Chapter 61 The Start of the Plan (1)

"So, how is the fourth doing?"

"He is in a very critical condition. His dantian is shattered, and the poison within him has exploded, causing severe poisoning symptoms. He is barely holding on with his physical strength... Even if he's lucky, he might just avoid being paralyzed."

"I see."

"Yes."

"At least he survived."

"That's correct."

Lee Cheonsang twirled his cup. The remaining liquor swirled smoothly in the cup.

"What are the chances of recovery?"

"The doctors at Blood Soul Pavilion believe it's almost impossible. Even if he survives, he will have to lie in the hospital for five or six years. Even if the poison and internal injuries are treated, the damage to his dantian is severe... Restoring him to his original state is difficult."

Mudam bowed his head.

"Immediate recovery seems impossible."

Immediate recovery wasn't the issue. At this point, it was safe to say his life as a martial artist was over.

Lee Cheonsang, who had been looking down at his cup, nodded.

"You may leave now."

"Yes, Master."

After Mudam left, Lee Cheonsang emptied his cup. He placed the cup on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"Impossible to recover?"

In the past, one of his disciples had also fallen into a critical state. At that time, the doctors at Blood Soul Pavilion had said similar things to what they were saying about the fourth now. They said the chances of recovery were almost zero, and even if he did recover, he would become insane or crippled.

And that disciple was the third, who had put the fourth in this condition.

"Interesting."

A hint of interest flashed across Lee Cheonsang's face.

"I thought he would finish it in one go, but he left him alive instead."

That was his personality before he fell into the demonic path, and even after he changed, it seemed it would be the same. On the surface, he seemed light-hearted, but the third's soul was dominated by the word 'death.' If he decided to kill, he would do it without hesitation.

This was evident from the incident report sent by the Criminal Law Hall. If the three commanders of the Black Crow Guard and the head of the Criminal Law Hall hadn't intervened, the fourth would have lost his head.

Why did the third change his mind in that brief moment?

"Did he want to inflict pain?"

I understand. Since the fourth had put the third in that state, he would have wanted to exact the same revenge.

However.

"If he simply wanted to make him the same..."

For a moment, Lee Cheonsang shook his head.

Disappointment? No. The third was no longer someone who could disappoint others.

"The private meeting with the Master of Joy, the fight with the Mad Demon, and now the brawl at the Criminal Law Hall."

Truly a series of spectacular actions. In the past few days, he had caused incidents that ordinary people couldn't even dream of.

Even if one tried to create such chaos on purpose, it wouldn't be easy. The important thing was that amidst all this chaos, he had achieved his desired goals.

"Interesting."

The liquor from the distant bottle arched through the air and filled his cup.

Lee Cheonsang picked up his cup again.

"Is this how one pillar of the succession battle collapses?"

Hong Wi-mun.

The son of the current head of the Red Snake Sect, a child whose talent was second to none.

When did it start? His intelligence turned into cunning, and his bright personality became a mask. The fourth, like those who inherited the true blood of the Red Snake family, became as sinister and sly as a viper.

But that was fine. As long as he could blossom his talent, what did it matter what his personality was like?

The problem was that Hong Wi-mun didn't cultivate his talent.

He did the minimum but never the maximum. He was strong for his age, but that was it.

"That's why he lost."

The third was different. At one time, he was similar to the fourth, but after awakening again, he pursued the maximum, not the minimum.

That small but significant difference determined the outcome of the fight.

"Is this single incident caused by the third the beginning of a war?"

"What?!"

"Huh? I thought you were taking care of it?"

"I-I thought it went with you, Young Master..."

Seoryang's expression turned blank.

"What? Then where did this little one go..."

At that moment, a yelp came from the distant bushes.

Seoryang sighed in relief, and the pale-faced Aenghwa looked like she was about to cry.

"Phew, there it is."

With a flutter, the golden fox, having spotted Seoryang, quickly ran over and jumped into his arms.

"Oh, look at this little one! You've gained some weight, haven't you?"

It wasn't just a figure of speech. It was still cute, but its body and legs had grown a bit longer, and its tail seemed fuller than before.

Seoryang gently stroked the fox's nose.

The fox made a peculiar purring sound, as if it was pleased. It still looked very much like a cat.

"You little rascal, you've been getting food from here and there, haven't you?"

"Yelp!"

"Oh? Your belly's a bit empty? That's not good, let's eat first."

It hadn't been long since they had devoured a large meal, yet he was already talking about eating again.

But Aenghwa, unaware of this, quickly nodded.

"I'll prepare a meal!"

"Oh, just a little will do. I ate something on the way."

"Yes!"

As Aenghwa moved, Seoryang carried the fox into the room.

"Oh, this is comfortable!"

As he flopped onto the bed, he felt an unparalleled comfort.

The fox, watching Seoryang sprawled out, wagged its tail and curled up beside his face. Its fur was still smooth, even though it hadn't been brushed.

Seoryang scratched the fox's chin and spoke.

"You little one. Don't wander around recklessly until you're fully grown. You don't know how scary people can be."

Purr.

"By the way, are you really a fox? You're not a cat, are you?"

Purr.

"You're a curious one."

The fox rubbed its head against his hand, seemingly pleased.

Lying comfortably on the familiar bed, scratching the fox's chin, Seoryang felt his body relax, and a yawn escaped him.

"Yawn... I'm sleepy..."

His eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and his whole body felt like soaked cotton.

Seoryang's eyes slowly closed.

Wooong.

As the fox's eyes shimmered with a rainbow of colors, a faint red haze rose from Seoryang's body. It was so subtle that it was hard to notice at a glance. It wasn't the flamboyant and intimidating aura typical of the Dark Shadow Demon Art.

If someone had been there.

If there had been a master with divine eyes who had transcended human limits, they would have seen it.

A thin, thread-like invisible energy flowing from Seoryang's forehead was connected to the fox's body.

Wiiing.

The thread of invisible energy quickly thickened and became abundant.

Pusss.

The residual turbid energy in Seoryang's body scattered into the air.

Wiiing.

As the turbid energy was extracted, the Unhindered Art subtly unfolded to its extreme. The air in the room became pristine in an instant.

The fox made that peculiar purring sound once more.

Fwooo.

The fox's fur emitted a gentle glow. The energy flowing through its entire body was incredibly auspicious.

After a while.

As the invisible energy was severed, both the fox's auspicious energy and Seoryang's red energy disappeared.

Clatter!

"Young Master! I've brought your meal... Oh?"

"Groan."

Seoryang rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Oh, you're here?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were sleeping..."

"No, it's fine. I also just collapsed without realizing when I fell asleep."

Seoryang yawned widely and pulled the table closer.

"Let's eat."

Thus began a happy meal for the two people and one beast, something that hadn't happened in a long time.

The fox ate with great enthusiasm. It was already known to eat a lot for its size, but it seemed its appetite had grown since they last saw it, as it ate almost twice as much as before.

Seoryang mumbled with a slightly worried expression.

"Since you're a fox, you should be fine eating only meat, right...?"

It was worrying how much it ate. He wondered if it would get so fat that it would roll around later.

After the storm-like meal ended, Seoryang fell asleep again.

Aenghwa's face showed a hint of pity.

"He must have been exhausted."

How could she not have heard? She had heard from her fellow disciples at the Joy Pavilion that the Young Master had been through quite an ordeal in the past few days.

She couldn't show it, but she had been very worried.

"I should give him some space for a while."

And so, three days passed.

During that time, Seoryang became a complete slave to sleep.

He would sleep all day, wake up to eat the meals Aenghwa prepared, and then go back to sleep. When he woke up, he would eat again, and after eating, he would immediately fall asleep.

Even Aenghwa, who had been worried, started to wonder, "Is this really okay...?" as his lifestyle became more and more relaxed.

On the fourth day, Seoryang was no longer tempted by sleep.

"Groan! Oh, my back hurts."

He had slept so much that his body felt like it was shrinking. Yet, his muscles were so relaxed that he felt completely limp.

"Wow, was I too tense before? I slept so deeply without a care in the world... Huh?"

Seoryang blinked.

"What is this?"

He looked down at his hands.

He was looking at his hands, but his consciousness was scanning his entire body.

"Why does my body feel so energetic?"

He was sure that his meridians were clogged with turbid energy due to several battles and irregular living.

It was such a small amount that it was hard to tell even if he focused and concentrated, but if ignored, it could cause problems in future training.

Not only had all that turbid energy evaporated, but his body was in the best possible condition.

"Isn't this good enough that I don't need to circulate energy for a few days?"

How strange.

Seoryang murmured with a look of admiration.

"Indeed, sleep is the best medicine..."

...But there's no way it could be this effective!

If eating and sleeping for three days could improve one's body, why would there be any sick people in the world? Moreover, he hadn't even been that exhausted.

Wooong.

As he lightly operated the Dark Shadow Demon Art, the demonic energy wriggled as if it was about to burst out.

"Is it because I opened the Ghost Gate?"

The Ghost Gate Opening is the true opening of the Dark Shadow Demon Art.

But that wasn't the end. The fully opened Dark Shadow Demon Art created the next, and then the next, opening stages.

The Dark Shadow Demon Art has a total of five layers of opening.

With each layer opened, the depth of the demonic art increases remarkably.

While he could open it at any time, unlike the Ghost Gate Opening, which he had deliberately sealed, the keys to open the remaining four layers had not yet been given.

The doors of each layer would naturally open as his understanding and achievement in the demonic art deepened.

"But even if I opened the gate, there's no way such a mysterious thing would happen..."

At that moment, the fox let out a big yawn.

Seoryang paused his thoughts and scratched the fox's chin. The fox stretched its body and purred, seemingly pleased.

"I need to check my body."

Unexplained growth is more dangerous than unexplained regression. It was a martial principle he had realized after going through all sorts of hardships for decades.

"Let's start by loosening up."

Seoryang walked to the training ground. The fox, which had been lazing around and yawning, followed him with a wagging tail.

"No need for any special preparation."

Bam!

As soon as he stepped onto the training ground, Seoryang's fist sliced through the air.

The depth of power felt from his fist was definitely different. The speed was half a beat faster, and the destructive power had increased.

Seoryang's body spun.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of drums echoed in succession. Even though it wasn't a technique that emphasized speed, it was as free as the wind and as fast as lightning.

The intervals between the explosive sounds were much shorter than before.

"Huff."

It was so fast and intense that it took more effort to control it. It seemed like it would take some time to get used to it.

After sweating from a round of training, Seoryang scratched his head.

"This is really strange. It's not like I gained anything from scuffling with those half-wits."

Whether it was Wi Hongryeon or Hong Wi-mun, they had developed remarkable martial arts for their age, but to Seoryang, they were far inferior.

While it's not entirely impossible, it's rare to gain enlightenment from fighting with inferior opponents.

While Seoryang was repeatedly pondering, he sensed something.

"Hmm?"

A familiar energy wave was coming from the direction of the main gate.

A strong yet flexible energy wave. Judging by the gentle flow of energy, it was clear that it had been a long time since this person had experienced real combat, but the inherent martial power was exceptionally high.

At least a leader of a combat unit. No, it was martial arts worthy of being the head of an organization.

After a while.

"It's been a while."

Seoryang's face turned slightly sour.

"What brings you here?"

So Yeonshim smiled gently.

"To ask for a drink."