Chapter 165: Placebo Enlightenment

The demonic practitioner’s limbs flew off as he was sent writhing on the floor. The orthodox faction man watching him with trembling eyes muttered blankly.

“Heavenly Demon…?”

Controlling a demonic practitioner with a single word? Who other than the Heavenly Demon could do such a thing?

At the man’s words, Heavenly Seojun chuckled.

“Not the Heavenly Demon.”

“Then…”

“Maybe the future Heavenly Demon.”

The man’s eyes widened.

“Young Heavenly Demon…!”

Seojun frowned.

“That’s a bit offensive. Are you saying I’m the Heavenly Demon’s lackey?”

“But if it’s not that, then…!”

“Enough.”

Thwack!

The man’s arms flew off with a casual gesture.

“Aaaaah! Wh-why…!”

“You’re asking why? If you were going to spy, you should have been prepared for the consequences.”

“Kugh! But aren’t you from the Demonic Cult…!?”

“Shh.”

Crack! This time the man’s legs flew off.

“Guuuuh…!”

After pressing the mute points of both writhing men so they couldn’t speak, Seojun grabbed their heads and moved.

Leaving the secret area, he smashed through the sect leader’s quarters’ ceiling and shot up to stand on the roof. Heavenly Seojun infused his voice with demonic qi and unleashed a lion’s roar.

“Take heed────!!”

At his booming voice echoing throughout, all the sect’s martial artists looked up at him in terror.

When he held up the two men in his hands, unrest spread amongst them.

“Se-Sect Leader…?”

“What the hell is that…”

“What are you all doing! Snap out of it! It’s an enemy! Draw your swords!”

One martial artist who quickly regained his composure drew his sword, his fighting spirit rising.

In response, the other martial artists quickly drew their swords and surrounded the sect leader’s quarters.

Ignoring them, Seojun continued speaking.

“Your sect leader sullied the name of the Divine Cult with his pathetic deeds, so I personally dealt with him.”

Divine Cult…!

It was another name for the Demonic Cult. The disciples gritted their teeth upon hearing that.

“You bastard…!”

Unable to contain his boiling rage, one martial artist kicked off the ground and charged at Seojun.

Seojun responded simply.

Bang bang bang!

He shot multiple finger bullets to hit the martial artist’s pressure points, making him stiffen and collapse to the ground.

Clicking his tongue, Seojun said.

“A secret room exists beneath your sect leader’s quarters. There are civilians imprisioned there, so deal with the aftermath yourselves.”

“Bullshit!”

“Your sect leader has made deals with vermin whom are parasites to the Divine Cult. Be grateful that I did your job for you.”

“Shut up! You fucking bastard…! I’ll chop off your head right now and avenge our sect leader!”

Despite his fairly kind explanation, the martial artists’ anger only grew.

It seemed these people had no connection to the Demonic Cult. Since even Seojun had a conscience about suddenly destroying an entire sect, he instead unleashed his qi and forced them to obey.

RUMBLEEEEE──────────!!!

It was a martial art that twisted the Sword Form of the Emperor beyond recognition and manifested it with demonic qi.

There was no real use for it previously, but the situation was different now. While unrelated to the Unrestrained Realm, he could borrow the authority of this martial art to exert an oppressive pressure upon those beneath him.

If he had to think of a name, it would be Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps.

Most of the martial artists couldn’t withstand the pressure and collapsed, their faces buried into the ground.

Only a few outstanding ones at the middle stage Peak Realm barely managed to remain standing, but they were still unable to move and could merely endure.

“Ugh…!”

“How can this be…!”

Seojun looked down at them. Then he stuck the sect leader and the demonic practitioner into the tall ornament on the roof.

Crash!

The bodies of the two men swayed in the wind.

“I shall say once more. There are civilians in a secret room beneath the sect leader’s quarters. Save them. This honorable one wishes not for the Divine Cult’s name to be sullied by such trivial matters.”

Smash! The sect leader and the demonic practitioner’s heads exploded simultaneously. Two corpses were displayed high up.

Seojun promptly came down from the roof and walked among the martial artists.

He walked at a leisurely pace, but none could stop him.

The disciples could only watch him while groaning under the pressure of the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Steps. They had no choice. Their wails filled the sect.

One martial artist screamed as Seojun passed by.

“Why should we…! Follow your will…!”

“Because you have something to gain.”

“Silence! What could we possibly gain?!”

Seojun looked into the martial artist’s eyes. His rage-filled eyes burned with fighting spirit rather than being broken.

“This is my mercy.”

With those words, Heavenly Seojun disappeared from the Righteous Profound Sect.

A new great demon had emerged.

Seojun watched hidden as the Righteous Profound Sect disciples rescued the people trapped in the secret room.

He’d watched just in case, but fortunately the Righteous Profound Sect people seemed to have average orthodox faction morals.

“Well, this feels strange.”

Seojun smacked his lips. The killing intent they’d directed at him just moments ago had been so vivid.

Do you know what it feels like to have so many people look at you like they want to kill you?

It felt real strange, like he’d become a bad guy.

As a prideful murim master, he could take pride in his morals being among the top 1% of the martial world just for not slaughtering them in one blow.

But why did he bother appearing as Heavenly Seojun to get cursed at?

There wasn’t any grand reason.

It’s just that if he used Lee Seojun’s identity, there’d be a lot to explain. Why did he kill the sect leader, what was his reason for infiltrating the Righteous Profound Sect, and why did he break into the sect leader’s quarters?

He could explain all that, but it would be a lot of trouble anyway.

Even if he got through this incident smoothly, wouldn’t he make more enemies if he kept causing trouble? He already had plenty of enemies. He didn’t want to increase them here.

On the other hand, if he caused trouble as Heavenly Seojun, he could enjoy irresponsible pleasure.

He hadn’t even done anything bad. In fact, he’d done something good. It was win-win for everyone.

Is this all I got?

Seojun opened the wooden box in his hand. Inside was a pill with a strangely sweet fragrance.

This was the item the Righteous Profound Sect’s leader had asked the demon practitioner if he’d prepared.

Before pressing his mute point, he’d asked the demon practitioner to learn about the pill. (The commands worked slightly better after cutting off his limbs.)

What was it? A refined pill made from human essence blood. Its effects included a slight lifespan increase and inner qi refinement.

“Ugh, tsk.”

Too creepy to give to Chunbong.

Seojun conjured Divine Flame of Enlightenment over his hand and burned the pill completely.

He had accomplished most of his objectives.

He hadn’t learned the detailed reason why he could forcibly command demon practitioners… but this wasn’t something he could figure out right now. He was satisfied just knowing roughly what the conditions were.

The reason he hadn’t known about this ability until now was either because he’d never met demon practitioners before, or because his rising realm made previously impossible things possible.

It would have been nice if he could have gotten useful demonic arts from the Righteous Profound Sect’s demon practitioner as a bonus, but at a glance, the martial arts he’d learned weren’t much different from the demon practitioners he’d seen so far, so he didn’t even bother asking.

Should I head back now?

After dealing with all the remaining demon practitioners hiding in Gulang County, Seojun used his Primordial Step to leave.

He was proud of himself for creating the Primordial Step.

You goddamn Central Plains fucker.

It really was too vast.

After Seojun left, Hwangbo Hyeji punched the rock almost all day long.

Thump! Thump!

However, only small scratches appeared even after pounding the rock for days on end.

Still, it’s only been a few days.

She hadn’t expected anything to happen in just a few days. Hwangbo Hyeji silently pounded the rock that day too.

WHOOOOOOSH──────────!!

Just then, someone crashed into the Namgung Clan’s courtyard house with a loud noise.

“An attack…!?”

Startled, Hwangbo Hyeji quickly unleashed her qi, but Namgung Suah who was training beside her just chuckled.

“Lady Namgung…?”

“Ah, sorry. It was just a bit funny.”

Namgung Suah smiled brightly and waved her hand. Wind blew from her fingertips, clearing away the dust.

“You’re back, Seojun?”

“Oh, big sis.”

Seojun stood waving with a pleased expression where the dust had cleared.

Namgung Suah approached him out of nowhere and pulled him into a hug.

“You worked hard.”

“What hard work?”

Seojun casually accepted her embrace and greeted Hwangbo Hyeji.

“Were you doing well?”

“Y-Yes… I haven’t been able to break it yet though…”

At her words, Seojun examined the rock. Tiny traces left by Hwangbo Hyeji’s fists remained on the rock’s surface.

What the hell?

At her level before he left, he expected her not to leave even scratches. He applied the technique to match that level.

“Wow, you worked hard, huh?”

But somehow she’d succeeded in leaving traces on the rock.

Moreover, she was still drenched in sweat, suggesting she hadn’t slacked off in training while he was away.

The type who worked hard on her own without being told. If he had to give her a title, it would be something like Model Student Hwangbo Hyeji.

“I’m still far from sufficient…”

Hwangbo Hyeji smiled bitterly.

Seojun lightly patted her shoulder.

“No, you’re doing well. Let’s try for just a few more days. I think results will come soon.”

It might be a bit different from what she expected, but results would definitely come.

That night.

Boom! Boom!

Though it was the hour when everyone was asleep, Hwangbo Hyeji was absorbed in training.

After continuing to train at night for the past few days, she’d learned how to hit the rock without making loud noises.

“Can I… do this…?”

Hwangbo Hyeji pressed her head against the rock full of fist marks. A cold sensation transmitted from her forehead.

After briefly sighing, Hwangbo Hyeji steeled herself and drew her fist back again.

“Haap…!”

Boom! Her fist struck the rock. And then,

Crack—

A small fissure appeared in the rock.

“Huh…?”

Hwangbo Hyeji’s eyes widened. She calmed her pounding heart and threw her fist again.

Boom!

Crack crack! Her fist dug into the rock as the crack grew larger.

As if possessed, Hwangbo Hyeji threw her fist at the rock again and again. Even so, the sound from hitting the rock wasn’t loud.

It was something different from the Mount Tai Thunderous Divine Fist. Her current punches contained no thunder.

Hwangbo Hyeji silently pounding the rock without loud thunder seemed almost reverent.

And finally,

CRRRRRACK──────────

The massive rock split in half.

Before it, Hwangbo Hyeji trembled with the euphoria burning in her chest.

“Ahhh…!”

The sense of achievement made her head tingle. She momentarily recalled Eun Wiryong’s image. That pathetic guy’s sword that had been completely different from before just by changing his mindset.

Though it was still difficult to completely believe in herself like Senior Heaven-reaching True Qi had advised, she felt like she’d found a small clue.

…I can do better. I just need to progress bit by bit.

Hwangbo Hyeji, who had been silently expressing her joy, soon headed to her room with a beaming smile. Her steps were unusually light today.

And at the spot where she’d disappeared, Seojun revealed himself.

“Did it work?”

He glanced around briefly and retrieved the talisman attached to the rock.

A talisman that had become an ordinary scrap of paper after its qi was exhausted.

The talisman’s qi had completely depleted today after being slowly consumed by Hwangbo Hyeji’s punches.

I put quite a lot of qi into it… Just how hard did she work?

In truth, there wasn’t much improvement in her punches compared to before.

That was natural. Gaining enlightenment in just a few days wasn’t normally possible. It would be close to a fortuitous encounter.

She seemed to have somehow learned the knack of reducing noise, but that didn’t help much with power.

The rock broke simply because Hwangbo Hyeji had diligently pounded it. It was similar to scooping out all the water in a bucket with a spoon.

The talisman had been made so that qi would be consumed each time she hit it…

She would think she’d been able to break the rock because she’d improved, but unfortunately, that was a misconception. It was the result of simple effort, not improvement.

However, was that just a simple misconception? That wasn’t quite right either. Her final punch had definitely been different.

That punch she had thrown while immersed in some kind of euphoria was certainly a step forward compared to before.

That led to her having the misconception that she had progressed due to breaking that previously unbreakable rock into reality.

Is this a placebo enlightenment?

Seojun chuckled.

Regardless, that enlightenment could shine because of Hwangbo Hyeji’s effort.

If she’d slacked off, even if she’d broken the rock a few days later, she wouldn’t have gained any particular enlightenment.

“Now I just need to really work her to the bone.”

That small spark of confidence she had taken hold of—his goal was to nurture it until it grew into a wonderful little troublemaker.