The Fist Demon was at the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
Dozens of Iron Fists were training in their Fist Technique, and the Fist Demon stood before them with his arms crossed.
The Invincible Fist Demon, Dan Woo-gang.
The ultimate master of the fist, known to have never suffered a single defeat.
He was a head taller than me, his entire body a mass of muscle.
His bronze skin looked as hard as steel, as if no sword or blade could ever pierce it.
His fists were especially large, the size of a woman’s head without any exaggeration.
The phrase ‘a body that is a weapon in itself’ must have been coined for the Invincible Fist Demon.
And there was one thing that decisively drew one's gaze.
The Fist Demon was truly fearsome to look at.
It was no overstatement to say that the images of demons in the Main Sect's paintings and statues were modeled after his face.
A face that made me think he should absolutely be the vanguard if a great war were to break out.
How many in the Martial World would dare to meet this face?
The Fist Demon slowly turned his head to look at me.
It didn't matter what he was thinking.
His appearance itself was so terrifying that his expression seemed to be, at the very least, challenging me to a fight.
Of course, I hold no prejudice based on appearance.
How many times in my life had I experienced that a person's looks and their heart do not match? How many of those who killed with a smile on their face were handsome?
I bowed my head respectfully in greeting.
“I greet the Fist Demon Sovereign.”
However, the Fist Demon did not greet me back and turned his gaze back to the Iron Fists.
It was an act of complete dismissal, but I did not mind.
In the past, I would have attached meaning to such an act and my pride would have been wounded, but not now.
Don't get worked up.
Please, don't get worked up.
When you look back, it’s nothing.
If he acts like this on my first visit, there must be a reason.
I stood to the side and watched the Iron Fists train in their Fist Technique.
Under the scorching sun, the Iron Fists stood like statues, holding a single stance.
It was as if the world would end if they moved.
Then again, with that fearsome Fist Demon watching, who would dare to move their body just because they were tired?
A suffocating tension flowed, but thankfully, no one made a mistake that caught the Fist Demon’s eye.
How much time had passed?
At a shout from the martial artist standing at the very front, the Iron Fists assumed the next stance.
One of their two outstretched fists moved to their waist as they twisted their bodies to the side.
Again, they took another pose, becoming statues for an unknown length of time.
They poured their heart and soul into each and every movement.
I consider this proper training.
Of course, how many of them would truly understand the deep meaning of this training and make it their own was a separate matter.
And so, the training that lasted for one shichen came to an end.
The Iron Fists all dispersed, and the Fist Demon also walked off toward his own residence.
He thoroughly ignored me until the very end.
He must have heard the various rumors and news about me recently, so this thorough dismissal could be seen as a kind of conversation.
I imagined that fearsome face looking at me and smiling brightly.
I imagined him trading jokes with me.
Fist Demon, if you treat me like this, I’m the kind of person who has these kinds of thoughts.
The next day, I went to find the Fist Demon again.
But today, just like the first day, he gave me a single glance before silently watching the Iron Fists’ martial arts training.
I was ignored just like yesterday, but no one laughed at me for it.
It was likely discipline born from their fear of the Fist Demon, but it seemed to me that among the subordinates of the Demon Sovereigns I had seen so far, the Iron Fists were the most properly disciplined.
Only when the martial arts training was over did the Fist Demon finally speak to me.
“Second Young Master.”
Compared to his fearsome face, his voice was surprisingly gentle.
I had expected a heavy, cold voice, but it was softer than I thought.
It was as if he was only moving his lips and someone else was speaking for him from behind.
“Why do you think I acted that way yesterday?”
“Was it perhaps because I visited during martial arts training hours?”
At that, as if my answer was wrong, the Fist Demon turned and strode away.
So you won't make it easy for me? I watched his receding back and smiled faintly.
The next day, I went to find the Fist Demon again.
Though I was the one visiting, it was the Fist Demon who was inducing my visits.
Today, I went at a different time, before the martial arts training began.
As I sat on the railing in front of the building with his office, the passing Iron Fists glanced at me as they went by.
Though I was being ignored by the Fist Demon, none of the Iron Fists showed any look of disrespect.
Rather, there was a subtle favor and respect in their eyes.
The Second Young Master of the time right after my regression and the Second Young Master of now could be said to be completely different people.
Just then, the Fist Demon came out of the building.
“Did you sleep well?”
He glanced at me and then walked on without a word.
I followed him as he headed for the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
“I thought hard about the reason yesterday. Is it perhaps because I didn't come to see you first among the Demon Sovereigns?”
After all, I had met and formed connections with the other Demon Sovereigns, so excluding the Poison King, he was the seventh.
The Fist Demon stopped in his tracks and asked, looking at me with his fearsome face.
“Do I look like such a petty person?”
“Then I suppose I’m the petty one. Because I think I would be very angry.”
The Fist Demon said no more and just left.
As he walked away, I shouted after him.
“I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
But the next day, I could not see the Fist Demon.
Only the Iron Fists were training at the training grounds.
I watched them train until the end in place of the Fist Demon, then returned.
I came up empty for three days in a row like that.
I couldn't tell if he was deliberately avoiding me or if he had business to attend to.
‘So this is how you want to play?’
Anyway, these damned Demon Sovereigns are all so abrasive and difficult.
Truly, none of them are easy opponents.
As I was turning to leave, thinking, Let’s see who wins, an Iron Fist member walked by and spoke to me quietly.
“The Demon Sovereign is currently at the Small Training Grounds.”
When I gave him a look that asked why he was telling me that, he said softly.
“My family received great help from a matter the Underworld Pavilion recently handled.”
After saying that, he bowed his head and walked away.
Telling me this must have been a burden, but it seemed he was very grateful for the Underworld Pavilion’s work.
-Thank you.
I sent my thanks via a telepathic message to him as he walked away into the distance.
I immediately went to the Small Training Grounds.
The Fist Demon was sitting there alone, lost in thought.
A person this big and burly didn't seem to match with contemplation, but surprisingly, the sight of him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed suited him well.
I spoke softly from behind him.
I omitted any mention of the three days I had come up empty or how I found this place, and spoke to him as if we had just seen each other yesterday.
“Is the reason you’re trying to distance yourself from me because of my brother? You’ve already made up your mind to support him, so you’re trying not to let that conviction be shaken, aren’t you?”
After a brief pause, the Fist Demon opened his eyes and said.
“What kind of grand conviction would that be, to treat someone poorly for such a reason? The people who ruin the world are all those with misguided convictions.”
It was an unexpected response.
Just by his looks, he seemed like the type to stick to a decision until death once his mind was made up.
“Then you might be able to support me instead of my brother.”
At that, the Fist Demon closed his eyes again as if he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
I bowed my head respectfully in farewell.
“I will be sure to come back with the answer tomorrow.”
I could tell.
He was conducting some sort of test.
If not, he would have told me in no uncertain terms not to come.
In any case, it wasn't bad.
If I see him often, I'll be able to find the answer to our relationship.
After leaving the Eastern Fist Hall, I headed for the Southern Path Sect to meet the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Strangely, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was also sitting in his yard, lost in thought.
“Is today a group contemplation day for the Demon Sovereigns? Then I should do some contemplating too.”
I went and sat down next to him.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke softly with his eyes still closed.
“You’ve only ever swung a blade to the death, so you don't know how to deal with fists, do you?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew my situation exactly.
“How did you know?”
“How do you think I knew? The rumor that you’ve been visiting the Eastern Fist Hall lately is rampant.”
“My, how fast rumors travel. Those loose-lipped demonic practitioners!”
“You’ll lose all the fish you’ve caught at this rate.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just go catch them again. There are only seven of them, there should at least be some fun in catching them again.”
“Why seven?”
I stared quietly at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Are you saying you’ve already eaten me up?”
I laughed out loud at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s words.
He must have found his own words amusing, as he laughed along.
“That’s actually why I came to see you. What kind of person is the Fist Demon?”
“Usually, guys who use their fists are ignorant, but the Fist Demon is smart. He’s a very smart man.”
A smart Fist Demon.
That must be why the Drunken Demon said you couldn't easily win against him without considerable resolve, and why my father said the odds were tight, even if it was four to three.
“A smart person’s punch hurts more.”
“Do you regret it? That you should have caught him before this old man.”
“First, I must say this. I don't know what kind of person the Fist Demon is, but this I am sure of. A Blade Demon in hand is worth ten Fist Demons in the bush!”
The art of flattery is not wasted on the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Usually, when you flatter someone, a moment comes when you wonder what you’re even doing, but with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, it’s not like that.
I'm not worried about the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Not because I'm treating him like a fish I've caught, but because I genuinely like him.
When I asked him to be my left wing, I said it because I needed a Demon Sovereign.
But now, it wouldn't matter if he wasn't a Demon Sovereign, it wouldn't matter if he was a stable keeper at the Main Sect.
It wouldn't matter if he was someone who had no influence on me becoming the Successor.
I just like the man called the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
As long as this feeling doesn't change, I won't have to worry about our relationship.
“Do you know why the Cult Master likes the Fist Demon?”
“My father likes the Fist Demon?”
“He doesn't say it outright, but he probably likes him the most among the Demon Sovereigns.”
“Why does he like him?”
“The Fist Demon is a man mad about martial arts.”
Then there's no need to say more.
He met the foremost condition for my father to like someone.
“He's not just mad, he's purely mad.”
“And yet you say he's smart? That’s cool, isn’t it?”
“Cool? You’ve met your match, that’s what.”
“It’s fine because I have you, Elder. Really, if you weren’t here, who would I get such advice from, and how would I live?”
“You’d live just fine. Drinking with the Drunken Demon and playing around with the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.”
As expected, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was jealous of the other Demon Sovereigns.
And yet, he was generously giving me information about the Fist Demon.
“You can't say I'm wrong, can you?”
“I’ll come and see you again when I need to contemplate. I’ll bring the Fist Demon with me then.”
“Don’t you dare!”
And with that, I left the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's residence.
The next day, I went to find the Invincible Fist Demon again.
He wasn't in the Grand Martial Arts Arena, nor was he in the Small Training Grounds.
After searching here and there, I found him in front of a cliff within the Eastern Fist Hall.
I knew the Main Sect was vast enough to have lakes and all sorts of things, but I never knew it had a cliff like this.
“Did you sleep well?”
He didn't accept my greeting today either.
But that was fine.
The fact that he was letting me roam freely around the Eastern Fist Hall meant he didn't dislike my visits that much.
I stood next to him and looked up at the cliff.
“I think I've finally found the answer. But please make me one promise. That you won't get angry after hearing the answer. No, you can get angry, but you won't hit me with that fist of yours.”
The Fist Demon slowly looked at me.
He didn't verbally promise, but his gaze was enough.
“You wanted to show your subordinates. Not ‘I am someone who can easily ignore the Second Young Master,’ nor ‘I support the First Young Master, so you all should know that.’ What you really wanted to say was, ‘I have no interest in you two’s succession battle.’ Isn’t that it?”
Was I right? Unlike other times, he didn't chase me away, and his gaze returned to the cliff.
I no longer dwelled on the answer and looked up at the cliff with him.
“I didn’t know there was a cliff like this within the sect grounds. If I climbed up there, I could see the whole sect.”
“The purpose of this cliff is not for climbing.”
“Then what is its purpose?”
Then came a surprising answer.
“This cliff is one to be shattered by this fist. In a single strike!”
I felt that he said it with sincerity, so I was startled.
“You think it’s an impossible goal, don't you?”
Even for the Fist Demon, shattering this cliff in one blow is an impossible feat.
Even my father would find it impossible.
“No, I was thinking why I never had such a concrete goal.”
I have never had a concrete goal in martial arts.
Of course, that was probably because Hwa Mugi occupied that position.
It had been a really long time.
Hearing a martial artist speak of such a specific goal.
It stirred something in my chest.
“May I join you in this goal?”
“You'll try to cut this cliff with a single sword strike?”
“No. I want to try shattering it with my fist too.”
This time, the Fist Demon was startled.
He probably never imagined I would give such an answer.
But right now, I was being sincere.
I had a feeling that if I could shatter this cliff with my fist, I could also defeat Hwa Mugi.
No, beyond Hwa Mugi, I wanted to try it as a martial artist.
I delivered even more surprising words to the Fist Demon, who was staring at me with a face as fearsome as a demon.
“Please teach me your Fist Technique.”