15. The Disciple of the Ghost Soul Hand (5)
The Mad Demon stood before Hajin’s door with her arms crossed, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. One single question was repeating in her mind, over and over, hundreds of times.
‘Why? What on earth is the reason for refusing my offer!’
Because he is the disciple of the Ghost Soul Hand? Of course, loyalty to one’s master is important. But to reject the opportunity to learn a more powerful martial art, offered directly by the Mad Demon herself? A martial artist?
It wasn’t as if she were asking him to betray his former master and be expelled. He only had to learn from her.
‘Could it be because of the strike I landed in earnest?’
She recalled the moment Hajin had collapsed, vomiting blood. If that were the case, she would have nothing to say. But hadn’t she treated him cleanly by giving him a precious medicinal pill? Hadn’t that resolved the matter well?
No matter how much she racked her brain, the Mad Demon could not find a reasonable explanation within her common sense. Eventually, unable to hold back any longer, she let out a shout filled with fury.
“Why do you refuse to become my disciple!”
Her violet eyes glared at Hajin with persistence. It was as if she would not be satisfied until she heard a clear answer.
However, Hajin merely looked at her in silence, offering no response. His eyes were empty, revealing no affirmation, no denial, and no emotion whatsoever.
The silence plunged the Mad Demon into even deeper confusion. She would have at least tried to persuade him if he had given a clear reason, but what was this silence that made it impossible to read his inner thoughts? Her brow furrowed deeply.
Meanwhile, under the Mad Demon’s persistent gaze, Hajin’s mind was spinning faster than ever.
‘The Mad Demon’s disciple…’
For an ordinary martial artist—no, for any student belonging to this Heavenly Demonic Cult—it was an offer one might only dream of. There was not a single reason to refuse.
Becoming a disciple of the Mad Demon, one of the Demonic Sovereigns of the world, was tantamount to guaranteeing the most certain and powerful path to success in this hellish Demonic Cult.
But he was not ordinary.
Becoming the Mad Demon’s disciple meant more than just learning strong martial arts; it meant being branded as one of her people. It would grant him a backer that no one in the Cult could ignore.
‘Naturally, that would come with an equal amount of surveillance and restrictions.’
It would become impossible to act as freely as he did now. Not only would leaving the Demonic Path Academy be out of the question, but every trivial action would be placed under the Mad Demon’s watchful eye.
For him, who had to leave this academy someday to open his own inn, it was no different from the worst kind of shackle.
He had no choice but to weigh his immediate safety against his future freedom.
Hajin swallowed hard. A hasty acceptance would become a shackle, and he had not yet properly achieved his goal of honoring Yoo Jin-bang’s will.
Above all, since he had not yet properly grasped the nature of the person called the Mad Demon, it was right to refuse for now.
As long as he could do so without angering her.
“I am still lacking, so I cannot make such a choice lightly.”
It was an expression of refusal that was as humble as could be, lowering himself and elevating the other—a perfectly sensible excuse. However, the Mad Demon did not take it in a sensible way.
Because she was the Mad Demon, she was not sensible; her violet eyes narrowed in an instant.
‘Lacking?’
In the Mad Demon’s mind, Hajin’s words began to be twisted and interpreted in her own way.
‘Does he mean my offer itself is insufficient? He must mean he wants to see what else I can offer.’
In a normal case, it would be arrogance beyond measure. But a smile began to bloom on the Mad Demon’s lips.
He was a person who could block her strike with only physical training, without having mastered internal energy. Since he was quite accomplished as a martial artist, she thought it was fine for him to be arrogant.
‘Bold. But I like him all the more for his boldness.’
She had always found it much more interesting to deal with someone who had the guts to negotiate with her rather than with pathetic sycophants. The Mad Demon was willing to play along with this push and pull.
“I understand. I see what you want. I will teach you the Immeasurable Heart Method.”
The words that left the Mad Demon’s lips were by no means light.
She was offering to teach him her own unique martial art, famous even within the Heavenly Demonic Cult as a supreme divine technique. The Mad Demon waited for his answer, certain that Hajin would not be able to refuse now.
However, Hajin was someone with a pure mind who knew little about martial arts. He only knew the famous ones that appeared in every martial arts novel.
“……What is that?”
The Mad Demon’s face, which had been waiting for an answer with confidence, stiffened for a moment.
“Don’t tell me that old geezer, the Ghost Soul Hand, didn’t tell you anything about the Demonic Sovereigns?”
Hajin thought to himself.
‘Of course not. I haven’t really learned anything special.’
He nodded honestly. At this, the Mad Demon burst into a hollow laugh, as if she were dumbfounded. Then, perhaps judging that further explanation was meaningless, she snatched the sword from Hajin’s waist.
“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
She threw the sword high into the sky. The sword spun around, reached its peak, and then began to fall downward with fierce momentum.
The Mad Demon casually placed her arm at the point of impact. Soon, the sword rushed toward her arm.
“That is……!”
*Clang—!*
A sharp, piercing sound rang out. Of course, the Mad Demon’s arm was perfectly fine, without a single scratch. Instead, Hajin’s sword, which had struck her arm, shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.
The Mad Demon brushed off her arm and spoke confidently to the stunned Hajin.
“This is the Immeasurable Heart Method that forms my protective body art. It is a magnificent heart method that absorbs the energy of nature and converts it into internal energy. Within the Heavenly Demonic Cult, it is of such significant value that it can be compared to the Heavenly Demon Heart Method, which only the Cult Leader can learn.”
The Mad Demon crossed her arms and tilted her head up. Her violet eyes seemed to ask, ‘Now, do you see how great this is?’ She was certain that Hajin would immediately kneel and beg to become her disciple.
However, Hajin’s mind was filled with entirely different thoughts.
‘Absorbing the energy of nature and converting it into internal energy? If I modify the principle just a little, couldn’t I also recover magic power?’
A little while ago, while recovering his magic power after taking the medicinal pill, he had realized something. The internal energy that martial artists spoke of was not very different from magic power.
Perhaps they were on a similar path.
‘Becoming a disciple, it might not be as bad as I thought?’
Producing medicinal pills that could replace magic potions was important, but if he could recover magic power through an internal energy heart method, all the worries he currently had would become unnecessary.
Therefore, one word—‘I will become your disciple’—would end everything. Of course, modifying the Immeasurable Heart Method would also be quite difficult, but at least the key to escaping magic depletion was right in front of him.
However, Hajin could not easily let those words out. He had to be wary of the bitter poison that might be hidden behind the sweet offer. Behind his expressionless face, he calculated desperately.
‘The offer is as good as it gets, but…….’
The Mad Demon still bothered him. Why on earth was she going to such lengths to make him her disciple?
Curiosity because he was the Ghost Soul Hand’s disciple? That alone was not enough of an explanation. She might offer to take him as a disciple out of curiosity, but there was no reason to go as far as teaching him her own martial arts.
For a martial artist, wasn’t a martial art—especially a unique one bordering on a supreme divine technique—a treasure beyond price?
He could not think of any reason for her to cling to him, offering to teach him such things out of mere curiosity. The Mad Demon’s actions were so excessive they were irrational.
‘Why is this person so obsessed with me?’
All sorts of questions followed one after another in his mind.
‘Does she want to keep me under her thumb and torment me directly? Is that it? Or is there some other purpose I don’t know about……?’
This was the Heavenly Demonic Cult, and his opponent was a member of the Demonic Cult. Moreover, in the world of martial arts, they said one should be wary of old men, children, and women.
Naturally, one had to be twice as wary of a woman who was a member of the Demonic Cult.
Hajin stared intently into the Mad Demon’s violet eyes. He could not easily take the hand offered by someone he had to be twice as wary of, so his caution deepened.
‘Since her behavior is so erratic compared to a normal person, I can’t even begin to grasp her intentions.’
In the end, Hajin decided to ask directly.
“Why do you wish to make me your disciple, Mad Demon?”
At the direct question, the Mad Demon blinked for a moment, then laughed as if she found it interesting and scanned Hajin from head to toe.
“It’s because you’re like a raw sword that hasn’t been sharpened yet. There’s a certain joy in teaching those kinds of people. People who are already neatly polished aren’t any fun, you see?”
As the Mad Demon said this, she suddenly felt her own behavior seemed pathetic and grumbled to herself.
“But saying it like this makes it sound like I’m begging. How unpleasant.”
“I apologize. I’m just a bit suspicious by nature.”
Hajin bowed his head immediately. It seemed the Mad Demon was holding back for now, but it was wise not to provoke a madman.
With the other party apologizing, the Mad Demon could not argue any further. And she understood.
‘The Ghost Soul Hand is an assassin; it’s only natural for an assassin’s disciple to be suspicious.’
She accepted Hajin’s attitude, crossed her arms, and said firmly.
“Anyway, say you will become my disciple now. I can’t wait any longer.”
Only then did Hajin nod as if he had made up his mind.
“Understood. Master.”
“Good, I will…….”
“Instead, may I add one more condition?”
At the same time, the Mad Demon’s brow twitched.
“You’re going to add another condition……?”
Her voice began to grow increasingly irritated. Hajin was the first person to dare set conditions for her twice. While Hajin watched her reaction, he shamelessly stated his point.
“Yes, could you give me one more of that medicinal pill I took earlier?”
“The medicinal pill?”
“Yes.”
The effect of the medicinal pill he had consumed earlier was immense. However, considering the mana he had expended during his brief exchange with the Mad Demon, the recovery provided by a single pill was woefully insufficient.
Furthermore, it would be nowhere near enough to mend the cracks that had formed in his mana spring.
Of course, he could not openly discuss his mana. Hajin feigned as much pain as he could and spoke.
"Your strike was so formidable, Master, that it seems my internal injuries have yet to fully heal..."
The Mad Demon was momentarily rendered speechless by his shameless excuse. Since she was the cause of the entire situation, she could not even find the words to refute him.
"Ugh..."
She let out a pained groan and pressed a hand to her forehead. In the end, she had conceded.
"That cannot be helped. Very well, I shall give you one. However, I cannot give it to you right this instant. Once you have officially entered the Heaven-Surpassing Pavilion, come find me. I will give it to you then."
Even for the Mad Demon, it was impossible to carry precious medicinal pills with her at all times. Thus, she intended to bring one along when Hajin came to the Heaven-Surpassing Pavilion. But Hajin’s response once again completely defied her expectations.
"Oh, but I was planning on going to the Thousand-Day Pavilion?"
"...What? The, the Thousand-Day Pavilion?"
The Mad Demon doubted her own ears. She glared at Hajin as if she could not believe what she was hearing. Then, a suppressed roar erupted from her lips.
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting right now!!!"
The Mad Demon’s sanity was on the verge of snapping.
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