So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 34: Recruitment (3)

By the time we reached the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after two days of travel, the sun was already setting.

As soon as we arrived at headquarters, Master summoned me. Ostensibly, it was to have dinner together to reward me for my hard work.

But—

“Hahaha. So, tell me about your trip.”

As expected, Master brought up work during our dinner.

While my stomach was growling, I set down my chopsticks that I had picked up to eat and calmly began.

“I found a few areas for improvement, Master.”

“Oh? More than what I expected.”

Facing Master, who looked at me with interest, I explained what I had seen in Kuqa County. I told him about how the Branch Leader had gone berserk from the side effects of Demonic Arts while teaching children.

“It seems we need to punish the Branch Leader of Kuqa County.”

“There’s no need for that. The Branch Leader of Hejing County didn’t go berserk, but it was obvious they were struggling just as much.”

“Hmm. Now that you mention it, others who went on inspection tours to different counties reported similar stories. They said the Branch Leaders were having trouble teaching large groups of children.”

“Yes. If it were just one or two cases, it would be an individual problem, but when similar problems occur in multiple locations, it means there’s a systemic issue.”

“Then, what solution did you come up with?”

“First, we need criteria for selecting instructors. There’s no need for Branch Leaders to personally teach children how to read. It’s not a task that requires martial arts proficiency or experience, is it?”

“That’s true.”

“So, we should select instructors based on the side effects of the Demonic Arts they’ve learned. We should exclude those who’ve learned arts that cause anger, depression, or obsessive symptoms, and instead choose those with manic or emotionally numbed tendencies.”

When Master nodded at my explanation, I continued.

“Of course, that alone won’t be enough to completely control the children. And that issue could cause mental strain on the instructors, leading to problems.”

Since everyone who cultivated Demonic Arts suffered from mental illnesses, there was no telling what terrible things might happen if they were pushed too far.

Therefore, they needed to be managed in a systematic way that wouldn’t overwhelm them.

“So, we need to give some flexibility in children’s education. Since children have limited attention spans, we should have three quarters (45 minutes) of class followed by one quarter (15 minutes) of break, and only conduct two sessions like this.”

(The measurement used on this is called kè (刻). One ke usually defined as roughly 14 minutes. But I rounded them up and translated them into quarters for an easier reading experience.)

This concept was borrowed from modern education systems.

Even in modern times, elementary school students have 40-minute classes with 10-minute breaks. High school students have 50-minute classes with 10-minute breaks.

I just adjusted it to quarters since the concept of minutes doesn’t exist here.

“Additionally, each lesson should cover only one verse of the Thousand Character Classic, which is four characters, repeated twice. So, only eight characters per day.”

“Isn’t that too little?”

“Even with just eight characters per day, they can complete the Thousand Character Classic in 125 days. If we speed up a bit at the end, they could go through it three times in a year.”

We also discussed what to do if a child misbehaves..

Just as I had advised the Branch Leader of Kuqa County, instead of forcing them, send them home to let their parents discipline them.

“Hmm. So you’re trying to reduce the mental pressure on those teaching the children.”

“That’s right.”

Master nodded in understanding and asked, “So, after about two hours of education, the children are sent home?”

I shook my head.

What I had explained to Master so far were the solutions I had first thought of when I saw the Branch Leader going berserk in Kuqa County.

And thanks to the damn side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, I had a few more ideas.

“After the two hours of education, it would be good to conduct basic martial arts training and external strength training.”

“!?”

For the first time, surprise appeared on Master’s face.

“Are you suggesting we teach commoner children Demonic Arts?”

“Not Demonic Arts, Master, but basic martial arts and external training. Children who learn exercise and basic breathing techniques from a young age will greatly benefit when they do physical labor later in life. Also, this increases our chances of discovering talented individuals.”

“Oh? So you’re saying we teach them basic martial arts and select those with talent to learn Demonic Arts.”

“Exactly. We plan to teach them the Thousand Character Classic for a year, followed by a year of the Cult’s doctrines, giving us two years to observe them. During these two years, the Branch Leaders in each region can identify and report exceptionally talented children to the Cult.”

To use a modern analogy, the current talent development system of the Demonic Cult was similar to elite sports training.

And I was trying to make it more accessible, like a community sports program.

The more children practicing martial arts, the higher the chance of discovering talented ones.

“Hmm. Then, in addition to a simplified doctrinal text for children, we’ll also need to prepare basic martial arts and external training methods for them to learn.”

“There’s no need to worry about that. I’ve brought about twenty deserters from the military who have trained in martial arts.”

This was why I deliberately brought along those bandits after learning they were army deserters.

Demonic Arts were overpowered techniques. The threshold requirements for Demonic Arts were lower than usual martial arts and provided rapid growth in martial prowess.

However, the terrifying side effects they brought make them unsuitable for children to learn.

In contrast, military martial arts likely had systematic basic-level techniques organized for teaching conscripts.

Moreover…

“If there are regions where none of the Cult’s Branch Leaders are suitable to be instructors, we can dispatch these men.”

They were all-around talents when it came to teaching children, especially compared to the mentally unstable Demonic Cultivators.

And finally…

“Children have limited attention spans. If we only focus on education and training, problems might arise. So, after about half an hour of training, it would be good to have some playtime as a reward for good behavior.”

With that, I unfolded the booklet I had prepared, filled with illustrations and explanations.

A ball made from an animal bladder, coated with glue and reinforced with twine or dried grass.

And games of kicking this ball around or throwing it to hit each other, in other words, soccer and dodgeball.

This was the concept of “school” I had come up with, a blend of my modern memories and the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.

Teaching children martial arts and physical exercise, along with basic character education, and finally, providing them with games for playtime.

The only hope for working parents raising children with boundless energy who wouldn’t sleep unless they ran around all day.

Something that has now started spreading to foreign countries including America.

That is—

Taekwondo academy.

* * *

Afterward, Il-mok and the Heavenly Demon continued their conversation over dinner.

It was time to discuss the details regarding the system Il-mok had proposed.

For example, what rewards should be given to Branch Leaders who successfully identified talented children, and what penalties should be imposed on those who recklessly recommended children just for the reward.

After this excruciating meal, where he barely knew if he was eating or not due to the endless work talk, the Heavenly Demon dismissed Il-mok and returned to his office.

While Heavenly Demon was lost in thought at his office after sending Il-mok away, a visitor came to see him.

“The Protectorate Lord requests an audience with the Heavenly Demon.”

The Protectorate was responsible for guarding the Cult’s important facilities and high-ranking figures. Its Lord was one of the Cult’s most skilled martial artists.

Stroking his beard, the Heavenly Demon asked, “What brings you here at this late hour?”

“I came urgently after hearing stories from Kwan Mu-yeol and Jang Hwi, who were assigned to guard Young Master Il-mok this time.”

“Hmm. I’m curious what stories you heard.”

The Protectorate Lord explained about Il-mok being attacked by the Kuqa County Branch Leader and encountering bandits.

“Additionally, Young Master Il-mok was previously attacked by the Branch Leader of the Kuqa County when he went berserk. Therefore, for Young Master Il-mok’s safety, it seems dangerous to entrust his protection to just one attendant, Your Eminence.”

Heavenly Demon nodded at the Protectorate Lord’s explanation.

‘Indeed. Since Il-mok is bringing about changes, we need to prepare for dangers.’

He had thought Il-mok would be safe since he’d only begun cultivating Demonic Arts four months ago, but somehow, incidents kept happening around him.

The incident with his first disciple, Wi Jin-hak, the issue with the Hyeokryeon Clan… it all seemed to stem from the changes Il-mok was bringing about.

And changes naturally lead to conflicts.

“Then, who do you plan to assign?”

“How about assigning those two who accompanied him this time as permanent escorts? They have already spent four days together, so wouldn’t the Young Master be comfortable with that as well?”

Heavenly Demon nodded at the Protectorate Lord’s suggestion.

“Do so.”

* * *

After meeting with Heavenly Demon, the Protectorate Lord returned not to his quarters but to the Protectorate Division as if he had more work to do.

While he was there reading and checking several letters…

“Enter.”

Despite the lack of any presence, the Protectorate Lord spoke into the empty air. The door cautiously opened, and a figure entered the room.

At this late hour, with the sky completely dark, the faint candlelight on the Protectorate Lord’s desk only illuminated his immediate surroundings.

Addressing the man whose face was hidden in shadows, the Protectorate Lord spoke.

“From tomorrow onwards, you will be assigned as the youngest Young Master’s personal escort.”

“I will obey your command.”

Confirming the man’s bow from within the shadows, the Protectorate Lord continued.

“Therefore, from now on, monitor and report the Young Master’s every move. We need to determine whether he’s a youngster who can be left alone or a future obstacle that needs to be eliminated. Also, if elimination becomes necessary, we must devise a way that won’t leave traces.”

Eliminating Il-mok during this trip using this man would have been an option.

However, that would directly implicate the man and risk exposing himself as well.

Furthermore…

‘If it’s the Heavenly Demon, he likely has other hidden precautions in place besides the two I assigned.’

Because there might be hidden guards they hadn’t detected, they chose to observe for now.

They needed to find a way to handle it without exposing themselves.

It wasn’t impossible. They could closely monitor his every move with an assigned escort like this.

And they had experience handling it twice already.

There was the Fourth Young Master, whose exceptional talent they had exploited by leaking information to the Orthodox sects of the Central Plains, leading to his death, and the Fifth Young Master, who they disposed of by faking Qi Deviation because he had noticed their trail.

The cover-up wasn’t difficult since the Second and Seventh Young Masters had died due to their own recklessness without them having to deal with it.

Recalling those memories, the Protectorate Lord asked the man in the darkness.

“Speaking of which, you’ve spent the last four days with him, so you should have some understanding of him. What are your impressions of the youngest Young Master?”

The man in the darkness recalled what he had seen in Hejing County and answered.

“To put it nicely, he’s skilled at improvisation and manipulation.”

The way he had captured all the bandits and then said he killed them all without changing expression.

And the way he had seamlessly manipulated the villagers into repenting, even though he was supposed to be there for an audit came to the man’s mind as he frowned.

The memory of Il-mok extorting hospitality from the Branch Leader in Kuqa County, and his sly behavior towards them, also surfaced.

“And to put it badly, he’s like a con man.”

His so-called improvisation and manipulation were nothing more than an endless stream of lies. Every time he opened his mouth, a lie would come out.