Chapter 110: A Match Made in Heaven (5)

Hidden from Il-mok as he headed to the clearing.

'Hoh. I never thought such persuasion would work.'

Chu Il-hwan, who had been observing the area around Il-mok under Yeom Ga-hwi’s orders, watched with gleaming eyes. He tended to leave the cadets alone during scheduled training hours, but he would secretly monitor them during the free practice time in the evening. He had even been the one to personally watch over Il-mok during the exams.

‘To think that the stubborn and boarish Dokgo Pae would be swayed so easily.’

Chu Il-hwan, who had overheard the entire conversation between Dokgo Pae and Il-mok, wore a peculiar expression.

As an instructor at the Hall of the Demonic Way, he knew quite a bit about the Dokgo Family.

The ancestor of the Dokgo family, one of the Five Great Demonic Families, had been a chieftain of northern nomadic tribes.

As was typical of nomadic tribes, wars between tribes were commonplace, and their battles were usually fought between cavalry units.

In a cavalry charge, the most crucial element was the ability to break through. They had to defeat those blocking their path in a single exchange and pierce straight through enemy lines. The moment they hesitated or got blocked, they would be trapped in enemy territory and face impending doom.

That's why the Dokgo family's martial arts focused entirely on offense and emphasized the principle of strength.

However, the Dokgo Family's ancestors were eventually pushed out in the power struggles between tribes and driven to the Central Plains. At that time, they took refuge with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which hadn't yet been branded as a traitorous organization and still remained in the Central Plains.

The founding head of the family, who received a Central Plains surname from the cult leader of that time and adopted the surname 'Dokgo,' studied various Demonic Arts of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

He then combined the principles of the Demonic Arts with the martial techniques he had originally learned, and finally succeeded in creating the ultimate technique known as the Nine Swords of Solitude.

(TL Note: Dokgo could be translated as solitude. From now on, I’ll use the term interchangeably with Dokgo’s Nine Sword when needed.)

It was a historic moment that gave birth to a demonic art which preserved the unique characteristic of a strength-type sword style, yet allowed for much faster growth and the generation of far greater strength. And fittingly, it came with the side effect of making its practitioner dogmatic and pig-headed.

During a cavalry charge, a moment of hesitation or stray thoughts would get you trapped and killed. It was a fitting side effect for martial arts where the only correct answer was to press forward believing only in yourself without any hesitation.

Over the following centuries, the Nine Swords of Solitude evolved gradually, but the core framework remained largely unchanged.

Thanks to the transformation from tribal chieftain to martial artist, there was slightly more emphasis on utilizing footwork rather than fighting on horseback.

The offense-focused strength-based swordsmanship remained the same, and the side effects of becoming stubborn and obstinate also remained unchanged.

Knowing this fact, Chu Il-hwan had given up on persuading Dokgo Pae.

He feared that if he tried, the side effects of his own Black Thunder Demonic Palm would flare up and he would end up killing the boy.

Yet Il-mok had succeeded in persuading that stubborn Dokgo Pae.

While it might seem absurd that Dokgo Pae, who wouldn't listen to his words as an instructor, was persuaded by Il-mok's words, Chu Il-hwan wasn't particularly bothered by it.

After more than five years as an instructor, it was something he had grown accustomed to.

Strangely enough, children of that age were more influenced by words from their peers than from adults.

From that perspective, Il-mok's existence was quite special.

His outstanding skills, his status as the Heavenly Demon's disciple, and the various achievements he had shown even before entering the Hall of the Demonic Way.

He was bound to exert a great influence on the students.

‘It’s not limited to just the students he directly influenced, like Ju Seo-yeon, Jeong Hyeon, and Baek Cheon. The average skill of all the students is growing much faster than in previous years.’

As an instructor, this was a reality he was experiencing firsthand.

Yet, even after witnessing Il-mok persuade Dokgo Pae with his own eyes, Chu Il-hwan’s expression remained ambiguous.

'The more I observe him, the stranger this fellow becomes.'

The reason he made this assessment was due to the scenes he had witnessed while seriously monitoring Il-mok.

Today, as well, he had secretly followed Il-mok to the clearing.

And as always, the clearing was already filled with activity.

‘I have no idea what they’re doing in the Hall of the Demonic Way, a place meant to cultivate the talent of our cult.’

Following Jeong Hyeon's archery demonstration, they took turns sparring.

‘I’m sure I clearly forbade personal sparring among disciples.’

From an instructor's perspective, what was happening in that clearing was an absolute mess.

But the part that bothered Chu Il-hwan the most was something else entirely.

'No matter how talented he is, how can he be so lazy?'

Il-mok, upon arriving at the clearing, only moved his mouth a few times.

He was, quite literally, doing nothing at all.

He simply sat in a corner, just watching the others.

Sometimes he would close his eyes, making Chu Il-hwan wonder if he was perhaps cultivating his internal energy.

"Snore... Zzzzz..."

But when Chu Il-hwan takes a closer look...

He was just snoring and dozing off.

‘…I knew he was slacking off during class, but I thought there had to be a reason for it.’

Considering the Young Master’s exceptional achievements, he had thought it was impossible for Il-mok to neglect his training.

But now he realized it was his own misconception.

However, what grated on Chu Il-hwan's nerves the most was a different matter.

‘I knew he had an eye for the ladies, but I never imagined it was to this extent.’

After confirming the identities of those gathered at the clearing, Chu Il-hwan couldn’t help but be shocked for several reasons.

Except for Baek Cheon, there were only women.

And since Baek Cheon was from a senior class, it meant that among his own peers, Il-mok was only associating with women.

'There are only six female students in his year, yet he's drawn in four of them. What’s more, all three women from the Upper Class are with him?!?'

Chu Il-hwan had a thought. He wondered if Il-mok was trying to turn this clearing into his own personal harem.

A few more months, and Baek Cheon would graduate from the Hall of the Demonic Way, leaving Il-mok as the only man.

If Il-mok then managed to entice the new female disciples as well, it wouldn’t be strange at all to see a true den of debauchery unfold here.

‘Once I deal with the rats, he’s going to get some proper education.’

He had to turn a blind eye for now, as he couldn’t let it be known that he was monitoring Il-mok.

Originally, Chu Il-hwan had no intention of criticizing Il-mok for being fond of women.

The tenets of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult did not forbid taking three wives and four concubines, after all.

However, that was only when one was making efforts to become stronger according to the doctrine.

Seeing him lounging around while only chasing after women, he couldn't just leave it alone.

Maybe because he was contemplating how to discipline Il-mok.

Flicker.

The moment Chu Il-hwan's sharp gaze turned toward Il-mok.

Snap.

Il-mok, who had been snoring in his sleep, snapped his eyes open and looked directly toward where Chu Il-hwan was hiding.

"Hmm? What's that?"

Sensing something, Il-mok tilted his head in confusion, then closed his eyes again to go back to sleep.

Chu Il-hwan, who had come precariously close to having his surveillance exposed, let out an inward sigh and thought.

‘…How can a kid that lazy be so damn skilled?’

If he were this good while being so lazy, just how far would he grow if properly driven?

While Chu Il-hwan was imagining cleaning up the troublesome rats in the school and disciplining Il-mok to his heart's content.

Il-mok, who had been napping for a while, trembled as if having a nightmare.

***

A few days had passed since Dokgo Pae received Il-mok’s advice.

Dokgo Pae shared the advice with his sworn brother, Mak Ho-yeol, and they tried to put their heads together to figure it out.

However, they soon encountered a major problem.

Those who have used their heads before are good at using them.

But when those two fools tried to think, all they found was a vague emptiness.

For example, when they tried to practice a scenario where they were being ambushed.

"Hahaha! Try blocking this too, brother!"

Despite it being an ambush, both Mak Ho-yeol and Dokgo Pae would shout at the top of their lungs as they swung their weapons.

Their martial arts were the same.

It was the same with their martial arts. The two had been training together for nearly three months, so they were already familiar with each other’s techniques. Furthermore, since both of their styles focused on straightforward attacks, there was no opportunity to exploit weaknesses or use their heads.

"Brother Dokgo."

"Yes, Brother Mak."

“Does it seem like nothing’s changed to you?”

"I feel it too."

As simple as they were, they had just enough sense to slowly realize something was wrong.

"It seems difficult for just the two of us to create change, don't you think?"

"That's right, Brother Mak."

Naturally, they reached a certain conclusion.

They needed to use their heads, but they didn’t have any.

If that was the case, shouldn’t they just borrow someone else’s head?

As Dokgo Pae pondered this, a face popped into his mind.

"Ah! I know of one useful fellow, Brother Mak."

"A useful fellow?"

"Yes. I've been with him several times during tests. His skills were nothing special, but he seemed to have a pretty good head on his shoulders.”

In fact, Instructor Chu Il-hwan had given him advice after the first test. Advice about utilizing 'that student.'

For that very purpose, they had even been placed in the same group for the second test.

However, there was one problem that Instructor Chu Il-hwan hadn't anticipated.

The martial arts tournament that took place after the first test.

After that sparring tournament, Dokgo Pae had received special training from Hall Master Yeom Ga-hwi for about a month, thanks to Il-mok's concession.

On top of that, he had become sworn brothers with Mak Ho-yeol and devoted himself daily to training while discussing martial arts together.

Thanks to those two things, Dokgo Pae was able to achieve great progress in his martial arts.

While it was nothing compared to the Young Master’s growth rate, the Nine Swords of Solitude had indeed advanced.

And as much as his proficiency in the Nine Swords of Solitude increased, the side effects also strengthened.

'If you're a warrior of the cult, face your challenge head-on! Strength is the only truth!’

With such thoughts filling his head, Dokgo Pae had completely forgotten about Chu Il-hwan's advice and all thoughts of 'that student.'

But the advice from Il-mok, his only rival and goal, had managed to influence Dokgo Pae even through the fog of his side effects.

Finally, Dokgo Pae succeeded in recalling the forgotten memory.

“I’ll go get him right now, Brother Mak!”

True to a man who practiced the Nine Swords of Solitude, Dokgo Pae shot to his feet the moment the words left his mouth.

Dokgo Pae began searching through the Hall of the Demonic Way, even using lightness skills.

“There you are!”

Spotting the one he was looking for, Dokgo Pae grabbed the disciple by the scruff of his neck without a second thought and dashed back to where Mak Ho-yeol was waiting.

"Gah..."

The student who was dragged away by the scruff of his neck let out a breathless, choked gasp.

The man whom Dokgo Pae suddenly kidnapped could only come to his senses after Dokgo Pae finally let him go.

What that man saw was the sight of two boarish and fierce-looking men staring down at him.

"Gulp..."

Swallowing dryly without realizing it, the man asked in a trembling voice.

“I-Is there… s-something you n-need from me?”

"From now on, you'll become our brain."

"???"

At that abrupt explanation, which cut out all context, the disciple abducted by Dokgo Pae—Gwak Sul—stared back with a blank face.

But it was only for a moment. The bewildered Gwak Sul soon collected himself and began to ask calmly.

"What exactly do you mean by becoming your brain?"

After calmly conversing with Dokgo Pae and Mak Ho-yeol, Gwak Sul was able to understand the situation.

'It was because of Young Master Il-mok's advice.'

Gwak Sul realized the true culprit behind his kidnapping.