A heavy silence fell.
No one here had died, but something had.
The bravado, bluster, and arrogance the Black Fists had possessed until now were surely all dead.
Naturally, the way they looked at me had completely changed.
Awe, fear, anger.
Different emotions were contained in their gazes, according to their individual personalities.
It was the Fist Demon who broke the silence.
“Do you now know the terror of the sword?”
“Yes!” the Black Fists answered thunderously.
“When I first taught you the fist technique, I told you not to fear the sword. But now, you must know to fear the sword.”
Sometimes one must not be afraid, and sometimes one must be.
The lesson the Fist Demon wanted to impart to his subordinates today was that they must possess both of these mindsets.
“That is all for today.”
With those words, the Fist Demon left first.
He did not show it in front of his subordinates, but I could feel that he, too, was stirred by the divine might I had displayed.
The remaining Black Fists could not scatter as they usually did and stared at me.
Gazes filled with awe could be seen everywhere.
It was because, by nature, demonic practitioners held the strong in high esteem, and their desire to become strong was exceptionally powerful.
Representing them, Cheon So-hee asked.
“If you’re this strong, why are you trying to learn the fist technique? Is it some kind of amusement for the powerful?”
It was a very provocative question.
She was in a state of shock from that single move just a moment ago.
At the same time, she was furious with herself for being so helplessly defeated.
As someone who did not want to lose to anyone, she would probably be able to ascend to the position of the next Fist Demon.
I calmly asked her back.
“How could learning the fist technique be an amusement?”
“Then why are you trying to learn it?”
Why? Because a desire had grown within me to shatter that cliff with this fist.
“A moment ago, when my sword flew toward you, my hands were empty. What if I were attacked then? What should I do against a master who would not even give me a chance to retrieve my sword? I want to learn for that moment. Because this fist, striking at an opponent's carelessness, will be what saves me.”
Cheon So-hee stared intently at me.
She must be wondering if I was sincere or not, but it was impossible for her, still young, to read my heart.
After saying that, I too left the Training Grounds.
Just as the fates of all those related to me are changing, their fates too will change in some way.
I can only hope they change for the better.
*
That night, I was practicing the fist technique.
I slowly and meticulously trained the forms I had learned, from the White Fists to the Black Fists.
I would only be able to properly learn the Fist Demon’s signature Invincible Fist Art if these basic fist techniques were well-established.
Pow, pow, pow, pang!
I loved the sound of my fists striking the empty air.
A desire welled up to learn the Fist Demon's fist technique and quickly achieve Great Mastery.
“You are working hard even though it is late at night.”
The person who came to find me was the Fist Demon.
Every time I heard it, I was surprised by the calm voice that contrasted with his fearsome face.
Which was more like his true nature, his face or his voice?
In truth, I had a premonition that the Fist Demon would come.
I thought he would surely react to the skill I had shown earlier.
“Since I started late, I must put in twice the effort.”
“Not twice, but even ten times the effort, I will not accept you as my disciple.”
“May I ask the reason?”
The Fist Demon did not answer, but the heat in his eyes spoke for him.
He wanted to fight me.
Since he could not fight his disciple.
“You wish to fight me.”
Just as he had lit a fire in my heart, I too had set his heart ablaze.
“I will not fight.”
The moment I fight him, I will not be able to learn the fist technique.
There is only one way to learn the fist technique from the Fist Demon.
The fight for succession, political issues, none of that matters.
We must be connected through martial arts.
I must make him want to fight me so badly that he ends up teaching me.
That is my plan.
“The reason you will not fight?”
Like him, I gave no answer.
The Fist Demon, who had been staring at me, realized the meaning behind my refusal.
“You are worried you might defeat me.”
A surge of emotion crossed the Fist Demon’s face.
After gaining the name ‘The Undefeated,’ he had likely never once experienced someone worrying about defeating him.
He had probably only seen people struggling not to be killed by him.
“Second Young Master, you need not have such worries. The martial art you have learned is one taught by the Cult Master, so it would not be a shameful thing even if I were to lose.”
I also looked into the meaning behind his words.
“Do you wish to fight? Or do you wish to win?”
For a moment, the Fist Demon showed a flinch.
“Is there a difference between the two?”
It was a statement born not of arrogance, but something closer to this.
“You have become so accustomed to winning that you cannot even feel the difference.”
He strode over and thrust his face in front of mine again.
Having to see this terrifying face so up close was truly more potent than a fist flying at me.
“What is it you want to say?”
I recalled what the Evil Heart Laughing Demon had told me.
That I would know what kind of person the Fist Demon was when he lost.
“If you were the Blood Heaven Fist Demon or the Evil Heart Fist Demon, I wouldn't know, but as long as you are the Invincible Fist Demon, it will not be easy for you to accept defeat.”
“Are you saying I will break my promise from the shock of defeat? How do you see me!”
The Invincible Fist Demon’s expression twisted viciously.
It was so terrifying that it seemed the ground beside him would split open and evil spirits would pop out from hell.
“Teach me the fist technique first. Then I will settle the score with you.”
The Fist Demon scoffed with an expression that said it was a ridiculous notion.
“You will have to fight me first.”
Leaving those words behind, the Fist Demon turned and walked away.
I’m sorry, but that’s not your card to play.
As long as you are mad about martial arts, as long as you have built up the legend of the undefeated, that card was mine.
I can wait, but you will not be able to.
*
Cheon So-hee watched Geom Mugeuk in silence.
Despite the commotion—or non-commotion—of yesterday, Geom Mugeuk participated in the Black Fists' training as usual.
He was immersed in his training as if yesterday’s events had never happened.
But the Black Fists were different.
They appeared with golden salve on their sides, revealing a different kind of fervor than the day before.
“I was reborn yesterday.”
There was even a Black Fist who said this outright.
Whether he knew of this change and turmoil or not, Geom Mugeuk was solely focused on his training.
His movements were more precise than anyone else's there, and he understood the forms better.
The suspicion that someone must have secretly taught him the forms because he was the Cult Master's son had all vanished with the skill Geom Mugeuk displayed yesterday.
“I have something I’d like to ask, if that’s alright?”
Just as the martial artists of the Red Fists had done, people from the Black Fists began to ask Geom Mugeuk about the forms.
“Of course.”
Geom Mugeuk sincerely explained what he was asked.
In just one day, the atmosphere among the Black Fists had changed this much.
After training that day, Cheon So-hee went to Geom Mugeuk.
“I lost the bet, so I will keep my promise. Tell me what you want to ask of me.”
Then, Geom Mugeuk said something completely unexpected.
“Make me the Fist Demon's disciple.”
Cheon So-hee stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment with a dumbfounded expression.
“Then please make me the Cult Master’s successor.”
She had said it, thinking it was a joke.
But soon she could tell from Geom Mugeuk’s expression.
He had spoken in earnest.
“You’re not joking.”
“Of course I’m not joking.”
“I haven't even become a disciple myself, so how am I supposed to make you one?”
At this point in time, the Fist Demon had not yet chosen an official disciple.
A perfectionist when it came to martial arts, the Fist Demon did not make the decision to choose a disciple lightly.
“That is for you, the one who lost the bet, to worry about.”
“I didn’t know you would make such an absurd request.”
“Then why didn’t you say so then? That there should be a limit to the request.”
“Well… I assumed that anyone with common sense would naturally make a reasonable request.”
“Is that really why? Or was it because you thought you would win, so you didn't bother to say it?”
She could not refute it.
Geom Mugeuk’s words were true.
When they made the bet to grant a favor, she had intended to say that he could not make a request that defied common sense.
But instinct stopped her.
It was a bet she was sure to win, so she felt there was no need to say such a thing.
“Fine, I admit it.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled.
If she hadn't been so honest, he would have teased her a bit more.
“Admit what? If someone makes such a ridiculous request, you should firmly refuse and forget about it.”
She looked at Geom Mugeuk with a confused heart for a moment.
She thought he was a truly unpredictable person.
She turned away.
After walking a few steps, she stopped.
In any case, she had lost the bet, and her pride was hurt at the thought of just leaving like this.
She turned back again.
“Fine, let’s say I have that ability. Even so, if you become a disciple, the probability of me becoming one decreases, so there’s no way I would help you, right?”
“That statement is incorrect. If I become a disciple, the probability of you becoming one will increase.”
“Why is that?”
“It is difficult to take on the first disciple, but after that, it will be like the floodgates have opened, and he will accept a second and a third disciple. And I will strongly recommend you as my junior martial sister.”
“Me? Why?”
Geom Mugeuk gazed at her and said calmly.
“Because I feel you would do better than anyone. Because you seem like the most suitable person for the next Fist Demon.”
She wondered if he was joking again, but Geom Mugeuk’s expression was serious.
A storm of emotion rose in her chest.
It was something she had never heard since entering the Eastern Fist Hall.
Herself, her peers.
Her seniors and juniors all ran looking only upwards.
From White Fists to Black Fists, they ran with the mindset that they would die if they were eliminated.
Though they were peers who had suffered together, she had never sincerely said anything good to anyone.
She had never heard such words either.
Instead, she had secretly hoped in her heart.
That the other person would have a harder time than her.
That the other person would be eliminated from the competition.
So that she could become the Fist Demon.
Yet this Geom Mugeuk, whom she had only met a few days ago, said such things without hesitation.
In all that long time, they had never once exchanged such words.
It wasn't that she felt bitter for not hearing them.
Her heart grew heavy, as if she had confirmed her own narrow-mindedness for never having said them to anyone until now.
“You don’t even know me well!”
She flared up in anger, turned, and walked away.
*
That night, Cheon So-hee could not fall asleep easily.
Geom Mugeuk’s words kept coming to mind.
Was she really a person suited to be the Fist Demon?
Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, she could not bear it and headed to Geom Mugeuk’s quarters.
It was late at night, so she didn't even think she would be able to meet him.
She had just gone out of frustration, but surprisingly, Geom Mugeuk was practicing his martial arts.
His training was so serious that she could not even greet him to announce her arrival.
She stood still, worried she might disturb him.
At length, Geom Mugeuk, who had finished a round of forms, sat on a flat rock in the yard and asked.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“No, it’s alright.”
Cheon So-hee sat down next to him.
The scent of Geom Mugeuk’s sweat that wafted over was not unpleasant.
“It’s late, but I came because I had to confirm this. If you really become a disciple, will you recommend me as your junior martial sister?”
“I will.”
How much should she believe? When the Black Fist comrades gathered to drink, there were things they always talked about.
Trust no one.
That was the first principle to surviving long in the martial world.
“My goal is to learn the Fist Demon's martial arts. The one who inherits the position of Fist Demon will be my junior martial sister.”
When such a powerful moment of temptation actually arrived, she found it hard to judge.
“My junior martial sister, who has the Heavenly Demon as her senior martial brother.”
Yes, this is how everyone gets tricked.
Even knowing full well that they are sweet words, her heart pounds like this, so she must be falling for it.
What if he's trying to use me by tempting me like this? What if I'm killed to silence me after being used to the fullest? The image of Geom Mugeuk’s sword rose in her mind.
As the sword pierced through her face, it would say this.
Naive wench.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke to her in a calm tone.
“Life isn't easy, is it?”
That single phrase, gently delivered, struck her heart like a blow.
For a moment, she wanted to scream.
Who do you think you are to keep acting like you know anything about me? It is easy, I'm managing my life just fine.
What's there to be difficult about? I just have to run and run again.
I just have to run looking upwards.
But the words that flowed from her lips now conveyed the will of her heart, not her head.
“... It’s not easy.”
She answered that way without even realizing it.
She had never once shown a weak side to others.
She had never uttered the word ‘hard’ to anyone in her life.
She had endured well until now.
The moment she admitted it, tears streamed down Cheon So-hee’s face.
She was even more flustered by the sudden tears.
They had flowed down so suddenly she didn't even have time to hold them back.
Could tears flow so suddenly like this? Her emotions were not sad at all, so why were tears falling? Having never shed tears since becoming an adult, she was utterly bewildered.
“N-no, this is…”
Just as she was hastily wiping away the tears with her sleeve, someone entered and said.
“I knew it! Investigator Seo was right about you being a flirt. First a fateful love, and now you're making women cry.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly at the person who had entered, and Cheon So-hee was startled.
It was the first time in her life she had seen such a beautiful woman.