Chapter 24
Cheon Ha-seong, having finished thinking to some extent, asked.
“May I ask for what reason you came to that conclusion, Cult Leader?”
The Cult Leader looked at Cheon Ha-seong, then opened his mouth.
“Someone dared to erase the mnemonic verses of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art in the Martial Arts Academy. That bastard must have thought that was the reason you remained at the Academy. He must have thought it was the only way for a Head Instructor from a common follower background to learn the strongest martial art in the Divine Cult. Even if those bastards had done it just ten days ago, I would not have cared. But they did it last night.”
Cheon Ha-seong realized what he was trying to say.
Their aiming for Cheon Ha-seong was not just about aiming for him. Just as the Fourth Demonic Marquis had gotten angry and taken it as a challenge to herself when he had struck Cheok Gyo-woon, the Cult Leader was thinking the same way.
It seemed he thought that since a challenge had already been made against him, he couldn't just pretend not to know and let it pass. In a way, that was valid. However, when considering the chances of victory, Cheon Ha-seong couldn't help but express his doubts.
There weren't many people around the Cult Leader whom he could completely trust and mobilize. And the fact that he couldn't confirm exactly who those people were was also a problem.
The problem of trust was always bound to be difficult. That was also the problem Cheon Ha-seong found most difficult. He did not trust people. There were people he had expectations for, but if asked if he completely trusted them, he couldn't easily answer.
That was why, for a long time, he didn't make friends and didn't let people get close to him. Then, unexpectedly, he had suddenly grown close to Seo Hyo-eun.
If asked if he could trust Gi Mun-yong, Cheon Ha-seong would be able to nod to some extent. However, he couldn't assert or be certain of it. It was just to the degree where he could think, 'I can probably trust someone like Gi Mun-yong.'
He trusted him based on the fact that Gi Mun-yong had many reasons to take his hand.
“I believe that method could work. I'm talking about you giving the order to the Captain of the Honor Guard while holding his family hostage because you couldn't trust him. Even if you only keep a few people you can surely trust by your side that way, I believe you will be able to protect Head Instructor Seo, Cult Leader.”
“Are you saying you won't leave the Divine Cult?”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
Just as Cheon Ha-seong was about to answer, Seo Hyo-eun sent a telepathic message.
[Shut your mouth, Head Instructor Cheon.]
Cheon Ha-seong had been just about to say, 'Because you have no chance of winning, Cult Leader.' But how on earth did Seo Hyo-eun know his thoughts?
The Cult Leader also clearly noticed that Cheon Ha-seong had something he was about to say to him a moment ago, but then hadn't.
“Speak, Cheon Ha-seong.”
However, Cheon Ha-seong decided to listen to Seo Hyo-eun.
How could the Cult Leader not know what he knew? The Cult Leader must also know that his chances of winning by fighting alone were not high. In fact, he would know it better than Cheon Ha-seong.
Cheon Ha-seong didn't know the martial prowess of the Divine Cult's leadership in detail, but the Cult Leader would know each and every person's prowess through and through. While he was getting stronger, they would have gotten stronger too, and it was unknown how much they had increased their power by forming alliances.
In such a situation, telling Cheon Ha-seong to take his daughter and leave the Divine Cult must have been an attempt to buy them time to escape safely.
“Cult Leader.”
When Cheon Ha-seong called out, the Cult Leader glared at him. He was already angry at Cheon Ha-seong for not doing as he wished.
Cheon Ha-seong paid it no mind and spoke.
“Who was the person who carved the Heaven-Shattering Will Art onto the walls of the Martial Arts Academy?”
The Cult Leader had thought Cheon Ha-seong had called out to persuade him; he hadn't imagined he would suddenly ask such a thing.
‘What a truly strange bastard,’ he thought, as he recalled the event.
“I don't remember well. Several people must have been mobilized.”
“Did you order them to use Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron there?”
“I did. Now I remember. I told them to make it so it could withstand the fierce fighting required to pass through the Martial Arts Academy.”
“Have you by any chance seen the commentary written on the Pattra Leaves, Cult Leader?”
When he received that question, the Cult Leader was in the middle of thinking about the answer to Cheon Ha-seong's previous question. But when such a strange question suddenly came out, his eyes went round.
“What do you mean? A commentary written on Pattra Leaves? What commentary are you talking about?”
Then the Cult Leader's eyes gradually widened. It was as if he had belatedly remembered something he had completely forgotten.
“Are you perhaps talking about the commentary written by the founding Cult Leader? How do you know of that? It disappeared a very long time ago and was never found. The previous Cult Leaders also tried extremely hard to find it, thinking that if they could just find that commentary, mastering the Heaven-Shattering Will Art would become a little easier. Who told you that story?”
A chill ran down Cheon Ha-seong's spine. He had never imagined that such a secret was connected to it.
While Cheon Ha-seong was stunned and at a loss for words, the Cult Leader pressed him.
“What happened, Cheon Ha-seong? Tell me everything, without leaving a single thing out. How do you know of it?”
Cheon Ha-seong stared blankly at the Cult Leader. Even in such a moment, his habit of not being able to trust others reared its head again.
Even while thinking he could probably trust the Cult Leader, he hesitated to say that he had it.
“It just… suddenly came to mind. I don't remember when or from whom I heard it, but I think I heard that there was a commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art. Isn't it strange that they would destroy the wall of the Martial Arts Academy and erase the mnemonic verses? Since there is nothing at all to be gained by doing so. So I just wondered if perhaps someone had destroyed the place in order to find the commentary.”
The Cult Leader let out a hollow laugh, as if to say, 'Is that all you have to say?'
“That doesn't make sense. The commentary disappeared hundreds of years ago, but the Martial Arts Academy was only built a few decades ago. If what you say is true, it would mean someone had been secretly keeping it all this time and then hid it there, which is impossible. It would have been impossible to hide it from others without them knowing.”
Even so, if the person who carved the mnemonic verses on the wall had the commentary, it wouldn't have been an impossible thing.
However, even Cheon Ha-seong didn't go so far as to say that. He had revealed a part of the truth, and the one who had denied it was the Cult Leader. Therefore, from now on, he decided to diligently study the commentary without feeling sorry.
He also thought that if he gained any enlightenment from it, he would willingly share some of it with the Cult Leader.
“Cult Leader, Head Instructor Seo needs you. If something happens to your safety, Head Instructor Seo will not be able to bear it. It would not be a life worth living. So please, endure. I too will help you with all my strength. You may not be the one who gave birth to me, but are you not the one who gave birth to my life partner?”
“Hmph! Do not speak as you please. I have not acknowledged you yet.”
He wondered if his mind had changed again in that short time, but he didn't feel tense. Although he spoke like that, Cheon Ha-seong could feel that he was moved.
Cheon Ha-seong smiled as if he knew his heart anyway, and the Cult Leader snorted at the sight.
“You two are both ridiculous bastards. You must know what this situation means, yet you were here. Were you perhaps here to train?”
The Cult Leader now seemed to have that thought as well, and looked at the two of them and asked.
“Hyo-eun-ah, you're training on your own. I've really lived long enough to see this.”
“Father, are you really going to be like that? This is a time when you should be trying your best to get on Head Instructor Cheon's good side. Or could it be that you're not actually on my side either, Father?”
“You're only realizing that now? You shouldn't trust anyone but yourself.”
Cheon Ha-seong felt his mood lighten, thinking that the Cult Leader and Seo Hyo-eun now had the presence of mind to make such jokes.
“Cult Leader, I have thought of a few people to entrust with Head Instructor Seo's protection. They are people I had my eye on when I was at the Martial Arts Academy.”
As Cheon Ha-seong spoke about Gi Mun-yong and the others, the Cult Leader's face lit up and he nodded.
He now had faith in whatever Cheon Ha-seong said. Although they hadn't spent a long time together, he too had completely realized that Cheon Ha-seong was not a person who spoke recklessly. Wasn't he someone who never made guarantees and rarely spoke positively about anything? But seeing him bring this up first without being asked, it seemed he truly thought they were trustworthy.
“I will trust and entrust that matter to you, Head Instructor Cheon. Consider yourself Hyo-eun's Captain of the Honor Guard, and gather and teach those people.”
Seo Hyo-eun shot a look, thinking her father was once again asking for too much. She was also worried that Cheon Ha-seong might act out again because of this.
However, Cheon Ha-seong, on the contrary, seemed to think it was better that way.
“Cult Leader, and there is one more thing I would like to ask. Is the Heaven-Shattering Will Art in the Martial Arts Academy completely the same as the original? Is there any chance I could see the original?”
Normally, it was something he wouldn't have even dared to think of. But he had now become a person who could meet the Cult Leader, and the Cult Leader had come to listen to his words. If so, there was no reason not to ask. Wouldn't the worst outcome just be a refusal? If he said no, then he could just back down as if he had never asked.
“Why do you ask that? Are you interested in the Heaven-Shattering Will Art? Have you learned it?”
From the beginning, there had been an aspect of half-belief, half-doubt as the Cult Leader watched Cheon Ha-seong's martial arts. That was why he had said it, and upon receiving that question, that thought grew even stronger.
“I have learned it. Wasn't it practically the only option for me? Who would have taught me another martial art? Excluding, of course, the martial arts whose manuals can be easily found in the marketplace.”
At those words, the Cult Leader nodded as if to say it couldn't have been helped.
Then, as if that was no time to be standing around, he strode away. He did so without a word, in the middle of their conversation.
He was going to bring the original copy of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art, but there was no way for Cheon Ha-seong to know that.
Cheon Ha-seong, thinking it was strange, looked at Seo Hyo-eun, but she looked as if she had lost interest in their conversation a long time ago.
Instead, she was enthusiastically practicing her Stealth Technique.
It seemed her will to practice had grown after being faced with a situation where she needed to use the Stealth Technique and realizing she couldn't maintain it for long enough.
If that was the case, then from now on, Cheon Ha-seong also wanted to look at the commentary written on the Pattra Leaves.