The next day, I went to the place where the Blue Fists were training.
Dressed in blue martial robes, they were clearly different from the White Fists.
They had a composure that matched their difference in skill.
The Fist Demon had not yet arrived, so I exchanged pleasantries with them.
Of course, they knew that I had trained with the White Fists.
One of them asked me.
“Have you learned all you need to from the White Fists? I heard you were only there for about seven or eight days.”
“How long did it take you?”
“I was there for two years. If you didn't learn properly from the White Fists, training with the Blue Fists won't be easy.”
He seemed to be saying it out of concern, but he was actually revealing his displeasure.
We suffered for two years, yet you passed in just a few days.
He was subtly expressing his dissatisfaction, suggesting that I had benefited from my status as the Second Young Master.
That it was a difference in status, not skill.
I didn't bother to make excuses.
There were bound to be others with similar complaints, and this was not an issue that could be resolved with words.
A short while later, the Fist Demon appeared.
Something I learned after coming here was that the Fist Demon personally instructed martial arts training from the White Fists all the way to the Black Fists.
The other Demon Sovereigns only instructed their disciples, letting those disciples teach the subordinates below them, but the Fist Demon took care of all his subordinates himself.
“I believe that your personally instructing all the Iron Fists is something truly worthy of respect.”
I said in a loud voice.
Everyone probably thought I was just flattering him, but I meant it sincerely.
In an atmosphere where no one even asked questions, the Fist Demon had probably never heard such words.
So I said them.
The Fist Demon’s gaze turned to me.
Looking at his fierce and gruff face, I spoke even louder.
“You are magnificent!”
Rather than saying it a hundred times when we were alone, it was better to say it once like this, when everyone was present.
At least in this respect, this was not the art of flattery.
He deserved to be praised.
It was truly no easy task for a Demon Sovereign to look after his subordinates so far down the line.
Nevertheless, the Fist Demon's eyes seemed to say.
‘Your tricks won't work on me.’
My eyes replied.
‘Then it will work, because it's not a trick.’
When the real training began, all the Blue Fists took off their shirts.
From the Blue Fists onward, they trained bare-chested.
It was to observe every single movement of their muscles.
Everyone took off their shirts, and their gazes turned to me.
Their eyes seemed to say, let's see the pale body of our dear Second Young Master.
I also slowly took off my clothes.
When they saw my body, they were all startled.
Practical muscles forged through real combat, and numerous scars.
If they knew from whom I had received each and every one of those wounds, even the Fist Demon would be astonished.
I smiled brightly and said to everyone.
“I came here so I wouldn't get beaten up anymore.”
What flashed across the Fist Demon's lips was clearly a sneer.
He still had a sense of disbelief, as if waiting to see how long I would last.
The real training began.
This time, too, the Fist Demon did not teach me a single move, so I watched them perform and then followed along.
The forms they were learning also emphasized breathing techniques, which I learned by imitation.
Using the Divine Eye Technique, I carefully observed their noses, throats, stomachs, and mouths to figure out the breathing method.
Then I asked the Fist Demon for confirmation.
“Please see if this breathing method is correct.”
“Who taught you the breathing method?”
“I learned it just now by watching them perform their martial arts.”
None of the Blue Fists seemed to believe it.
But the Fist Demon would believe me.
He was surely reading my aura.
How was he evaluating my skills?
I remembered my father’s words.
That if I got involved with the Fist Demon through martial arts, we would inevitably end up fighting.
Looking at him, I raised my hand high and said.
“I have another question!”
*
The next day, and the day after that, I trained diligently.
The somewhat cynical gazes of the Blue Fists toward me had disappeared at some point.
I worked hard, I did better than anyone else, and above all, I drew out a new side of the Fist Demon.
“In a real fight, how should this form be applied?”
This question, strictly speaking, was not for the Blue Fists but for the Fist Demon.
The Fist Demon must have wanted to tell his subordinates about the practical application of the forms.
If it were me, I would have wanted to tell them.
Why would the Fist Demon be any different?
Indeed, the Fist Demon explained in such detail that one might wonder what he would have done if I hadn't asked.
The Blue Fists also looked surprised.
They probably didn't know the Fist Demon could explain things so well.
“Is there a special mindset for not being afraid of a sword?”
I also asked questions about such psychological aspects, and.
“Why fists?”
I even asked a fundamental question.
In truth, it was a question that should be constantly asked by everyone from the White Fists to the Black Fists, and even the Fist Demon himself.
With that question, I naturally asked myself as well.
‘Why the sword?’
How one finds the answer to this question will determine how far that person can grow.
Five days after I started training with the Blue Fists.
In front of the watchful Blue Fist martial artists, the Fist Demon said to me.
“Starting tomorrow, come to the Red Fists training.”
“Yes.”
No one among the Blue Fists had any complaints about this decision.
In a few days, I had perfectly executed the forms they had learned.
It reached a point where the man who had spoken to me on the first day came to apologize.
“Please forgive my rudeness on the first day.”
“Anyone would have thought the same. There will probably be someone who says the same thing among the Red Fists.”
“That person will also come to apologize like me in a few days. Thank you for opening our foolish and lacking eyes.”
All the Blue Fist martial artists standing behind him bowed their heads lightly to me.
I also bowed my head to them in greeting.
Just being able to see a new side of the Fist Demon would have made this a meaningful time for them.
*
“I heard Mugeuk is training under the Fist Demon.”
Geom Muyang was keeping a close watch on his younger brother's movements.
“I heard that in just over ten days, he broke through the Blue Fists training and started training with the Red Fists two or three days ago.”
The Demon Buddha, sitting across from him, answered.
“With the Second Young Master’s martial arts skills, it’s certainly possible.”
The Demon Buddha knew what the First Young Master was worried about.
He must be concerned that the Second Young Master might really become the Fist Demon's disciple.
“You don't need to worry about the Fist Demon. If the Second Young Master tries to draw him in, it will only backfire.”
At that, Geom Muyang recalled a past event.
“Do you perhaps remember what you told me before?”
“What did I say to you?”
“The Drunken Demon is an unpredictable man. If he starts stirring things up, even the Second Young Master will not be able to handle him easily. The Second Young Master will lose the Demon Sovereigns he so carefully gathered.”
It was what the Demon Buddha had said to Geom Muyang when he received the broken wine bottle from the Drunken Demon.
But in the end, the news that came was of Geom Mugeuk drinking and playing with the Drunken Demon.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way. I just can’t ignore what happened with the Drunken Demon.”
Although he said not to take it the wrong way, the Demon Buddha was not pleased.
Was there really a need to repeat his own words so precisely? Didn't that mean he had been holding onto that incident all this time?
Is it really impossible to turn back once a crack forms between people?
At first, he tried to ignore the crack, was careful not to let it widen, and thought it would be fine as long as it didn't break completely.
But the Demon Buddha could feel it.
He realized that in human relationships, the issue wasn't whether the crack would break or not.
The problem was the existence of the crack itself.
If the other person hadn't been Geom Muyang, this relationship would have been sorted out in some way by now.
But he couldn't do that.
Because Geom Muyang was the path he had chosen.
Because he had bet his life on him.
Geom Muyang said to the Demon Buddha.
“Would you meet with the Fist Demon and find out what he’s thinking?”
“Yes, I’ll go and meet him.”
The Demon Buddha readily accepted the request.
As he got up from his seat, the Demon Buddha looked back at Geom Muyang.
He wanted to tell him something.
That it was okay to show it if he was anxious.
That he could tell him everything.
That his younger brother was too strong and hard to handle.
That after saying all that, his heart would feel a little lighter.
But the words got stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“It's nothing. I'll be on my way.”
As he left the office, the Demon Buddha blamed himself.
If the First Young Master couldn't do it, he himself should have been more open… It was not Geom Muyang’s fault.
*
The next day, as the Demon Buddha was entering the Eastern Fist Hall, his steps came to a halt.
He saw Geom Mugeuk with the Red Fist martial artists.
“Widen your stance. Lower your arms.”
Geom Mugeuk was correcting their stances.
He knew the man was no ordinary person, but how could he be acting so friendly with the Red Fist martial artists after only a few days?
Then the Demon Buddha saw it.
Geom Mugeuk's eyes and expression.
He was passionately discussing things with the Red Fists, as if he were truly immersed in the fist techniques.
Yes, that’s it.
That’s what draws everyone in.
They are deceived by that strange fervor that almost drew him in as well.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk saw the Demon Buddha and ran over to greet him.
“It's been a while. Have you been well?”
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly.
How nice would it be if Geom Muyang could smile so brightly?
‘No. Don’t have such useless thoughts.
He’s smiling like that because he’s an enemy.’
Aren’t humans the type to smile broadly at complete strangers, only to frown and complain to their own people about how hard things are? I must not be deceived by that smile.
The First Young Master is on our side, so he gets annoyed, and the Second Young Master is an enemy, so he smiles.
“The rumor is that you’re deeply engrossed in fist techniques these days.”
“Being the Underworld Pavilion Lord, there are just too many bastards I want to beat to a pulp with my fists.”
“Look here, let's not put on such a hypocritical act between us. Aren't you here to try and get the Fist Demon on your side?”
“Your words, ‘between us,’ are truly pleasant to hear.”
His ears kept melting at that glib tongue, so obviously meant to please.
“Stop the pretense and go swing those cotton fists of yours.”
After deliberately treating him coldly, the Demon Buddha headed to the Fist Demon’s office.
He heard Geom Mugeuk’s shout from behind.
“The Fist Demon called them baby hands, but you call them cotton fists, Sir Demon Buddha?”
*
“You’re a busy man, so I’ll get straight to the point. I came today because of the Second Young Master.”
As if he knew this was coming, the Fist Demon silently waited for the Demon Buddha’s next words.
With the tall and burly Fist Demon and the Demon Buddha, who was much smaller than an average person, the two were a study in contrasts.
“The Second Young Master’s desire to learn fist techniques is a trick to draw you to his side.”
In fact, the Demon Buddha had never had a deep friendship with the Fist Demon before, but he harbored a unilateral internal sense of closeness.
He considered his own short stature and the Fist Demon’s fearsome face to be on the same level.
He thought of them as similar physical weaknesses, in that people frowned when they saw them.
Of course, he had never revealed such private thoughts to anyone.
“So? Did you come here because you were worried I would fall for the Second Young Master?”
“That’s right. I was worried. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon fell for it, and the Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign fell for it. Even the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Drunken Demon.”
The Demon Buddha spoke honestly.
Beating around the bush could lead to trouble later.
He had to tell him this.
“The Second Young Master is a fox. A fox with a hundred tails. That glib tongue of his is sweeter than a sycophant's. If you let your guard down, you’ll find yourself taking the Second Young Master as your disciple before you know it.”
The Fist Demon stared at the Demon Buddha and asked abruptly.
“By any chance, were you almost swayed as well?”
For a moment, the Demon Buddha flinched inwardly, but he said confidently.
“From the beginning until now, and in the future, I am on the First Young Master’s side.”
“The Second Young Master said so. He told me to protect the First Young Master.”
The Demon Buddha was startled.
He had said something similar to him as well.
“He said he would end the succession fight without shedding blood.”
“Do you believe those words?”
“Do you believe them?”
The Demon Buddha gave no answer.
It was the moment he should have said he didn't believe it, but the words wouldn't come out.
He had come to give the Fist Demon confidence, but he was only confirming that he himself had been swayed by Geom Mugeuk.
“Go and tell the First Young Master. That my heart in supporting him remains unchanged.”
It was impossible to know the Fist Demon’s true feelings, but the Demon Buddha thought it was enough to have given this warning.
“The First Young Master will be greatly pleased.”
With that, the Demon Buddha left the office.
On his way back, he saw Geom Mugeuk again.
Far away in the training grounds, he was still practicing fist techniques with the Red Fists.
Even from a distance, one could feel that he was training with a heart truly immersed in the art.
Just like when he himself had been immersed in martial arts in his youth.
He had thought Geom Mugeuk was amazing many times before, but today's feeling was a little different.
It was probably because of the Red Fists training with him.
Have you all already fallen for him? How long has it been since you met? What do you like so much that you’re swinging your fists together?
The Demon Buddha suddenly became afraid of Geom Mugeuk.
Doubts washed over him like inner demons.
What if that scheme to sway people's hearts is sincere? What if I'm the fool, the one who resorts to schemes? What if I've chosen the wrong side?
But soon, the Demon Buddha shook his head.
At times like this, he had to be stronger.
Emitting a golden glow, he walked with vigorous steps.
Though he was confused, pushed back, and even cracked.
First Young Master, let's keep fighting.