Chapter 27
『 Translator – Divinity 』
Cheok Sa-gyeom, thinking his daughter who had suddenly visited was only speaking incomprehensible nonsense, lifted a nearby object into the air.
At that, the Fourth Demonic Marquis shook her head.
“You must lift everything in this room. Including the chair I am sitting on. My head must touch the ceiling.”
“…!”
Cheok Sa-gyeom, who had at first been quietly listening to his daughter's words, suddenly looked as if his anger were soaring as his face flushed red.
“What on earth are you talking about, Marquis! Who do you think can perform the Heaven-Ascending Art to that extent? If there is such a person, bring them here. Don't mock this old father for being unable to do something that no one in the world can do!”
“Cheon Ha-seong can.”
Thinking, 'Now is the time,' Cheok Gyo-woon stepped forward.
‘What did I just hear?’ Cheok Sa-gyeom looked at Cheok Gyo-woon with eyes that asked.
“What nonsense are you spouting! How can a young bastard like him perform the Heaven-Ascending Art to that extent?”
“I saw it. It was just as Mother said. Everything in that place floated up.”
Then the Fourth Demonic Marquis added her words.
“It was so even when I used the Thousand-Catty Weight technique to resist. If you'd like to see what my skill with the technique is like, I can show you.”
However, Cheok Sa-gyeom did not say he wanted to see it and only stared blankly into the air.
Many thoughts passed quickly through his mind.
“Marquis, tell me the reason you came to see this father. You must add enough flesh to the front and back so that this father can understand everything.”
“Understood.”
From then on, the Fourth Demonic Marquis told him the recent events in detail.
“It seems the Cult Leader has decided to accept Cheon Ha-seong as Seo Hyo-eun's partner. But I don't know how it happened, but I hear that when the Cult Leader and Cheon Ha-seong returned together, the Cult Leader was injured.”
“What… does that mean? In truth, our family also has a person planted in the Cult Leader's Hall, but we were in the middle of not being able to hear of the Hall's affairs because news was suddenly cut off.”
“That too is because of Cheon Ha-seong.”
As the Fourth Demonic Marquis explained, Cheok Sa-gyeom's mouth opened wider and wider.
What surprised him the most was that not only was Cheon Ha-seong's martial prowess high beyond his years, but he also had a bold and cruel side to his actions.
It was even more surprising that he had roughly handled Gwak Won, the Cult Leader's personal bodyguard, and found out that he was an agent of the Third Demonic Marquis.
What would he have done if the result had been different? Why did he handle the matter so recklessly?
At that, Cheok Gyo-woon opened his mouth as if he had a lot to say.
“Cheon Ha-seong has always been like that. Once he sets his mind to something, he acts recklessly and doesn't stop until the very end. But the problem is that while the people around him find him uncomfortable, they all acknowledge him. Everyone around him thinks that when a problem arises for them, the only person who can solve it is Cheon Ha-seong. That's why no one can completely hate or ostracize him.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself for saying such things right now!”
Cheok Gyo-woon lowered his head, disheartened, but the Fourth Demonic Marquis did not.
“Father, this may not be something to say so lightly. You are angry now, but after some time passes, you may be genuinely grateful to Gyo-woon and me. You might even say that we saved the family.”
“What is the reason for your conviction, Marquis?”
“It is because right now, there is no one by the Cult Leader's side whom he can completely trust. In that situation, Cheon Ha-seong has caught the Cult Leader's eye. What do you think it would be like, after being betrayed by subordinates you trusted, to come across someone of outstanding skill? However, Cheon Ha-seong has no faction of his own.”
“So are you saying we should become that bastard's faction?”
When the Family Head spoke fiercely, the look in the Fourth Demonic Marquis's eyes and her expression also changed. It was as if she wanted to ask how long he thought she would maintain such a gentle face.
The Family Head knew what happened when his daughter made that kind of expression.
He swallowed dryly.
It was not just once or twice that he had thought the history of the Divine Cult would have been completely different if she had been born a son instead of a daughter.
His daughter was different from the start. He had thought she would accomplish something, and she had actually shown such signs from time to time.
“Do it, Father. If you don't, I will expose everything our family has done until now to the Cult Leader. I will tell him what Gyo-woon has done, and I will also report what you have done.”
He was dumbfounded, wondering if she would really go this far. However, it was like driving a final nail into his wavering heart. Thinking that it was bound to turn out this way anyway, he even felt a sense of relief.
“What must be done?”
“First, you must meet Cheon Ha-seong. And tell him you will help him. Then Cheon Ha-seong will also say something. The current situation is not good for us. The Second Marquis's side has dared to drag us into this. The Third Marquis will know most accurately that this is the Second Marquis's doing. Since they didn't do it, the only one left is the Second Marquis. Therefore, it is a foregone conclusion that they will form an alliance from now on.”
Cheok Sa-gyeom nodded.
If the Second and Third Marquises colluded and their families, the So Demonic Clan and the Danmok Demonic Clan, joined hands, the Cheok Demonic Clan would never be able to stand against them alone. Admitting it was a painful thing, but he could not deny reality.
“Can Gyo-woon bring that bastard here?”
When he asked in a voice that had lost its edge, the Fourth Demonic Marquis smiled and nodded.
“Father, there is no need to be so disappointed. There is no need to be upset that we are standing still while others are starting to run. We may be standing still, but the other bastards might all collapse. They might even collapse and die.”
Cheok Sa-gyeom, who had been watching her, wondering if she really saw the situation that way, soon nodded his head.
While that conversation was taking place there, many things were also happening in Seo Hyo-eun's exclusive training ground.
***
“May I take your pulse?”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
Cheon Ha-seong, who had been looking at the commentary for a long time, suddenly lifted his head with a strange feeling and discovered the Cult Leader watching him. That had been about an hour ago.
Cheon Ha-seong was so surprised, wondering how long he had been there, that his mind went completely blank. However, he didn't realize why the Cult Leader had been watching him.
At first, he thought he had been caught with the Pattra Leaves, but then he noticed the Cult Leader wasn't looking at them. If so, he decided not to say anything as long as he could hide it, and approached the Cult Leader.
After placing his fingers on Cheon Ha-seong's wrist, the Cult Leader sent his True Energy flowing into him.
Until now, Cheon Ha-seong had never permitted such an action from anyone. That included the Principal, and among the Divine Cult's leadership who came to the Martial Arts Academy, there were those who showed interest in his martial prowess. They wanted to recruit Cheon Ha-seong by any means necessary, and before that, they wanted to know for sure what his level was.
However, their efforts came to nothing right at the stage of trying to ascertain his martial prowess.
Cheon Ha-seong had never allowed anyone to check his internal energy and had thoroughly refused even small requests. But when the Cult Leader asked, he had permitted it without realizing it. If asked why, the biggest reason would have been that he didn't feel any wariness. It would be correct to say that he had offered his hand without reservation.
And the fact that he had grown up without a master until now, forging all paths on his own, suddenly felt burdensome. Listening to the Cult Leader's words, it seemed a small thought of wanting to act childishly and lean on him had also surfaced.
Watching countless events unfold like a raging storm over a few days, and unexpectedly obtaining the Pattra Leaves, it seemed that thought had sprouted without him even realizing it.
The Cult Leader, who was checking Cheon Ha-seong's internal energy, was so surprised that he inwardly gasped.
It was well known to countless people that Demonic Arts were a type of martial art that harbored danger. One could become strong quickly, but the impure internal energy became a problem. Because of that, one might fail to achieve complete mastery in the later stages, stagnate, and fall into Qi Deviation.
However, Cheon Ha-seong's internal energy was surprisingly stable.
Even setting aside the profoundness of his internal energy, this was truly a surprising level. The Cult Leader had never had a disciple before.
The Divine Cult's leadership had told him countless times to take a disciple, but he had not accepted their words. It wasn't because he was determined never to take a disciple, but because there had been no one he wanted to take as one.
But now, his heart was moved. It was moved desperately.
“Do you have any thoughts of learning martial arts from me?”
Then, as if wondering why he was even asking that, he resolutely shook his head.
“No. From now on, I will teach you, so you shall learn. Yes. Good. That would be for the best. If we do that, the Divine Cult's power will rise to an unrecognizable degree, so there is no reason not to.”
Until then, Seo Hyo-eun had been absorbed in her own training, not caring what her father and Cheon Ha-seong were talking about. But upon hearing those words, it seemed her ears perked up.
“Father, you didn't even teach me. You said you didn't have enough time for your own training.”
“Yes. I did. And that is true.”
“Then why are you only going to teach Head Instructor Cheon? If you're going to do that, then be fair and teach me as well.”
At that, the Cult Leader looked at his daughter as if she were being shameless.
“Hyo-eun-ah, a person should still have a conscience, shouldn't they? How dare you compare yourself to Cheon Ha-seong? It's not as if this father of yours is offering to teach because I have time to spare, is it?”
“You're too much, Father.”
However, she also gave up quickly, and after that, she paid it no mind and focused on her own training again.
Cheon Ha-seong looked at the Cult Leader, not knowing how he should take his words.
“If I take you as my disciple, then you can succeed me, regardless of Hyo-eun. The whole reason people asked to let the Marquises take in adopted sons was because I did not take a disciple. It seems they thought that once the Marquises took in adopted sons, I would specially guide their martial arts.
But if one's martial accomplishment were outstanding just because they were born into a good family, why would so many people suffer so much for that accomplishment? Wouldn't it be enough for masters to just have many children?”
As it was, Cheon Ha-seong did have the thought that he wished he had someone to discuss his martial arts with. Before, it was a thought that came to him once in a while, but now it was a little more serious.
As they say, you can only see as much as you know. If that saying was true, then he could see an incredible number of things now. It was all because of the commentary.