-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Maeng Ak, the Powerhouse of the Divine Hall
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gah.
Dok Cheon-roe, who had been sent tumbling to the dirt floor, came to his senses with a dry cough.
A spray of blood, mixed with gritty sand, escaped his lips.
The impact had been so great that his vision was blurry and his legs trembled weakly.
'Dammit…! How long was I out?'
He gritted his teeth, cursing himself for his carelessness.
In this Divine Hall of the Latent Demon, where one could be devoured at any moment, he had shown a weakness.
Pah.
Spitting out a glob of bloody phlegm mixed with sand, he scanned his surroundings.
'Those bastards from the other Heavenly Pillar Gates must have...'
He struggled to regain his composure as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, he knew he would plummet from the top of the food chain he had occupied.
In truth, he was a little scared.
He imagined the other Heavenly Pillar Gate members, his peers until moments ago, and that diminutive boy baring their teeth at him.
And above all, he was restless, worried he had made a fool of himself in front of the woman he admired.
'Right, I don't care about the others. Please, Hwan Cheon-hwa, I hope you didn't see that...'
Just then, a mysterious shock of violet hair entered his vision. It was Hwan Cheon-hwa's.
Thankfully, she wasn't looking at him.
'Phew. But where is she looking?'
Dok Cheon-roe followed her gaze and ground his teeth. The cause of his current pathetic state was right there.
'That son of a bitch. I'll kill him. If only I hadn't been careless...!'
Dok Cheon-roe brushed the dust off himself with a grim expression. He raised a hand, signaling the roughly seventy students who had become his subordinates.
His followers, seemingly unable to just stand by and watch their master's humiliation, instantly flared their auras.
'Good, it seems I wasn't out for long. I can still turn this around.'
But then, something unbelievable happened.
Instead of helping him, the members of the other Heavenly Pillar Gates began to corner him.
Do Cheon-mu was the first to speak.
"Hey, Dok Cheon-roe. Don't try anything stupid. Not unless you want to crawl to the infirmary with your limbs torn off."
His voice carried the same tyrannical aura as his saber techniques. The man was serious.
His fiercely glaring eyes proved it.
'Did he get hit in the head with his own blunt blade?! Why is he picking a fight with me?'
Dok Cheon-roe was already confused by Do Cheon-mu, but Geom Cheon-ha, who spoke next, paid no mind to his confusion and spoke bluntly.
"Hey, brute. Shut your mouth and wipe your drool. I called dibs first."
"And Dok Cheon-roe, have you still not come to your senses? Can't you read the room?"
*Grind.*
At those words, Dok Cheon-roe ground his teeth in frustration. But he couldn't retort.
Before he could, the boy who had caught the Cult Leader's eye spoke first.
The boy glanced at Dok Cheon-roe before turning his gaze to Geom Cheon-ha and Do Cheon-mu.
"The loser should stay quiet now... And you two, won't you yield to me?"
He couldn't take it anymore.
Dok Cheon-roe glared at the three who were ignoring him and roared.
"Enough!! Are you all blind?! Do you really think I lost to a punk like him? If only I hadn't been careless..."
But even his roar was cut short by a cold voice from the other side.
It was Hwan Cheon-hwa, the woman he adored.
"It's too pathetic to listen to anymore."
"..."
Her single, cold remark—from someone who rarely spoke—silenced the training ground in an instant.
Unfazed by the stares, Hwan Cheon-hwa continued.
"Careless? Don't make me laugh. You picked a fight the moment he opened the door, and you couldn't even anticipate that much? The Poison Heavenly Pillar Gate must be lacking in talent. Tsk."
In truth, she was aware of Dok Cheon-roe's lecherous gazes and found them uncomfortable.
She had simply ignored him until now, finding it too bothersome to give him attention or exert any real effort.
Now that he had shown a weakness, it was the perfect opportunity for easy revenge.
And her revenge was a success.
Keuk.
Dok Cheon-roe's face twisted into a mask of rage, as if he were on the verge of qi deviation.
The utter disregard from those he considered rivals. And on top of that, the scorn of the woman he liked...
A rage he had never felt before boiled up from his core.
'I'll kill them all! It might be a little dangerous alone, but I have no choice.'
'I have to take him down by myself and turn the tables. I didn't think I'd have to use 'that' so soon...'
This was no time to be picky.
Dok Cheon-roe let out a sharp yell to draw everyone's attention, then pointed at Maeng Ak.
"All of you, shut up! I'll prove it right here. You! What's your name? Today, I will wash the stain from my honor with your blood."
In response, Maeng Ak blew on the index finger he'd been using to clean his ear.
"A guy who knows honor was just whining about being careless? Stop flapping your gums and come at me."
"Ha! With so many watching, I was going to at least ask for your name, but you've crossed the line."
"I decide the line. Survival of the fittest. You know the principle, don't you?"
"You bastard!"
Bound by the rules, Dok Cheon-roe didn't use his internal energy, but he spread a colorless, potent poison from his clan onto his palm.
His movements were so deft that neither Geom Cheon-ha, Do Cheon-mu, nor the boy standing nearby noticed.
Though he was being looked down upon, Dok Cheon-roe still had the skills to be chosen as a representative of the Poison Heavenly Pillar Gate.
But his opponent was Maeng Ak.
A peerless master who, in his past life, had fought the Nine Sects, One Union and the Five Great Clans with nothing but his two fists.
The tricks of a young brat barely out of his teens were as clear as day to him.
'Not as good as the Sichuan Tang Clan's Formless Poison, but impressive for a mere Rising Star.'
Dok Cheon-roe, having closed the distance in an instant, thrust his poison-laced palm forward.
It was the Poison Heavenly Palm, one of the secret techniques of the Poison Heavenly Pillar Gate.
Even without internal energy, its power was not to be underestimated.
The current Maeng Ak did not possess the Indestructible Body of his past life.
*Swoosh.*
Maeng Ak took a step forward, moving even faster than Dok Cheon-roe, who had moved first.
As his opponent thrust with his palm and extended his left foot, Maeng Ak's right foot landed beside it.
That single step left both of their flanks exposed to each other.
But Dok Cheon-roe had already extended his right arm to execute the Poison Heavenly Palm.
Maeng Ak clearly had the advantage.
However, he didn't attack right away.
*Thump.*
He simply pushed the man's head with a relaxed palm and said.
"One."
At the overwhelming display, everyone in the training ground watching the duel widened their eyes in awe.
Only Dok Cheon-roe swallowed a bitter pill.
"Hah. I didn't think Dok Cheon-roe's claim of being careless was a complete lie, but..."
"To handle one of the Heavenly Pillar Gates' Rising Stars so easily."
"He could be dangerous if we can't recruit him."
While most were merely impressed, the boy and the other Rising Stars of the Heavenly Pillar Gates simultaneously grew wary.
'He could become the most dangerous competitor.'
While the Rising Stars shared this thought, Dok Cheon-roe himself bit his lower lip.
He bit so hard that blood trickled down his chin.
"This bastard dares to humiliate me!!!"
*Swish!*
Screaming in fury, Dok Cheon-roe spun halfway around and unleashed the Poison Heavenly Palm once more.
Surprisingly, it was even faster than before.
It was fast enough to tear through the air.
Even without internal energy, it packed enough force to kill any average martial artist on impact.
But it wasn't enough to reach Maeng Ak.
*Thwack!*
This time, he didn't even dodge, simply catching the attack.
He caught it mid-air.
At the unbelievable sight, Dok Cheon-roe's pupils trembled.
"How...?"
*Thump.*
Dok Cheon-roe began to speak with a look of despair, but Maeng Ak pushed his head again, cutting him off.
Maeng Ak looked at Dok Cheon-roe with indifferent eyes.
"Two."
*Grind.*
Humbled by such overwhelming power, Dok Cheon-roe ground his teeth.
The sound was so loud it seemed as if he were grinding his gums, not just his teeth.
But this time, he didn't attack in a fit of rage. He had lost his will to fight.
Instead, he asked in a voice laced with despair.
His voice grew louder as he spoke.
"Why don't you attack? Just send me flying like you did when you first came in! Why are you humiliating me like this?!"
Dok Cheon-roe was in agony. Not physical pain, but the mental anguish of a martial artist was killing him.
That pain was evident in his shout.
But Maeng Ak answered indifferently.
"I am a tiger. A tiger that gives its all, even when hunting a rabbit."
"What? Are you saying I'm not even worthy of being a rabbit...?"
"Shut up. I'm not finished."
Cut off, Maeng Ak's voice carried emotion for the first time.
At the same time, his eyes flashed.
The killing intent in his eyes and voice was so thick that not only Dok Cheon-roe, but everyone in the training ground flinched.
This was despite them all having learned demonic arts and possessing some resistance to killing intent.
Thanks to that, the training ground fell silent.
As if he had intended this, Maeng Ak continued.
"I will become the Young Cult Leader."
With that single sentence, the air in the training ground heated up.
"…!"
Among them, the promising Rising Stars of the Five Heavenly Pillar Gates—excluding Dok Cheon-roe—and the boy, along with some of their followers, began to see Maeng Ak as a threat.
He had, with his own mouth, declared himself a competitor.
But there were also those who felt the opposite.
Some of the students looked at Maeng Ak with eyes full of aspiration, interest, respect, and curiosity.
These were individuals who had talent but had never dared to even think of competing with the Rising Stars chosen by the Cult Leader and the Heavenly Pillar Lords.
The Demonic Cult, more than any other force in the martial world, prioritizes the survival of the fittest.
And yet, even within such a cult, birth and background held sway.
And that was something Maeng Ak had died trying to change in his past life—in other words, the thing he hated most.
Maeng Ak had realized that this discrimination he despised existed even within the Demonic Cult as soon as he heard the information Dang Hyeon-woo let slip.
And now, in this very place, he was declaring his intent to shatter it.
Having stunned everyone, Maeng Ak continued speaking calmly.
His words were directed at Dok Cheon-roe, but they were also for every student in the training ground.
"So, would I carelessly harm you, who might one day become my subordinate?"
Keuk.
Dok Cheon-roe sensed a part of Maeng Ak's intention in those words.
'This bastard! An orphan dares to incite everyone and join the fight for the Young Cult Leader position. If I let this continue, he'll take my place!'
Dok Cheon-roe felt it instinctively.
If he backed down now, Maeng Ak would seize his shattered position.
And the other prominent Rising Stars felt the same.
To them, Dok Cheon-roe, a known quantity, was an easier competitor to deal with than the unpredictable Maeng Ak.
Their thoughts aligned with Dok Cheon-roe's.
They had to stop Maeng Ak before he won over the students.
Before the impatient Geom Cheon-ha and Do Cheon-mu could speak, Eum Cheon-myeong, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
To him, a man with a strong competitive spirit, Maeng Ak's mention of the Young Cult Leader was a stimulus.
"A regular student, a candidate for Young Cult Leader... You're the most interesting guy I've met since coming to this Divine Hall. You ruined our bet, but you entertained me, so I'll call it even."
Maeng Ak, as if anticipating the interference from the Rising Stars, cut him off with a small taunt.
"Even? What's the matter? Scared you'll get beaten up like your friend?"
However, unlike Dok Cheon-roe who was easily provoked, Eum Cheon-myeong took the taunt in stride.
He then masterfully pointed out a flaw in Maeng Ak's statement.
"Scared? Keuk. You really are amusing. Well, whatever. The future Young Cult Leader is going easy on someone because they might become his subordinate? It's laughable to think someone so weak could lead the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
Despite the sharp criticism, Maeng Ak wasn't flustered, merely reminded of someone.
'Hoh. This guy's not bad with his words, just like that Dang Hyeon-woo fellow.'
Maeng Ak responded to Eum Cheon-myeong's sharpness with a quiet curse.
"Weak, my ass. Your brain works like that because you keep cutting people off. Tsk."
"I, Maeng Ak, will become the Young Cult Leader. Therefore, I was merely showing magnanimity to you who will become my future subordinates. Weak? That's a trait of the weak. For a strong man like me, the correct words are magnanimity and benevolence."
Unable to stand Maeng Ak's shameless overconfidence any longer, Dok Cheon-roe spoke up.
"How is that any different from you saying you don't even see me as a rabbit?"
"It is different. It's not that I don't see you as a rabbit, but that I am 'choosing not to see you' as a rabbit."
"Wordplay...!"
"Wordplay? Then why don't you test it yourself? Right, was that two times so far? It's time for the third."
"Tch! As if I can't!"
Seeing Maeng Ak disregard him again, Dok Cheon-roe shook off his despair and charged.
No, he tried to. If it weren't for Maeng Ak's next words and gaze.
"However, you should be careful this time. Because I won't be going easy on you from the third time."
"Anyone who steps out of my fence of their own free will shall be considered prey."
"Now, choose."
"Will you protect your pride and die as a rabbit? Or will you cast aside your pride and live as my subordinate?"
The weight in Maeng Ak's voice was heavier than his large frame.
Just hearing it felt like being crushed by a great boulder.
A deep killing intent glittered in his eyes. He was serious.
For some reason, Dok Cheon-roe felt as if Maeng Ak held his life in his hands.
And that feeling wasn't limited to Dok Cheon-roe.
The 500 students in the training ground felt an immense pressure from Maeng Ak alone.
This pressure was not entirely unfamiliar to them.
Yes, it was just like what they felt when they saw the Cult Leader or the Heavenly Pillar Lords.
Under that pressure, some of them even began to tremble like rabbits, just as Maeng Ak had said.
It had been just over a quarter of an hour since Maeng Ak entered the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon.
Yet, in just a few moves, he had already achieved a decisive victory over a Rising Star from one of the Five Heavenly Pillar Gates.
And he had imprinted his presence on every student.
With Maeng Ak's arrival, the first day at the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon was already unfolding in a way completely different from what the leadership had expected.
However, that didn't mean everything was going Maeng Ak's way.
*Creeak.*
Just as the tension reached its peak, the doors to the Divine Hall opened, just as they had when Maeng Ak entered.
It was the instructor with the ponytail whom Maeng Ak had met before. He entered, took in the heavy atmosphere and Maeng Ak standing in the center of the training ground, and then spoke.
"The first test will end early."