I followed my father down an unfamiliar path.
It was a path behind the Heavenly Demon Hall I had never walked before.
Even when I returned to the Main Sect to gather materials for the Great Regression Art, I had never been to this place.
When we reached a beautifully decorated flower garden, my father told me there was a formation here.
“Follow my footsteps exactly.”
The formation laid out in the flower garden was the Nine Abyss Evil Spirit Maze Formation.
It was a terrifying Killing Formation where, if you could not find the correct Gate of Life, you would be chased by evil spirits until you died.
I carefully followed, stepping exactly where my father had stepped.
After we passed through the Nine Abyss Evil Spirit Maze Formation, the view before me changed completely.
Where there had been nothing before as we walked through the flower garden, a large, castle-like building now stood.
The most secret place in the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, this was the Nine Calamities Demon Palace.
My father placed his palm on a small panel next to the door.
As he infused it with inner energy, the massive door began to slowly open.
This was a place only those who had learned the Nine Calamities Demon Art could enter.
I stepped into a new world.
The moment I entered, a single, overwhelming sight greeted me.
Directly ahead, a giant statue in the form of the Heavenly Demon Soul was seated.
It looked just like my father sitting on the Grand Advisor's seat.
And that Heavenly Demon Soul had its hand extended forward.
I could feel it instinctively.
That the palm of that hand was the place for the Heavenly Demon.
The moment I saw the Heavenly Demon Soul, a thrilling shiver ran through my entire body.
I felt a desire to climb onto that outstretched hand and stand tall.
I was overcome with a longing to meet my own Heavenly Demon Soul.
It was truly difficult to maintain my composure today.
Just then, my father's words made my heart tremble even more.
“I, too, received the Nine Calamities Demon Art from my father in this very place.”
As if remembering that day, a memory of the past flickered in my father's eyes.
‘What kind of person was grandfather to you, Father?’
My father had never once spoken about my grandfather.
‘I, on the other hand, have many stories to tell my own children about you, Father.’
I slowly looked around.
In that vast space, the past and present coexisted.
A mural on one wall depicted the Demon Sect in its earliest days.
It was frightening, bizarre, and primal, with the paintings and statues so vivid they seemed ready to leap out and move at any moment.
Next to it, another depiction of the Demon Sect was drawn.
As time passed, the Demon Sect had changed.
The demonic practitioners and demons were portrayed differently.
“The Nine Calamities Demon Art has been passed down through a long history, changing and improving slightly, sometimes being lost and then reconnected.”
The history of the Nine Calamities Demon Art was also written in detail on the wall.
There were records of when the Nine Calamities Demon Art was born, and details from the time it consisted of nine forms.
Then there were times when it was divided into the Nine Calamities Demon Sword Style, the Nine Calamities Demon Saber Style, and the Nine Calamities Demon Fist Style, each a demonic art of seven forms for the first and second halves.
There were also periods when it was lost and buried in darkness.
The entire process, up to its current state of nine forms, was recorded in detail on the wall.
“So the Nine Calamities Demon Art has been constantly changing.”
“It was bound to be so. In every era, there have been both fools and geniuses.”
As he spoke, my father's gaze returned to the statue of the Heavenly Demon Soul.
“Yet, amidst all those changes, the one thing that never changed was the Heavenly Demon Soul.”
The forms changed with the eras, but the Heavenly Demon Soul remained constant.
The ultimate existence that could only be summoned upon achieving Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
Before coming here, I had already seen images of the Heavenly Demon Soul several times.
I had felt it watching me in the Ten Thousand Evils Lord's cave, and I had seen it while enduring the tyrannical aura of the Martial Alliance Leader.
I could not forget the look in the Heavenly Demon Soul’s eyes as it gazed at me then.
It seemed to regard me with contempt, yet also with longing, and even pity.
“Have you ever summoned the Heavenly Demon Soul?”
At my question, my father nodded.
It meant he had achieved Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art and could summon the Heavenly Demon Soul.
Father, did you lose to Hwa Mugi even after summoning the Heavenly Demon Soul? Or did you fight without summoning it? What exactly happened in that battle?
Even now, seeing my father's resolute profile, it was difficult to imagine defeat.
I didn't know if I would ever learn what happened that day or if it would remain a mystery forever, but one thing was certain.
It would never happen again.
“If I achieve Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art, can you and I each summon a Heavenly Demon Soul?”
“That is correct. It is known that the Heavenly Demon Soul differs slightly depending on the one who summons it. The Heavenly Demon Soul I summon and the one you summon will be different.”
A Heavenly Demon Soul different from my father's.
The thought of those two Heavenly Demon Souls standing tall and facing each other filled me with anticipation for that moment.
“My Heavenly Demon Soul... might be rather talkative.”
A faint smile graced my father's lips.
For him, that was as good as a roaring laugh.
“I wonder if I will see it in my lifetime.”
He was teasing me, but his words also carried the meaning of how difficult it was to achieve Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
My father leaped up onto the palm of the Heavenly Demon Soul statue.
“Come up here.”
As if I had been waiting, I too leaped up and stood there.
I reached out and touched the statue's hand.
The cold feel of the stone.
In the center of the palm, the symbol of the Heavenly Demon Soul was engraved, and a space was made for a person to sit.
It seemed my father had also received the Nine Calamities Demon Art in this very spot.
My father gazed at me and asked again.
“Are you ready?”
I looked at my father and replied.
“I want to feel the true touch of the Heavenly Demon Soul.”
At that, my father's majestic aura filled the hall.
Finally, the words I had so desperately longed for flowed from my father's lips.
“From this moment, I shall transmit the Nine Calamities Demon Art to you.”
Faced with this great destiny, my body trembled on its own.
My once-calm heart began to pound again.
I sat on that spot, my back straight and my posture correct.
My breathing was light, long, and steady.
My breath and consciousness became one, and at last, I was ready to accept my destiny.
This place on the palm was no ordinary spot.
I didn't know the principle behind it, but the flow of inner energy and demonic energy was smoother here.
“A form is merely a process for the single outcome of killing, a movement that optimizes that process. Your achievement will depend on how well you understand this.”
Starting with the deep principles of martial arts, my father began to recite the formula of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
With my eyes closed, I began to memorize the formula.
It was more difficult than any martial art I had ever encountered.
Usually, I could grasp a general understanding upon hearing a formula, but the Nine Calamities Demon Art was composed of entirely new concepts.
I simply memorized what my father said.
Understanding and interpreting it would come later.
I focused all my being on memorizing.
“... The Divine Gate must be cold, and the waters must be hot. If the Lower Field is a leaf, the Dry Field must be its root. Only when chaos becomes order and a great roar becomes silence will the Middle Field turn to life and the Reversed Field to death. When the Center is clear and tranquil, the Middle Palace will....”
The incomprehensible formula went on endlessly.
After a long while, the final formula of the Nine Calamities Demon Art concluded like this:
“... To stand alone and tall in this world, that is the Nine Calamities Demon Art.”
When my father finished the formula, an exclamation escaped my lips without me realizing it.
Whether I understood it or not was a problem for later.
I knew instinctively.
I knew how incredible the Nine Calamities Demon Art was.
The majesty and dignity of this absolute demonic art wrapped around me like an overwhelming wave of emotion.
“How much have you memorized?”
“I have memorized the formula itself completely.”
My father was different from his usual self.
Normally, he would have said, "Then let's go," and stood up from his seat.
But my father repeated the formula.
“Now, listen again.”
In this moment of teaching the Nine Calamities Demon Art, he was more serious than ever.
This was likely because the Nine Calamities Demon Art was, as a rule, not passed down through secret manuals but taught directly, and misremembering or misinterpreting even a single word could be fatal.
After repeating the formula three times, my father asked me to recite it.
I began to recite the formula of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
When I recited it perfectly from beginning to end, a look of satisfaction appeared on my father’s face.
“Perfect.”
I gave my father a deep bow.
“I am truly so happy. Thank you, Father.”
I was so overcome with emotion that no other words came to mind.
There was only joy and gratitude.
I thought the transmission of the martial art would end there.
Now that he had taught it to me, I was on my own to master it.
But I was wrong.
My father passed down several key principles and the core of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
He did not tell me everything, but he precisely pointed out specific parts where I might get confused.
“Have you memorized this as well?”
“Yes, I have.”
“I am telling you this so you do not wander down unnecessary paths.”
“Thank you, Father.”
My father sat on the edge of the Heavenly Demon Soul’s fingertip.
I sat down beside him.
“My father lectured me on the entire key principles of the Nine Calamities Demon Art. From the beginning of the formula to the end. He taught me how to interpret it and in what manner to train. Even so, it took me a very long time to achieve Great Mastery.”
My father’s gaze turned to me.
“I will not teach you the entire key principles.”
The thought was so typical of my father that I was not very surprised.
But his reason for doing so was truly astounding.
“You, too, must know that the same martial art can become very different depending on how one interprets it.”
And then he said the most surprising thing I had heard since I met him.
“I want to see the Nine Calamities Demon Art as you have interpreted it.”
“!”
I was startled.
Truly startled.
And I understood.
Those words just now meant my father was acknowledging me, martial artist to martial artist.
No, it was more than that.
“Show me. Your Nine Calamities Demon Art.”
He was saying he wanted to see a Nine Calamities Demon Art even greater than the one he had mastered.
My proud father was saying those words right now.
“So, carve your history here!”
My heart swelled.
In this moment, the joy of being acknowledged by my father was greater than the joy of receiving the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
Tears that hadn't come then were about to fall now.
Before hearing my answer, my father stood up.
“Let’s go.”
It was the moment he returned to being his usual taciturn self.
I did not say I would show him.
Because I really was going to show him.
Thank you, Father.
I think...
I have truly done well to return.
*
After leaving the Heavenly Demon Divine Palace, I climbed to the peak of Great Heaven Mountain.
Standing there alone, I recited the formula of the Nine Calamities Demon Art over and over again.
I strove to permanently engrave it in my mind.
My life was on the line here.
Everyone’s lives were on the line here.
And I mulled over the key principles and insights my father had shared, again and again.
Without these principles, the time it would take to master the Nine Calamities Demon Art would have been much longer.
Forgetting even hunger, I immersed myself solely in the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
My mind was clear and pure, and I felt a sense of ecstasy.
There was no me, no father.
In the end, even the Nine Calamities Demon Art disappeared.
In a true state of selflessness, I perfectly imprinted the Nine Calamities Demon Art into my being.
*
The first place I went after coming down from Great Heaven Mountain was the Flowing Wine Tavern.
As I entered, Jo Chun-bae rushed out to greet me.
“Young Cult Master! My sincerest congratulations! When I heard the news that you had become the Young Cult Master, I wanted to visit the sect to see you.”
He truly looked like he wanted to hug me.
So I went ahead and embraced him tightly.
Jo Chun-bae was so surprised he looked like he might faint.
“You shouldn't do this to someone as lowly as me.”
“Lowly, this is the last time you will use such words. It’s rude to say such things to a friend, isn’t it?”
At the word ‘friend,’ Jo Chun-bae exclaimed ‘Aigoo’ and waved his hands in dismissal.
What more needed to be said? Jo Chun-bae’s wrinkled face was full of emotion.
“There has never been anyone like you, Young Cult Master, and there never will be.”
“Show me that emotion in your cooking! I'm starving to death!”
I went up to the second floor.
I looked at the wall where the Demon Buddha and the Poison King had left their marks, and saw that someone else had added to it.
Blood Heaven, had a drink with my disciple and left.
To my surprise, it was a line left by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had come with Seo Daeryong.
It was amazing enough that they came for a drink together, but he even mentioned his disciple in the message he left.
I smiled happily, picturing the two of them.
A moment later, Jo Chun-bae came up with wine and food.
He looked at the new writing from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon on the wall and said.
“The Blade Demon Elder came by a while ago and left that. It's all thanks to you, Young Cult Master.”
“Perhaps it was thanks to me at first, but now it's because of our host's skill with wine and food. Do you know how picky those people are?”
As I said this, I pulled on Jo Chun-bae’s sleeve.
“Come, have a drink with me.”
“Yes, I will offer you a celebratory drink.”
“Do you know something? This is the first celebratory drink I'm receiving.”
“Aigoo! A lowly... no, is it alright for you to receive your first cup from me?”
“I know, right? I thought of the host before any of the Demon Sovereigns. Why do you think that is?”
Jo Chun-bae cleverly replied.
“Perhaps because you were hungry?”
“Well, I have been starving for a few days.”
We laughed together.
I am different from before.
I was the one who went from Second Young Master to Young Cult Master, the one who had even learned the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
But I will continue to live an unchanged life.
I will live a life where I share a drink with Jo Chun-bae like this.
I can probably achieve Ten-Star Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art in the training grounds.
But I believe Twelve-Star Great Mastery cannot be achieved in a training ground.
I believe the path to the Twelve Stars can be found in a drinking session with Jo Chun-bae, in a single line drawn on the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s wall, and on a moonlit stroll with Lee Ahn.
My unchanging, absolute principle regarding martial arts.
For martial arts to change, the person must change first.
And I know something else as well.
A demonic path that does not break the table is ten times harder than one that does.
Jo Chun-bae is a milestone on the demonic path I must protect.
When the smile fades from his face, my demonic path will be on the wrong track.
So, this celebration is enough for me.
The two of us, celebrating grandly.
“Come, let's have a drink, host!”