So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 366 : Truth (6)

"…"Every single person in that room went silent, their eyes locked on Il-mok's face with expressions that had no idea what to do with themselves.

The face that had been revealed was far too young, too boyish to belong to someone of his caliber.

But their shock was a little premature.

Because the moment Il-mok opened his mouth, he dropped something that left them reeling.

"My name is Il-mok. I am the youngest disciple of the recently ascended Heavenly Demon, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi."

Everyone looked as though their souls had left their bodies upon realizing who the Incarnation of Maitreya really was. Even more so because almost no one in the Central Plains had ever heard of the Heavenly Demon's youngest disciple. The only ones with even a rough idea were the Beggar King and the Little Tiger Beggar, and even then, all they knew was that the Heavenly Demon had taken in a kid ten years ago, and that the boy was famous all over Xinjiang for being a prodigy.

Right at that moment, "You filthy Demonic Cult bastard, you've been deceiving us this whole time!!"

The Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect suddenly screamed and swung his sword straight at Il-mok.

His face was twisted with rage.

The founder of the Qingcheng Sect had originally been a disciple of the Kongtong Sect, and the Kongtong Sect had been wiped out by the Demonic Cult in the distant past. The Qingcheng Sect and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had always been at each other's throats, and the realization that they'd been deceived sent that hatred burning white-hot.

Il-mok gave his body a single light twist, slipping out of the Sect Leader's surprise attack with ease. At the same time, Taoist Master Cheongmok had already drawn his sword and moved to assist the Sect Leader.

The fight breaking out inside brought Jin Hayeon and the others standing guard outside crashing through the doors and windows, but Il-mok stopped them without even looking over.

"Stand back."

Even while dealing with two swordsmen at once, he told them to stay out of it. The Orthodox Faction martial artists who had been gathering their internal energy in preparation for a fight also paused when they heard that, choosing to watch how things played out for now.

Not only was the whole situation a confusing mess, but another reason was that they couldn’t sense any killing intent coming from Il-mok as he handled the Qingcheng Sect’s warriors.

On the other hand, the Qingcheng Sect Leader was practically oozing murderous intent as he lunged.

Il-mok responded to his attack by redirecting the strike using the principle of softness and letting the strike slide past him. The force of it threw the Sect Leader's stance off balance, and his body swung right into the path of Taoist Master Cheongmok's incoming strike.

"Ugh."

While Taoist Master Cheongmok hurriedly redirected his sword, Il-mok slipped into his guard and sealed his acupoints.

By using the clearly weaker Sect Leader as a shield, Il-mok took out the bigger threat without breaking a sweat.

"Die!!"

The Sect Leader came screaming at Il-mok in a fury, but he was never going to be a match for Il-mok.

In just three exchanges, Il-mok sealed the Qingcheng Sect Leader's acupoints as well.

While the Orthodox martial artists looked unsettled by the display of skills unbefitting his age, the paralyzed Taoist Master Cheongmok screamed in rage.

"You bastard!! You tricked us all just to have the Emei Sect sealed off!!"

His fury at having put his faith in the Maitreya Luminous Cult was real.

Il-mok looked at him with a hardened expression and answered. "When you thought we were the Maitreya Luminous Cult, you agreed the Emei Sect was guilty. But now that you know we're the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Emei Sect becomes innocent?"

Taoist Master Cheongmok faltered at that. Then the Sect Leader screamed.

"You think we'd just forget what you animals did in the past?! Even if the Emei Sect is guilty, do you think we're blind to whatever evil scheme you're plotting!"

"So, if a parent commits murder, does that mean all their children deserve to be executed? Is that the kind of justice the Qingcheng Sect believes?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, Il-mok turned his gaze straight toward Hwangbo Yeon.

"Fist Phoenix, isn't that exactly what you told me? You said that the young disciples shouldn't be killed for the sins that their elders have committed. So tell me, how is it fair to show mercy to the children of Emei, but force us to carry the sins of ancestors who died centuries ago? Is this really how the Orthodox Faction enacts their justice?"

"T-that's..."

Hwangbo Yeon couldn't find an answer. Her thoughts tangled into a messy knot and her head spun so hard that a Heart Demon was practically breathing down her neck.

"Get ahold of yourself."

Right on cue, Hwangbo Ak pressed his palm against her back and channeled his internal energy to calm her raging QI.

Then the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal stepped forward.

He studied Il-mok with a complicated look on his face.

‘A monster's disciple is a monster, I suppose.’

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal, Muheoja.

In his entire life, there had been exactly one moment when he had come face to face with the previous Heavenly Demon, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi.

It was the day his Grandmaster, the Wudang’s Greatest Sword, was on the verge of ascending.

***

Compared to his Grandmaster, the man who would one day come to bear the title of Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal always felt his sword was empty. His Grandmaster was someone who had reached the pinnacle of Martial Path, but preferred to spend his days deep in Mount Wudang and devoted himself to the Dao instead of mingling in the martial world.

Then one day, on the day that his Grandmaster was nearing the end of his lifespan, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi came to call on him at his hermitage.

The moment he came face to face with Hyeokryeon Il-hwi, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal’s instinct told him one thing.

The man standing before him is a great mountain that exudes darkness.

Just as the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal was steeling himself to put his life on the line, a feeble voice drifted from behind him.

"Child, he is an old friend of mine. Step aside."

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal couldn’t believe his ears.

His Grandmaster, Wudang’s Greatest Sword, was calling the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult a friend?

While the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal stepped aside with a completely dumbfounded face, the man spoke.

“This Seat will overlook your disrespect on account of my ties with this ill-fated friend of mine."

With that, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi walked right past the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal and began talking with the Wudang’s Greatest Sword.

The two old masters talked about nothing in particular, but anyone watching them would have thought they were the closest of friends.

After no more than a quarter of an hour, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi left the hermitage.

"Child."

Only then did his Grandmaster call him in.

"Stop blindly following empty doctrines and start looking at the world with your own eyes. Just because someone calls themselves 'Orthodox' and ‘Righteous’ doesn't mean they aren't wicked, and just because someone belongs to the Demonic Cult doesn't mean you can't have a civilized conversation with them."

The Wudang’s Greatest Sword spoke to him like he was scolding a little kid. And he was saying this to Muheoja, the famed Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal, a man who was already over sixty years old at that time.

"You're saying the Heavenly Demon is someone you can reason with?"

"Hahaha! You just saw it with your own eyes, and you still don't believe it?"

"…"

When Muheoja couldn't find the words to respond, Wudang’s Greatest Sword suddenly brought up something out of nowhere.

"This is a story from when this old man was young, back when I was a hothead chasing after fame instead of devoting myself to the Dao."

And with that, Wudang’s Greatest Sword told him the story of his very first meeting with Hyeokryeon Il-hwi. Of how he had misread the situation in his youthful arrogance and ended up getting beaten up in return.

"Hahaha. So, ironically enough, this old man ended up being taught about the Dao by someone they called a Demonic Cult dog. Isn't that funny?"

"…"

He couldn't say no.

Saying no meant rejecting everything his Grandmaster stood for, but saying yes meant he was laughing at him.

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

"Child, do you know why this old man has shut himself away in this hermitage all his life, doing nothing but chasing the sword and the Dao?"

"…To see the Dao and realize that empty fame is meaningless?"

Wudang’s Greatest Sword shook his head.

"When I was young, it was out of youthful stubbornness. I wanted to get back at that Demonic Cult bastard just once, so I swung my sword while gnashing my teeth."

"…"

"But as I trained every day, and met him again here and there to cross swords with him, I realized at some point that I was actually having fun fighting and talking with him."

"…"

"So I kept training. To keep crossing swords with him. And so that no one innocent would have to bleed."

Muheoja listened quietly.

He hadn't imagined that the Grandmaster who had spent all his years in this secluded hermitage deep in Mount Wudang would have a story like this behind him.

But that last part he couldn't quite follow, and he asked.

"What do you mean, so that no one innocent would bleed?"

"Tsk, look at this child. The man who taught me had become the Heaven of the Demonic Cult. And when you're their Heaven, how could you just ignore what your followers want? So I had to give him an excuse, didn't I? So, I had to act as his excuse. An ironclad excuse so he wouldn't invade the Central Plains without good reason. It's just a shame that, unlike me, that bald monk seems to have a totally different mindset."

"…"

As Muheoja stood there in silence at this mind-blowing revelation, Wudang’s Greatest Sword spoke again.

"Child. Don't be swayed by false rumors; build your own moral compass. The leaves and branches of a massive tree might shake in the slightest breeze, but its roots stand incredibly firm. The Sword of Wudang works the same way. To harmonize the gentle, there must be firm roots beneath it."

True to his nature as a swordsman of Wudang, the old Grandmaster used his dying breath to pass down one final lesson on the sword.

***

Back then, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal had only just stepped through the threshold of the Realm of Truth, but after years of reflecting on his Grandmaster's teaching, he eventually grew into a monster ranked in the top five of the Twelve Heavenly Pillars.

And yet he had never once imagined he'd come face to face with Hyeokryeon Il-hwi's youngest disciple here of all places.

The reason the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal had stood back and watched instead of helping the Qingcheng Sect swordsmen was also because of his Grandmaster's final words.

Rather than act rashly, he wanted to judge things with his own eyes.

"It's not right to pin the sins of past generations onto those who come after. We'll acknowledge that much. But it's a matter of course to be suspicious of someone who has already committed wrongs more than once."

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal threw out that statement to form his own judgment, and Il-mok answered.

"If it's simply a matter of trust, I'll accept your suspicion. Not only is there the history from before, but there's no denying we've been deceiving all of you, even if there was no other way."

The fact that Il-mok accepted it all so plainly and simply made the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal and the other Orthodox Faction martial artists thrown off by the situation.

But Il-mok wasn't done yet.

"That said, instead of shutting your eyes and ears just because you can't trust us, I'd ask that you look at everything from the very beginning."

He gestured toward the letters laid out on the table.

"If you'd like, we can share all the information we've gathered and go through what's real and what isn't together with the Beggars’ Gang. All I'm asking is that you think about why I chose to take off my mask and reveal myself in front of all of you."

When Il-mok brought up the Beggars’ Gang, the Beggar King looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Before I answer your proposal, I have a few questions."

"Please, ask."

"What was your main reason for revealing yourself? No matter how skilled you are, you're not at a level where you could hold off everyone here at once."

"It’s because I found out about the truth. And if stopping it only costs my one life, I'd say that's a pretty cheap bargain."

In truth, Il-mok had one more reason he was counting on.

Among the members of the Maitreya Luminous Cult were countless innocent civilians.

Unlike your run-of-the-mill hypocrites, the martial artists gathered in this room actually had a basic sense of morality. 

Il-mok had calculated that they would hold themselves back to avoid causing a bloodbath among the helpless commoners. He just didn't say that part out loud because it would make him sound like a villain taking hostages.

"Then one last question. If the Beggars’ Gang refuses, what do you intend to do? Or worse, what if no one in this room believes a word you say?"

"In that case, I plan to give up on everything and return to Xinjiang. As I said before, us staying here any longer would just mean playing right into the Imperial Family's hands."

Hearing that, the previously silent Qingcheng Sect Leader exploded again.

"You brainwash a bunch of innocent people into joining this fake Maitreya Cult, and now you're just going to pack up and run away?! Are you out of your damn mind?!"

Unlike the seething Sect Leader, Il-mok calmly swept his gaze across the room and spoke.

"There's a story from far away in the West."

Nobody had any idea where he was going with this, and expressions ranging from baffled to utterly bewildered spread around the room, but Il-mok kept going.

"There was a man who worked as an assassin in his youth and killed many innocent people. When he finally came to understand the gravity of his own wrongs, he traveled all across the continent, took in children who had been left as orphans, and raised them in a quiet corner of the countryside."

This was a story Il-mok had heard somewhere in a past life. So he dressed it up as something he'd heard from the Western Regions.

"One day, the grown children of the people he murdered tracked him down for revenge. Let me ask you all a question. Is that man evil? Or is he good? And if he is evil, does that mean the children he saved are also sinners who deserve to die?"

Having thrown out that question, Il-mok gave a final bow to the room.

"I won't force your hand. Take your time. Think it over and come to your own decision."

And with that, he walked past the Orthodox Faction martial artists and out of the hall.

But even after Il-mok was gone, silence settled over the room.

Every single one of them was searching for their own answer to the question he had left behind.