one who first identified Blood Demon and then resolved what could’ve been a devastating battle.”
“And he’s also the one who obliterated an entire section of the Murim Alliance’s main compound. Half of it collapsed from the aftershocks, but the rest was directly hit by his final strike—there’s barely a trace left.”
Now that I think about it, instead of releasing the full power of Thunder Sword in one blast, I’d trapped the energy inside the blade and swung it repeatedly.
Once that kind of power is sealed in, you can’t reabsorb it. To stop the sword, you have to release it eventually.
Either my body absorbs the recoil or I release it outward. Between those two, obviously, I chose the former.
It was a side effect of martial arts—there was no malice or intent behind it.
If I explained that properly, the Alliance Leader would surely understand.
“Well… I’m not so sure. I think the Alliance Leader’s got the wrong idea about you. Or is it a wrong idea? Maybe it’s just my bias talking, but perhaps you really do look like an Unorthodox martial artist pretending to be from the Orthodox path?”
“…Even you, Father-in-law?”
He sounded conflicted, but his smirk made it obvious—he was just teasing me.
I sighed deeply, but only briefly. If I knew what kind of misunderstanding the Alliance Leader had, I could use that too.
“Looks like there’s no choice. I’ll face it sincerely. Of course, once my body has fully recovered.”
“Wait, son-in-law, I’m suddenly getting a bad feeling. Could you tell me in advance what exactly you’re planning?”
“Nothing much. Just planning to offer my help if the Alliance Leader needs any buildings demolished. Oh right—didn’t someone say the Alliance Leader’s office was pretty old and worn out? I think he’ll need my help.”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
“If I’m going to be misunderstood unjustly, I might as well give them a reason. That way I get justice and validate the misunderstanding. It’s a win-win.”
“Still, who threatens to demolish the Alliance Leader’s office to his face! Absolutely not! That would tarnish the Tang Clan’s reputation!”
“Sigh… In the dream, the Tang Clan was the undisputed greatest under heaven, to the point that even the Murim Alliance was on edge. What happened…”
“That was a dream! And realistically, no matter how powerful the Tang Clan becomes, it won’t be enough to overpower all Five Supreme Clans and Nine Great Sects!”
“…Tsk. So there’s no way?”
“I said no, didn’t I?! I knew you could be reckless sometimes, but now you’re not even in your right mind!”
“Well, I did just barely escape from an environment where staying sane was nearly impossible.”
“…Can’t argue with that. Anyway, just leave this matter to me and do what you said earlier—rest up, and focus on re-aligning your disrupted Body, qi, and soul. Whatever else, for a martial artist, maintaining one’s internal harmony is most important!”
“Understood.”
“Though you look a little dissatisfied?”
“Dissatisfied? Not at all. Just your imagination.”
“We’re not in front of the Alliance Leader right now. Just be honest.”
With Tang Jincheon unusually persistent today, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“To be honest, I feel like I could give him a proper fight right now…”
Tang Jincheon’s face froze. Then, after a moment of stunned silence, he spoke in a half-doubtful voice.
“Then… what do you think would happen if you and I sparred, son-in-law?”
“Hmm. They say the rear waves of the river push out the front ones.”
As he chewed over my words slowly, Tang Jincheon’s eyes gradually widened in fury.
“You insolent brat…!”
“Just a joke. How could I ever say something like that to the father-in-law I respect so deeply?”
I shrugged—and got punched.
Tch.