Chapter: 07
Master?
Did he mean for him to teach Yeon-woo martial arts?
“Ah, of course, I’m not telling you to teach him the Namgung family’s cultivation method. This child is going to become a warrior of the Divine Cult.”
At the words “a warrior of the Divine Cult,” Unhyun’s brow twitched.
He had made a promise to Yeon-woo.
No matter what, he would take him to the Central Plains.
He would take him there and let him taste all the finest delicacies the world had to offer.
“I’ll teach him the internal cultivation method. You train his external martial arts. And if you have the time, teach him some swordsmanship as well. After all, you’re the greatest swordsman in the Central Plains, aren’t you?”
But Unhyun’s expression remained gloomy.
Sensing that his proposal wasn’t welcome, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord curled the corners of his lips into a grin.
“If you don’t like it… then die.”
“…”
Although it was presented as a choice, Unhyun had never had one to begin with.
His own life meant nothing.
The only thing that mattered was Yeon-woo’s.
He only wished that this pure, innocent child would never lose his life because of someone else—including himself.
Unhyun slowly nodded.
As if he had expected that answer, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord smiled and rose to his feet.
When he raised a hand, martial artists dressed in black uniforms appeared from seemingly nowhere and lined up behind him.
So many experts had been hiding themselves all this time.
Once again, Unhyun was astonished.
“Would you clean these up? Ah, don’t kill them.”
At the Demon Lord’s command, the black-clad warriors carried away the masked assassins lying unconscious in the courtyard.
Watching them, Unhyun let out a sigh of relief.
If they weren’t killing them…
Then they intended to uncover who had sent them after Yeon-woo.
Thank goodness…
Truly…
Thank goodness…
Thud.
Unhyun lost consciousness and collapsed.
While watching his subordinates, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord looked down at him.
Crackle… Crackle…
The scent of roasting meat drifted away with the wind.
As if the desperate battle between life and death had all been an illusion, the night, now cloaked in darkness, was peaceful and silent.
The first to awaken in the chilly early dawn was Unhyun.
Slowly…
When he opened his eyes, a familiar ceiling greeted him.
It was the same ceiling he had first seen after surviving the betrayal in the Central Plains.
“…Did you bring me here?”
His cracked voice barely escaped his lips.
A chuckle came from his right.
“As if I’d do that myself. I had my men carry you.”
Unhyun shifted his gaze from the ceiling toward the source of the voice.
The Dark Shadow Demon Lord.
He sat cross-legged in one corner of the room, arms folded across his chest.
He wanted to ask, What about Yeon-woo?
But his throat tightened, and no sound came out. Only his lips moved silently.
Yet somehow, the Demon Lord understood.
“The child’s asleep. He’ll probably sleep through the whole day and wake up around this evening.”
“I see…”
Unhyun lowered his eyes quietly.
Then something was placed beside his pillow with a soft thud.
It was a small box, barely the size of a palm.
Unhyun looked at it questioningly.
“An elixir. And these are medicinal herbs for healing internal injuries.”
Suspicion deepened in Unhyun’s eyes.
The very man who had injured him was now giving him medicine?
What kind of absurdity was this?
“When I hurt you, you were my enemy. Now we’re comrades with the same objective.”
Comrades?
What nonsense…!
Wait… how did he answer what I was thinking?
“People’s thoughts are easy enough to guess.”
Can he read minds?
Confusion filled Unhyun’s face.
Finding the reaction amusing, the Demon Lord laughed.
“Heh heh.”
“Take the elixir immediately. Boil those herbs and drink them over the next month. Your body needs to recover if you’re going to teach the boy.”
Only then did Unhyun remember the conversation they’d had before he lost consciousness.
“Until the Dragon Demon Academy opens in five years… Emperor Sword. I want you to become this child’s master.”
He had accepted only to save Yeon-woo.
But he still hated the idea.
It wasn’t that he disliked teaching the boy.
It was the reason behind it.
To prepare him for the Dragon Demon Academy five years from now.
Teaching a child martial arts only to send him to his death…
What could be more cruel than that?
If remaining crippled meant he wouldn’t have to teach Yeon-woo…
If it meant Yeon-woo would never go to the Dragon Demon Academy…
Then he would rather spend the rest of his life as an invalid.
“I expected you’d think that.”
At that moment, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord flicked a finger.
Unhyun’s upper body rose on its own.
“…!”
He tried to turn toward the Demon Lord in shock.
Even his neck refused to move.
Then a tiny golden pill floated before his eyes.
His mouth opened against his will.
The pill slipped inside.
The rest happened in an instant.
It melted the moment it entered his mouth.
Without even swallowing, it dissolved completely.
But Unhyun could feel it.
“…!”
An overwhelming torrent of energy burst from the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head, crashing through his entire body like a waterfall.
The immense force was so vast that if he failed to regulate it immediately, he would fall into qi deviation.
No ordinary martial artist could possibly endure such power.
Yet it now surged through Unhyun’s body.
Slowly…
His body gently settled back onto the bed.
Without another choice, Unhyun immediately began circulating his qi.
Just before entering meditation, he glared at the Demon Lord.
Resting his chin on one hand, the Demon Lord simply smiled with satisfaction.
Unhyun closed his eyes.
Patiently soothing the foreign energy invading his body, he slowly began making it his own.
Whoooosh…
The immense qi spread rapidly through every meridian.
In moments, his internal injuries began healing.
His exhausted vitality recovered at an astonishing pace.
As he focused on circulating his qi, he heard the Demon Lord speak.
“While you were unconscious, I took a look at the boy’s body.”
Although every ounce of his concentration remained fixed on controlling the qi, Unhyun still heard every word.
“I don’t know if you already knew… but that child was born with the Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body (極魔天罡體).”
“…!”
His concentration nearly broke.
He almost lost control and fell into qi deviation.
The Demon Lord chuckled.
“So you didn’t know? Someone like you must have at least realized something was unusual. Did you never examine him?”
Unhyun’s tightly shut lips trembled.
He had always known Yeon-woo was extraordinary.
What ordinary child gathered priceless medicinal herbs almost every day?
Who treated those dangerous mountains like his own backyard?
Setting aside his keen sense of smell, Yeon-woo possessed physical strength and natural talent far beyond any normal child.
Calling him gifted wasn’t enough.
His body had been born exceptional.
But…
The Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body?
“I’d only heard of it before. This is my first time seeing one myself.”
What kind of constitution was it?
It could only exist in someone born possessing both the Blood King Demon Bones, perfect for demonic arts…
…and the Heavenly King Saint Bones, perfect for orthodox martial arts.
Simply put…
It was a body capable of mastering both demonic and orthodox martial arts despite their opposing natures.
“They say that someone born with the Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body never loses their sanity from practicing demonic arts, nor are they consumed by demonic energy.”
Their personality would never be twisted.
They would never descend into madness.
They would never lose control.
To someone practicing demonic arts…
It was nothing less than the perfect body of a Demon God.
“There’s just one condition.”
“They have to learn orthodox martial arts first.”
The Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body was naturally optimized for demonic cultivation.
But because its affinity was so overwhelming, if one started with demonic arts, their growth would become too rapid.
Without first establishing a pure and stable foundation, they would instead be consumed by demonic energy even faster.
That was why one had to first master orthodox martial arts before learning demonic techniques.
Only then could the body’s true potential be fully realized.
“So…”
“I’m going to change the conditions.”
Unhyun frowned slightly.
“I want you to teach the child everything.”
“Not just external martial arts.”
“Even your cultivation method.”
For a child who could become the strongest warrior in the Divine Cult simply by first learning orthodox martial arts…
Meeting Unhyun was nothing short of a heaven-sent opportunity.
What child of the Divine Cult would ever have the chance to learn from an orthodox martial artist…
Much less the greatest swordsman in the Central Plains?
“Whether you teach him or not, that child will enter the Dragon Demon Academy.”
“And once he’s there…”
“He’ll learn demonic arts.”
If he learned demonic arts before orthodox martial arts…
Only two outcomes awaited him.
He would either die…
Or become consumed by demonic energy faster than anyone else and lose his mind.
“If you don’t want that to happen…”
“Then teach him properly.”
“If you truly want him to live.”
The moment the Demon Lord finished speaking, the unstable qi within Unhyun gradually settled.
Everything had changed.
Now that Yeon-woo possessed the Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body…
Unhyun had no choice but to teach him.
If Yeon-woo failed to learn orthodox martial arts first, his very life would be endangered.
What had once been optional had become absolutely necessary.
Realizing this, Unhyun accepted the situation without hesitation.
“…”
Watching the flow of Unhyun’s qi stabilize, the Demon Lord smiled.
“I’ll deal with the assassins targeting the child.”
“You focus entirely on his training.”
“The Ultimate Demon Heavenly Body appears only once every thousand years, if that.”
“A treasure like that can’t be allowed to die before it ever shines.”
Resting his chin on one hand, the Dark Shadow Demon Lord watched Unhyun calmly regulate his qi and smiled.
“So…”
“I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
