After the Grand Ritual concluded successfully this time, everyone lingered for a few days before promising to meet again and returning to their posts… but one person kept staying at the Tang Clan.
"Sichuan Province's food really is unique, isn't it? It's not that other regions lack spicy dishes, but making spicy food that's actually delicious is quite difficult."
"That's kind of you to say. If the Head Chef heard that, he'd be truly delighted."
"I'll be sure to tell him how delicious it was next time we meet. Ahaha!"
That was Jegal Bu, laughing affably as he continuously piled food onto his plate.
Of course, there was no problem with him staying longer.
The Tang Clan was currently enjoying its greatest heyday in history. Naturally, one extra guest staying over was hardly a waste of rice.
That said, it wasn't as if Jegal Bu was causing any trouble. His sly, easygoing demeanor occasionally drew a sigh from me, but…
That was probably closer to the discomfort I felt—still clumsy in human relationships—when I saw someone with such social grace.
In truth, none of the other martial artists, or even the servants, disliked Jegal Bu. If anything, they seemed rather fond of him.
And why not? Jegal Bu was a man capable of serving as the chief strategist of an organization like the Murim Alliance.
I didn't know the Murim Alliance's organizational chart in detail, but I knew enough to understand that he sat in the position of second or third in command.
He might lose his head over formations, but fundamentally, he was a man of both ability and social acumen.
…Which was exactly the problem.
"By the way, wouldn't you care to tell me now? What business keeps the strategist staying so long here at the Tang Clan?"
"Oh my. Have I made the White Moon Sword Lord uncomfortable? If so, I apologize."
"No, that's not it at all. I was simply curious whether something might be going on. Seeing that you requested a meal like this… I thought it might be about time you shared what's on your mind."
"Ahaha… The Alliance Leader did say the White Moon Sword Lord is not one for empty words, and that certainly proves true. Very well. Then I suppose it's time to get to the point."
Jegal Bu wiped the corner of his mouth and glanced around the table once.
Perhaps because this was, at its core, a family meal that he had intruded upon.
His gaze swept calmly over Tang Jincheon, Tang Cheong, Tang So-wol, and even me, before he finally spoke.
"It's about the Demonic Cult. The investigation is complete, and the Murim Alliance has settled on its position. I came to inform you of that, and while I was at it, I thought I'd lend a hand with the Grand Ritual as well."
"I figured as much."
Tang Jincheon nodded as if he had expected as much. Well, it made sense. There were only so many topics that would make Jegal Bu stay behind to talk.
Jegal Bu scratched the back of his head awkwardly and continued.
"Since everyone here seems to dislike beating around the bush, let me get straight to the point… the mood in the Demonic Cult is troubling. It's as if they're preparing for war."
"War, you say…"
"Father. Isn't it common for the Demonic Cult to harbor hostility toward the martial artists of the Central Plains? And the reason it has never become a serious problem until now is equally clear."
"Cheong-ah. Haven't I told you? The Demonic Cult of this generation is different from before. The Demonic Cult Leader, who calls himself by the arrogant alias of Heavenly Demon, possesses strength worthy of that name, and the other Demonic Cultists, unlike in the past, have been slipping in far more covertly to cause trouble."
"I'm well aware of that, Father. After all, it was the Demonic Cult's doing that targeted So-wol back when she was making her Murim Debut. But even so, the martial level of the Demonic Cultists won't have changed. Of course, that man called the Heavenly Demon is dangerous… but in the end, he's just one person, isn't he? It could be a dangerous subjugation, but I doubt it's something you'd call a war."
"Ah! I understand the young head's words well. In fact, that's exactly what the Murim Alliance focused its investigation on. …So, let me say it once more. The Demonic Cult is preparing for war right now."
"What do you mean…?"
Tang Cheong was taken aback. In his stead, Tang So-wol, who had clashed with the Demonic Cult several times before, spoke up.
"You're saying the Heavenly Demon is raising the martial level of the Demonic Cultists."
"Correct! Of course, it's not to the point where absolute masters who've crossed the wall will appear… but the number of Peak Realm martial artists is growing at an alarming rate."
"That's impossible! No matter how great a master's teachings are, enlightenment is ultimately something one must attain oneself! If it were first-rate martial artists, they could be reached through effort, but how can you mass-produce masters who have surpassed that level!"
"The Heavenly Demon has opened up his own martial arts to them."
"…What?"
"Of course, he hasn't revealed everything. After all, it would be meaningless to have those without even a foundation suddenly attempt to learn a divine art."
That is why the Heavenly Demon reworked his martial arts so that they could be learned easily and quickly.
Of course, the result was a martial art that was easy to reach the Peak Realm with, but practically impossible to break through beyond that… a martial art with a fixed limit.
The very fact that those who could never become experts could now touch the realm of experts was absurd in itself.
Tang Cheong seemed to be shocked by something slightly different, though.
"No matter how much he reworked it, how could he so readily reveal his true martial art…"
"That just means he is confident in his martial art, brother. The Heavenly Demon I met before was someone with that kind of ability."
"Hoh."
"However, the fact that you are bringing this up means the Murim Alliance has obtained the martial art the Heavenly Demon revealed. Am I wrong?"
"Heh heh! That's right! The White Moon Sword Lord is indeed quick to catch on when it comes to martial arts. Thanks to the help of the Beggars' Sect's heroes, we were able to steal away the martial art the Heavenly Demon revealed to his Demonic Cultists. We've even finished our research on it, but…"
"Is there some kind of problem?"
"Yes. There are two problems. First, we don't have a proper counter-technique. There's no such thing as a perfect martial art in this world. Every martial art has its weakness, and that's why even the most prestigious sects are wary of their techniques leaking out. Because if a counter-technique is developed, it would be a disaster."
Having said that, Jegal Bu let out a deep sigh. His eyes, which had held a hint of a smile just moments ago, were now sharp and narrowed, casting deep shadows.
"I led the research myself, along with the Murim Alliance's finest martial artists and the martial scholars of the library, but…"
"So everything you found out is what you just told me, and you couldn't create a counter-technique."
"Yes… Ah, but it's not like there's no method at all."
"Hm? You just said you didn't know."
"It's not a weakness in the counter-technique or the martial art itself. It's more like an inherent limitation, if you will."
Je Gal-bu let out a hollow laugh and continued in a dismissive tone.
"From the mental cultivation method to fist techniques, sword methods, light-body techniques, and various other martial arts—all of them are included. But perhaps it's because all of this is ultimately an inferior version of a single martial art. The original martial art had a structure that couldn't be defied."
"Can't be defied by the original? Does that mean the Heavenly Demon's Heavenly Demon Divine Art holds a natural advantage in compatibility?"
"No. It's a bit more literal than that. Those who learn the distributed martial arts end up having their minds dominated by the Heavenly Demon. It's not simply a martial art—there's some sorcery mixed in as well."
"That's insane."
According to the additional explanation that followed, merely practicing the forms at a basic level was fine, but once one delved deeper, the mind would begin to be suppressed to a greater or lesser degree, and mastering the mental cultivation method meant being completely subjugated.
A martial art that grants power, yet makes it difficult to grow beyond a certain point—and demands that you devote everything you have to the Heavenly Demon.
Even considering the nature of demonic arts—which seek rapid strength even at the cost of self-harm—this was truly a martial art worthy of the Demonic Cult.
As I clicked my tongue inwardly, Tang Cheong muttered in disbelief.
"Not only does he casually hand out his own martial art, but he's even modified it by mixing in sorcery. I thought I had looked into the Demonic Cult thoroughly, but this goes beyond that…"
"Don't blame yourself too much, brother. In truth, most martial artists would think the same as you. No—if anything, you're better off, since you've at least clearly recognized the Heavenly Demon's strength."
"Is that comfort? Thank you."
Aside from the Heavenly Demon, the Demonic Cultists aren't all that impressive.
That was the same thought I had held, having just regressed after fighting the Demonic Cult tooth and nail.
But there was a turning point that changed that belief.
"But this isn't the end."
"Hm?"
"I had already mentioned this to the Murim Alliance Leader and my father-in-law, but it seems the news never reached you, brother… The Heavenly Demon is either creating or recruiting martial artists who have reached a certain Harmony Realm through some unknown method."
"I can understand the recruiting part, but creating them? What do you mean by that?"
Tang Cheong blinked, unable to comprehend what he had just heard, asking again in disbelief.
I revealed to him the truth I had been keeping from everyone for a while, having been told to keep it a secret.
"Do you remember the Sword Demon who fought me in the Black Alliance some time ago?"
"I don't know the details, but I do know he had just stepped into the Harmony Realm and was unstable. That's common enough among Unorthodox martial artists. …Surely not?"
"You're right. The Sword Demon's unstable martial level wasn't because of his own enlightenment—it was because he was wielding a forcibly injected Intent as if it were his own."
"…Is something like that even possible?"
"This method probably only worked because it was the Sword Demon. But the key point is that the Heavenly Demon has a way to forcibly raise another martial artist's realm."
The Sword Demon was an oddity who wanted to become a single sword himself, so even when someone else's Intent was blown into him, he accepted it without issue.
It was probably a method that wouldn't work on the other Transcendent Peak masters of the Demonic Cult… but the fact that he'd raised the Sword Demon to the Harmony Realm this way in the first place meant there had to be some way to forcibly raise others too.
Come to think of it. I didn't know how many regressions the Heavenly Demon had gone through, but he couldn't have possessed enough martial skill to face the entire Murim alone from the very start.
There must have been a time in the past when he was flailing around like anyone else. The Grand Ritual the Sword Demon received was probably one of the results of that.
The Heavenly Demon's greatest terror wasn't his strength—it was the knowledge he'd accumulated through all those regressions, or so I was beginning to think.
Come to think of it, I hadn't known this before my regression, but the Assassin Valley had long since become a tool of the Demonic Cult.
Since I had taken down the Slaughter King, there probably weren't any great masters left in the Assassin Valley… but the point was that there might be other organizations or Harmony Realm masters who had submitted to the Heavenly Demon without anyone knowing, just like the Assassin Valley.
So if the Demonic Cult started to exert its full strength, it would inevitably be far more powerful than what was known so far. Their overall martial might was probably higher now than before my regression.
On the other hand, they'd be carrying fatal side effects that didn't exist before the regression… but then again, if the Demonic Cultists had cared about such things, they wouldn't have been called Demonic Cultists in the first place.
The Murim Alliance had caught wind of these circumstances of the Demonic Cult.
That was why they said that as the Demonic Cult prepared for war, we too had to prepare for war.
I nodded and spoke to Je-gal Bu.
"I understand. Though I do wonder if this is something that needed to be said so secretly. The Heavenly Demon's strength would have been known to the other clan heads and sect leaders through word of mouth, and with the Murim Alliance's testimony, no one would take the other Demonic Cultists lightly either."
"You're right. Under normal circumstances, we could simply issue a formal summons and ask the renowned elders of the Orthodox Sects under the Murim Alliance for their help. However."
Je-gal Bu shook his head and continued.
"There was word that the Potala Palace had decided to side with the Demonic Cult."
"The Potala Palace?"
With the Blood Buddha dead, wasn't the matter of them raising a ruckus across the Central Plains, claiming to serve their true Palace Lord, already settled?
Je-gal Bu shrugged his shoulders at my bewildered expression.
"We haven't yet uncovered the exact reason. But the evidence that the Potala Palace and the Demonic Cult are trying to join hands is solid. And that raises a problem here."
"…Sorcery and Vajrayana."
"Yes. The techniques of the Demonic Cult and the Potala Palace are far too unfamiliar to the Central Plains. The Murim Alliance alone might be able to hold them off, but… in that case, the damage we'd suffer would be impossible to ignore."
In other words, they needed help beyond the Murim Alliance.
And the reason they'd come to me of all people.
"The Alliance Leader hopes that the Great Hero White Moon Sword Lord would borrow the strength of the Black Alliance. As you mentioned at Shaolin Temple before…"
"The Righteous-Unorthodox Alliance."
Of course. Now I knew exactly what they were asking.
"So you're saying I should beat or kill every disobedient bastard in the Black Alliance and concentrate all the power into the Lord of the Black Alliance."
"…What?"
"Since I've already spoken with the Lord of the Black Alliance, the Righteous-Unorthodox Alliance will come together without a hitch."
"Uh, well… He didn't go that far, though…"
"Don't worry. That's what I do best."
"…"
Je Gal-bu stared at me with a blank expression.
I gave him the most reassuring smile I could muster.
"Hic!"
For some reason, Je Gal-bu flinched in fright, but surely that was just my imagination.