There was no way to describe this sound of wind.
If I had to, it was like the wind blowing through a mysterious valley at the end of the world.
A sound so refreshing, so brisk, it seemed not of this world.
The moment I heard the sound of the Swift Step at the level of Great Mastery, I knew instinctively.
I would become addicted to this sound.
It was a sound as captivating as its insane speed.
At first, I was faster.
Truly, the Swift Step that had reached Great Mastery was indescribably fast.
It was, of course, much faster than the level of the Ninth Star.
When I first proposed a race, I was actually prepared to show my father the sight of me crashing into trees, tumbling to the ground, a complete mess.
I was prepared for my father to watch and laugh, to cause a whole commotion.
But I ran better than I expected.
My vision and my body were keeping up with that great speed.
It was likely because I had completely adapted to the Ninth Star level Swift Step while traveling between the Main Sect and the Martial Alliance.
Thanks to that, although I had just reached Great Mastery, I could run at a speed similar to my father's.
However, it required extreme concentration and took a great toll on my mind.
While running, I became so dizzy and tired that I had to slow down.
As my speed decreased, my father surged up beside me.
“Impressive!”
“Whose son do you think I am!”
My father looked surprised and impressed.
Of course, that didn't mean there was any hint of concession on his face.
Son or not, once he was fired up, my father was a man who would never lose.
“Son, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
His tone was serious, so I was tensing up inside.
It was right at that moment.
Right at that moment.
Thwack!
Distracted by my father, I crashed into a tree and tumbled to the ground.
“I was going to say, be careful!”
I could feel my father's triumphant laughter fading into the distance.
I shot back up and ran after him.
Fortunately, my protective energy had shielded my body, so I was able to get up without any injuries.
“That’s cheating, a foul! Father!”
I insisted it was a foul even though I had crashed because I wasn't looking.
Of course, my father didn't even look back and just ran faster.
I started running after my father again.
Running like this, I could tell.
What would decide this contest was not which martial art one used.
The Swift Step of the Four Divine Wind Steps and the Heavenly Demon Flying Technique were lightness arts of a nearly equal level.
The problem was vision.
The eyes couldn't keep up with the maximum speed the lightness arts could achieve.
So, eventually, once I got used to it, I would surely win.
After all, thanks to the Divine Eye Technique, I possessed vision that surpassed all limits.
I ran, looking at my father's back in the distance.
Just like when I saw his back during our first hunt, now I see his back as we run.
He looked lonely then, and he looks lonely now, but one thing has changed.
The one looking at him, me, has changed.
This moment was better than any other time I had run in my entire life.
I don't know what was in my father's heart, but I could feel that my feelings for him were growing larger and larger.
The moment I thought of my father, I fell again.
Even a moment’s loss of focus would unfailingly lead to a crash and a fall.
I got up again and gave chase, but in the end, I couldn't catch up to my father.
By the time I arrived at the Main Sect, my father had already gone to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
If it were me, I would have waited to tease him thoroughly before leaving, but my father is a man who knows how to hold back his teasing.
He'll probably mock me the next time we meet.
I bowed my head toward the Heavenly Demon Hall and offered my thanks once more.
Achieving Great Mastery in the Four Divine Wind Steps was entirely thanks to my father.
It wasn't just the Swift Step that had gotten faster.
The Dark Shadow Step had become more stealthy, the Flickering Step could now escape even greater dangers, and the Underworld King Step had truly become the stride of King Yama.
*
That evening, the trio of drinking companions gathered at the Flowing Wine Tavern.
“Since it’s been a while, the drinks are on me tonight.”
The owner, Jo Chun-bae, said he would specially treat them to drinks tonight to celebrate Seo Daeryong’s safe return.
At that, Seo Daeryong said he would accept the sentiment but not the offer.
“I won the tournament this time and brought back some prize money. I'll be treating everyone generously tonight. So please, bring out all your delicious dishes.”
“You won! Congratulations, Investigator.”
“Thank you.”
“Second Young Master, you’ve been well too, right?”
“Of course.”
Once Jo Chun-bae went down to the first floor, Seo Daeryong’s boasting finally began.
“Ah, where should I begin this magnificent tale of a solitary investigator’s adventures? Hah! Let me tell you, the moment I first saw the Martial Alliance building, I felt it was destiny…”
Watching Seo Daeryong begin his epic tale, Lee Ahn and Jang Ho looked at each other and smiled.
He was such an entertaining storyteller that Seo Daeryong's adventure story was not boring at all.
“That’s truly amazing. It was a tournament, but it was still real combat, wasn't it? You don't have much combat experience, yet you managed to win.”
Jang Ho had plenty of real combat experience, but Lee Ahn spent every day just training.
That's why she was so amazed and envious of Seo Daeryong’s achievement.
“Of course, along the way, there was also a fateful and tragic encounter.”
Seo Daeryong spoke of the woman who had cheered him on, right up to the sad ending.
“... She was a woman sent by the Heavenly Fate Society.”
Lee Ahn jumped to her feet and let out a string of curses, while Jang Ho comforted him, saying it was all part of the experience.
The two of them were so fired up that Seo Daeryong felt all his pent-up wounds healing.
“This is why I was looking forward to this gathering the most.”
“We were looking forward to it even more.”
“Well then, let’s make a toast to that.”
Seo Daeryong was so grateful to the two of them.
A woman who could be called the greatest beauty under heaven and the leader of the Demon Army, an elite unit of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, were waiting for him and listening to his story.
What was he to them?
“I have something to tell you both. I’ve decided to walk the true path of a martial artist.”
The direct influences were Geom Mugeuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but the influence these two had on him was also very great.
There had always been a desire to become someone they wouldn't be ashamed of.
Lee Ahn and Jang Ho congratulated him sincerely.
An Underworld Pavilion investigator was a martial artist, to be sure, but Lee Ahn and Jang Ho knew that the martial artist Seo Daeryong was talking about now was a martial artist in a different sense.
“This is something to be congratulated for, right? To be honest, I'm scared I'll die early. Aren't you two scared?”
At that, Lee Ahn smiled and said.
“I believe that life and death are already decided. When and how I die is all set, and thinking that way puts my mind at ease.”
“So Martial Artist Lee is a fatalist.”
“I suppose so.”
On the other hand, Jang Ho had a different thought.
“I live in constant fear of death.”
“Really? I would have thought you, Lord Jang, would be the one who doesn't fear death.”
“No. I wake up several times even while sleeping. I often dream of dying.”
This was something neither Lee Ahn nor Seo Daeryong knew.
The conversation about life and death continued.
Then, Seo Daeryong was moved by the mood.
“I almost died this time too.”
Seo Daeryong abruptly stood up and undid his upper garments.
“I have four scars left on my body from those Righteous Path bastards. This scar on my shoulder is from the quarter-finals. See the two holes? This one is from the final match, and this scar here is…”
*
I was listening to the three of them converse from beside the counter on the first floor.
At the end, when Seo Daeryong threw open his clothes, both Jo Chun-bae and I laughed.
Truly, it was a drinking party that the Drunken Demon would immediately rush to join if he saw it.
Jo Chun-bae spoke with a kind face.
“They are truly good people. When one of them is missing, the other two come and miss that person.”
There were times when Lee Ahn was absent, and times when Seo Daeryong was absent.
“I should be heading back now.”
“Weren't you here to join them?”
“They’re having so much fun, I think it's best to let the three of them be together today.”
“Then please wait just a moment.”
Jo Chun-bae went to the kitchen and brought back a bottle of wine.
“This is a wine I’ve been saving. Please take it and have a drink before you sleep. It’s a gift to celebrate your safe return. Welcome back.”
Jo Chun-bae rejoiced at my return as if I were family.
“I met a precious person from the martial world this time. If we have a chance to drink next time, I'll introduce you.”
“I would be delighted.”
He would never dream that person was the Martial Alliance Leader.
But who can know the ways of people? The day might come when the Martial Alliance Leader shares a drink at the Flowing Wine Tavern.
“Thank you for the wine.”
With that, I bid farewell and left the tavern.
I returned home, looking at the moonlight.
There were others I wanted to see.
Go Wol and the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
I wanted to dash to them with my Swift Step right away, but the two were now too far from the Main Sect.
I had been away from the sect for a long time, so there was much to do.
So it seemed I would have to postpone seeing them for a bit.
I wasn't worried about them.
They were together.
On my way to my quarters, I turned my steps toward the Great Drunken Forest.
When I thought of someone who would be awake and drink with me now, the Drunken Demon came to mind first.
As expected, the Drunken Demon was drinking alone in the Drunken Dream Pavilion.
The Drunken Wanderer, Yeo Bin, took me on a small boat and headed for the island in the middle of the lake.
“Does the Drunken Demon still drink a lot these days?”
“He drinks a lot less than before. Today, too, he’s only having one bottle.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It’s thanks to you, Second Young Master.”
“How could it be because of me? It’s because Martial Artist Yeo takes care of him and worries about him.”
I knew Yeo Bin liked the Drunken Demon, so I spoke kindly.
I thought it would be good if a woman like her were by his side, taking care of him.
Of course, for her words to have real weight, she would have to be his wife, not his subordinate.
If it were up to me, I would step in and bring them together, but I had no intention of interfering rashly.
If I got involved wrongly, I could ruin a relationship that might have otherwise worked out.
From the railing of the Drunken Dream Pavilion, the Drunken Demon looked this way and waved.
I called out to him in a loud voice.
“Hyung.”
Since it was just the two of us, I comfortably called him hyung.
The Drunken Demon’s expression showed just how much a single title could please someone.
“Dongsaeng, you’re here?”
“I came because I thought my useless, fourth-ranked hyung would be drinking alone.”
“Fourth among the Eight Demon Sovereigns? That's not even the middle, it's tough.”
The boat arrived at the island, and I climbed up to the Drunken Dream Pavilion.
“What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“I wanted to have a drink.”
“You came at the right time.”
The two of us drank together.
We said nothing and quietly drank our wine.
The Drunken Demon knows wine well, so he also knows people who drink.
He knows if his companion wants to talk while drinking, or if they want to drink quietly with the moon on the lake as their side dish, just like now.
“I went hunting with my father.”
“It seems you were gone for quite a long time this time, huh? Amazing. How can you spend so much time alone with the Cult Master? I'd go crazy.”
“It can be unexpectedly, crazily fun.”
The Drunken Demon shook his head, saying that could never be.
He needs to see my father cooking.
It’s a shame I can’t tell him.
“I found out something while talking with my father. It seems he thinks highly of the Poison King or the Fist Demon.”
“If the Cult Master thinks highly of someone, it would be the Fist Demon.”
The Drunken Demon said it as if stating a fact.
“Not the Poison King?”
“The Cult Master has never liked the use of poison. He’s never said it outright, but it’s something everyone knows. The Poison King knows too but pretends not to.”
“Then why does he think highly of the Fist Demon?”
I had said I would investigate the Demon Sovereigns, but after regressing and meeting them, I realized anew.
To say you know a person, you have to meet them in person, talk to them, and experience things with them.
And even then, people are hard to know.
What I knew were their deeds, not them.
The Fist Demon was no different.
“I had a drink with the Fist Demon, just the two of us, exactly once.”
“How was it?”
The Drunken Demon looked down at his cup for a moment, recalling that time, then took a sip.
“Unless one possesses considerable resolve, it would not be easy to defeat this man. That’s the thought he made me have.”
It was the first time I had heard the Drunken Demon speak highly of another Demon Sovereign.
“But why the Fist Demon?”
“I was thinking of making you a fifth-ranked one, behind your hyung.”
It meant I intended to pull the Fist Demon to our side, so the Drunken Demon asked with concern.
“If you mess with the Fist Demon in this situation, the First Young Master won't just stand by.”
“That’s why. So that he won’t just stand by.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about time you and your brother had a showdown, isn't it?”
It meant the real fight for succession was about to begin, and the Drunken Demon's gaze intensified in response.
“Are you confident?”
“I'm moving forward with faith in you, hyung.”
At the words that he was trusting his brother to face his brother, the Drunken Demon laughed and shook the empty wine bottle.
“Hearing that makes me want to drink another bottle.”
I poured my last drink into his cup.
“Hold back. From now on, you’ll need to be awake more often.”
*
The next afternoon, I headed for the Eastern Fist Hall, where the Invincible Fist Demon resided.
“I’m here to see the Fist Demon.”
The Iron Fists guarding the entrance stared at me with surprised faces.
It was because of the public rumor that their leader, the Fist Demon, had sided with the First Young Master.
“Please follow me.”
One of the Iron Fists guided me.
The gazes of the Iron Fists coming and going through the Eastern Fist Hall were all focused on me.
White martial robes, blue martial robes, red martial robes, black martial robes.
The color of their robes differed according to their rank.
Their gender, age, and physical abilities also varied.
But there was one thing they all had in common.
They were bare-handed, without a single piece of metal on their bodies.
I walked slowly through the ranks of the Iron Fists, who had bet their lives on their bare fists alone.